Chapter 19 preamble

It was the first time I broke the most solemn oath I made. At that time, how chaotic I was, the life of the clansmen disappeared forever in my hands.The pain, the sense of failure and loss weighed heavily on my heart. But the guilt quickly subsided—not because I began to forgive my mistakes, but because I began to realize that my real mistake was making that vow.When I left my homeland, my ignorance made me say that, and the young me said and thought the same.Now I know that such an oath is simply unrealistic.If I really want to guard the ideals I cherish, and the enemies I face are drow, this oath will make me commit the crimes they indicate in order to protect these ideals.

It's very simple, the objective conditions contained in this oath are completely beyond my control. If I never meet any dark elves on the battlefield after leaving Menzoberranzan, I will never break my promise. oath.But I don't have any honor to speak of. The facts didn't develop according to this assumption. This is my luck. The dark elves have threatened my dearest friends, and people who have not offended them have been involved in the war because of them. How can my conscience allow me to let go of my swords at this time?What are my vows compared to Bruno, Wulfgar, and Katie, compared to the lives of those innocents?During my travels, if I encounter drow attacking surface elves or humans, I will not hesitate to join the battle and do my best to resist these evil invaders.

At that time, I will have a heavy guilt feeling, but I will quickly discard it, as I am doing now. Therefore I do not regret breaking my vow, though it pains me as much as I did when I had to kill.But I also don't regret ever taking this vow, a foolish declaration I made in my youth that caused no actual pain.If I absolutely abide by this unrealistic declaration, if I put away my swords because of false self-esteem, if this slack hurts innocent people, Drizzt Do'Urden's pain will be more severe, and never fades away. There is one more thing I want to know about my manifesto, a fact that guides me on my chosen path in life.I said that I would never kill a drow again, and when I said this, I knew nothing of the many other races that inhabit this vast world above and below the surface, of the countless The creatures above don't understand it at all.I said not to kill the drow, but what about Snebli, the deep dwarves?And halflings, elves, dwarves, and humans.

When Wulfgar's barbarian kin invaded Ten-Towns, I had the chance to kill humans.Protecting the innocent means fighting and maybe killing.Such an action, though it makes me sad, does not touch my most cherished vow, and the reputation of humans is far better than that of dark elves. If it is said that I will never kill drow again purely because they have the same bloodline as me, this kind of racial error is absolutely unacceptable to me now.The idea that two creatures are better or worse by the color of their skin alone makes my principles small.The false values ​​implied by this oath do not exist in my world, nor in this wider world of myriad racial and cultural differences.It's differences like this that make my journeys full of surprises, adding fresh colors and patterns to the broad concept of "beauty."

I now take a new oath, a declaration that incorporates all of my experience as soon as I open my eyes: My scimitar shall be raised only to guard; to guard my principles; to guard my life; to guard all others that cannot Defend your soul.I will not fight for the cause of the false prophet, nor for the king's wealth, nor for revenge for hurting my pride. To those who amass wealth, believers and non-believers alike, when they accuse my vows of being unrealistic, unfeasible, and ridiculous, I put my arms around my chest and tell them: I am the richer now! — Drizzt Do'Urden