Dialogues was the most important literary contribution made by Mederines, an Arcanist and a Philosopher from Bastion's past. It is considered a Philosophical Masterwork.
Collection Details
A total of 9 cortex entries make reference to Dialogues.
These are only some excerpts from Mederines' work. There are many more that haven't been revealed yet. The section also includes references to Dialogues in other works.
Cyphers (3)
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Should cyphers be able to determine their own fate? To ignore such innate skill seems wasteful, yet demanding that all cyphers serve one master favors the individual over the entirety. Since the process of becoming a cypher is risky and often deadly, should we not honor these people accordingly? Let the cypher choose how they serve society. We all benefit from content citizens.
— From Dialogues
Outlaws (2)
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Say a man has slain his kin in cold blood. What are the rest of us to do? Isolate him? Provide him with meat and grains that we risk our lives for? If we cannot trust him to live peacefully within our walls, then let him survive beyond. Shapers keep him as they see fit, and may he return to us through the great wheel a changed soul.
— From Dialogues
Shaper Ruins (2)
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Shaper ruins are an inescapable reality. While some argue we should be rid of them, I advocate for considering them a natural resource. We build near water because it gives us access to water, and we build near ruins because it offers safe shelter. Look at Dunar. This is a place safe from threat, where no beast can breach our walls. Here we have amassed our research and built our library. As long as the area is free of dangerous relics, living near Shaper ruins is humanity's best chance to grow.
— From Dialogues
General Helena Tarsis (2)
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Can we be certain that General Tarsis truly made Fulminous, whatever that may be, into a sword? Speculating on the accuracy of The Volume of Tarsis is a waste of our time. Instead, let us consider what the text tries to teach us—that humanity came together to overcome oppressors through ingenuity, communication, and organization... this should be our focus.
— Dialogues
General Helena Tarsis (3)
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The acts of Tarsis have been conveniently politicized. The Path of Might, the Path of Valor, the Path of Resolve... these actions should be taken as a whole, not as one example that defines an entire faction.
— Dialogues
The Legion of Dawn (3)
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The Legion left monuments throughout Bastion, and into the Reaches and Mirelands, but the meanings of these artifacts have been lost. Were the statues depicting real people? Were they celebrations of victories or memorials for the fallen? We may never know.
—From Dialogues by Mederines
The Legion of Dawn (4)
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Historical records indicate that the Legion was meticulous in retrieving the bodies of fallen soldiers. All remains were cremated, and fragments from the Volumes suggest that they feared the urgoth would steal corpses from graves. Whether or not this ever occurred is unknown. No indication is given in the Volumes as to what the urgoth did with the spoils of grave robbing.
— From Dialogues by Mederines
Sunken Gardens
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The distinct style of the caverns point to the fact that urgoth were not the only Anzu capable of building and design. The caverns differ from Shaper ruins, and even have, dare I say, an appreciation for aesthetics. What was this being that created such beauty? Was it just one? Or perhaps many? Perhaps they were not so different from us. Though urgoth were indeed Anzu, not all Anzu were urgoth.
— From Dialogues by Mederines
The Sanctuary of Dunar (District)
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Though the Sanctuary was built long ago, it came to societal prominence in the 150s, when Arcanists from Anshar relocated there to accumulate the written history of humanity. It soon became the primary Arcanist academy in Bastion, and its library the primary source of history and knowledge. It attracted many famed Arcanists, notably Mederines, who would engage in long discussions about the nature of existence in the courtyard, as documented in the philosophical masterwork, “Dialogues.” In 297, a young Arcanist brought a relic into the library, and the ensuing Cataclysms resulted in hundreds of deaths and the loss of the library and its contents.