[Since the event ended, Charles has more or less been holed up in his room sleeping it off, and still sounds pretty drained when he actually starts talking, voice not quite droning, but definitely more tired and worn out - almost disappointed, really - than enthusiastic.]

An old Grandfather said to his grandson, who came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice, "Let me tell you a story.

I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do.

But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times." He continued, "It is as if there are two wolves inside me. One is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him, and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.

But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger,for his anger will change nothing.

Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit."

The boy looked intently into his Grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which one wins, Grandfather?"

The Grandfather smiled and quietly said, "The one I feed."

[There's a short pause, and he continues, now almost sounding distracted.] It's an old Cherokee fable. For those of you who aren't from Earth, or are unfamiliar with this particular subject, the Cherokee are a Native American people who have historically settled in the south eastern parts of North America.

[There's another short pause, like he's considering maybe saying something else, but the feed clicks off without any further elaboration after a few seconds.]

[Private to Merlin & Arthur]

I don't know if you've been told, [Or care. :V] but Morgana's vanished.

[Private to Alex]

[This he actually manages to sound more or less like himself for, because he really is happy for Alex.]

I hear some congratulations are in order.

[Charles sounds somewhere between conversational and tired as he starts his story. He doesn't often share much like this with the network, but he's had a lot of time to think about it and just wants to put it on record somewhere, where other people can hear it.]

When I was at Harvard for my undergraduate degree, one of my first classes - just one of those requirements for freshmen to make sure we're well rounded individuals when we leave and all that - was a discussion of ethics and morality. The professor - I can't remember his name - started his first lecture by telling us he wasn't going to sugarcoat the material we covered or try to glamorize any of it, because we would be talking about war and crime and various other ethical dilemmas and sparing us the gory details would be missing the point. [Which was more or less what he'd told Tony, a few days ago, when he'd shown him Erik's memories, to get him to really realize what an arrogant ass he was being and why it was unacceptable. He still feels badly about it, like he'd forced something on Tony and betrayed Erik's trust, but he did still think it had been necessary.]

And he continued by saying there is nothing else quite like war. So much of our history [And he doesn't specify "human history", because he might not technically be one, but separating himself from that group and divorcing himself from human history is sort of missing the point of what he's trying to say, here.] has been spent at war, or devising new methods to maim and kill soldiers and civilians alike, or trying to negotiate to prevent conflict. So much money and effort and emotion and cost goes into it. There really is nothing else like it.

And the simple truth is that's because war is easy. It's easy to lash out in anger against someone else before they strike against you, or to take something that doesn't belong to you because you want it, to use force to make other people see your point of view, whether that be religion or politics or ideals, because understanding your enemy is complicated. It's easier to force them to bend to your will rather than negotiating or trying to teach your enemy, whether you think you've been wronged and are rising up to overthrow an oppressor, or if you're the one crushing those weaker than you under your boot heel.

So war may be easier. But that doesn't mean peace isn't worth striving for, or that you're weak for trying to pursue it. At the end of the day, anything achieved by violent means will come into question and challenged. Tyrants are overthrown by people who quickly turn into despots themselves, violent political uprisings turn people against worthwhile causes and give the bigots justification to say "these people are a threat to my sense of security", which just leads to more oppression and injustice, therefore solving nothing. And if the oppressed do get a chance to stamp out their oppressors, they're often so full of rage about their past suffering that instead of trying to compromise and work together, they turn into oppressors themselves.

But teaching people, and learning to understand each other and put aside your differences to work for something else creates a more lasting impression. It can still be threatened, and it certainly isn't a quick solution, because there always will be bigots and would be warlords in the world, but it can be accomplished if people are willing to work for it. And working for that - a more lasting peace and deeper understanding, not some impermanent agreement based in fear and violence - is worth it.