“Sometimes your elder’s words are worth their weight in gold. At other times, they’re just hot air. Depends a lot on what sort of elder you have.” - Saying attributed to the Silver Maiden.

“Anyway, kids, I’m probably not the best teacher to tell you on how to go about life,” admitted Aideen before the gathered quartet of children. She counted Kino as one, as she wasn’t that far off from the other three in terms of mentality yet. “I’ve definitely made stupid decisions when I was alive, mistakes I never truly understood until I lost it all, so if you want someone to advise you on how to live your life, others will likely do it better.”

“On the other hand, what I can offer is some lessons that I’ve learned through experience, often the hard way and with the benefit of a lot of hindsight since,” she continued, the four’s attention closely on her as she spoke. “So I can at least help a bit with that, mostly with things you kids will have to keep in mind when you go out one day. Not every place is as nice to live in like the Lichdom, you know?”

“We are aware of that, Great-Aunt,” said Áine with a respectful nod. “We’ll keep what you have to tell us in mind for certain.”

“All right,” said Aideen as she sat down across from the four. “If there is one thing and one thing only that you’d remember out of what I will tell you today, let it be this one: Never put too much faith in the so-called ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’. Those are some of the most subjective terms out there, that far too many people would alter at a whim to benefit themselves.”

“Huh? Aren’t concepts like Good and Evil some of the most fundamental things in this world?” asked Eilonwy with some obvious confusion on her young face. “Why would Great-Aunt say they’re like that?”

“Because all too often, what’s ‘Good’ and what’s ‘Evil’ depends entirely on who decides which is which,” replied Aideen with a shake of her head. “If you were to go to a place where they placed someone above you, with the implication that those below should follow the orders of the one above them, no matter what, just from a case of being born that way, would you have accepted it? Or would you have accepted a place that looked upon you as lowly just because you’re of elven blood? Or maybe because you’re a woman? Or because you’re of the Death affinity?”

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“Of course not!” yelled Eilonwy back vehemently.

“Yet there are places like what I described in this world, and for the people that lived there, that’s the way they think things should go. That’s what they consider to be good. Naturally, if you go against what’s good, you’d be seen as evil by them, even when you yourself don’t think that way,” explained Aideen. “It’s why I said that such things are often very subjective, and all too often dependent on the local power.”

“Fact of the matter is, rather than anything like morals or decency, all too many people in power associate things like ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’ based on their own benefits and interests, and they often have the power to make it stick to those beneath them,” she added. “Not even the Bone Lord is free from this fault, as he himself admitted once. The people in the Lichdom are just fortunate that he’s a more benevolent ruler than most.”

“Was that… Prudent to say, Great-Aunt?” asked Rhys with obvious nervousness in his voice. Being locals of the Lichdom, the children were naturally a bit worried about the idea of badmouthing the Bone Lord.

“I wouldn’t have said it if I wanted it to remain a secret, boy,” chimed in the Bone Lord himself all of a sudden, passing through the room nonchalantly as if it was the most common thing to do. The three children watched him pass by with slack jaws and wide stares, though Kino looked somewhat confused by their location. “I see you’re giving them some knowledge about the world, eh? Carry on.”

“Will do, Grandpa,” replied Aideen with a nod and a smile on her face, waving to the Bone Lord as he left the small open yard they were in. The Bone Lord waved back at her as he left. “Anyway, you’ve heard that from the man himself, so that should alleviate your doubts.”

“Then what should we do when we’re out on our own, Great-Aunt?” asked Áine with some wonderment in her voice. “By what standards should we conduct ourselves?”

“The answer to that question varies, Áine, but my own personal opinion on the matter is that you should find a standard of morals that agrees with yourself,” replied Aideen to the girl’s question. “Something you would be proud to uphold no matter what, and wouldn’t be ashamed of under any circumstances. If you can live proudly by your own standards, regardless of what the locals might think, that should be enough for you to have a clean conscience.”

“That said, if your standard involves shitty things like reveling in the suffering of others for no good reason, you should expect people who will go against you because of it, myself included, so keep that in mind,” she added curtly. “I do believe that most people are decent beings, but there are always exceptions out there, and when you run into those exceptions, you need to realize that not everyone could be treated the same way.”

“How so, Great-Aunt?” asked Eilonwy with honest curiosity in her immature voice.

“There are people out there so enslaved by their own vices that they’re little better than animals, or even worse than them in some cases,” clarified Aideen with a shake of her head. “When dealing with that sort of people, all too often the best course of action is to put them down permanently, like the rabid animals they have become.”