The urdurgh is living people- the Town. I’ll get that out of the way first, otherwise this isn’t going to make sense.

I favor Aglaya’s reflection the most. Her mechanisms and reliability are admirable. Once, in a dream, Aglaya executes civilians for the crime of betrayal- the only crime, in her eyes, she deems worthy of punishment. She sees people only as tools to be used and discarded- yet, somehow, she never lies. This is the most infuriating way to be used, so it’s no wonder so many people want her and the rest of the inquisitors dead. Still, despite everything… A woman who wears everything on her sleeve like that has perfectly discernible motives at all times. Not only are there no lies, there is no deceit.

There’s more honor in that than in a million people professing never to manipulate people. Bah! As if we could separate ourselves from our fundamental nature. Time flows, it can’t be stopped- humans can’t be in two places at once, hence the miracle of the Changeling being a miracle. Whether we like it or not, we’re manipulating people around us constantly. From forging connections by facilitating the formation of communities to severing connections by inviting a friend from another friend for a time… But even more, what is conflict resolution, what is therapy, or hosting a party, if not manipulation? It’s more important to be honest about it, but more importantly, to at least acknowledge it. That gives you the power to control it. Taking the “ignorance is bliss” route to your own actions does not a moral soul make!

Such a shame that this leads to the logical extreme: The annihilation of the Kin’s urdurgh.

But wait, I had decried! First, prioritizing the town over them a colonial mindset, and don’t we (that is, you and I) have strong anti-colonial beliefs? Furthermore… There’s a distinction to be made between yargachin and emshen: It’s the same difference mentioned previously between the unconscious and conscious manipulator of people. The Haruspex learns this, but the rest of the Kin knew it very well going in. In fact, they’re right about a lot. To destroy their urdurgh would be a tragedy.

Psychology is a new discipline for a reason. Like, seriously new. Remember Freud? That was around the turn of the 20th century. The study’s only barely a year old! Before it, we had spirituality; largely a perverse cognitohazard perpetuated by the Abrahamic churches, but spirituality nevertheless. The rawer, purer form was and remains this more nebulous format which, importantly, perpetuated based on utility to the practitioners of the faith moreso than on merit of being a cognitohazard***. Point being, the Kin had a point, and a good one at that. Shame that this wisdom would inevitably lead to sacrifice.

The steppe is a brand new world. The future of the urdurgh is in children. Through this, the kin’s urdurgh was made vulnerable by its own essence. Don’t get me wrong- the blood is on the Artemy’s hands, indeed! But at the end of the day, it was only through love of the kin that he could consume their udurgh- and that I could live with that.

*** The enforcement of faith never really went away, shamefully.

The remake is much more palatable than the original. It achieves this by kicking the audience in the balls a little bit less and breaking its own rules fewer times. This is unequivocally a downgrade, but hey, it’s all in the name of accessibility, so sure.

Another change in the remake, I’m not so fond of: They added a diamond in front of the dialog options that will end conversations.

This allows the two concurrent dialog trees to exist, from the perspective of the player:

Firstly:

“You’re lying to me.”
♦ “I see. I trust you.”

Alternatively:

♦ “You’re lying to me.”
“I see. I trust you.”

In the original game, however? It looks like this.

Original:

“You’re lying to me.”
“I see. I trust you.”

In the original, it was essential to try to work with a grasp of individuals’ motives, knowledge, beliefs, and manners of communication. As a self serving actor, in that game, it is the character’s goal to extract additional information. Requiring the reader to think critically about what thing to say would be most advantageous is an exciting and interesting social and literary exercise. In the second game, it’s a big step closer to being done for you.