All's Fair

Within the hallowed halls of the Adepts
There lie the balmy gardens of the Conclave.
One day the formidable War took it upon himself
To speak to the assembled council, a near-captive audience.
"You spineless simpletons," War hissed contemptuously,
"Do you not see the absolute necessity of my task?
Death, I am constantly supplying you with clients."
The woman in black robes glanced into his eyes,
Skeptical, mistrusting; he would find no ally in her.
"And Courage, when there is a battle,
It is you who musters the troops.
Else, what would there be for you to do?"
The powerful man of action kept silent.
"Mourning, you, surely, should rejoice in the tears
Of the bereft as they wander the fields of the slaughtered."
She met his gaze; behind her pain he sensed
A deep strength and conviction he could not conquer.
"Fear, even the threat of my works
Supplies you with more power than you need."
The ethereal man raised blank, half-mad eyes,
A mocking smile quirking one corner of his mouth.
War gulped, then plunged ahead, incensed.
"Fools, you do not understand!
The magnitude of my work escapes your petty intellects.
Hear and understand; you are all my beneficiaries!"
War caught a familiar glance from one Adept;
"Conquest, my long-time companion, tell me
You have not given up your truest nature, that
You still seek the power of dominion and possession."
The hardened man eyed him carefully;
The others could not determine his thoughts.
Finally encouraged, War smiled darkly.
"And Love...where is that girl?"
He glanced accusingly at those assembled,
As if they had purposefully hidden her innocent ears
From his scathing words.
In truth, they had.
They had wanted to protect her, to preserve her pure character.
But suddenly Love herself stepped out
From behind a marble column.
She was not as naive as they had thought.
"'That girl'," she began sardonically, "is here.
What would you say to her?" She approached the Conclave.
War eyed her, suspicious.
As she stepped into the circle, standing beside him,
War attacked.
"You, as well, little one; you need me." He paused,
Anticipating a rebuttal he ached to rend in tatters.
Love waited beatifically, watching him intently.
"Without me," he continued, "you would lose your meaning.
There would be nothing to contrast you with.
You would fade away, going the way of Civilization,
Becoming more the Savagery you once defined
By its absence within yourself."
In throes of terror, Fear glanced at Love.
Death bowed her head,
Courage faltered,
Mourning blew her nose.
Love adored her friends; she did not want to see them suffer.
Turning from War to the gathered group, she spoke.
"It is true, I have a need--" War grinned triumphantly,
"But it is not for War, only for his title."
The armored man's face darkened in sudden confusion and anger.
"Mortals say all is fair in Love and War;
To them, these things are intangible standards
By which they judge their actions,
But they do not actually need War;
They merely need the concept he embodies.
In the same way, I only need the concept of an opposite
To give me my significance, to create my visage of Love,
Because I do not embody the principles of War."
Love's eyes sought out War's victims.
"Death loathes her duty, and would escape it;
War's contribution to her load is cruel and unnecessary.
And why should Courage waste his time
Emboldening those who will not live to appreciate his efforts?
Mourning does not rejoice in anything; it is not her nature.
She sincerely grieves the passing of each soul from the earth.
Fear has no need of War; mortals have innumerable fears
With which he is constantly occupied.
And Conquest," concluded Love, turning to look suggestively
Into the tall man's obsidian eyes,
"Can always find other subjects to pursue,
With less disastrous results."
Conquest looked hard at her, weighing, comprehending.
"So you see," she turned to her friends again,
"We have no need for War himself here."
"But," interjected War, grasping for stability,
"The mortals have not yet released me from their minds.
And because I exist for them, I exist for you.
That is why we are all here."
"Indeed," assented Love, "they continue your existence.
Yet so do they continue mine;
They, in their faulty, stumbling way have managed to create
Both of us, and someday they will eventually abolish one of us.
When that day comes, I am fully prepared
To give them even more
Of the Love that I am."