A warm smile and a slight bow of the form showed he was more than happy to accomodate Ardnt on his way to the facilities, allowing him a moment's privacy if only for his own image. On their walk back Ardnt was even more chatty, though he could hardly argue hearing of fighting and hunting, two things completely foreign to the monk but not unheard of among the other men of his earlier youth. "I can't say that I have done much of either... Even as a boy, I didn't have much time to make enemies. Or.. the type of friends you have garnered over the years I imagine." The talk of soldiers reminded him of the sailors here, just as chatty and aggressively friendly. It was a shame Ardnt wasn't much allowed to interact with anyone else if they'd even have him, but Luitwin would be lying if he said he didn't prefer the castaway all to himself.<br/><br/>"Please, sit, I'll be over in a minute." He chimed as they returned to their little corner of the ship, off to go pull his personal books. A short, thick novel full of holy scripture he'd copied himself in slow, tidy handwriting. Almost a little eager, he took a seat aside Ardnt's bedside and leaned over to pry open the pages, showing the artwork that spread across the margins depicting the inner workings of the human form. "Even if you can't read, I wouldn't mind leaving this in your company should you be curious. It shouldn't be too morbid for a soldier, but I'm sure nothing you've seen is as clinical, informative. I'd ask that you be careful if you do, I've translated this in my own words and it's..." Luitwin paused, trying to find the best word to describe it, "Personal."<br/><br/>It wasn't till he began to recite the text that it's corolation with the imagery was clear. God was their world, his blood flowed along the rivers that stretched out from the capital, his heart. They walked across his bones as the streets and fought against the ails that were disease and corruption. Among the condemned were the sodomites who spread illness, the prostitutes who profited from it, those who changed their bodies to reflect ideals all their own, but above all else the cruel and merciless. Each passage ended with a ring of "I am the mouth of God." A recurring phrase that was admittedly long without translation.<br/><br/>Sliding his finger down between the pages, Luitwin was all to quick to answer questions. "Men can do a lot of bad, you number among many of humanity's sinners. But a worse crime would be to let you die if something can be done to set you on the right path... Vengeance, execution, this hammer of justice are all more evil than you, the kind of men who cut off hands that steal bread, hands that could one day heal the sick and feed the poor. If you were to ask just me, I find it lazy and useless to kill any man that can be turned into an ambassador for redemption. Even if one were to kill those I love and take the things I treasure, letting anger and sadness cloud my judgement would be my own shortcoming." His voice grew more dreary, "But this is also too easy for me to decide.. I own nothing, I have no family I go home to, for men of the church it's not hard to call the families who slander the court selfish and small minded. For them it's satisfying enough to see those who do them wrong be punished... Of course, it's an inevitable truth that death is necessary for those that refuse to change."<br/><br/>He managed to break himself from trailing off, brows knit as he made eye contact with Ardnt again. "Sorry, it's... a strange question afterall, isn't it? And it must be quite different for what you're used to..." Something bothered him, whether it was thinking of his own sins that he bit back each night, or his wondering of what was too much information to offer for the sake of trust and comfort.<br/><br/>"I'm no stranger to crimes against God myself, many monks aren't born into the church, raised among blasphemers and coaxed into poor lifestyles. I was still a young man when I chose to redeem myself, but... hm.." He slowly turned to the next page, hoping to wrap up his external monologue before Ardnt thought to pry. "You will always live knowing you did wrong but the best anyone can do is have faith that it's worth the hard work and good choices you've taken along the way."<br/><br/>He continued to read, voice more solemn and words soft. Luitwin only hoped it didn't echo that his mind was drawn back to foul memories once shared between him and his teacher of more than a decade. The monk still felt a little fear for how he only learned to hate the dynamic between master and student after he joined the ranks of the church, that perhaps as a young man exploring the world of medicine he was fond of the hardened hands of a rogue surgeon. It was easy to forget when Ardnt didn't sit there taunting him with a broad body once covered in blood and grime and the stench of murder at sea.