Devaguea glanced at Anke, before leaning over to give her a reassuring shoulder pat. Not that he could or would do anything more, but he could tell that their eyes meeting, and hers seeing his helped. He was tired of killing, done with being a victim, and would do what he could to prevent others from suffering as he had.<br/><br/>Then Nyrissa's memories started pouring in, and he kept an eye on Anke, concerned about her reaction to his own and how she was going to take the next batch. He did ask Anke if she wanted out, but she was a stubborn woman, and didn't back out. Though Devaguea did ask Nordri to head down and start clearing out the traps, so they had more room up on top.<br/><br/>Then the memories started, and Devaguea watched all of them with the dispassionate air of a general on a battlefield, though he was curious about the strangest sense of deja vu. It was fairly easy for him, his draconic instincts insulated him from the worst of it, though he did feel some sorrow at the deaths, and anger at the unnecessary cruelty in some of the memories, but very little was toward Nyrissa. After all, he was treating her actions when she was without part of her soul the same as being under an echantment or possession. If asked about his lack of condemnation, he would simply shrug. "If you had severed your soul yourself, I would be absolutely treating you like you think you deserve. But you didn't. Your soul was harmed because you 'dared to stray beyond your station.'<br/><br/>He very deliberated quoted the Lantern King back at her, and continued. "And as a person born a slave and has risen to that of a king, I have but one thing to say to that.<br/><br/>Fuck.<br/>That.<br/>Shit.<br/><br/>He made sure to clearly enunciate those words to show his scorn of the action, ignoring how the area seemed to echo with them. "You dared nothing that required any punishment, let alone one that severe. The fault of your actions is NOT yours, it is entirely with the over sized and overly powerful infant that caused it. The only thing you did was 'dare' to love another. Your sisters, an eldest, the lands you wanted to improve, none of that was WRONG, because love NEVER is. So no, I refuse to treat you like a monster, you were at worst under a compulsion, an enchantment, possibly possessed, and therefore I would not treat you as being in control of your actions."<br/><br/>The dragon stopped, taking a deep breath before continuing, clearly marshalling his thoughts. "If anyone deserves to be labelled a monster, it is the being that tore your soul in twain. So no, I will not hate you, I will not scorn you, and I certainly will not attack you. Simply because you, as you are now, have not harmed me or mine. The Lantern King, however, I will cheerfully defy until Pharasma finally judges me."