And that's your qualified opinion, is it? [ he snaps. ] That my people were doomed no matter what we tried, that our end was inevitable? We did not surrender to our fate then and whatever this...this dynamis is that you speak of, we would never have bowed to it!

[ Mention of Hydaelyn only incenses him further. He turns away, striding to the farther end of the pool. There, he flops on to the tiled floor, barely noticing the slight chill as it meets what skin isn't covered by his bathrobe.

Yes, he may have acknowledged the mortal races, but that didn't mean his own loss still didn't sting. ]

You cannot possibly know for certain, [ he mutters angrily. ] You cannot.