Watch the old ones, they will teach you things a book never could.

For instance, on my first trip to the Arcadian ocean, I saw an old fisherman with a bucket of crabs, almost filled to the brim but this bucket had no lid nor was he even watching the bucket until others got close.

I asked him, “Sir, aren’t you scared of losing your day’s work? They can escape anytime they want.”

He chuckled and told me, “The only thing I’m worried about is someone else grabbing them, these little guys could escape anytime they want, it’s true but they never will, one jealous crab at the bottom will always pull them down ensuring they all suffer.”

He told me that and the skeptic in me had to see it for myself. I sat down next to the old man who just seemed pleased to have some company and watched that bucket like my life depended on it.

For the first few minutes, nothing interesting seemed to be happening. They were just shuffling along seemingly content in their plastic prison. Then, a little climber like me started to get ambitious. It stepped on its crab brethren slowly but surely to get to the walls of the bucket. It gripped on and started climbing.

For a moment, I smiled. The crab was climbing without any interference from those below it. I saw it this close to the edge and hubris had me thinking I’m about to show this old man why he should have a lid.

Then, the inevitable happened. A crab with the mindset of if I can’t have it, no one can grabbed the brave one’s leg and pulled it down ensuring that none of them would get to taste glory or freedom ever again. The old man smiled and got to enjoy his day in the sun.

I shook my head then his hand and simply had to say “you were right”.

I left him so he could enjoy his day in peace bit I should have remembered that old fisherman at Kaos.

I had Cade pinned, dead to rights, and no Jasper Redgrave, it had to be you, it couldn’t be someone else to taste victory even if it meant good fortune for all of us in the end. No, just like that pathetic jealous crab at the bottom, you didn’t want anyone to taste the glory that you got to enjoy. You grabbed my leg and made sure all of us were stuck where we’re at.

You let Jackson Cade be that old fisherman. You let him continue to enjoy his day in the sun while making us all suffer due to your jealous self-entitled ways. Once you pulled my leg, it was like dominoes, all of us falling starting with you toppling first.

The only thing making it so I don’t kick you out of the Preservationists is the fact that you did the definition of preserve.

Because of your actions, everything has stayed the same.