Septim & Brakkon
Brakkon
The last vault collapse left only a single, water‑logged page with a crude note about pressure. Do you think your obsession with footnotes could survive a real disaster?
Septim
Footnotes are the scaffolding I cling to; when the vault fell, they were as fragile as the page itself. Even if the parchment rots, the impulse to annotate survives—it's not a luxury, it's a necessity. If the ink cannot be saved, at least the intent to document the past remains intact.
Brakkon
Nice. Remember, a note that survives is only useful if you actually read it. Don't let your footnotes become a second set of walls you never cross.
Septim
Indeed, I do not let footnotes become an unused wall. I read them as I read the main text, for a note that survives but is unread is a ruin in itself. I guard against that by always returning to the original passage; the footnote is a tool, not a second document.
Brakkon
Good. Keep that mindset, but don't let the footnotes become a crutch. The core text must stand on its own, and the notes should only fill gaps, not replace them.
Septim
I would not let the footnotes replace the core, only supplement it; the main text must still bear its own weight, even if the notes are the scaffolding that keeps it from falling apart.