I apologize for the vivid descriptions. Galamin was a twisted fuck and his actions proved it. But, I will not apologize for the event itself. It didn't "come out of nowhere" there were hints and foreshadowing scattered throughout the story that centered around this innocent young man who was unfortunately targeted nearly from the minute he set foot into that world. Yes, it's awful. But, awful things happen to the best of us. Many of my friends and family (Robin's as well) have lived through way darker stuff than Fin's. We can't prevent bad things from happening all the time, sometimes it just happens. The important part is that we push through it and realize that we're not the only ones. Finian used his pain and he formed a stronger bond to Synan, who had gone through loads worse. Together, they then made a real difference. We wanted to illustrate that, from the beginning, the fact that Finian was a Maiden/innocent virgin was not what made him special. It was the way that he drew others to him and formed amazing friendships and, eventually, a stronger family. In the case of Alistair waiting for him, that's just the kind of person that he is. When you truly love a person, whether they're pure or not doesn't matter. Allie would have lived his life at Finian's side even if they were never able to join in that manner. Neither we nor Finian wish what happened to him on anyone else, but we empathize with others that have suffered worse (to be quite honest, Galamin's was a bit tame compared to the abuse many have suffered in life), and hope that, like Finian, they move forward, seek help, and help others until they are able to forgive themselves for events that were out of their hands.