You know, I think most of us had the impression that something awful must have happened on John’s world to unite the people under a nihilist mindset.

Something awful happened to Faerûn, too. And it would have been easy to look at what was lost and despair, but the people of that world didn’t. They focused on rebuilding and unity and hope. That made all the difference. 

Our choices about how to react to difficulty, pain, and overwhelming odds are incredibly important.