Cyrene,

You have seen your people be reduced to nothing more than auxiliaries in the other Armies of Sapience, put to propping up those who would see your City pulled apart and returned to the elements, or subjugated of its independence in lieu of the edicts of the Bloodsworn, in the last year.

You have been led by the nose by a shepherd that now proves herself to be even more feckless than I had imagined.

But in every Hardship, there is opportunity. This is a seminal moment in the new direction your City purports to move in. You have the chance to show the world what your people learned during the years of occupation, what you have gained in standing up to a foreign power, and what you have to gain still by making of yourself something more than what your leaders have made you, thus far, or would make you in pursuit of their own agendas.

Renounce those who would strip you of your agency, rob you of your voice, and make a decision. Whatsoever way you choose to stand, bend not. Learn to embrace your independence, and stop bowing to everything, and everyone. For once, stand tall.

And for those of you whose spirits are sufficiently lit by Keorin's nonsense during these Championship Games, if you would seek the one bastion of true self-determination, self-reliance, and the pursuit of Strength, the teachings of the Baelgrim await. If you should prove yourself worthy, there is no spirit my Master could not better.

In service eternal,

-Reyson Aristata

Penned by my hand on the 16th of Chronos, in the year 852 AF.