Fairweather,

Allow me to open your eyes to something you seem either too young or too willful to see for yourself:

You are my Master's slave, as well.

Every time you have you have coveted something that doesn't rightfully belong to you, you have been His slave.

Every time you have felt the indignity of defeat, that burning shame and anger that spurs you to improve so that it never happens to you again, you have been His slave.

Every time you have felt anger at those who make you repeat yourself, who force you to do what you otherwise would not do, who ought to know better, you have been His slave.

Every time you have felt the need to correct that which is wrong, simply for the reason that you know it is wrong, you have been His Slave.

You live under the yoke of a Pantheon whose concerns and ambitions span far, far beyond Sapience. My Master's battles have taken Him further than you could possibly imagine, have seen Him square with foes so far beyond our ken that it dwarfs even our wildest nightmares. To think that you should stand free, when He wishes your subjugation, is nonsense.

We live in an era of self-delusion, to be sure. A time when mortals truly believe that this God or that Goddess really, actually loves them, that they are indispensable to a Divinity's mission, and that our coming and going could somehow imperil Them in any meaningful way. But do not make the mistake of thinking that because you and yours delude yourself, others do the same.

We know exactly what our God demands of us, where we stand, and what we are.

And if we are kneelers, then ask yourself this:

Mhaldor produced not only the victor of the Staff, but the unquestioned runner-up (despite Archaeon's garbage attempt at spinning some false narrative, both candidates were supported by Mhaldor, to the point where merely placing would have guaranteed victory for our Tyrannus, had the Lord of the Crossing not performed utterly flawlessly), and Hashan produced the third-place candidate by standing alone, as Mhaldor did.

A question, then, for you.

If ours is a philosophy of kneeling, and our achievements mean nothing because we achieve them with open eyes as to Who we serve and our place in the hierarchy He imposes upon the world, what does that make the other four Cities of Sapience, who abandoned all dignity and self-determination for the meagre advantages coalition offered and the privilege and accomplishment of... not even placing?

In service eternal,

-Reyson Aristata


Penned by my hand on the 24th of Daedalan, in the year 853 AF.