Eleusis,

I am no stranger to conflict and hostilities.

I have brought violence to your home in the past, and I may very well do so again in the future. I have defended my city against everything from lone infiltrators to groups of more than twenty dragons intent on killing our guards and taking our tanks.

In my youth, I stood on the battlefield beside Farrah, Eryl, Adrik, Mezghar and others; in these days the might of the Legion of Shadows was uncontested. The armies of Darkness relentlessly crushed those that stood before us; our enemies were put to the sword in droves. We had the numbers, the will, the undivided attention and backing of the Dark Father. This is all say that I know how it feels to have a strong army as my allies.

It is hard for anyone to argue that the Hashan we have today is as strong as it was then; we are not blind nor ignorant. We can see that you have the numbers, the lack of civility and the support of your Goddess. For years, we have fought you to a standstill at the cost of our lives, our guards' lives. We have fought you when you have half our numbers, we have fought you when you have double our numbers, and we have fought you when you have triple our numbers.

On my watch as Minister of Security, despite multiple attempts you have yet to capture our tanks, you have yet to destroy our golem. I am not trying to pretend that we haven't suffered defeats; we've seen parts of our city reduced to rubble and have lost countless lives to fend off your attacks. This is all to say that I know how it feels to have a strong army as my enemies.

So, it is with some measure of surprise that I read the words 'the debt of blood shall be repaid', and 'prepare for war'. Prepare for war? What possible escalation could you offer? You're already attacking us on a monthly basis with all the forces you can muster. The debt of blood shall be repaid? The debt you owe for the countless raids and killings you've inflicted on us, some centuries-old debt you read about in a book, or the debt you perceive because we stand up for ourselves and fight back? An astute observer might even suggest that these words are posturing, like a baboon baring its teeth and howling to intimidate one it sees as a threat.

You say prepare for war. You say we will be returned to the embrace of Nature. You want to see fear fill our hearts but you will find only resolve. Resolve you helped create with years upon years of attacks. My response to you is as follows: you should be the ones preparing. Prepare for the winter, prepare for the despair of defeat because your summer can't last forever, and a reckoning is coming.

Ever in defence of civilisation,

Kshavatra Zartosht
Child killer, Professor of Mayology, Spineless worm

Penned by my hand on the 24th of Mayan, in the year 888 AF.