The path to Ascension is paved with ups and downs. Many started this path long before me; I, however, can't claim the wisdom and experience that others attained over centuries of dealing with fools. It was therefore out of my own oversight that I traveled to Cyrene and talked with Elyon in person in order to understand what he was babbling about. Perhaps, I thought, I was just limited by my experience as an Ashtani, and if only I looked at his words from a different perspective, they would all make sense to me. How naive I was.

The reality I faced was utter ignorance of not only Ashtan's history but of Twilight as well, coupled with a complete failure to draw conclusions without finding a hidden correlation in two unrelated premises. Does Ashtan have some closed shops? Surely it must be connected to the Cult's presence. (We are yet to learn why this was not a problem in the prior several centuries.) Was Prophet Flair a Darkwalker before? Then clearly, if something was done by him, it was really at the Dark Father's hand. (To your dismay, Elyon, Twilight is not the only power in Creation.) What was even more surprising is that somehow some people went so far as to appreciate Tenderfoot's ramblings, as dubious as they were. Whether it was out of mere solidarity against the enemy Sapience perceives Ashtan to be or due to being actually fooled by his words, I do not know. Either way, while my mind accepts that many are bound to be deluded, my heart still aches for them.

Elyon, the only apparent servant of Twilight is you, involuntary as you are. You managed to recognize the God of Darkness' guile and deceitfulness, but you failed to complete one more logical step and realize that perhaps He is not always entirely truthful in His teachings. Yet instead of recognizing Him very clearly as the God of everything untrue and deceitful, you decided that His Great Work must actually be a return to "the natural order," and all of His plots and manipulations are unquestionably just a means for this goal. I wonder where you got this information from.

(In case you are wondering, the source is the Father of Lies and His Darkwalkers.)

The rest, those of you readers who are not content with getting told that things are not as they are and that all you see is a lie, need only open their eyes in order to witness the glory of Chaos standing united. Does the Seat look like a lair of infighting, or is it a monolithic force with its ambitions set outward? Does the prospect of Ascension get obstructed, or is the Dominion heralded through every spot of land conquered? Are the Serpent's words a legitimate concern that just so happened to coincide with Ashtan's advance, or are they simply a feeble attempt to slow down the forces of the Anathema?

Our actions speak for themselves, and our Ascension gets closer with every footstep we make.


Ever in Chaos,

- Ulvin Devi, the Solon


Penned by my hand on the 16th of Mayan, in the year 915 AF.