Ah, Aodfionn, your words are a fine piece of rhetoric, aren't they? A masterwork of self-righteousness, wrapped in the guise of humble reflection.

You quote a old line about the knight's path never being free from error, but you promptly seem to gloss over the more crucial part of the equation: responsibility. You speak of the "full weight of each failure" resting upon a knight's shoulders, yet there is an uncomfortable silence around what happens when that failure is laid bare for all to see. Is it truly about accepting responsibility, or is it about patting oneself on the back for simply acknowledging that mistakes might happen, without actually addressing how those mistakes will be rectified?

In your typical fashion, you invoke the mystical authority of the Knight-Arbiter or knight-councillor to deal with genuine complaints, as if these noble figures are bastions of impartiality, standing ready to ensure that the knights are held accountable for their actions. Yet, you fail to address the fact that power, like any other resource, is often hoarded by those who are least inclined to wield it responsibly.

These self-proclaimed authorities are too often the ones who determine that their failures don't count, that their actions are justified, and that the complaints of the common folk are of little consequence.

So much for accountability when those in power are the ones defining what constitutes "conduct unbecoming.", when it is the Knight Guild itself that is the one deciding whether complaints against it are "genuine" or not.

You dismiss those with valid grievances as nothing more than "bitching, pissing, and moaning", a facile dismissal that conveniently ignores the possibility that those questioning the Guild's practices might actually have valid concerns. It's a quaint, albeit tired, defense of an institution that seems to pride itself on shielding its own members (or at least those it presently likes) from scrutiny. It's easy to wax poetic about ideals when your actions are unchallenged, but much more difficult when the reality of your failures comes crashing down upon you.

You say, "observe diligently," as though you are some impartial observer with no stake in the matter, but your tone betrays you. Your challenge, "Is it Grakhir? Is it Grandue? Is it the Guild?" seems less about genuine inquiry and more about trying to paint your detractors with the broad brush of dishonour. You speak of time as the ultimate judge, as though history will ultimately vindicate those who adhere to your twisted interpretation of honour. But, oh! Cover thine ears, Sir Piggly: time is no respecter of falsehoods. It's not time that will judge you; it's the consequences of your actions, and history will not look kindly upon those who cloak their arrogance in the guise of virtue as you do.

Your post is a shining example of the hypocrisy that runs rampant within the ranks of your precious Guild. You claim to strive for perfection while simultaneously excusing the very real failures and moral compromises that are a direct result of your adherence to a rigid, outdated code. You speak of accountability, yet when the time comes to face uncomfortable truths, you retreat behind the shield of institutional authority and smug indifference. You call on others to observe and discern, but you seem blind to the fact that your own actions speak volumes louder than any carefully chosen words.

If you truly seek to be judged by time, Villager, then I suggest you stop hiding behind the convenient mask of righteous indignation and start living up to the very ideals you claim to uphold. Because as it stands, your words are nothing more than a smokescreen, a distraction from the inconvenient reality that your Guild, for all its grandstanding about honour, is merely another institution that protects its own while trampling on the ideals it claims to represent.

In the end, your call for "perfection" is nothing but a hollow cry for validation, an empty echo in the cavernous halls of a Guild too afraid to confront its own failings. And time, time will show the world that perfection, like honour, is something that must be earned through actions, not just flowery words and excuses posted to the newsboards, "as is Sapient tradition".

~II

[X] Overseer Grandue Xeh'ria, Keeper of the Iron Crown

[A small octagon encircles a raised "II" here, inscribed in thick, amethyst ink]

Penned by my hand on the 17th of Aeguary, in the year 965 AF.