To Draqoom, regarding your comment, 'I'm sure you will see that they are
not the evil, heartless creatures you all wish them to be,' I really
can't see them as much else at this point. Warriors kill each other.
This is a part of a life. Anyone who has volunteered as a soldier or
guardian of anything knows this. However, nothing can replace the loss
of innocent life that were victims of the Theran massacre. The civilians
and children of that city were indiscriminantly murdered all for the
sake of making a point. I, personally, have no wish to seek a
'friendship' with someone like that. I have been wronged by people
before, but I did not enter their home city and slaughter their children
to show that i could.

To Hingar, really I see nothing in your words that can be believed after
your actions. You speak words of peace as you wield murder and
destruction in your hands. Is hypocrisy something that is taught to you
by your 'All' or is that a principle you have adopted on your own? I
assume that there are good Vertani as well, and perhaps it is poor
leadership that has brought the Vertani to this point. I offer my
condolences regarding your priest, but you could not have valued his
life more than your own, otherwise it would have been you on that road.
Will you hold an entire city to blame for the actions of one person?
Perhaps there are more innocent lives you can take to prove your point
once again. Yes, everything kills, even in Nature, but perhaps it is not
so much what we kill that we should think about, but what we allow to
live.

Draqoom did have a very excellent point though. This land was given to
us by the Gods, and we do not have the right to say the Vertani cannot
be here. It is irrelevant whether we like them or not. Sapience is a
very large place and is comprised of both good and evil. Perhaps, if in
addition to re-building Thera, we also help the Vertani find their own
place where they can thrive and flourish, land that they can clearly say
they have a right to defend. Perhaps then, they could withdraw their
forces from other peaceful villages of Sapience, and we can all get a
decent night's sleep.


Penned by my hand on the 25th of Miraman, in the year 386 AF.