In this, I speak only for myself, not as a member of the Church of
Achaea, nor as a Vizier of Shallam or a Scion in the order of the Lady
Mithraea.

I believe that the fact of the true death of the Vertani has been met,
so far, with terrible callousness on the part of the greater part of
Achaea. The idea of true death is one that is almost completely foreign
to us, as a people. The only experience we have with true death, for the
most part, is when a person commits suicide, or, to a lesser degree,
when they (or a Divine ) leave the realms permanently. At these times,
the people who knew that person, for the most part, know terrible regret
and anguish, to a degree that very little else can inspire us. I have
some experience with these few methods of true death, and in the case of
Meihua, for one, there were many people who went into mourning, and
there were memorials erected in her honour, though she no longer walks
among us. Another, in the case of the recently departed mayor of Thera,
Ariel. People mourned, cried, and gathered together for solace and
remembrance. The same thing happens and has happened relatively few
times, when counted against the hundreds of thousands of deaths that
occur every year, in which the gracious Lord Sarapis grants life anew.

I can hardly imagine the pain a people would feel if one of those deaths
that the Lord Sarapis normally gives life back unto were met with true
death. I can hardly imagine the pain and anguish people would feel if
one of their friends, people we call adventurers, were slain and never
to return, to never know life, love, or friendship again.

And yet this happens to the Vertani every time one of them dies, in any
fashion. For them, every death is true. When a Vertani dies, they, their
friends, and their loved ones know that this Vertani will never return,
never know life again. And yet... we shrug this off, as if it means
nothing at all. The fact that the Vertani do not return, do not receive
life anew means little if not nothing to the greater part of Achaea.
Perhaps it is only the teachings of the recently departed Lady Mithraea,
Who taught me to respect life in all of it's forms and functions, but my
heart does bleed for these fallen people who will never know life again,
and the very many people who threaten to give true death to these people
sadden me greatly.

While I do not condone all acts the Vertani have taken in the world,
specifically, the destruction of Thera, neither do I condone these
threats of violence the Vertani received afterwards, nor the actions
taken against them before this destruction, and would be ashamed to find
myself a part of any organization that takes part in giving this
unprecedented grief and anguish to any people.


There must be a better way.

Lari

Penned by my hand on the 1st of Ero, in the year 386 AF.