In many ways, you know, Mhaldor and Shallam are alike. They're older
cities who uphold strong laws about what their citizens can and cannot
do. Both have a firm religious sect for which they torture, kill and
generally harass people for. They hate one another, for the sole reason
of said religious beleifs, and strong laws. And they're both very set in
their ways.
It's because these cities are so bipolar that they're so simmilar.
Cities like Hashan and Cyrene could not be compared as such in such as
sucessful way, because they're not really total opposites.

These cities prosecute people on a daily basis, mostly because of their
beleifs. Well, my beleif is this- you cannot truly make someone conform
to your cult/church/whatever the heck you wanna call it. People will
beleive what they choose for as long as they live, and nothing you can
do will truly change that.

Why does Shallam continue to pretend it's this great, happy place who is
SOOOO peaceful when they're more violent than any other city in sapience
(save for Mhaldor)? If it were up to them, everyone who didn't want to
conform to their little church would be burnt alive after being tortured
to say things that were never true! At least Mhaldor is forthright about
their viciousness, unlike Shallam who choses to hide behind their flimsy
persona of 'truth' and 'honesty'. Well, there's nothing honest about
persecuting innocent people just because they won't let you convert them
to a religion they don't have faith in at all. Forcing people to beleive
what they don't want to is just as bad as dismembering them, if not
worse. For you've taken away their faith, and all people need to beleive
in something, whether you think it's a lie or not. Perhaps shallam could
trule become the happy city it says it is if they'd just lay off on the
converting.

People say Mhaldor is a corrupt city of evil nastiness because it
follows Sartan, the lord of evil. It's actually a pretty nice place, if
you stay away from the areas that have lichs and aggressive lycopods in
the mountainy areas. There's lots of great stores in the circle of pain,
some of which sell great boots (Sadly, I can't enter the city anymore
because of the laws of my guild, which were created for the sake of
safety and because of the fight sartan and gaia had a little while back
(I guess i'll have to buy boots in hashan, then...)). The city is
upfront about it's aggressive nature, and don't claim to be some pretty
happy peaceful place where you're always safe, as Shallam does. Sure,
you may be physically safer in Shallam as a whole, but that doesn't make
up for those preists they keep bombarding places like mhaldor and Ashtan
with.

But really people, do you truly think that loyal citizens of Ashtan and
followers of it's laws would be swayed by some dinky little ugly guy in
white robes who spouts random stuff about heretics and angels? Heck, if
that's what it would take to convert them, they wouldn't BE from Ashtan
in the first place, they'd be in Shallam. Unless they happen to belong
to A shallam-based guild, in which case it's not really their choice now
is it? doesn't shallam have anything better to do with it's citizens
then waste them by turning them into useless little preists? The
Basilica was destroyed for a good reason- someone didn't want it there.
in fact, lots of people didn't want it there.

And as great as it is arguing like this, we have more important things
to do right now. Instead of writing attacks at one another, why don't
the people SAVE THEIR MONEY and just wait for a time where a bunch of
golden-eyed whackos of possible tsol'teth originated whackos aren't
trying to kill us all? i could be wrong, but there's a time and place
for everything, and there probably won't be a good one for this type of
thing ever again unless we stop writing pointless little thingies and
get rid of the vertani situation (whether by getting rid of them as a
whole, or just sorting it all ouT).

I'm just a shrimpy little 25-year-old desert roamer with limited
experience and knowledge on the matters I discussed, so if I'm wrong i'd
appreciate it if you would notify me of it and tell me what's what.

Penned by my hand on the 9th of Ero, in the year 389 AF.