Eleusians,

Perhaps, hopefully, the voice of a former villager, a former combat
leader over your ranks will help you to understand the situation your
leadership is putting you in.
Those of you who still talk to me in passing know I am no dull-witted
traitor who has his sights set on the destruction of a city that I've no
reason to harm aside from the current political state the Eleusian
leadership has placed the village in. My whole family still resides
within your trees.

I will have my revenge on the select Leath'ri for the position they have
placed my family and the rest of the villagers in.

I know there are villagers who do not fully understand what is going on.
They don't realize why they are being slain in their own city, why their
guards and friends in the village are being sliced to pieces, why their
shrines and trees are being destroyed.

"Surely, there HAS to be another reason why Ashtan is doing this. Just
because a couple of our warriors run to Shallam to help defend the
Church when Ashtan is raiding can't possibly be the reason the safety of
our villagers is being stripped from us. Can it?"

Yes.

Ashtan has a list of goals, and the destruction of Eleusis is not among
the list.

However, the prideful leaders of your village have decided to continue
to allow the few combatants it has to run to Shallam to defend the
Church and its allies. We are not talking about a majority of your
villagers. No no. We are talking about 3-4 Eleusians who find enjoyment
defending the Church. I'll let you know a few reasons why your
leadership allows this handful of Eleusian combatants to bring war upon
your boughs.

I have dealt very closely with the Eleusian leadership, as a leader and
as an enemy. The current leadership has been in place for quite some
time now and there is a fair amount of pride and ego that goes along
with the Eleusian leadership. Do not be deceived, but be wise and do not
doubt that the thought, "A foreign city is making demands of our village
with the threat of war if these demands are not met. If we meet these
demands we will be seen as weak and scared, so we must resist and
fight." has not crossed their minds. Do not allow this thought dictate
what is best for your village. The city of Ashtan could care less about
Mhaldor's war with Eleusis and the forest. Eleusis is purposely standing
in the way of Ashtan's war with the Church and it doesn't make any sense
at all.

The second reason ah, how it always seems to play some role in foul
play, is gold. I was one of those Sentinels whose pockets were lined
with the rich bounties of Ashtani slain while defending Shallam. Be it
the traitorous act of Mehrien or the irony of the Gods, my eyes have
been opened to many things, though I still find myself writing posts for
the general welfare of my former forestal home.

Gold, villagers, line the pockets of the Sentinels who defend the
Church. No small sum either. I was the Head of Bounties. When I was an
Eleusian, sums in upwards of 300k gold, that is 60 credits, were given
out to single combatants for killing Ashtani while defending
Shallameverysinglemonth. Even I saw the idiocy of this and reduced it to
a maximum of 150k per month. Every time these few Sentinel combatants
run to Shallam to assist in some kills they are rewarded very richly.
Indeed ironic isn't it that some of the artifacts I use to slay these
Sentinels now were purchased with the bounties the Sentinels lavished
upon me.

Look at how many Sentinels are among the Eleusian leadership. These same
leaders are elected into the leadership positions of the Sentinel House.
You should know the kind of opposition that arises when leadership
throws the idea around to cut bounties for assisting Shallam.

Villagers, the leaders of your village may not have even come to a full
conclusion as to whether they will continue to allow the few combatants
of Eleusis to defend the Church when Ashtan comes knocking. They will
retort with emotion-laced insults of me being a traitor to Eleusis and
how I shouldn't be trusted, yadda yadda yadda. They will assure you that
it has nothing to do with bounties or pride or ego who knows, they may
very well not have anything to do with it, they may even cut the
bounties awarded for defending the Church completely to prove it. I
think it would be a good idea regardless, giving the Sentinel's gold to
a few people who throw a few mauls in to assist the Church.. pointless
waste of resources the church doesn't summon angels to put out forest
fires.

Get involved. Speak to your leadership. They are there to discern the
desire of the villagers and act accordingly, not dictate what your life
will look like regardless of what you want. Ashtan will stop raiding
your village every month and slaying your guards if these handful of
Eleusian combatants stop running to the aide of the Church every time
they are attacked. The combatants among you will cry in outrage, though
their combative energy will be more focused on the real objectives of
Eleusis and the forest, not defending the Church.

It is in your hands, villagers. I am sure if you voice your desire to
focus on the real enemies of the forest and Eleusis, and stop assisting
the Church, they will take it into consideration and decide in favor of
the safety and security of the village.

I urge you to act. The trees of Eleusis will sop up the spilled blood of
villagers until you stop defending the Church. If over the course of
time we find that destroying Eleusis isn't your soft spot, we will be
forced to act upon that which we know you value most.

Dark Guardian, Grandue Winterhawk, of Jaguar Black.

Penned by my hand on the 10th of Miraman, in the year 565 AF.