Dear Tesha,

The threats have begun!

It didn't take long for the attempts on my life and the paltry demands of 'apologize for insulting the Lord' to come in. First, Archaeon addresses me public, and I begin feeling someone tugging on my cloak. Then your article appears, condemning us for...what, precisely? Having relationships? If such a notion is so foreign to you that you view it as an insult, I genuinely and honestly pity you. And I should have you know that my house is run like a very tight ship--the mess in the studio aside!

However, I would like to thank you for actually offering something of substance. You (indirectly) attempt to counter the allegations of hypocrisy by stating that "something changed". You also don't accredit this change to Deucalion, which seems to suggest that you did not, in fact, operate solely under His will. So, one must ask the obvious question:

What changed? What changed about your views on this race of beings so completely that you would align yourselves with them? What sort of 'mutually beneficial' trade could possibly have been made, one of such great import that you not only defended mass murderers, but you also very tacitly ignore the fact that the tsol'teth not only assaulted your city, but went on to mass-murder innocent denizens in Jaru and New Hope that are supposedly under the Bloodsworn's protection? This is a curiosity to which many have alluded, both in Hashan and in Targossas, that we have yet to hear any answer to. The onus is not on Cyrene to be forthcoming with this information, you see, as this information, which could have very well changed the course of history, was for some reason kept as a closely guarded secret. Cyrene dealt with what was dealt to her--attack, subjugation, destruction. You, on the other hand, seem to have dealt with something very different, something that altered your base perception of the tsol'teth.

For your part in the defense of Cyrene during the tsol'teth's initial assault, I thank you. I saw myself that many came to our aid, Targossans included. I have not discounted these acts of bravery and support, nor will I. But to think that 'a changed opinion' somehow indemnifies you against the criticisms of the world for your actions later in the Third Wave is, well, stupid.

Make no mistake, whether or not it is at the behest of the Bloodsworn, the consequences of your actions are your responsibility. The blood of innocent Cyrenians is on your hands as the result of your later defense of Hail'qasan, and it runs just as red as the blood of the denizens of Jaru.

As for shopping, well...OK? Personally, I don't care where you shop. The ban against Targossas is not a punishment, it is merely a result. Your city proved itself to be distasteful to us - if not outright harmful - in the wake of our reclamation of Cyrene. We wanted you out. And I have no doubt that the Dawnspear would stand united if Cyrene ever attempted to actually exact retribution for your actions! After all, Aurora and Deucalion would have told you to. But we never decided as a whole that the ban was some kind of cruel sentence that metes out your just desserts. It was just our way of saying that the acceptance of your presence in a once-neutral Cyrene was, by thine own hand, revoked.

So, you ask us what we do with our free time. At this point, it's really none of your business what we do. And we don't have to answer to your poorly veiled attempts to shame us for...not being Targossas, I suppose? Your point becomes muddled here as you slog your way through a halfhearted attempt to mock and criticise us for being enigmatic to one such as yourself.

Let's be clear about one thing: no one here is whimpering or whining. Nor has Cyrene asked you to 'bow your heads', so to speak. No one but the Bloodsworn wishes to see the backs of your necks. We extended an open hand in the form of diplomatic relations, and it was ignored. That is it and that is all.

So, in the interest of jokes, let me ask you this: (apparently) unlike Cyrene, who existed first as a haven from the ravages of war and continues to exist solely for the peace of her lands and the prosperity of her people, Targossas has a stated agenda, to further 'Good' and 'Light' and to protect Creation, to aggressively stamp out the forces of Evil, Darkness, and Chaos as a prominent feature of Targossan civic life. What has Targossas done about this lately? Have you seized territory from Evil? From Darkness? From Chaos? Have you accepted any new villages into the loving embrace of the Targossan theocracy? Has the influence of the Bloodsworn spread beyond the Isle of Ram at all?

Take it from a Cyrenian: don't be so quick to be insulted. You'll exhaust yourself. Instead, join us in discourse! Surely, if "something changed" about your understanding of the tsol'teth, it's not impossible for something similar to happen between us.

(But that's just my opinion.)

Sincerely,
Taelle

Penned by my hand on the 5th of Daedalan, in the year 826 AF.