Blessed be by His Hardships, Captain Blackgale.

I write ostensibly to you, but in truth to a much larger audience excluding you, for I have my doubts about your jailors ever allowing such a letter to reach you.

What kind of trial do you expect under the rule of the Dawnlord or his lackeys, followers to the last of One who styles Himself "The Justice That Is?" The axioms the Caefir follow are clear. "If a law prevents you from your task, rewrite it. If a moral gives you pause, expunge it. If a man stands in your way, cut him down. Any obstacle that impedes you is your foe, and the foe of all Creation."

What can Justice mean if laws are rewritten at will; what can morality mean if it is expunged at the behest of the one in power over you? These concepts have as much worth as a cup of salt water in the depths of the sandy Mhojave; meaningless, trite platitudes uttered by the feeble-minded. Any trial will be - must inevitably be - a sham.

You would have done better to heed the laws of the Malevolent One. History is written by the victors, the weak are judged by the strong and weeded out from the population. Now, having proven insufficient in arms or stratagems, you will be condemned if it suits the Dawnlord's schemes, or pardoned if that plays more closely into his plans. Is now the time for a firm demonstration of the East's policy on pirates to scare would-be attackers away from their weakened fleet? Or a last-minute offer of redemption, a ploy to tug at the heartstrings of Mitran Chancellor Milabar, whose lifelong pining for the lost Dawn you once served as Gladius is well known, and who is now in a position to do beleaguered Targossas diplomatic favors?

Intrigue aside, I am more personally invested in what the decision says about the spirit of the East. Will there be an affirmation of the Hearth's perennial inability to heed the Fourth Truth of Evil, that the enemies of Strength are those who trumpet craven values such as forgiveness? Or perhaps, just maybe, will this end in a visceral public execution? Such a thing would help show that as any world, any people ingest His teachings over the years, they evolve towards greater Brutality. This theme echoes in Cyrene's transformation from a place of peace, Dun Fortress' transformation in the face of intruders, and yes, Shallam's own transformation, too, into Targossas.

I shall be watching the trial with keen interest. Not for your own sake, but to see if more mortals on this plane of existence belonging to the Malevolent are ready to cast aside any semblance of mercy - and in doing so take an inexorable step towards Western teaching.

Axios Aristata
Cleric of the Black Cathedral
Son of Jaru


Penned by my hand on the 21st of Mayan, in the year 979 AF.