Charlotte's case is relatively cut & dry. Dresden's is as well, but
apparently you misunderstand.

The only provocation that Dresden received from Hashan was being enemied
for being an accomplice to Charlotte during the opening of Varian's
little gift. From there, before her enemy status kicked in, she decided
to begin by attacking me. She didn't succeed in killing me, and a war
party did in fact send her praying. Afterwards, she continued her
rage-induced murder, much in the spirit of Charlotte. Quite the pair,
they are.

Dresden, being the fan of "justice" that she is, would have been better
off requesting a trial in our court. More than likely, had she conducted
herself with even a shred of dignity and self control, she would have
received a much lighter sentence and fine. Alas, she did not, and here
we are. You are leading an entire city of mostly innocent people to war
because you are too proud to give up this common thug.

On one hand, I do not blame you for taking Dresden's lies as truth.
After all, she is a member of Shallam, a former Vizier and Sultan, and
no doubt she has served your city faithfully, even if mostly through the
bloodshed of others. However, on the other hand, I find it truly
infuriating that you believe the lies that fall from that viper's tongue
of hers, knowing first-hand her recent spell of "insanity" induced by
the emergence of Varian, which if you ask me is merely an excuse to
quench her lust for blood. She is of the same ilk as Zsarachnor or
Belladona... bloodthirsty and vicious, but unfortunately, vastly less
intelligent.

This will, no doubt, be a long and bloody war. In my opinion, the
traditional Ashtan/Shallam wars of the past have been stalemates,
although I am sure that both cities claim victory in each war. However,
especially with your Church crippled both in devotion and morale, it
seems obvious to me that two cities and nine guilds will most likely
inflict more damage than you care to think about.

From one diplomat to another, I urge you to _think_ about this long and
hard, before the demands made by the allied cities of Ashtan and Hashan
make that lump of pride too hard to swallow and you lead your city into
oblivion.

Shub Niggurath

Penned by my hand on the 14th of Sarapin, in the year 290 AF.