Stand up for what is right

To all those who call Travance their home,
All men and women are born with an inherent goodness, kenning to do what is right, and to ken what is wrong. It is morally apprehensive to allow Evil and wrongness to walk openly amongst us unopposed. *Ye may say they helped save the world, but in truth they only did it to save themselves. This, only by happenstance, had them allied with Good. As goodly people it is our job, nay our imperative, to oppose and vanquish evil, darkness and corruption in this world. I am nay without compassion. Lay down your wicked ways and be embraced by the Light and ye shall be spared. Those who dinnae give up their Dark Gods, Corrupt Magic, and Foul ways will be hunted down and slain until I and those aligned with me breath our last breath. Evil wins when Good does nothing. Rise up and help destroy the Evil within' our community. Let us be a beacon of Light removing the Darkness plaguing these lands.

Bona Na Croin
-Billiam Freeman
P.S. I am just a man who is not content standing by.

Billiam,

The brightest of lights cast the darkest of Shadows.

Perhaps it is time we accept that our actions have consequences. If we can not live in peace with our neighbors now, how can we expect to live in peace ourselves?
Where does this all end? When the darkness is gone, will the light turn to those who acknowledge neither light nor dark?

Those who showed up, for whatever reason, stand now in equal footing in my eyes. Those who were absent, those are the ones whose loyalty should be questioned.

This world needs balance, the winter needs a summer sun, the pitch of midnight needs the highest noon.
What should happen if the summer sun was never to set?
I ask you reconsider.
Not to turn a blind eye on what you believe is wrong, but rather, to seek to find the balance Travance is in such dire need of.
In Service to Alisandria
Squire Draven Erdboren

Draven and others with similar concerns,

I accept the actions I will take, but I dinnae accept Evil walking along side us or watching our backs. Those who have sold their souls to the dark foul corruptions are the ones that must put illuminated and put down. Those without Light or Dark are beholden to themselves and will be judged accordingly when they pass, not by my hands. One cataclysmic battle does not excuse countless actions of vileness and corruption. I cannae go against my convictions because then the evil wins, when we do nothing and walk besides these foul creatures we lose who we are. Draven you do what you must to make this world a better place and I will do what I must.

Bona Na Croin
-William Freeman

I want to ask this,

When the world was at the brink of destruction by the legions of Xualla, where there not worshippers of the darker gods who took arms against him? Do they have the right to be condemned to death for their beliefs, even when they fought valiantly alongside those of the light, to get rid of a great threat? Also, as the Baroness said so and the clergy of Travance confirmed that the gods are desiring balance between Light and Dark. Now I know little about the divine and the conflicts between the Light and the Dark, but I can and will accept those who worship the dark gods as long as they do not cause harm to anyone I love, to the land that I am beholden to, and become a threat to Travance and its people. It is a new age, and perhaps now would be a good time to make some changes in your stiff-necked point of view.

Alright dagger ears, the worshippers of the dark gods fought along side ye true, but in order to save themselves they had to work with good. Aye they chose to condemn themselves and become evil. They are corruptors and liars. They will lie to you and feed you honeyed words before they strike. This ain't an age of balance this world is founded on a choice we are inherently good until a person makes the choice to be evil and they are then willing being corrupted. This is just history repeating itself, if I recall it ends with Evil losing and being condemned to the shadows. Do not be tricked or decieved, fight against the Evil clearly in view. Ye dinnae have to join the fight, just stay out of my way.

Bona Na Croin
-William Freeman

Kanas, I ask you from perhaps a place of ignorance, but...would you forgive drow, even as they helped fight this or other great evils? I believe for William, this is a similar issue as you may experience when faced with such a question, the same issue facing othera of your people and of Quinaria. Not for lack of drow who perform good deeds do you judge them. You judge them based on your pastA
. The gods may wish for balance, and I cannot speak for them, but I understand where William speaks from. When they have spent so much time working against us previously, why does this one night alter our perceptions? As he says, they acted only for themselves to continue to have a world to try to shape in the image they would like, in at least some cases, I'm sure. I do not know who these people are and I cannot judge without knowing what good and bad acts rest in their pasts, but it would not hurt to try to perceive this issue in a way that speaks to you, being that you offer freely that you are not a follower of the gods yourself.
-Lorelai

Lorelai- You are right, from my beliefs I have no place to comprehend the actions of the gods themselves, and I do not know of past aggressions that many of these worshippers of the Dark gods have committed. I am relatively new to Travance, and knowledge of its past experiences is foreign to me. My only real encounter with Dark clergy was in the Inverted Tower, where a group of worshippers of the Dark Pantheon were torturing a Valarian Templar. Their actions were condemnable, for they were from their actions Evil. But Drows I have experience with, and not just for their actions against my people. They have taken someone precious away from me, and though they can be citizens of Travance, I keep them at a distance from me, often at enough distance for me to have an arrow flying in case they decide to attack me, the people I love, or nature and her gifts. As for the branded, I, unlike many of my brethren, will accept them for the pain they have suffered through in order to fully embrace the light. Now will I accept them after such a calamity occurs like the battle we had just faced? The answer is I do not know, the time for that has not come yet. During the battle I did not see any drow, excluding Sir Cinder for he has proved himself valiantly to be of support to Travance and its people, and I will only forgive them when after such a battle if they find me on the field and swear upon their blood that they will fight on the side of her Excellency, her sovereigns, and her people. That is my resolve.

Stand up for what is right. The title of the original note caught my attention and good is being equated with right. What is good for one may not be good for another. Or perhaps you are writing or a greater good. If so how can one individual know the greater good. I have just recently run into this very dilemma in Travance when a sacrifice was required of me and others to get the weapon that defeated Xualla. That sacrifice was used in part to help create this balance. It was used to get the attention of those forces long lost to most of us. It was to bring about the balance between good and evil or perhaps that should be Good and Evil.

I would not like to see small thing instantly destroy the balance so hard won. But the individual actions of persons will hardly effect that balance. Freedom to think and believe as one will or as one has been raised is within the individual. I postulate this: One can not truly recognize Good without the presence of Evil. You need to have the comparative. Like the cold water on a hot day seems colder because it is warmer air outside, the water at the very same temperature may seen warm when the air is colder. The temperature of that water is the same but your perception of it is different. In the summertime Jump into a pool of water just before sundown and stay in it as the night air chills if you don't beleive me.

The forces of Good and Evil as defined by the world creators and Gods is not what mortals think. If stealing money from a rich man feeds a family that would starve it is good for the family but that rich man who worked hard for that money is lessened and that pretty bauble he planned to by with that money to woo his love...is gone. Stealing is an act against the law. Was it evil? Intent then comes into question as does circumstances and experiences which is what you are now discussing.

Look to your Faith, Gods, Dragons or Others for guidance on Universal Good And Evil. Let the Clergy Wisemen Wise Women Scholars or Teachers try to show you but remember they too are Mortal and only see that perspective. Good Guides are hard to find; be it matters of heart mind or soul. Please understand good in this sense is not good or evil but a reflection of Excellence of the Guides. Again the word used is good... He or she is good at something.

Travance just experienced a pomgrom a holy war where Good became evil. The forces behind it regarded and used the people to forward its good plan... Not Good Plan. But the people thought it was a holy war in fact they thought it was a Good a Holy War. It took the truly Wise to see other than what was before them.

Your answers will not be simple but take it from this tired old Mercenary Soldier... What seems good can be Evil and what seems evil and be Good in the right circumstances.

That and the survival instinct of every creature that is mortal will drive that creature in the most dire of circumstances to do whatever it takes to survive. That is the natural strength of life.

Mind you this is only my perspective. Take what you like and leave the rest...don't worry as another us likely to pick that part up too.

B. Drexel

Wotcher -

It rather seems as though this is very much besides the point, given present circumstance.

The world we live in is all but decimated - whole societies and cultures are wiped out, perhaps lost permanently, along with their accumulated technical knowledge. There is more in need of rebuilding and repairing than we could ever hope to remedy within a lifetime.

Yet even now, when the fighting is over, and we might perhaps have a chance at a modicum of peace, you would seek to inspire fresh conflict? More fighting? Killing? Destruction?

I would ask that you consider putting aside these backwards notions of "Good" and "Evil," and instead take up the mantle of Reason - or, if that is too much to ask, instead consider this: how "Good" is he, who would incite conflict in a time of peace?

This world is broken but ye cannae ferget who ye are and what it means to be ye. I ken what I am going to do. I am going to be who I always was. I am a champion of what is right, what is honorable, and what is just. I am going to destroy the evil that has shown its face dishonored me by decieving us all for long. If ye can build go rebuild, but I am going to fight, our honor will be redeemed and good will prevail. This is not a time of peace a war still rages and likely will for a long time.

Bona Na Croin
-William Freeman

How horrifying a freshly crippled world is, especially bearing a violent hand of one solitary view of justice.

There is one thing people seem to be forgetting. Just because Xualla is slain does not mean the war is over. How many hundreds upon hundreds of demons remain upon our plane yet ravaging the landscape for wont of better to do? How many would be tyrants are going to rise up to fill the power void left by the destroyed cultures and enslave those who are merely trying to survive? To beat our swords into plowshares would be foolish and inviting death.

With that said I do not believe seeking out the Dark Clergy at this time to be beneficial to us at all. Travance is one of if not the only bastion of might that still stands. To weaken ourselves at this point with a witch hunt would waste time, resources and lives. Although I do believe some sort of fairness is in order. I may be mistaken but don't our Nyads and Dark Elves need to meet with the Guard or Baroness each month to prove their loyalty? Why not subject them to that same treatment?

Ultimately we need to gird ourselves against the coming storm. It's not only us we need to be careful about. I've heard talk that if the Dark Clergy don't harm towns member's they're fine? What of the peasants and others we're supposed to protect? Are they to be sheep to the slaughter? We need to realize it's not just about Travance anymore. The rebellion earlier this year should have showed us that. With the world a forsaken wasteland we need to be the ones to rise above the ashes and lift the others up until Arawyn can stand on her own again.

I urge you, all of you to consider all options and to think not what's best for us, but what's best for the world. That's what we fight and struggle for, we fight for those who can't fight for themselves.

Never forget what the gods of darkness stand for. Destruction, Torment, Corruption and Death. How can we rebuild with those who worship a god of destruction? How can we live safely when there are those who revel in the torture they give as offering to their goddess? Necromancy may still be outlawed but are the bodies of our fallen friends any safer with Glommites living openly? How do we hope to live in a peaceful balance with worshipers of darkness when their worship is an enemy to peace?

For the Innocent,
Typhon Cedricson Scyldinga

destruction is never an end,its a change,and change is a beginning
the fate of destruction is also the joy of rebirth

**Not Benjamin Daimler**

As I have heard it, the high priestess of the light clergy has authorized a peaceful coexistence with the dark clergy. Enax commands that we respect and follow those in positions of authority, and his word is law! Our betters have issued an edict, it is our place to follow it!

Praise be to Enax, his Authority guides us all! All glory be to His priests in Gaaldron!

-Grobspit Snaggletooth G.D.S.

You cannot judge a group of people based off of a handful of sociopaths who happen to wage war against the town. There are many functional towns members whom pay homage to dark gods. I find it ironic that people like you Billiam have no issue fighting sight by side, drinking with, or being friends with someone until they don a Raven and call themselves what they are. You are inciting Suffering, Prejudice, Hatred, Bigotry, Disrupting Peace, Falling into the own Darkest Aspects of your own heart, You are waging War, Inciting Murder, Threatening Others, Sparking those around you to hostility, and Disregarding the Bonds of Friendship Entirely. I think we need another excommunication. Don't worry, when your church comes for you I will gladly Baptize you to Agaura and take you within our ranks, for your heart truly belongs to her.

The time of those who pretend to be 'Good' who wage evils in the name of 'Good' to be brought to justice. You are no different than those who burn their own city down and wipe their civilizations off the map towards the discovery of one black sorceress leading them. I ask Travance at large a question: When Worship of a Dark God comes with the penalty of death, why would any other law be followed? If I am going to be killed for my beliefs, but not my actions why would my actions not reflect the most profane hatreds and turmoils? Why should I care about murdering an innocent? Why should I care about thieving and community? Why should I restrain myself when I'm a dead man walking?

The Gods Demand Balance. This means zealotry is a time of the past. I have a dream of building a real church of Agaura in this town, like the church of old. I preach a neutral Agaura; Where we unite under the flag of a goddess of War and not suffering. Where Darkness means controlling our darkest impulses and refining them; Where ethics no longer rule the battlefield with consequence and our enemies are crushed beneath our heels, so that Travance is a place that is feared as well as respected. That every suffering of every being is accepted, understood, and learned from; That suffering is a grand teacher and those who wish to learn the ways of the world, learn better with a blood price.

Being evil does not mean you are stupid. Being Agauran does not mean that you are immune to societal contracts. Strength comes as an individual, not a group. An army is comprised of strong individuals not friends. A Valosian sees an army's duty as to protect each other, an Enaxian's Army protects the established Order, and an Agauran Army Destroys its enemies and trusts that the man next to you is capable of handling his own worth. I have been in Travance for longer than most, and take frequent leaves to pay worship to my goddess outside of the proper. Up until this point, I have ceased all 'worship' in accordance with the laws of this land, ceased using prayers, and obeyed the letter of the law to completion aside from my Baptism.

So Billiam, do I deserve to be slain for those beliefs? When I set the mantle of Brother or Father down in supplication of the social contract to exist in this town? When I was baptized as a child, and learned and was raised on the beliefs of an Agauran, do I forsake my CLAN, people I've FOUGHT WITH, do I BETRAY those who have not wronged me, and succumb to the BULLYING of those who wish to push their religious zealotry on others because they are too narrow minded to understand that the world is not black and white? The answer is No. I will not lay down my faith to prejudice, because all the suffering you cause me will make me stronger.

Thank you for all your prior service to Agaura Billiam. Keep up the Good Work.

Signed and Apologetic for the Oversight,

Razael Seiryn

I read these notes and ponder what the future may hold. At the outset of my thoughts here, I must add these are my personal opinions and not representative of the Church of Light's position.

This is not an argument of Good vs. Evil. Of the conflict between the two there is no balance. Thou art either Good or Evil, there is no middle ground. Thine acts can straddle the fence at times, but at any one moment thou can only act as one or the other. This is a debate over Law vs. Chaos. The spectrum of behavior between the two is broad and contains a middle ground that can be successfully trod. So putting away the debate of Good vs. Evil, the Morality, as it were, we are left with the Law. We are commanded to regard the existence of Clergy and parishioners of the Dark Gods as no longer illegal. Therefore we are left with a legal quandary, not an ethical one. If a Clergy wishes to build a temple or shrine to a Dark God, that in itself is not against the Law. If a worshiper wishes to expound on the tenets of their God's worship, again not illegal. However, as the worship requires illegal acts, harm to be enacted upon others, functionally there has been no change in the Law.

There are many good points made regarding 'balance' in these statements. For example, the author before me hath set out to portray his faith in Agaura as benign and without violation of societal contracts. While very articulate and passionate as befits a devout worshiper, this assertion is a fallacy. IF he does not break any laws, he contends, where is the harm in worshiping a Dark God? If it were possible to not break any laws in doing so, he would be correct. It is not possible in most circumstances and thus his logic falls apart. For example, the worship of Agaura requires torture and pain to be visited upon an unwilling victim. There is no getting around that aspect and it is much the same story with the rest of the Dark Gods. In order to practice their faith, those following the Dark Gods must commit acts which are still unlawful. Nothing has changed aside from the spirit of the Law no longer being based on Morality, but on Legality.

So, we watch, we wait, and patiently allow those who follow their heart in embracing the Dark Gods to fall into their own trap. They may temporarily hide their acts, but Justice will be an ever present fate should they fail to conceal their criminal ways. This will be done not out of Hate, not in the throes of Bigotry nor without Mercy, for those are truly set upon the Dark Path. The Law is without these things, it sets forth a clear boundary for our society to follow and falling outside that boundary still carries the penalty it always has, and which the criminal willst bring on themselves. The line hath been drawn, the path to the Dark Gods lays outside it.

Only recently we have Galadelians slaughtering Galadelians.
How soon we choose to forget our own actions. It seems that many follow their path, only when convenient to them.

We all stood shoulder to shoulder with evils this past moon. NOT ONE OF YOU put blade to bone on towns members, no matter how 'evil' you view them, nor how vile their crimes may have been. Now that you feel they have served a purpose, you wish to rid them.

Natural order will always find balance.
It was the overwhelming evil of Xualla that brought us the Pegasus, BALANCE between good and evil.
For every evil you remove, another will take its place, it is the natural order of life, BALANCE.
And i propose to you, the evil you know, the evil you can watch, is that not the better, than the evil you never see coming ?

Dr. DeMontfort III wrote: What of the peasants and others we're supposed to protect? Are they to be sheep to the slaughter? We need to realize it's not just about Travance anymore. The rebellion earlier this year should have showed us that.

Dr. DeMontfort,
You do realize that WE were the cause of that rebellion do you not ? Travances actions as a WHOLE lead to the peasantry seeking to destroy us. We let monsters tear through the countryside, but as it was outside of our borders, we cared not for it.
The EVILS in this town, are not with religion on either side, but with what men and woman of ANY FAITH have done for 'the betterment of the town'
how many cut down the peasants who partook of Xuallas blood? how many women, children, husbands, fathers, sons and daughters have we taken ?
That horrible feast we watched entire towns worth of peasants die by our hands directly. So those who speak of needless torture, pointless violence, look around you, look at all of us, because we all have blood on our hands. And the sooner we realize that WE are the problem, the sooner we can fix it.

Light seeks to Destroy Dark,
Dark seeks to Devour Light,
The most powerful Light, will only find the DARKEST OF BLACK.
i fear that continued actions in this direction, BREAKING the balance, will only lead to more, and greater threats to ourselves.

I seek not to change any minds. But only to offer, what i hope to be, an overseen perspective.

Thou art either good or evil? If so then I must have been evil prior to my fear and evil being ripped from me in sacrifice to create a balance that some here deny.

Now I suppose since that fear and evil was taken that I am now good. And I was baptized to the Church of Valos as a child... So if I was Good under that guise where did that evil stem? I have tithed to the church seen to its ways been blessed in times of need and raised my sword unpaid I. Defense of others repeatedly.

Standing up for what is right is dependent on the past memories and teaching of the individual. To attack a citizen is against the law. To defend oneself is not... To the law the outward aggressor is wrong. Not right.

Doc. If you have seen my message on going to the Highlands and you are bent on rebuilding will you be coming with us?

Mind you I am not defending the Dark clergy but simply putting out there the laws view.

B. Drexel

Squire Erdboren,

Yes I realize that we did cause the unrest among the population. We need to move on from the brink and start being responsible for our actions. We are the last beacon that people are looking up to as evidenced by those in the Highlands hoping we could win. The world will look to us for guidance and our actions are going to forge the world in the coming days. Any decision the town makes regarding the Dark Clergy will be seen and taken to heart by the rest of the survivors.

Birgitta,
I am not just bent on rebuilding I also made mention of beating our swords to plowshares would be foolish I am merely looking for a path that will best suit not only us but those we guard. And I must say I have seen your message but am not going with you. I am preparing to head to Alok Molagan to determine the fate of any human slaves if any exist.

The Law will suffice to bring the balance that writing balance in letters large and in all capital letters will not. Good and Evil are moral choices, and subjective to the person and cannot by themselves establish legal precedent.

If worship of Dark Gods does not require illegal acts perhaps a way forward in co-existence can be found. Any other talk of balance is nonsensical. There is no balance between Good and Evil, by their definition. We may, eventually, find a balance between Law and Chaos, but the line will be finer than a dagger's blade. Break the Law, pay the price. There can be no bias in the application of a code of Law we have lived under all our lives. The citizens who choose Dark Gods do so in peril of breaking the Law, not because they worship Dark Gods, but because the Dark Gods require them to break the Law.

All citizens are sworn both to uphold the King's Law as well as comply themselves. That is the way of it. No arguments, debates or further capital letters need be said.

All you are doing is yelling your own personal view points at each other. None of you will ever change each others minds, not through pieces of parchment attached to a board.
The arguing is pointless and only spreads hate and distrust which start to break apart the relationships we have fought so hard to create.
If you have quarrels take them up with each other face to face like honorable individuals, and do not let these petty differences result in death but in redemption and respect.

In Honor, Respect and Life
-Zathir Al' Nawar

I am happy to see hesitant support in the King's Decisions. However, take to light not to discredit an argument simply by whom makes it. Light or Dark is simply a word to describe a moral view. There are several false teachings by the Light Church in general, which even the Light Church has had to deal with. We all know of a finite stereotype of Valosian who for example, burns innocent Wild Mages for the sake of birth. Yet, there are several Wild Mages of renown who are clearly working on the side of the Light within Travance.

The moral of this story is, there is an equal amount of 'Unethical' behavior from the previous Church of Light. I can wholeheartedly say that observing from the side lines that this situation has improved. It is the self-proclaimed representatives of Light such as Billium who cause the Wars and Depraved Acts for those to self-sustain themselves on the other end. The fact that people are unable to look past the sins of either side in the past and establish this as a New Age is the true issue. It is sad that an Agauran is capable of admitting this fact, the antithesis of the traditional thinking yet those who preach Justice, Mercy, and Light are incapable of that fact.

My father was a Valosian Cleric, He was a soldier, and he was a hero. He was forced into a position where he thought that protecting his unit at the expense of corruption was Iustus. He was devoted, He was giving, he was everything a Valosian should be. He met his execution admirably; He chose to die rather than to have his transformation become permanent. He saved ten innocent and loyal Valosians, but that wasn't good enough. Then came the inquisition. They tortured his unit, none of them would buckle. They executed them for collusion with dark forces. They burned our village to the down, and they killed my entire family.

Was this Iustus? Was this Lumin? Was this Claris? It was not. Gods are Gods, Men are Men. We are fragile beings who are suggestible and make mistakes. Behavior like this will not be tolerated on either side. This is not the world we live in anymore.

I challenge every Andorran to look at themselves and say they saved every life possible even at the expense of their own. I challenge every Valosian to say that they stand up and challenged every bad decision made by a noble and refused to act when ordered. I challenge every worshiper of Galadell to say that they walk and act with perfect grace.

No man can accomplish these tasks, the same as Worshiper of Agaura cannot instill suffering at every waking moment of every day; but has the opportunity to pick and choose. No Man in Travance is Innocent. Innocence is a matter of perspective. A soldier from New Galdron defending his homeland is an innocent. A tribal goblin in the wrong place at the wrong time is an innocent. They both immolate equally well, and both can be killed in service of Travance. Remember that next time you hunt down brigands and choose death over prison.

The law will be upheld, and if any of my mass seem to feel otherwise then they had better hope the law catches them before I do. I look forward to negotiations with the representatives of the Church of Light in coming moons to assure that this Armistice is held. I can assure you all that it will have my full cooperation.

Signed and Apologetic for the Oversight,

Razael Seiryn

Ava, thou art more important than thee give thineself credit for. Though jaded by events, thou art still trying, as exemplified by your post, to speak out for what is right.

Thou art correct; the Law does not enforce itself. That falls to the Baroness, her sworn Guardsmen, Knights and the Lords to see to. However we all must be vigilant and not turn a blind eye to crime, as befits our duty to each other and our Kingdom.

Agauran,

Please send me a scroll with thine proposal. We can leave our discourse for private messages away from the turmoil this public forum generates.

And this is why your morality system confuses and angers me. It confuses and angers everyone.
All of you are at verbal war with each other over personal definitions of your precious "good" and "evil" completely unaware that you have almost as little knowledge over what those truly mean as I do. Still you act like your's is the true way and take this out upon everyone, whether or not they agree or disagree with you. Names are being sullied and hypotheticals delving into the extreme, I believe that if this should continue, violence against each other will be threatened and our own blood may stain the snow.
Well, have fun. If you decide to continue with this argument as it escalates, let me know. If so, I'll look to relocate to a place where I don't have to fear for my life because of the townsfolk. I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I'm rather fond of not dying. Especially at the hands of friends.