Blood on our Hands

I am not a man of werds. But this is a time wen voices must be razed.

Ferst, thare wuz an orc warcheef. He brought war to us. We returned that war to him. I took up war-ice against him, and for this, I feel no gilt. I imagin many are the same. I imagin many fought to protect thare homes, and for that, I do no judge you.

Then I discovered what Travance was doing, what we wer forging using the harts we wer collecting. I lerned who else had to die for it. And I did everything I could to find another way. I let my werds and my deeds show my commitment to finding a better option. And make no mistake, any option would hav been better.

If you aided in the creation of Bloodtide, if you watched it happen and did nothing, if you did not try to stop it or find another way, you hav done something unspeekably evil. Tell yourself you could do nothing. Tell yourself you wer ordered to by your jarl. Tell yourself there wuz no other way. It does not matter. You have fallen into darkness.

To those men and women who followed or watched, to those who did not try to stop it, beg the Gods of Living for their forgiveness. To the jarls who led the path to the Bloodtide, you hold both the evil you hav dun and the evil you commanded within your souls. Your hands are staned with all the blood that wuz spilled for and shall be spilled by this cursed blade. You shall be judged.

To those who killed an unborn child for its hart: you are the werst that this world has to offer. You are scum. You are cowards. Your unwed fathers wish they had remained celebat. If you ever wish for your pathetic existence to com to an end, find me out and I shall remove your loathsome heads from your bodees.

To all good men and women, I say this to you: this is not the time for silence. This is the time for you to raise your voices. Howl out against this evil. Let the sky trembl and the ground shake with your protest. Let our jarls know that this cannot be allowed to stand.

If good men do nothing, the darkness will take us all.

Siegfried,

I was on long distance patrol and apparently hell hit Travance for all this to have happened. Id like to talk to you privately. Can we meet sometime soon?

Cmd. B. Drexel

(OOG:You see shaky and uncontrolled handwriting on a piece of jagged paper)

What did you all do?!!!!

We opposed this from the start, and we still do.
We did not fight the orks, we fought the heretic.
We can sleep with ourselves.

Philadin, Takori, Sorel, and Palinthorn

Good to know Philaden. Can you let me know the details?

Cmd.B. Drexel

Ma,

If you wish to know more about this, please missive me. I will tell you all that I know. We need to talk anyways.

Signed, With Truth,
Jack Dimms.

All,

For those who wish to seek atonement, penance or counseling over what has been done, the Church of Light will have its doors open to you. Alternatively, if the gods of Light are not to your favor, come see me, and we can simply talk and seek your answers from Arawyn, the mother of all, or from within yourself.

For those who participated, but do not feel the need for such actions, I do not envy you when you reach Galladel's judgment.

Caldor

Siegfried

Speak true and bravely. You are not alone.

Know that if you took innocent life or ordered the taking of innocent life for the purposes of this ritual, justice will be done upon you. Be you Lord or commoner, there is nothing you can hide behind for your part in this heinous and despicable act.

Whoever ordered or took part in taking the life of the woman and who carved out the living heart of her unborn child, know that when I find you, you will submit yourself to justice. Your life is already forfeit, and no excuse or writ will protect you. If you offer yourself willingly you may be offered the small grace of being able to hear your sins confessed before your head is removed from your body.

By Valos I swear.

Wotcher,

For what it may be worth to you, Mister Aldorson: all morality is relative. What will pass as commonplace in the Quinarian homelands may be considered a grave insult in the Northern Wastes, and those actions that are considered a dark taboo to the people of Amon'Zad are carried out on a daily basis by the subjects of the Jade Empire. It is simply the way of the world, and the nature of Good.

Little more than a year ago, in the late days of Spring, I made the same journey over the rift as you so recently have done yourself. Upon my arrival, I recall feeling rather shocked by the cultural practices of the people here: men and women will frequently walk in public with a good deal of exposed skin on display, and will attempt to kill each other for little more than uttering the wrong words of devotion, or wearing the wrong sort of clothing. However, since then, I've come to terms with the violent and unforgiving ways of the people here - though their ways would be considered improper to the former inhabitants of my home (and, clearly, to those of yours too) I do not believe that one can make a sound argument that such are in any way less correct than our own set of acceptable behaviours.

I hope my story will go some way to helping you make sense of what you might have seen over the past few days. Understand that the nature of Good in the lands east of the Rift is likely different from the nature of Good in your homelands. Cold-blooded slaughter and death are accepted and celebrated here; as outsiders, it is not our place to judge, only to observe and learn what we can from the people here.

As a final thought: the first lesson given by the Royal Exploratory Corps to its field operatives is centered around the practice of existing within a culture without allowing our own practices to rub off upon its inhabitants. Such is considered best practice amongst anthropologists and explorers alike, and is something to which you and I can both aspire!

Very good, Mister Aldorson. If there's anything else that you think might help you come to terms with societal practices here, or are simply in need of someone to listen to your troubles, please do not hesitate to send me a letter - I'd be glad of your correspondence.

And yet for all that, Quartermaster, you were one of the ones who stood up and spoke against the creation of this weapon.

I would argue you have a more deep investment about the nature of what we did than you think.

Goggins,

There is custom and there is good and evil. Of thees, only custom changes when you travel. If it has become the way of this place to embrace evil, it is the duty of all good men to change the way of this place.

-Siegfried Aldorson

You are quite correct in your observations, Lieutenant - but that was my own moment of weakness, in which I allowed a sentimental response to overrule my better judgement.

Though you have learned to control the turbulence of your own emotions - indeed, to channel them as useful tools - I am still a young man, and struggle to contain my own at times. I hope you will forgive me for failing to doing so; know that I strive for consistency as much as do any of us.

I do not believe that any sane person does what they believe to be wrong (for such a practice would be illogical) and, yet, we frequently find ourselves in situations in which each party believes the other to have committed an unacceptable act. How else could this sort of circumstance arise, were it not the case that Evil is a custom in and of itself, as is Good?

Master Goggins, it is not necessary to make excuse for having the common decency others clearly lack. Even if thine goal is not to get personally involved or attached, it would be telling indeed if thou art able to contain thine disgust at such savagery. My respect to thee, sir.

***Not Caelvan***

I'm a Galmachian. I have been here a short amount of time and this town has committed many "atrocities" before this one. If this is the one thing that irritates you. Clearly you are just as bad as the ones you are yelling at.
-M

ALL OF YOU SILENCE!

You are really using your free time to speak of matters of Justice and recompense!

There will be a time for justice, and those who have moved forward with this choice will have their day before the Judge. But until then, why not use this time between feasts to research another option? Why not find a way that we do not need this cursed sin to aide us?

Words are nothing at this time, so yes speak up, rage, scream if you must, but what done is done. The truth of the matter is where do we go from here?

When that is talked about, then speak all you want, til then keep your mouths shut.

Signed, With Truth,
Jack Dimms.

Wotcher Mister Dimms,

As chance would have it, we've already done precisely that. Count Winterdark has permitted us to send a small team to recover the weapon Ragnarok in just over a week's time - in all my time researching the blade, I found no indication that any hearts would need to be sacrificed in order to reforge the thing.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about the same.

To those who are involved,

This is an unspeakable and horrendous act of cowardice. Let us perform evil, to make evil, to use for good. This makes no sense to me. No amount of evil forces or action is any excuse for good people to travel down that road. Having been in Travance for only two moons, I thought I found a town of good people who fight against evil. But after this past moon, I see that you are no different then the evil you claim to be fighting. There is no amount of praying or repenting to your so called God's that can excuse these actions. In the coming moons, I will not be helping you "heroes" with any personal issues you may have. In defence of the town, or its citizens that do not have the power to stand up to the evils of the world, I will lend my blade. But do not look to me to help you with any matters as it will take many moons to quell this rage and hatred pent up inside.

Renji

Nothing we did compares to ending a race... not even compounded together.

Learn, grow, and adapt. The worst demons you face will always be your own.

~ Na'ar

The reason we made the sword is to end the demon.

The end of a race is what the demon did last month.

Most crimes should be cause for remorse, but remorse is not a reason to forget our purpose, or a fallen people. A bread thief should not forget the family he fed as he repays the baker. A soldier does not forget the families and peasants he protected as he is executed by the enemies he capitulates to. A healer does not forget the lives he saved when he spends time in jail for disobeying a noble's order to hold a line.

I no longer wish to discuss this on paper.

To be told "Don't listen, eyes forward" as the screams of my friend echoed across the field...

To know that not to fight was "treason" and not to fight and protect and heal the fallen was to leave my allies in danger, another form of treachery....

I feel violated.

Where do we go from here?

You do not need to reside in this lands illiterate one. We do not need and I do not desire a voice of dissent. If doing what must be done to save Travance upsets you, go home.

What must be done? So then why not search for this ragnorok or other ways for victory? Why find this heinous act as the only viable option. If it was to be done, should it not have been left till all options were investigated fully?

Goggins - Morality is not relative. Ethics can be relative, but not morality. If you do not know the difference, find one who can tell you.

Dimms - who are you to tell us to be silent? You exceed your station. I will speak on what I desire until a noble tells me otherwise, just as Siegfried can. Do not tell me what to do, Mister Dimms. You should have followed your first impulse and written privately.

Clergy: I am not happy aboot what had to be done. But what's done is done. We cannae rescind it. I ask of you this: If a soul holds evil, and a weapon holds evil, and a soul can be redeemed to the light, maybe the weapon can be redeemed in a similar method as a soul. If it is possible, we should do so. to do anything else would be a terrible thing. I would appreciate some words from Mister Belfast (I am unsure of your proper title) and maybe a few of the other light clergy on this and other matters on the side please.

and for everyone: I wonder if this Balfurous scunner might have known this might have been needed and chose his chance to strike. He might have also known that recriminations might cause division, allowing him and his forces to take us on piecemeal and win that way, since he couldn't force us to not forge the damnable thing and win without fighting. My conscience tells me to caution against this development. What was done may have been evil, and I am not happy aboot it to say the least.

It seems I return to find another tempest at our shores. I bear no judgement as I were not present to asses for myself, but am reminded of a mantra of the oni hunters - When one fights monsters, one should beware not to become one themselves. I intend to meditate upon it, as I hope any with weight upon their conscience might as well.

Wotcher,

Morality is, indeed, relative. If that isn't a school of thought you've encountered before, Mister Haroldson, or if you misunderstand the word "relative," I'm certain that you'll be able to find the relevant texts in the Baronial Library - though, for the meantime, I'd appreciate it if you discussed your semantic shortcomings elsewhere, as such things are so often a distraction from meaningful discourse.

If it's no trouble: was there some small detail about the reforging that serves to differentiate it from other rituals? The practice of killing a mortal being, cutting out parts of their body, and then using those parts as offerings in a ceremony is one that we observe with great frequency in this part of the world. What has provoked such a reaction in this case? What marks it as special?

This past moon I have been spat upon by your Light Clergy, attacked, beaten and then attacked again by a certain ex-Bishop. Lies were spread with the express intent to have me killed. I have never sacrificed children, and offered my heart for the final place in the ritual. Your Clergy refused, telling me that they would not participate in the ritual and instead wished to go on the witch hunt and do more killing for this ritual- despite them calling for my head as often as they do.

This recent moon, reflects just the newest atrocity which has been committed. I'm beginning to lose count of how often the Clergy has either tried to take my head, or drawn my blood, all the while this happens when they have been riled up by various angels for the most part, and they are in force. Not one of you have the stones to come at me with less than a company of your clerics, or a lynch mob. I have lost count the amount of times I have bled on the steps of the church begging to be let in while being devoured by undead-many Travancians and I bond over this shared experience.

As Caldor stated on Saturday, "this will leave a stain on Travance," I disagree, for Travance is already stained in this way and has been for years. I think that there has been a misunderstanding of the motivations for my "rants" or "ramblings" as many put it. I do no seek to convert those who live here and call this place home. I merely wish to point out your transgressions, to point out such hypocrisies like a Cleric who says he will pray for me and then seeks to kill me, like people whom talk about how killing is wrong yet revel in the death of their enemies, of working in unison to find out more information of Visagalis and within months being considered "anathema" while previously being welcomed. My stances have not changed, although my outward appearance has.

I wish to enlighten the masses of their actions, because when you stand before Galladel for judgment, none can claim ignorance, none can claim they didn't know, that they were fooled, and you will join me on the Plague Ship and we will travel my God's realm together, arm in arm.

Yours in Faith,