A thought for this past Feast

If it is our fate to intervene in the fates of others, and theirs, in turn, to intervene in ours, how can we help but do anything else?

~ Na'ar Chacov

I know we have never met Father Merikh, but I seek to understand your perspective. In my teachings, nothing is fated. All possibilities exist at all moments, and the will of the universal consciousness dictates reality's progression.
Please forgive my being so forward. I ask humbly, if the power of the entities Palmydians call gods is great enough to draw the borders of fate, are they not powerful enough to stop us? The former seems to this one far more difficult than the latter.

I want to take the time to clear the air, and make a few things clear as far as the "Why" things have happened. I have tried to spread this as much as I can, but still, it has not proven to be enough.

A number of things took place over the last few months. I will attempt, here and now, to explain all I can about the events leading up to the the jumps through time, and explain the research and rationale behind every decision.

First, I will discuss the forging of Bloodtide. The town has, for what seems now like the longest time, and with much fervor, debated whether this weapon should have ever been forged. The primary rationale behind needing the weapon itself is due to Balfurous' innate defenses.

Last December, when the town was faced with fighting Xualla, the scholars came to a realization that while we knew all the abilities that Xualla possessed, we did not know a single thing about what Balfurous could do. After much research, we uncovered some of his capabilities. The two primary ones we now concern ourselves with are:

1. His ability to make himself invulnerable to all offensive attacks. When in this form, he is unable to be moved by any means whatsoever.
2. While being invulnerable, his ability to regenerate from any damage he has taken.

Specifically, we needed a way to negate or limit these abilities if we were to have any legitimate hope of combating the Demon Lord. So, we are back to Bloodtide. As has been openly discussed, as well as said at every one of my masses since we considered reforging it, when fully realized Bloodtide possesses the ability to inflict wounds from which the defender can never heal, and from which they will continue to bleed from. These wounds would, if not negate his regeneration completely, at least diminish it to a point where we can have a realistic chance of finishing him off ourselves. It is important to state that no other weapon in history has this specific ability which we need to combat Balfurous. No matter what weapons were thought of or suggested, none could do fit this specific need. And so, we put our efforts into uncovering how to create this weapon, so that we could fight the Demon Lord we had to.

Beyond Bloodtide, another weapon was looked into that looked to give us an increased chance against Balfurous: Ragnarok. Legends hold that this blade could be used to fight entire armies. So, research was undertaken to find it. At the Feast held at the start of October, while Balfurous sent forth his most powerful minions to find the gem he sought so earnestly, plans were made to venture forth to Hero's Rest, the location where it was rumored the blade may have been laid to rest. However, issues arose as to how we could get to Hero's Rest in a timely manner. Through ingenuity, Templar Cooper and Tsoli Silverbow managed to, in but a few hours, create three Gates to the graveyard, and we planned on seeing if more could be made. However, that very night, Balfurous accomplished his mission. He managed to gather the gemstone, and as such, the plan needed to be enacted at once. Nine towns members went to Hero's Rest, because that was all the three Gates could carry. When we arrived, we searched high and low for the Blade, but could not find it. Instead, we found someone we didn't expect: Klarington Everest.

The chronomancer was surprised to see us as well, and revealed he had been looking into our predicament. Before I continue to speak, I would like something put on the record: despite anything else he did, despite any lies he may have told, Klarington clearly had a single intent in his mind. Klarington intended on ensuring our timeline survived, regardless of the consequences to others. That much was made clear in his argument with Maja the Lorestri. That much was clear in his plans on having us take the Hammer of Valos. In the end, Klarington wanted to ensure our timeline - his timeline - was successful.

Klarington revealed an ability of Balfurous that we did not previously know existed. Balfurous, in his power, has a contingency upon himself, similar to his Abyssal Slams. He has kept this contingency reserved, and it will be one he unveils only when Bloodtide strikes true. Upon its invocation, all who are fighting Balfurous would be trapped with him until the Demon is killed. Now, while Bloodtide can kill him on its own, it would be a slow death. Too slow, in fact, as all calculations towards this showed that those trapped would easily perish before the time ran out.

So, those who were present began to brainstorm with Klarington. And it was proposed that, perhaps, if we were able to have alternate means of adequately harming Balfurous, we could reduce the time Bloodtide needed. At first, this was hoping to gather weapons from all over Arawyn, but unfortunately that option did not seem valid. And then, Klarington proposed his plan, to gather weapons from alternate timelines, and borrow them briefly. An agreement was made that we would only attempt such a plan if, by gathering the weapons, we absolutely, positively, without question could defeat Balfurous. If that could not happen, Klarington would never even appear to give us the option, and we would have to make alternate plans. Klarington also agreed that, if it came to it, he would personally return the weapons to ensure the timelines did not end due to their absence.

The only issue with this plan occurred on the Sunday of the Feast Weekend. The Hammer of Valos was not one of the items we had originally planned on gathering. Klarington informed us of the excursion that very morning. Little did we know he intended on us taking the weapon during the fight between Valos and Malyc, not afterwords as we had thought. Maja the Lorestri intervened, and rightfully so. I will emphasize, as we did not know of this excursion until the morning of, we had no time to adequately look into the matter and weigh whether our intervention would change the timeline in a remarkable way and disastrous way. And, I am willing to bet, if we arrived on the field of battle between Malyc and Valos, we would have turned around and travelled back to Travance instead of dooming Valos to losing the fight.

Now, that is a recap of the events regarding this plan to date. I will say, on a personal note, at this past feast I was sure to be exceptionally open regarding the risks involved to all who asked. At the mass to Chronicler, I made sure to specifically explain the reasons why we needed Bloodtide and why we were gathering these other weapons. If I was asked any questions, I was forthright with the answers, and I looked to spread the knowledge as much as possible. I know others also did this. I will say this now, for all the proper to read:

If I am present in the proper after Feast, I will be giving a Mass to Chronicler directly following the Feast. I have chosen this time as it is when the fewest other events occur in the Proper. During this Mass, at the beginning, I will go over a brief recap of the events of the Feast Weekend. I will open the floor to questions to be answered, and if someone is more knowledgable than I am, then I will give them the floor. This is to better the town as a whole, and has been offered every Feast since my Altar was completed in August. Please take advantage of this as much as you can, because it is always nicer to preach to a crowd.

I say the above because, while I understand to many people a Mass to Chronicler is boring and uneventful, I will say that I am always sure to try and give as much information as I can, and I want to spread that to the general populace whenever I can. I want the days where people are confused what we are marching off to face Saturday Night to come to an end. I want the people to always feel they understand why we do what we do. That is why I am making such a point of it now.

Thank you all for your time and energy. I understand I can be long-winded, but I hope you are now better enlightened into the "why" aspect of what we did.

In Service to Knowledge Eternal,
Loremaster Belegchand Dìnephilin
Viceroy of Drega'Mire
Seeker of the Lost Word
Sage of Exploration and Illumination

See you all at Mass.

And just so one thing is abundantly clear;

All of the information that Loremaster Belegchand has written here has been consistently available and advertised to all on the proper.

If you do not seek information, that is your own sin.
Do not complain that the scholars withhold when we have them so willingly available.

Anser me this, Belegchand. Why did Klarington run from the taer that almost consumed us on Sunday? To my eye, this was the akshun of a coward.

Klarington cud hav stayed, but he ran. Maja cud hav pursooed Klarington, but insted he stayed to saev us.

Tell me if I am rong.