Greetings to all in the Basin of Life.


Like the Heresiarch of the Midnight Legions, I feel it is important my
position on this issue is abundantly clear. I am newly ascended to the
service of the Hartstone, and perhaps some of the more misguided
cityfolk mistake that newness for weakness and opportunity.

Let me make this clear. I will not permit innocent Seren to be murdered
in order to force our acquiescence to any demands.

First, let us speak of the event described by the Heresiarch. Last month
I did indeed decide to embark on a mission of cleansing within the foul
Catacombs of the Dead, hunting the dreaded undead spectres that lurk
there, aided some of our most courageous Seren. Of course I knew of the
petulant complaints by the Ur'guard in demanding that they alone should
be permitted to indulge their dark hungers there, and so we took the
usual precautions against their inevitable resistance. Without fail, the
greed and jealousy of some cityfolk won out, and we were violently set
upon by their number.

During the battles that raged, there were times when I came within
inches of death, and only swift escape would ensure my spirit was not
shorn from my body to wander those empty halls for eternity. Luckily,
the White Hart teaches foresight and we had called upon the vast powers
of the Music to summon ethereal forest throughout much of the area.
Sensing a presence within the Ethereal Serenwilde, I cast my body aside
and allowed my spirit to flow through the woodland towards that relative
safety. After applying salves and bandages to the worst of my wounds, I
returned to the Catacombs to continue our noble fight. Druid Nelfiol was
the innocent presence within the forest that I was able to latch onto
for survival, yet he was essentially unaware of my presence. There was
no way that I would involve someone unwilling in such conflict, so I
made sure not to interrupt him as much as possible. I escaped like this
into the trees above Nelfiol twice.

As the battle drew to a close, it became evident that the assailants
could not slay me, and instead they turned upon poor Nelfiol in their
frustration and red-faced exasperation, declaring him an enemy of the
city and murdering him twice in cold blood. When I discovered this, I
found it utterly deplorable, as Nelfiol did not act in any way to
demonstrate complicity or threat, and his only crime was standing within
the Serenwilde. Needless to say, I sought clarification with the
Heresiarch, hoping that it was an oversight or perhaps misunderstanding
that could be rectified with calm and rational discussion.

The resulting discussion prompted the Heresiarch to acknowledge his
haste in declaring Nelfiol an enemy, yet further progress in the issue
proved unachievable. While I offered to negotiate some form of basic
honour between the two powers - one in which innocents standing in their
own city or commune are not enemied while doing nothing at all - the
Heresiarch instead focused on demanding that our flowing power be used
but once a day. He threatened if we did not agree to such terms he would
continue to enemy those who stand in the location to which we flow, as
if they were somehow responsible for the ones who choose to travel to
them.

I counselled that should he continue to hold our young ones to ransom so
as to manipulate the use of those powers of the forest, we may have to
consider reciprocating his dreadful policy. So, as the innocent Druid
sitting alone in the forest is hunted for simply relaxing in his home,
perhaps we would be forced to hunt those hapless Magnagorans whose only
crime (according to the Heresiarch) is simply standing beside a recently
escaped raider. I warned of how this continued abuse of his city's
defenses was clearly undesirable, and that we should both take steps
towards honour, respect, and peace... yet the Heresiarch would not have
a word of it without a guarantee to surrender our most valuable
advantage in the forests.

I beg the Heresiarch to listen to the counsel of the more wise around
him, and turn away from this vengeful and ill-conceived manipulation. It
is my fervent hope that the Serenwilde will not be forced into such
despicable acts, nor do I believe that we would choose to act in such a
way without extreme provocation, but I repeat that we cannot allow our
most innocent members to be terrorized by bitter and spiteful
malcontents.

I pray that the Spirits grant him a measure of insight into these
matters.

Elryn Greythane
The Hierophant of the Hartstone.

Penned by my hand on the 12th of Tzarin, in the year 128 CE.