Greetings to All,

I've read with interest the posts on the values of City or Commune life.
To start with a bit of my own history, I was born within the Serenwilde
and raised as a Serenguard. During my adolescence, I witnessed what the
Taint had done to the Gloriana and wanted nothing more than to fight
against it and eradicate it from the face of the Basin so that the same
thing could never happen to my home in Serenwilde. At the time, the
Seren were so disgustingly neutral that I could take no stance against
the Taint without the risk of pulling the entire Commune into a war. I
elected, thusly, to move to New Celest and become a Paladin, and serve
as a Crusader against the Taint.

I don't believe that all of the accusations against Cities are
warranted, however. Kalodan, for you to speak of "natural selection" to
a Celestian is absurd. After Old Celest was completely eradicated in a
historical sacrifice on behalf of our ancestors to prevent Ladantine
from becoming a Vernal God and turning Serenwilde, as well as the rest
of the Basin, into a Tainted mockery, we did not simply fade away. We
survived. We carried our teachings and passed them on, and rebuilt our
home. Meanwhile, the Seren just watched as innocent people were blasted
from the face of the Basin, and our ancestors who now inhabit the place
known as Spectre Isle remain as a testament of just how far we are
willing to go to stop the spread of the Taint.

Oh yes, I say "innocent" people. While the Celestian Empire was
responsible for the Taint being unleashed, not everyone was involved
with making the Cosmic Hope Expedition a possibility. I'm sure several
ghosts linger on the Isle who simply happened to be in the wrong place
at the wrong time.

Ever since then, Celest has stood to resist the Taint. We, born years
after the incident with the Cosmic Hope Expedition, do not bear the
crime of unleashing the Taint. Those responsible for that are all long
dead. However, with our ancestors gone we carry the burden of trying to
correct the mistake that was made. While there are plenty I am sure who
would proclaim that Nature alone has the power to overcome the Taint, I
personally believe the current state of the Gloriana shows that the
Taint might be more than even Nature can handle alone.

I am of the Serenwilde, but I have embraced my life as a Celestian. I
honestly believe it was one of the bravest moments in history when
people sacrificed their own lives to protect the rest of the Basin from
the same fate that befell Magnagora and the Gloriana, and I stand
prepared and willing to make the same sacrifice if it is required of me.
I have but one enemy, and that is the Taint. I have never, nor will I
ever, bring harm to the fae. I have never, nor will I ever, seek to
cause harm to the Faethorn or to destroy wantonly without regard to the
impact it has on the rest of the Basin. Just because I live within a
City doesn't mean that I, by nature, must ignore or condemn the laws
with govern Nature.

Maybe one day you will get your wish, and you and your Magnagoran allies
will overcome our City and Celest will be "ground to dust". Then, there
will be nothing to stand in the way of Magnagora from turning the
Serenwilde into a Tainted wasteland. We'll see just how long that little
alliance with Magnagora will last. With any luck, I'll survive Celest's
downfall and I will still run to the borders of the Forest to resist the
Taint. Maybe then you'll be able to put aside your sterotypes and see
things for what they actually are, rather than seeing things based upon
the opinion of the masses.

You may keep your multitude of enemies and suspicion and mistrust,
compunded by shady alliances forged in dark corners of the woods. I will
take the focus which my life has gained and maintain my efforts against
the one thing that seeks to overtake all of Creation and twist it into a
mockery of Life.


Lazul Sayelle Sar'Alainn

Penned by my hand on the 7th of Dvarsh, in the year 174 CE.