A life long-lived has taught me many things. Caution. Hatred. Fear. None of these truly describe the vitriol I feel for what we know as the Taint, the life touched and twisted by those without souls. It is an emotion tinged by such depth of being as to be an experience rather than thought. It will never be truly shared by another, as such depth of understanding is as intrinsic to the self as the star-born soul.

 

From my days as a child, laughing and playing in the ethereal trees as the songs of the Moon echoed through the forest, have I been taught to distrust the echoes of the Soulless that twist the land around us. It was perhaps not so much a thought of fear as it was a thought of pity. To be - for I dare not say live when I speak of those who embrace their death in exchange for power - without the spark of the immanidivinus seems a shallow existence, bereft of the deepest understandings of the world.

 

Of course, in those days many of these terms were unknown, a child's fancy instead painting the Viscanti and their brethren as monsters, begotten by the will of creatures that even a nightmare could not create. To think that one day I would stand in battle against such grotesque creations! Such a fate would ne'er be faced by a young boy interested only in learning of the world around him. No, it was instead the adult I became that faced such shadows, guarded only by the argent light of my beliefs.

 

I could spend pages - or hours of your time, if you prefer - discussing my experiences. Suffice to say that my life has been one of conflict and strife. I've fought for the sanctity of the world, of the untainted life that struggles to live in the shattered world we inhabit. I saw the rise and fall of Ayridion. I've seen the progeny of Illith rise from the depths beneath the Basin. I've stood against the 'Angels' in service of the black wind Zenos. Read your history if you want to know more than that. There are plenty of scholars who can tell you of such with far more eloquence than I could muster.

 

My goals have varied through the years. I have sought to learn from the paradox that sealed two cities away. I've fought to cure Gloriana's disease. I have attempted to discern the location of lost Ackleberry. I suppose history has been a driving force in my past, as I wish to understand the world around me. However, in the end, my life has been driven by two foci; The protection of the natural order which rejuvenates the Basin, and the conviction that the influence of the Soulless must be contained.

 

However, as I have aged I realize that that second goal is unattainable. It isn't that we cannot fight the Soulless and their progeny. It isn't that we cannot improve the world. Rather, the very world around us is touched by their essence. Whether it is the physical transformation we see in Glomdoring and Magnagora or the fierce opposition shown by other factions, the influence exists everywhere.

 

It was in the consideration of a life immortal that I came to question my own being. I am but a shard of the Elder Gods. I wish that I could say which of, but with my race in flux I can only speculate. I awoke after transversing the Portal of Fate in the form of living crystal, so let us say I am a piece of the Elder Xyl. The life I live is but a small segment of what His essence experiences. What if He had never split Himself into shards? Therein lies the truth of my being.

 

I exist through Xyl's will. His decision to become many begot an entire race. Whatever thoughts you may hold on the city born of these moving rocks, there can be no question that the world around is richer and more lively due to their influence. Lucidian scientists have brought us advanced study of Astrology, providing the Basin with an entire art that would not have existed otherwise. In consideration, many things can be attributed to this one race, to any one race. We should be grateful that each of these races exist; or, put another way, we should be grateful that we have been given this opportunity to exist.

 

The Elders broke Themselves into pieces in order to save themselves from consumption. Their thoughts were of nothing more than preserving the essence inherent within all life. It was only due to the threat of the Soulless that the concept of splitting the self was brought. Ancient scripts have shown us that Bollikin was the first to shatter Himself into pieces. He acted out of fear, out of a desire not to see the world burn before Him. I wish He could be present today, that he could see what his act led to. It is in our lives that we provide the hope for this world, fighting with a ferocity that would be challenging for even the bravest of the immortals to muster. What better way to spend limited life than in providing better opportunity for those whom follow?

 

Therein comes the true revelation, the thought that bothered me at the same time that it welded new steel to my resolve. The Soulless - terrible and horrifying though they may be - are to be thanked for our very lives. Without their assault, we would exist not as ourselves, but as part of another being, our sharded souls complete within Tauro, within Mugwumpois, within Meridian. Through their sacrifice we bear our lives today. This realization of debt does not however release us from our duty. It is the Paradox of the Basin of Life that our creation forged us into weapons to destroy our creators. This burden I gladly shoulder, for nothing is more important than the rejuvenation of the world around us.

 

It is with this confounding and frustrating knowledge that I turn to the world and shout to the Soulless; Thank you, for my existence.