Letter (rhaloren camp)

letter 1

We must be on guard. The Council of Elders is desperate to find us, to hunt us down and suppress us. But we will not be suppressed. We have our rights! Their scouts try to track us down, and their spies try to infiltrate our numbers. They cannot accept any others having power, or any voice but their own being heard.

We have split away from our people, and we follow our own path now. We are outcasts. They call us renegades, anarchists; they think of us as nothing but vermin to be crushed underfoot. But we will not endure their cruel suppression. Our voice will be heard across the world and they shall recognise a new race of power - the mighty Rhaloren!

-- The Inquisitor

letter 2

The Scintillating Caverns must be protected. Our great leader has ordered it so, and his word is more binding than any law. Our numbers are few, and we must move in secrecy, but a quiet watch will be made on the caverns. Any who are seen to interfere in them must be lured here to our place of strength, and brought before me for inquisition.

More have joined our cause. Their eyes have been opened to the injustice our people have suffered, blamed by the other races for the Spellblaze and its effects. They are sick of the cowardice of the Council, who sit in silence as we are scorned and hated across the world. But most of all they are inspired by our great leader, and the powers he has gained from studying the Spellblaze. He alone realizes our full potential, he alone can see in our hearts what we are truly capable of. He has blessed me, rescued me from a tortured life and touched me with his power. Only he can lead our people! With his mastery the world will see our strength and recognise us as a true force to be reckoned with.

Trust in his power, for he shall bring us all to glory.

-- The Inquisitor

letter 3

For too long we have been taught that the Spellblaze was a tragedy, that we are responsible for the deaths of millions and for suffering across the world. These are lies! Lies spread to defame us, to prevent our people from using magic to its rightful degree. The lesser races are jealous of our powers, of our amazing potential, and so they think to keep us underfoot, to stop us from ascending to our rightful place in the world. They fear us.

The truth is that the Spellblaze was an experiment that went wrong. Many of our greatest mages died from the resulting energies, and some lands nearby were set ablaze. But there was no loss of life amongst the other races - it is their own wars that caused that, and their own squalid societies that brought about the plagues that followed. Many centuries later a great natural earthquake occurred that tore the lands apart, and the other races had the audacity to blame that on us.

For this reason they persecuted us during the Spellhunt. Many of our mages were killed mercilessly, and even those with no affinity to magic were brutally slaughtered in the terrible crusade. Even today we suffer discrimination and persecution, and tales still spread of innocent Shaloren burned at the stake or chopped to pieces. And what does the Council do? It sits in silence and hopes people will just forget.

But no more! The time will come when the truth shall be known, and retribution will fall on any that deny us our rights.

-- The Inquisitor

letter 4

I have great news! Our glorious leader has written to me, telling me of his travels. He is on a great pilgrimage, a holy quest to discover more about the Spellblaze and its powers, so that we may show the truth about it to the world. It is a quest fraught with peril, for we have many enemies in the world. But by his powers he cannot fail. He cannot! He cannot...

One day soon he will return to us, and bring us to our proper glory. Look forward to that great time, when he is amongst us once more. Be ready for that moment when he stands tall before us and looks at us with his deep eyes... Work hard now and be attentive in your duties, so that we may make him proud. We fight for him, we struggle for him, and if needs be we will die for him. He is our hope and our glory, and the only joy we have in this dispassionate world.

-- The Inquisitor

carefully preserved letter

My dearest,

I hope this letter finds you well. I worry for you, so close to the city, so vulnerable should they find our base... But I trust in your strength, and I know you will be safe. Yet should anything happen...

I wish you were here with me, able to share in the wonders I have seen. Yet this journey has far more perils. The Ziguranth have been on to us, tracking us relentlessly, spoiling many of my plans. They are truly a force to be reckoned with. But luck is with me - I have managed to capture one and find out the location of their base. Soon we shall prepare an attack that shall put an end to their threat forever.

Ah, but there is something more exciting even than that! Near the Charred Scar I have uncovered a truly amazing thing - a mark of the Spellblaze. Oh, how I long for you to be here with me to see its wonders! You of all people know my passions so well, and what delight you would find in what I have discovered here. Here is where our future lies. Here is where we shall gain the power to truly strike out on our own!

Look after our people well, and keep strong our base for when I return. It shall be soon, I hope, and it shall be in glory.

With passion abound, Your dearest love