Written by: Don Daybell

[Devin's Comments: A wonderfully crafted letter that Danar wrote to his mentor and priestess after he made the decision to abandon the Lunar cause and side with his ancestors and King Raus of Rone.]

Miladay,

One again, it seems I underestimated the situation. It was my belief that I had cut all of my ties to my old life upon the parting of Crivelbetes, my best and last friend from my youth. I had been thrust from the comfortable and sheltered existence of my childhood out into the rough and tumble world of Prax barbarians, had seen my father die before my eyes, had been parted from my mother, for she and I both knew she would not be able to withstand the conditions of Prax. Here I thought I had several all my ties. Then Criv was taken from me, and I once again thought I could lose no more of the old life. However, there was one more thing I had left to offer...my cult.

All along, I believed that service to the Red Moon was what I had been placed upon this land for. It had provided me with an element of stability through the tumultuous times after the death of my father and our subsequent exile. It had offered a strong and safe haven from those who would persecute me because of my family. It had allowed me to retain much of my former position and lifestyle. In other words, it provided for me a nice, safe, comfortable, secure place for me to hide from the tremendous changes I was being forced to undergo.

I tried very hard to separate the policies of the Emperor, may he be roasted slowly over the fires of his own ignorance, from those of the Church. I told myself that the servants of the Moon were closer to the pople than His Eminence was; that they were more in tune with the wishes of the populace. For many years I was able to convince myself of this. I was willing to accept ignominy at the hands of those who had opposed our family rather than support my just cuase. My later travels served to show me that this was not an isolated instance. When my band of companions decided to explore the ruins of Duck Tower in Sartar, we were blackmailed by the Lunar officials into turning over the finest of the magic items in the place to them. Thus, we risk our lives against the monsters and the fearsome guardian spirits of the shrine while the cream of the spoils is taken by some petty bureaucrat who has likely never left the walls of Boldhome! These all indicate that the policies of the Emperor are not, in fact, unqiue to him. Rather they permeate the whole of the Lunar bureaucracy and its religions as well. In fact, I now see that these are just reflections of the policies of the Goddess herself.

When my family came to me it truly neede me, yet Uncle Raus was willing to let me go and even offer me much assistance on my way. I also found that the warnin g to leave Pavis, which in all likelihood saved my life, came not from the Goddess as I had believed, but from Raus. That he would do this for me despite the fact that we had just parted company on a very sour note further served to show me that in this man I had found a person who actually cared about me. It was thus that I came to realize that I cared for him and the rest of the family much more than I did the Goddess. I believe that Raus knew or at least suspected this all along, for he is an excellent reader of men.

It is somewhat interesting to note that in finally severing my final link with my old life, I have become part of something even older. I have much to learn about the history of my family, but I will have excellent teachers in Uncle Raus and my ancestors.

Signed:

Danar Tormalon
Prince of Rone

The Final Wane:

The Moon has set, nevermore to rise.
The sone has seen that the way to go
Under the red glow no longer lies.
He seeks now to walk the way
Of fathers and fathers of fathers,
The way of the flesh, guided by spirit.
Thus are the cycles of faith broken,
Broken upon the altars of insensitivity.

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