Eterlu the Legend of the Battlefield, Rhyme of Resistance

Role

Chapter 7

Since she was born, Eterlu had an ethereal, other worldly aura.Even before
she could walk, she had an innate, intuitive understanding of the world that
seemed to set her apart and scare others.


She was raised by Elves, though her father had been a human. From birth, she
had been taught that good was good, and evil was evil. Anything that harmed
an Elf was obviously evil. All things that were done directly for the benefit
of the self were also obviously evil. Only those of a pure, and righteous
mindset would ever really flourish in the worlds, as the Gods decreed.
Darsylon had strict moral codes, of which she took great pleasure in
observing. Anything against the law of Darsylon was also immoral. This made
an almost curious situation, if an Elf broke the law. According to the Elders
of Darsylon, those that were evil broke the law and thereby should be killed;
they should be purged from the lands. Yet when an Elf broke the law, whatever
the circumstances may be, they were forgiven.


"It is just the way things are." That was the only answer Eterlu got from the
Elders when she asked why they followed the codes that they did. The Gods
presented the codes; there was no room to question them. Rather than become
obsessed with following the codes, objecting to them, or even discussing
them, Eterlu preferred to observe. She enjoyed watching how the Elves decided
amongst themselves the "way things should be". When, per chance, an Elf did
stray from the Light, he was exiled from Darsylon and they were never spoken
of again. It was as if the Elf never existed. Never once did the Elders
consider it to be the fault of society, the rules, or themselves. It was
always because that elf was "never good to begin with".


Though she had been taught of morals from birth, they never seemed to mesh
with her inner understanding of Thera.

Role

Chapter 6

During her Elven 'teenage' years, Eterlu had an interesting discussion with
one of the more scholarly of the all ready scholarly elves of darsylon. She
asked him why evil needed to be destroyed and why it needed to be wiped from
the face of Thera. The Elf responded by telling her that Evil, in nature, is
destructive. If that nature is left alone, it will continue to destroy
everything, including itself. That cannot be allowed to happen, so evil must
be destroyed to stop that process.

Conversation key:
E=Eterlu
S=Elf Scholar

E: "How do we, though, as 'lightwalkers' know what is evil, and what is not?"

S: "That is for the Gods to decide, we simply follow their guiding actions.
Evil makes itself known, and those of the light can inherently discern
between good and evil."
E: "What if we, in our conviction, are clouded by these absolute judgments?
What if we are, in truth, acting evil in nature. How are we to tell that we
are TRULY doing what is right?"
S: "You are making this much too complicated. Evil is evil, good is good. It
is as simple as that. As good, it is our job to destroy evil and protect
good. Do you understand?"
E: "No, I don't see the logic in that. What makes us better than they are?
What makes our actions any less evil? They destroy, so we destroy them. Does
like not breed like? We scorn and murder them for their destructive nature,
but praise our own race when we, with the same action, destroy them in
return."
S: "But our killing is justified. Theirs is from a dark, impulsive nature
that breeds nothing but hate for life. We, to protect life, must destroy
them. "
E: "I see your point, to an extent. It reminds me of how a garderner, in his
attempt to make plant life flourish, must cut, guide, and sometimes kill
plants for the over-all garden's sake. Yes?"
S: "Exactly. We must weed out evil in Thera, and destroy it."
E: "Assuming we destroy evil, what then?"
S: "There is always evil."
E: "Only as long as there is desire to destroy it. As evil becomes more and
more endangered, I believe that we, as the Light, would label more trivial
matters as evil. If there are no more murderers to stake, we would turn our
attention to the so labeled 'lesser evils' with as much violence and
conviction as we had for the 'greater evils'. "
S: "There is no mercy for the wicked. We must stay pure."
E: "It seems almost irrational to me. I've heard others preach about the
innocence of children, the righteousness of innocence, and the holiness of
those who live frugal lifestyles. I see certain conundrums, though. A child
is innocent. Say this child is starving in Galadon - He doesn't have a crumb
of bread to his name. He must obviously steal to survive, does this, in turn,
make him evil?"
S: "Not if he steals from those with Dark Hearts. Otherwise, yes - He would
be misguided and tainted by evil actions."
E: "Do you not see the issue I'm attempting to cope with? You set these

Skill List

Role

Chapter 5

absolutes. These moral compasses, these culturally subjective guidelines and
expect everyone to follow them, else they be evil - And in being labeled
evil, a death warrant is placed on their head which allows any Lightwalker
who murders them to be entirely justified in their violent action."
S: "Blasphemous. Evil is evil, good is good. Learn the difference, or I'll
see to it that you are punished for your insolence."

Leaving the scholar, Eterlu decided that her place was not in Darsylon. She
had been around this culture long enough and felt the need to immerse herself
in those with more exotic ideals. She left Darsylon and headed south, walking
towards Galadon.


While walking, Eterlu considered what the Elf Scholar had said about Thera.
"It is like a garden", Eterlu thought to herself as she continued to trudge
south-bound down the road. "Except instead of letting one plant destroy the
rest and only letting a certain flora family flourish, the gardener needs to
make sure that all of the plants ( including the weeds ) stay alive. This
adds to the fullness and appreciation of both the garden, and plant life as a
whole."

Entering the northern gate of Galadon, Eterlu had a mental spark. She would
travel around, to different cultural zones throughout Thera and write on
them. In this way, she could show Darsylon, and all Therans, that every
aspect of Thera should be allowed to flourish, not just one. Stopping to buy
a journal and some paper, Eterlu made this her new goal.

Role

Chapter 4

Entry One: Examining Galadon.

Though populated, large, and noise - The nuances of the city are easy to
learn if one takes the time to wander about and listen to the idle chatter of
the beggars, guards, merchants, and the like. While filled with a plethora of
cultures, they all seem to slowly converge on a single agreement point, as
far as behavior and 'good' goes. Money and order.


Before I elaborate on the morals of this city, I'd like to talk a bit more
about the geography and populace.


The most common outfit you will notice, while wandering through the main
roads, will be that of the cityguard. Armed in matching outfits and matching
colored blades, these blue guardians patrol the streets to seek out criminal
and crime alike. What is interesting about these fellows, though, is their
lack of combat training. It seems that the Captain of the Guards has kept the
more skilled warriors at the exits of the cities, patrolling around the
gates. The cityguards, in and of themselves, are pathetically trained. A
tactical battalion numbering five of these guards would barely lay scratches
upon a single guardian of Darsylon, and noticing this did make me feel a bit
haughty of my home left behind. It seems as if the cityguards have been hired
in quantity, rather than quality - Which leads me to conclude that the
Captain of the Guards favors the policy of deterrence rather than actually
fighting against crime. If the crime is prevented due to fright, however, I
assume that his desire is still fulfilled.

There are two main roads to this city. The High Road and the Trade Road. The
High Road travels in a straight line, north and south through the city,
meeting the trade road only at the Market Square. The Trade Road travels
perpendicular to that, heading east to west through the city. If one takes
the trade road, they can expect to pass shop after shop, merchant after
merchant, each attempting to appease to the traveler's desires through quick
bargains or sophisticated goods.


As I briefly covered before, the true righteousness in the city comes from a
profitable order. This fiscal organization doesn't work the same way as the
Empire - Declaring death or payment, and so on. Instead, you are praised for
being wealthy, and praised for following the mores of the city. If you own a
large store that is wealthy enough to offer eccentric bargains to citizens of
the city, you can become a saint in your own right. It isn't about being
'good' or being 'evil', it's about making the most profit while obeying the
rules. It is in becoming skillful and gaining in mercantile prowess that you
show your talents, and so show your 'superiority', giving you praise.


I'll cover this city a tad more after I explore the further reaches of its
jurisdictions and peoples: The docks, the Tribunal, the Inn, the
proletariats, and the beggars.

Role

Chapter 3

After taking the time to observe the docks, I found that they follow the same
infrastructure as Galadon, just with less Cityguards. The beggars in the city
are actually an interesting group: With a copious amount of adventurer's
guilds, The Blood Tribunal, and an Inn, all in one city, it leaves any
individual a very good chance to lose their fortune. Between their drunken
antics, loud-mouthed behavior, and constant begging, the beggars of Galadon
actually seem to serve a kind of purpose: Rumors. For the right donation, a
beggar will share any information that happened to overhear while walking
around. This offer holds some interesting potential, but nothing that I,
personally, would find any interest in.

-----The journal entry ends at this point. Below this entry is a short
paragraph written at a later date ----

While travelling down the eastern road this eve, I took a moment to explore
the area south of the Large Crossroads at the middle of the road. A bit south
and east of said intersection, I found a small keep being patrolled by
numerous guards, none with much skill. After much exploring, I found the
leader of this keep to be a raving lunatic. Between his snarling and
drooling, my eyes kept noticing a glimmer of magic coming from his helmet.
Whether or not this had anything to do with his behavior, I am not sure, but
he refused to let me even glance at his bookshelf, while I was trying to see
what his literary choices were. Having somehow offended him, I left shortly.

I write this now from the warrior's guild of Hamsah Mu'Tazz. The city, in
itself, is very interesting. From the moment one walks in, they are bombarded
by an amazing influx of foreign culture, especially in comparison to a
western native:Bright colors, heavily robed fashions, camels and youthful
dancing females. It is truly an appealing and amazing city. I find myself
attracted to the people's seeming philosophy. "Whatever works". If lying
works, you lie ; If fighting works, you fight ; If honesty works, you stay
honest. Though any absolutists of the more Holy guilds or lifestyles would
entirely view this city as corrupt and vulgar, I think their philosophy is
very fitting. I find myself applying it to my own actions, due to the
seductive nature of such an easy lifestyle. You do things simply because they
are the most efficient in the current situation - Meaning that no matter how
absolute somebody claims a virtue to be, that virtue still holds subjectivity
in varying situations. Honesty becomes 'evil' when it gets you, or your
friends killed. While a Paladin might profess to honesty being a divine
policy, with no exceptions allowed, the people of this culturally diverse
city seem to think otherwise, as do I.

Role

Chapter 2

Having not written in my journal in quite some time, I think it's about right
that I sit and summarize a little bit more of what happened after Hamsah
Mu'Tazz. After all, I am now the Rhyme of the Nexuns, but have yet to jot
down how I became such.

Reading over my last entry, I see that I left off in Hamsah. While it was an
extravagant city and presented its visitors with a vast array of ways for
them to indulge themselves, it was not a city I could stay too long in. Once
I had finished my joyful observing of the culture and its subjective views, I
made my way back to Galadon for a small rest. Once I reached Galadon, I
decided that, being as I took a small journey eastwards, I would travel a bit
westward.
**The journal has a small title written here, shortly put: "The Weald."**

The Weald is an interesting place. The main two opposing forces center around
the lumberjacks, who seek to tame and destroy the forest, and the rangers,
who seek to replant what was destroyed and to protect what is in danger.
These two groups prove an exceptional point that many people don't
understand. When you have someone who you are against, and you wish to
convince some third person who is right (You) and who is wrong (Your
opposition), you demonize your enemy. Sitting at a drinking party with the
lumberjacks (I did not partake in the alcohol), I listened to story after
story of how evil and ruthless the forest protectors are. Given the chance,
according to these wood-cutters, the rangers would kill your children, rape
your wife, and leave your house to burn. Is this correct? Most likely it
isn't, but the truth of it doesn't matter, as they are simply trying to raise
their own ideals on a pedestal while blasting their enemies lower with
demonization.

If it sounds like I do, I am not painting the rangers as innocent. I also
took the time to sit around one of their camps while they smoked and chewed
upon a few strange herbs. They spoke about how, given the chance, the
Lumberjacks would lob off your head and send it, topped with a bow, to your
family. How these evil wood chopping fiends would kill you, your family, your
pets, and then sacrifice your corpses to their dark, orderly gods. This,
obviously, is an over dramatization. The rangers, just like the lumberjacks,
have no idea what the true ideals of their opposition are, due to the fact
they are too busy demonizing them. This applies in a plethora of situations,
very commonly coming out when one faces an idea antithetical to theirs.
**The Journal entry ends there, the next entry titled "First sight of the
Island"**

Role

Chapter 1

Floating across the Sea of Despair in my small canoe, I noticed an enchanting
light coming from the waters a bit northward, pillaring up to the sky. This
beckoning light, I imagined, was exactly what I was looking for. In no way
did it resemble any kind of bioluminescence that I was familiar with, it
seemed much more magical. Pulling closer to it, it almost resembled a pillar
of fire you might see rising from a large camp, but this one was
multi-faceted and had brilliant colors. As I reached it, I stretched out a
hand to feel the familiar tingle of magic, but instead hit solid material.
Surprised by this curious circumstance, I stepped from my boat, walking
across this ever-shifting and ever-flowing substance.

This Island, for the next few days, plagued my every dream. It was
incredible. The magic, the beauty, the pure complexity of it - It all made
such an impact on my mind. While wandering through this Rift for a few days,
I'd occasionally run into some curious characters. These characters were made
entirely from the same material of the surrounding rift, but seemed to act
independent of it. Trying to speak with them did nothing, as they just
continued to vaporize, wander around, and they all looked as if they were
searching for something. Either way, it was nice to see a place with such
magical structure and beings.

When I finally found my way to the peak of this pillaring magical place, I
found myself among a small group of Gnomes all listening to a human speak
about "Balance". He spoke of who the "Keepers" are, what they do, and how
they do it. This I found myself agreeing with, on all fundamental terms. The
world, in itself, needs to be kept at a certain state. This state goes beyond
the goods and evils that one would commonly hear of, instead asking that a
Seeker of Balance have malleability in their conviction. If Thera is too
chaotic, one must be orderly to help counter-balance that ; If too evil, one
must act charitable and virtuous to keep the Balance, and so forth. One of
the things, though, foreign to my ears was that of the Veil. This barrier, so
it was described, stands between our reality and a magical plane. The thicker
it is, the harder it is for magic to come through. The thinner it is, the
easier it is for magic to come through. While a rather simple thing to
understand, at its most basic level, the ways in which to detect the Veil, or
thin and thicken it is a different matter.

As I came, day after day, to this Island, I found myself continuously
agreeing with the teachings of it. I was finally given the chance to act as a
Keeper, and that is where I am now and will continue to be. Though this
journal is still a bit behind, as I am currently the Nexus' Rhyme, I'll fill
in how that happened at a later point. The most important aspect of this
entry is, of course, the recognition for the need of Balance in ALL of Thera.

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