While the Arkati Laugh
| [Shrine of Onar, Rotunda] |
| Pristine white marble slightly striated with black veins fills the round room and is crafted with masterful stonecutting. Each block of the walls, floor, and ceiling has been so tightly placed that the effect is almost seamless. Narrow onyx half-columns serve as floor-to-ceiling beams, their grooved shafts rising from half-moon bases and ending in heavily gilded scalloped capitals. An altar waits at the far side of the domed expanse, opposite a small, square opening leading to some dark stone steps. |
>When I look back at my life I can't help but be dismayed at the course it has taken. The dreams I had as a young Maeramil long since lost to the fate I found myself faced with. It's been over twenty years now since I began my service to Onar. In that time I've seen and experienced a great deal -- things I wouldn't have if I were still just a simple Maeramil. I've changed the lives of many different people, some for better and some for worse. Yet nothing salves the wound of what happened on the day it all changed. The day that my clan died . . . the day I killed them all.
>I'd always tried to tell the story to others and myself as if I were some sort of hero . . . that I saved everyone from a fate of slavery at the hands of Krolvin. In reality, while I'm sure their death did save them from a much worse fate, the truth is that Onar did not spare my people. My people were slain by my possessed hand alongside the Krol. Neither side survived except myself, and few others including my brother and sister who were away at the time. After that happened I spent years struggling with the so-called debt I owed Onar.
>At first I resisted and tried to outrun it, fleeing to River's Rest in an attempt to isolate myself to some degree as well as try and find a new life. I did find that life for a time, until it turned out the woman I had found myself with was a Mularosian who killed our unborn child in some grotesque ritual to her disgusting patron. After that, I knew what I had to do. This world was sick, and it needed the sickness cut away. I would strive toward that end, one life at a time if I had to. Nations and Arkati alike were not to be safe from my vision of this cleansing. I began to wonder what would happen if I killed all people across Elanith. Would the Arkati weaken . . . would they die . . . could they die?
>After recovering from the psychological blow dealt to me by that Mularosian I spent some time reflecting my purpose. It was then that I discovered the group known as the Dae'Randir. For a time this was a mutually beneficial relationship. They gained what they saw as a spiritual guide and an outward face for the public while I gained a network of seemingly like-minded individuals that could be utilized to further my goals. The philosophy of those who lead the Dae'Randir at the time was, at least I thought then, misguided. While I never truly understood Turinrond's motives, I wonder sometimes if we had the same goal -- a place to finally rest and a world without need of those who were willing to do ugly things to prevent atrocity, strife, and misery. The relationship and the Dae'Randir itself fell apart and I pulled away from society once again.
>In the decade that followed, I spent a lot of time alone refining my perspective. Killing everyone won't solve anything. Killing the Arkati is a flawed plan and likely unattainable in any case. It seems so simple now, and yet at the time I could not see beyond my own animosity towards the world. The path forward is much more simple than I realized. Using death as a tool is a final resort, not a starting point. While it would be easy for me to kill hundreds or even thousands of people, it would simply be a waste. No, my purpose now is to stand behind those who would face the light and give all of themselves to bring positivity into the world, to stand in their shadow and guard their flank. They are the only ones who can truly rid this world of the sickness that has infected it for so long. A sickness that must be healed, and one that in doing so I might finally find a place where I can end my service and . . .
Just then the silence of Ceyrin's meditation was broken by light footfalls of a robed figure approaching him. "I've got news you're going to want to hear", came the gravelly voice from beneath a black cowl.
Ceyrin said nothing and simply waited for the man to continue.
"Rohese has been kidnapped by bandits on a trip between here and Talador", the gravelly voice explained succinctly.
Though his eyes were already shut, Ceyrin found himself forcing them closed more tightly as he took a slow and deep breath while rising smoothly from his meditation position to his feet. "Take me there . . . quickly."
Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding. - Albert Einstein
