Sermon delivered to attendees of the Temple in Ashvale Heights by High Cleric Madison in response to the escalating tension between the factions, and the Empire’s deployment of Legion soldiers to the region.
O’ brothers and sisters,
Once again the bonds of brotherhood have been broken,
Darkness has seeped into the soil like a crimson stain,
Visari and Khuldinai hunt each other in shadow,
The great valley to the north lay in ruins,
The gods weep for their children!
They claim it was rooted in ages long forgotten,
When fractured kingdoms sought power,
The truth was much shallower,
O’ brothers and sisters,
O’ how the gods cried for their children!
The Visari have strayed from the light,
They dream of a world bound by memory,
They worship the trees as gods,
But gods they were not,
O’ brothers,
O’ sisters,
The trees would not save them,
O’ how the gods cried for their children!
The Khuldinai took up hammer and flame,
Sought to claim the great trees for their own,
They too ignored the will of the gods,
They too let greed take hold,
They too, held grudges for people long dead,
O’ how the gods cried for their children!
Peace broken by pride and zeal,
Old fires of blood and banner rose,
Songs of kinship turned once again,
Toward the drums of war,
Let the gods weep,
Let the gods weep!
O’ brothers and sisters,
I tell you now,
The evil that crept over that land,
Has no equal among men!
Skirmishes dragged through endless winters,
Villages burned to ash,
Entire peoples driven from their ancestral homes,
On both sides,
O’ brothers and sisters,
On both sides.
Visari hunted from glade and grove,
Visari kin scattered and slain,
Khuldinai hardened their holds in the mountains,
In the high ridges,
In the deep caves,
O’ brothers and sisters,
When the forest burned, they fought,
When the mountains filled with graves, they fought,
It became a war of hate,
O’ how the gods cried for their children!
Viciousness breathed into the valley,
Impulses set free,
The worst of mortals revealed,
O’ brothers and sisters,
The gods were not blind,
The gods had not abandoned them,
O’ how the gods wept!
Years bled on and ruin ran deep,
Villages once rich in song became rich only in death,
And hunger,
And suffering,
O’ brothers and sisters,
O’ how the gods cried for their children!
The gods could cry no more!
The gods called to our people,
To the Empire,
Our beloved Empire,
A divine charge to descend on the valley,
To be their hand,
To end the war,
O’ brothers and sisters,
O’ how the gods rejoiced!
We answered their summons,
We did not show favor,
We silenced the Visari,
We silenced the Khuldinai,
We silenced the war!
O’ how the gods rejoice!
O’ brothers and sisters,
The gods rewarded us greatly,
The gods have blessed the Empire,
And it is our sworn duty,
Our solemn vow,
To answer their calls,
O’ how the gods rejoice!