“And so the campaign in the North
has long since come to a close, leaving the Crusade with a more
global purpose. Certainly many Crusaders, myself included, stayed
behind in the frozen north for quite some time, overseeing garrisons
and keeping a watchful eye on the remaining restless dead. Others
returned to the lands most blighted by the plague of undeath, seeking
to put those lands to rights and establish new homes and new
garrisons there.
For myself, my duties are largely
over for the moment. I believe that my skills, my Light is needed
elsewhere. My own people suffer, the great divide between those who
betrayed the nation of Quel'Thalas and those amongst the Sin'dorei
has only grown and strife has lead to the deaths of many loyal
Sin'dorei, diminishing our chances of rebuilding.
My first task is to see where I am
most needed, and to do this, I must come to understand the nature of
our allies better. It has been long since I've walked amongst them,
long since I've taken up my duties as a Blood Knight. Although I am
somewhat estranged from the others of my Order given my time with the
Crusade, I retain my title and my skill in battle, and will go where
I am needed most.
I have started this journey in the
place most likely to cause me personal distress; that is amongst the
Forsaken. Long have I heard tales of their wretched deeds, and of
course I am intimately familiar with what they did at the Wrathgate.
I have taken it upon myself to travel amongst them to ascertain how
deeply the corruption within them lies. Can they be saved? Can they
atone?
My first glimpses of who and what
they are tell me that they cannot. Darkness spreads its roots deep,
and the innocent men and women who would later rise to become walking
corpses have lost the innocence and love within them. The spark of
Light that resides in all living creatures is snuffed out, their
hearts a black pit where evil can suckle until it is ready to emerge.
It is for this reason that I view them with great distrust, making
every effort to distance myself from them.
It is here I must make an important
point, in fact the most important point. In recent times, we
have come into contact with races and ways (particularly the
Pandaren) who have stressed the importance of patience, serenity, and
mental balance. These concepts are indeed noble, and can help cleanse
one's spirit, however they also contain a hidden danger. Meekness is
a virtue surely, but only when it does not lead to complacency and
tolerance of darkness. One can voice one's opinion against an evil
all one wants, but if you do nothing, if you allow it to grow, then
it will one day consume you and those you love. To allow darkness to
grow while meekly decrying its existence is a dangerous path indeed.
Those of my order were not created
to be meek. We were forged to be the blades of righteous vengeance.
We were trained to be implements of war. The Light teaches us
compassion, but it also teaches us that it will stand against the
darkness. I will not sit idly by and watch evil grow amongst my
allies or my people, no more than I would allow our enemies to take a
single step into beloved Quel'Thalas. There is a time and place for
the application of violence, and against darkness that time is clear
indeed.
I am obligated by the laws of
Quel'Thalas to fight beside our allies. This does not mean I must
accept them, nor does it mean I must offer them Light when they are
aberrations of that very concept. Indeed, how could one even heal
such a dead thing when the very magic of life burns them away? No,
when a Forsaken falls beside me in battle, mortally wounded, I give
them absolution and the peace of death, as they should have been
given long ago. My blade was meant to rend in the name of the Light,
not to coddle the weak who believe in appeasing that which we stand
again. Just my thoughts on the matter.”
~An excerpt from
the memoirs of Britanielle 'Britany' Dawnblaze, Paladin of the Argent
Crusade.
No comments:
Post a Comment