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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rath Lorien" data-source="post: 4556040" data-attributes="member: 15812">Anniston listens to Jaroth with his head bowed, as if praying silently to himself.  After Jaroth is finished he will discuss the matter with the group, saying the following.OOC:  I assume that much of this conversation will happen back and forth, but I will put it all together here in one long post.“Jaroth, I cannot contest that the book is primarily your burden to bear and so I concede that you are chosen for this task.That being said, you are wrong to take this burden entirely upon yourself.  If you attempt to bear it alone, and without our counsel, your mind will be consumed by it and your soul will be destroyed by it.  You carry the book, but you are not alone.  I believe you will fail if you try to carry the book alone.You have asked us to accept your decision and accompany you as a friend and a trusted companion and I respond to you in like manner.  But take care to mark these words: I have sworn an oath to the Church and to my order and so I will not foreswear myself to you.  I will not be commanded by you nor will I be treated as a henchman.  The book is carried by you, but the book is not yours.  I do not accept that decisions about the book will be decided by you alone.  I believe that you are called to carry the book.  I believe that the rest of us in this company are called to protect and support the bearer of the book.  I believe that none of us can complete our task without the others and toward this end I am eager to hear what each person has to say.I accept your proposal to take the book to the Fortress of Balance.  But I accept it for different reasons than the ones you proffer.At the end of time the Light will prevail in its battle with the Darkness and the world will be remade in glory.  Nothing in the heavens or on the earth can change that future, not even the book.  There is no Force of Balance acting as the third leg of a cosmic stool.  The universe is not stable.  There will be a winner and there will be a loser.  In the end there will be no balance.  Those who attempt to achieve balance can only serve one side or the other in a futile attempt to delay the final conclusion.  Those who seek to balance the Light against the Dark do not wield a third force.  They can only exert influence by using the currency of the universe and that currency can only be aligned to Light or Dark.  At the end of time, when the victory of the Light is complete, the advocates of balance will find themselves serving the Darkness in a misguided attempt to retain what never was and can never be.But confidence in victory does not absolve us of our responsibilities.  The battle is being fought and so also we must fight.  Since the book is consumed by the Darkness and cannot be destroyed then I agree with you that neutralizing it in the Fortress of Balance appears to be the best plan.I will respond to the six paths you offer us:1. If the Book falls into the hands of the enemy, Darkness will consume The Four Lands. the Light will fall and all will be lost.I do not agree that the Light will fall.  But it is certain that the Dark will increase and we agree that this must be avoided at all costs.2. If the Book remains hidden a war between the light and the dark will endure for a hundred years. Thousands if not millions will die on both sides.This is what we are doing right now.  The battle is being fought and so also we must fight.  I want to neutralize the book.  It seems that the best way to do this is to take the book to the Fortress of Balance.3. If the Book is taken by the Light, a new holy war will be called for and Thousands if not millions will die in the zealous attempt to purge the land of all that the Light (rightly or wrongly) perceives evil.The Light cannot and will not lead the Church astray in matters of faith and morals.  However, I believe the book will serve the forces of evil wherever it is, even if it is in the hands of the Church.  I do not wish that curse upon the Church or upon the people of the southern lands.  I would rather loose the lives of millions in an honest fight than to risk loosing one soul due to the influence of this evil book.4. If the Book is given to Silverwood and falls into the hands of the fey, racial wars will begin and thousands or millions will die as the forces of the light and the dark try to take it back.Agreed.  Nothing good can come of this.5. If the Book becomes lost, all will be left to chance.In other words, the book cannot be lost forever.  Eventually it will be found and this cycle will repeat itself until one of the other paths is taken.6. If the Book is destroyed, I fear a cataclysm that will wipe out all of The Four Lands.In other words, it is not possible to destroy the book.  If the Light should choose this book to be the catalyst of the end and remaking of the world then nothing we do will stop it from happening.  But I must assume this is not the case, ergo it cannot be destroyed.Friends, I believe our course is clear.”</blockquote>

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