Joryn - 17

A Bleak Impression
I now understand why I found the order so unhelpful when we first joined; their experience lies not in slaying Lyth but in lying low while seeking to identify, observe, and maybe even expose them. They might have a network of semi-professional Innkeepers and Informants, but lack expert Rangers to make effective use of the findings. They watch but don't act. Or, if they do act, they fail to get meaningful results.

Between the students, instructors, and even master of this school, we are the first to successfully slay a Lyth. Sadly, this school's emphasis is in training Rangers, suggesting to me that we'd find few in the order, if any, that have ever managed to slay a Lyth. If neither the master nor his instructors have any real experience, then I fear that my training from this last month was not the routine with proven results that I expected, but a blind investment or barrage of scattered arrows in which at least one is hoped to meet the desired target.

And so, yet again, I seem to have found myself on the desperate and losing side of the war. I don't regret my decision to align myself with the Ash and Vanguard. Rather, I lament that the circumstances are so bleak. Our enemies are stronger, better coordinated, better prepared, better positioned, better protected, and far more experienced than those in the order. We humans are excessively incompetent and too easily manipulated. Perhaps it is just that we become slaves to the Lyth.

Arimus seems to be frustrated with the order. I believe that he realizes that the order's current strategy of quiet, slow, and steady advancement is too conservative given the current stage of the feud. He would like us to be more assertive in obtaining influence and power instead of permitting the Lyth to seize and maintain the initiative. Were we to have more dedicated and proactive members—most are only part-time contributors—we might not be in our current predicament.

On the other hand, I don't know the history of the order nor do I know much about its conflict with the Lyth. Perhaps it was formed when the Lyth were already strong, in which case a direct approach would have been ineffective and even fatal. Perhaps there was a time in which gathering our strength was precisely what we needed, lest the order be easily neutralized in its youth. Or perhaps they had vain ambitions to expose the mythical Lyth and then rely on dogmatic reactions from the general populace to solve the problem; that seems to be the route that the Xolmeth took. Whatever the case, it appears that we've been outmaneuvered; the only prevailing dogma I've witnessed is toward magic. The Lyth are just a fairytale to most of the people that I've met.

Ra'Shataan
We were given an opportunity to attack Leopold. Arimus was discussing the possibility of evacuating the school and leading us north to join Vargath in Xolmeth, when he received a report of scouts identifying Leopold completely alone in a tavern. Obviously a trap, but still too critical an opportunity to overlook, we gathered three squads and attempted to ambush him. Not in the least bit surprising, he was ready for us.

We were immediately brought to a stalemate. Not because Leopold didn't have the power to fight or even beat us, but because he claimed that we were the victims of a much larger trap. One in which both Leopold and our twelve men would be killed. If all went according to plan, we'd successfully defeat Leopold, or vice versa, only to be slaughtered by other plotting Lyth. If Leopold were the victor of our conflict, he would be slain by the others instead.

Leopold claimed to be an outcast of his people for acquiring magic on the island. Now an abomination in both his religion and ours, he emphasized that his last 500 years of work had been rejected and thrown in his face by his brothers; he didn't know where else to go or what else to do. And so he allowed this trap to be formed and proposed an alliance between us.

Again so clearly outmaneuvered and despite our distrust towards him, we tentatively went along with his proposal and took defensive positions inside the inn. From beneath some of the tables emerged four of his blackguards from the island. In awkward silence, we waited to see if Leopold's claim for an alliance would be validated or if time would, yet again, reveal us as fools.

Two men, each from a different entrance, soon entered the tavern. One began to speak very openly about us falling into their trap. "Why are you not killing this evil Lyth?" he mocked. Lagreth confirmed that these two men, in addition to Leopold, were Lyth. I began to fear very deeply that Leopold remained on their side, and that we had allowed the situation to progress from very bad to much worse.

A short exchange followed in which the Lyth shifted his attention from one person to another to present personalized and condescending banter. At one point, he made light of our recent victory over a Lyth, stating that we should be proud of killing a child, the first Lyth to die for a very long time. He also expressed disgust towards Lagreth and his magic, who was a body of air at the time.

The most interesting comments, however, were those made towards Leopold, whom he called "brother" and "Ra'Shataan." He even referred to him as an abomination.

Another Desperate Escape
The Lyth's banter eventually escalated to accusations against us and a demand for our surrender. He even read aloud a list of our "crimes" which included: assassinating the peace council in Moira's Victory; burning down a tannery in the Academy City-State; murdering the Great One Donald; abducting the Great One apprentice Lagreth; and stealing a slave. It was an interesting spin on the actual events and also revealed how transparent our operations are to the enemy. Suspecting that little good would come from continuing the conversation, I fired my arrow at his heart. It was deftly blocked but marked the beginning of the battle.

Leopold wielded his blades true to his word. He fought his former brothers and even managed to kill them, one early in the conflict and the other shortly before we escaped out the back of the inn. Most of the rest of us worked to fend off nearly 100 soldiers or "3 knives" from the city, occasionally trying to assist in fighting the Lyth directly. In the end, the entire building was burned down; yet another accusation to add to the list and fuel their pursuit.

The advance of the city guard was largely thwarted by a mage instructor, Matthew, and several magical explosions of air thrown by Leopold. Matthew, an illusionist, concealed the building in a dark veil that prevented the soldiers from effectively sieging the building and allowing us to address them in handfuls at a time. Leopold, in turn, kept them disorganized with his magic.

Even after escaping out the back of the inn, Leopold continued to use his magic liberally and without concern for the energy threshold that Aaron had previously described to me. It was as if Leopold didn't yet know or possess discipline over his magical limits, was willing to push those limits given the circumstances, or has a much higher threshold than humans with the gift. The thought of the latter is disturbing.

The Lyth already possess great physical prowess that renders them nearly impossible to ambush, avoid, or fight. Combine that with a superior capacity for magic and it would be nearly unbeatable even for an army. If the Lyth were to realize their folly and make amends with Leopold, I suspect that there's nothing the order could do to prevent them from conquering our land.

Aftermath
If the Lyth knew enough to fabricate those criminal charges against us, then they surely know the location of the school. Likewise, if they were able to send 3 knives of troops to detain us then I fear the school has already met significant opposition. I hope that Arimus decided to prepare an evacuation after sending us off to stir the nest. Otherwise, it may be difficult to safely gather those living in the city.

Most of the group, including Leopold's blackguards, are headed to the school. Leopold volunteered himself to create a diversion to allow our continued escape. When he asked where we should meet, I requested to accompany him that I might assist in the diversion and later reconnect him with the rest of the group, presuming that I'm still alive.

I wanted to give the group a chance to evade Leopold if they so chose. My fate is of little consequence to the order when compared to its burning hatred for all Lyth. Let the others decide what they will. They're not in a position to decide the fate of humanity anyway, and I'm certainly not interested in being there when they start labeling an alliance with Leopold as "right" or "wrong."

More importantly, I'm interested in a private conversation with Leopold. One in which I can have an open discussion without fear of dogmatic judgment. I fear, however, that the pressing situation won't give me much time for the lengthy exchange that I seek. If the order allows Leopold's help, then we'll need to reach the Painted Duck quickly enough to help them escape whatever they might face.