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[Bailos]

---

The following is written on a unique piece of parchment
made from the pulp of a rare red ash tree. The
parchment has a rather regal, redish-gray hue to it.
The envelope in which it arrives to Blackguard is very
carefully sealed and marked with a wax stamp of a shield
featuring a closed fist with an ornate letter 'M'
features at the center.


King of Sanctus and Lord of House Skyfire,

Being one for entrances and grandeur I pray you will
afford me the courtesy of accepting my simple letter,
although it is one written with great care. I write
you, dear sir, in your time of need not in hopes that
recent events have weakened your resolve, but in earnest
proposition that they have instead strengthened it. As
I am sure your courage is only now more bold, it only
remains to be seen whether or not your temperment has
soften enough to let your ears entertain my words with
an open mind and heart.

You are so well known to me, and I to you, yet we really
know so little of each other, though we might presume
otherwise. You and I are a contrast in philosophy on a
great many topics, but there are common bonds between
us. As you are quite familiar with your own self,
please allow me to summarize a different subject for
you...me.

You 'know' me to be a cruel and unmerciful master. An
enemy to all life. A destroyer of worlds...of art and
humanity. A Bringer of Ends. A warmonger with a lust
to feel bones snap under foot. A commander of the dark
energies of this world. A purveyor of souls and a
consumer of good peoples. Not man, not death, but a
hell-wrought bastard from the great abyss. Known as
Bailos.

Admitting what fault I have, I grant you partial truth.
But I pray you re-examine me from another's eyes as Good
and Evil are born out of perspective. A truth we both
know. I pray you will take this journey with me and
reevaluate what about me chides at your soul, as I have
done with you. My investigation of your motivations and
the intricacies of your mind is what has led me to
admire you so.

You are such a staunch and dedicated defender. Never
has a man stood so stall with such a clear sense of
right and wrong and fought so valiantly to preserve it.
Even in death, when ripped far below this world by the
icey tendrils of death itself, your courage and
conviction could not be chained. It is the legacy of
men like you, Talon, which makes this world livable. A
man galvanized in the fires of duty, you see every task
through and continue to surround yourself with the best
leaders and followers available to you. You command
respect, and give it just as easily if it is earned.
Your faith and family are also very important to you.
And so, you are partially defined.

No, not by what you fight for, but by the leadership and example with which you fight.

Accounting for your stubborn nature I presume that after
reading this far you are unmoved by my speech and
probably think I am simply flattering you. Stop
scoffing please. I hope you can let down that barrier
and allow yourself to not be a captive of your ideology
for but a few moments. I pray you will meditate on my
message and reconsider what I am.

I have learned a great deal of things both about myself
and the nature of life, death and humanity by examining
your very soul. I hope you will be surprised by what you
decide you might be able to learn from mine.

Yours In Peace,
Bailos

[Talon Skyfire]

---

The King furrowed his brow as he read over the well-prepared parchment.

"He knows more about me than most," Talon said to Zarlox as he placed the missive aside aside.

"Do you wish to send a reply, Your Grace?" the Lady Ivory Wright inquired, her quill and parchment at the ready.

"Aye milady, the Lord Bailos obviously went through a great deal of trouble to come up with such flowery words and fine paper," said the King.

Talon considered his words carefully as he began the dictation of the response.


********************************************************

Lord Bailos,

I will begin by thanking you for the extensive preparation that went into your missive. The attention to detail and respect is appreciated. I also thank you for the kind words. You know my mind moreso than many of my own people.

I will not bore you with a long and drawn out speech. You state that you seek to be reevaluated in light of recent events. Certainly, I am willing to do that.

First, you cast me into the abyss for nearly a decade. Next, my people suffered unimaginable horrors under your reign, which nearly destroyed Sanctus.

You stole power that was not yours and sat the throne of Sanctus as a god.

My brother and sister, our Prince and Princess, were made a mockery of by your faux with Sadira.

You have sullied the honor of my Kingdom, my family, and my house.

We can be civil friends now, correct?

I give credit where credit is due. You are perhaps the most cunning man since Lord Greypawn. You have a way of bringing about your will that most leaders can only envy.

As I stated before, you know me very well. My resolve has indeed strengthened in light of recent events. I am willing to do what must be done. I will not rest until you, and all those like you, are but a distant memory; a folk story that mother's pass to ill-behaved children.

There can be no peace or harmony between the followers of the light and the followers of darkness. One side or the other must be eradicated from the face of Sosaria for true peace to occur.

The fate of all followers of darkness is a painful end in the purging fires of the light.

In light of our reevaluation of one another, I offer you simple terms that I know will be refused.

1. Repent your wicked ways and face the justice that you have managed to escape thusfar.

That is your choice. I am not a fool, either, and I offer you an additional stipulation:

Turn your forces against the Shadow Conclave. You desire power, and it is through them you can attain it. Cast down the Lich Darrien Church, the Daemon Lord Beleth, the Ice Queen Ceinwyn, Cear Dalben, and the Orcish Chief Gorgon. When this is done, the final battle for the dawn will be upon us. The forces of good and evil will meet one final time to determine the fate of this world.

Conversly, you can ignore this offer and join up with them, which will only hasten your destruction.

These are my terms, and those of Sanctus. The choice is now yours: save your soul, or burn.

Your friend,

King Talon Skyfire
_________________
~Lord Talon Skyfire
King of Sanctus
Lord Protector of Malas

[Bailos]

---

Good King Skyfire,

I suppose I should be surprised in the timeliness and civility with which you responded to me, but I don't think I will be. I do suppose however, that you will surprised in the manner and civility with which I reply. I full expect that you anticipated, if I were to reply to your message, that I should do so as an angry, belligerent old man long since driven insane by darkness he clings to. Please, have a bit more faith in me old friend.

I am deeply intrigued by what you have written. It has been a great cause for self reflection and review as of late and I hope to gain even more from your insights. The biggest question I am left asking myself is, I am defined by what I do and what becomes of it? Or should I better define myself by my motivations?

Would it be out of character, or inappropriate for me to say that I do not follow darkness and death, but that these traits seem to rather follow me? That I instead bring the darkness with me, rather than trumpet it as its disciple? Perhaps the burning brilliance of the torch I carry casts such a dark and ominous shadow that not a soul in the world can escape it.

You would be hard pressed to find a single man amongst the ones I have led who would say I did not act a single day without the promotion of my people and their interests at heart. I have done such good for the peoples of Umbra and the others that I have led, but the debt has piled up. At what cost do these good works come? War? Famine? Death? A life born in fear and hatred for the sons of my subjects? But yet these people seek me out, and look to my grace a guiding and stabilizing force in a way that a child looks to its mother.

Perhaps the world is not such an evil place. And if it is, perhaps it is not I that has made it so. But these questions of doubt in existence and purpose have made me wonder, why the things that have happened to me, have happened. If we believe that each man has a destiny, then what cruel Sister of Fate decided that I should be plagued by the burden to lead the masses that I do. Or that I should be forced to dawn this sour mantle of darkness and oppression. Was it done by the same Fates who forced me to watch my father have his shinbones removed and live out his life as a circus attraction for gypsy slavers while I sat in a cage caring for my bloodied and vanquished mother?

Or maybe man does not hear the subjugations of Fate and is master of his own destination in life. But if this is so, how can someone have such good intentions for a people, yet arrive with so much death and despair? How can one man wield so much power over life and death, for others and himself, when so many others are more deserving?

Perhaps it is the manifestation of the Will, subconsciously or otherwise, which guides both destiny and our actions. Then again, maybe it is luck. Could simply be choice too, but if so, why do the choices we make go wrong? When do we lose our control, over the destination, ourselves and others?

Help me...help us both to understand.

As a friend,
Bailos