Fool.

[hearth_ 1023]

[!]

Across all roads there was a missive starkly displayed - a large stretch of canvas with bold lettering, meant to catch the attention of any passerby.

 

TO MY KIN AND FELLOW SERVANTS OF THE ASPECTS:   I pen this missive with a hesitance and ire I struggle to put into words. As many now know, Iryalen was forced to yield territory to the Empire at threat of the Shugonate’s blades.   This does not concern me. It shouldn’t concern any of us. By making politics our business, a profession once condemned and forbidden by our Order, we have sown only chaos, and ensured only bloodshed for our people. Read this and know - I bore witness to these events. I participated in the raid on the home of the ‘ame.    And it disgusts me.   Let all be aware that Kato Ichika is the Druid responsible for this foolish endeavor. What lives were made to waste in the aftermath is her burden to shoulder. Her ceaseless involvement and prioritization of her State has led to nothing short of a failure to Serve truly. Her demands were well intentioned - the Unattunement of Draoi, the purging of a festering wound in our culture.   But to her I would ask, besides making the Druii of the Mother Circle and those otherwise unaffiliated into lapdogs for the Shugonate and the Empire - what exactly was accomplished? Every wretch named doesn’t feel a sudden compulsion to throw themselves to the judgement of the Aspects. They will not be motivated by the State she worships.   She has done nothing but give them warning. Ample time to disappear into the wilderness before reckoning may be delivered. And do not be mistaken, their absence will be impermanent. They will bide their time until they peek from their dens and see a people broken and powerless. Their corruption will be born anew, and their illness of mind spread under the guise of ‘philosophy’.   I will not bleed for someone so plagued by arrogance and short-sightedness again. I will not see my people weaponized. Lady Kato’s actions have betrayed our order. Her poor scheming has led to further calamity in our reputation.   May she be shunned.

 

 

[MaplTree 129]

Treemma reads the missive with a slightly agape mouth, shaking her head in disappointment. "Condemning Ichika of all people in this scenario as if she is the one leading the Shugonate in this endeavor, not even name dropping the obvious ones in power. While I agree that the rats will run and hide - Thalen you have a habit of making things worse..." She mutters before going back to her business.

[lemonke 6014]

"Alas, that had to happen. Now, the wicked abusers of our gift will be on the hide due to all these politics. Stay strong, brother of nature. If only the others had heeded my warnings about HER."  Ehiba prayed beneath her breath under the roof of her house away from Azuras, words dedicated to her brother Harvest and his courage, to bless him in his duty. She sighed, and after a long pause, she uttered a word of hope, one that would express her true emotions regarding all this. "Justice."

 

Spoiler

On my phone. So formatting is bad. Not that I care.

 

[F1F4 121]

Passed with a halting step, a glance offered to the name she recognised plastered to the parchment. Her finger brushed over the name as she paused, frowning at the missive in reading it.

★ "Steer clear, Thalen. Every time your countenance turns solemn, it unsettles me."
She muttered under her breath, in defeat, provided her current mental state.

★ "Take heed of yourself. Please. Your safety is no small comfort to me."

» The elfess was gone, nowhere to be seen. 

Edited December 2, 2025 by F1F4

[Old-Rattlesnake 1534]

A very old and obese rattlesnake eats one of the fliers. His take on this matter is unclear.

[Chuuwys 502]

The sight of the missive, the recognition of who wrote it and the words used, set to ease a nausea that has been plaguing the young Dedicant for a while.

 

"...I won't say I understand. I still don't. What she did was use her weight for political gain, abuse the trust of her fellow druids to do something she has wanted for a long time."

 

She sighs. Her stomach still can't handle the abandoned meal nearby.

 

"To handle Draoi is one thing - that is Duty. To use that duty to do the bidding of ruthless murderers seeking our lands and harassing independent Druii towards execution is another."

"Aspects guide, ah'llir."

[A_Cosmosss 27]

The Dryad caught the missive as she passed a road post on her way home. Her eyes immediately drawn by the word "Aspects" written in bold. As she scanned through the words her lips pursed.

 

Even if the name was obscured, she couldn't help but recognize the handwriting. Even the manner of writing. A sigh escaped her parted lips, and despite understanding the disdain, despite being angered with the events that transpired without her knowledge, the only one thing took her mind was Worry.

"Why do you love putting a target on your back...?" She muttered before continuing on her path. 

[MayRndz 1830]

[!] Jade eyes of the Riptide Druid flickered crossed the paper, a slight dip of her horned head in agreeance. “Making it political was wrong - many cease to see how problematic this will become. 

[hearth_ 1023]

In the wake of his writings, The Harvest Druid stood alone atop the Elder Tree of the Mother Circle. When an errant breeze caused the branches that held him to rustle, a dour breath left long through his nose. The Marshlands of Jun-Mura had been a welcome home to he and his kin - yet he knew well the tyranny of the Shugonate. The consequences that would follow him.

 

He went with the wind, and hasn’t been seen since.

 

[Akrasia 265]

Spoiler

 

 

As another missive reached his hands, the druid couldn't help but scowl. All roads seem to lead back to the same handful of people.

"How disappointing. I could've sworn in my only conversation with Ichika that she said she is a samurai and politics are not in her purview. A traitor to the Order, her friends, and her word." he spat out with disdain as he set the missive aside. "I can't help but wonder if there is an ounce of shame that riddles that disgusting soul of theirs."

[hatter 51]

In his travels, an etamaehr caught sight of the missive. Seeing "Aspects" upon the parchment caused him to ease his automaton to a halt, and the words were swiftly read through.

"Of course," he spat, bitterly. "I expected nothing less."

The elf clicked his tongue, urging the mechanic panther forward at a slow pace. "Atysh ohk, Thalen. Yo'ros." In only a moment’s passing, his annoyance towards the matter faded. A fleeting, worried look was cast back to that missive before his gaze shifted back to the road ahead.

"It will pass."

 

[Junoix 2301]

The Fox read the missive as she walked between her lands and that of her new neighbor, smoking from her dragonfly decorated peace-pipe. She wondered, as the words on paper filled her mind, if this conflict would ever be able to be solved within themselves. Or, if salvation could only come by the claws of something else.

She did so long ago. When will she be free to do such again?

[Gnomeh 470]

The Wyld Witch mused over her guides words, her usual gentle smile withered slightly and her feelings slowly became dispositioned "Thou art causing much strife. Branches are breaking across our lands and thou must focus on mending them, nay snapping them thineself." A soft sigh condensed within the morning air, continuing to bundle her herbs together with various chants "Mine loyalty rests on thee, but we must speak."