VOCA ET VIDEM

[Swgrclaŋ 697]

[ Narration ]

 

Standing before the bonfire and pale tree central to the city of Aelwen lies the alloyed man LOGOS, who speaks to the people as they pass and as they rest. Here the light of the fire shines greatly upon his bald and polished head, invoking an almost torchlike glare and reflection which may more easily draw eyes his way. He genuflects and gestures as he speaks, and always is his metal expression stern and thoughtful, and looks upon the people eyelessly and yet sees them all before him with the most perfect clarity. Here, he speaks. The subject, was creation.

 

“Hear me, Aelwen, hear me. I speak to you now as the unstruck iron nears the loss of its red heat. The time is still opportune in the infancy of this place which some whisper to be Malinor-Reborn, home of all Elves, to uplift it to heights previously unknown, cradled in the arms of empire, rebuilt upon ashes of Haelun-Or which had been burned to purge it of ill humors and tainted notions.

 

Voca Et Videm; those are the words of this day. It means “we call it as we see it”, and I shall take first charge in identifying the maladies that plague the continent which may be treated with the salve of rightful Aelwennic intuition, intrigue, and unity. Hear me, now, as I call it as I see it.

 

We know there are already the corpses of cities and states in the land; placed at remarkable distances for security of territory or otherwise, the continent is bepopulate with towns dwelled only by ghosts and silence, and already does this curse rear its head for our home. There must be a shortening of the way.

 

We know that all men thrive on bread and water, or meat when he is graced by good hunting, and that for lack of its abundance the common banditry are so willing even to deprive others of their food-bags and thus their energy needed to conquer and tame this land we have been driven to from the place behind Kalldur, already fading from memory. There must be feasts lent to every man.

 

We know there is war, there is ideological and socioreligious conflict. We know the people of all races except perhaps for humanity are divided, and see no just cause to bind themselves together into their original Four-Brother nations - the Elves especially, and the High Elves the martyr of this fact. We must mend the ties between Elves and foster them beneath one nation, to right old wrongs and forge new rights. There must be peace in the woodland of Malin. 

 

Hear me and consider my calculations. I have read and absorbed without need for sleep a thousand historical perspectives, as well as mine which I have lived to experience, and from my evaluations I seek only to repair what is broken. We must call things as they are, and recognize that all things around us have become worse as time has gone on, and rarely better. More evils are born in the shadow of the Descendants than miracles. We have seen what the will of a mortal is capable of; I have been born by the very same notions. Let us see many five-fingered Elven hands reach for a golden age in Aelwen with that same miraculous will.

 

To the Wizards of the Big Hat Society, to the mages of Aelwen not yet ushered beneath our wing, hear me: let us create the shortening of the way. Let us forge arcane doors through which unfathomable gaps may be crossed, so the layman and the lord may both equally and easily traverse to the Aelwennic realm. Let every man of every race find value in such portals, bringing with them their patronage and good will and desire for presence among fellow mortals. And when such a portal proves itself useful - let us place a portal in every city beyond us, so that Aelwen becomes a nexus or crossroads powered by the genius of wizards committed and invested in the wellbeing of the world.

 

To the Druids of the Sun Circle, hear me. In your grasp lies the undeniable mastery over the natural world, and ears to hear and listen to voices the common man cannot. Here, in Aelwen, you have allowed me to walk uncontested though your more ancient predecessors, and other circles would impose upon you every reason for my destruction. Allow me to reward you for your patience in elucidating the miracles of bounty and harvest you may bring to our city - if not already within your intentions. Solely in your hands lies the power to turn Aelwen into the breadbasket of the world, so flooded with wheat that food itself becomes without cost in every nation. Let our land brim with crops and beasts given fair and quiet conditions for their prosperity and hunting. Feed every mouth with your power, and see how all men shall be ushered behind our walls in good and loving visitation.

 

And to our most ideal leader, the Prince Adriel as he is known, I tell you - rule as you have been. You walk the walk of the High Prince Native. You do not dwell in the shadow of him but rather parallel to his memory, he who held the Elves together as one in Malinor, in Aegis. I beseech you, hear my words and aid me in uplifting our folk and our orders. Break down any walls between forces brought into our city, erase all diametric opposition where it emerges like an evil ghost. Let us create the City of Miracles where before there was only the City of Bedlam. Let us be as the Creator, and create.”