CosmicWhaleShark

From alien woods in an alien plain a lone elf would mutter a lone word.

"Finally."

What do you find personally fun about lotc nowadays?

Oof, poor Bran, went to all that effort too.

The Volsungs seem to have a habit of dropping Areon, in more ways than one. Way to stick to family traditions.

I remember some of these people.

A ringing and clang of metal can be heard within a clearing, nestled comfortably in the thick forests of Tauob Bûbhosh Hoital. Within the villa painted a smooth bronze color with red clay shingles. Phaedrus would be seen, crafting as always, a rack of finished weapons waiting outside for those who wish to partake in the hunt.

He pauses for a moment, his brow furrowing as he looks off into the distance, before returning to his work again as he mutters to himself.

“Interesting... Anonymity isn’t a luxury an Uruk typically enjoys. Hard to gain honor that way. I wonder if they’re actually strong enough to own slaves.”

He walks over to a barrel of water and quenches the metal, steam billowing up from it as the only noise made for a brief moment, is a hiss.

To respond to the thread seriously since it seems like a surprising amount of people do want this. If firearms get added to the game then I believe there should be an overhaul to how ranged weapons work in general, regarding hits to begin with and where they hit. Not to mention classification of weapon, and pros and cons to each type. Crossbows sort of are aids because everyone treats it like a siege crossbow that gets cranked with a windlass device, as an example. People have been really dumb about them, sorry crossbow bois.

Muskets are actually kind of advanced as far as the technology goes for firearms, the trigger mechanism is what makes it unique. Cannons functioned the same as an arquebus, and the matchlock was the father of the musket.

People, fundamentally, don’t perform maintenance to their weapons. I don’t think people even go to a blacksmith to repair their swords anymore when the durability falls into orange. Bows remain strung, crossbows never malfunction or wear out, and regarding firearms... Well, odds are it will always be loaded and at the ready at the beginning of every encounter.

If there was a flaw in the application of gunpowder during the loading process, a flaw in the metallurgy for the barrel, the ball wasn’t packed in against the gunpowder, etc. It would explode in your hands. Best case scenario the barrel would get blown out.

So bearing that in mind it might be nice if, rather than saying yes or no to firearms existing in lotc, the story team considers the functionality of ranged weapons as a whole. This can be done with rolling, with respective downsides to each one. Mainly involving functionality such as loading time, accuracy, and weapons malfunction downsides. You’re basically five google searches away from making something feasible so I’d leave that up to you. But I would encourage matchlocks being the highest form of technology present if firearms do exist because it’s honestly more interesting, considering wet equals death, and it’s probably the most effective form of balancing since I doubt anyone would consider a lead ball to be anything short of lethal.

If this gets passed it’ll be entertaining to see all the deadshots that can’t get a good grouping at 50 yards with modern firearms at the range.

“Sights must be off.”

After reading this guide I can say I honestly love this color scheme.

twitches and scratches nose while rubbing neck and looking off to the side

6 hours ago, SquakHawk said:

I aswell think Covenants should be rather mysterious in how they work in some cases. I don’t want it to be common knowledge how certain gods work or what their goal is. They’re gods, and understand things and look at things in a far different way than we do- we shouldn’t be able to easily interpret the goal or meaning behind something. It opens up writing to be exceptionally more creative and interesting other than “THIS COVENANT GOOD, THIS ONE BAD, THIS ONE BAD BUT RED” etc..

You realize that’s not going to happen though right? It’ll come down to the information the LT releases for public consumption and how much certain people decide to metagame. With divine rp everyone wants to be the one who’s closest to the god, because that’s equivalent to power. If you want things to be mysterious then don’t hand feed something like five pre-established pantheons in the first place. I fail to see how this will solve anything or produce the desired outcome because you’re essentially exchanging names. Supervision on this lore might be adequate the first few months but you wouldn’t really be solving anything because like with Aeriel the issues stemming from divine magics is the players themselves. 
 

It would be far more feasible to have players enter into those conflicts themselves, propaganda and ignorance being the main source of differences between types of worship and to which gods, no side being inherently good nor inherently bad. Some religions that develop perhaps going to an extreme and taking on cultist characteristics but because there’s no present gods for the time you have no definitive answer as to what’s good or bad generally speaking. 
 

If you create lore for something that has no presence in the current game world and players aren’t able to figure things out, that’s on you. That’s boring. If you leave things open ended and expect people to fill in the blanks so long as it conforms to the five houses, that leads to the current mess you’re trying to address. You’re even allowing for things to filter outside these five houses before the concept even launches which really only indicates the flaws in the concept already.

I’d really recommend approaching this differently. Players will never go along with a plan that you have for them, ever, it’s a law of roleplay. You guys are essentially DMing so you have to account for this. 
 

You can make a lot less work for yourself if you go ahead with the original plan and have the players fill in the blanks from scratch. Not trying to find solutions in a ‘mysterious’ new set of religious rules that quite literally came from no where in the currently played game world. 

The pantheons being hamfisted into five five factions seems kind of clunky. Kind of reminds me of the four nations in Avatar or something. For the purposes of organic RP I think it could make things really bland if reasons for conflict become ‘for muh house’. You’ll end up having folks make characters to conform to the house rather than having any personal motivation, which will lead to lack of variety in backstories and lack of depth in decisions made in game.

In an effort to simplify the lore and clean up loose ends you’d essentially be making things black and white, which would be my main concern. They’re interesting ideas of course and there’s always an opportunity for good stories to be had, from anything, but I’m skeptical in the general application for this concept.

Perhabs, this could be a good opportunity to turn things towards a low fantasy/exceptional magic direction instead. Where rather than having these pantheons and creating a replacement immediately after the vacuum occurs, you let the players figure it out for themselves in RP and in lore suggestions and posts while they live in a world without gods for a while. You can maintain the plan for putting to rest who you want to put to rest and simply have the explanation be there was an astral war that for once didn’t intersect with the mortal plane. The established gods needed all of their power to fight and consequently it became absent in the player world. The victors of this conflict eventually reveal themselves again after recovering from the conflict.

Magic has taken a front seat and has made a lot of things bland in RP for a while, mainly due to its abundance, in almost every respect. Rather than expanding upon a storyline or being the catalyst to something it instead shuts everything down on small scale player to player interactions normally.

While I understand you guys need to keep folks happy, and you need to do things one step at a time, I personally see the benefit in working towards a less magical player world so that other appealing avenues of RP can have their time in the sun more frequently. Encouraging creativity, making more personal conflicts, and to that extent making people feel less safe when they are in a conflict. Because they’re normal. They can die, they don’t have any trump cards unless they made the necessary preparations by interacting with other players to make their odds more favorable. It’ll be a lonelier world without gods or magic that’s as abundant, but expanding from an actual foundation rather than remodeling would be more ideal in general if the objective is to clean up stuff.

Do it, dooooo it. Destroy all magic. Let the players make their own pantheons, see what they do, and perhaps consider rewarding players who ‘have faith’ in the future, the far future, for contributing to the game world by having this faith in their absent deities and providing that atmosphere without any immediate or direct reward. Not because they’ll get something, but because they want to rp that stuff.

It’ll make whatever lore that does come into existence later much more grounded, possibly sensible, but more important alive. Not five random houses.

Banditry would be a lot cooler in my opinion if there was an actual source location for the bandits, a camp or a fort site. This would open up RP avenues and would make the classical hubbub that results from retaliations and metagaming a bit more cushioned.

Banditry as it stands now is rather lame. You have dumb **** like [disguised voice] or people with bandanas, arguments that they sourced the armor from different locales – did you actually RP getting this done? I doubt it. It’s openly disruptive and there is zero risk on part of the bandits themselves save having to deal with a decent number on the defense. That’s silly.

Having the requirement to have a site would be far better imo. You cannot bandit, if you do not have a site. Sites can be raided at any time, on account of the fact bandits can bandit at any time, and you do not require a warclaim to destroy them. This will encourage making a site both adequate and well hidden, like actual bandits.

But muh proxies and mercenaries. Ok, cool, if you want to RP with zero consequences as a nation or a nation leader go on massivecraft. You shouldn’t be endorsing pvp and ‘organic rp’ like raids and banditry if you do not accept the risks that SHOULD be associated with it.

Bearing that in mind I also think this would address the issue of ‘caps’ for players. This would open up a lot more fluid pvp interaction between groups potentially and be a lot more inclusive for a larger number of players, giving that feeling of both accomplishment and being in a battle that actually matters versus a large lagfest in a warclaim that starts two hours late. Bandits, for once, also actually have to work for banditry rather than just having a chest in their other character’s home that they store loot in. Could be neat.

Random banditry cannot truly prevail if there is unenforced pking, part of the reason a lot of people don’t like roadside bandits is because there’s next to zero legitimate ways to retaliate save killing them there and then. It won’t ever stop, because that player will either just have another shitty alt or just not pk and continue on their ventures with loot and supplies they either acquired on a different character or was distributed to them on behalf of a nation in which case... Again, rather frustrating for the reasons stated above.

If you’re a lone wolf, you should be RPing imo, rather than resorting to pvp. Large group situations are a different story, thus, making that large group (let’s say 3+ since an RP fight with that number and beyond is cancer) actually do something and create something they stand to lose might answer a number of the complaints and feedback over the years.

Stomping can be heard echoing through the trees of a deep and ominous woodland, birds fleeting from their roosts and scattering to the sky above as a presence drags the corpse of a large boar into a clearing where a red and white clay villa rests atop a hill.

Beside the main structure there is an area nearly just as wide, encircled with a shorter wall and a roof with a hole at its center, where upon a large furnace and charcoal pit smolders, hissing and popping with the occasional sparks flitting upward with the draft.

The boar is slumped onto the stone tiles in a heap as the Elf reaches for a rack of freshly made tools and weapons, taking his time as he wiggles his fingers and grunts while debating the choices with himself. Eventually he settles on a broad but stubby blade as well as a large hook. Threading the hook into a metal pole and setting it beside the boar. While still holding the blade in one hand he sidesteps over to another corner and hooks his foot into a bucket, chucking it over to bump against the corpse, rolling to a stop in a noisy wobble as it debates which tile to finally rest on. 

The last piece of the assembly the Elf retrieves is a large circular metal grate, nestling into place at the charcoal pit. With a gorey squelch he proceeds to slam the hook upwards into the roof of the boars mouth, hefting it up afterwards by the pole and resting it on two other hooks hanging from the edge of the ceiling’s hole. The boar swings there with its legs hanging stiffly in the air while blood sizzles down from its mouth into the charcoal below, dripping from its chubby cheek which hangs at too sharp an angle to trickle any further down. 

With his preparations complete he begins to deftly wiggle the blade through the flesh of the boar at the apex of its stomach just where the ribs peak, careful not to slice into any organs as he throws the edible entrails onto the grill and the undesired trimmings in the bucket. 

“I am a generous spirit.” He mutters to himself with a chuckle.

I'll be rescinding my accusations and apologizing to Thomas here, he provided clarity to debunk my previous impressions. Thank you for the patience.

You know who the real beta is when they call their friends to back them up on forums. inb4 mass hide, anyways, Thomas, link the explanation post if you would. PM me.

6 hours ago, Thomas said:

My strained relationship with the Administration at the time was nothing to do with the whole 'predator' situation. The accusation came about during the start of April, and I left the team around the start of June. The reason I was at odds with members of the Administration was due to my strained relationship with the Dev Team at the time, and a growing difficulty I was having with communicating with the Dev Director at the time. That, coupled with the fact that I had recently been given a promotion at my, admittedly, shitty job, I was really trying to focus on my work so I could actually make my dues and meet my rent payments each month. As for why there was no announcement for clarification, that was on me for not explaining my departure more extensively. 

 

After leaving the Administration, I was contacted by a few choice players who wanted to know more about my disagreements with the Development Team and the Administration during my tenure, hence why I made a 'callout' post on the Development Team which attracted a bit of attention. This was what got my Blacklisted from staff for a few months and left my relationship with the Administration and Development Team strained and pressed for another 6 months. Eventually I appealed and I'm hoping that we kind of cooled off from that. 

 

There was a large post regarding the 'predator' claims, and I did debunk everything with evidence and a full explanation. It just so happened that that explanation was completely disregarded by some people who just didn't want to listen to it. The fact that it has continued to be mentioned, even often as a joke, has been something that's caused a slight amount of irritation for me over the past year, and I actively do what I can to explain the situation as fully as I can. People just don't always listen. 

Mind linking the explanation post

5 hours ago, CheapTrick said:

local beta male recedes to the classic "i don't care" when called to stand for his own touted beliefs

pahahahahaha pathetic

Sarcastic text laughing beginning with a p, nice. I know reading isn't exactly second nature for you but you'll see I expanded on to say, on LotC. I don't care where he ends up, I just don't want it to be on a server with players I know and players I've looked out for in the past in a place I've spent nearly eight years on.

21 minutes ago, Thomas said:

I believe I've already explained absolutely everything on the last post about this that came up, but I'll be fair and reply to this. You appear woefully misinformed. There was no predatory behaviour towards children, and I was not removed or forced to step down from the Administration. I willingly left because my IRL Job was picking up pace and I had to focus on my real life, that is why I took such a large break from the server.

 

Regarding this 'predatory' behaviour, the individual you refer to was of Legal age in both States of Residence we were living in, and there was a 2 year age gap between us. Additionally, the 'logs' that were provided from the individual who 'leaked' them were taken severely out of context and should it be given an iota of thought, this would be plainly evident. 

 

When this whole ordeal went down and people began to throw around wild accusations, players from Lord of the Craft actively sought out members of my own family to 'tell them about' what had happened, wildly bending the truth when explaining it to them. The stories of the accuser's are inconsistent and invalid, and in fact my own family lawyer became involved with the situation by request of myself to evaluate whether or not I would be able to press a case against the accuser for blatant defamation and slander. The reason this proceeding never continued, was because I decided that the expense of court proceedings simply was not worth my time to deal with individuals who couldn't spare to grant a second of thought to the information they were being fed. 

 

If you genuinely believe that I am a 'predator', inform the authorities. Go ahead, I implore you to seek out the authorities. Predators are disgusting pieces of filth who do not deserve to be called human, and if you followed that same belief you would contact authorities to deal with that threat. If you need further information, or would like to escalate this further, I implore you to do what you genuinely believe is the right thing to do. I have nothing against anyone here who makes the accusation and dislikes me because they believe I am a predator, because that is the right attitude you should have to people who have been confirmed to be such. With that said, I just implore you to look into the situation a little further or escalate it to a level where actual justice can be brought against the accused should the accused actually be guilty.

 

All being said, I thank you for taking the time to reply and I respect and understand your adamant stance against the idea of something so foul, though I must again reiterate that the whole situation was an attempt to slander and stain my name by a group of people who were displeased with my ideas amongst the Administration. 

That explanation provides a completely different impression, with that said why then was  your relationship directly with the admins at odds? If the logs were taken out of context it seems like a simple matter to provide context. If accusations were thrown around enough to make the timing of your departure all the more questionable, why was there no announcement for clarification. I was on the GM team at the time, we were in the dark there too initially.

Appreciate the invitation as well, though I don't care where you end up, I just don't want it to be on LotC.

At this point I am just curious how it escalated to such a scale when you apparently had all the resources available to debunk the evidence.

Why bring a lawyer into a case regarding out of context logs as the only hard evidence, why consider hiring a lawyer when you're in a living situation that demands 50 hours a week from you and a divvying of your obligations and hobbies. Your story is just as inconsistent from what I'm seeing.

On 6/13/2018 at 9:55 PM, Thomas said:

Administrator

- I was Administrator on Lord of the Craft for a little over half a year, and I acted mostly on moderation and handling moderation teams. I left the Administration a year-year and a half ago, though my leaving terms were not the greatest.

Because you got caught.

On 6/13/2018 at 9:55 PM, Thomas said:

After many months, I'd like to think I've repaired the relationship I spoiled with the Administrators,

Because predatory practices on children is the same as pugsying, yes.

On 6/13/2018 at 9:55 PM, Thomas said:

and would hope that I'd be granted the opportunity to put into practice the changes and betterment I've made to myself over the past year after feedback from the community.

This means he knows how to not get caught as easily guys.

Considering I'm quoting what he's literally said I don't think this one is too fringe, thanks FM team.

As for the arguments regarding why I'm not reporting this and stating this publicly. This guy was an administrator previously. Another rather famous pedo was also an administrator. I was a GM longer in a single run than some people have done in multiple tenures, I ******* know, dumbasses. Community awareness is the weapon against this, not the staff that is just as corrupt.

Seems more accurate for you now.

9 hours ago, Jaeden said:

Highly questionable in my opinion. I feel the player is often too volatile against a selective number of people, and may struggle to remain comfortably within the staff conduct at times.

 

Regardless, I remember them being a GM. While I don't recall any outstanding events involving him (from the perspective of a player, keep in mind), I don't remember them being a troublesome or biased moderator either.

 

Could be a good pick as long as the general community and staff conduct is kept in mind. +/- 0

I ooze professionalism. I am staff conduct. 

2 hours ago, Onslaughted said:

you were an awful gm back in the day

Considering you were involved in so many situations that required GMs I imagine this comment has more weight than others' would. Just kidding, that hurt me about as much as Dunamis RP'd back in the day.

12 minutes ago, Jahrmann2007 said:

In his last run, Mr. Cosmic openly abused his GM pex for the benefit of himself and OOC/RP allies. Pex will be inevitably be used in a questionable way at some point by any staff member, but the manner that Mr. Cosmic did it in clear view of players with fellow staff members guarding him against reprimand showed a clear disingenuity and disdain for the playerbase.

Cool, how?

Username CosmicWhaleShark

Age 23

Timezone EST

Discord: CosmicWhaleShark#4835

What map did you join during?: Aegis

Do you have access to a Microphone? Yes

Average Daily Play Time? Varies

Have you ever been banned before? Yea, twice before, a while ago, you guys don't care.

Have you ever held a staff position on Lord of the Craft? If so, for how long?

AT for several months, ET three times, probably collectively like two years worth. GM nearly two years.

Why do you want to join the GM Team?:

Because I've not been impressed by how the GMs have been conducting themselves and think it may help if you had me on the team again, acting in what capacity I could. I can't guarantee steady activity but I can guarantee anything I'm involved with to go smoothly if I don't require outside assets.

Have you applied for this position before and been denied? If so, link the application:

Only my troll ones.

Anything else you want to tell us?:

Several of you who have worked with me in the past are in positions of authority to accept me. I'm not going to stand on ceremony saying this and that, you know what you'll get, you know what I consider important on the server and you know that I'm not squeemish about taking on  certain issues. Based on that, you should be able to determine whether I should be accepted.

58 minutes ago, Luv said:

Bias, perhaps, it's no secret I do not like this man.

Already, your feedback should be considered moot. You do not like this man, therefore you nitpick, channel your hyperbolic comparisons, and proceed to word vomit an entire paragraph stating you've never personally witnessed the content you are critiquing the quality of. You just know it's cheap. Wow, ****, I am going to have fun with this.

58 minutes ago, Luv said:

But just because other staff members aren't friendly or approachable doesn't mean we should continue to allow that to be a 'standard'.

Joel does not rest on the laurels of a staff position, that is what distinguishes him. Most staff members become terse and seem to make it feel like you're wasting their time any time you consider them watching your typing notification. Joel, is going into this, as a genuine fellow with a genuine goal set that won't do anything that isn't in his eyes for the ultimate enjoyment of the player. That is the same model his events followed and that is the same model is tenure as an LM will follow.

Do you know why it's standard now? Because all of the staff ******* sucks, LotC is forced to scrape the bottom of the barrel currently and cannot afford to be short-staffed for the sake of quality. That's why it's standard. Oh but we're shitting on Joel here rather than focusing on the server's issues and putting people motivated in the positions to provide solutions.

58 minutes ago, Luv said:

For new players who have questions on specific pieces of lore that an Application Team member couldn't answer, they shouldn't have to go to someone who's known for harassing people?

Nice completely baseless point, how considerate of you. Joel has a very well developed record of harassing completely new players that had no prior altercation with him. This is going to be a real huge issue.

58 minutes ago, Luv said:

Just my personal opinion.

It would have been simpler if you just said, everything in the previous paragraph is wrong.

58 minutes ago, Luv said:

And sure, he might be trusted to be on the Event Team, but the point still stands.

So, just to be clear, the point was, it was your personal opinion you don't like him. Yes, I think that still stands, moving on.

58 minutes ago, Luv said:

If I were his director I would've had him removed months ago.

You (Mixed up my trannies) Squirtgun featured his collaboration with several other players, regarding Mordskov, on a server forum announcement and made it into a world ending event. He sure was a shitty member, wasn't he?

58 minutes ago, Luv said:

Not because of my personal dislike for him, but because of the things I've seen with my own eyes from him.

I can almost guarantee you what you've seen is just what some people call Australian.

58 minutes ago, Luv said:

I've heard nice things about the quality of his events, and I haven't seen his events first hand, but like I'll be stating down below his only piece of lore was seen, in my eyes and many others, as a cheap rip off.

There is a difference between originality and execution. While one is commendable the ultimate goal for the server is for the players to enjoy themselves and have fun. If a more familiar piece of media, say, vampires - something that's been getting 'ripped off' for literally hundreds of years - that is executed well, is fun, so be it.

58 minutes ago, Luv said:

Now for the lore bit. Sure, the Frost Witches do not have the greatest reputation, especially not right now.

Considering how well written this response is to Joel's application I have a sneaking suspicion you may have been the ghost writer for the new lore.

58 minutes ago, Luv said:

However, I still don't like how the LT/MT makes it a point that they want fresh and creative ideas, but this was posted not too long after the Frostie addition? It's literally the exact same thing?

You seem unsure yourself so just to make sure you actually know, provide actual critique, maybe list a few examples of how.

58 minutes ago, Luv said:

Striga might be well regulated, yeah, but if you ask me it's just a giant group of people with a very similar OOC air to them.

Is it similar to the frost witch OOC air? Or the insert any other faction on LotC air? People with similar interests and playstyles go into a group to play together? Whaaaaaaaaaaaat.

58 minutes ago, Luv said:

 I won't name names, but after just looking at the creature list I can name about 6 other people with those characters who act just like Joel. Neither group is all that great.

This sentence, honestly, is beautiful just by itself. Not even going to add anything. Just read it again, really read it. Yea, she said that.

Players are *****, you’re better off listening to the people who’ve already said everything I would to this.

[!] Piles of leaflets wrote on poorly made paper and with charcoal stick are left around Atlas, in taverns and churches, posted on signs and gates.

REPENT ALL YE SINNERS

You walk on blessed EARTH provided by a GRACIOUS GOD, a FORGIVING LORD who like onto an uneducated child delivers us chance and chance again to prove our WORTH, to achieve our PURPOSE, to become WHAT WE WERE MADE TO BE.

You flee across infinite SEAS made real by the tears of a WOEFUL GOD, a DISAPPOINTED LORD who like the sun has risen us again and again, righting our path only for us to run rampant off, becoming LOST in the shrouding fog that is DENIAL OF TRUTH.

You walk always in his LIGHT which graces all lands by HIS RADIANT VIRTUE only, the warm embrace of a LOVING GOD, a CARING LORD who has only ever desired that we THRIVE, that we HIS CHILDREN become ONE WITH HIS INTENT and live in peace there after.

The EARTH you walk is infinite and nameless, named only by us for our understanding; Aegis, Asulon, Anthos, The Verge, Thales, Vailor, Athera, Atlas, and so many others. The EARTH is a GIFT from GOD, who has despite our turn from HIM given us lands anew, despite the corruption of them again and again by the HANDS OF HERESY.

The GRACIOUS GOD, the FORGIVING LORD, is the same whom HE has ALWAYS BEEN. HE is the SAME GOD, the ONE GOD, whom was FIRST WORSHIPPED, FIRST BETRAYED, for we TURNED from HIM to serve LESSER HANDS. SIN is the water our ancestors bathed in, drank of the fountains of FORGETFULNESS, in order to IGNORE the TRUTH.

Our WORTH was first rediscovered by the men of HOREN. Those who CHOSE NOT to turn away, but rather towards, and then SOUGHT THE TRUTH.

Our PURPOSE is as the CHILDREN OF THE CREATOR, our FATHER, GOD, FROM WHOM ALL HAS FLOWED AND TO WHOM ALL SHOULD RETURN. We were GIFTED with his BREATH, and from us we could make MORE, and from those MORE we could shape the EARTH, which was HIS GIFT to us.

The SEAS we flee across are made real only because GOD SEES our SUFFERING. HE IS WOEFUL, for HIS CHILDREN have turned away from HIM, even AGAINST HIM. We have BROUGHT ABOUT our own SUFFERING, and in this suffering GOD'S DISAPPOINTMENT does not outshine HIS PITY, HIS DESIRE FOR OUR SALVATION. And so he gives us chance and chance again to RIGHT OUR WAYS, rather than suffer FINAL DAMNATION.

We are LOST in the fog for our DENIAL OF THE TRUTH, for our DENIAL OF THE ONE TRUE LORD. There is no HOPE for those who do not SEE, and those of us who DO SEE are DAMNED TO SUFFER by the BLIND. By the WRETCHED, who gouge out their own eyes and lay blissful in IGNORANCE.

The LIGHT is the LOVE OF GOD, HIS RADIANT VIRTUE, THE TRUTH. We have SHRUGGED IT AWAY, seeking LIES FOR COMFORT, rather than give EFFORT FOR SOLACE. We WITHER away rather than THRIVE, the CHILDREN OF GOD becoming less and less as years pass, usurped by the WRETCHED and their kin, usurped by the FALSE CREATIONS of the HANDS OF HERESY. We are GOD'S CHILDREN AND NO OTHER'S, for GOD MADE ALL AND OWNS ALL, IS ALL, AND TO HIM ALL SHALL RETURN.

The HANDS OF HERESY feed the WRETCHED the waters of forgetfulness, of IGNORANCE, and TURN THEM AWAY FROM GOD. They would DROWN HIS CHILDREN IN SIN, and are SINNERS THEMSELVES. They would USURP THE LORD, AND HIS CHILDREN, and were our SOULS, RADIANT WITH THE BREATH OF GOD not of value to them, HIS CHILDREN would long be dead, for OUR END is what they desire strongest.

It is JEALOUSY which turned the HANDS OF HERESY away from being the HANDS OF THE LORD. It is GREED AND LUST AND WRATH AND ROT which turned the CHILDREN OF GOD to the HERESY, and made them into the WRETCHED SINNERS.

So the CHILDREN OF GOD, however few, however LOST, must plead and struggle and FIGHT. And never, ever must we surrender. So it is we must PLEAD.

REPENT ALL YE SINNERS.

REPENT ALL YE WRETCHED.

STRIKE OUT AGAINST THE HANDS OF HERESY, AND TURN BACK TOWARDS GOD.

FOR GOD IS GRACIOUS. GOD IS FORGIVING. GOD IS WOEFUL. GOD IS DISAPPOINTED. GOD IS RADIANT. GOD IS CARING. GOD IS LOVING.

BUT THE CHILDREN OF GOD ARE NOT. WE ARE FLAWED AND IMPERFECT, AND WE DESIRE TO SUFFER NO LONGER. WE DESIRE TO FLEE NO LONGER. WE DESIRE TO STRUGGLE NO LONGER. WE DESIRE TO PLEAD NO LONGER. AND THOUGH WE DESIRE TO FIGHT NO LONGER, WE MUST AND WE WILL, TO BE BROUGHT BACK TO GOD'S LIGHT.

REPENT ALL YE SINNERS.

YOUR FINAL DAMNATION IS NIGH.

NOT BY THE HANDS OF THE LORD, BUT BY WE, HIS CHILDREN WHO STILL YET SERVE.