1717
The Sin of Betrayal
TehLulu
Itnan, 30th of Snows Maiden, 1304. :: Philosophies and thoughts written by Lady Bell while recovering from injuries. :: This age is troubled and like many around me, I fear our troubles will not soon pass. The curse which Iblees is said to have placed upon our world is raising up, increasing in power and growing more and more obvious by the day. Our ancestors committed their own sins during the fight with Iblees, pushed into these horrible things by the monster which devastated Aegis. And indeed, those sins which they each committed were made worse by the curses Iblees placed upon them and all of their descendents. :: To the humans, to Horen, his sin was envy and lust for the future. Never did he see his works completed and never would his sons see their's. To the dwarves, to Urguan, his sin was greed and gluttony, a neverending hunger for gems and wealth. Never would he be satisfied and never would his sons. To the elves, to Malin, his sin was Pride, an innocent seeming wish for more children to fill his trees with laughter and the books with words. Never would he have the children he so desired and neither would his sons. To the orcs, to Krug...the only one he could not tempt or taint. The only one who stood up against him for so long. To Krug, for denying Iblees for so long, he cursed him with the sins of lust and wrath, to always wish for war and strife against his brothers and their sons. But the sin which infected all of the descendents equally, which touched all of Man and all of the original descendents...was the sin of Betrayal. This sin, this curse, would be one which could never be escaped, never be forgotten. To this very day, it still haunts us... :: And due to it, I lie here, racked with pain in my bed in the Mage's Tower. Betrayal is a sin I cannot abide, and trust is a thing I can no longer give so freely as I once did.  I have seen so much betrayal, from all kinds... All races, all beings.   :: From the Orcs, Brunhyldir, the great Betrayer. Once a member of the Ascended, he turned coat during an offensive battle at the undead outpost, one led by the Ascended. He attack the Master Sage, Riizu, wounding him badly before being cut down. The Undead took them with him from the battlefield and I can only surmise he has joined them, in the name of Iblees. A traitor too far gone, given too much trust in too little time with too little reason... :: From the Elves, Mayctor... A betrayer of his own kind and the trust of all of Aegis, an Iblees worshipper to the core. He haunts me even now, having failed at cutting me down the last time he attempt to do so. The High Prince, in his naivete, trusted this..."man" with the run of the Sentinels, and in doing so he was able to corrupt many, many of the Elves before I uncovered his evil. Too much trust given to a man who had done nothing to earn it and too many lifes ruined by such a fool. :: From the Dwarves, I have seen many Iblees worshippers, but what worries me most is the betrayal of a friend of mine, Algor... I trusted him with things, I assisted him, I gave him my support and backing. Yet I find him on the road, robbing people of their money. For what reason but petty greed would he do such a thing? I trusted him too easily, and in the process nearly allowed innocents to fall prey to him. :: From the Humans, the betrayal which stings the most for me, personally. Ademas...what have you become, I ask myself? For it is because of you that I lie here in my bed, barely awake and struggling to stay coherent. I placed all of my trust in you, perhaps more than anyone else. Even in your most incoherent states I would believe in you and your strength. Yet...was it I who betrayed you, my old friend? For you, I would have died. For you, I would have run across all of Aegis, to the Nether and back, as I have very nearly done several times now. Yet I failed in saving you from your torment. My life was not taken, I did not rescue you... For that, did you attempt to slay me? For you, whom I might have... :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: I will stand for my weakness and for this sin no longer. The only ones who have escaped it appear to be the undead...or is their betrayal yet to come? They are all betrayers of their own kind, in the end, having joined Iblees in exchange for the dark magic they now wield. Their souls are damned and they aim to damn the rest of ours as well. My trust cannot be given so freely any longer. I know too many things now. And betrayals cannot be taken so lightly any longer. Those who betray their brethern, who betray Aegis... They will fall. I will make them fall. I will trust no one any longer. My trust and my hopes now lie only in the hands of the Arcane Mage. And to Hwaldar, who has betrayed the one I now place my trust in... I will hunt you down like the rat you are.