Joryn - 8

## Mastering Fate

Only a year ago, I was content living as a roaming vagabond in the borderlands. Adonis and I were willing to follow Mother in that way of life indefinitely. We avoided the unnecessary conflict that arose from the local and national affairs and freely traversed the land, only limited by the wake of the constant wars. We didn't need anyone else. We were completely self-sufficient despite our occasional interaction and cooperation with other roamers. That is until we were unable to find food sufficient for all three of us.

When my mother and brother died, I lost interest in that lifestyle. There's a sort of freedom and peace to it, but it became meaningless to continue in it without my family. It lacked purpose and ambition. My life had become irrelevant. I had been the only one directly impacted by the deaths of my mother and brother. Who is left to be affected by mine?

I prefer to keep my distance from most others. Getting caught up in their affairs frequently gets me entangled in events that have little importance to me. Yet, avoiding others altogether seems to bring me right back to my mother's path; one that starts and ends silently.

I want to reach beyond myself; beyond others even. I want to find a method that allows me to be above their influence and still have the power to act with meaning. I don't want to be just another puppet left to the device of others or mercy of fate.

There's the dilemma. How can I escape what I was and still retain the control I seek to have over my life? How can I become someone with sufficient influence to overcome even one such as Leopold?

## Discovering Power

We encountered a sage named Sarai that many view as a crazy woman of this island. She appears to be completely aloof from both the Keepers and the People of the Ash. She claims that she is in tune with the universe, acting in its behalf and only able to be found if willed by it. Insane or not, she seems to be at peace, knows what she wants, and no one holds influence over her. She also spoke philosophically and wisely about many things, accurately touching on details that she shouldn't be able to know. There is virtue in her lifestyle.

I would have loved to reside for a time in her peaceful cottage and removed myself from the conflict of this island; the Keepers, the Maar, war, and everything else. I asked that she teach me of her ways, but she made it clear that her purpose was different from mine, suggesting that I would not want to learn what she has to teach. She stated that this island is a nexus in time for many important events and suggested that my recent dreams are likely a product of becoming entangled in them. She also prophesied that we would each have the choice to either aid mankind or others that are not mankind. I could try to avoid it, but I'd inevitably be brought right back to those two choices.

Sarai once worked with Leopold and seems to think darkly of those times. She somehow escaped him and attributed it to the universe opening paths before her; paths that he couldn't seem to follow. I find the notion a little humorous; according to her, the universe means for her to be removed and for me to be at the heart of it all.

I've never heard anyone refer to the universe as Sarai did but I suppose that doesn't matter. Whether she's right or wrong about it, she is right to say that I can't just keep running away. War is everywhere. Sooner or later, I'll need to take part in it if I'm to find peace. If this "universe" helped her to escape Leopold then maybe I shouldn't be so quick to discard it; perhaps there's something out there that I can draw upon for my purposes, even if it turns out that I I'm consigned to just those two choices.

## The End of Cromm

Cromm was killed. I had a hand in it. It wasn't my first choice, but it was my second. The other alternatives were to find a way for him to leave with false information or to capture him. I much preferred the idea of misleading him and then letting him go back to Leopold, but the others didn't like that idea. I, likewise, thought that attempting to capture him would have been foolish. It would immediately create a bitter enemy that has the gift of magic. Killing him outright seemed far less risky.

We engaged Cromm just outside of the island obelisk. I had expected him to immediately try to fly away, but he instead raised up a wall of earth that protected him from our arrows. He continued to shape and control the earth for the next several moments—at one point he was completely enveloped by it—before we were finally able to overwhelm and subdue him. There were moments when I thought he had escaped and that we had been foolish to attack him. I feared the possibility of creating an unnecessary enemy.

I wish that it hadn't come to killing Cromm. It might have been so much simpler if we were able to trust him. His going to Leopold after discussing plans with us and then coming back after the destruction of the village complicated matters too much. Vera's extreme distrust towards him and his suspicious claims only aggravated the situation. Coincidentally, I think he might have been telling the truth about wanting to kill Leopold. He may have been spontaneous in his actions but they always seemed consistent with his story. That's a large part of why I thought letting him go with misinformation was worth the risk. Even when we ambushed him, he had been innocently observing the flowers of the island and not doing anything that made him appear as an agent of Leopold.

## The Card is Played

Leopold is also gone, but not dead. He left the island; or at least that's what our scouts say. It could just be a ploy to get us to walk into a trap. He seems somewhat interested in getting his hands on Lagreth. I say "somewhat" because he never comes out to find Lagreth himself; he keeps sending others. If Leopold did leave, however, then that would suggest that he's not actually concerned with the People of the Ash or Lagreth.

Sergeant Kaelib—I've finally learned the name of the guard from Moira's Victory—has made two attempts to get Lagreth to go back with him to the city. His first attempt was on semi-peaceful terms when he approached them in the tunnel after they fled the village. The second one was with several armed soldiers; he found our encampment just outside of the island obelisk. Fortunately, he elected to leave without any bloodshed. Darius was with him, presumably as the one opening the doors, and was credited for convincing Kaelib to leave the camp alone.

Lagreth wasn't at the island obelisk. He was with me and several others on the main island. The others decided that they liked my idea of leaving most of the People of the Ash on the smaller island while a few others took Lagreth across the main one. We found several survivors along the way—including Bron and Fray—and even encountered Sarai. It wasn't until we got back to the island obelisk after our long stalling tactic that we learned about Kaelib's threats.

Pretending that we're not on the island appears fruitless at this stage. Attempting another stalling tactic may be difficult to pull off, as well. I doubt it'd be of much value, either. We're unlikely to encounter any more survivors and the Keepers have probably extended their search beyond just the obelisks.

I think we're better off to fortify the obelisk. We're unlikely to be attacked by sea, so I suggested that we raise barricades in the sublevel so that we can hold off anyone who comes through the doors. If Leopold is gone, then Darius is the only one that can open them. That would mean that we'd only need to worry about being attacked from one door at a time. If we could get Darius back somehow, that'd be even better.

Leopold has played his card and it's time for us to play ours; help Lagreth to study the temple and maybe get us off this island. Part of me is worried that it's a trap that would put us directly in Leopold's hands. But then, if he really wanted Lagreth, he could come and take him at any time. Now appears to be the time to act.