Khalaoden visited the izamcote in Davae, already for the third time this day. He could not wait to receive an answer from the marauder camp. This time it wasn't for nought, his izam was back. His hands, a little shaky because of his excitement, relieved the izam of its load, a rolled parchment and small bag with a little note attached to it. He read the note und put the little bag into his pocket with his mind at ease. He had worried that the one-time visit of the izam in the marauder camp was not enough for it to fly there on its own again. Contented he dedicated his attention to the rolled parchement. He untied the cord and uncoiled the parchment. The letter was written in the dialect of Crystabell.
Khalaoden was pleased and smiled, he had a contact in the marauder camp. Even though he did not know his name. He went to his apartment to read the letter a second time and to write up an answer.
Virg
Lordoy Khalaoden,
Thank you for your letter although I assure you I have not turned my back on the nations I adore. Whilst their ignorance assumes this, I actually still fight for them. The Marauders themselves are no different from the Kami or Karavan in a very simple aspect, that they believe, or at least preach, that through them alone hominkind will have salvation. Whilst they paint petty pictures of merciless bloodshed at the hands of the Marauders, their hands are dripping with the blood of innocent homins. The Marauders themselves are a strong, honorable organization who see the true beauty and art of battle. Whilst the Kami run around like thugs, striking down those unprepared time and time again, Marauders are an intriguing collection of homins. From the moment they wake they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue. You will never see such discipline elsewhere.
To really define a Marauder, you need only look at the simple definition. "Marauder" comes from an ancient language, most of which has been lost to us. In this language it translates as "a homin who raids" or more simply put a "raider". This ancient language puts forward this definition of a raider, as someone skilled within the arts of close combat or one who attacks to defend their territory. Much of the ignorance of homin's today is put forth as the governments propaganda, incorrectly defining what a Marauder is. The territory I seek to defend is all the lands I have walked, they are precious to me as is the life that runs through them.
But.. you must be asking yourself this now.. who am I fighting? and why? The answer is very simple. The parasitic governments that corrupt and weaken these lands. The false religions that would have us worshiping them and slaved like Mektoubs to do their bidding.
The Kitins are ever-present. The rangers have blocked there tunnels so what does this mean? Let me tell you.. it means we no longer have access to their strong fighters- it means no invasions to cull. It means these kitins that would usually fall upon our axes are surviving not dying. Their numbers are growing. We must be ready.
The governments have done next to nothing to prepare for this. They sit on their backsides, growing fat and lazy in their dotage. They squabble and squawk at each other over petty things like Izam's fighting over a mate. The threats draw closer and they leave us unprepared. I foresee only one plausible way in which homins survive- that they have strong leaders. Warriors who are capable of leading armies of homins, warriors who have proved themselves worthy and know the true song of battle, warriors who will defend their territory.
What is my goal? To rid Atys of these parasites. To lead hominkind against these threats and once again wipe them out. Within time homins will come around to see we are their true salvation. As for those who oppose us? They will be removed from our path. War is coming. We do not have the time to deal with petty nuisances.
Khalaoden was pleased and smiled, he had a contact in the marauder camp. Even though he did not know his name. He went to his apartment to read the letter a second time and to write up an answer.
Lordoy,
thank you very much for your quick and extensive answer. You speak of parasitic governments. I assume you include all governments with this statement. How do you come to this conclusion, can you name incidents that clearly show that governments have acted against the interests of their nations?
In this context I have to say that I don't understand how you want to defend Atys against any threat without the support of the nations. Governments are not detached from the nations. If governments act like parasites they must be changed from the inside. When the cause is just, the citizens will support it. Together things can be changed more easily. For example, you criticized the actions of the Rangers. Maybe the closing of the tunnels could've been prevented, if you would've got involved with the Rangers. Of course this is only hypothetical, I am aware that the marauders themselves had no chance to participate in this.
You mentioned an ancient language of the marauders. I have read about a marauder language in our archives. However only the name of the language is known, in our sources it is called Marund. Have you more information on the subject?
May my izam find you.
Khalaoden
---