To Lord Verta of Minmir Keep

Glad to hear from you, Lord Verta. Been a while since we've spoken; you say you have had trouble getting in touch with me, but I haven't seen a single hin asking to meet? All you have to do is send for me, Brother. I'm happy to chat if you can find the time, but I didn't realize we had things to discuss, considering your leadership were too afraid to even look me in the eye when they spouted their nonsense propaganda during the discussion of terms.

So, in short: Her Majesty the Queen is supposed to honor your nation's sovereignty and law when you refuse to honor Hers? Her Majesty, who supported her husband's proclamation to declare you all persona-non-grata, is still a proven supporter of Minmir Keep? What makes you think you deserve to talk to Her Majesty?

Yes, while your Congregation has done great work in the past for Her Majesty, and indeed put her on the throne, it's pretty clear that Minmir Keep is not what it used to be. Once upon a time, your people were worth something. The Faith was respected and feared, and the people of the cities knew what the wrath of the Black Hand could do. But those glory days have long since ended, and repeated defeats, humiliations, and mismanagement have left your folks a joke on the island.

When I arrived here, people mocked the Black Hand to my face. They didn't understand why He should be feared. They looked on your venerable Keep and spoke to me of adult children who demanded to be feared and threw fits when others didn't listen. I went to the board and saw open strife within your upper ranks, the capture and arrest of your Dreadmaster, other Banites calling for his head, and bizarre ramblings by members of your community. I spoke to the other settlements and heard the same thing, again and again: lawless mad brigands, unwelcome in any settlement, unseen and unheard.

Brother, let me ask you: is this power to you? Is this all you want the Faith to be? This constant insistance upon doing whatever you please, answering to none but yourselves, stagnant and aimless? The Faith gives to us resolute purpose, a greater cause, a place to belong. He rewards success with greater power still. He punishes failure with agony.

You say I hide who He is. That I try to make His faith more palatable. I think you'll find I don't hide anything I do or anything I am if you put a few minutes into talking to me or reading my boards. God is evil. He is Hate incarnate, and His wrath is terrible. He is the Great Tyrant, my sworn Master, and I am His willing slave. What you mistake for insincerity is your own shallow understanding of people, the Faith, and the workings of society.

The Faith is practical. There is no room for lies or minced words. I seek power to bolster the Faith and return it to what it should rightly be: feared, respected, and regarded with the weight and honor it is owed. People here know that; I don't need to tell them or point out the obvious.

At the same time, power is earned. One cannot simply rule by terror alone. The Black Hand demands that we embrace all forms of power; monetary, political, social. There is no reason I have to be constantly wretched and miserable in order to honor Him. Here's the truth: I am not what you are used to, and that scares you and yours. Paint it as rejection if you want, but we both know why Minmir's reaction to me is immediate rejection.

I represent a threat to your entire legacy. A new way, a better path, one with a chance of success. If I prove victorious, it would invalidate everything you have ever done. And that scares you. Maybe it angers you; hate me, then. Maybe it'll inspire your congregation to do something for once.

Yes, the need to split our church is obvious. We have no interest in associating with incompetence. You want me to work within your system so you can cut us out. You want us to continue the vicious cycle that Minmir has found itself in and force us into conformity or death. I reject your terms wholeheartedly; if you want to cut us out, you do so with no command over me to hide behind. One of us will kneel, or we will die. That is the way of the Banefaith.

Don't say my call for you to respect the law of the land you are on is cowardice, either. Ours is a Lawful faith. Your people were on Cordorian soil. They should not have been. Decados struck first. Had he been willing to meet away from lands he was banned from, I gladly would have spoken with him; I chose the neutral location for his benefit, not mine. If he had named some other place, I gladly would have gone with him. But he wasn't supposed to be here, and he knew it. When he attacked a Guard of Her Majesty's Kingdom, I was left with little choice but to respond.

I called the war because Minmir's incompetence and childish refusal to understand basic laws or the sovereignty of their Banite Queen have left them weak and delusional. I have offered plenty of restraint and patience; my attempts to reach out were ignored. I know how Banites work. Power respects power. I have to prove myself to you; this is the work I am putting in to claim legitimacy. You wouldn't hear reason, so instead you hear war drums.

Keep crying, though, about how sad and persecuted you are. Maybe one day you'll develop an ounce of self-awareness and realize why you aren't wanted here. Maybe you'll even realize how unbecoming it is for a Banite to whine about the situation you put yourselves in. Learn some humility and self-respect, and learn from your mistakes for a change instead of denying they exist.

The Banefaith stands at a crossroads. On one side is a path, a vision, a goal - and on the other is stagnation. Your congregation is filled with those who reject power, responsibility, and purpose in favor of clutching onto a dying creed. You hide behind history that does not favor you, and you claim it gives you legitimacy you have not earned. To lack ambition is a grave sin in the Church. To claim superiority when you have done nothing to prove it is a joke.

So, here's your stage to prove it, Lord Sataa. Walk carefully, because we tread upon a proving ground. God and the High Imperceptor are watching, alongside the rest of Arelith. May the superior creed win.

Yours in Power,

Dreadmaster Freya Brande

At the bottom of the page, there is an emerald wax stamp depicting a splendid, bloody crown clutched in the hand of a cruel and powerful fist.

        Day 9, Month 8 (Elasias (Highsun)), 187 AR
        Freya Brande