Testimony of a 'Traitor': Collector's Bundle

A collection of documents revealing scandal and corruption in the heart of Cordor.

Collector's Bundle Foreword

Buongiorno!

You hold in your hands a collection of documents that were originally released nearly a year ago on boards across the island of Arelith.

Due to their mildly dated nature, many of the events referenced as recent may no longer be accurate. For example, my sister has returned to the island following her brief departure, and to my knowledge the diplomatic tensions between Cordor and Brogendenstein have largely abated.

However, I have elected to release the documents in their original format, and all of the history and related analysis remains accurate and as relevant today as it was upon the original publishing.

Enjoy!

Lord Antonio Vhaire

       Day 21, Month 4 (Tarsakh), 182 AR
       Antonio Vhaire        

Testimony of a 'Traitor', On Thomas Castemont (1/2)

Buongiorno!

One of the happier notes to proceed from my becoming a pariah in Cordor is that there are certain things that I am now free to speak on without having to care for the consequences of doing so. Thomas Castemont has declared that my words could be dangerous, and I would hate to disappoint him, so I have decided to begin sharing some of the things I and House Vhaire have been aware of during our time in the swamp of Cordorian politics.

A word of warning to would-be readers: If stories of politics and scandal bore you, stop reading now! I am a loquacious writer, and you will derive little pleasure from all that follows. If, on the other hand, you are interested in getting a look behind the curtain at the true nature of your rulers, do read on!

Those who have been following Cordorian drama for the last few months may be surprised to learn that the conflict between Thomas Castemont and myself did not actually begin with accusations of drow-tumbling and treason investigations. In fact, as such things often will, the origins of our dispute began rooted in a woman- namely, one Lady Alaina Voclain, whom many of you will recognize as Thomas's suitor.

Very early in my time upon Arelith, House Vhaire was approached for aid with a nasty little problem. Lady Voclain had fallen victim to a devilish brand, a curse that allowed any man with the proper knowledge to assume control of her mind. Understandably vexed at the thought of other men controlling his lover at their pleasure, Thomas Castemont had asked me for help in unraveling this curse. Ignorant of the man's nature as I was, and naively eager to begin making a positive mark in my new home, I happily accepted the task.

Studying the infernal brand took several weeks and many meetings with Lady Voclain, during the course of which two matters of consequence arose. First, as a necessity of understanding how to unravel the spell, I gained the knowledge of how to activate it. Dutifully, Lady Voclain was forced to report to Castemont that I possessed the knowledge needed to use the brand to control her mind, were I inclined to do so. Second, during the course of those meetings, Lady Voclain came to possess warm feelings toward me. Again as a dutiful lover, she felt it her responsibility to inform her suitor of this development, even though she had never acted on the feelings, and had no intention of doing so.

Unfortunately, Castemont is not a particularly understanding individual. Whipped up by jealousy, he began to spread ugly rumors that I was a predator who was utilizing the brand to compel Lady Voclain to fall in love with me. Several weeks of this passed, and in the end, Castemont summoned Lady Voclain and I to the barracks, where he forced me to activate the infernal brand and compel Lady Voclain by its power to speak the truth as to whether I had ever used it to control her in the past, and to confirm whether she had been faithful to him. This violation of her mind yielded exactly what we had told him all along: That nothing untoward had ever occurred. Yet even after I finally unraveled the curse and freed Alaina, Castemont continued to espouse the belief that I had meddled inappropriately with her mind.

This confrontation in the barracks was not the only time that Castemont's paranoia led him to violate his lover's mind. During the period in which his insecurities led him to bring charges against me that would ultimately be proven false, I asked Lady Voclain if she would testify to the events described above in my defense at court, as it was obvious to both of us that Thomas's jealousy over her feelings was the true source of the accusations of treason he had made against me.

Lady Voclain agreed to testify, but again informed Castemont of her decision. Unable to believe that his lover would testify against him of her own free will, he again had Alaina brought to an arcanist for a mental examination, convinced that I was controlling her mind. After initial examinations confirmed that no enchantment magic was present, Castemont once more ordered her mind violated- this time by dint of a machine designed by Seitera Colds, which he used to examine her memories of time spent with me, searching with futility for signs of mind-control or infidelity, and again finding nothing of the sort.

Thomas will claim that all of the above are lies, of course, and yet Lady Voclain has confirmed all of this as truth before witnesses other than myself, including Seitera Colds and Ravnhart Tir'enfein. She even gave me permission to release this very statement during my treason trial, though I elected to spare the story the exposure at the time. Amusingly, the fear that I would share these things resulted in several of the charges against me being dropped the first time around- Castemont knew that I planned to prove that all of this happened as a part of my defense before the public and expose the personal motives behind his investigation. This contributed to my trial defense being barred from the public at the last minute.

(Continued)

       Day 5, Month 7 (Flamerule (Summertide)), 181 AR
       Antonio Vhaire        

Testimony of a 'Traitor', On Thomas Castemont (2/2)

(Continued from 1/2)

Moving forward, it is a curious quirk of psychology that those vices which we ourselves are prone to tend to be the very same that we persuade ourselves to see in others. This is true of Thomas Castemont, who could not restrain the rampant paranoia that his lover had been unfaithful- even to the degree of repeatedly violating her mind- primarily because infidelity is his own foremost vice.

Those who were about Cordor during the period following the collapse of Thomas's marriage to Thekla Gawain may recall that the newly-single Castemont took it upon himself to pursue some four or so courtships at once. One of the women he was pursuing during this period was none other than the Lady Ellisaria Vhaire, who was serving at that time as an aide to Commander Dragonskin. Thomas's increasingly crude and aggressive advances had rendered the Lady Vhaire so uncomfortable that she had ended up departing the Ministry of War and seeking a position in Trade, further removed from those areas Thomas had influence over.

Unfortunately, despite that Thomas began to see Lady Voclain 'exclusively' after Lady Ellisaria's rebuffing of his pursuit, his obsession followed her, remaining undampened even through her own marriage to Fenrik Chualt. This obsession reached such diseased heights that when, during a meeting with myself and then-Chancellor Minto Cloudpaw related to the treason charges he was pursuing against me, Thomas caught wind of marital problems between Fenrik and Lady Vhaire (which you will learn more of in the writings I shall release soon relating to Ginny Rivorndir), Thomas offered to drop all charges against me if I would only help him take Fenrik down. Despite that at that point he had been with Lady Voclain for half a year (and was already carrying on a separate affair with Ginny Rivorndir at the same time), he declared in the witness of Minto Cloudpaw that he still loved my sister, and it seemed he had spied an opportunity to snatch her up if only he could end her marriage.

When the Lady Vhaire rejected this latest advance and chose to repair her existing marriage, Thomas once more went over the edge, and it would be only a few days before the Lady Vhaire would find herself in a cell- arrested for charges she herself had nothing to do with. The Guard's archives contain transcripts of the questioning that was administered to her and the rest of our family during that arrest, and said transcripts show that Thomas's questions for each of us focused as much or more on Ellisaria's marriage as they did to the 'treason' I was accused of. Castemont was more eager to 'prove' that Fenrik Chualt had been unfaithful to Ellisaria than he was to investigate whether I had in fact knowingly offered shelter to a drow- the very accusation that was the heart of his investigation!

Though he seems to have at last recognized that he disgusts her and has given up on the seduction, Castemont's harassment of the Lady Vhaire never did come to an end. As recently as this week, in the witness of five members of the Guard, Castemont made my sister into his hostage against me, declaring that he would name her a pariah in Cordor as well if I should release this writing. When the Lady Vhaire confronted Castemont to protest at his threats against her, given her own innocence, he claimed that he had issued his threats to protect her. To protect her from whom? Himself, apparently! Thomas Castemont has taken up the wife-beater's line: "Don't make me hurt you again."

(For those wondering if I have just placed my sister at risk by writing this anyway- the Lady Vhaire has departed Arelith specifically in response to Thomas's threats, stating that she will not allow herself to be used as a political hostage by this creature).

This abusive behavior on Castemont's part is itself nothing new, of course. During the same confrontation in which Thomas read to me my list of 'crimes' prior to my being named pariah, he happened to include a charge of 'buying the vote' of one Mithry Arringale during the recent election. Though he was intelligent enough not to list the nature of that 'purchase' on his public statement of the charges, he did mention the specifics in front of the five guards he brought to my home, including Cinders Char, Flamma Od-Ata, and Kiba Shirokami. How did I purchase the vote of Mithry Arringale during the election, according to the words of Thomas Castemont before these witnesses? By offering her protection, he said. This begs the question then- protection from what?

Protection from Thomas himself once again, as it happens. During the election, following my 'Ask Antonio' event, Mithry had come to me and informed me that Thomas Castemont was blackmailing her into writing a smear piece against me. She asked me if I would hold the smear against her if my bid for the Chancellorship proved successful. I told her that I would not, and assured her that if I won, she would be protected from Thomas's reprisals. This was the entirety of the conversation that earned me that particular 'high crime' conviction. No one may be allowed to stand between Thomas Castemont and those he chooses to victimize, after all.

Nor may any of these women speak of their experiences with him, lest he unleash that last and most treasured of the abuser's tactics and accuse them of playing, in his words, ''the victim card'', belittling them and silencing their voices in one fell swoop, relying ever upon his popularity with the people to protect him from any reproach.

For all of these reasons and many more, I have and will continue to oppose this man in any matter, large or small. I find him to be a morally repulsive creature, and it brings me a simple pleasure to vex him now however I am able.

Thomas will first try to ignore this post, and then if forced to acknowledge it will mock or belittle it as a pathetic smear levied from a defeated foe. If he responds coherently at all, he will assure you that I am a liar, and his friends will all nod blindly and back him up as they do, perhaps by reminding you of what a terrible person I myself supposedly am. I encourage you, reader, to investigate these stories for yourselves, and see if my words bear up under scrutiny.

I suspect you'll find that they do.

Lord Antonio Vhaire

P.S. - Don't fret, Ginny. Yours is coming soon. I like to save the best for last.

       Day 5, Month 7 (Flamerule (Summertide)), 181 AR
       Antonio Vhaire        

On Cordor and Brogendenstein

Buongiorno!

The bulk of my statement regarding Thomas Castemont had already been written by the time this highly amusing diplomatic debacle with the dwarves had come about, so the Brogendenstein affair missed the first cut. My planned release of Ginny's secrets isn't going to be until next week, but in the meantime, the efforts of our ruling pair in this matter have simply been too entertaining for me to pass up analysis.

Taking a look at Ginny's response first, you'll immediately see a few of her favorite tactics. First and most importantly, since her causing the breakdown of diplomatic relations with an important ally casts aspersions upon her ability as a ruler, she must deflect blame to her favorite scapegoat- the King. Spend any amount of time at all with Ginny Rivorndir, and you will quickly learn that she despises the monarchy of Cordor. At every given opportunity she will make mock of the palace, and paint herself as the sole competent figure in the landscape of Cordorian politics, single-handedly cleaning up all of the 'messes' made by the Crown. Her vitriol against the throne has reached such degrees in the past that I have personally witnessed the palace guards shout her down over it.

Nonetheless, the king is very valuable to Ginny in situations like these, which are virtually indisputably her own fault. Making a precise reference ("The King's Decree of 177"), she attempts to give the illusion that this is all settled law with no room for interpretation. ""Though -of course- I would like to see Cinderstone gone just like you, dear voter, my hands have simply been tied by that incompetent King!" she bewails, hoping that you will all forget that Khorin Cinderstone was kept from trading and spying in Cordor under Cloudpaw's administration without a peep from the palace on the matter.

She closes her diplomatic response with a transparent attempt to sieze the moral highground- "Cordor will nonetheless stand beside the dwarves!" she declares, hoping to make Thane Goldenbeard look petty in comparison, neatly sidestepping in the process the foreign ruler's actual legitimate concerns about Ginny's trade with the underdark. Are we not fortunate to be ruled by someone so -righteous-?

Meanwhile, in  Thomas's response we get the tried and tested "Castemont Method for Anything". It goes something like this:

Step 1) Call your opponent a liar. ("The dwarves SAY it is about Cinderstone, but it is REALLY-")

Step 2) Accuse your opponent of crimes. ("They support pirates!")

Step 3) Harass an unrelated woman. (It is very important to Cordorian and Brogendenstein relations that all of you know that Imryll, a settlement employee unrelated to the issue, is a PARIAH. Very important.)

Step 4) Belittle and mock them. ("We never needed those dwarves anyway, they contribute nothing!")

And thus in one fell swoop the man in charge of our international diplomacy manages to insult the ruler of a foreign state in several different ways, thoroughly burning down any chance of a quick and peaceful resolution to the issue, all because the Thane called he and Ginny out on something shady that they were doing.

The fact of the matter is that Khorin Cinderstone isn't just any duergar. Until recently, he served as one of Andunor's rulers- the elected governor of their Greyport district. Cinderstone sat upon the Triumvirate and oversaw the planning of countless surface raids, slaving expeditions, and plots of espionage and intrigue. In recent times he has stepped down in favor of the new Greyport governor, Lilith Vensurai, but he is far from removed from Andunori politics. Serving as an advisor for the new governess, you can be certain that Khorin is keeping a sharp eye on Cordor during his trade here, and every interesting tidbit he manages to pick up is whispered shortly thereafter into the ears of monsters.

Why, then, do Thomas 'Every coin paid to an Andunori is a coin to finance slavery' Castemont and Ginny 'We will always stand against the Underdark' Rivorndir allow this Andunori official not only to trade in Cordor, but also to trade in wares that would be illegal for Cordorians to sell? Simple enough answer: he is giving them a cut of the take, over and above normal taxes. That isn't conjecture either- Khorin publicly complains about how much it cuts into his bottom line. It is a deal so nakedly corrupt that the fact that Ginny and Thomas believe that they can deflect the blame, change the subject, or turn this back somehow upon the Thane of Brogendenstein is legitimately comical.

Brace yourselves for a long term, my Cordorian friends. It will only get worse from here every day that this pair is at the helm.

Lord Antonio Vhaire

P.S. -To all of you who have been sending me wisps following my 'Testimony of a Traitor' asking for meetings, I am happy to oblige but thoroughly swamped. If you would prefer to reach out to me by letter, I have taken up temporary residence in a suite within the Arcane Tower. Feel free to leave a note on my door.

       Day 7, Month 7 (Flamerule (Summertide)), 181 AR
       Antonio Vhaire        

Testimony of a 'Traitor', On Ginny Rivorndir (1/2)

Buongiorno!

Last week I released just a handful of the encounters I have had with Thomas Castemont, for the sake of helping the people of Cordor and Arelith as a whole get a better look at who the man behind the facade really is. This received quite a positive response from many of you readers out there- and I promised you that I would do the same for Ginny Rivorndir, though many of you expressed skepticism that I would survive the week in order to do so!

Happily, I am still alive and more than willing to keep that promise. As before I must warn you, I have a justly earned reputation as a long-winded writer, so if tales of politics and scandal bore you, avert your eyes and flee now before it's too late!

I like to begin these stories by painting a bit of a historical backdrop. Those who've frequented Cordor for an extended period may have some lingering curiosity as to how the feud between House Vhaire and Ginny Rivorndir began. After all, there was a time when Ginny and the Lady Ellisaria Vhaire were friends, frequently entertaining each other over tea and gossip. It was even under Ginny's initial reign as Chancellor that Lady Ellisaria first rose to become Trade Minister, and we as a House enjoyed Ginny's confidence.

The falling out that would occur between the two was ultimately my fault. You see, there are only two acts that are truly considered criminal in Ginny's Cordor- and I have committed them both. Committing the first earned my family Ginny's enmity; committing the second made me a Cordorian outcast. We'll come back to the second later. The first and foremost crime in Cordor is simple: "Thou shalt not vote against Ginny Rivorndir."

As a new arrival in Cordor, I learned a lot about the way Ginny rules from those early teatime chats that I sat in on. I learned that she had an extensive intelligence network and dossiers on most of Cordor's prominent citizens, and I was even invited to peruse some of them under her supervision during a tour of her estate. I learned that she authorized soul-trapping necromancy to be used on some of her prisoners, alongside torture. I learned that she appointed the leader of the Thieves Guild, Lloyd Grimm, as the Trade Minister prior to Ellisaria, and that Ginny forwarded him guard reports of new arrivals who were caught pickpocketing or stealing to serve as his recruitment pool for the Guild. I learned that those thieves were weaponized and used frequently to acquire artwork from other settlements for Ginny's collection.

Most of all I learned her philosophy of rulership, repeated over and over as she shared these things with us: "One cannot govern with clean hands." Allowing that immoral philosophy to guide her decisions is the reason the Harpers have always opposed Ginny's reign, and it is the reason I decided so early on to oppose her as well. When Minto Cloudpaw came to our family to ask for our support in his bid, premised on cutting away so much of the corruption that had festered under Ginny, I persuaded my family and our retainers to back him quietly, though Ginny had believed that we would support her as a fellow 'noble', rather than a reformist like Minto.

Ginny lost that election, and for a time Cordor was able to surge under Cloudpaw. Ginny however would eventually learn that we had not backed her re-election, and she made it her mission to repay House Vhaire in any way she could, beginning with an effort to harm the Lady Vhaire's marriage. Though she was already carrying on affairs with Thomas Castemont and with her house mage, Narr Nolkus- and despite the fact that she had served as Matron of Honor in their wedding- Ginny set her sights on seducing the Lady Vhaire's then-husband, Fenrik Chualt.

Fenrik made us aware of Ginny's increasingly eager advances while her own husband Dax was away, which included salacious invitations for Fenrik to come and share a bath with her so that she might 'massage away his aches' following his efforts in fending off an Underdark raid. This would progress into open invitations to join her in bed that have persisted even up to the present day. At the same time she took a certain pleasure in flattering Fenrik excessively in front of Castemont, in an apparent effort to make her other lover jealous. (It was these attempts at stirring jealousy, together with the stresses caused to Ellisaria's marriage, that would lead Castemont to redouble his own efforts to pursue Ellisaria in turn, mentioned in my previous writing). When Fenrik confessed these advances to the Lady Vhaire, it marked the end of any lingering appearance of friendship between she and Ginny, and Ginny would soon turn her efforts against House Vhaire toward trying to paint me as a criminal instead.

Around this point some of my readers may begin to wonder how I came to know some of these things. After all, noble teatime came to an end when our hostilities became more open. The answer to that question takes the form of a name some of you will recognize- a Sembian thief and quarterbreaker named Vittoria Veleno, who was eventually exiled from Cordor when it was revealed that she was a thrall of the vampire who serves as Andunor's spymistress, Francesca Visconti.

Vittoria was the "play every side" type. She assisted me during the period that I was embroiled in intelligence work for Chancellor Cloudpaw. At the same time, she was spying and stealing on Ginny's behalf, and carrying out Visconti's intrigues on the surface. All three of us who employed her were well aware that she was reporting on everything we did to the other two, but managing such flows of information is part of the fun of spycraft. It would be through Vittoria that Ginny learned that House Vhaire hadn't supported her during Minto's electoral challenge, and I in turn learned that Ginny had been using Vittoria to broker liaisons with Visconti within the Rosen Estate, wherein Ginny bartered some of her intelligence on various Cordorians in return for favors from the vampire.

Ginny's association with Vittoria and Visconti would continue long after Vittoria's exile from Cordor, with Ginny valuing Vittoria's services so highly that when Vittoria was captured breaking into Castle Darrowdeep during the time Castemont was its warden, Ginny would even go so far as to hire the fey warlock Arwynn to break into the castle and free Vittoria from captivity, though the rescue effort came too late. Thomas executed Vittoria on that occasion, but Ginny arranged for the corpse to be stolen and returned to Francesca, allowing for Vittoria's resurrection at the vampire's hands.

(Continued in 2/2)

       Day 27, Month 7 (Flamerule (Summertide)), 181 AR
       Antonio Vhaire        

Testimony of a 'Traitor', On Ginny Rivorndir (2/2)

(Continued from 1/2)

Ultimately, this association would culminate in Ginny using Vittoria to negotiate the assassination of Chancellor Cloudpaw with Visconti, a fact I learned from Vittoria's own lips. Throughout all of this, my own use of Vittoria had continued as well, and I had begun to notice in our conversations that Vittoria was missing memories. I pieced together that Visconti had been suppressing some of Vittoria's recollections with vampiric domination to control the information that she was leaking, and so with Vittoria's consent, I magically entered her mind on two separate occasions- both with the goal of restoring her memories and removing the vampire's control. The first had been shortly after I had learned of Visconti's role in having me investigated for treason; the second had been after I learned that Castemont planned to charge me with Cloudpaw's assassination. (Visconti had hunted Vittoria down after the first episode and re-asserted her control, necessitating the second intervention).

During that second interview, with Vittoria compelled by enchantment to speak truthfully, she described how she accepted payment from Ginny Rivorndir to arrange Minto's assassination with Visconti and the group of assassins known as the Kingmakers. (For those keeping score, this is the 'mind control experiment' listed on the announcement exiling me from Myon- the elves have never let me know whether it was freeing Vittoria from the vampire or proving the truth behind Minto's death that offended them so much). Ginny herself ended up playing an active role in the murder plot, luring Minto to the Cordor Press where the ambush would take place. Ginny covered her tracks by allowing herself to be 'kidnapped' by the killers, though her return without harm or ransom was so transparent that even Moira Orseeva made mock of it in her satire "Jenny Eclair and the Perilous Plot".

A curious reader might ask why I had not come forward with my knowledge of Ginny's role in the assassination at that time- the problem had been that the Castemont administration already knew. Vittoria confirmed that two of the 'Kingmaker' killers had turned coat and reported on the affair to Thomas Castemont. Later, a member of Castemont's cabinet confirmed for me that they had been in meetings in which evidence of Ginny's involvement had been presented to Thomas. (Yes, Thomas, I knowingly accepted reports on your meetings- you can add Espionage to my list of charges if it tickles you). Thomas knew beyond all doubt that Ginny had orchestrated the murder that made him Chancellor, yet elected to cover it up for her. The original plan had been to pin it on me, but once again they learned that I had collected evidence to prove the truth of it in open court, and decided to drop the charge at the last minute. An examination of the first public announcements of my trial will show the charge listed, yet it was absent from the actual proceedings for this reason. This is the same reason the investigation into the assassination was never mentioned again afterward, despite locating the killer being the first promise Castemont made to the people as Chancellor.

Though Vittoria herself has long since vanished into some crevice in the underdark, the partnership between Ginny and Visconti is alive and well. Though Visconti herself is known for discretion, she possesses thralls and lovers with looser lips, and it has recently come to light that Visconti played a role in arranging the more recent assassination of Thomas Castemont following his electoral win against my challenge. Not that those of you reading from Cordor will likely have heard of this, given that the investigation into the murder mysteriously ended as soon as Ginny regained power, and even talk of the assassination that put Ginny back into control is now swept neatly under the rug.

Now as much as I do love gossip for its own sake, I did have a purpose in sharing all of this, if you will permit me to wax philosophical for a moment. Part of the reason Ginny is willing to take the actions that she does is because her philosophy of law allows it. "One cannot govern with clean hands," after all. As Chancellor, she views herself as the law, and all things are permissible so long as they keep her in power. To a degree, she's correct. As Castemont's appointed executioner so eloquently wrote a few months back, in Cordor any law outside the short King's Law exists merely as a courtesy of the Chancellor, an expression of their will for the people that cannot be challenged. Yet I believe in a law that is higher than the Chancellor's law- a moral law that flows down from the upper planes, which all mortals are beholden to.

It is this law that Ginny Rivorndir has thoroughly transgressed, and in so doing she has vacated any legitimacy she might have had as Chancellor. She is not inherently of noble birth, and so in dishonoring her marriage to Dax Rivorndir with numerous infidelities, she has forfeit any of the divine right of Lady Siamorphe to lead. Nor can she lay claim to the second-hand authority afforded by Cordor's king, for she has transgressed the King's Law in employing murder to bring about the vacancy to which she ascended. In the same vein, she cannot lay claim to any mandate bestowed by the consent of the people, for she has twice overthrown their own selections, violating the rights bestowed on them by their king.

Having vacated her legitimacy in this way, I would propose that it becomes not just morally permissible to stand in opposition to her rule, but in fact a moral duty to do so. These few weeks since her election have been enough to show you what Cordor will be like under her rule again. Already, Rivorndir retainers have been exposed in literal murder and gotten off, while the innocent victims of that violence have been smeared and charged with crimes. Underdarkers are invited to sell poison, infernal devices and necromantic objects in Cordor whilst simultaneously undercutting your own merchants on legitimate goods. Relations with our allies are deteriorating rapidly as they see the administration's corruption. Your right to public trials remains gone, blamed upon Thomas's law changes as if Ginny had no power to reverse it. Cases documenting over a dozen assaults and murders carefully constructed by your Ministry of Justice over the last months are thrown out and buried because they implicate Ginny's retainers. All of these things will only continue to worsen.

In writing this, and with my other writings and confrontations that have pulled back the veil on this pair, I have violated the other of the only two true crimes that exist in Ginny's Cordor: "Thou shalt never speak the truth about those in power." This was the crime that actually saw me thrown out. Once again, if they acknowledge it at all, they will attempt to convince you that this testimony is a tissue of lies that ought to be ignored. Again I would encourage you to investigate for yourselves; enough documents and witnesses from the events I describe still exist that many of these details can be independently verified. No trust in my own word by itself is required.

Once you have satisfied yourselves that everything I have written here is true, I would encourage you to resist the authority of Ginny Rivorndir by any means your conscience will allow. For my part, I will continue to publish the things she wishes left unsaid as often the mood strikes me.

Should anyone wish to contribute to this, I can now be found in Guldorand, where the exile Ginny and Thomas orchestrated during my electoral challenge has been lifted and expunged from the record following the magistrates having been given the evidence that exonerates me, which Ginny and Thomas attempted to hide from them.

Truth prevails.

Lord Antonio Vhaire

       Day 27, Month 7 (Flamerule (Summertide)), 181 AR
       Antonio Vhaire