Loss of a Hero

FOIGofWar

FOIGofWar

Artisan
To all my Friends and Allies,

Those who gathered in Fairdale this past week accomplished great things. We competed with fairness and respect in the Annual Games hosted by the High Orcs of CLan Garath. We fought together with great bravery to stop the Blood Mages from unleashing destruction on our lands. Greatest of all, we saw to the final destruction of the Prince of the Abyssal Gorge- a necromantic dragonmage of immense power who was preparing to unleash an even greater threat to our lands and peoples.

No great deed comes without sacrifice, and this was no exception. Although the loss of life was small compared to recent campaigns, we lost a Warrior to the Hero's Graveyard. In the battle with the Abyssal Prince, His Excellency Baron Harrison Ryatt was obliterated and permanently slain.

I will hear no lament for his passing. His Excellency Baron Harrison lived every day of his life by the Code, and one tenet in particular: Thou shalt be everywhere and always the Champion of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil. These were not mere words to His Excellency. They were an Ethic, a devout calling from which he never strayed.

His detractors will tell you he was unyielding and unrelenting. They are not mistaken. They simply did not see the larger picture in this. His actions were never about himself or his own gains, they were for the good of the Barony, the Duchy, and the Kingdom that he loved with every breath.

He was unyielding and relentless. He held himself to a standard higher than he held anyone else. Wounded, injured, tortured by our enemies, he would take the field, apologizing only for the condition on his uniform. When I would speak to him privately about finding a wife to have a son to continue his family line that had served the kingdom for generations, he responded that he already had one great love in his life- he would never cheat on her, nor ask any woman to try to either equal that love or be second to it.

He held every post given him with unswerving loyalty: Man-at-arms, Lieutenant, Sheriff, Lord, Knight, Paladin, and Baron. He lived every day of his life for the betterment of others, and for the protection of the Kingdom. He was my Liege. He was my teacher. He was my friend.

The Graveyard of Heroes needed a Paladin. Hail the Glorious Dead!


In Valor and Honor,
First Knight, Sir Ulthoc Crownsmith of Ram Tribe
 
I am quite saddened to hear this news. baron Harrison and I had our disagreements, but I always held a fundamental respect and fondness form him, and I believe he did for me.

Even when my dissatisfaction for the nobility of Ashbury was at it's height I still held respect for Harrison Ryatt (even though I felt he was dead wrong on some issues).

Ashbury, and indeed the world at large, lost a great man.

May he enjoy his well deserved rest in the Heroes Graveyard.

In mourning,

-Cedric Fruvous
 
It is sad to hear that he is gone, so few like him, even fewer are the flame. I didn't know him long, but he was very familiar to me, like walking in circles -- I wish I could have helped him more, but I forgot how... Flame brings ashes... ashes are free to go where the winds take them...

I hope his spirit finds it's happiness and rest and is never lonely. It seems he has more than earned it.

~Lia~
 
((the voice is strong, with an obvious quiver of sadness))

I think it fair t'say that few have been as devoted to the Code of Chivalry - and the land of Icenia - as His Excellency. Like him or not, there's no denying this. His Excellency wasn't perfect; his judgements could be as wrong as any man's and, for some, those errors are what he'll be remembered by. It's a sad truth, given his greater legacy is that of a compassionate, stalwart man who, to me, was the definition of everything I've ever been told was "heroic." His dedication to his land and its people was unflappable - a word he taught me - and his desire defend it... Well, I think he's fulfilled it. He might argue differently - he would say that his work was always incomplete - but to die for the land and people you choose to protect above all other things, himself included, is, if nothing else, Valiant.

May His Excellency Baron Harrison Ryatt live agelessly in the minds of those he has touched. He will live in mine - as my Liege, my Baron, and a source of endless inspiration.
HAIL THE GLORIOUS DEAD.

Squire Jovunn Rannveig, Court of Nordenn
Court Herald
Ram Tribe
 
I am in possession of a Spirit Farewell ritual scroll. Come spring time, we may all have our chance to say good bye.

I am deeply saddened that a man of such character and conviction is gone to us. His service to Dockside, his Barony, the Duchy and the entire Kingdom will not be forgotten.

Hail the Glorious Dead.

-Sir Ignatious Skippio Vex
 
This is grave news indeed. As a resident of Nordenn all my life, I have seen many barons come and go. Although Baron Harrison was a baron for only a short time, his impact on the barony will remain, and his deeds in his other titles shall remain as well.

~Argus Varda
 
Mark thee the passing
Remember the light
Paths for a time shared
Diverge in the night

Shed your tears honestly
find there no shame
But lift voices to songs
And his stories to fame

Hold tight in memory
He who has moved on
And live out his lessons
And he will live on

~Simon
 
Your Excellency,

Thank you for the lessons and guidance you gave me. The short time I spent knowing you will be time I cherish for the rest of my days. In these dark times ahead I will think of the light you brought to our fair Kingdom.

Thank you for believing in me as I will always believe in you. I will honor your memory.

Your friend, ally, and student,

Squire Flint Boulderback
 
Baron Sir Harrison Ryat,

Among the nobles and adventurers of Ashbury, few know me longer than you did. Nearly a span. I remember the night we met, a chilly evening in early Fire Ant, and how you took our ragtag bunch on our first mission - and taught us that we could succeed.

A few moons ago you risked your life for mine, and not for the first time. I should have known when I was calling for help that it would have been you sprinting toward me. Then, stuck in a prison spell, in the eerie quiet of the cursed town I could only hear my own heartbeat and your voice and somehow I knew we would be alright.

The last time I saw you, with tears in both of our eyes you convinced me not to take my own life, and instead traveled with me and helped me find a solution to save my spirit, and my mind. It was a gift to be able to spend that time with you.

I know you rest in the Hero's Graveyard, and so I will not be sad for you, but for those of us who now carry on without you. I can only hope to make you proud in service to our kingdom.

Humbly,
Squire Ezri Silverthorn
 
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