The earth is angry.

(( For purposes of understanding which character is speaking, the male and female Dryad will simply be labeled as “M” and “F” ))

((Written by: Jeremy Rogers and Britney Sirois.))



[ This message travels across the dream as if carried, even sung, by the trees themselves ]



M: For too long the lesser races have engaged in activities that take from the earth, yet never returning anything, in order to make up for it.

F: We found our own kind begging for our patience, yet we have spent a millennia being patient. Your catering and misplaced pity has allowed further death and mutilation of the earth.

M: Time and time again the lesser have been warned, the earth did what it could in retaliation, but with no success. You think every Tsunami and Earthquake has been natural? I would call you a fool for thinking so.

F: My sisters and brothers, how could you have been so blind? They claim to be your friends, but what have they really done to help what we are? Only destruction lays in their wake, of what they have blindly referred to as “their own betterment.”

M: The only progress the earth has made, is its capability to awaken its children after so many years of sleep. We can finally see through the veil of blindness, we can finally see what these beings really are.

F: They would destroy our kind and the earth, simply to further their own agenda.

M: We have finally come to the point where we must act, something unfamiliar to our kind.

F: Just as you would have us consider your position, my family, allow us to show you what we have witnessed. We have experiences from long before many of you came to be.

M: We seek to conserve life as well, a quality we all share. Join us brothers and sisters, and there might still be hope for the earth.

F: We wish to avoid taking extreme measures, but unfortunately our hands have now been forced. The earth is exhausted, and things must now be made right.


OOG Note: This post made with plot approval.
 
Brother. Sister.

I see your anger. I see your pain.

You will NEVER have the right to take the lives of those who cannot defend themselves. I care not what twisted morality you may call upon to justify doing so. The loss of life you have caused is monstrous and I will not allow you to pretend otherwise. I will not tolerate this lie, that you are conserving life. I see only death in your wake.

You are blind to the true path of nature. You would destroy the forest to see these people, our equals in every sense, "punished" for crimes they did not commit.

I do not want to fight you.

Please, turn yourselves in, atone for the horrors you have wrought.

I promise, with the love that only a younger sister can, that the deaths I grant you will be painless.

-Dame Kailani of the Ash Forest
 
((The voice is distant, calm, and sincere))

Brother... Sister... In the dream realm my mind is clouded, but I feel your anger. I see you. I am listening. Know that my memories upon waking are always hazy... but I want to listen.

I want to learn. Already I have prepared myself for meditations. The thoughts I express now have already been scribed and are set to be published for a clearer, more certain understanding... ... But I will try to express to you, with the best of my ability in this dream realm, what I feel and what I have written. Again, with a hazy memory, I have no faith in the reliability of the dream realm... Please seek out the next news publication... to deter any misunderstandings or false assumptions... or even better, seek me out directly. Talk with me...

((With a slow, rehearsed meter, the following is recited. It may fade in and out slightly))


A Call To Peace:


My name is Kialda Loa, and I am a Child of Autumn. I write publicly to offer my all in establishing peace and consoling those hurt from recent and modern tragedy. It is highly likely that the incredibly expedited growth of nature in the South is due to the same power that caused these island and shore catastrophes. It has been shown as an intentional, willed force of nature's power. I honestly admit that this devastation was caused by two whom I call brother and sister.


To my friends, all fellow adventurers and citizens:


Please hear me and know that I care. There is rage. We must react with calm. There is violence. We must react with peace. Through temperance, we will see natural thriving. We must not let fear, bitterness, anger or despair prevail. Those are not the answers that will bring peace and prosperity. I see the devastation. I weep for those lost and I offer my assistance in the recovery. I am beginning by seeking peace within and among my people, and I will come to the aid of citizens as I am able. Know that I have seen homes lost and homes rebuilt, and I am here for you all with tenacity and longevity. I aim to recover, nurture, and grow together.

I have plainly and consistently expressed my love for my friends and this modern world, but with sincerity I clarify that this love is not unconditional. See the rage of the Earth, and know that use of necromancy and destruction of the forest caused this. Know that there is power in nature that needs to be respected. Please do not fear, but heed that reacting with haste and aggression against a power so ancient and all-consuming will not bring the peace you seek. Do not retaliate against the growth of nature, but seek to understand and work with it. I ask this of you from the bottom of my heart. Take time to consider options that focus on harmonious growth with nature as an ally, not a resource.


To my most zealous brother and sister, to whom I speak publicly so that my ideals are plainly understood:


I see your anger. Do you see your destruction? Instead of learning from and allying with those who would advocate for and protect you, you have caused them despair. I understand you are consumed by the rage and anguish the Earth has felt in her gradual destruction over the past centuries. The cry of nature has deafened your ears to the cries of the innocent. I know you have watched our family and our Earth ravaged by failure and ignorance for hundreds of years. I know. I see you. And I understand how you have felt unseen by the modern races. Know that they can see you, but only if you let them. Their ignorance or misunderstanding does not negate their innocence or imply unforgivable guilt. You must let them see you for who you are, for what nature intended us to be. We are not awake to destroy. We are awake to grow. To evolve. To mutually learn and educate.

Are you able to see me? Are you ready to listen to the call of nature in the modern world? Your anger blinds you. Do you not believe in the eternal fortitude of nature? Do you not think the Earth can grow and adjust and prevail in peace and harmony? Cyclical growth and evolution is the way of the natural world.

If nothing else, know this: By retaliating against the modern world in such a destructive way, you harden the hearts of those that would protect and advocate for you. You instill in them the same blind rage and inability to understand. They cannot see you. Like this, you do not allow them to see you. This is not the way to save the Earth.

In closing, I share insight I recently learned from a friend of mine, a Biata: There are those who, while having no natural ability to hear the cries of the forest and no intrinsic connection to the Earth, will do all they can to protect to Earth and help the forest thrive. With no prompting, external or internal, they behave respectfully and carefully, and are a shining example of modern living amongst nature. They use deadfall with appreciation, and drastically modify diets and tools to allow for the continued and uninterrupted growth of greenery in their mountain region. I learned this because I listened.

Friends, citizens, brothers and sisters: It is true, there are those in the modern world who are woefully ignorant of the ways in which the Earth cries, who fail to see the ultimate force of destruction that is necromancy. We must fight their ignorance with our knowledge. Together we can inform and cultivate peace and growth. Through it all, there does exist natural harmony in this modern world. We must see it, grow with it, encourage it, learn from it, and face the future together with a well-learned respect for the Earth.

If you so desire, feel free to seek me out via messenger, bird, or in person in the Ash Forest. I will share insight and discuss ideals at length. I freely offer my perspective, observations, and documented notes on the characteristics and habits of this modern world. I am learning because I am listening. I can help educate because I seek to understand.
 
Contact me. The trees will know where to find me.
 
Alda,
You and I have talked from time to time. We each know that we see the world differently. I must say that the events underway do not surprise me. I would urge you to understand the truth of the Phoenix. It has a very important lesson. I'll write you more privately, though I am sure you will rage against what I have to tell you. For nothing exists that is not made...nothing that is made lasts forever...and the arts wrought from the desire to deny these truths are known.

Simon
 
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