Westgate

[krieger]

Here ye, here ye
Brave warriors, and children of Andar mark well this day...

Your efforts and the efforts, and sacrifices of Brave and noble soldiers of Andar have made possible the strike that was delivered against the burrowing infestation of the Dwerger that has plagued our home for these past years.
A multipronged infiltration attack designed by our engineers and implemented by the aforementioned engineers and brave warriors of Westgate managed to penetrate the lower levels of the Iron Falls complex, and set off a devastating series of precalculated explosions. These charges enabled a previously damned magma flow to roll unchecked through the infested caverns destroying the enemy in their path. This is a major blow against our enemy who for years now have plagued our nights, stealing our friends, and slaying our relatives.
Yet, let it be known that no victory no matter how crushing comes free from sacrifice. Let us mourn the loss of those who gave their lives in defense of their families, and kingdom, by making the ultimate sacrifice.
Any citizen able to donate goods, services, or effort are asked to please report to the nearest ATC office for immediate relief efforts to the families who have suffered losses from this decisive blow.

In recognition of the sacrifices and deeds who led the attacks, and missions that made this possible it is with a heavy heart that I name the following.

Gerard Edwards
Morag Llewelyn
Gawain Jones
Gwendolyn Conway
Edward Reece.

I name them all Swords of Silverford posthumously in honor of their ultimate sacrifice in keeping with the highest traditions of bravery, and honor even in the most dire of circumstances. Let their sacrifice be an example and inspiration to all of Andar's children as they take up defense of their home, and family.

And I regret that I must also posthumously grant the honor of the Order of the Silver leaf to Colonel Goronwy Morgan, who deliberately chose to detonate the charges of his squad by hand to eliminate the possibility of further mistake or sabotage, and thereby sealing his fate, and the fate of those in his squad who both live, and those that have passed on. Let his determination, sacrifice, and willful committal of insane acts of Valor serve as an inspiration to us all.

-Sir Krieger Draconigeva, Inquisitor-General, Seneschal of SilverFord.

 

[most_precious_blood]

The fallen.

I shall do more than light a votive offering to honor the fallen, Sir Seneschal Inquisitor General.

Look for me in the following weeks in the Silverford librarium sacristy, where I will make my devotion. I hope that you, or any others, will join me in a gathering of celebration and rememberance.

I cannot say I knew these soldiers personally, or that I was familiar with their individual exploits...Sadly, I know them now, all too well.

I say sadly instead of unfortunately because it was not fortune, it was willful sacrifice.

Gerard Edwards, Morag Llewelyn, Gawain Jones, Gwendolyn Conway, Edward Reece, and Colonel Goronwy Morgan... in your honor and memory, I will sacrifice one meal each day for a full turning of the seasons.

I sincerely hope that the pangs of my hunger serve as a constant reminder of the constant struggle you endured in the name of our safety. I sincerely hope that in this year, my reflection on your noble deeds will aid my journey of self-improvement to the benefit of others.

I know we have battled long and hard against this, and many other foes, and I know we have sacrificed much in the name of victory. It would be a pity to let their sacrifice go to waste... no, not their sacrifice... their example.

I am not sure if our enemies were even capable of fear, but I know that these brave patriots gave them ample opportunity with their selfless acts of heroism. Each time they attacked us, we were blindsided, victims of obfuscation and ambruscade... never once given the chance to truly stand and shine.

If the prime advantages of humanity are indeed the courage in our hearts, and the sharpness of our wits, then these were (and are) the best of us.

Their service inspires because it, too, was willful sacrifice. The sacrifice of men who refuse the indifference so common to the spirit of man. In their refusal, they took on a sacred duty, an oath that many cannot understand.

Service is its own reward: for when hope, faith, and love have fled our hearts, all that remains is duty, and there can be no rest this side of the grave for those few assembled in defiance, united in purpose, bound by duty to a greater cause.

That cause was rendering unto the populous the safety many take for granted.

If you have not served, then your freedom, indeed your very life is a parasistic lie. A thing you take from a host, offering what, exactly, in return? A right you have received gratis, built on the back of another's sacrifice, another's suffering. Another's life. You enjoy this pretense... this freedom, won by the rigor of other, greater men.

Your time has come, and you are not free, merely shielded... protected.
Without these brave men and women, who will vouchsafe your livelihood?

They suffered, they sacrificed, and we remain. We live. Will you now see? Will you now settle your debt, in arrears for these long decades of your life?

Will you pay in the currency of your own blood shed, of your own honest toil?

I beg all who read this look to their own heart... Does the quality of your service, and your commitment to your own duty measure up?

I carry their names and deeds in my heartsong, I am now a part of their living legacy, and I refuse to allow even one of you to dishonor them or their memory by relegating them entirely to the past tense.

Those fallen live on not just in my heart or in my memory... they live on through my deeds and feats of arms.

It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery:
I pray that I do them justice.

-Guy DuBro Manson-