Melhed/History/Age of Betrayal/General2

The Prophets Of The Fourth Invasion

The Prophets appeared at random on Beluaterra during the fourth invasion. Whether they are sane or not is a matter of conjecture. As it stands they wander from region to region and never remain in the same place for more than half a day. If you encounter one you may speak to them for a time. Acquiring information costs no more than a couple hours of your time, however, they do accept any coins you may have to spare should you feel generous.

The prophecies are not unique to each individual prophet, but rather there seems to be some overlap in thier wisdom. The extent of this overlap is not currently known, but it does seem as if there is some coordination between them.

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The words of Rhu-Natil

• Anger, hatred, and fear will consume you. They feed upon themselves, and in so doing create more anger, hatred, and fear. You think you know what I mean, but you do not. You cannot can truly comprehend the revelation in these words until you let go of your preconceived notions of them. Perhaps when the time is right, you will return and I will teach you their true meanings.

• What I think? I do not think much these days, for it does not do a man well to think. Why think? What does it accomplish if at the end of the day we all perish along the way? Paradoxes, I'd say. These rulers do not seem to know what peril awaits the peasants regardless of what they choose. Inhuman or not, rulers are always arrogant, and do not care for their peasants. It would be better if we were dead and something replaces us that simply gives off taxes and praises. You want to know what I think? I think it doesn't matter, what does the changing of rulers matter to the local peasants such as us other than perhaps a different face to give false praise to?

• I have heard much talk lately of the unity of mankind, and how we all must sacrifice for the "greater good". The great nobles, proud in their shining armor and fancy castles, ride back and forth, and preach of how noble it would be to die in the defense of these so-called lofty ideals. "Never shall we bow to an inhuman master!" they preach. Ha! What do they know of bowing before a master? They're not the ones dying by the thousands to protect some noble idea that they're too good to acknowledge another as master. Aye, there's no shortage of food for their tables. But where is the good in it for us common folk? What does it matter if the master that takes the food from my table to feed himself has horns and a tail, or just acts like it?

• Traitors! There are traitors everywhere. Around you, next to you, there is even a traitor inside of you. Mankind is not one, and even those who think they are one are many. And among the many, there is always one who wishes all the others dead.

• There is something very much alive inside the undead, just as there is so much death inside the monsters. Are they really opposites, I ask, or are they two sides of the same coin?

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The words of Czarina

• There is honor in the grave, I think. No, I do not mean that a grave is an honorable thing. Rather, there is honor in dying for a cause. The sacrificing of your very life, that which is your greatest treasure, for the accomplishment of a goal. That is what I mean when I say there is honor in the grave. But then, is your life truly your greatest treasure? Perhaps for a mere commoner, such as yourself, that is true. But for those of noble birth, do they not have something worth even more than their life? Is not their honor more important than their life? And if they ask you, a commoner, to sacrifice that which is precious to you, your very life, then should they not be willing to sacrifice that which is most precious to them: their sacred honor? So therefore you should ask them: If they are willing to ask you to lay down your life for their cause, are they willing to sacrifice their honor for the same? Or will they cling stubbornly to their honor? Will they ask you to give up that which is most precious to you, while they cling to their precious, and only give their second best treasure to the cause? But then, if you give up that which is most sacred to you in order to serve the cause, is there not honor in that also? Quite the paradox, I think, to ponder if by casting aside your sacred honor, you can indeed gather an even greater honor: the accomplishment of your true goal.

• Beneath this earth,
  

live the untold legion,
leaking from every region,
to revoke Man's dearth,
and still the rebirth.

• In answering a question, I once told a young man to return to me when the rivers ran red with blood. He came back yesterday, and told me of the southlands. He spoke of the endless swarms of monsters, the vast fields of the dead, and the rivers of their blood. He asked me how they could possibly stand against their numbers. I said to him: Have you no friends who will stand beside you? Have you no allies to bolster your strength? Have you no shield with which to repel their assault? Or are you just not willing to pay the price that such a thing would cost?

• Traitors! There are traitors everywhere. Around you, next to you, there is even a traitor inside of you. Mankind is not one, and even those who think they are one are many. And among the many, there is always one who wishes all the others dead.

• The secret to it all lies in the north. But the secret to understand it all can only be found in the opposite.

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Other Prophets