Dear Father Philip,

What is real, that is a question that has been rolling around in my head since we were given a viewing of the god war. The war where the alive and dead, cursed and loved, reviled and honoured all fight in a never ending battle. Will freeing Lord Osiris from his body-less prison change this battle, I know not. And what of the poor dead souls that fight, what happens to them when they are ‘slain’. Do they just discorporate and be no more, or do they go back to the gods realms. Is our world real, or just a training ground thought up by the gods to ready us for the eternal fight to come.

We saw an endless battleground, soaked in endless blood and suffering, yet enduring under endless selfless acts and honourable actions. Lady Apis was almost slain, that is what my senses were telling me, not bound like Lord Osiris, slain by the dark forces that tried to overthrow her in her weakened state after saving us. How could we be indirectly responsible for a goddess giving up enough of her power to be taken down by the rabid dogs of Set? It truly boggles the mind, and I am a trained priest of the faith. I would ask that this information not being made public, as what could it do to the moral of the normal man, to know that his immortal goddess may not be in fact immortal. Maybe it is true, nothing is forever.

We have had the new boat blessed and a temple is enshrined in it, it feels like a betrayal, now that Rogtilda is gone and Roggan has found his rest (has he ???) and the temple created by a demigod and myself and Bishop Tutu, who had happily agreed upon this course. Then we had the festivity of ‘Releasing the Shield of Light’ to the sea and King Guy himself turned up to send us on our way. It was a great honour to have even the King helping, and help he did. He helped stock the ship with manpower and weaponry. Hopefully we will do Timiro proud.

We headed of into a fine sea, but had barely gone a day before being found by chaos, this time in the form of pirates, but the ship handled itself well and we managed to outdistance them over the course of the next 12 hours, and then the sea was ours again. Another 9 days passed before the world showed its disdain for us, and we came across a pod, herd, school or whatever you call a bunch of Horned Ramrods, apparently our gigantic ship was basically screaming a challenge they couldn’t refuse and attacked. Even though there was much shaking and creaking the ship held together from multiple attacks from these monsters. Stef was knocked from the rigging but was heroically saved by Zorrus, and poor old Jinx seemed to be reliving his horrified moments of being attacked as well. I and others turned our magics upon these foul creatures, that and some eagle eye targeting of the catapults drove them away, liking their wounds. Maybe they will be less likely to harass other sea goers in the future.

Just before we got to New Crests we all had a disturbing Vision, a vision of endless war, with the gods of light and dark battling for supremacy, and whilst we were watching a particularly vicious gambit from the enemy pushed into an area before help by Lady Apis, and as she had expended a lot of her power saving us she was sorely beset by many a powerful foe, and at the end one rose up to smite her down, but one of her Followers gave his life or existence to save her, and she just managed to pull herself out of the battle to recover, sporting many wounds.

Does the endless war reflect how the followers are doing, if Set’s followers are doing well, then the forces of light are pushed back and vice versa? Does that mean they are a reflection of us, or us of them? I know not. All I do know is that it was very unsettling, and that unsettled feeling is weighing me down like a waterlogged cloak. Could this really be the end times?

We immediately did many Prayers, and we sent off magic pigeons empowered with contagious scriptures to pray for Apis, but we all went to sleep wondering what would have happened.

We were still trying to throw off the ill feeling caused by the vision we came upon New Crests just shy of Ursus‘s birthday. All the usual suspects were there to greet us and help us on our way, and while the others had their own plans, I was conspiring with Xerx’ses to get a giant boar for Ursus’s birthday feast, and to find as good a present as we could. Speaking of my large and best friend he has seemed a little distant. From what I have gathered from random tales of a golden hair minotaur walking about a town. He helped fix a few carts with broken wheels, fed the orphans at neighborhood soup kitchen, and saved one cat from a tree for a little girl. Now this sounds like good acts every tale mentions a promise or oath taken. These people were in danger of breaking them due to bad circumstances of fate. All the tales mention him smiling and touching a slightly shinning book on his side.

Is he drawn to helping people not break their word when life deals a raw hand?

That afternoon, I happened to hear an Elven servant, singing happily to herself, standing in the sun hanging out clothes to dry. I couldn’t understand the song she sang but it still touched my heart she sung so sweet and pure.

Ne minuial tôl lû
Ir tirich er-’îl gelair awarthannen
Ir in-elenath gwennin.
I ’îl thinna, i amar ú-dhartha.

Am man darthon a linnon
Nu galad hen fireb?

Eirien vi elenyr
Enni e bain.
Brethil nui mellyrn
Enni e bain.
Gwilwileth or alph
Enni e bain.
Tinnu aphada Chelluin
Enni e bain

I laiss e-mallorn ernediaid.
El-lass dithen, el-lass fíreb
Gâr chinnen. Ir dannatha?

I-’îl gelair fîr.
Si e gwanna Menel.
Si gwannathon i amar
Garel lass vi cammen

I laiss i-ferin thuiar
I ‘wilith lim echui aur.
I mrethil peliar duiw laiss
Af filig linnol der’ ennas.
Vi Ithilien, dôr lenthir lind
Gorain nesta velethril nín.

I aear dholl. Saer dîn vanadh.
Aphadar ’lîn e-fast i chîn
Finarfin. Athradar athrad
Chelegnen. Sí falas thrúnen.
I ithil eria. Romru cân

If music like this lives in the world there has to be hope, beauty like this, even if fleeting cannot exist in the dark places, and needs the hearts of good people to nurture and help it grow.
One day I will have to ask Nara what the song was about.

Written by Indaris Excellar on the 14th of Majestic.
In the 4th year of King Guy the First, Rex – Timiro

Picture by our own AZ Rune.