Breac's address 0.4.26 agf

Breac Sunfist stands on a makeshift podium at the Shrine of the Ancestors and addresses a small crowd.

“Before me, I see my fellow Little Warriors. Each of your stories are different. Many of you were born to this world. Some, like myself, were not. One thing you all have in common is that your abilities set you apart. Perhaps it was a twist of magic, the chances of birth, or the whims of fickle gods. But for whatever reason, you can each do things beyond what would be expected of common mortals.

Whenever anyone gains such abilities, there are always two consequences. The first is a sense of otherness. You feel like you don’t quite belong. Like you’re being constantly judged by the rest of the world. And the feeling is mutual. Your abilities make you different and dangerous, and people will find trusting you difficult as a result. The cost of this consequence is pain. To be told you don’t belong in your own home is hurtful. Always.

The second consequence is a sense of responsibility. Towards those mortals without your abilities. Towards the very people who reject you. Your responsibility is to protect them, nurture them. To study your otherness with them, in the hope of reaching understanding. And I tell you from experience, with certainty, that what I am about to say is an unalterable truth, a simple fact. It is not until this responsibility is embraced in full that the pain associated with the first consequence will begin to fade.

Little Warriors, we stand besieged. The world of Elanora has been corrupted and infected. And its people look to us to protect them. We now have a means to do this. We can establish areas of safety from this ‘blight’. To even create the tools to do this will be costly in wealth and resources. To establish these safe areas will be more costly still – in time. And in lives. Behind me are the graves and memorials of those who have already paid the ultimate price, and more will join them before this struggle is over.

And as we push back the blight, we will not always be thanked for doing so. Some of the people of Elanora will look upon us as saviors – and some will not. Some will act with suspicion, that this is just another grasp for control or power. Other people simply do not have the resources to thank us. They were poor and desperate before the blight arrived, and they are even more so now. And while we must secure some resources to enable us to keep fighting, this must be balanced against our responsibility to all mortals of this world.

There are those who would question why we should be so generous, so magnanimous, towards all people, even those with nothing to offer, or those who choose not to trust us. And in answer to that question, I offer only the words of Damien Ironbrand. ‘Without fear, or favor.’

We have no choice but to heed those words. Because until we embrace these words and the responsibility they imply in full, our pain will not begin to fade.

My brothers and sisters. My fellow Little Warriors. I believe we will prevail."