To all,
I made my position fairly clear in the beginning. Lately, I have told you of my domain's weaknesses. Perhaps foolishly, but my goal was to help everyone understand why I am adamant in my stance. Which, again, is:
The Forests are mine. I will not be forbidden access to any Forest. (Other than Magni and Modi, if Eztlicoatl agrees to my terms.) I may or may not have a significant number of followers, any follower of significant power, or much of a personal presence, in any given Forest. I will allow anyone's followers in any of the Forests outside of Shaldir. Your people (or whatever your followers are) can even have settlements in them, whether I have much of a presence or following in that particular Forest or not. But even if I do
not have a presence or following to speak of in a given Forest, I will peer into it and/or have my Prophet or other agents check things out from time to time.
Eztlicoatl,
Despite all of that, I
did allow you exclusive rights to Magni and Modi. As I've said, when we first arrived, I believed we all deserved a place to call our own. Since your primary race is Jungle-dwellers, it's only natural your place would be a Jungle. Fine, you got both of them on Malyth.
But, honestly, enough's enough.
A Forest without Sunlight is... Well, such a thing cannot be, eh? At least not in the traditional sense. Which, so far, is the only kind of Forest I've been dealing in. Therefore, it is, at the very least, pragmatic for Forests to have respect for, and be willing to work with, the God of the Sun. I have done both.
It is
likewise pragmatic for one whose followers are indigenous to Jungles to have respect for, and be willing to work with, the God of Forests. We could nit-pick over the various communications we have had in the past, calling some things a willingness on your part to work with me, even if nothing hinted at respect.
However, your declaration that you are taking over yet another Forest, forbidding me the slightest presence in it,
and refusing to so much as allow me to safely remove my followers from it, cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be considered a willingness to work with me. They are not even much in the way of peaceful coexistence.
I hope my imminent demonstration is sufficient to show you that our relationship is not as one-sided as you think. Yes, I have struck the first blow. I care not in the least whether anyone or everyone condemns me for it. The only other course of action you left me was to roll over and let you take my domain from me piece by piece, not even allowing me to ensure my followers are safe each time. What idiocy. You can determine the fate of the Forests and my followers when you pry them from my cold, dead branches.
And yes, I expect that will be the outcome. (Calais will likely appreciate the boost, sweet sister that she is.) I do not delude myself into thinking that I can stand up to you and your friends for any length of time. So be it. I will be killed while using my domain as I see fit, not while watching you take it from me unopposed. So it is War. (uKulwa will likely appreciate the boost.) You can take the Sun away from my Forests, or burn them. Your allies can send Mutagens, or Storms, or ...I don't know... shoot huge cannons. Whatever you think I have not prepared for. And, before I die, I will ensure no follower of yours will ever enter any Forest again without extreme effort, and die horribly if they do. And any cultivated Wood your followers touch will turn to dust. And anything else I can think of that I think
you haven't prepared for. If this is the course you desire, simply say so, or say nothing. You were never particularly kind, and, considering how much I expect this will anger you, nothing less than an Oath to the Allfather will convince me that you do not want War.
However, I would rather live. No, not on the terms you have been demanding; but in general. And I hope you want your followers to be able to enjoy the Jungles and Forests, and use products made of Wood. So it is my sincere hope that you will consider "allowing" me to act in my own domain, and we can put all this behind us. If so, I will use your power, and even some of my own, to restore Magni and Modi to their former states, allow your followers back in, and return them to your exclusive control. And, as has always been the case, like everyone
else's followers, yours will be welcome in all Forests outside of Shaldir. If you wish Peace (Bel will likely appreciate the boost.), let me know before we act again, and we can take Oaths to it. My Oath will be to return Magni and Modi to your exclusive control. Yours will be to make no future attempts to hinder me in any Forest, and to not attempt and/or aid any retribution against me because of all this. I have not come up with specific words to these Oaths, because I know the likelihood that you will want Peace or take an Oath to the Allfather. But if you surprise me, we can work out the details.
I await your (and, of course, Nor Yekith's
) response.
No, if I will lose my domain, followers, and life, it will be fighting.
