My Dearest Friends:

I write you today to tell you that I have shed the chains of despair and
freed myself of torment's grasp to walk in a new light. A light that
beckons me to a new day on the freshly awakened horizon. My journey has
been long and arduous, often painful and often bittersweet. But in my
journey I found so very many who granted me their wisdom, their
inspiration, and their love.

It is with mixed feelings that I announce my departure of this realm
forever more. I am the last of my family, and so it seems that the book
of my lineage has come to its final pages. But you were my family as
well, and for that I am thankful. You embraced with me open arms and
gladly took in the stranger I once was and changed me to hopefully, for
at least a short while, a friend.

To those who I cursed and punished with my unwarranted words and
scornful actions I give my deepest apologies. Someone wiser than myself
recently commented, "I hope you have learned something from this."
Indeed I have, friend. And I do regret my words and disrespectful tone
my than I could ever express.

To members of Lord Arion's Order and to Arion himself, I am sorry for my
disrespectful words. It was said out of foolishness and spite, and to
this day, I regret what I said.

It is my hope that you can look beyond my foolishness and see the fruits
of my labor in so many of today's fine men and women. The greatest gift
of all is embracing a stranger as if they were a member of your own
family, and I wish all of my students the best of success in all of
their future. That is my greatest wish. I hope you have learned honor,
dignity, and care of your fellow brothers and sisters of light, and I
hope you have not considered my dishonorable acts as something to add to
your personality.

Thank you all for the memories. I know not if I shall ever return to
this land, but you will always be in my heart. Walk with honor, courage,
and loyalty. Have the discipline, strength, wisdom, fortitude,
foresight, and faith to carry the torch of light for generations to
come.

Forever Yours,

Dankus McCloud

Penned by my hand on the 17th of Ios, in the year 112 MA.