Dear Aetolia,

This is my first post, so yes I won't be as formal as my more
experienced counterparts. Telling the truth, however, is a lot more
important than proper grammar and formality.

Ariel, I understand your need to protect your city even before you know
there is a threat to it. Honestly though, when everyone was asking you
to join the militia, did you not wonder why and whom you are supposed to
be fighting? Notice how I'm still not saying that the answer to _this_
should have determined whether or not to protect your city. You should
have still asked. What should have changed your mind were the many posts
about the war, and what those around you were saying. Know the reasons
for a war you're in. Don't leave the realms and expect to come back to
it as you left it.

Maliquai, I have sparred and respected your fighting ability for years.
Yet since the beginning of this war, my first war, and my most boring
one, I have only been present one time in which there was more than one
Ashtan Militia member around. Every other time, it was just Bliss, or
one of the countless that finally saw this war was not worth it. In fact
until this post I hadn't even heard of you since that attack on my Guild
Hall including my Guild Master Laikahra. Since then I have neither seen
you around, nor seen you fighting. If you're only willing to fight when
you outnumber the opponent, don't fight at all. It is very easy to have
an unstopable militia when there is nothing to stop.

Yet in post #1799 I saw the most laughable thing in the midst of all of
what had to be serious lying that was waded through to create this post.
I saw a mortal who believed that as a former follower of a Goddess that
she knows more about that Godesses realm than the Divine themselves!
Don't over-reach your limits Ariel.

Talia, much of what I had to say about your father's points I can say
about yours. However, your post had more passion, and I hope it was that
passion not your head that made you say what you say. I'll repeat, for
the public's benefit, through this war I've barely seen any deaths at
all, and the ones I did see were not from our side of the war. Day in
and day out, I have searched to find a single Ashtan Militia member I
may attack. Now lets play a game, how many Militia members did I find?
One. I found Bliss around only once, and I did not even get a chance to
kill her. So as for my own opinion, I don't think Ashtan paid the RL to
defend the city, but even if they were being paid it'd be very little as
the only times I've even heard of them being around numbered to about
two. Mercenaries that don't show up don't get paid.

As for your arguments about Valor and Honor leave those to Lord Arion,
but if you must bring it to mortal terms I can accommodate you. It is
probably true that you have not killed citizens of your opposing forces,
but as stated before Ashtan rarely had anyone to kill anything. Honor
isn't honor if its forced. As for Spinereach, they were slaughtered
because unlike your city, they actually provided something to kill. As
for the accusations about hiding in Safe Rooms, I haven't seen any real
fighting in this war. So in my experience at least our forces had
nothing to hide from. One remark in your post placed a grin on my face
however, "unafraid of death". Do you know why the Ashtan Militia that
actually tried to fight left? They were sick of dying. Maybe the shell
of a Militia left is unafraid of death, but that is very easy when you
do not even present your self.

If you think that like so many that have posted about the war, that I
post and leave. That I would never fight even in odds against me. That I
would run all over sapience to avoid a single attack. Then bring your
self to me, my death or yours there will at least be some death.

~ Crashing Wave, Ginja, the Tsol'aa Warrior


Penned by my hand on the 2nd of Midsummer, in the year 123 MA.