Please, Tilanna, explain something to me:

Duiran's duty was to protect and administer the forests, handed down to
Duiran by no less than the three Divine who's domains are the natural
world.
Wedric is a forestal, a druid, and furthermore, was not only a member of
Duiran, but a Benandanti.
Duiran pissed off Wedric. (gleaned from Public 3534)
Duiran failed to control one of its own leaders.
Duiran failed to protect its most valuable asset, the forests, which
were destroyed as a consequence.

When a Syssin secretary goes rogue, do they suddenly declare a venom
ban? When the fires of Sapience went out, did the Luminaries suddenly
say, "Sapience, start rubbing sticks together for us, or you're going to
just have to deal with vampires on your own!"? When an Infernal dies in
a duel, do they institute a forging ban until such time as the winner is
suitably punished? When a city, a guild, or any other organization falls
upon hard times, since when does it become Sapience's responsibility to
pick them up, brush them off, and set them on their feet? Sapience never
has.

So tell me, Tilanna, why should Duiran be any different? Why should
Duiran hold Sapience responsible for fixing its mistakes? Why should
Duiran hold Sapience responsible for remedying its failures? Why should
Duiran hold Sapience responsible for the consequences it suffers?

If you want Sapience as a whole to come and solve Duiran's problems, I
also highly recommend that you get down on your knees, and _calmly_
explain the situation to us, and _politely_ request our help. Shouting
at us, and trying to blackmail Sapience with an herb ban simply because
you both alienated one of your own leaders _and_ could not protect your
forest (and effectively failed your mandate in every single respect) is
_not_ how you're going to gain the sympathy and support that you visibly
need in this incident.

Let me just remind you something, Tilanna. You can herb ban for a short
while, but if you herb ban for too long, the demand will become great
enough that people will pay more money for herbs, and someone is going
to get greedy, and they will begin to do what it takes to provide herbs
in spite of your ban. When that happens, you'll be forced to take down
your ban and join them, or you'll become obsolete.

People have problems. That's reality. Organizations have problems.
That's reality. They either find solutions, or they die out. That's
reality.


-Kerian Xanthril, the pragmatic.

Post Script: The argument that by not replanting herbs, they are saving
them is also a flawed one. By not replanting herbs, they are making it
such that the herbs cannot be burnt, that is correct, but they are also
slowing down nature's regrowth by that much (and nature _will_ grow
back, have no fear of that, its been here before us, it will be here
after).

Disclaimer: The views illustrated here were presented as such to make a
particular point, they should, in no way, be interpreted as a choosing
of sides.

Contact Information:
Questions, comments, compliments, and continued discussion may all be
directed to Kerian.
Please direct flames and complaints to Zhukov.

Penned by my hand on the 14th of Niuran, in the year 165 MA.