My name is Stickley, for Stickley is who I am and this is the reason for
my Silence.
Long have I wished to be a priest and hard have I worked to become one.
I strive to find truth in all I do or behold and always have I rejoiced
in
renewal of land and soul. Honor, wisdom and service have always been,
are now and will always be my paths. However there is one truth I hold
above all others, "peace and goodwill". I believe that violence and
aggression promote disharmony and chaos and that only through peace and
goodwill will balance and life be nurtured. There are many that would
say
I am a fool for my beliefs and like a fool I will be very shortlived. To
them I say, althogh I strive to remain peaceful, I am not perfect, and
when faced with dire need and haste I will resort to my mace to protect
life and land from aggression. So strongly do I feel that this path is
wrong that it brings great disharmony to my mind which requires much
meditation to alleviate.
As a student of the Cherubim, I am finally, at last, on the very verge
of becoming a priest. All that is left for me to do is to demonstrate my
knowledge of the herbs and elixirs of healing. Alas here is my dilema. I
have discovered that the scrolls of healing and cures are far from
complete and that the only way to truely learn the effects of the
medicines is from first hand use. It has been said that the best way to
get this knowledge is through violence, either in combat or in the
arena. How can I do this? To become a priest i must go against that
which I
consider to be the greatest truth. Violence for the sake of learning?
This can not be. Should I give up my quest to become a priest or let go
of
tranquility and peace of mind for the sake of learning?
So with my heart in anguish and my thoughts realing against this
impasse I have taken a vow of silence until I resolve my crisis.
May the light of truth shine before you
may wisdom be your companion

Penned by my hand on the 7th of Chakros, in the year 72 MA.