I received a letter a few days after my last sermon, that told me "Your
truth died as soon as Lanos got crushed for eternity by Lord Severn". It
was unsigned, as these kind of letters usually are, so I cannot thank
the writer personally for inspiring my second sermon. I must also thank
Lady Iosyne for the very act of writing this is obviously an homage to
her domain.
***
Truth stands eternal, ladies and gentlemen. It can be hidden by
Artifice, and buried beneath lies, and deception, but it cannot be
destroyed. In the 160 years since Lanos sacrificed himself, though
dreadfully obscured, Truth has remained. Each of us has glimpsed it,
again and again, and from it constructed our own truths.

The writer of the letter was wrong; my truth did not die. I simply lost
it for a time to despair at the lost of my Lord. But here I am, having
struggled for over a century with my beliefs, and my despair. And I know
that Truth remains.

The Truth is mighty; no matter how you change it, it will remain True.
It is unlike we fickle mortals, full of contrary beliefs and
self-deceptions. It cannot be anything other than True. I may be
treading close to blasphemy here, and I must ask the Gods to forgive me,
but I believe that of all beings in our existence, none save Varian hold
the power to truly destroy the essence of such a primal force. And I
believe it is so for all primal essences, including Artifice, though I
may wish it were not so in that case.

As long as Artifice remains, it shall be combated by Truth. Perhaps Lord
Severn destroyed Lord Lanos. He has not destroyed Truth however, only
the shell that surrounded it. So the anonymous sender of the letter has
demonstrated an imperfect knowledge of the Truth. Yet he also
demonstrated a belief in it. I am certain that whoever sent that letter
believes that Truth is dead. For him, its destruction is True.

Do you see the quandary this person must face? I pray ye, meditate on
this.


Thus the second lesson is; Truth is eternal, for all things contain
Truth; even lies.

Penned by my hand on the 2nd of Arios, in the year 200 MA.