(I apologize, in advance, for the length of this revelation.)

Since it appears that my secret has been uncovered, I guess it's time I
let the rest of Sapience in on it. I know that this will bring about my
death countless times, but I gladly accept that in the hope that someday
the name Radkir Naveed will be remembered not as a heretic but as a
martyr to the cause of Truth.

Some of you know me well. Many of you probably don't know me at all. I
was a Secretary in the Daru for about 12 years and was a member of that
Guild from my 18th birthday until just a few years ago. For numerous
reasons, I left that organization. I had lost trust in some of the
members of that guild, most of whom I'd known my whole adult life.

With that loss there also came a loss of Faith. For what is Faith if not
trust in the religious doctrine you've been taught? I realized that the
doctrine I'd so fervently believed in was, for me, based upon trust in
those who passed that knowledge on. If I couldn't trust the teachers,
how could I trust the lessons?

So, I spent a time of introspection and isolation. I pondered all the
things I'd been taught about the Light and Darkness, about Life and
Undeath, and about the Circle of Life and the Grand Artifice. Central to
my belief system was an underlying concept that the Daru and the
Luminaries were granted the gift of Illumination, a skill allowing those
with the gift to tap into their Inner Spark and evoke the power of Fire
and Light.

All living things, I was taught, have a Spark. However, only those with
the gift are able to sense it and elicit its effects. Of course, I was
taught that the undead, being vile, perverse beings "outside the cycle
of life" had no Spark. This was, in part, a justification for why the
Auresians were enemies of Undeath. And so, I grew up believing all of
these teachings.

I came to realize, after much meditation, that I couldn't trust -any- of
the lessons I'd been taught, and this threw me into a mental state that
I'm only too glad to have recovered from. In the end, I wasn't sure what
I could and couldn't trust any more - who I could or couldn't trust.
(Heh. Seems I was right, since someone has revealed my secret, betraying
my trust.)

So, I decided I needed to find the truth. I needed to test my beliefs,
because the foundation of my Faith had been shattered. Thus, on a cold
Winter's night, I made my way to the graveyard in Delos and took my own
life. However, before the last of my life's blood had drained away, I
managed to cover myself in the cold, hard earth. I passed over into
Undeath.

Upon waking, I was disoriented and a bit startled, half expecting to
find myself yet again in the Cave. And yet, no. I was in Delos. I was
now one of the Undead. I was that which I'd stood against for years.

Moments later, a tingling drew my attention. Standing up from my shallow
grave, I focused on that tingling, trying to identify it...

... and there it was...

My Spark! It still glowed with the same radiant light that it had in the
moments before I took my life. But how could this be, I wondered? And
then it came to me. Truth! What I'd been taught wasn't true! And I was
walking proof. But, would this fade?

That was a question that tugged at me. Was this just some remaining
ember of life that would dwindle and fade away? Dare I try to tap into
this power? Would it vanish from my grasp forever?

I was a scientist now, and I was the experiment as well. So, I used my
skills, first one, and then another. I tried a variety of things, and
still my Spark remained. So, I decided a real test was in order, and I
performed a series of actions that drained my Spark significantly. Then,
exhausted from the effort, I headed to my favorite spot and basked in
the warm sun of Spring. After a very relaxing nap I awoke to find my
Spark completely rekindled!

So, in the end, I only could reach one conclusion. My Spark was
unaffected by the transformation that my body had undergone. My skills
all worked exactly the same. And my Spark would recharge. Much of what I
had been taught was disproved to me, and now I had a new question to
ask. Why? Why the lies? What could those of Life hope to gain by
perpetrating lies about the Undead? And seeing as the Undead have a
Spark, I wonder just how much else the Living and the Undead are alike?

Obviously, this has shaken me to my core. My whole belief system is in
tatters and I spend my time wandering Spinesreach trying to find my path
into the future from here. As I stated earlier, I'm sure this will bring
about my death, both from the Daru who have now declared me an enemy and
from those of the Undead who are content in their isolation from those
of the living and find me repulsive. However, I felt it important to
share the truth with the rest of Sapience. My hope is that some of you,
with open minds, will recognize the significance of this and will take
action to shine the light of Truth on the world, chasing away the
shadows of deception and deceit.

In the service of all,
Radkir Naveed

Penned by my hand on the 16th of Severin, in the year 217 MA.