Hope.

                              I'm not going to tell you the situation we are in right now. Everyone is aware of what's going on and it's a nightmare. Everybody's running for the hills or scared of walking through the focus.  Sorceries are being cast left and right in fear,  new travellers to Travance cling to everyone like scared children; shopkeepers keep a crossbows under the counter; degenerates are running wild in the woods, and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it.
                              Running in the night frantically searching for a safe place to bed down.  Being afraid of taking a sweet roll because our neighbor may have poisoned it. And we sit reading the tavern boards while some guard member tells us that today we had eight murders and hundreds of assaults, as if everyone expects this to be normal.
                            It's like everyone everywhere is getting paranoid, so we don't do anything any more. We sit behind Mythals and our world is getting darker, and all we say is, "Please, leave us alone in our Guildhalls. Let me have tea and my chessboard and my wine, and I won't say anything. Just let us be."
                          I'm not saying to take the law into your own hands.  I don't want you to go against the Barony.  I don't know what to do about the treachery and the double-dealing and the Drow and the crime. 
                        All I know is that we have to take a stand. We are Travancians, dammit! We all came here for one reason or another to forge a new life.  To raise these lands up.  So, I want you to join us now.  I want all of you to take a stand.  I want all of you to gather with us and shout in unison:
                        "We are Travancians.  Our lands shall thrive once more."

Professor Jack Cypher
Minister of Truth
Imperial Guild of Ostcliff

Ming Na
Dominus Rystar
Imperial Guild of Ostcliff

"We are Travancians.  Our lands shall thrive once more."

"We are Travancians.  Our lands shall thrive once more."

"We are Travancians.  Our lands shall thrive once more."

"We are Travancians!  Our lands shall thrive once more!"

"We are Travancians!  Our lands shall thrive once more!"

We are Travancians!  Our lands shall thrive once more!

"We are Travancians..." Our lands WILL Thrive, WE will thrive; as we always have.
          We have proven time and again that we can endure, we have faced down Archdevils, Ancient evils, even the avatars of the dark gods themselves! not only have we risen to the challenge each time. but we have rose triumphant each time.
          We are Travancians, we do not give up hope, and we will thrive again.

Elric Ashby

We are Travancians.  Our lands shall thrive once more.
~Amalthea

We are Travancians and our land will thrive now and always

We are Travancians.  Our lands shall thrive once more.

"We are Travancians.  Our lands shall thrive once more."

We are Travancians. Our lands shall thrive once more!

"We are Travancians.  Our lands shall thrive once more."

We are Travancians.  Our lands shall thrive once more.

I find Hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe....all shall unfold as it should. Hope is not weak Hope is power Hope is not a empty promise Hope is not just words or ink spilled on the page. It will take more then just one town guard or one land or one guild to make the change needed to correct the injustices that has transpired.
It will take the power of the people

Hope is a way of thinking, not a way to be. Hope, in a powerful sense, is not the same as thinking things are going well, or willingness to push for movements that are obviously heading for success, but rather an ability to work towards something because it is right.

While hope is a powerful tool, its the strength of our fighters, the faith of our believers, and the leadership of those in command that will win this war.

Squire Zathir

Hope isnt a tool,it is something that is felt by the people,by a kingdom or a nation,everything that is done in the world is done by hope,for though martial prowess is important,it is oft time the cause that people fight for that supercedes a factor such as that entirely,We've inherited hope for the future from all those who have fought for it    

If the consensus is that you're all so hopeful, maybe all this paper can be put to better use putting forth solutions. As can your time.

Well thank you for your most insightful input.

Its a sad error in judgement to write ones tactical plan of attack down for others to see,especially when were battling a foe that has made that error and most likely has learned from that...

However next feast we really should discuss this. For we must be able to defend ourselves from any coming dangers from the result of Apollo.

We as Travance have ideas to repair all wrongs , we have the main asset we need, and there isn't any limit to what we can do with our home and our lives. Ideas are any man's greatest asset. We as Travancians have the capacity to translate vision into reality...we have done that often. He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious. 

              The time we take to write these missives and thoughts, is not time lost on preparation.  For the mind and body do need a chance to reset and rejuvenate themselves.  Were we to not relax our minds away from thoughts of war and conflict then we would be consumed by the beast within.  Let us take these moments, the chances we have to glean these walls,  and remember why we walk the paths we have chosen.  We flow through a sea of chaos.  We must become like water and flow through it unmolested.  Feel the burning fires from within as the need arises.  Hold true the stalwart and unyielding essence of the earth.  And as graceful and thoughtful as the swift wind.  When we are at harmony between these elements in this fashion,  then we can truly start to move forward towards our futures with certainty.

Poetry is a beautiful thing, but verse won't protect you from a knife in the dark.

If nothing else, the solidarity of Ostcliff is heartening. I trust the Guild will weather this storm.

Put action to sentiment. For those who want to fight, send me a post or seek me out as soon as you can.

I have to disagree with the poetry statement on one count. It is thanks to a bard that the travancians, who were holed up in the inn during the attack that fateful night, are still alive. If not for her poetry and songs; the demons would have cornered us, and the list of casualties would have been considerably larger.

Words can be the most powerful weapon a force can wield.  With but a swift sentence and stern voice a single man can shatter an army.  Hope is no mere tool but a force that makes a group of scattered and disorganized people stand up to a force of thousands and win.  We took a great blow in Apollo's attack and it is not unusual to be angry or disheartened to see a former friend become your enemy but we will move forward.  We will not stop.  We will not fall.  We will not yield.

You are right that the Guild will not fall to the storm.  It is because we stand together and speak as one.  We say what is in our hearts.  Yes, to say "We are Travancians.  Our lands shall thrive once more." is only words.  But words have a strange habit of becoming action.  We want that action to happen.  All we ask of you now is will you stand with us and make these lands thrive once more?  We will do this alone if we must, but I have only one hope.  My hope is that while this humble Guild stands in the face of all the evils that plague this land that we will not be alone.

Forgive this humble Na for speaking his thoughts, but when I say that our lands will thrive once more, it is no mere dream to vanish at the dawn.  I will make it happen.  We, the guild of Ostcliff, are united in that thought and promise.

We are Travancians.  Our lands shall thrive once more... and forever.

To mister Feng Na's words I shall take a drink, may our words become action, swift action that will crush the enemies of Travance.

We are Travancians.  Our lands shall thrive once more.