Letter to Jaela

Jaela of the Silver Flame,
 
I am Dax’Athla, we met months ago in the Keep. In your presence, I faced the Flame and you showed me the path that lies ahead to bind the demon within.
 
Drego Sarhain’s last words to me as my mentor, before I left the Keep, were to spread the light of the Silver Flame and to aid those in need along my journey. Such words would have felt unnecessary and self-evident to me before I set foot on Khorvaire; I have now come to understand how precious and unique the Masvirik'uala’s ways are. I yearn for the same all-encompassing level of solidarity and community that I knew then, until the Sun went cold.
 
People on this side of the continent look at me and they see a dangerous, unyielding and unforgiving creature. But above all, the truth that shines through my memories is how much the Masviriku’ala care. It is true that the Masvirik’uala have been forged and honed in the fires of an eternal battle, One against Evil. I used to think it was the way of the world, but it seems only a few cultures are aware and active against similar threats, and yet even the Church or the Gatekeepers can never pretend to the sense of belongness that the Masvirik’uala experience, whether deep in the Dream and in every act of care. Hoping for anything else is like wishing for a Demon to redeem itself.
 
This knowledge is a vibrant brand on my soul, yet I yearn to belong.
 
The Masvirik’uala do not need a word for the Force that shaped them. The Dream grounds and guides the Masvirik’uala and I was torn apart when the Sun went cold within me. I fled like an animal and drifted until I found a family who would care for me, but I did not find purpose until I understood that what binds the Masvirik’uala could be named, and a connection grown with different means.
 
The Dream molds the Masvirik’uala but the Silver Flame binds us all.
 
I write this so you can understand my thinking as I come to you with a request. Too often we are misunderstood because we believe actions and values are self-explanatory.
 
In my travels with the Mist Walkers, I have seen the Silver Flame carried in many corners of Khorvaire, yet I grow concerned with the ability of its agents to continue to withstand Evil in some places.
In Salvation, the Church is just Jahanah Teskelyndros facing the weight of the Mournland and countless souls who have come with nothing but greed. Why is the Church not sending more support and resources?
 
In Sharn, the Church itself is rotting from within. The priests routinely ask for payment to perform their services, and are ignoring the needs of an entire district destroyed by a falling tower during the Last War. The people in the district have been in isolation and squalor for decades, unable to afford to leave nor to rebuild.
Still one woman spreads the light of the Silver Flame in the Fallen district. Faela has repaired a building of the Church, and is helping others however she can. We have provided what help we could with teachings, supplies and coins, but we cannot stay long. With this letter, I want to request help from the Church to Faela and the Fallen district. Everyone in Sharn has abandoned them, including the local Church. They need food, medical supplies, tools and materials to rebuild a place to live, or help to leave if they wish to.
 
Faela is a better representant of the Silver Flame than any of the so-called Priests of the Silver Flame in Sharn can ever hope to be. These priests go against what the Silver Flame stands for. I fear their hearts are rotten and corrupted, like the Poison Dusk.
 
I will leave the city shortly but plan to return to investigate the source of their corruption. Myths and stories about the Fallen district mention the feeling of a dark presence looming over everyone who lives there. I’ve felt it, like someone is watching me. I will look further into it.
 
Will you help and support Faela and Jahanah Teskelyndros?
 
If you wish so, you can write to me in Wroat until the first of Vult. Then I will be off for several weeks to attend the Summit in Grey Wall.
 
May the Silver Flame shelter us,
 
Dax’Athla