Ruminations from exile

[lintral]

I gazed out into the lightless expanse, mind distant in the oppressive silence of my
shelter. There was little to do here, little to do but consider the information that my
agents brought me.

A cold smile lit upon my face at the thought. Spies that were unimpeded by walls
or other barriers, spies that were undetectable except to those with the art to work
around the Veil. It was my only steady contact with the rest of the world these
days; visitors were few and far between who could find me. Thankfully, the list of
those who could apparently didn't include the Tvorlites; I'd not been attacked since
I found this new hole to crawl into.

The priest, oddly enough, didn't really worry me. All his words would mean nothing
once his Master was destroyed. Any converts he gained would be powerless when
Auzorm'tvorl was defeated. That thought of course led to others along a similar vein,
as I recalled several heated discussions about a possible infiltration of the enemy.

To what avail? Would it change what we had to do? No matter what information was
gained from an infiltration, we still had to assault that mountain. Regardless of if
there was but a single Tvorlite mage or if the slopes teemed with Thanatars, there was
no changing our path. Our resources were limited too, who knows how many Sleepers
the Silver had awoken? We couldn't summon reinforcements to deal with a powerful
defense. One could argue the case that infiltration allowed us to be prepared for what
we faced, but expectation is what killed the last try.

Gah, just the thought of that brought the images to mind. These days, I rarely had to
even be near the mountain for the visions to come. Hordes of sworn warriors flitted
about my perceptions, held by their Oaths to slay Auzorm'tvorl. Always reliving their
fatal charge, for themselves and their audience of one. Me. Had I not once looked
upon the smoking remains of what had been the teeming city of my birth, I suspect
that I would go mad from the relentless assault.

Instead, I burn with a slow fire inside. Saving the world is all well and good, but above
even that lofty goal I had another. The Vile One would regret the role he played in the
destruction of my home.

Idly fingering the relic that would enable us to save the world, I continued gazing into
the darkness beyond, patient in my exile.