Thoughts of the DragonLord

[DoS Archive]

From: dukeuziei@aol.com (Duke UzieI)
Date: 27 Oct 1998 03:40:36 EST

::he was up late, the candles burning low in the study of his mountain estate::

::he had gone over the accumulated missives his page had brought him, separating out the posts of worth from the kindling paper, a stack that seemed to be growing ever larger by the fireplace::

::finally, for lack of any other possible way to resolve things, he sets pen to paper::

Patrons,

Lend me a few moments of your time while I ramble through some slightly incoherent thoughts and try to string them together into something that makes sense.
Over the last several weeks our entire community has splintered off into many polarized groups. A civil war per se that is none to civil. Now no one is going to like everyone....that is a foregone conclusion. But what has all this gained us? A closed Arena, a community on the verge of self extinction, the patrons stressed to the very edge of their sanity by their own actions and the actions of those around them. Tis a sad thing to see
come over us.
The Arena I remember was a proud place, where even those that disliked each other held respect for their opponents. Now it seems the lack of respect and despite towards our fellow duelists is the respected thing. A large contest to see who can insult and wound another the best. All in the name of honor and righteousness. Does it look honorable and righteous? Does it look the same to you when you look at it from that perspective?
Even I have been stressed to the limit of late, having just last eve severly wounded a friends feelings out of my own stressed out mood. I came back to these estates afterwards......and spent alot of time being very disgusted with myself.
Can we, those of us that consider ourselves to be pillars of the dueling community, feel justified in the uses of insult and slander in the name of *justice* or in the name of *honor*? In my mind the use of such animalistic tactics is baser than the most illiterate brigand within the realm. To espouse honor and justice in such fashion is to mock the meaning of both words, and shows us to have little, if any of both.
The Overlord, Dalamar, has been central to these arguments and character assasinations from the start. And it is well known that I oppose him in many of his policies.....but do we not, he and I, at least hold a grudging respect for each others abilities? Is that not how *honorable* and *noble* men and women should behave? While disagreeing with someone it is very easy to still give them the respect that any man or woman deserves. And
even those you might believe beyond redemption, how are you noble and honorable by reviling them publically? Would you not be seen as a bigger person if you dealt with everyone with an even hand and never went out of your way to establish your own righteousness above those you disagreed with?
These are just my thoughts, and I believe that any with a shred of nobility or honor should heed these words....and stand down from this war of words that is tearing our Arena from its rooftop to its very foundation. If my career within this realm has taught me anything, it is that hatred and despite solves nothing, and destroys everything. So I ask you, on both sides of this altercation, to step back and let your anger cool, and
attempt to be who I know you all to be, honorable men and women of the Duels.
There will be many that will doubt the veracity and conviction behind these words, feeling they know me from my past and that I merely conceal some hidden agenda within them. And I do no begrudge anyone those thoughts, for they would be correct, I do have a hidden agenda, and its the return of respect to the Duel of Swords.
I will start myself by stating that there are many I dislike within our halls, but I would not trade them for the world....because without them, the Arena would be little but a home for mice and spiders. The Overlord, Dalamar, while surely has no high opinion of me, is a man I respect immensely for his contributation to our Arena and his dueling abilities. And while I disagree with his methods and sometimes his motives, I honor him for
the man he has been, the man he is and the man he will be. I will of course, maintain our slightly friendly rivalry for the sake that there is no man within our halls that I have ever more enjoyed pitting myself against in the Dance of Steel.
Shrug me off if you wish, ignore my words, call me a fool, or a liar or whatever you wish. Mayhaps after awhile, you will learn that honor is not someone that believes themselves to be honorable, but someone that lives that way in his own beliefs of what and how the world is.

Respectfully,
~Adonai Uziel
~DragonLord of RhyDin
~Warlord of the Duel of Swords(On Hiatus)
~Loyal to The Arena

[DoS Archive]

From: prlunicorn@aol.com (PrlUnicorn)
Date: 27 Oct 1998 04:11:35 EST

Adonai,

I have and do count you among those I call friend so take these words to heart for they are not meant with malice.

A civil war is never civil, it is a house divided against itself. Bloodshed of ones own kern and friends is often a daily event. Here there is slashing, but with sharp tongues instead of the blades that should be raising in a contest of sport. The question is, when do the sharp tongues stop and the blades once raised in sport begin being used to do what they were intended to, kill and maim? Oh, call me a silly old woman, but I have seen a world end
up at war because a nobleman was shot. I've seen families divided because they lived on opposite sides of an imaginary line called Mason-Dixon. I have heard the cries "Remember the Alamo" in Texas and "UP THE REBELS!" in Ireland. It's the same end, families and friends divided over other people's honor and principles.

The sad thing is, people do not learn from the lessons of history, because they ignore them.
>>A large contest to see who can insult and wound another the best. All in the name of honor and righteousness.<<

I am reminded that many times people were killed in the name of religion, a supposedly good and honorable thing. Good things can often turn bad.

I guess the question we must ask ourselves is.. Do we care enough about this sport to pull things back together or just forget it and leave it like a dream that unless given a chance will never come to pass.


Colleen Lasher

((Author's note: Kern is a term meaning kinfolk or relatives.))