The Twins

No sun to warm our backs; the world breathes just that much more shallow, the forests fall quiet and we're left to hear our overseers snarling at each other.

Many people would probably say that the world is worse off now than it has been in quite some time. The fall of the Dominion is fresh in the memory, the Sunless Winter now besets us, and we look to twin powers now to guide us... twin powers that are often preoccupied with fighting each other, like siblings fighting over the last slice of pie.

People know violence more intimately now than ever. Whether it's at their doorstep, on their horizon, or in their past, the trauma that the people of Elstren have faced in the past twenty years alone is hard to imagine. To watch our overlords bicker as they do can only make it worse; it's hard not to feel nervous that a war is soon to break out, and that it will end with as much pointless bloodshed and horrific spectacle as the Dominion War.

But I posit this: The world we live in is almost better off than it ever has been. This is not to discount the horrific events that have unfolded, are unfolding and will unfold, of course. There are many people who would read my optimism and, rightly, scoff—their lives have never been bleaker, for one of a thousand reasons. Needless suffering and cruel fate still and shall likely forever abound.

The Dominion is dead, and shall stay so forever. The blades of the Vaskhul shatter upon indefatigable legions of undead. The Black Tide breaks and recedes, stemmed by the tireless work of countless volunteers. The Sunless Winter dims the world, but warm lamplight and roaring hearths hold the darkness and the cold back. The remnants of humanity's vile monarchies are finally breathing their last.

And of those powers that still exist, we have those twins. Unique, in that both of them fight not for their own power or wealth, but... merely because they care too much about Elstren, and they both believe that if you want something done correctly, you must do it yourself.

I have thought much about your question, my dear. You are right—I do not do what I do out of hatred, or even strictly out of mistrust. I do what I do because I love the Lantern Bearers, and just as much the Verdant Grasp. I do what I do not because I fear the damage they will cause and wish to hold them back, but moreso because I fear what we will lose if we lose them to each other. I love them both too much to see either of them fall, and so I must carefully guide them both along the tightropes they now walk, as best I can.

Thank you for giving me this insight. You are where you belong, I believe this now.

— LEIKO