[A sealed letter for Velan Volandis]

[cmenden]

Dear Velan,

Thank you again for signing my petition. Even though I didn't win the primary, I suspect it was extremely close.

Accompanying this letter you will find the story, as promised. If you do not enjoy it, too bad. I don't plan on rewriting it.

Regards,
Estellise Azimi

[hide=Velan Voldis Faces the Lunar Horrors]

Velan Volandis Faces the Lunar Horrors
by Estellise Azimi

On the moon, where madness reigns and the stars gaze down with countless alien eyes, a lone figure came forth, his white hair flowing in the lunar wind. Velan Volandis, warrior of the Citadel, had come to this forsaken place on a mission of his own making.

The chariot on which he rode was no ordinary craft. It was powered not by the magic of runes or the spells of wizards, but by the sheer force of Velan's own ego. As he soared above the craters and valleys of the lunar landscape, he felt a thrill of exhilaration course through him. He was invincible, untouchable, a god among mortals.

But the moon cared nothing for such petty delusions of grandeur. It was a place of cosmic dread, where the very fabric of reality was stretched thin and the horrors of the stars lurked just beyond the veil. And so it was that Velan found himself confronted with a village under siege by forces beyond mortal ken.

The creatures that assailed the village were abominations from beyond the stars, beings of writhing tentacles and eldritch energies. But Velan was undaunted. With a flick of his wrist, he drew forth his sword, a gleaming blade that had tasted the blood of countless foes.

The battle that followed was one of epic proportions. Velan moved with the grace and speed of a lioness, his blade flashing as it reflected the eerie glow of the village's many lanterns. The creatures howled and gibbered in their alien tongues, but they could not withstand the fury of his onslaught.

As the villagers emerged from their hiding places and saw the devastation wrought by the otherworldly terrors, they fell to their knees before Velan. They praised his bravery and skill with the blade, thanking him for delivering them from the brink of destruction.

In gratitude, the villagers offered Velan a chest filled with treasures from the moon's surface - gems that glinted like starlight, rare metals forged in the heat of stellar cataclysms, and ancient relics of civilizations long lost to the void. But Velan, in his typical self-absorbed manner, scoffed at their offerings.

"What use do I have for your trinkets?" he said, laughing with disdain. "I have come to the moon to prove my own worth, not to indulge myself in your petty baubles."

And so, the villagers, grateful yet disappointed, sent Velan on his way. As he mounted his magic chariot and soared back to Ephia's Well, the people of the village could only shake their heads and wonder at the vanity of the Citadel's most famed warrior.[/hide]

[Vlaid]

Received and with great thought does Velan Volandis stare at this letter. Great ponderous moments of silent brooding before at last....it is tossed into a nearby Hearthfire^TM.

[Vlaid]

Dear Etsy,

As requested please find enclosed an envelope with a copy of your story with your proper attributions.

-Velan Volandis

[hide=Velan Volandis Faces the Lunar Horrors]

Once opened all that is seen within is a handful of blackened ash and a small piece of paper reading "By: Estellise Azimi".[/hide]

[Vlaid]

Dear Etsy,

I jest of course. I would never so callously treat the artistic work of another much less that focused on such brilliant subject matter as myself.

But for some bitter time you felt the sting of betrayal. I hope it stays with you and you recall it keenly when next you think to act thusly when taken into the confidence of others.

You have the ashes of but a copy and nothing more.

-Velan Volandis

[cmenden]

Dear Velan,

This is a crueler jest than I'd thought you capable of making. I suppose I misjudged you.

Or perhaps it's more accurate to say I judged you correctly initially and my revision of that judgment was a mistake.

This ludicrous election is making fools of us all and Asterabadi must be laughing at us from the heavens, for I can see no other way this "democracy" was intended to go.

I will not be fooled again.

Estellise