I bow my head a hundred times before you, Grandmaster Halcyon. By the lingering blessing of my forebears, I w…
I bow my head a hundred times before you, Grandmaster Halcyon.
By the lingering blessing of my forebears, I was saved by your hand. In the years since, even the grief of losing my spouse has slowly begun to ease. This kindness is carved into my bones, and I dare not forget it for a moment. Now Mohist Hill is beset by turmoil on all sides, and since the events at Spiritroost Crag, I have heard that rumor and slander have gathered around you. My heart has been full of worry. For that reason, I set down below all that I have seen and learned.
Of late, people in the streets say that the disorder within the mountain was caused entirely by the rashness of those who sought to seal it. There are also whispers that former Grandmaster Raven foresaw the signs long ago, yet kept silent, and so brought calamity in the end. I have long known both you and the former Grandmaster, and in truth I find such words hard to believe. To speak one way on the surface while meaning another underneath, letting poison seep in little by little, is the most dangerous thing of all. For that reason, I quietly went out among the common folk and looked into the matter in secret, to test whether these rumors were true. Yet to my surprise, all the traces I found seemed to point instead toward the former Grandmaster.
And yet his position was itself fraught with hardship, and time and again put in peril. Many within the mountain resented your wish to open it, so there were few who spoke for him and many who bore him ill will. At the time, he was also suspected of being held in check by the faction that sought to seal the mountain, while Qiongqi Artificers' sudden disturbance only deepened the chaos. So I have rashly ventured this guess: perhaps he chose to stain his own name, so that the place of Grandmaster might pass to you.
I have heard it said that one who loves others is ever loved in return. The former Grandmaster was pure as jade and upright in rule, and he shared with you a bond that went back to childhood. Now there is much talk of a promising beginning ending in ruin, yet perhaps this was never what he truly wished in his heart.
If this letter reaches you, then it is not yet too late. I only hope you will judge the matter soon. And if anything in my words has overstepped, I beg you to forgive it, and not let it weigh upon your heart.
With best wishes for your peace and well-being.