Meet Ahnselm Morrow

[Morrow]

Sir Morrow, how did you amass such a wealthy bank of knowledge? And how may I acquire such knowledge and wisdom?

One day at a time, young one.

When you are as old as I am, perhaps you too will look inside your mind to discover a treasure trove. Nuggets of insight, crystals of epiphany, and bountiful coins of observation: I collected them all, slowly, carefully, over the decades--combing every surface of Valor, knowing no fact is too detailed, no story too insignificant, to add to my steadily growing hoard. You might have the potential to build such a cache of your own.

But if you are like most of the run-amocks I see gallivanting around the Lords' halls nowadays, I cannot give you much hope.

[Fire820]

Yes. Alas, I see them too. They rush to build fine castles for themselves but neglect the peasants that keep their kingdoms alive. It is just a matter of time before they fall.

If I may ask, which paths have you travelled? Have you met any interesting people or groups? Are you currently traveling around any worlds? And if so, which one(s)?

[lordnighy]

Marrow do you think that one day every world will be ruled by a single person?

[Morrow]

Marrow I wish to ask r family guilds a good thing? Like seven different guilds in a pact of allies?Or r they the end of civilization?

There is a cycle that turns this world. A cycle of alliance and betrayal. The independent warlord allies himself with his fellows so that together they can crush an self-styled king with a petty little army and not take as many losses to their own troops. They form a guild.

The small, close-knit guild bands together with other guilds to form a family, so that they can build their empires in safety without being constantly harried by rivals.

Guilds gain more members. Families gain more guilds. An unsteady peace falls over the land. Alliances stretch to the breaking point. Soldiers and lords itch in their armor, waiting to take up the sword again. Then it only takes one incident to spark a chain of betrayals and throw the whole system into total war.

I myself was just a boy during the last great Guild War. It was very nearly the end of civilization. Whole fields drenched in blood as far as the eye can see. The land rocked and torn by army upon army marching and pillaging and destroying. In the aftermath, no alliance was left, hardly a wall still standing. The world was ripe once more for a single man to build his city and take control.

In a cycle such as this, family guilds are inevitable. The strong band together against the weak; the weak band together until they outnumber the strong. But the world turns, and even the greatest empires are overthrown. The one who endures to the end will be able to raise something from the ashes.

[lordnighy]

Are we do for another guild war anytime soon?

[Morrow]

Yes. Alas, I see them too. They rush to build fine castles for themselves but neglect the peasants that keep their kingdoms alive. It is just a matter of time before they fall.

If I may ask, which paths have you travelled? Have you met any interesting people or groups? Are you currently traveling around any worlds? And if so, which one(s)?

Which paths have I travelled? In my long years of journeying, I have come to believe that a man can travel but one path, that of his life. There is no other.

But perhaps you were speaking more literally. I have set my feet down on many paths, some roads, several thoroughfares, an uncountable number of byways, and exactly three boulevards. Of all of them, undeniably my favorite was a small trail through a forest outside the quaint little city of Gont. In less than half an hour’s walk, I came across no less than fifteen different species of rare fungi and a positively gorgeous community of slime mold.

I have long desired to return to that trail and perform a more thorough catalog of its ecosystem. But no matter how sweet the memory of the place is, I find myself continually drawn to unexplored territory. Onward, Sir Cluckles! Into the unknown! For everlasting scientific glory!

[Fire820]

And dodean both, but more so on literal ones. Thank you. Are you currently traveling any literal paths? If so, what have you discovered on it? And have you traversed any world in Valor? If so, which? And if you're currently in one or more, which one(s)?

[Fire820]

I did mean both*

[Joshuasky]

Sir morrow, our solar system constantly gains new planets as they fall into the orbit and become occupied by inactive lazy lords. The 100th world shall be here soon and the moderators( those creepy men planning something) have been reluctant to announce if anything out of the ordinary will form on this world. Perhaps you will br more inlightening.

[Morrow]

Marrow do you think that one day every world will be ruled by a single person?

How should I know? I have explained this many times: I do not predict the future. I chronicle. I observe. I am sensitive to trends, certainly. I am keener of intellect than the average genius. But it galls me to be continually asked such unscientific questions.

The communities of our world are entirely preoccupied with the struggle for absolute power. Many a lord does dream of resting his tired buttocks on the golden throne of complete dominion. Whether any of them will succeed or not is, in my mind, completely a matter of chance. And I am not interested in swindling honest inquirers with charlatan predictions.