Mark Mosher

Friends,

I come to you tonight to inspire you all. With all the negativity going around in these times, I felt that it should be tempered by hope.

We, the former members of a once proud Fleet of role-players stand before a precipice overlooking the abyss. We found ourselves staring at the dark nothingness of defeat and desperation, and it was a saddening sight to behold. But our eyes have lifted from such a dismal place most recently. We have seen the rays of a bright future and our hearts have been re-forged. We no longer cling tightly to the failing light of yesterday; rather, we charge boldly into tomorrow with heads held high and spirits restored.

In our dark hour, the voices of reason, of compassion, of friendship and solidarity going beyond private gain and fruitless possessions have called out to us. The cries for blood have been tempered now by the songs of enlightened reasoning. The chorus that once sang of our destruction now lifts their voices in ardent delight at the coming of our salvation.

Compatriots, we stand united by a common deed… one most vile indeed that hearts are still heavy with its happening. However, it has taught us a lesson we may not have learned well enough without it. That we should be united by the good the games bring to our lives, not the immaterial considerations of power and status.

United we must remain, my friends, so that we never again allow such happenings. Consolidated must be our efforts to ensure we emerge far better than we were before. True we must remain to the newly forged friendships and bonds that have been cast by this. Firm in our convictions to the betterment of all shall we forever be.

I call upon you all to take stock of this event, not just the bad, but of the good we have all seen in those who stood beside us in our dark hours. Hold fast the hands of friendship that have been extended to you, and reach out with still more to others who have suffered from this event. Hold firm the heritage that brought you this far, but do not let it blind you to the possibility of yet greater things.

Be swift to the defense of your brethren in times to come, be slow to suspect those who have always been with you. Look hard at what is, and take things that appear in gossip with grains of salt. Be as liberal with praise as we have seen others be with criticism. Above all, be swift in protecting those who depend on you, and for who you have sworn to care for and protect, for they are those for whom this is all for. Lest we forget, this is for the good of all, and the enjoyment of the world that Gene created.

Take heart, my companions, for we are all in this together now. Our fates are intertwined and our course laid out before us. I say to each and every one of you, as you have stood with me in these dark hours, so shall I be there for you if they should fall upon you. You will never be alone. I will always be among you with a pointed stick… and a smile…

Be well, good friends and true! The abyss beckons no longer!