Good evening, Norrath. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of the everyday routine, the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration - whereby those important events of the past, usually associated with someone's death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, are celebrated with a nice holiday - I thought we could mark this the 2nd suspension of the year, a week that will be remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.
There are, of course, those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now orders are being shouted into telephones and men with pixels will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there?
Cruelty and injustice...intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance, coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those who are more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable. But again, truth be told...if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.
I know why you did it Awakened n Aftermath. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War. Terror. Disease. Risk of losing pixels. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you and in your panic, you turned to the now Lead GM Sirken. He promised you order. He promised you peace. And all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consen to not petition him with nonsense.
Last night, I sought to end that silence. Last night, I destroyed Lord yelinak to remind this server of what it has forgotten. More than 19 years ago, a great server wished to embed Everquest forever in our memory. The hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice and freedom are more than words - they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of these raid guilds remain unknown to you, then I would suggest that you allow this week to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek...then I ask you to stand beside me, one year from tonight, outside the gates of ToV. And together, we shall give them a raid that shall never, ever, be forgot!
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