ately I have been thinking a lot about our future, and thus, about our past. I am one of the few who were not born into the Order, but later initiated into it. To find out as much as possible about what makes a knight of the Lion, how they came to be, and finally, how to become one of them, that was always my aspiration. To serve the high ideals that Kesar Etzel once set down, marking the birth of the Order. Before I found my way to Bounac, I had been wandering, searching, for meaning, a purpose in life, a cause I could dedicate myself to. To be frank, it was great luck that my voyage brought me here, for I could have easily ended up in the hands of nefarious forces. But fortune smiled upon me as I set foot on this land and came to know this stead as the goal of my travels, my search.

The arduous path through history which our forebears trod is remarkably well-documented, though less in writing and more in song. The hardships they had to endure on their long journey to find a place to call home would have broken lesser men. And now we live in this very place, a peaceful corner of Tibia, where we can dedicate our lives to living by the rules of our ancestors, thus honouring their names. You could not ask for more.

Indeed, our lives could – nay, should! be filled with blitheness, being thankful for the lot that has been cast for us. And yet, I hear rumblings when I walk between the stony walls of this hallowed ground, murmurs of discontempt, whispers of strife.

It is true that the divide had been there for a long time. It is true that most of us chose to ignore it, wanting to live in harmony. I hesitate to put blame in this matter on anyone, but cannot help to fault myself for my reticence. I follow the teachings of Kesar and need to speak out on behalf of them. I so very much hope that Drume and Fugue can be reasoned with, that they see the folly of their ways. That Kesar the Younger will be fair in his judgment – in fact, I am certain of that – and that we can find an amicable solution which pleases all sides, now and forever. I am convinced that we can emerge from this period of discontent stronger than before, affirmed in our beliefs, united as one. I shall only return to this diary once this conflict has been resolved, to read about this time of unrest and rejoice, for the rain clouds have finally given way to sheer sunlight.

– Oswin, Knight of the Order of the Lion