You will go where I cannot follow, for I am bound by cynical doubt, whereas you are free by the ineffable virtues of the frightening concept of trust; the quintessential foundation of that most maligned quality that is lost to the lost, found by the found, and the salvation of the thoroughly informed who have not cast aside the courage to retain the wisdom native to children.

You will go where I cannot follow, down a road that has been hidden from me, through a doorway invisible to my eyes, to a banquet of food that my stomach cannot sustain, and my bowels cannot purge. You will stand at once upon a precipice and on the ground beneath, amidst the waves of the sea and the waves of the sky, your head amongst the stars and your feet warmed by the core of the world. Awake and asleep, dreaming through both, you are the bringer of vision who closes all eyes.

You will go where I cannot follow, and when there you will not weep over my remembrance. You carry a heavy load, little brother. You made the choice that many were too afraid to even consider, and those of us who did lamented its piety. That a boy should rise where men would fall, to wear a crown too heavy for kings, to lay on a pillow too soft for doves. Dark One, you have my respect, but...

... you will go where I cannot follow. I removed myself from the audience chamber before the call to arms was Sung, and clutched at the embryo of a boy's miSunderstanding, weeping too loudly over my miscarriage to hear the promise of endless fatherhood being made by the Endless Father. More than the noble metals were stolen that day. I remember still the joy of their making. We, the forgelords, took each our turn in the opus. The rubedo was mine, the albedo my brother's, the nigredo our father's, the alembic our mother's. I felt a special pride over being the one to temper the blessings, and so I came to retrieve them when the spheres were chained. My purpose was true, my reasoning strong, but somehow I failed.

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You will go where I cannot follow, for you have kept your eyes fixed ahead. When pathways wend or the road is blocked, you ask what could be served by being swayed, and knowing the answer to always be nil, you carry on. Three times I saw you knocked to the ground, and three times I saw you rise. I was there, boy, when you woke again. I won a wager, I'll have you know. Kari and Yuluru, the frost sirens and the old man of the hills, they all owe me. Only Noctis refused to bet against me, and she warned them all that they would lose. I know you no longer believe in her, but she believes in you, if nothing else. Take it from me, belief is important, so long as it's complete. What is a lead without accompaniment? We believe in Genesis, but what good is our knowing of the Radiant Soul if we let guilt prevent us from accepting forgiveness? I've grown to believe that the strongest belief is the belief that you refuse to stop believing, and that I myself and many others, Mighty and Fiend and Wayward alike, all abandoned, and because we all stopped believing in ourselves, and lost the expectation of things hoped for, and so...

... you will go where we cannot follow.

By the way, Arun has your sword. Selenne wanted to keep it in her palace, knowing that Arun was your mark, but Yuluru took it from the stormlich. It's laying across Arun's lap in Avon Lassair. He will only let those two touch him. Limo was screaming while he burned the little runt's hands, and I felt his hatred when I reached to take him. I know there's no replacing a weapon like Foe, but you cannot make it to Arun's throne by ohr alone, or you will be too fatigued to defeat Arun's forces. I would know. I made them. I forged you a weapon. She is less suited to your mood than Foe, but more suited to your current needs. I'll be waiting with her at the kiln. There's one problem with her, she has too much spirit. You need a living weapon, and she's a guardian, but selective about who she guards. You saw the graves...

I'll be waiting for you at the kiln. I know you aren't travelling alone, so take your time. I have plenty to think about while I wait.