A lot of (fun!) talk has sprung up in this group around the Grand Vizier and the #VizierArmy. In light (no pun intended) of this, I felt an examination of the Grand Vizier himself and his motivations should be in order. Of course this will bring us deeper into the lore of Everealm and the story *as we know it* so far. As you will come to see through my discourse on the subject, the *as we know it* part is very important… First, let us examine what we know so that we can establish possibilities and scenarios for his actions- thanks to the Loremaster #PaladinJim for what he has brought us so far: On Everealm- “The Fates once consisted of Solas (the Light), Talmuh (the Earth), Karu (the Flesh), AND Verlox (the Darkness). Verlox has sister issues and split himself from his sisters (an event known as ‘The Rending’) out of jealousy in an attempt to gain power. Solas, being the Fate of Light, was most affected by Verlox’s separation as she has always been a bit unbalanced. The Fates are different interpretations of their true nature, but they definitely disagree sometimes.” From my own thoughts on Everealm- Verlox has caused an instability to the very fabric of Everealm in the Rending, that much is clear. That his peaceful coexistence with his sisters and return to his place among them would be the only balm to truly bring peace and assured continued life to Everealm and all her people. One cannot have day without night, just as one cannot truly appreciate love without experiencing loneliness, or peace without having gone through conflict. #PaladinLena defeated Verlox with the Sunspear, and with all due respect to her and all the Paladins, Sir Ansgar, Crio and the Queen (long may she reign), we cannot assume that he is ‘dead’ and gone forever. He may take time to reconsolidate himself but as one of the four pillars of the creation of Everealm, we do not know if he can be destroyed without being replaced… On Himself, the Grand Vizier- “He hails from Kingdom Faisnay (known for their magic users). He has trained in magic since age 2 and remains one of Queen Ralia’s most trusted subjects.” From my own observations of the Grand Vizier- I say again, “…and remains one of Queen Ralia’s most trusted subjects.” I would not insult the Queen by questioning her judgment, would you? There must be a reason she trusted him so much… but we do not know why at this point- critical information. We also know that he is a proud man. “I do not take orders from you!” he says to Sir Ansgar when ordered to write out a list of the Queen’s symptoms. It showed some courage too. Conversely, if he were secretly working for Verlox, would he have shown his hand for pride? He also could have killed her at any time while administering his ‘cures’ without much suspicion since she had already been poisoned. Hard to believe? Perhaps. Why then would he also come in while the Paladins were looking for a cure and ask if they felt guilty, because all of these things started happening after their arrival? Interesting questions and we have no answers. Before his Betrayal, the Grand Vizier had political and personal power, position, wealth and whatever the Kingdoms could offer him in pursuit of his duties. We can observe that he was a very well educated man, and that in attaining his position, he would have to command great power in the arcane arts, be in tune with and study very deeply the forces that are in play in Everealm probably more than anyone *in* Everealm save the Fates themselves… maybe. Do we know how self-aware they are? Or do they just exist and have not examined the issue? From what we have all observed, we know that the Queen was poisoned but we do not have proof that the Grand Vizier did the poisoning- the evidence is circumstantial. We do not know if he was involved in ensuring her survival either (it may sound incredible to you, but he could have been- he provided the list of symptoms that were a key to finding the cure). We also observed that the Grand Vizier did set her up to be captured by the Rana and had some influence over them. The Rana however, did not kill the group of our heroes but they did end up in a position from which they were able to escape… a position that acted as a catalyst to inspire the Paladins to even greater efforts than before… interesting how that works out. Which Fate do you think orchestrated that one- Light, Earth or Flesh? There is not a Fate of Spirit. Does that even fall within their purview? Do they stand above or beyond the concerns and like other deities only set items into play and allow their adherents to perform the actions? They brought the Paladins and set the stage at every turn but how much is their power limited in these circumstances? Given all of this, we should examine some of the possible scenarios and leveled accusations… perhaps one of them is the truth or close to the truth, but that will eventually lead me to my final point… Scenario 1- “The Grand Vizier is evil, he acts out of greed!” Look at the facts- educated, rich, and powerful personally as well as politically under a benevolent Queen in a nation that would give him whatever he needed to pursue his goals in the execution of his office. In his Betrayal, he lost all of that… to gain what? Verlox *if the Grand Vizier is serving him (more on that later)* would be quite the opposite kind of master and we can reasonably assume the Grand Vizier- an educated and smart man- would know this. His existence would constantly be in danger and the Balance would never be repaired. Verlox is a Fate in his own right, so the Grand Vizier could never supplant him… or could he? Let’s return to his job- practitioner of magic, charged with the stability of Everealm, to study the mystical and mundane forces at work and preserve the world. Is he evil? Perhaps, perhaps not- that brings us to two more scenarios: Scenario 2- “The Grand Vizier has been turned by Verlox to evil” and Scenario 3- “The Grand Vizier is not serving Verlox, he is serving the Balance and thus all of Everealm… and doing his job.” Scenario 2 first then, “The Grand Vizier has been turned by Verlox to evil.” Our own lore and so many of the stories we have read are full of stories in which the Wizard or practitioner of the Arts Arcane delve too deeply and are ensnared in the evil they started out trying to combat. This could be the case here with our Grand Vizier- he stared Evil in the eye and it took control of him. We can observe the coincidences I outlined above… the Queen recovered from the poisoning, the Paladins and the Royal Court members came out of their captivity by the Rana with stronger purpose, the Queen’s trust and so on, which makes this statement of his inherent evil weaker. If he is corrupted, can he be purified? What if he was turned to evil but knows the way to heal the rift caused by the Rending- would future Paladins seek to save him if that were so? If he is not corrupted, could he be playing double-agent? Which brings us to… Scenario 3- “The Grand Vizier is not serving Verlox, he is serving the Balance in his own unique way… and doing his job.” Remember the poem for the Balance Challenge, which was the third to the last challenge the Paladins faced? Think about it. Given what I have said above here, it is possible that the Grand Vizier and all of his learning, in all of his analysis of the mystic powers of Everealm, has found a way to restore the Balance and thus, in the end, save it. We already know you cannot have Light without Dark, but this particular representative of the Dark (Verlox) will likely never be brought into a state of peace with his sisters, and if he DID, would anyone believe it, forgive him all the pain he’s caused or trust him (or the Fates) ever again? Does the Grand Vizier have a way that will eventually lead to him REPLACING Verlox and restoring harmony among the Fates? Does he have a way of curing the rift between the Fates? Does he know that it will take several small battles to truly win against Verlox instead of trying to end it in one fell swoop like many heroes of good heart would want to do so he is setting the battles up in smaller, more feasible scenarios? Does he know that Verlox cannot be destroyed without destroying the world or something almost as terrible? I would posit that these are all possible. “So,” you ask, “Why doesn’t he just come right out and say it and everyone can work towards it with him?” Who can fathom the ways of wizards? Perhaps in order to heal the rift or take the place of Darkness… he must become Darkness himself? Perhaps it is something he knows no one else would agree to? Again… who can fathom the ways of wizards… … but we must try to. If we are to save Everealm, we must learn what it is the Grand Vizier knows that we do not, or at least learn how or why he ‘fell’, if indeed he has. Which brings us full circle to what I said in the beginning of this, the words *as we know it* being important. Before the Rise of the Paladins of Earth on Everealm, there were 12 Paladins from Everealm who also wielded the Sun Spear. Whom did they fight? Again, we do not know so the words *as we know it* stand in the way. My main point is that while preserving the 12 Kingdoms against immediate threats is important, healing the rift between the Fates may be the ultimate goal (and not just vanquishing Verlox yet one more time)… in which case, is the Grand Vizier already several steps ahead of that game? Either way, the key here is information. We do not know enough of it to blindly follow one cause or the other, adopt one scenario over another as the truth... But we do have a start… we have brave people who are willing to stand up for love, freedom and continued life in peace- we have an initial victory, thanks to the Royal Court of Saenctum and the Paladins, and many people who will step willingly into their shoes in the future. Let us not all cast aspersions upon the darkness either- in it we say our prayers, we dream of adventures and find our rest, we engage in intimacy- we find beauty, sometimes peace and tranquility and even strength in finding our courage because of our fear in the dark. Mixed with but a little light of the moon and stars reflected in a loved one’s eyes, or a welcoming glow through windows as we approach home and family, we find things that give us pause to say life is worth living. My message is simple- the Dark, in and of itself is not evil nor should we try to banish it forever. We must heal the rift, find out what the Grand Vizier knows and fill in the gaps in our knowledge of the situation altogether- evil or good, his knowledge is key. Until then, there will be more fighting and pain… this old soldier will proudly stand with you to do my part. Hope springs eternal… Continue #theQuest!
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 21:38:23 +0000
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