• “For a long time, I believed that violence was the one and only solution to all problems. Those who said violence never solved anything are close-minded fools. Violence solved a lot of things. But in the end, violence is only met with more violence. Without war, any man, whether they be elf, dwarf, halfling, neko, human, or anything else, is lost. Some fight for a cause. Some fight for money. Some claim not to fight, to remain neutral, but in reality, they are fighting internally. Spiritually. They are fighting the temptation to fight. So instead of helping, they just add to the problem. I have lived on all sides of this eternal fight. I have seen the results of each. I have dealt more death than the grim reaper himself.”

    “The Battle of Separation was long. It lasted for years. Not because the Order split into what has now become the Samurai and Ninja. They fought not because the Order believed that the views of the Ninja were wrong, but because they didn’t want to admit that theirs held the possibility of being wrong. It wasn’t a battle of whose style was better as is the legend retold by each temple. It was a battle of spiritual beliefs. A battle of the heart. A battle of the soul. Neither faction was right and neither faction was wrong. I have learned that through trial and error and because of this neither temple finds themselves graced upon my visit. They disdain me. They hate me. Because I choose to walk a path in between. This path led to the formation of the Trinity Order, the third temple.”

    “The Trinity was not formed by me but I was aware of its formation. I sought them out because I held the same beliefs that they had based their order on. I joined their ranks. I passed their initiations. I could have become their grandmaster had I decided to stay. But I did not agree with their use of demonology. The Void is a thing best left to itself. Yet they chose to summon demons. They chose to enslave a race more powerful than themselves. A race that could have easily destroyed them.”

    “Some demons are benevolent beings that use their power to bless the souls that pass to the other side. Some of these beings protect against the malicious ones that traverse the planar realm known as the Void. They fight against them. I find it ironic. Even when passing from the Prime Material to some other plane, one cannot escape the basest of instincts. The basest of all desires. The greed of power. The greed of violence. It rules us all. It ruled me.”

    “I sided with the Samurai when the Order first split. I didn’t have a good reason. I didn’t have a cause that I did it for. I joined with them because Saren did. We were the best of friends, we were raised as brothers, so there was no point in me or him separating. We had trained together since I first stumbled into his village after Arikanda’s destruction. When I stumbled into Odinia. I became the adopted son of his parents. A pair of Soulsenders, those who help the souls of the departed move on to the Void. And the ones who protect the still living souls from the bad ki that surrounds us all day every day of our lives. The benevolent demons of our plane.”

    “But this was the Battle of Separation and it lived up to its name. Our kinship did not last. We stayed true to each other until the end. Until the day that we were finally separated. It was the day when I finally saw the light and turned away from the Orders in all their close-minded foolishness. Their pathetic pride. That was the day I turned my back on the world. The day that I watched my brother die.”

    “Neither fought as they do now. Their styles were the same during that time yet their styles were different as well. Each man had a style his own. Saren was the only man in all of Aris that could fight with three blades. To this day, I do not know how he did it. People have tried to recreate his style, but to no avail. His style followed him to the grave. It pains my heart to see that. They remember only the Three-Sword style. They do not remember the man that employed it. I am the only one that remembers that man. Saren Grey, my friend and my brother. Every day I pray that his soul will rest in peace.”