Greetings,

This is something that has been on my mind recently, and so I put quill to
parchment in order to clarify my own thoughts. Some of you may care little
of what is said here, but whether you are inclined to read that which follows
or ignore it and go about your day, still, I present it to you.

- Gilrath Lynceus

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The Spirit of Controversy: Association Laws

A consideration of modern day Association Laws, and their impact on the
organizations which enforce them.

Since the first laws regarding association were introduced, I have watched the
steady decline of membership within the organizations aligned with Spirit.
This is not because those individuals who have chosen to leave were morally
corrupt, or because they lacked conviction. It is not because they embraced
Evil, nor that they did not care. It is not even that they wished to aide the
Undead. So why have they left? What has drawn such individuals to Ashtan in
times past, and to Spinesreach and Bloodloch presently? Why have they fled the
Cities and Guilds of Spirit?

Having once chosen to do so myself, and having spoken with many friends and
family who have made a similar choice, I have noticed a rather common theme.
The greater majority of individuals so affected had no desire to leave their
Guilds or Cities. Many in fact have had a long history of fighting for Life,
of opposing Undeath, of supporting their Guilds and Cities. They have been
teachers, scholars, guides and protectors. They have been leaders of City and
Council, Guilds and Orders. They have been respected amongst their peers, and
loved by their comrades.

Some did not choose to leave at all. Instead, they were cast aside by their
allies, and those who called themselves friend. To what end? What mother would
willingly turn her back upon her sons and daughters, even when they have made
a mistake. What father would abandon his progeny without a second thought? Why
would brother and sister so easily turn upon one another, over differing
views? Are the ties of love and friendship, of camaraderie and common purpose
so weak as to be broken like the threads of a spider's web, floating aloft in
the wind?

To my great sadness, I have watched so many supporters of Life and Spirit turn
to the arts of Necromancy and Hematurgy, Shadow magic and Deathlore. I have
watched them embrace Shadow and Undeath because they were shunned by the
Light. I have seen the seeds of Corruption grow within them, not because they
themselves prepared fertile soil, but because they were cut off from the
Light. Even the hardiest of plants will wilt and die in total darkness,
leaving behind their desiccated remains. In the darkness what else will grow,
but the mushrooms which feed upon death and decay?

So I wonder, to what end are modern day association laws focused? To deter and
punish those who aid Undeath and Corruption I understand, but what of their
other aspects? Are they intended to drive some of our greatest friends and
allies away from us, leaving them little choice but to live a lonely life or
sleep the long sleep? Or are they intended to drive them towards Corruption,
to become that which we who support Spirit so greatly abhor? Perhaps the joke
is on us, and we are the ones planting the seeds of Corruption - and in our
friends and allies, no less.

I often wonder if those who support that which we abhor are quietly laughing
from within the shadows, greatly amused at the manner in which we drive more
into their ranks. This may make little difference to any who read it, and some
may even be so blind to truth that they cannot even see that which is so
plainly before them. However, once a seed is planted, it become insidious. It
sprouts roots long before it reaches towards the surface, and so it is my hope
that this seed will find life within the minds of those who receive it.

Penned by my hand on the 22nd of Lanosian, in the year 438 MA.