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As the afternoon drove on with the increasing coldness from the harvest season, papers would begin to line the Regalian city during the peak hours of city activity. It's clear no printing press was used, as each paper was individually cut, and separately written, with varying levels of neatness with some words missing while others had more. Nevertheless, the message remained about the same, as the courier, standing relatively tall for an Ailor at about 6', donning a midnight black mask, a burgundy cloak, and the slightest glow of gold placed only about a baker's dozen around the edges of Old Town. The Old Gods' temple and Old Town Chapel had two papers rather than one to emphasize the author's message. Some of them weren't even posted, instead being handed off to random individuals who spread the gossip like wildfire. The lengthy documents read:
Lecture 15, manuscript 23, recorded on the 5th of September, the year of our Lord 307 AC
"Are you writing this down? Everything I say? Get that last part in too, won't you? Thank you. Now, let us begin:
"Alarming news, most certainly, to see that the Phantasma really don't have free power at the mere risk of one bad bar fight. As my study becomes ever-intensive toward what exactly these mystical aberrations are that seem to defy the rulings of being an aberration, I seem to uncover more and more things by the day. The first of these is that death seems to be an inevitable and unstoppable variable that must come for them one day or the next. Whether it is they that die, and sometimes defy the nature of being laid to rest, or that they must assassinate anyone who has been exposed to any modicum of power, it's almost a hard-coded truth that the Phantasma cannot live a peaceful life in the way that a Sanguine cannot be a pacifist.
"There might come exceptions of this from time to time, either by discovering loopholes by magical means or simply starving themselves of their 'true purpose,' but the Phantasma is always, and always will be, pulled toward eliminating any of which is not found to be 'mundane.' The definition of mundane, concerning magic, is one who holds no remarkable abilities beyond simply existing as a biological entity. A barncat might be considered mundane, and so too would a farmer who does not yet know of their deity or inner magical potential. Of course, some exceptions of what is regarded magic and not exist, as miracles performed by the Unionists could be deemed as an act of holiness rather than an act of magic. But to some, especially those whom the Regalians deem to be heretical, will nevertheless wag their tongues at the idea and call a skilled cleric nothing more than a charm-caster.
"But I did invite you here to say what heretics say about the most dominant religion in the world, I am here inform you of the truths of these aberrations that seek to destroy other aberrations. After having discovered ancient Draconic ruins, in the studies of myself and other scholars, we discovered that Phantasma are not only also draconic in nature, but are entirely draconic in instinct as well. This means that Phantasma are not human, but rather, are magic-eating Vampires awaiting orders from their leaders. And yet, only two such leaders currently exist, one of which hasn't exercised the ability to do that.
"Yes, I am speaking of the Imperial Dragon and Rikkira, the Void Dragon. From word on the street, the Imperial Dragon is new, and therefore, hasn't yet unearthed all of the skills that a dragon is capable of that could take centuries to discover. But Rikkira is much older, and has shown time and time again that she has the ability to control the minds of those who even dare to hear her speak. But how does this tie together? Phantasma serve the dragons, but not all of them serve your dragon. And in the blink of an eye, all of them could cease to obey the ways of the Imperial family to follow whatever Rikkira has told them if she is willing to waste a couple hours flying over an ocean- likely at a time when many of the Violets tuck in at night as they ready for the big day ahead of them. What would these orders be that the Void Dragon gives to the Phantasma? Likely to continue as planned, but to set eyes on other forms of 'magic.'
"This 'magic' could include evocations performed by the Skagger druids, which would cripple the North. This magic could then include cantrips performed by parlor mages, crippling the scholars. This magic could then include the charms of the Altalar rings, occupying your allies. And last, and most important of all, Rikkira could call Unionist miracles magic too, and in the blink of an eye, all the emerald-eyed soldiers in the city would raze the churches and pillage the archives to purge every relic that so much as resembled the power of the impregnable Imperial Spirit.
"And from there, you will have no berserkers, no intellectuals, no friends, no reverends, and an army that spawns overnight right in the capital, a stone's throw away from the Imperial palace with the keys to the main gate.
"You can primarily identify those likely under the effects of Rikkira's influence by the casting of their abilities constantly, and recklessly, in public, refusal to obey the religious ways, or being part of the lower classes with distaste toward any of the current governmental orders. Perhaps she has not yet flown over the capital since she last tried to occupy the city, but who is to say the Phantasma around at the time were not planted the seeds of sabotage? Who is to say the Void Dragon's voice has not reached out to Phantasmic Regalian prisoners from past battles, whom they then released into the city to pretend to be your recovered saviors solely so you may let your guard down? Who is to say that the Phantasma, whom feast on magic like blood, will not then turn their teeth to the churches in the way Sanguine have for the past three centuries?
"Who is to say the Phantasma are your friends?"
Lecture Concluded, conclusion reached on the 6th of September, the year of our Lord 307 AC
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