The winds of the Renaissance have recently departed from the Eastern Ithmia. In its wake, we see two new forestal houses: The Scions is an expansionist and anti-civilization house while the Heartwood Kin inherits the pre-Renaissance Eleusian values of preservation, study and defence of Nature.

At first glance, this new dual policies model appear to be a tidy solution to the internal conflict that has plagued the village between the pro war Gaian camp and the more secular and traditional Eleusians ever since Gaia dropped the Viridian Charter into the middle of village with its message of anti-civilization aggression.

But on closer inspection, we see that this solution is no solution at all. By segregating the two opposing parties into houses, each side can pretend that the activities of the other that they find unpalatable as having nothing to do with them. It does not address the fundamental differences between the two who must share a single village. It in fact accentuates them.

The good news is, this course of action does buy Eleusis some peace for the time being as it turns its attention to the management of their respective new houses. But the next time an ambitious or idealistic Heartwood Kin attempts to enter Eleusian politics could see the end of this peace.

Eleusis needs to grasp this time to somehow bridge the divide if its current leaders wish to be acknowledged by the rest of the world as leaders of Eleusis, and not just the leaders of the Scions minority.

(The Heartwood Kin though holding the majority of Eleusians currently have no representative in the village's ruling council)

Delias
Writing for the Defabricator

Penned by my hand on the 16th of Aeguary, in the year 680 AF.