In just a few months, the Final Trial will be upon us. Where the Staff
of Ascension is released upon the Astral Plane. And at the end of this
Trial, one of us will ascend to become one with the living seal. And in
the place of the ascended mortal, a new Vernal will arise.

So what does it mean to be a Vernal? And why do we seek it?

As sealbearers we enter the competition, knowing that our very core of
our being is from then on used to empower the seal with our greatest
qualities. Being marked by such a seal, and thus having our essence so
closely tied up to the energies of the living seals bring with it
benefits and drawbacks. And opportunity. The opportunity to give your
whole self to the seals. Energize them once more and keep our world safe
for yet another generation.

And in doing so, we lose ourselves. In our place is a template, fuelled
by the spark of our existence, and embraced in the domothean energies of
our seal. We are reborn. In some ways, to be a Vernal is to pay the
ultimate price. And in other ways, to be a Vernal is the ultimate
reward.

As to why we seek this task? I cannot say. Perhaps it is...
instinctually a part of us. We know that if no one does this, then our
very existence is doomed. Maybe it is the power that a vernal wields.
Unparallelled control over the domothean realms. A physical form
unrestricted by the limitations of the mortal shell. Or maybe it is a
message. A message of who we are and why we live.

We. Sealbearers and supporters. Demigods and mortals alike. We live. We
do not merely exist in a half-present state of torpor, idly waiting for
doom. When Kethuru twists against his prison, and so desperately seeks
to return to the basin to devour us all, we will see to it that he
fails. When destruction turns its many eyes upon the basin, it will see
us, it will feel us, and it will hear us. We will shout our defiance.
And we will muster our courage, our wisdom, and our power. As has been
done so many times before, we will do the impossible. And we will show
that it doesn't matter the power or the size of our enemies. For they
will fall before the basin of life.

In a few months, Life will stand up against Death. War will clash with
Justice. Beauty and Knowledge will struggle for the hearts and minds of
the basin. But as we travel to the Astral plane, where we will struggle
and fight to empower the Staff of Ascension, keep in mind that though we
may fight against one another, we also fight for one another. And we
fight for so many others. From the inhabitants Dracnari nomads and the
Mesa, to the Caoimhe Dell. From Talthos to Rikenfriez. We fight for
every man, woman and child who remains on prime, unable to take up arms,
unable to do more than hope for the best.

Their faith in us shall not be misplaced. I will make sure of it.

Kiradawea Startail.

In the past, the members of our own family and tribe were living
creatures, but all else was a dangerous Other. Our entire history can be
considered a process of pushing this boundary back, toward a point at
which nothing that thinks can be said to be alien to us.

Penned by my hand on the 13th of Dioni, in the year 377 CE.