The Sentinels of Achaea

In the time of Treant we were a small, disorganized, but passionate guild. We resided in Shallam and pledged our loyalty to the city and our Church allies, yet we held a strong sense of individual freedom and each choose our own path in life. A great many in the guild were content to idly watch as world events unfolded, while others joined in the war between Shallam and Ashtan, on one side or another. We told the world that we were the fighting arm of the forest, but we did not believe it ourselves. We told the world we were different from the Druids, but not even we could explain why.

The wars of aggression took their tole. Some were frustrated at the lack of support other Sentinels gave them in aiding our declared allies in Shallam. Some berated us for not standing up for their right to support Ashtan. Many simply wished to have nothing to do with the endless, and to us pointless, wars over the shrines.

A new Guildmaster was elected, Blackleaf. We struggled to find some resolution to our turmoil, some purpose to unite us, some cause to stand behind and give us a sense of purpose each day. We left Shallam, finally convinced that we did not share their purpose. Hashan became our new home, a place determined to be free of wars over good and evil, a place where we would be free to shape our own destiny.

Oakstone was founded by Gaia, and gave us a sense that we really could do something for Nature. The Druids removed themselves from the cities, and we grew proud of our ability to bridge the gap between the wilderness and civilization. Though we had always embraced eachother, we finally felt united and empowered to shape our future.

Eventually, it became clear that Hashan was not the place of freedom we had hoped for. We were soon one of four guilds, and the only citizens not dedicated to serving the causes of Twilight. Disturbed by the oaths we had sworn to the God and His city, the need to strike out on our own became urgent indeed. Another election was held, and our third Guildmaster, Galdrion, was elected.

Our legal obligations to Hashan were quickly severed, and once again we felt a strong desire to find a purpose for ourselves in Achaea. What made us different from the Druids? What causes did we support, what philosophies did we live by, what sense of unity and order was their in our lives? For the first time, we found ourselves unable to look to a city to answer these questions. We were Sentinels, and Sentinels alone. But what did that mean?

With Galdrion taken ill, our Secretaries worked to keep things together. They probed and prodded young and old alike to find our what indeed we truely wanted. We were proud of our independance, our freedom, and wished to keep it. We were proud of our unity, our love for eachother, our outspokenness and our cooperation. We were proud of our sense of justice. What would we change? We wanted to embrace the Hunters within us, and become capable of standing up for eachother and our causes. We wanted purpose.

With Galdrion unable to return to us, our fourth Guildmaster, Perseon, was elected. We broke all ties with Hashan forever and took up residence in the Temple of Gaia. Plans were put into motion to build a village which we could call home, a place where the ideologies of our people could finally take shape and gather others who believed many of the same things. We stopped relying on others to tell us who were were, and took active steps to make ourselves what we wished to be. We began to train, to patrol the wilderness, to take stock of our allies and enemies, to celebrate our history and our present. No longer did the world shape us... we shaped the world.

In time, Perseon was replaced by Covenant, our fifth Guildmaster. Eleusis was discovered and became our proud new home. We learned the arts of the hunter, enabling us to better live the lifestyle we had grown to love. With the complexities of the guild growing, and the influx of so many new members, the challenge became one of keeping the stability and unity we had worked hard to achieve.

We have entered a new age, my friends. We are a people that embrace the simplicty of life, the simple joys we bring to eachother every day in our own spirit of freedom. The simple knowledge of who we are, and what we stand for. We must embrace our young, and let them share completely in the experience of being a Sentinel. Over a long period of time, we have developed a strong order in the guild, but we must not let laws get in the way of our enjoyment of life and eachother.

We must avoid pitfalls that we will encounter. Stagnation: just because we have accomplished so much does not mean there is not yet more to do. Isolation: let no Sentinel feel left out, for that is one thing we have always prided ourselves in avoiding. Self-righteousness: because we can fight, it is ever more imperative that we remain true to our role as defenders, not aggressors, and keep the sense of justice we have been so lucky to share through all these years.

We have proven that the future is ours to shape. Dream, Sentinels, forever dream. There is much more yet to be written.

Perseon

Penned by my hand on the 21st of Miraman, in the year 272 AF.