Editing Game-Summaries:11/16/2019 Recollections (section)

==Recollections by [[Ci]]==
Master Li once told the story of a young fish named Tanlan. Tanlan was born into a large family and a large and plentiful pond, rich with resources. From a young age, Tanlan always wanted more of everything than his brothers and sisters: more food, more space, more attention. Often he bullied his family to receive more than his fair share. As a result, he grew faster and bigger than the other fish, which only increased his belief that he deserved more than the others. As he grew, he used his size to bully more fish and gain more food and grow even larger. "I am the strongest Fish of All!" claimed Tanlan. "I should have the best home!" Thus, Tanlan was allowed the best shelter in the pond, beneath an old log surround by lush grasses. "I am the Biggest Fish of All!" cried Tanlan, "I should have first choice of the best food!" Afterward, Tanlan ate before all the others and always took the largest share. 

It happened one day, as he swam around his pond, Tanlan came upon his younger brother Mingzi. Mingzi was nibbling on a large worm that had come to rest on the bottom of the pond near Mingzi's home. "Mingzi! That worm is much too large for you. As I am the strongest and the biggest, you should give it to me" said Tanlan. Mingzi replied, "Tanlan, this worm may be large, but it is not for you. It will feed me and my family for many days if we are careful. You are much too large to nibble on this worm. You would eat it all at once, and that would be dangerous for you, brother." "Nonsense! Nothing can harm me in this pond! I am the biggest and strongest! Swim aside, little one before you get hurt!" and with that Tanlan swooped in and snatched the whole worm in his mouth. No sooner had he done so, than he felt a sharp pain in his mouth and he began to be dragged towards the surface. Before realizing what had happened, Tanlan was out of the pond and gasping in the bottom of a fisherman's boat. As he lost consciousness Tanlan heard the Fisherman exclaim "Finally! A fish worth catching! I have fished here many days, and only have seen small fish that nibble at my bait, and refuse to be caught!" 

This story was on my mind as we looked in on our neighbor [[Baron Tedor Zevane|Baron Zevane]]. His aggression towards us and his apparent ambitions put me in mind of the naked greed of the fish Tanlan. I hoped we might be mistaken about his intentions, but alas, Zevane only confirmed our suspicions. He desires [[Shanjiu Castle|Shanjiu]], and is willing to do anything to acquire it. He has amassed quite a following of smaller houses and may have as many as 10,000 warriors at his call. More than that, he seems to act in service of something he calls "[[The Old Gods]]" and fears neither [[The Eternal Order]], not the [[Magistery]]. This fact, combined with his apparent connections with both political figures in [[Solace]] and Devils of [[The Abyss]], represents a major danger at least to Shanjiu, if not yet all of [[Eomas]].

I must confess I now wonder if it is not I who am the fish Tanlan, and Zevane the fisherman. We may have swum into waters much too large for us, and encountered a doom we cannot escape. [[Yanji]] teaches that anything that can be lost was never truly ours, and anything that we deeply cling to only imprisons us. But it also teaches that when men do not stand up for good, they have already fallen. What we have built at [[Shanjiu Castle|Shanjiu]], we have built for the good of all, not only ourselves. We cannot bargain to hold on to things that please us while relinquishing things that do not matter to us. So with the good that may come of [[Shanjiu Castle|Shanjiu]] we must bear the burden of Zevane's greed. We are not without weapons in this struggle. We have made many allies, and will certainly make more. We have a spy in [[Baron Tedor Zevane|Zevane's]] household, thanks to [[Rezik]] and now [[Amon]]. We are now certain of his intentions, and begin to investigate his motives. And we have our strength, faith, and will. I pray they will be enough for this challenge and the others that are sure to come.