In Service at the Barracks

[DOT]

Valdore sat amongst few other knights and guards of the enclave. They knelt before an alter, upon which but a red robe lay. 

The enchanted candles flickered, shadows danced along the walls, the gold of their obsidian armor catching the light. The hum of their voices reverberated in the chamber, then speaking hallowed words...

There is only the Red Wizard,

and we are their Sword and Shield.

How can one be happy if one cannot serve their lord with their whole heart?

Every servant has one's place, no matter how lowly or modest. To know it is one's greatest comfort, to excel within it is one's greatest solace, and one's master's contentment is one's greatest reward.

An empty mind is like unto a freshly turned sod; if not sown with the seeds of the Red Wizard, the insidious weeds of heresy will take root.

Let the strength of your will match the stone of your walls. Blessed is the mind too small for doubt.

Those who scale the pinnacles of glory have the furthest to plunge into the abyss.

Gaze at Thaymount, children of the Thay, dream of reaching that pinnacle, but who dreams of the road that ascends the mountain side? The road to the peak is hard and murderous. It has broken countless upon its rocks. Their splintered bones lie scattered upon it, paving the way to the mountain top. At every step you will hear the bones crumbling under foot, and maybe you shall hear the wind-blown voices of the dead - guiding you forward or leading you to your doom. Yes, my children, the way to the mountain is cruel and unforgiving.

Success is commemorated; Failure merely remembered.

The lot of courage is to be sacrificed on the altar of battle.

We shall carry our sword,

Weigh the fist that strikes men down

And salutes the battle won.

Thay! How mighty its aspect! How far-reaching its boundaries!

Glory to Thay!

Glory to the Red Wizard!

Glory to the Empire!