The Well of Souls (The Final Arbiter of Destiny) - Chapter 8: The Well of Souls

​It was forecast that those who were said to struggle for others and those who struggled for themselves would clash. It was a repeated legend over the ages and justice, truth, and honor would triumph, as it never ceases its pursuit. Two couriers would come to spread their message and the fruit of each would thrive for all to see. And just as The Struggle for freedom goes on within each of us, so it is with justice. The veil will be rent and The Struggle within each of us shall be apparent to all.

Suddenly, there was a great earthquake. The world was splitting apart. The great mountains that separated the north from the south had split apart, uncovering a great void. The Well of Souls had opened and all living souls were summoned. There was going to be a great trial. It was a day of judgment. Intrinsically, the character of each person was going to be manifest for all to see, as Denial was going to be put on trial and be rendered powerless. All were going to live in the light, as they were, for all to see. All people were going to see each other and themselves without escape and in its place would be shame for those who succumbed to treachery. It was a dreadful day, as the People of Darkness couldn’t hide from themselves any longer. The knowledge of who and what they were was a personal torture. The sum of their choices in life became apparent and all the transgressions upon others did as well. The People of Darkness manifested either as vampires—those who lived on the efforts of others—or werewolves—those who imposed their beliefs on others.

Suicide would have been a way out for them, but too often they indulged themselves on the freedom and victories of others, and became dependent on relief from their struggles. They were trapped in shame by their own weaknesses. Their transgressions were so great it was beyond possibility for them to forgive themselves. They had betrayed the miracle foundation of their country and the principle of freedom itself. They gave in to a perverted idea of self-interest and willingly preyed on the liberty of others and those yet to be, unleashing the powers of tyranny.

They would ask others repeatedly for forgiveness in hopes that it would satisfy all the misery that their actions contributed to. The people they asked gave it, but it didn’t provide relief. The only way to seek a semblance of relief was to gouge out their eyes to prevent what they could see and deafen their ears to prevent what they could hear, fulfilling the prophecy of those who festered in darkness and solitude in search of escaping their shame.

Those who were unaffected by shame took hold of the Book of Darkness for all to see and placed it on The Altar to be destroyed. Upon its destruction, it was proclaimed by the People of Light that “It is freedom that we choose and it is freedom that unites us.” In our individual struggles, we seek victory to possess our freedom. We are vulnerable to failure, so that we can experience the triumph. The potential of failure is necessary and is a circumstance we can rebound from. Let it not lead to doom. Once again, the People of Light raised the Book of Light in tribute and placed it upon the Great Lectern as a symbol and inspiration of freedom for all to see.

“We choose to struggle, as The Struggle is, just as we are born, and the Well of Souls is the final arbiter of destiny.”