The Warning of the Six

These words were discovered carved into the foundation stones of the first temple raised after the Grand Battle, in a language that predates all mortal tongues. The translation is imperfect, for some concepts in the divine speech have no mortal equivalent. Nevertheless, the warning is clear.

- Translated by the combined efforts of the Ecumenical Council, after seventeen years of study

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The Warning of the Six

We who shaped this world from chaos speak now to those who will inherit it:

The darkness is not gone. It waits.
The seal is not permanent. It weakens.
The war is not over. It pauses.

We cannot fight forever.
Even divine fire eventually dims.
Even eternal vigilance eventually falters.
Even gods eventually... rest.

The burden passes to mortal hands-
Fragile hands, but many.
Brief lives, but lived with purpose.
Weak flames, but kindled together, a conflagration.

Remember what we taught you:
Fire to illuminate the darkness.
Water to cleanse the corruption.
Wind to scatter the shadows.
Earth to stand when all else falls.
Spirit to carry hope beyond death.
Magic to bind what must never be unbound.

When we sleep, you must wake.
When we dream, you must act.
When the darkness returns-and it will return-
You must be ready.

We have given you everything we can.
The rest is your choice.
Choose wisely.
Choose together.
Choose light.

The Weight of Divine Trust

Know then that this warning confirms what the faithful have long suspected: the Dragon Gods cannot maintain their vigil forever. The seals they placed, the protections they raised, the balance they established-all of these require power, and even divine power has limits.

This is why the temples exist. This is why the faithful gather. This is why every prayer offered, every ritual performed, every act of devotion matters. Mortal faith does not merely honor the gods-it sustains them, reinforces the barriers they maintain, delays the inevitable moment when they must rest.

The Warning of the Six is both comfort and burden. Comfort, because it assures us that the gods have not abandoned us. Burden, because it reveals that ultimately, the fate of Aedelore rests in mortal hands.

We are not merely worshippers. We are inheritors. And the inheritance we have received is the responsibility for all creation.