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way to Mage District for the interview. We had
decided to meet at the Blue Recluse at eleven
o'clock.
I
looked towards the doorway and saw my interviewee
walk in. Brother Habeus DeMonfort was all about
class, his flowing red robes stood out from
the rest of the dreary settings, his white beard
and aged face show only wisdom and his manners
were impeccable. We exchanged pleasantries,
I offered him a drink (non alcoholic, of course),
and we began.
Telrunya
Trollbane: Firstly, I would like to know
a little bit about yourself, Brother, what made
you want to follow the way of Light?
Habeus DeMontfort: From a very early
age I knew I wanted to help the people around
me. The Light had always been a strong focus
for my upbringing, and I was ordained a priest
quite early in life, I acted as a Dean of the
Chapel of Light in Andorhal for some time.
T:
That must have been a honor.
H: It was indeed a great honor, as it
allowed me to work for the town, using the tools
I was most skilled at.
T:
As High Emissary of the Scarlet Mission, what
are your main duties?
H: My Order is quite unique. We are both
a Monastic Community in our own right, and also
a Diplomatic Mission. As a result, I have two
distinct roles. Firstly, I am the representative
of the Scarlet Crusade to the City of Stormwind,
as High Emissary I direct the work of four other
Emissaries from the Crusade, and also over forty
lay and ordained brothers and sisters.
T:
That is quite a number.
H: Indeed and growing all the time.
T:
And what of your second role?
H: My second role is that of any Abbot.
I am the head of my monastic community, and
I am responsible for the spiritual guidance
of those in my care. Dealing with both roles
can be quite a challenge.
T:
The Scarlet Missionary has become an infamous
order in the Alliance. Could you tell me, Brother,
the history and reasons behind the mission?
H: The Scarlet Crusade has always had
an Emissary to this great City, who's purpose
is to retain diplomatic relations with the King
and his Court, and to allow us to help the people
of Stormwind by warning of the horrors we daily
experience in the North. Recently, only a month
or so ago, the Crusade decided that, given the
level of threat now facing Stormwind, it was
necessary to substantially increase our presence
in this city.
T:
(nods).
H: Rather than a single Emissary, the
decision was taken to set up a full diplomatic
mission. I am the Second High Emissary to this
City.
T:
I have myself noticed, when listening to your
speeches, you openly show your
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distrust towards any race, apart from Human.
Is this a personal opinion, or does the whole
Scarlet Order share it?
H: The Scarlet Crusade fears for the
safety of this great City, we also strive to
re-take Lordaeron, and we believe that the current
Alliance stands in the way of these objectives.
We do not dislike individuals from any race,
rather we distrust the Alliance, and the Mercenaries
it relies upon.
T:
What should humans do about them, in your opinion?
H: The view of the Crusade is that humans
of this great City should join together to form
a professional Army. We think the City should
turn its back on the greed of mercenaries; also,
we think that the only way of defending the
interests of Stormwind is through an Army that
puts Stormwind first. We fear that an army of
Elves or Dwarves will not put Stormwind first,
so we call on the City to join the fight with
us.
T:
Do you believe we are strong enough to defeat
the Scourge without our allies from these other
races?
H: I truly believe that we are, I will
give you an example: look at Lordaeron right
now. The Scarlet Crusade is able to hold a number
of key fortresses and bastions in the north,
and we do so with no outside help. We are able
to do this, as we are a professional and well-trained
Army, we are an Army with a proper and effective
chain of command. The reason the Alliance needs
other races at the moment is because we rely
on weak mercenaries.
T:
I believe you also supervise one of Stormwind's
more controversial papers: the Scarlet News.
H: Indeed.
T:
Some people have complained about the news you
publish: they refuse to believe them and claim
they're only lies. What do you have to say about
this?
H: The Scarlet News is the truth. It
is the only regular daily newspaper in this
City. Take the example of Lord Gawain of the
Militia, he recently accepted that our stories
about him were entirely true, save for one fact,
that the people of this City did not call for
his resignation. He said that one part of the
news stories was a 'lie', yet in Goldshire that
very evening I witnessed a crowd of strangers
to me calling for his resignation...
T:
Really? That is interesting, be sure that Gawain's
accounts will also be asked for.
H: Indeed. I had been telling them Gawain's
views on the Undead, and Gawain had accepted
my words as true. The Crowd then turned on him.
That is one example of the truth of the Scarlet
News.
T:
Someone told our newspaper, that he had heard
Brother Endjinn and other Missionaries openly
admitting that some Humans (living ones, not
Undead) had been killed by members of your order
in your last visit to Brill, "because they
were corrupted". Is this true?
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H:
We killed no living human in Brill, although
many gave their lives on our Crusade that day.
T:
Finally, Brother, one last question.
H: (smiles)
T:
Maybe you've heard about Davinrad Hilon, one
of your hardest detractors. Did you know that
he disappeared two weeks ago?
H: That is the first I have heard about
it. However, Davinrad is hardly one of our detractors,
he has said nothing against our Order for some
time, unlike many far more vocal detractors
who still walk the street.
T:
We have received an anonymous letter, claiming
that the Scarlet Missionaries are responsible
for his disappearance, and even suggesting that
you yourself may have killed him. What do you
have to say about this?
H: (laughs) how many people in this City
travel far afield for many days at a time? There
are countless people who leave to quest without
warning, we have no motive to kill him and we
do not know he is even dead. If we were really
in the business of killing our detractors, tell
me why The Order and its members still walk
the streets? Compared to them, Davinrad has
done nothing against our work, surely we would
have attacked all those others before him, if
we really were murderers.
T:
Very well sir, be sure we are still investigating.
H: If he really is found to be dead rather
than just absent, we will cooperate fully in
any investigation, but we should not speculate
on such things.
T:
I thank you Brother, let us hope he returns
to us in good health.
H: Indeed.
T:
Thank you for your time, Brother.
H: My pleasure.
We
stand, shake each other's hand and say our farewells.
The High Emissary departs with a prayer,
a little too quickly, I notice. I wonder whether
it is because he's keen to leave as soon as
possible, or he has some urgent business to
attend to. I collect my notes leave myself.
After
the interview I begin to wonder about the Brother's
answers. He seemed genuine enough, and is indeed
a great leader for his people. As for the rest
of the Scarlets, however, my opinion
is mixed. Their mission to return our lands
back to us is admirable, but I can't help but
feel disgusted with their views on our friends.
Some just seem to distrust them and have little
to do with our allies, such as Bother
Habeus, but other show more aggressive
feelings, calling Night Elves "Tree
Rats", for instance. Let us hope the
Scarlet order see the true way of Light,
and that we can live in harmony with our allies,
because in these dark times we should be uniting,
and not dividing.
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he
Scarlet Crusade has always been a controversial
organization. Founded by high-ranking officers
from the remains of the Silver Hand,
after the Scourge's attack on Lordaeron,
their main purpose is to fight the Undead
from their bases at the Scarlet Monastery,
Hearthglen, Tyr's Hand and even
Stratholme.
