TheStarsAreRight:RedlandLetter4

3 October, 1932

Paris

Hello Jack,

Thank you for your note.

I must apologize to you. I had not considered inviting you to Wisphers for the memorial for Carl. That was unfair of me. While I was not intentionally being exclusive, I simply did not consider the time you had spend with Carl over the last few 6 months, nor that you considered him a friend. Please accept my apology for not including you. I am glad that you were able to join us all.

I would also like to take this opportunity to allay some of your concerns. First, I do not think you are unbalanced. Or at least no more than many of us. You have to be more than a little touched to want to continue trying to do the things we all seem to be called upon to do, time and again. Second, my opinion of you is not colored by your reputation. I am the least likely person to be able to judge other based on their reputations. I know from personal experience, reputations seldom bear more than a passing resemblance to reality. Finally, Carl Ellis had many good things to say about you. His opinion is one I always take counsel of.

While I cannot say that I have always been in agreement with your thoughts and opinions, the same could be said for many of our compatriots. We do not all need to agree on everything as long as we can agree to work together. Our arguments are often many, but together we so far have been able to blunder our way towards the best results regardless. In addition, when push comes to shove and needs must, we all seem to be able set any disagreements aside. So, that all said, I welcome your contributions but hope that you will not sacrifice yourself as easily as you often appear to want to do. We need you and every able-bodied mind and soul we can get! It is not for nothing that we have centuries of tradition to remember, the work we dedicate ourselves to will always be here, long after each of us has long gone to dust.

Now enough about that, on to business!

Marcus no doubt gave you the right of it as he understands things. However, your question about Francis is likely due to a misunderstanding. The Lady's Children, or the Islanders as we often refer to them, are the descendants of the crew of the "Ramshead" that was wrecked off Sandoe Island in the late 16th century. The survivors discovered the Lady there. The Lady was an entity originally from somewhere else that had been imprisoned on the island millennia ago. During her (?) imprisonment, she apparently became more terrestrial than Outsider. In order to survive, the former crew and their families gradually became bonded to the Lady someone. The crew lived there for some time and developed into 5 or 6 distinct families before they were rescued and spread around the world. While the families (Garnsley, Foundry, Williams, Kentworth, Roth, and Wellman) were on the island, they each developed distinctive psychic talents. The talents bred true within each family line for generations, however after 'being rescued' at some point, the resulting diaspora caused the lines to blur to cross-breeding. One line that stayed more pure than the others was the Kentworth legacy of acting as priests and priestesses, really more 'go-betweens' and 'voices' for the Lady and the Islanders after leaving the island. Francis Kentworth is the current and sole priestess for the Lady at this point. I think that is how Marcus may have mistaken Francis as a candidate for the Principle. Francis will always be the Lady's priestess and while she may be present at the investiture of any future candidates for the Principle, she would not be involved in the actual ceremony. She is a very nice woman, and if you really are going to look into this Principle further, you should travel to Bailie to speak with her.

As far as I know, there is no possible chance of the roles of 'Paladin' and 'Priest' being held by a woman. There was anecdotal reference at one time to a failed investiture involving a female 'Agent of Change', but I was the only one that ever gave even that slim thread any credence. As Carl often reminded me, we have to remember that the titles are what we have been able to ascribe to specific ceremonial roles resulting from incomplete translations of a language that is over one hundred thousand years old. They are really just best guesses at this point, but they work for us regardless.

Here is what we think we know about the roles: 1) The Agent or Instrument of Change confers the questions to the candidate and makes the first choice (which is usually where the investiture will take place) He is handed the force of the entity of his Principle. He acts as a conduit between that entity and the vessel. He may or may not die as a result of making the choice, and after that is usually no more than an observer or advisor. 2) The Priest somehow sanctifies the candidate for the change/investiture and releases the vessel from all remaining worldly matters. 3) The Paladin protects the candidate (before and) after she has agreed, strikes the blow that initiates the change, and later leads any army of the Principle's Children.

As for the other 2 Principles, I do not have a lot to offer. I think that Aspiration is the young woman, Marta, who was in Budapest the last we knew. I think her date is June and her place is New York, but all that may have changed. Two previous likely candidates for Priest or Paladin have died as a result of interactions that we so-called "Armies of the 3 Kings" have been involved with. I have asked Bernicia to check up on Marta during her current assignment. I believe you know the most about Consecration at this point. I do have some notes that speculate on the site being somewhere in the British Isles and that a man with the name John Elware may be a candidate for Priest or Paladin. Not much help, I realize, especially if Consecration is going to take place in December. That makes your trip to Tibet that much more important! Please take as detailed notes as you can, and try to view the pertinent pillar in library more than once.

Remember that we need you to be in New York ready to assist against the incursions before sundown on October 15th! if you have a mail drop you prefer to use in Manhattan, please give it to the courier with any other response. Otherwise, you will need to call COrtlandt-6-2457 once you are in the city for instructions as to how to get to our operations headquarters to link up with your associates and receive any team assignments.

Good luck and smooth travels!

All the Best,

T. Grimaldi.