I hear from Sthai the call of one who has fallen, who has given up, who
has fled from a cause rather than see it through because she lacks the
strength and conviction to sway the masses to her whim. This is fine.
Many who fail in their exploits lament it through verbal attack. Had
this been a single post issue I would not even see the need to speak up.
However, I think it's worth my time to point out how ridiculous this
"attack" is.

First, the criticism of Seretenin. Sthai attempts to make the point that
Magnagora is not strong simply because we do not currently have control
of multiple villages, and we have not been able to bring down the
avatars of the forests. This is but a type of strength: conquering. My
comment on this is to simply quote her: "I am no warrior, nor will I
pretend to be..." It is nice to see that she is indeed as weak as she
claims we are, by her own comparison. Strength is measured in many ways,
and one man's strength is another's weakness. To judge a strength you
have never fully understood is an effort in futility.

She then moves on to state that the transformation of the engine has
come and gone. This comment is not very well thought out. Transformation
is an agent that never tires. All things are included in its ebb and
flow: the good, the bad, the strong and the weak. You can no more stop
this than fell the stars in the sky.

Next up, she claims that she is not afraid of transformation, rather
that she embraces it. This is contradictory to her actions. You can not
both claim to be unafraid of transformation, and run from it as a rat on
a sinking ship when that transformation does not go in the manner that
you choose. The strong fall, the weak rise. Those who truly embrace
transformation understand this and appreciate it all the same. The truth
is not that she is unafraid of transformation, but rather that she
desires for something to transform into something else more pleasing to
her. This is normal, all people feel this way, however most of us don't
try to portray it as a virtue.

I can see the length of this post getting excessive, so allow me to move
back to the original post. In general, Sthai claims that we are rotting
away. She claims that the members of our city are naught but disease
that decays Magnagora, and it is by our inaction and so forth that we
face the end of our time. This is, of course, a broad stroke over the
issue. To rebut this, I go back to Sthai's contest for Warlord of
Magnagora. The following are quotes, penned by her own hand.

"I have studied and worked in the auspices of the Engine for decades,
moving pawns and bishops as I might upon the chessboard, and
occasionally, resigning that others might seek to evolve and change..."
Where are the effects of all of this effort? If her goal was the
strength of the Engine, whatever that means to her, why did we not
become strong? She obviously believes that she was doing all that was
possible to make it happen, and even past the date of that posting she
had the authority and power to make it happen, yet she claims that we
are still weak. Ah, that's right, she recently claimed that she was only
one woman, and that one person can not hope to enact change on their
own. But wait...

"The Heresiarch has spoken much of our perceived weakness, and the value
of many citizens over one - the argument that it is the many that makes
the Engine, and not one. This is patently false - the Engine rises to
power on the backs of great leaders, not on the whims of Serfs else the
meanest sheep within the fold of Transformation might equal Thoros."
So... Which is it? Sthai claims that one woman can not hope to enact
change, but in an attempt to gain Warlord status for herself, she claims
that the Engine is risen on the backs of a small few, not by the effort
of the many serfs. Perhaps she should rethink her failure?

I'll finish with this succession of other various quotes:
"Magnagora is not, and has never been weak - it has faltered, but we
have never failed."
"I am not cynical regarding the future of the Engine."
"We are strong, as a city - we are the Engine of Transformation, and it
does not behoove us to look with cynicism upon our future. Let us look
forwards to what shall be - rather than look upon how weak others
perceive us as being."
Indeed, let us look forward to the new cycle of transformation, rather
than look upon how weak others perceive us as being.

The Engine continues to turn. Let not the acidic words of a failed agent
of desired change convince you otherwise. Lest of all from a forest
which embraces the motto "Nothing matters but Glomdoring". Zealots and
traitors can do nothing to break down the perpetual cycle of strength
and fortitude generated by our city. We stand ever strong.

Isuka Feyranti,
Proud citizen of the Engine of Transformation

Penned by my hand on the 3rd of Tzarin, in the year 235 CE.