by Lord Blackthorn

    Let it never be said that I have augh(t) as quarrel with my liege Lord British, for indeed we be of the best of friends, sharing amicable games of chess 'pon winter's night, and talking at length into the wee hours of the issues that affect the realm of Britannia.

    Yet true friendship doth not prevent true philosophical disagreement either. While I view with approval my lord's affection for his carefully crafted philosophy of the Eight Virtues, wherein moral behavior is encouraged in the populace, I view with less approval the expenditure of public funds upon the construction of "shrines" to said ideals.

    The issue is not on(e) of funds, however, but a disagreement most intellectual over the proper way of humankind in an ethical sense. Surely freedom of decision must be regarded as paramount in any such moral decision? Though none fail to censure the murderer, a subtler question arises when we ask if his behavior would be ethical if he were forced to it.

    I say to thee, the reader, quite flatly, that no ethical system shall have sway over me unless it convinceth me, for that freely made choice is to me the sigh that the system has validity.

    Whereas the system of "Virtues" that my liege espouses is indeed a compilation of commonly approved virtues, I approve of it. Where it seeks to control the populace and restrict their diversity and their range of behaviors, I quarrel with it. And thus do I issue this politic call to anarchy, whilst humbly begging forgivness of Lord British for my impertinence:

    Celebrate thy differences. Take thy actions according to they own lights. Question from what source a law, a rule, a judge, and a virtue may arise. 'Twere possible (though I suggest it not seriously) that a daemon planted the seed of these "Virtues" in my Lord British's mind; 'twere possible that the Shrines were but a plan to destroy this world. Thou canst not know unless thou questioneth, doubteth, and in the end, unless thou relyest upon THYSELF and they judgement. I offer these words as mere philosophical musings for those who seek enlightenment, for 'tis the issue that hath occupied mine interest and that of Lord British for some time now.