







The Forest of Illusion by Noctir (June 2014)

Everything is a lie. We live in an artificial reality.

We were born into a lie. Or rather, we we born into a great web of lies that stretches back for centuries. The masses sleepwalk through life, never becoming fully aware of the cage in which they exist. However, those of us that are awake and cognizant of even a small fraction of the truth, we realize the hell that this world has been turned into. For some, it is incredibly frightening and they choose to put their heads back into the sand. They assume that they cannot do anything to change things anyway, so they do nothing at all and try to pretend that everything is fine. Others are infuriated, and rightfully so, but then channel their anger in inappropriate ways and still do nothing to help the situation. The puppet masters encourage this in many ways, sowing discord amongst the masses, keeping them focused on small-scale struggles and non-issues that are given loads of attention. As well, they pacify them with trinkets and comforts and an unending stream of brain-deadening noise from the media. At a certain point, it all becomes too much. Murders, rapes, terror attacks, war, advertisements, celebrity gossip, fake news and reality tv blend into a cacophony of deafening and mindless nonsense. People become desensitized to it and automatically tune much of it out. Nothing is as it should be. There is so much injustice and filth.

The world has been plunged into darkness. The Black Foe of the World long ago destroyed the light. There are a few of us that carry some memory of the way that things were, in our blood or spirit. However, there are many that were born into this darkness and have accepted it as the norm. In a way, they are corrupted by it, much like Tolkien's Orcs. This realm has been shaped by the forces of darkness, for those same forces. Those of us who are more like remnants of Elves or noble Men do not belong to this damned age. We struggle to survive in a world where everything is so wrong and goes against our very nature. We often find ourselves at odds with every aspect of this existence, simply because this is not our world. The Dark Lord triumphed ages ago.



Nearly everything in this world has been corrupted. The evil and vile servants of darkness have made it all theirs. Everything is a lie. The masses are either empty vessels merely animated by the will of the Dark Lord to do his bidding, or weak-minded filth that abandoned any concept of "right" in order to get by a little easier. All of the rules have been bent and twisted to favour the false and dishonourable. Things that we see as right and appropriate are now looked down upon and treated as wrong. All previous morals have been reversed, even if those in control still pay lip-service to certain ideas. That is the way of the world, to say one thing and to do another. Only the lying and cheating scum manage to improve their lot in this hell. Yet, for some of us, this is unacceptable.



Many may be confused and have little idea how to proceed amidst such chaos. Which path should one follow? To uphold some sense of decency and to do what feels right to them, or to follow the herd and to break whatever rules necessary to get another inch or two ahead. At what point does one completely compromise their sense of right and wrong when it has become clear that seemingly no one else is playing by the rules? There is no possibility of changing things within the system, for the system is corrupt and designed by those very forces that oppress and manipulate us. The only choice then is to bring it down, to accelerate its decay and to destroy it utterly. Everything is crumbling, and even the rat-like masses can sense it, and they scurry about and cut a few more corners and stab one another in the back a bit more often, trying to get a better position for themselves before it comes. Is it more noble then to adhere to one's own sense of morality and justice, whether or not it comes into conflict with what we are told and no matter how much it works against us? Or do we give in, join their ranks and let go of our principles just to forgo the pointless struggle against that which we cannot hope to defeat and can only await its demise? Perhaps, it is better to go down fighting and remaining true to oneself, than to bend the knee and to sell out, in an effort to reach for the possibility of an easier existence within the world of Orcs. While it may be difficult to remain honourable in a dishonourable world, deep down those few of us know that this world is not for us anyway.







