Dear readers, tonight we publish an in-world interview between two characters, a noble woman who wants to know more about one of the protagonists. They speak of scholars and warriors, of calculating the future and fate.

So… mister… Arneth, is it?

Arneth Farhan, your highness. May I ask what’s the purpose of this interview?

I was told a member of the Daht’Gahren was seen in town, and I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to know if you monks are for real, or if you are all just an act.

I am, ever, at the countess’ disposal.

Really? I couldn’t tell. You don’t look like a scholar monk, more like a swordsman yourself.

Indeed. My martial prowess comes from the time I worked with my father, as a caravan guard. We would always accept contracts for guarding merchant caravans, and thus from an early age I’ve been familiar with numbers. That would prove to be very valuable later on.

And how does a caravan guard becomes a Daht’Gahren?

Slowly, your highness, as it is with all students. Since I learned of the Daht’Gahren I have been attracted to the promise of their life. When my father had accrued enough means to pay for my tuition, I journeyed to Verian Tower in search of apprenticeship. I was twenty then. When I graduated, I was thirty-five.

And how was it, living in the tower of the Daht’Gahren?

Both demanding and rewarding in extreme measures. You may have noticed my… pointed lack of body hair. Every Daht’Gahren trains memorization and fast calculus to such an extent that the stress alone causes all of our hair to fall. For our graduation exam, we each have to commit an entire library to memory. And yet, what we gain is… unfathomable. I learned to read peoples’ minds just by analyzing their body language, and to calculate the future of nations.

That’s… impressive, if not preposterous. How can anyone withstand this?

Many don’t. Of every thousand students, only one graduates. It is never easy for anyone. I remember the sleepless nights spent studying, the oral exams that seemed designed to be impossible… I doubted myself for a long time, as I apprenticed, alone with but a mountain of books for company.

Surely there must have been something to look up to?

Yes, but it is hard to put it to words. Our teachers would make practical demonstrations of the knowledge they taught us, recite entire books from memory, read our minds in the middle of a class, things like this. However, what drove me most to study were the alternate calculations. They would show us, mathematically, how much worse off our world would be if this or that person hadn’t finished their studies. It is impossible for me to convey right now just how important each and every life is, and the difference every single person makes when they have knowledge, and the will to act.

Even so, that seems like a… lonely life…

Love, as you understand it, requires full commitment and complete surrender, and I’m afraid I am already committed to knowledge itself. Friendship and companionship, those are necessary for anyone to withstand such a harsh life, but marriage, that’s not for me.

But what do you do for fun?

The same things everyone does. We drink, we watch plays, we do art, we criticize each other’s art, we spar and we bet, we tell jokes—

Jokes? What’s a joke for a Daht’Gahren?

A Daht’Gahren, a general and a philosopher were given the task of assessing the strength of an enemy army. The general observed their numbers, analyzed their armaments and employed spies, but in the end couldn’t figure out how strong they were. The philosopher read their books, gazed upon their paintings, listened to their customs, and still couldn’t get a read on them. The Daht’Gahren just got up and walked away.

I… don’t get it.

It’s because he knew from the start the general and the philosopher wouldn’t find an answer.

Right… still… an entire tower of people who can calculate the future… you must have gathered powerful enemies over the years.

Not if we used our abilities properly. I could tell that we stand alongside the Church in the eternal watch against the Ashen Lord, but anyone would tell you the same. However, every Daht’Gahren holds a special dark place in our hearts for the Death Kingdom of Kaylor. Three hundred years ago they violently purged all Daht’Gahrens from their lands, confiscating their tower. In a night, dozens of our friends died in agony. This, we never forgot, and one day, we will have our reckoning.

And is that what do you do with the knowledge you have? Plot against Kaylor?

Most Daht’Gahren are content in studying and furthering our knowledge of fate, mathematics and philosophy. I myself even became what we call a master calculator… one who can calculate the future with striking precision. That was my life, until my latest calculus compelled me to leave Verian.

Oh, please, do not stop. What calculations were those?

I have calculated, your highness, that a great shadow is about to rise. A threat like our good kingdom has never faced before. All that stands in its way is the life of an albino youth. If he dies, we all die as well. If I can save him, we just might have a chance.

You cannot meant it… surely, if that were true, you wouldn’t be alone in this journey!

Alas, I have exposed my calculations to my fellow professors, but few believed the results. Many accused me of being led by wrong data and not allowing for a proper review process of my results before announcing them. However, I also know that some believed me, I could see it in their expression, but they were too afraid to take action.

Afraid? What can possibly put fear in the minds of the Daht’Gahren?

Highness, we are but mortals, and every person fears their own demise. It is a maxim in the calculation of fate that if you alter the future, fate itself lashes out against you.

So… you mean… if you avoid this future… you will die?

It is a distinct and real possibility.

But you must have calculated your own future, surely!

Yes. Self-fate calculation is always a tricky business, because we are always so wary of accepting our own suffering that we tend to skew the results in our favor, but I have, indeed, calculated my own fate.

And what is it? Your fate?

It’s still in flux, your highness, but most likely my fate brings pain and heartache, fire and sorrow, even if I succeed in my mission. However, if I don’t, then though I might avoid the worse of my circumstances, everyone else will suffer the same, only tenfold.

You have given me much to ponder, Daht’Gahren. I am of a mind to dismiss you, but first, you must reveal to me of this shadow, this threat to our kingdom!

I can clearly see you will just not let me go unless I answer, your highness. So be it, but know that I tell you this with great reluctance. Do not share this information with anyone else, or you shall be ridiculed and discredited. The threat I spoke of is none other than the Ashen Lord himself. Though at present he is safely locked away, he will return, and in doing so, spread the Withering Death all over the world. Unless I can save the albino. Unless you let me go… now!

Very well, master Arneth. You have my leave.

You can find Arneth on the pages of Death’s Flow.

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