I first met Akasha at the Dragon’s Neck Liferock, during the funeral for Gort in 1508. At the time I remember being struck by both her laconic (even for an elf) nature and by the depth of her eyes. Dwarves are not known for their poetic license, and that was certainly the case for me at the time. In our own way, though, dwarves will always find a way to express our thoughts and feelings if need be. In the case of Akasha, though, I could find no words with which to describe that depth and now, some three years removed, I still cannot.

To the Bearers, Akasha is the embodiment of their efforts, the pedestal upon which they place the justification for their lofty suffering. In this world populated by grays and shifting tides, she is the concrete symbol of good that drives them onward. Yet, when we finally were able to interview Akasha after the events in Shis’r’tal, the depth so long ago noticed now revealed itself in stunning and surprising ways. I now understand why the Bearers value her so. Just as I could not find the words to capture the nature of Akasha, perhaps the Bearers could not either and instead found their own way to express it, through their deeds as a Named group.

Borrum Binbalik

12 Riag 1511

Akasha, I want to thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. For the Bearers themselves, you are obviously the most important figure by their reckoning and thus, your insight into them will be invaluable to our study. Our thanks again.

I find it difficult to speak on topics I don't fully grasp myself. The Bearers have been given the responsibilty of my care. To what end, I cannot explain. Suffice it to say they are as important to me as I to them and I will do my best to shed some light on our relations.

You hailed from northern Barsaive, just south of the Blood Wood. Traditionally, those are the Elves with the most disdain and emnity with the Blood Wood yet by all accounts you have maintained relations with the Blood Elves that few in Barsaive can make claim to. Was your village atypical or was it just you? Either way, why the openness?

I remember a story my mother, Eleni, told me about our village shortly before my birth. One day while in the forest gathering flowers she came upon a young blood elf child, starving and severely weathered by the elements. She brought him back to the village to clean him up and give him some bread. Word had traveled to the elders of the village and our council met to discuss the future of this child. He was imprisoned while deliberations continued long into the night. It had been decided best for the village that he be cast out back into the woods to fend for himself, that our tribe of elves could not be seen caring for one that was not their own. Eleni protested their decision asking that the child be able to remain with her in her care until he was old enough to venture forth into the world. She was outraged that a tribe so in tune with nature and life would send the boy out to certain death. She was denied and the child was again sent to wait in the jails until morning when he would be send forth alone.

In the wee hours of the night, Eleni used her knowledge of herbs and reagents to sleep-poison the guards outside the child's cell. She stole the child away and had intended to keep the boy in secret, caring for him until she could safely get him home. The next morning she awoke to find the boy was gone without a trace. The council was outraged at the child's disappearance and the transgressions of the night before, forever banishing my family to the outskirts of town for violating their orders.

Several days later while building her new life in the woods, Eleni came across a single red rose and a note. It read, "Our heartfelt gratitude for watching over our lost one is given and well deserved. These days politics too often blind elves to their true gifts, those that allow us to love. Troubled times are forseen but fear not that your fruit will always be granted the same courtesies you have shown in the past." The letter was unsigned and was lost shortly thereafter, but Eleni always remembered their message in her heart.

Your first contact was with the adepts of Bryhn, the progenitors of the Bearers. What were your first impressions of Gort, Midnight Blue, Chamberlain and Dag?

I had mixed feelings about the members of this group. I was saved by them and thus owed them a great debt but was put off by their lack of cohesion as a unit. Gort was brave but impetuous. His aggression was unnerving at times and often not the best course of action, even in conflict. A warrior must use brains with muscle to resolve a conlfict. Killing is not always the best answer. As for Chamberlain, I don't ever recall much of a connection. I had never seen a Troll before, let alone being companions with one. The mysteries of illusion were also not very useful in the woods and in my life experience. Unfortunately I came into the group with many mistaken notions about the differences in races and backgrounds. I had forgotten my teachings that all life was sacred and unique in nature and had to struggle to relearn them with these new friends. Dag also fell victim to my lack of experience with humans. I was mostly put off by Midnight Blue's abilities in death. For an elf, life is sacred and here was one that betrayed that sanctity by manipulating the boundaries of life and death. Speaking with the dead, animating the dead, and so forth are forbidden knowledge in most elven tribes I had contact with. I was in tune with the elements, nature and all of life. An obvious extreme from necromancy and, at first, also to Blue. His elvish nature was our strongest bond. I admired all of them for their valiant efforts in saving my life but I will admit it took time to accept all of them, and love of them as part of my group.

As a follow-up, that very day in a diplomatic situation (trying to enter the town of Gevin), you took charge of the proceedings - the beginning of a trademark assertiveness that belies your otherwise quiet nature within the group (as portrayed in various journals). What is it that compels you to rise, as it were, to such occasions?

There are times when my thoughts blur and my mind spins. I can see the outcomes of all our actions and can decide which path is most favorable. If the group is limited in their foresight than I give them no choice. All of nature follows patterns and I am blessed enough to see them from time to time.

By now, you've surely read Sanjuro's essay on the origin of the name the "Bearers of Akasha". Before asking you to comment on the name itself, I'd like to address a point within the essay. What drove you to risk your life by straining your body in reaching Viln? Be honest. Was it, as Sanjuro has said, that you had come to aid the group or was it the dire nature of the Corinthian's threats alone that compelled you? If the former, what about the group made them worth such a sacrifice?

Again, it was the only path before me. As much as I care for the group I have always belonged to a larger group, all of nature Herself. Their imminent danger was overshadowed by a much larger, more sinister evil. This evil awoke me and my path became clear. I needed the group as much as they needed me, and much as the world needed us. We are only part of a greater whole and it is this totality that was worth the sacrifice. Without this whole, I am nothing and it was be respectfully guarded at all costs.

The Bearers are now legendary figures in Barsaive, carrying your Name as their standard. What are your thoughts on this?

It's strangely fitting that they had been given that name, one never really chooses their name. "Akasha" is elven for life-spirit and refers to the energy derived from the four elements that keeps all of creation in existence. Look at a five-pointed star, akasha is the top point above the four others, drawing on their possibilities to create life, the fifth and most beautiful essence. This life-spirit is the force that the Horrors fear most and seek to destroy for it is the antithesis of their being. The group members are not bearers of my body or spirit but rather the spirit of the world itself. A grave responsibilty to every living creature in existence. I'm not sure they are completely aware of this honour yet. I don't think they ever will be.

Finally, for many I imagine, is the question that most scholars wish to ask. Would you join a group called "The Bearers of Akasha"? Why or why not?

The name is irrelevant to my joining or not joining. Like I spoke of earlier, I belong to a much larger more encompassing group, that of life itself. The "Great Akasha", if you will. I am bound to forces beyond my control and could not be a part of the Bearers simply because my essence is already spoken for. My joining the Bearers would disrupt their pattern and cause them great distress. It is better for all concerned that my involvement with their group is only when absolutely necessary.

By all accounts, you took the death of Midnight Blue the hardest, even more so than Sanjuro. Since then, we have heard rumor and here in the library some record of unique inquiries that seem related. What was it about Blue's situation and/or the elf himself that touched you so deeply, and what can you say about these rumors?

I have not heard of the rumours you speak of and cannot be concerned with petty insinuations. Midnight Blue was indeed very special to me. On our first meeting I was horrified by what his magical art was involved with. As a child of the woods, of nature, and of life itself I couldn't comprehend his value and the value of his craft. It wasn't until he was taken from me that I realized a truth of nature. All of existence occurs in cycles, of life and death. The death of one provides for the life of another, and one's life can only come from the death of others. We are all dependant on these energy cycles that wax and wane within us and our world. Blue's death was only part of this cycle that I had vehemently overlooked as illegitimate and unnecessary to the life energy. His death was a turning point in my growth as an elementalist and a living elf. From death comes life. My only regret is that I could not be there for him the way he was for me.

One Name-giver you seemed to have formed an immediate bond with was Rokk Krinn, the Ork swordmaster and Legend. By all that we have seen, his death was certainly tragic and before his time. Have you any comment on your relationship with him or on his life in general?

I will speak only briefly on this matter. It is heroes like Rokk Krinn that this world needs to fight the Horrors that corrupt Her existence. Not only was he important in his efforts but he inspired others, like the Bearers, to keep challenging evil in all its forms and seek comfort in the members of the group.

It is said that the Passions offered to remove your Sleeping Sickness and that you refused. Why did you refuse to let the Passions cure you? Again, there are rumors and theories that these periods of sleep are more than what they appear. What is its nature?

The Passions explained a great deal of my being in ways I had only struggled to understand before. For better or for worse, I was attuned to the life-spirit of the world itself. Her patterns were my patterns, her struggles were my struggles and her growth was my growth. It allowed me great foreknowledge and was the source of my devotion to the elements and those around me. It was the reason I acted strongly, often guiding and overriding the actions of others. My choices were not mine alone, they were always affected by the great life-spirit around me and my path was often determined for me.

This gift was also a curse at times. I had no implicit understanding of why I acted the way I did. My decisions often became liabilities for those in the group and my illness became a burden for my companions. The sleep is caused by my body being overwhelmed by the forces it endures. No one being is capable of withstanding such powerful essences for any real length of time. They weakened me terribly and caused the bouts of slumber. All of this was explained to me when the Passions offered to cure me.

The cure they offered me was a complete disconnection from the web of life and from the world's total consciousness - an even more horrifying thought than being a puppet for forces greater than my own. How could I give up the life-spirit? How could I give up the love the Elements had for me? How could I give up the possibilities of fighting the evils that were causing me this pain? I couldn't, and so I refused. I refused the chance for release and also the chance for rest. I couldn't stand the possibility of being alone after being a part of everything. And so I am trapped until my death with the sickness, the loss of memory and also the total acceptance of the world and her life-spirit. Was there ever really a choice?

As we move past Shis’r’tal and begin to cope with the changes ushered in by the Bearers, what are your thoughts on the path that lies before the Bearers and yourself?

The future is before us. Where it takes the Bearers will be hard to tell. Suffice it to say that my early perceptions about the others and about myself were all mistaken. If we ever truly want to be rid of the Scourge of Horrors and reclaim ourselves it will be through the heroism and sacrifice of all. The Passions themselves are weeping for this world and calling out to every creature alive to fight back. The cycle of Life and Death continues within all of us and it is time for Life to conquer and reign once more. Through the rebirth of the life-spirit, nature will bloom once more and the Horrors will be banished from our existence. My gifts from the Passions have been the will to live and the power to fight, hopefully inspiring others to live and fight as well. And that is also my gift to the Bearers of Akasha, a symbol to fight for and a reclaiming of what is rightfully ours.

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