[Recording begins] This is Hunter Dredgen Yor. I believe that, as a human, these are my last words. [laughs] Ironic isn’t it. I miss those two words… It has been so long since my Thorn has been a rose. Even now, I can blame no one but myself. I record this message in a rare moment of clarity. I can feel my Thorn feeding on my feeble Light. It whispers to me… [silence]. It wants me to give in to it. And I believe that this time, I may listen to it. I have been more Dark than Light for some time now, and I weaken. I have fought this thing for years, to little effect. I have fed Thorn with Light and blood aplenty, and in return it has given me nothing but sorrow and ruin. Even now my only blood relative hunts me. I deserve it. Choices are crossroads of destiny, and I myself chose the wrong roads. The first wrong turn began beneath the surface of the moon, back when my rose was still in full bloom. Back when I still thought my name was Jaren. Deep below the Moon’s surface, I was exploring with my partner, Padan Yur. She was a warlock, and she was just as beautiful as she was deadly. I loved her. We ran into the midst of a Hive ritual in which Wizards enchanting a Knight who lay in a pool of darkness. They turned on us and attacked. We killed them all, but in the fight Padan was injured. [sob][silence] [deep breaths] Padan died In the dark, covered in her own blood and Hive ichor. It. Broke. Me. I make no excuses, and I own my choice. As I wept and held Padan, who had grown cold in my arms, I began to hear a whispering. It spoke to me comfortingly. This was not the fault of the Hive, it said. This was my fault, it told me. It said I was to blame because I was not strong enough to protect her. [silence] And then it said that it could make me stronger. It would make me strong enough that this would never happen again. Think of all the good I could do, it said. And, half crazy with grief, I listened. That day I dipped Last Word into the pool of Darkness that the dead Knight lay in. On that day my lovely rose began to wilt…