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This is going out to all of you still living in exile.
We are the Hendessa. I don't know precisely how it will reach you. I've woven together the threads of a spell and cast it into the æther. But I don't know what the final form will be. A dream? Perhaps. A letter? A voice speaking from the back of your garage? I actually have no idea.
Regardless, our goal is simple. We want to get you out of Shadow, and back home. I know you don't remember home, but it's called The Actuality. You're not from there. Where you are now? You're from here.
Shadow is just what it sounds like, my fellows. It's a shadow of what's real. Oh, you think it's the real world, but you're caught up in its deception.
Ah, then, don't feel bad. It's devious. How could you know? That's why we're here to help.
Like you, many of us hid in the Shadow during the war. It was the right thing to do. The war was dreadful. It ravaged all of Indigo, tore apart our souls, and fed upon our dreams. Terrible.
But the war's over now, long over— but you're still there. You've been stuck in your self-imposed exile for so long, it's all you remember. Shadow has become your real world, your life. You think you were born there, that you grew up there, and that one day you'll die there.
But time, real time, doesn't pa** in Shadow. That's right, even time there is but a pale shade of the real thing: an illusion, a trap, really.
It's a lot to take in. Fortunately, you're strong— far stronger than you know. Why, you're a Vislae! You had to be to get into Shadow to begin with. And we're going to get you out, get you home.
But we need to do it soon, because there's more:
You see, Shadow, being, well, Shadow, has become a darker, more negative place over the years, and it's getting worse. You know the feel of darkness growing. This isn't news to you, not really. If you're being honest, the world around you, what you think of as the real world, it's quickly becoming a not-so-nice place to be, if it ever really was.
I mean, of course, Indigo is not without its problems, but Shadow's transforming into… Well, we don't know. Something… something dangerous.
There are forces, my friends, sinister forces at work. Call them the Drogue. Call them the forces of the Demi-Urge, birthed in Shadow, but also its masters. They're twisting it all around. But we're better off not talking further about the Drogue. Wouldn't want to rouse them.
In any event, stay vigilant, stay strong, and we'll have you out of there soon. It won't be easy, but as my father always said, the more difficult path is probably the right one.
Keep listening. There's strength in knowledge. Power, even.
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