Visionary Precautions

You say, "Before anything, let me begin by asking each of you to begin this night by studying the sky repeatedly so that our minds can be made fully open to the visions that we will seek this night. > You say, "So as we all know, we have discussed this event for many moons. We are done discussing. It is time to act. > You say, "We have considered many strands of the Web of Fate, many access and focal points, and many historical events. > You say, "And after many nights, many discussions, many visions, and hard research, it is in Taisgath that we will do that which has not been done before. > You say, "It is here that we will enter the Astral Plane and travel to the microcosm, which corresponds to the magic essence of the shattered moon, Grazhir. > You say, "It is there, in the microcosm, that we will draw upon the power of Grazhir to power our magic and our visions of what once was. > You say, "But going to the microcosm has other tangible effects. > You say, "It is known to all that travel the Astral Plane that the microcosm is a sort of safe bubble. It is a place where the Astral Plane does not shift before our very eyes and a place where the mana streams do not twist and weave upon themselves > You say, "It is believed that in this calm area of an otherwise ever-changing plane of existence, our portal into the Plane of Probability will not be adversely affected by the changing environment of the Astral Plane > You say, "Furthermore, the Pillar of Convergence is closest to the highest number of physical shards. > You say, "And as we will be in the Astral Plane, if shadow creatures do cross through our window into the Plane of Probability, they will find themselves in the Astral Plane and not Elanthia. > You say, "And so for these reasons, we will travel to the Pillar of Convergence and perform a group prediction so that we may learn of our past. > You say, "We hope that we will learn more about the obelisk builders and the obelisks themselves. > You say, "We have chosen Taisgath because it is home to an active obelisk and because it is an area that is rich in history. > You say, "Because it is a place of known history, we believe that it will be easier to follow the strands of the Web of Fate backwards in time to the very creation of the obelisks > You say, "This expedition is still very dangerous and many suggestions have been made by extremely wise individuals. I fault none of them for their astute observations that could only have been made after a life long commitment to understanding our history and our ways. > You say, "It has been argued that perhaps we should not travel to the microcosm and instead only step within the Astral Plane and stay at the end of a conduit so that we may retreat if needed and so that we do not risk failing before we begin. For how can we do a group prediction if many us stumble, become lost in the Grey Expanse, or simply lose our concentration? > You say, "Each of these arguments are legitimate concerns > You say, "But what we do this day is done knowing that there is much risk and much personal sacrifice. It is done knowing that even if we do every thing correctly, we may still come away without the knowledge we seek > You say, "We go to the microcosm because we feel that it is the most likely place where we will succeed and because it is a place free from the swirling chaos found everywhere else in the Astral Plane. > You say, "But we also go there because if shadow creatures do cross through our portal into the Plane of Probability, they will be far away from the closest access point to the Plane of Abiding and Elanthia. > You say, "This means that we will have to take additional precautions. We will need to limit our footprints on the astral. So instead of each of us going to the microcosm and the Pillar of Convergence independently, we will go as one group. I will lead everyone through the Astral Plane. > You say, "This method of group travel through the Astral Plane has been tested before this night. And it is has thus far been proven to be a safe method of passage or as safe as can be given the nature of what we do. > You say, "And lastly, but perhaps most importantly, we must all have a clear picture of the Web of Fate and which strands we will trace back in time. > You say, "To help us find the right strands of the Web of Fate, as we travel, I ask each of you to focus your thoughts on our present steps and then of the obelisk being used by Tezirah to access the Plane of Abiding. This should give us two points of time on the Web of Fate, which we can then follow backwards until the obelisks construction. > You say, "When we finally arrive to our destination, I ask each of you to hold off on making any predictions until we can do so in unison. I will indicate when we will focus our minds. > You say, "After we focus our collective minds and open a window so that we may gaze upon the Web of Fate, each person may make their way out of the Astral Plane. > You say, "However, for those that wish to stay, please stay for as long as you think you are able. I will stay for as long as possible and continue to gaze through whatever window we manage to create. I am hoping that the nature of the Astral Plane will amplify our concerted and focused minds and thoughts. > You say, "Whenever we all finally make it out, I hope we can gather again in Taisgath to discuss what we learned. One last note, it may be wise for each of us to prepare for battle before we go just in case we are met by those who do not wish us to have such knowledge. But, it is possible that our precautions will prevent the sort of calamity that has happened in the past.