Religion Documentary in Randland

Recorded Voice #1: Since 3000 years, Randland has two major religions. The smaller one of these has during all this time been suppressed, and it’s followers hunted and scorned, humiliated and murdered. The followers of this religion, in everyday speech called ‘Darkfriends’, has been forced to move in the shadows, hiding and pretending to be followers of the light, to escape the terror.

Recorded Voice #2: One of the worst threats to them, are the Children of the Light. Hard soldiers, and Templars Devoted to the ‘Light’. But these Whitecloaks, as they have come to be called, are often stumbling over their own feet, being a danger to everybody, not just the Darkfriends. And even among these Light Warriors there are followers of the Dark hiding. One of these has agreed to tell us about his situation. Since he is afraid of being tortured, humiliated, roasted, eaten by alligators, punctured, torn apart, pounded flat, jumped on, sliced, poisoned, cut in half, hanged, pinned, thrown off a cliff, stung, burnt, scared, dirtied, painted green, kicked, reprimanded, and slowly decapitated, he has taken the false name ‘Bors’.

Host: Tell us about how it is to be a follower of the Dark, while being a Whitecloak.

Bors: It’s a hard life to live, I tell you. The situation for Darkfriends all over Randland is bad. Very bad. Every day someone is killed, accused of being a Darkfriend.

Host: But it must be even harder for you, right?

Bors: Oh yes. Whenever a Fade comes to give me orders, I have to check so that there is no other Whitecloak around. If I was found, I would be dead in minutes.

Host: And for you that doesn’t know: a Fade is a Shadowspawn, often used as a messenger to the Darkfriends. Now, how come that you decided to be a Darkfriend?

Bors: Well, it all started when I was very young. My father had decided that I should be a Whitecloak, because it was tradition in my family. Having no other choice, I agreed, but was never satisfied, knowing that I wanted to be something more. So one day when I had some free time, I just saddled my horse and rode to Shayol Ghul.

Host: Thank you, Bors. We will return to you soon. But first we will have a little more information. We’ll be right back after a few words from our sponsor!

[Randland sighs in frustration. Having only one Te’a’Vee channel, and all the work of the day done, commercial breaks every five minutes can be very annoying]

NightShade: Hello. Are you a WoT:er, going around and thinking that WoT on the Net has gone boring?

Crowd: yes!

NightShade: Do you think you have read all there is to read in WoT, and all that knowledge is for no use?

Crowd: Yes!

NightShade: Then what are you waiting for? Join us today! The Nordic Pages: Knights of Knowledge! This Wheel of Time-clan is one of the most promising, I think. Just go to www.nordica.atfreeweb.com and join us!

Crowd: *showing enthusiasm*

NightShade: Yes, join it today, all for free. And if you’re already member of any other big page, that’s alright. You can be a member of both, can’t you? Nordica welcomes everybody!

[changes back to ordinary show]

Host: If you joined us later on: we are talking about the conflicts between to two big Randlandian religions. Now, what about the backgrounds of the Dark religion?

Recorded Voice #1: 3000 years ago, according to legend, a hole was made in the prison that held Shai’tan, the Master of Darkness. He promised glory to the ones that followed him, and many people went over to him. A big war broke out between the Light and the Dark, and Shai’tans prison was re-sealed. But yet the faithful Darkfriends await the time of Shai’tans release, and the followers of the Light fears it.

Recorded Voice #2: To prevent people from becoming Darkfriends, the Light Ones has given Shai’tan many bad names such as: The Dark One, Leafblighter, Father of Lies, Sightblinder and many more. Darkfriends and Light Ones alike think that his real name, Shai’tan, should not be spoken; Light Ones thinking it would draw his curse upon them, Darkfriends just finding it blasphemous. But while the Light Ones call him all the bad names, Darkfriends mostly refers to him as ‘the Great Lord of the Dark’.

Recorded Voice #1: Even the nearest servants of Shai’tan, the Chosen, has been misnamed to scare people from turning to the Dark. They are in general called the ‘Forsaken’, being a good example of the Light Ones hate towards the Dark, and their names have been changed in everyday speech as well. For example: The strongest Chosen, Elan Morin Tedronai, had to walk under the name Ishamael all this time, until he was brutally murdered a couple of years ago.

Host: Bors, you said you have been to Shayol Ghul. Did you ever get to meet the Great Lord?

Bors: Well, I thought I did, but it was only Ishamael that was masked as the Great Lord.

Host: So you at least got to see Elan Morin before he was murdered? Tell me then: what kind of a person do you think he was?

Bors: He seemed sympathetic to me. A very nice person. Just the way his voice tried to crush me against the inside of my own head was very inspiring. He didn’t deserve that fate of his.

Host: For your knowledge: Elan Morin was stabbed to death by the highest agent of the Light, the Dragon Reborn. This leads us into the final part of the program. Just stick around, and we’ll be right back after this message!

[Randlanders howling in anger and ripping the hair off their heads]

Speaker: He’s done it again! Thom Merrilin’s new CD can be found in any music shop in Randland today. It contains old hit songs in new versions, like "Jak o’ the Shadows", "Tinker in the Kitchen" and "The Color of Trust".

*music examples of the songs is heard in the background*

Speaker: But it also contains new songs like "A Fade broke my leg", "I’m gonna marry an Aes Sedai", "Travelin’ with Ta’verens" and many more. It also includes a special: An accompanied version of the Karaethon Cycles. Thom Merrilin’s "The Life of an ordinary Gleeman" can be bought anytime, anywhere. This is a CD you can’t afford to miss!

[changing back to the show]

Host: Hello again everybody! We’re still talking about the religious conflict in Randland. The Dark religion had the 13 Chosen Leaders from the beginning, but they’ve lessened in numbers. Now there’s only five of these left. One after another, they have been brutally killed.

Recorded Voice #2: Eight of the thirteen Chosen has died, stalked down and killed by various Light-fanatics. Aginor and Balthamel, two strong Chosen, were the first two ones to be killed. They both died horrible deaths, The Dragon Reborn being responsible for at least one of these. Later, Be’lal was Balefired by a known Aes Sedai, named Moiraine.

NightShade: Ohhh... Be’lal *sob*

Recorded Voice #2: Later the very same day, Ishamael was stabbed to death as we earlier described, by the Dragon Reborn. And the killings has continued throughout the time, Lanfear killed by Moiraine, Rahvin Balefired by the Dragon Reborn, and Asmodean assassinated by an unknown person, all these three on the same day. Asmodeans death, however, can have been caused by a follower on the Dark, since rumors tells us that he went over to the Dragon Reborn. And not long ago, the Dragon attacked Illian in an attempt to kill Sammael. Sammael has been missing since that day, and is presumed dead, murdered by the Dragon.

Host: Bors, have you got anything to say to the Randlandian people about this conflict?

Bors: Yes. Why do you keep hunting us? Why can’t you let us have our own religion? We believe in a different thing than you Followers of Light, and therefor you kill us. Is this right? Why can’t we live in peace? Imagine the Light Ones and the Darkfriends, side by side in a united world. After all that’s all we want, isn’t it.

Host: Thank you for coming here Bors. Ladies and gentlemen, today’s broadcastings are about to end. I wish you a good night without touching Tel’aran’rhiod. And tomorrow we will have a very interesting debate here. Stay with us people. The broadcast is soon over, just after these messages!

[Randlanders turns off their Te’a’Vees before the commercial begins. People go to sleep, Darkfriends and Light Ones alike. Night falls over Randland, and their dreams carries them into the new day. And the Wheel of Time turns.]

/NightShade!