Retort to Sekhmet
 
As my wizard is currently silenced, the following is my reply to a proclaim which Sekhmet is distributing around the land.

>Today we have removed Ninjalicious and fftobago from the Pinnacle of Pyroto.
>This may come as a surprise to many, and we were not unconflicted about this
>step. But in the end, we believe that justice demanded it.
>On 5656, the Prodigals Clan and ally Bricker were decimated by an unprovoked
>and duplicitous attack from Ninjalicious and fftobago.

The attack was thoroughly provoked; Mingus had clearly been told that her clan's actions in promoting Bricker and Andreus hundreds of levels above any position they had ever earned themselves would be seen as a violation of Pyroto's rules. Mingus replied only that she would do as she saw fit, and encouraged me to violate the anti-mass-promotion rule in the same manner she was.

As for duplicitous -- how so? As mentioned, I was more than clear in showing my disappointment and concern to you and your teammates. I never welcomed Bricker to Pyroto because I never liked the circumstances in which he arrived. I would think a better example of duplicity would be Andreus' messages about how no one was outnumbered, Soulrift's happy messages about how he moved back to Pyroto because he really likes everyone there and how he was looking forward to working together for the good of the mountain, or your own messages to me about how I should stop being nervous about your return to the mountain, punctuated with a smile. (Actually, this nasty proclaim of yours features the first sentences not punctuated with a smile I've seen since you migrated to Pyroto, I think.)

>At the time, Ninj and
>ff were at the Pinnacle; the Prodigals at level 489 and climbing fast. Like
>Japan at Pearl Harbor, Ninj and ff struck without any warning of attack at
>all.

Ah, so we're as evil as the Japanese? Let's be realistic, Sekhmet. As anyone who's battled on Pyroto knows, the system is designed so that advance warning is only an option when a very powerful force is bullying a much less powerful force. On 5656, this was clearly not the case.

>2,934 levels were removed from six wizards, two of whom were
>permanently Banished, destroying hard-earned esteem. Ninj and ff immediately
>claimed their efforts were in support of the "No Mass Promote" rule on
>Pyroto.
>What made this justification particularly hard to swallow was our knowledge
>that much of Ninj and ff's early success on the slopes is owed to mass
>promotes - even more glaringly, on mass promotes at the very hands of us,
>the Prodigals who were later attacked.

Early in the game, FFTobago and I accepted a few dozen levels from Thargor. Most of the Prodigals also received gifts of levels from other sources. All of us later agreed that in spite of the fact that we had received levels we hadn't earned, we now desired to end that vicious cycle. Some of us truly meant it; others apparently only meant it to apply to wizards who weren't on their team.

>It's clear to us that these brutally quick, untelegraphed attacks were not
>for the purpose of defending the rules at all. Those rules were just a
>convenient excuse to eliminate some close competition from a rapidly
>climbing team. Ninj and ff later admitted, in unguarded moments, that these
>attacks were made "for tactical purposes."

This is extremely deceptive. It was not the attack itself which was "for tactical purposes", but rather the decision to employ the banish spell instead of merely demoting or reducing. The attack was most certainly not for tactical purposes, but for ethical ones, as several lower level wizards had begun to ask why the anti-mass-promotion rule didn't seem to apply to the mountain's Magenta wizards.

>It is not our nature to whine about unfair treatment. What happens, happens.
>But it has also never been our nature to sit quietly back and live with
>injustice. Ninj and ff have led Pyroto, which should be the greatest and
>most active of all the mountains, closer and closer towards stagnation. They
>have perpetuated a reign based on attacking their competition, not realizing
>that healthy - and friendly - competition is the fuel that feeds a
>mountain's success.

As any resident of Pyroto and several of your own allies can confirm, this is simply not the case. We pleaded with Jekyl, MsMittens, Thargor to remain on our mountain after the attack. I encouraged Souldance and AmbushBug to adopt Pyroto as their new home, in spite of their opposition to the anti-mass-promotion rule. When there was a possibility that you and Bricker might have your levels restored, I commented that I would be happy to see the two of you back on Pyroto. I repeatedly invited Soulrift to move to Pyroto, in spite of his very clear problems with me. So, I have encouraged immigration from every corner, not merely from those who agree with me.

>We do not Banish them today. Certain wizards felt so strongly about this
>action that they have committed the Ultimate Sacrifice. We said at the time,
>when Mingus and Bricker were Banished, that it was an unnecessarily harsh
>action which should be reserved for violation of the meta-rules. We have the
>manna and the ability to turn around and exact that penalty on them, but we
>do not. We believe that they - and the mountain - will benefit from
>reclimbing the levels to the top... on their own, with, appropriately,
>assistance from no one. Again to make this very clear feel free to offer
>them moral support, encouragement, and even manna, but any gifts of levels
>will be undone by us, and the same number of levels will be removed from
>you.

FF and I never imposed any restrictions of any kind on the behaviour of the Prodigals subsequent to their downfall, and they all received promotions from other wizards, with our blessing. If wizards on Pyroto feel that your attack is unjustified, shouldn't they be free to express this by restoring our levels, without fear of being crushed by new arrivals who appear to have returned solely in order to fulfill an old vendetta? >This was not about our getting "even." But it is about things being even,
>about justice being served

You lost me. How is this not about getting even? That's all this is about, Sekhmet, and you don't really don't care if you have to repress all of Pyroto's wizards and destroy its culture in the process.

>and about self-serving rationalizations and
>actions having consequences.
>You have now seen the consequences.

Behold the might of the Prodigals. <applause>