The Book of Flame

A collection of writings from founders of the Scarlet Crusade discovered in the Scarlet Monastery's library wing.

Prologue
YOU MUST BE ABLE TO HEAR THE TRUTH, AND HEAR IT SPOKEN IN LIES, TOO YOU MUST BE ABLE TO RISK EVERYTHING, AND SUFFER NOT WHEN YOU GAIN NOTHING, AND LOSE ALL YOU MUST BE ABLE TO ACT AS GREAT KINGS DO, BUT WITH NO REGARD TO FAME OR RICHES YOU MUST BE ABLE TO TRUST THE LIGHT, EVEN WHEN ALL MEN DOUBT IT, AND DOUBT YOU AS WELL YOU MUST BE ABLE TO CAST ASIDE YOUR EARTHLY DELIGHTS, EVEN WHEN YOUR ONLY REWARD IS SUFFERING YOU MUST IMAGINE NOT THE LIGHT'S PARADISE AS INEVITABLE, BUT AS A PATH TO BE FOLLOWED; A CHOICE YOU MUST BE ABLE TO SEE THE GOOD IN ALL MEN, BUT SEE THE EVIL IN THEM AS WELL, AND NOT BE FOOLED BY IT YOU MUST ENDURE LOVE AND LOSS, TRIUMPH AND DEFEAT, AND MEET THEM AS ONE SO IS THE WILL OF THE SCARLET CRUSADE.

The Legacy of Lordaeron
It is often said that one cannot know death until one faces it. There is more truth in this than any could know. What makes a crusader is knowing death. I make it my duty to show all studying under me death, and have them stare it in the face with neither cringing nor cowardice. But death is such a common thing in these times that it is easily overlooked. Death can only be understood by looking at the great life that the Light has given us and understanding it to its fullest. I travel with my students to the humble villages of Lordaeron tucked away in the rolling countryside, to the generous farmers with a culture of inviting neighbors over for dinner, to the bustling, prosperous port town of Southshore. They meet friendly souls and admire the land. It is an enjoyable experience. Then I show them death. I show them the festering ruins of Andorhal, the ever-burning memory of Stratholme, the pestilent, diseased image of the Plaguelands - and above all, the gaunt, staggering, shambling visages of Lordaeron's former citizens. The villagers. The farmers. The families. The merchants. It is then the crusaders understand. They know what it means to have the Light's peace among living men, and they know that it can be taken away at any time, leaving a horrifying shadow. This is the legacy of Lordaeron. Its lesson to us is death. If a crusader can understand this, then perhaps the millions of souls that have fallen to the Scourge will not have fallen in vain. -Grand Inquisitor Isillien