Guide Ranger Orphie Dradius revealed the existence of a formerly unknown Guild of Homins fighting the kitin threat at a meeting in Dryon recently. He reminded us all of the threat that the creatures still pose.

 Here is the text of what he had to say:

Greetings Homins and thank you for attending this meeting at such short notice.

Firstly, we would like to introduce ourselves to you all, many of whom we recognise from our travels around Atys.

We are the guild of the Rangers of Atys, and we have one main intention: to free Hominity from the Kitin threat for ever. My name is Guide Ranger Orphie Dradius, and I am the current leader of the Atys Rangers. My colleagues here are the Grand Quartermaster of the Order Melga Folgore, and Officers Wilk Potskin and Han Kiou, some of our finest fighters and scouts. To start, I wish to give you a little background on our order:

I am sure many of you have, in the past, seen our members aiding the refugees that still need help and direction when they are ready to attain the new lands, but the Rangers have always had a greater purpose which I wish to explain to you.

The Atys Rangers were formed in the aftermath of the Great Swarming, from some of those brave Homins who fought alongside the Karavan to protect Hominkind from the Kitin onslaught. We have never believed that the Kitin War was ultimately won however, and Rangers have continued to watch over the Kitins, eliminating their scouts when necessary and documenting their habits and movements so as to be ready to help the Homins of Atys when bad times come again. The Kitins are not defeated - merely pushed back for a while - and it behooves us never forget the disasters of the past. The Rangers are hand-picked and highly trained in their self-appointed task, and very little Kitin activity takes place that they are unaware of. As an order we are constantly planning and replanning for the eventuality of a new invasion, and ensuring that the races of Homins would be safe when this finally occurs.

We believe that as Homins of Atys you should put aside your internal struggles and unite in the face of the threat you face from outside. Your gods are causing dissension and strife amongst you all and the peoples are losing sight of the true enemy of all homins: the merciless and unfeeling Kitins. If such divisions had been ignored in the past and all Homins had united to fight the great swarming, how much different might history have been and how much more might we as a people have accomplished?

Homins, I bitterly regret that we now bear bad news for you all. This is why we have decided to show our true purpose to you at this time, after many years of hiding in the shadows to enable us to scout unseen and unheard the threat that is always stalking our lands.

For their own selfish purposes, the Kami and the Karavan have stirred again the Kitin threat in the old lands!

Our scouts in the Prime Roots have discerned that there are mass waves of high-ranked Kitin troopers beginning to gather in the old lands of the Almati Woods, agitated and rewoken to their hatred of Hominity by the frenzied activity of the temple builders. How reckless and how foolish are your so-called Gods? The whole land of Atys is now in danger and none of your homes and families is safe.

We have worked through the long years of rebuilding, hoping but doubting that the Kitins were beaten, only now to have them regroup in huge force. The Kitins have been disturbed by the unconsidered actions of those who should have known far better and taken more care in their protection of Hominity, and we will all have to deal with the consequences of that and its effect on our fair lands. So now we have but one choice remaining if the deluge is to be averted – we have to act as brothers in arms and fight together to end this threat once and for all. We must put aside all thoughts of hatred against our own kind and unite in this grand task to save our race and our future. If we do not do this now, from the reports of my brave scouts none of us here assembled will have a future, save only one of total war, attrition and death.

Brothers and sisters, do you stand with the Rangers against the Kitins? One day we hope to welcome many of you to our ranks, so prepare yourselves for the tasks ahead and you too could bear the proud and ancient name of Atys Ranger!