From the Desk of Brother Azrael, Servant of the Temple, to the Office of the Supreme Inquisitor Maleficos:

Unity Day, First Year of the Reign of Captain-Astromancer Tahir Archelaus the First, Long May He Guide Us.

Regarding the issue of whether the play of young Master Eustace do Varr may stir up anti-vulpine sentiments, your servant believes it has been put to rest, as Master Eustace has been heard to say that he has no intention of returning to the stage, and that this play run has been cancelled. While recent events may have lent credence to notions that being of a vulpine appearance – regardless of one's place of origin and upbringing – is a harbinger of anti-social behavior, this whimsy of a young noble seems to be a negligible factor in any future developments.

As for an accounting of the night's events, your servant was there with his new assistant, Envoy of Lothrhyn, to observe the play. (As a side note, Envoy has proven to have a remarkable ability to retain facts of the most minute and insignificant detail, as demonstrated in the attached transcript.) Shortly after the point where the Spirit Mage Qing (a Rokuga of the Nagai Empire) released the doors with a summoned spirit, and most of the remaining patrons fled, your servant hastily left the premises. By the time your servant returned with a contingent of Guards, the battle had concluded.

Based largely on reports from other witnesses on the scene at the conclusion of the battle, your servant supports the hypothesis that this creature known as "Amaranth" was, in fact, some manner of golem or other magical construct controlled remotely by a more powerful force. In part, this was made possible by an organic entity referred to as a "Black Heart". This creature apparently survived the destruction of its host body, but when the curious Exile Envoy sought to investigate the still-intact head, it attacked her – possibly in an attempt at self defense, but it cannot be ruled out that perhaps this creature had the means to take control over a new body, and sought to do so. In order to save the Exile from the entity, Squire Zoltan Cambio of Delta Training Lance was compelled to destroy the creature. It then disintegrated quickly, precluding any serious attempts at further study.

The creature seemed to be most easily provoked by denying its identity as "Amaranth", and by insisting that it was actually another legendary creature known as "Amenlichtli". Purportedly, Squire Zoltan Cambio learned of a word in Aeztepan (a dead language), "Puppet", which was especially effective in infuriating the entity. That the entity could indeed be angered – and encouraged to behave in an increasingly careless manner – seems to further support the notion that this creature was in fact controlled remotely by a living, sapient being, rather than being a magical automaton.

Furthermore, if "Amaranth" was indeed connected to the documented "Kitsune" Exile that arrived and then died in Rephidim some two decades ago, there is nothing to suggest that she would have had the resources to find out about and then learn this obscure ancient language during her brief time on our world.

This is, of course, only of note to support a line of conjecture that assumes that this creature could indeed understand Aeztepan, and thus take insult at this word "Puppet" being used as an epithet. It has been recorded that the Exile Envoy Lothrhyn – who seems to know something of "Kitsune" – was trying to provoke the creature by insulting its tails. This, apparently, is a source of pride amongst these creatures, but it caused no noticeable reaction from the creature. It could be that the "Kitsune" was only concerned with Squire Cambio and Mage Qing – the two most significant threats, aside from a parting shot by Mage Kabril – but your servant believes that Citizen Envoy is not one that tends to go ignored by most parties.

The reality of Amaranth is no longer in question, and your servant believes there is due cause to consider an enforced quarantine of the Old Cemetery, and an investigation, in case there may be other entities of this sort to be found in that area.

Regarding the behavior of citizens and non-citizens present at the scene, your servant humbly submits that Squire Cambio, Mage Qing, Mage Kabril and Citizen Envoy should be commended for their parts in combating the magical entity and the traitors serving it.

However, your servant is concerned about a number of issues. First, it would appear that Mage Qing and Squire Cambio were aware of this threat before it occurred, and took steps well in advance to be placed in a position to fight it. Sources indicate that Squire Cambio was recruited by several Bazaar merchants to fight this entity. (They will be questioned as well, to find out how much they knew of this incident in advance.)

While this valorous conduct to fight threats to Rephidim is commendable, this incident also underscores the fact that they did not fully inform the Temple of this threat to the safety of the public, including several prominent citizens. Commending their contributions too openly at this time may seem to be an endorsement by the Temple of vigilante activities. It may be prudent to advise them to work more closely with the Temple in the future, should such dangers arise again.

Secondly, your servant has reservations about the loyalties of Citizen Envoy. Contrary to reports of her "child-like" and "naïve" nature, your servant finds her instead to be highly cynical and even disdainful of others, though this is well hidden by a hard-to-read alien face, and a seemingly neutral demeanor. Citizen Envoy has repeatedly made critical remarks about the integrity of the Temple, and has made statements in public that may be interpreted as sympathy for – if not actual endorsement of – the actions of the notorious would-be assassin, Guy Fox. Furthermore, she seemed to regard much of the unfolding events in the opera house with what your servant interpreted as an expression of disdain. While her heroic rescue of Master Eustace do Varr was most timely, your servant believes her to be too unstable to be trusted with Temple duties of a sensitive nature.

In closing, your servant is concerned that the Temple's current policy toward threats of a magical nature may need revision. While most users of magic on Sinai are constrained by concerns of time, effort, expense and limits on power, there is increasing evidence of more ancient manifestations of magic on Sinai that seem to be less restricted by such factors. Thus, a more swift response time to such threats may be required.

if asked for a suggestion, your servant would recommend the reinstitution of a special force, under direct Temple authority, dedicated to the discovery and neutralization of threats to Rephidim, of a special magical nature.

Thus closes this report by your humble servant, Brother Azrael of the Inquisition.