Kreol was not a good man. Kreol was not honest or honorable. He cared for no one's well-being except, perhaps, his own.
He was a fearless warrior; that cannot denied. He dedicated his life to  war against the Ancients, and Greyland was merely a weapon in that war. It's good that he waged this war. It's good that Greyland became this weapon. In a way, I'm grateful to him for that. But he doesn't deserve love or respect for it.
I could call him a golem, created for war, devoid of any other feelings. But that would be too charitable to him. He was a sapient individual, capable of making decisions of his own free will. And he made decisions a golem would never have made.
He killed eleven protesters in the square in front of Promontzeri Tzaruka. The very same square where Kavron the Cautious is now planning to build the memorial that stirred such a controversy. I support Kavron, because we must all remember that event.
Kreol could have simply ignored the protesters. He could have, for example, put them to sleep; such a great sorcerer wouldn't have had trouble doing that. He could at least struck them with weaker lightning, causing instant pain, to frighten and even punish, but not to seriously injure or kill.
And for what? Because they considered him a cruel tyrant. By killing them, he proved they were right. By using his power, he proved he didn't deserve it. Are these the actions of the ruler of our new Greyland? Or the actions of all his demon-worshipping predecessors?
Kreol destroyed the old system of power, the rule of the most powerful sorcerer. He destroyed it both literally and metaphorically, by proving once and for all that strength does not make a person worthy of power. (This is not, I must emphasize, a call for political reform. I am not declaring that I resist the power of the current gray cloaks. Although, as everyone knows, I support the elective status of the twelfth seat. No, I am merely emphasizing that power demands responsibility, that strength does not give even the most powerful sorcerers the right to do whatever they please.)

It is absurd that children walking the streets in green and white suits, who cultivate friendship, honesty, and care for the weak, are called "Kreolites" when Kreol himself was completely devoid of these virtues. "Young Sorcerers," if you think about it, was a far more logical name. (I am not suggesting we return to this name, of course, which was used by the Cthulhuists. But perhaps there is a third, neutral name that would be more accurate.)

We are the new Greyland. The Greyland of the Light Gods, not the Ancients (though those who know me will remember that I don't need any gods to believe in our ideals). A free Greyland. An honest Greyland. We are not the Greyland of Kreol, never have been, and never will be.

Everything good we, the people of Greyland have, is thanks to Vanessa the Sudden.
Well, of course, not everything we have. But at least 70 percent.
(Shamshuddin the Black was also a wonderful and kind man. But not a proactive one — he helped when asked, but he didn't seek opportunities for it, didn't think about how to help the country, didn't travel to the satrapies to understand what was harming the people and what needed to be changed. Didn't cry "the people are suffering and i cannot bear it".)
Vanessa, of course, wasn't omnipotent, nor omniscient, and not right about everything. Some of her reforms didn't improve life in the country, but only made it worse (if you're interested in the details, read the interview with Kaykedral Garbage from last month. Although he isn't right about everything either, that's a separate topic I'll write about another time).
Some of her mistakes were the inevitable result of her failure to know in the past what the future will hold. Some were the result of a lack of wisdom perspective. But on the other hand, no one with greater wisdom and perspective than Vanessa could have done what she did. And that's why I'm so grateful to her, despite her mistakes. After all, little is better than nothing, a job unfinished is better than a job not started.

Except for one thing. Namely, the wedding. That same Vanessa's Wedding, which has become a byword for absolute excess and waste.
It is said that, according to Vanessa the Sudden, her wedding was the only significant thing she spent resources and effort on to please herself, not to help others. I agree that she had every right to do so, and it would be foolish to blame her in any way for such a decision, in and of itself.
But, River with no Bounds, not that kind of wedding!
I was at that wedding; I was nine years old.
I didn't see everything, and I don't remember everything, but even what I did see seemed incredibly stupid to me. I remember the wine fountain, which people kept falling into, and was incredibly difficult to drink from.
If Vanessa had simply announced, "There will be ten thousand bottles of wine, and everyone can take as much as they want," I think she would have impressed even more people and saved money.
After all, the country was preparing for war! I understand that Vanessa, like Kreol, Hoboken, and many others, was only present in Greyland at all during the war preparations, and then disappeared or died in the chaos in Lang, and she had no opportunity to celebrate outside of wartime. But still, the country was already extremely short on money; if she had decided to spend even a tenth less on her wedding from the national treasury, it would have certainly saved hundreds, maybe even thousands of lives, because the country would have had slightly more resources. I don't think she wanted hundreds of deaths. It was simply one of those mistakes made due to a lack of perspective.
I say this because, as someone dedicated to the truth, I cannot speak of Vanessa's deeds and achievements without mentioning her mistakes.
But still, I repeat, almost everything we have is thanks to her. Many don't understand this, remembering only the most striking and visible moments. The wedding, the limited magical powers, her bizarre statements. Many think that life in the country improved of it's own when the Ancients were defeated and we were blessed by the Purest Dame or The Only.
People overlook the important but quiet details. Economy. Urban development. Land distribution — after all, with the land reform, Vanessa didn't simply transfer resources from one hand to another, made some wealthy on the expense of others. The total quantity of wealth and resources increases through more efficient use. The fact that anyone with talent can become a sorcerer means not only that anyone (such as me) can gain wealth and respect — it means there will be more sorcerers in Greyland, they will be able to do more, and our lives will be richer and safer.
Bicycles and street lights, finally. Most don't realize how much these simple, not at all magical tools have improved the lives of ordinary people.
I believe Vanessa the Sudden deserves to be called "Saint" far more than Kreol, whom Ishtarians call that. Though many thousands of other inhabitants of Greyland deserve it more, too.
(I emphasize, to prevent the outrage of those especially religious: I do not deny that Kreol was the Fourth Messenger. He was a man of unique abilities, sent by the Purest Dame on a mission to protect and destroy evil, spread her word, and, in the long term, make the world a better place. This does not contradict everything said about his personal character. The word "saint" can have many meanings, but if it means "one to whom the Purest Dame has granted power," then Kreol is not a Saint, which does not prevent him from still being the Messenger.)

I hope that many, like Vanessa, will work to make our country even more grand and beautiful than it is now.
It is good that a Destroyer, like Kreol, destroyed the old world. Let his role in history be limited to this, allowing a new world to be built by those who know how to build, not just destroy.

Grow wiser, and seek the truth.

Raz the Secret, white cloak, February 5, year 7166 from Eeva's Descent.