The runes resolve themselves into understandable text:

                                 %^BOLD%^Insights%^RESET%^
	It is probably impossible to classify the qualities bred in me 
that contributed to my success as an adventurer, but in these 
annals, I will attempt to do just that.  There is no doubt in 
my mind that towards the end of my adventuring career, one of  
the major contributing factors to my success was the experience 
that I had garnered over the years in dealing within and without 
the guild politics of the quintet of guilds I have had the privilege 
of being a member of.  Experience is something that can be helped 
along, but in the end it must be learned through trial and error.  
Eventually, should you study these words, perhaps you will be able 
to build a powerful guild about you and live your life as you see 
fit.  
	One of the philosophies that I have clung to dearly through the 
years is that of win/lose/neutral situations.  Every circumstance can 
usually be classified as one of these three to some degree.  It is 
up to you to decide which decisions you make will affect the outcome 
in a desirable fashion.  Intuition and the predictability of others 
should have great influence in how you should determine what your role, 
if any, should be in each circumstance.  I have found that it is usually 
best to intervene as little as possible and to present your arguments 
in such a way that your method, whatever that may be, appears mutually 
beneficial to both you and the person you are attempting to manipulate.  
If you are glib enough, it is possible to affect someone抯 decision before 
the choice is even given to them.  Life begins as win/lose.  The idea is to 
turn it into win/neutral.  Win/win situations are very rare.  Be wary of 
anything that is too good to be true.  
	An offshoot of this philosophy is the idea that one should 
always have a contingency.  Always have a secondary plan in case your 
first one backfires as no plan is perfect and you can never account 
for all the variables.  Random blind luck can foil even the 
best laid plans.  Overwhelming force is a term I have used quite often.  
	As far as building a guild goes, the most important 
thing to remember about guilds is that a guild that loses its leader 
is dead.  There is no possible way to continue a guild after the 
leader, and there is always only one person who can be considered 
leader, leaves or disappears.  Do not try to continue a guild by 
assuming command.  It is a neutral/lose situation, and failure will 
lower your credibility should you attempt to start a guild at a 
later time.  Instead of assuming command, start a new guild with 
similar goals.  That being said, I will now summarize my methodology 
of guild building.  
	The guild, regardless of its purpose, must have two things.  
First, the guild must have an objective, something that everyone 
involved in its creation was focused on in some fashion before the 
guild is assembled.  Second, it must have a core membership.  The 
guild core is very important, they should all be adventurers of 
considerable power that the guild leader trusts.  The guild core must 
be well rounded and stable.  Having half of your high command desert 
you after a month is no way to start a guild.  The core I started 
with was complete with a pair of specialized warriors plus three others, 
a priest, an enforcer with many talents, a devoted rogue, and myself.  
The five adventurers that made up the core were already close allies 
of mine.  It is a potentially catastrophic mistake to bring someone 
you do not fully trust on board as one of your core members.  
Kieryn made that mistake when she brought me on board and then made 
me her only active high commander of the Raiders.  This is why 
patience must be stressed when attempting to build a guild.  Making a 
name for yourself will help you to attract a group that might found a 
new guild, but open communication between the founder and the core 
is essential. "When the strike of the hawk breaks the body of its prey, 
it is because of timing."  
	The best allies are those that have been allies of yours from 
their beginning.  Keep an eye out for up and coming talent.  I had an 
ability to spot talent, Feyd and Daaku being the most recent examples 
of talent spotted and nurtured to grow into powerful allies.  Once your 
guild is off the ground, you will want to grow more powerful.  Be 
wary of your new members, as they may be attempting to infiltrate 
your guild.  Test them to make sure that their intentions are pure.  
	Regarding spies, I never found it worthwhile to send spies to 
infiltrate other guilds as they tend to end up as double or even triple 
agents.  Better to just keep your guild members exclusive to one guild, 
yours.  Regarding high command, don't make anyone High Commander 
that has even the slightest possibility of usurping your command.  A 
perfect example of this is Nightfall.  I'd see him removed from my guild 
before I let him be High Commander.  Naturally, he didn't want leadership, 
so that worked out nicely.  
	There is no substitute for experience, and you cannot deny 
experience.  Therefore, you cannot keep former High Commanders 
of older guilds down.  If you bring one of these into your guild, 
they should be given some measure of command as soon as they 
learn the ropes of your guild.  Gimli, had he stuck around, would have 
been given a position of some influence by the sheer weight of the fact 
that he is a former leader of a guild.  
	Regarding infighting, it is the one thing that can tear a 
powerful guild apart.  If you've built your guild correctly, any 
attempt of outsiders to incite infighting within your guild will be met 
with laughter, as hell would freeze over before your guild members 
would war upon each other.  The best way to achieve this is to have 
severe repercussions for any member who infights within your guild.  
	Regarding coup d'etat, I must stress extreme caution.  Only 
if you are a very experienced adventurer should you attempt to coup 
your guild, and only if two thirds of the guild are at odds with the 
current leadership.  To do this you should already be High Commander 
or of an equal rank.  If you can, initiate some members who you are 
certain will back you, and use only these members in the actual 
fighting.  Surprise is of the utmost importance in a coup, indeed, in 
any maneuver.  Therefore, don't advertise how unhappy you are with 
the current leadership.  Plan your coup with precision to the last 
detail, as anything overlooked could spell disaster, that being your 
exile from the guild.  The situation to be avoided at all costs is a split 
guild, which will mean heavy casualties on all sides, and will leave 
your guild open from attack from the outside.  
	"Predators hunt the old and sick members of the herd."  
Above all else, never ever put yourself into a situation where you 
can be humiliated.  Image is of the utmost importance.  If your 
guild members perceive you as weak, it can spell your end.  The same 
is true of your enemies.  If you can feign weakness, you can set an 
effective trap as your enemies will not often hesitate to strike at an
exposed member of your guild.  Always look for the best strategic 
advantage, even if it concedes a small tactical advantage.  "Good tactics
win battles, good strategy wins wars."
	These are the basic philosophies that I used to build my guild.
Of course there were other variables as well, such as making agreements 
with opposing powers that seemed fair but inevitably lent the advantage 
to us.  Securing several members that could slice through stoneskin like 
butter and depriving my enemies of the same members was also a plus.  
However, these strategies alone are not enough.  You must have savvy, 
patience, foresight, and most of all, you must treat each situation 
uniquely because no two situations are exactly alike.  Perhaps one day, 
if you are successful enough, you may feel you have the honor to expand 
upon the words laid down here.  

-Vethor, Legacy of the Crimson Daggers, 13 Renewal, 647 SG


