"A Matter of Cleanliness"

by Purrcy Wyndedrake

Why is it that this land is treated like a garbage dump by its inhabitants? Yes, I am Prydaen and I cannot fathom the lack of cleanliness of the races that inhabit this land. We kept our land clean. We respect the land, its beauty and its bounty, and even carried that sentiment into the Hubs. But no, not here in the eastern lands. Everywhere I go, all manner of people drop their refuse wherever they stand. And it matters not whether in the wilderness or in the Hub, this place is littered with trash. We Prydaen are used to living in the wild, but some, the Priests, kits and others, lived in the Hubs. We kept our Hubs clean for all to enjoy, making it pleasing to come in from the wild.

Pollution in the land is getting worse with each passing day. The Crossing is filthy. I tried getting into the Provincial Bank the other day and literally had to climb over a pile of junk, just to get inside. There were strongboxes, and chests, coffers and trunks. Littered about were cobs of corn and broken silver chains. A worn and ragged backpack was hanging on the bank door handle. The place was a mess. Once I negotiated the pile of trash, I made it into the interior of the bank, and what should my eyes behold, but a bucket in which to deposit refuse. It was empty, of course. I was fed up. My ears started twitching and I lashed my tail in anger.

I decided I was going to do something about the mess. I exited the bank and started picking up the trash. First the chest and the trunk. I took them into the bank and dropped them into the bucket. When I went out again, I found two more trunks dropped on the bank's steps. I picked them up, headed back into the bank and dropped them in the bucket. Out once more and I picked up the coffer and the strongbox and put them into the bucket in the bank's lobby. On my next trip out, I noticed I was being stared at by the people standing outside the bank. It was like I was doing something horrid by cleaning the place up. This made me angry. I picked up the backpack, corn cobs and silver chains and started into the bank. Just then a well dressed man exited the bank and threw an envelope on the ground. It was all I could do to control my anger. If I wasn't an Empath, I probably would have slit him from groin to throat with my claws. As it was, I hissed at him and spit, picked up the envelope and took it inside to the bucket with the other trash. The area in front of the bank was finally, though temporarily clean.

It took me awhile to calm down. I usually don't get angry. I'm really a very calm individual. But tell me, why is it so hard for people keep their Hub clean? Why is it so hard for people to keep the lands clean? Why can't they put their trash in the proper receptacle? I've looked around the Crossing. There are buckets and barrels for trash all over the place. Use them. We need to get all the Rangers together and have them Beseech the Wind all at the same time. It might just clean up those that litter, along with their refuse. Now that would really clean up the Crossing once and for all.