To Find Wisdom
From Atlantic Roleplay Wiki
Title: To Find Wisdom
Author: Perianwyr, tr.
1. The Balance. The world we live in is in a constant state of turmoil, always in flux. However, it also contains a great system of order, both natural and constructed. It is the play between these two elements that creates all of the richness of our known sphere of existence. Order and chaos, dark and light, evil and good, it is between the poles of extremity that the world thrives. And it is the place of every conscious being to recognize and uphold this essential facet of existence.
2. On Order and Chaos It is a fundamental aberration to love order and law to the ultimate destruction of chaos, and also an aberration to hate structure to the ultimate empowerment of nihilism. One must recognize the base of all human morality: the aforementioned balance of views and means. For it can be said, the more law and order in a place, the higher the population of thieves and brigands. An overriding love of organization, while embarked upon and sustained with only the best intentions of elevating one from his essential state, can destroy the essential creative impulse. 3. Darkness and Light Darkness is the attribute of the unformed, the signature of infinite potential: most myths of creation see a great deity taking all he needs from the blackness of the void, to create all that is. Even the very genesis of human life occurs in the living blackness of the womb. Whereas Light is the definition of that infinite potential. We do not know what treasures lie in the deepest caves until we go down into them with torch in hand to illuminate and utilize what is there. Chaos is useless until focused, as even the finest metal in the world will never make anything unless the metalworker lays tools to it and builds. Light is the tool, darkness the raw material. 4. The Seekers The wizard can be seen as a fundamental catalyst for creation: for the mage's will and knowledge are, in concert, able to meld and warp the very fabric of existence. Those who study the arcane are in a unique position to understand the genesis of things, and their infinite potential. However, any who have the inclination and the will may follow the path of a Seeker, as the world has many facets to grasp. Thus the Seekers look to indulge the essential curiosity of conscious life, and bring back the fruits of their labors with the very stuff of creation and existence to the human world as a whole. They are the light brought down to the deepest cave to show what potential can be drawn. Thus do they adhere to these tenets:First: the Seeker is to search out knowledge, and to freely give of that knowledge when he is questioned by other seekers, so as to enhance the entire span of thought, and to aid the work and leisure of the others who share the world of physical existence. This may include the material assistance of another who is just beginning a quest for knowledge, or has become temporarily deprived of the means by which he seeks fulfillment.But the Seeker may aid in any way he sees fit.Second: The Seeker is to attempt to rationalize and understand his actions. To achieve this end, however, he need not be detached from the sphere of moral existence, be it for good or evil, since the Seeker, even with his heightened understanding, is still possessed of a body and mind, with all of the glorious advantages and frustration that may entail. But he must know why he commits to the actions that he does! For within the sphere of existence lies the sphere of human emotion as well... and the Seeker ignores this at his peril, as well as to the detriment of his understanding of the wholeness of the world and the many things it contains.
Translator's Notes: This book is a loose translation of a tome found in the Lycaeum, which was originally in a rarely seen dialect of Gargoyle. With the help of an expert in this dialect, I was able to piece together the text recorded here. Many things had to be determined by context, and as such it is not a completely word-for-word version. Some sentences may seem slightly unwieldy, but that is mainly due to an effort on my part to make things slightly more understandable. As anyone who is familiar with Gargish knows, it is often a difficult language to deal with due to its extremely flexible grammatical structure. Also, some Gargish sentences flat out do not make sense when translated word for word. For more information on Gargish, I highly recommend Ben-Tas' "Comprehensive Gargish".
-Perianwyr Stormcrow