Here is the sermon:
A years worth of the days of Yliakum has passed since I at last surrendered my claim to the Octarchy forever to pursue a religious life in the name of Laanx. More than a year has passed since the night it rained within the temple. That night Laanx cleared the temple with a mighty wave of his hand casting myself and the greatest of wizards and warriors with ease from his holy place. That night Laanx and placed in my heart a faith unshakable though all of Yliakum fall. I have worked tirelessly since, to build the faith and to improve the community in various ways. In the Vespers service to those who are new to Hydlaa or even Yliakum and in helping the young to find a place for themselves, a great deal has been learned. It is now that I am moved by Laanx to speak on these lessons.
As men and women starved and dying for want of food we stumble blindly and grope for sustenance where there is none. We drink the water up and will fight one another for the last drops. This is how it is with us when we mistakenly feel the God’s are Silent. When the Azure Sun is in eclipse, fear rises up in our hearts. Isolation is the beginning of corruption, and secrecy is the open wound of the spirit and it is as bare to Laanx as a Lemur babe. The corruptions of our spirits are a fire that if unchecked would set ablaze the stone itself. The theme that emerged in my meditations was Isolation vs. Community.
Which of us has security from the rages of the gods? Which of us has not seen someone laid waste by providence? Who among the atheists can say they have not seen things beyond their comprehension? We do not know when the Death Realm’s gate back to life will be forever closed to us . . .We do not know when the gods will take from us all we have gained, yet we cling to our possessions like a Megaras heaping dung in the corners of its cage, and angry when the keepers come to clear it. This perpetual state of inevitable loss should teach us the folly of gathering, collecting, and hoarding. One should rather gather those things fate cannot take from us, the community of friend’s alliances and history that we build together.
Just as the people of Yliakum universally seek those ancient and gloriously crafted silverweave weapons and often thereby miss the qualities of other weapons entirely, we miss out on much of our community when we focus only on our guild, or our mining, or our tria count, how agile we are, our prowess as duelists, our many trophies for competitions. When we do these things we are single-minded and alone. Our world is much bigger than these narrow interests.
Let me speak now on what I have seen of those new to the city and how they are sometimes treated. My spies, and yes I have them Yliakum, some of my training as a youth to hold office is hard for me to let go of, have sat at Harnquists’s to observe how those new to Hydlaa have been treated by those more established and the news is often disparaging. If a visitor does not seem to understand the local customs, lore, and etiquette of Hydlaa they are often ignored. How much more isolated could one be? To find yourself in a foreign city and surrounded by alien customs, and not only are you unaware as to how to bridge that gap, but those elders more able to help you integrate refuse to even speak to you. To the credit of the good people of Yliakum my spies have also seen great acts of welcoming, and for this I praise the community. Every new person can be made a boon with patience and care. If you do not have these attributes in your soul all I ask is that you send them along to the church. Many now holding positions of responsibility to this community, and involved in many guilds, got a start with the Vespers.
The tendency we all share to pursue only our own bliss is a seal we wish could be air- tight. This person focuses on his mining operation, that one on her guild, another on his gambling house, some consider on distant woods, some enforce, protect, guard, seek knowledge, or steal. Comfortable in a singular and distinct role, all of us concentrate on myopic details hoping details will act as salvation from the greatness of the cosmos. Each of us shall share the air. You will hear their shouts whether they are a lad looking for his first sword to begin many days of aiding city rat control, or an officer seeking out the truth or some sense of justice. An elder greeting a lost friend, someone shouting of a fire, the voice of the multitude shall invade your private life and break the seal you created around yourself.
Those elders who grow world weary and sew themselves into wombs of their own devising, may sit and dream of other worlds snapping back to consciousness only when the gods have revealed more of Yliakum to them then back to dreaming. Awake I say, open the doors to your house! Birth yourself again unto Yliakum and share the wealth of knowledge and experience your many ages of life here have given you. Share the lore. Enter into the many discussion forums provided for talk of these matters.
On a sadder note, I have heard that Proglin’s tournaments are dieing out, this is emblematic of all the problems I have discussed. Varying opinions about how our world should be ought not to diminish options to someone as fundamentally vital to this community as Proglin. I say as both a competitor and community member that any pressure levied on Proglin to desist is in essence a blasphemy against this community. Why is there an arena if there are no tournaments? What should a small fraction of folks care if other people make themselves mighty to compete? Proglin and his tournaments are a bright light in a dim room. Such joys and exhilaration I have not felt as watching and participating in Proglin’s Entertainments. The entertainer’s events create community, the largest cross-section of people cooperating, beyond all guild lines, beyond good and evil that I have witnessed in Yliakum was in support of Proglin’s events.
All of this brings me to another point which I feel isolates individuals and hinders community, Envy. Which of us has not felt that twinge of smallness in the face of other’s success? Which of us has not held hatred in our secret heart as one we cared for chose another as their mate? Who has not scorned those better off than themselves? Why should it matter to us if someone else is successful? It should not. Yet it does. Those of us who would like to build community rather than destroy or undermine others from the shadows must keep the shadow of envy in check. We must control that shadow, and the best way to do that is to learn from that which we envy. Adapt great people of Yliakum learn from those who have made themselves great, those who have made themselves wealthy, those who have made themselves strong in the ways of might and magic.
Let us focus now on what we agree on, that the world of Yliakum is beautiful and bountiful, and that our life here is intriguing and stimulating, that there is cause to thank the gods or even existence for making possible this land, and that the future looks very bright indeed. Let us thank the makers and lore masters, the heads of guilds and the lost youth. Let us advise as much as possible, and report the problems we see on the streets to the proper authorities. Let us remember to reach out a hand in peace to one another as often as possible and bridge the gap between the old and the young of Yliakum for its greater glory.
We the Vespers thank the many who have aided us along the way and now humbly remind all that the process is ongoing and that the needs are great. May Laanx blessings find you all in shadow or light. The collection plate is being passed be as generous as you are Noble.
