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Date Posted: 08:42:47 11/13/01 Tue
Author: Corum and Erlic
Subject: Acceptance, ritual, and proverbial
In reply to: Laurel 's message, "Double standards?" on 16:02:17 11/12/01 Mon

(Reposted from the Alternate board)

Corum was enjoying feeding Tia, and being fed by her. Although he didn’t know much about the pretty elf, he felt comfortable simply being with her, and hoped that their companionship would continue. It never dawned on him to look at her as an object of a sexual nature, for that was a subject better suited for Marz rather than himself. He simply appreciated having a kinship with the female gender, even though deep down, he knew he was simply an everyday normal person, unlike Marz who simply drew all the women toward him, like moths to a flame.

But that was all right by Corum. His childhood, while somewhat loving at first, had proven quite the disaster, and if it hadn’t been for Yorik his mentor, the old man from the cottage, he would have never learned the traits he now had. He had met Marz, and that in itself had been one of the high points of his life. Here was a youth who took him as he was, and didn’t degrade him or ridicule him for any reason. Granted they called each other names, but it was always in jest.

Corum had met other people as well, but it seemed that Marz, Syn, a girl he had briefly met, Crystaline, the tree sprite, and now Tia, seemed to accept him for what he was, regardless of the fact that he walked around talking to a staff named Yorik.

Once they had finished eating, Corum listened with attentiveness as Ravin explained the traits a thief possessed. He had met the man many times, but never really got to know him all that well. When Brat approached him with the banana, and Tia made the comment that Brat needed to be babied, Corum was more than happy to oblige. He peeled the banana, and handed it to Brat, who took it gingerly, and started to feed on it.

Corum was a bit surprised to hear Tia ask if she could stay in his room this night. “Ah sure,” Corum answered. “You can sleep wit….in my room. I’ve got two beds so there should be more than enough room.” He didn’t know that he was confused, and he wondered if he had missed something. It seemed that Tia knew what she was talking about, and he wouldn’t mind it one bit if she kept him company for the night. In fact in would be a change.

“I’d like for you to stay in my room tonight,” Corum replied. “I’d like that very much.”


********************



Erlic was about to answer Laurel but decided to formulate his words carefully. He turned to Marz, to answer the youth’s question. “Go to your own room, and light one or two of these,” Erlic suggested handing a pouch over to Marz. “It’s incense, and will help you concentrate. Get into some comfortable clothes, put a pillow on the floor, and get into your meditation position. Practice your mantras, and I’ll be up shortly.”

Marz took the pouch from him, and Erlic looked at and what about me Tristan. “Yes, you can join him,” Erlic continued. “Provided you don’t deter him from his functions.”


**********************



Erlic stood up, poured himself some more wine, and walked about the room, formulating his words carefully. It wasn’t his intention to harm anyone, least of all his friends, but he felt Laurel’s words had a slight, and bitter sting to them, possibly regarding the recent conversation of thievery.

It wasn’t that Laurel was pointing an accusatory finger at him, rather it seemed that the profession he had declared to be in, seemed a bit unsettling to her. If she didn’t want to know about thieves, then she shouldn’t have asked about the profession. Her choice of words continued, at least in Erlic’s view, to attack the trade that both he, and Ravin had learned, and learned well. It seemed that she continued to belittle their line of work, going as far as to negate the usefulness of their kind.

Erlic slowly paced back, and forth, bringing up the words Laurel had spoken to him in his mind.

“So tell me, Erlic. If I had something which you personally valued, would you then proceed to simply take it from me?”

Erlic simply smiled at the druid. Although, she was attacking his very own nature, he didn’t feel obligatory to attack hers, for it simply wasn’t needed, at this time or at any other time. “In answer to your first question,” Erlic stated. “Let us just say that the type of work that I perform has left me financially comfortable. I do not steal for reasons to survive on a daily basis; I adventure to meet whatever my immediate needs might entail, and it is on those adventures that I accumulate enough to survive quite comfortably.”

It was true, the art of adventuring had a very high risk factor associated with it, but by the same token, there were many benefits that one normally wouldn’t find on a daily basis. With risk came knowledge, friendship, wisdom, and many other facets of life that eventually proved extremely very beneficial, not only to him, but also to his organization.

Erlic, although foremost an assassin, used his abilities to further himself, as well as that of his organization. Initially he hadn’t thought of the guild. It was only his extensive traveling through the world that eventually led him to meet a variety of people that possessed a variety of unique, and individualized traits. The conglomeration of said traits was what inspired him to rally those he had met, quietly of course, into a very large place where they could not only practice their trade, but improve on it as well.

“You speak as though you have no taste for civilized law and order, Erlic. The day that professionals such as yourself are allowed to practice freely their craft is the day that chaos rules us all.”

Erlic simply smiled at Laurel’s statement. “It is said,” Erlic began. “That some spiritual systems hold that a deity comes first. Therefore, they encourage obedience over perception; you have to know what the laws are, but you don’t have to know why. But the ancients taught a different perception of reality. They felt that the cosmos was great, but impersonal. There was no chance to influence the workings of time, and nature according to the wishful thinking of humans. Thus, the methods of one’s life are not ones in which one tries to conform with what a Big Mother or Big Father tells people to do. Instead, it studies ways to act wisely within a constantly shifting dynamic. This makes perception paramount. One needs to become sensitive, and experienced in operating within an always-developing set of surroundings. What counts then is neither dogma nor obedience to some divine ruler. What counts is perceptive action within ourself.”

Most people would have flared up at the druid’s comment about having no taste for civilized law, and order. Erlic, however, hadn’t been brought up that way. For every argument, there could, and always be a counter argument. Where most people would lash out at the person, others would simply employ whatever means they had at their disposal.

“Chaos doesn’t exist, except in the mind of the one that chooses to believe in it,” Erlic continued. “You always need two in order to perceive anything. We, as individuals, cannot perceive anything without having to use contrast. For example, can you see a picture that is white on white? Of course not. Therefore there must be a duality in order for balance to exist. All nations call it something different, but balance does, and always will exist. Everything in life we know exists because of distinctions.”

Erlic paused a moment as he reflected on a good set of words, something that could be understood, since many people claimed that he spoke in parables, or colored words, indistinguishable in their line of reasoning. It seemed the words of others always managed to find their way back to him, and he could only smile.

“No two people judge things the same, and therefore they do not have the same perceptions. Those who wish to change the world according to their desire cannot succeed. The world is shaped by the whole of everyone. It cannot be shaped by oneness. Try to change it, and you damage it. Try to possess it, and you lose it. So some will lead, while others follow. Some will be warm, others will be cold. Some will be strong, while others will be weak. Some will get where they are going, while others will fall by the wayside. It is always this duality that exists in mankind. The balance is, and always will be in existence, and nothing anyone does, can alter it. It is a part of everyday life, and not one can alter it. There are those that can try to persuade it for their own purposes, but always the balance will somehow return.”

Erlic realized that every individual had their own thoughts, and judgments within which to perceive what they believed life to be. While it was true that he had taken the lives of many people, he had, on the other hand, saved that many more lives simply because he chose to follow his own heart, rather than the words, and actions of others. Where the majority found evil, and degradation, he merely found actual honesty, and goodness. Who could be judge for such an existing life style? No one that he knew, that was for certain.

Erlic realized he hard probably spoken too much, and it was time for finality to rear its ugly head, at least for the time being. “Union is everything,” Erlic stated as he stopped momentarily to take a sip of wine. He used that moment to look into Laurel’s eyes to see what there was to see inside her. “All of us, in one way or another, desire to have a union. All of us search for harmony, and understanding that may otherwise be missing from our lives. The only way to this union is through union with one’s self. If, under the influence of daily stress, we forget or fail to be with this inner self, we are at our unhappiest, but if we achieve a union with our own inner self, then we have peace. Touching this inner self is not always easy, especially when our troubles are so distracting, and it is those troubles that usually market themselves into a world where unhappiness is so prevalent.”

“What do you truly see when you view your reflection in a mirror? Only you can answer that question, for no one in the world knows you but yourself. How you view yourself is also of importance. Perhaps you see happiness, longevity, hunger, passion, laughter, and danger. Perhaps you see devotion, sincerity, or possibly insight. Regardless what you view, you, or anyone else for that matter, should see something that is not only spiritual, but something that is goodness, and whole, and nurtured beyond all belief, for if one does not, then that person has led a non enriched, and unfulfilling life, regardless of their upbringing.”

Just as Erlic thought nothing wrong of Ravin stealing from the nobles, he also thought nothing wrong of Laurel’s views, and opinions about their lifestyles. Man, or woman, had their own individualized concepts of what was needed in order to sustain in life, and usually those who had no true idea of what life was about often criticized those ways. Erlic felt bad that he had displeased Laurel, but he had only told her the truth. Perhaps it was the truth that Laurel chose not to listen to, even though it could help her in the future. Truth was the hardest principle for anyone to adhere to; it often took time, and deliberation in order to fully understand its power.

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