Response to "The Lessons of Edvard"

[Askuzai 505]

 

A response to Initiate Jexton’s writ on Edvard

 

I will first address the things that you have said and touched. Aye, you are right that we see him as a reminder for loyalty to one's friends, family, and allies; But he is also a reminder to not be too wrathful without a just hand. For all men he saw were enemies, those he opposed, the outsider, and his own people I do not doubt. All paragons have their lessons, but it seems that a fragment of the full lesson of Edvard has flown over your head. 

 

Response to Necessary Evils

Edvard was truly a man of wrath who plundered the land for his own gains while doubly shying away the potential for allies and friends alike. Surely what he did was necessary in many cases, but in many others did he falter into the unnecessary and unjust. The lives of a great many norlander did not need to be spent in the grand cause. A great many battles did not need to be fought to please the Allfather - But Edvard was blinded by his own wrath. And thus only made of foul judgement and saw every evil as necessary. 

 

As allies flocked to lands away from him, it became apparent that betraying one’s oaths is to be craven from your own choices, but all saw except Edvard and his reign was shortened by peaks of flames. You speak of necessary evils, but had thought the death of a mere daughter, a child, was the correct decision. There was no justice in that, there was no need, there was no reason, and that was purely wrath. As for the apostate’s son, they are too young to understand, they do not realize what evils their father had committed to have such violence enacted upon them, but, Death is not the only option for an apostate less they wish for it. 

 

Fear. Fear is something that all men experience, but will always fight against should they have the means to. As Keeper Gareth suggested, The Fear will fuel Courage. If a threat appeared on our horizon, something unknown, would we not sally out to fight against it? We are not haense, We do not hide behind our walls, We are Morsgrad. And yet, even without names, those who fight what they see as evil will be seen as the good, And the good will always have friends to fight with them. If it becomes clear that we are truly “Evil” in the minds of those around us; It is not hard for a “Hero” to appear and commit an act of True Evil, A genocide, as past nations have done against us that will be seen as Righteous in the hearts of the fearful. I do see your point in the directed use of such evils, But the reasons behind evil should not be without good point. For then you are simply verging on the minds of those who have found themselves in the Abyss. 

 

Response to Wrath

I see you describe the very being of the Allfather, Who is a god of Wrath and Justice, Edvard was the wrath without Justice or any good thought towards his actions; And for this his people had paid the price with blood and soot. Surely did his wrath lead to the end of his enemies as history had shown, but that was only in the beginning for history shows right after that it led to the prevention of his allies and any who wished to assist him. The downfall of a king and thus his victories faded to ash. He was a madman who his own people could not trust and his Wrath was a burden on himself, His people, and the Allfather. Edvard was a man of Wrath without control as you do say, but he was also a man without Justice. If he had this, he could have served his people better, but then what is Justice? Is it to burn everything that is evil? No, Nothing is black and white as a fire isn’t just Orange. It is many things, many colors, and many hues. Justice is found within thought and reason. People are to be served punishment for crime and injustice and not just for affiliations with the evil. For we all have corruption inside us that we must look inwards to and route out. Wrath is a fickle thing that can be very hard to control and thus it must be balanced out with great reasoning. One does not have to be evil to be Wrathful, as I have done, Much injustice has incurred my wrath in the past - and with justice - Those injustices were met with fury and were felled. They were punished rightly for the deeds they had done. The most recent instance of this was with Rosalia, Where the Chief of Eiriksson was to let them off merely without their faith and with their life. I did not allow this, For the punishment was unfitting, With Justice for the killing of High Keeper Solvi and Wrath as punishment for Rosalia’s misdoing; She was slung on that pyre and burned.

 

Response to Burden

I agree in the fact that what we must do is a burden on our souls, but we must trudge on as our ancestors did through the snows and blizzards of the day. A lot of things can be burdening, but we must not let the weight dip down and blind our sight. Our friends, family, and faith we can look to as an ease for these burdens and as a way of guidance rather than trudging through life by your lonesome as Edvard did. We all want our people to live, and our faith to succeed, we all want to be protected under the Allfathers light. But we do not need to be ruled by wrath and these burdens alone. We all make mistakes, as you did, but we must look inwards and correct them before the corruptions of the flesh begin to cause corruption of the soul.

 

You say that Edvard’s goal was to secure success and Security for the faith? No, That is incorrect, Edvard had only been looking out for his own ambitions, which is why he is known as the paragon of Evil as well as Sloth. His mistake was that he didn’t look towards the Allfather and only to his worldly deeds. During his trek up the mountain of Avar did he come to reflect that this sin was most grievous in his own soul. His walk was of repentance to find redemption from the Allfather, but all was already lost. His people lie dead behind him from his outward search of sin yet not inward, and this time, in a blizzard like that of Thoromir’s: There was no Allfather descending from the sky, There was no gift of light - of fire, and there was only darkness. Edvard had perished in that storm and had met the same fate as those sinners of the first days. To ash did he fall for his unjustified wrath. His attempts at redemption had been too late, but he did leave the remaining Norlanders with good warning, and good advice for what had befallen himself.

 

 “I’ve lived my life looking outward, for sin beyond my own soul. In doing so I was blinded to my own arrogance, my own wroth, my own failings. It is far more important to recognize the blackness residing in the soul of each mortal, of each child of the Father. For it is in this, unforgiving and constant self reflection, vigilance that delves into the depths of ones soul. That we find true salvation, true and everlasting freedom from the insidious grasp of the blackness that lurks in all things.” - Edvards Rambling, The Red Scrolls.

 

We must recognize our own failures and correct them. We must be steadfast in our belief. And We must not let our Wrath be without Justice.

For Wrath without Justice is a betrayal of the Allfather. 

 

-Keeper Chadmyr