A Letter to Minuvas on Malinism

[High_On_Math 449]

 

Spoiler

[!] The following is a letter written only to Minuvas.  U cant meta game readin it.

Minuvas,

       All beings have a tendency towards religious reverence of someone or something.  As creatures created by God, we have an internal recognition of His existence and a longing to give devotion to Him.  However, as the various faiths of other cultures have developed, we find ourselves placing this devotion in other beings.  Haelun'or is a prime example of this phenomenon.  They purport to be rational atheists or agnostics, and yet they idolize Larihei to the point of insanity.  I do hope you have not forgotten God, and that you shall put safeguards in place to see that Malin does not become to Ebonwood as Larihei is to Haelun'or.

     Just as Malin reverence shows promise to bring all elves together, as Malin is the father of all elves, the common worship of God shall bring all beings - all that exists - together, as God is the creator of all.  Furthermore, I believe a society centered around God shall be the most moral one.  For beings strive to be like those they idolize.  To idolize Malin is to idolize an imperfect elf, whom we do not know precisely what he would do in any given situation.  To worship God is to worship the creator of all things, whom we can understand through both reason and revelation.  Rather than asking ourselves what a mere man would do, we should ask ourselves what God would want us to do - for though the former is debatable, the latter is always clear.  We ought to put the highest, most rational being on the pedestal in our hearts.

      As is written in verses 12 through 15 of the Scroll of the Spirit:

 Would you worship fallible men? 13 The greatness of GOD is in His fullness and His purity. 14 But your stories raise men up with GOD for their power or their virtue.

15 Shall I worship the strong man? 16 Shall you worship the tallest among you? 17 No, for the glory of GOD is not in mere magnitude, but in His fullness and His perfection.

     This being said, having a populace that reveres a mere man can be useful, provided that you keep this reverence in check so as not to get out of hand.  One can place one's own words into the mouth of a dead but revered man, and thus influence a society.

      

      Descendant's religious instinct is in conflict with their instinct of self-preservation.

      I have noticed a wretched phenomenon amongst older elves.  The pain and sorrow that has piled up in some of their minds over the years grows to a breaking point, when they forsake moral values altogether, forsake logic, or forsake life itself.  The idea is simple:  Elves are finite beings, elves can only withstand so much trauma, elves have a lifespan that allows them to experience more trauma than they can reasonably endure.  Humans, however, die early, preventing them from experiencing the full force of this phenomena.  Thus, it is humans and, to a lesser extent, other descendants who must take on the trauma.  Elves have their own responsibility.  They must seek peaceful lives while also devoting themselves to wisdom, and they must impart the gifts they create back to humanity.  Each descendant race must accept its differences and assume a unique role in society.

     However, most humans would be livid upon hearing this idea, for they do not want to die for another race.  Many elves, too, want to pursue hedonism and a live of intense violence instead of logic and knowledge.

 

     We find that descendants have dueling instincts.  On the one hand, they have an instinct to blindly follow dogma, following illogical and even immoral rules for the sake of their blind religion, and on the other hand, they have an instinct to preserve themselves and to follow their desires even when contrary to true moral law.

 

     What you must do with fi'Eldari culture is this: Give Ebonwood a legendary figure to serve and follow - blindly if they must - but never let Malin reverence get out of hand.  Behind the scenes, someone must be reigning and directing fi'Eldari culture such that its reverence of Malin leads it to pursue morally true laws.  Not everyone is sane enough to forsake blind worship and follow rationality.  Those of rational minds must take it upon themselves to guide the faiths of the irrational towards rational outcomes.

 

     Fi'Eldari cultural beliefs can be irrational, but you must be ever careful to not let their praxis become irrational.

-Luthriel