Level 3

[whats_a_paladin]

[1] I've been wondering about something.

The Tome of Wisdom is my most important possession. It describes the eight Virtues of the way of Paragon. Understanding those Virtues and mastering them leads to enlightenment. Anyone can follow the way, but there is a catch - the Tome is written in an unknown language. Only those who are unhappy with their current state of being, those who seek improvement and guidance, can understand what the words mean.

Anyone interested in trying to read the Tome of Wisdom? You could think of it as a challenge, or maybe a way to find something new about yourself.

[2] [Raynor is busy working on the damages to the Paragon, and while he's doing so, he's listening to another power metal song. But this time, he's doing so on headphones. As a side effect, he's humming it to himself.

If you can call that humming. Not only is it pretty loud, but it's absolutely wretched. His sense of rhythm is awful so it sounds nothing like the original song, and every other note is either missing or a false one. His attempts at lyrics sound like unholy screeching more than his normal voice, and individual words are almost impossible to decipher.

Stop this travesty?]

Comments

1

[sunshine_maiden]

[From the infirmary comes a hail from a somewhat unexpected source; Sora is still seriously injured, and at the moment under even more pain medication than she was before, after being seen to by Letriel. She focuses for a long moment to get her words sorted out.]

I would be interested. Part of the reason I'm on the Chalice in the first place is to discover who I am, and the answers I've found so far are only part of what I'm looking for.

[whats_a_paladin]

It's likely you'll be able to read the Tome, then. Alright, I'll bring it to you soon.

[And soon he's there indeed, with the ancient leather-bound book in his hands.]

Do you want to read from the beginning, random page, or a specific chapter? There are chapters on each virtue: valor, honesty, compassion, honor, justice, sacrifice, spirituality, and humility.

[sunshine_maiden]

[The girl blushes.] There are... more than a few of those I need to work on. Apparently sacrifice isn't one of them, though; it's what landed me in here.

I think I'd better start from the beginning. If I can make progress toward who I want to be, I won't mind the reading. That is a thick book, though.

[whats_a_paladin]

Well, if we all already mastered all the virtues, then the Tome would be unnecessary, no?

[Raynor sits down next to the bed and opens the book at the prologue, which describes roughly the ideas behind the whole system in general. Each virtue is a combination of some of the primary principles: truth, love, and courage. Valor is pure courage, Honesty is pure truth, compassion is pure love. Honor is courage and truth together, justice is love and truth, and sacrifice is courage and love. Spirituality is all three together, while humility is the lack of either, but without any of the accompanying vices. Rather than a set of strict rules, each virtue is a guideline - something you have to understand on your own and then follow in spirit, not in letter.

That's the gist of what's written there. But can Sora read it?]

[sunshine_maiden]

[Sora spends a moment reviewing the information in front of her; to her tired eyes, it feels almost like the letters are shifting into place, but they're there all the same.]

...that tells me a lot already, actually. I'm better at some of these than others, but that's probably because my underlying stuff needs work. I denied myself for so long that my personality suffered for it.

1

[gurrenbrigbonded]

[Let us start a Moral Primer Book club!]

"The Remembrance and the Codes the Founder lay out already guide my life perfectly. As long as I follow their tenants diligently, I face no doubt..." Matthew says loftily, copy of the Remembrance in hand.

His eyes idly glance at the pages of the Tome.

2

[fallen_overlord]

(Letriel is holding her head in pain.)

Dear Almighty! Are you trying to make a sonic recreation of the end of the world?!

1

[inneedofasmoke]

[Hey Raynor. There's someone here. Someone no one else would have suspected. You probably would have heard of him by reputation as the foulest human being on the ship... which begs the question... why is he here?]

Enlightenment huh? Sounds interesting.

[psychosemantics]

Oh, hey, that sounds pretty interesting. It'd be fun to see if I'm really not happy with what I'm doing or not.

[[Zatonichi would like to read the book!]]

[whats_a_paladin]

Glad to see just the prologue gives you some food for thought. We haven't even started reading about the specific virtues yet!

You denied yourself, in what way? If you don't mind me asking.

[whats_a_paladin]

That's good to hear too. It means you have a purpose of life.

Yet still, you're looking at the Tome's pages. Can you read any of it?

[whats_a_paladin]

Huh?

[Raynor takes off his earphones, confused.]

What do you...

...

Oh, I see. I was humming, wasn't I.

[whats_a_paladin]

It's more than just interesting... It can be a way of life, if you let it.

[Yeah, Raynor is kinda surprised about this guy, but he's not going to say no.]

Which part do you want to try? The beginning, random page, or a specific chapter? There are chapters on each virtue: valor, honesty, compassion, honor, justice, sacrifice, spirituality, and humility.

[whats_a_paladin]

I thought you can't see. Will you be able to read anything?

[gurrenbrigbonded]

"From what I heard you describe, I should be unable to read it..."

Matthew's voice trails off as a he takes a gander at the book.

"Huh."

[inneedofasmoke]

[Luger almost snorts derisively. But he seems to force it down for some reason.]

Just... flip to a random page. Just hearing about probably won't do much for me.

[Maybe it was the realization that things were coming to a head for him... maybe he was just looking for a way to get away from those voices in his head... maybe he was just bored. Honestly... there was no telling why he wanted to do this...]

[sunshine_maiden]

Well... they way they're laid out here, it's almost like they're combinations of things, in balance. And I know that I don't have emotional balance at all. Even the things I think I'm okay at, I still flub half the time. So... maybe there's something in here to get me on the right path. I'm starting to finally get a handle on who I am... now I just need to shape who I am into who I want to be.

[She lets out a light laugh, though she stops with a wince shortly after.] I lived for a decade as a boy, to protect my older brother from something he wasn't healthy enough for. I changed myself so much... it stopped feeling "wrong". When I got my mecha, it wouldn't respond to me, because I'd gotten to the point where I'd started to think of myself too differently, and Desu units don't work for men. It's only recently that I've felt... my own gender again. [A wry smile.] It's odd, but it's nice.

[fallen_overlord]

Humming?! Calling that humming is an insult to music as a whole. I've heard blood curdling screams that were more pleasant to listen to. Please tell me you just butchered the song you were listening to because if it sounds like that...

(Letriel just shudders a little, unable to finish that thought.)

[psychosemantics]

Hah, you remembered!

Well, if what you say is true, then, it's worth a shot to see if it pops up in braille

[whats_a_paladin]

That... sounds like a very complex issue, and one that I have very little experience with. But I can tell that as long as you're not allowed to express yourself the way you see yourself, you won't be truly happy. And to achieve wisdom, you need to understand who you really are as well. You can't improve yourself if you don't really know yourself.

...Sorry, I tend to get overly philosophical at times. Want to read about one of the Virtues?

[whats_a_paladin]

Surprised? Did you find out something new?

[The Tome is open at the prologue for now, the gist of which is now going to be shamelessly copy-pasted!

Each virtue is a combination of some of the primary principles: truth, love, and courage. Valor is pure courage, Honesty is pure truth, compassion is pure love. Honor is courage and truth together, justice is love and truth, and sacrifice is courage and love. Spirituality is all three together, while humility is the lack of either, but without any of the accompanying vices. Rather than a set of strict rules, each virtue is a guideline - something you have to understand on your own and then follow in spirit, not in letter.]

[whats_a_paladin]

I'd imagine you'd enjoy listening to the screams of the damned.

...The song sounds nothing like me, don't worry. I love listening to music, but creating it is a different matter.

[whats_a_paladin]

Nobody is forcing you to do this, you know. Here, try this one.

[The page describes the virtue of Valor. Valor is pure courage, the determination to stand strong in the face of adversity. Valorous individuals will not let fear stop them from doing what they believe in, and won't waste an opportunity because they hesitated to act. Valor dictates to stand strong against your enemies, and escape only if doing so would cause no harm you could otherwise prevent.

Their courage and strength of will grants those who would master the virtue of Valor amazing physical prowess and skill. It's a virtue associated with action, first and foremost.

That's the gist of what's written there. But can Luger read any of it?]

[whats_a_paladin]

Now I'm curious. I'll bring the Tome to you right away.

Which part do you want to try first? The prologue, one of the virtues? There's valor, honesty, compassion, honor, justice, sacrifice, spirituality, and humility.

[sunshine_maiden]

No, it's fine... I had several of the same thoughts. So I've been trying to change, since I got here... it's been slow, but I think I've made a little progress. [She grins.] It helps that POTPOURRI completely ignores me otherwise.

Sure. Um... [Sora thinks for a moment.] Compassion. I want to see what it says about that. Maybe it and I have different ideas.