Philosophies of the Novice Part 1

[Griegor McVennor]

Author Commentary: This section is intended to be a philosophical discourse on events affecting Wessex or Mortal Online in general. It will also be a philosophical discussion on events covering a range of subjects such as in game politics, war, thievery, murder, Church of Soldeus beliefs, and anything else that catches my fancy. Enjoy it for what it is, but look closely for commentary can always be found regarding the beliefs of the character and thus the man playing said character. The first portion is dedicated to describing the character or perhaps it describes the man behind the character. It is up to you the reader to think and decide for yourself. All philosophy has meaning but to each person, the meaning and what he can discern from it belongs to him alone.


A Novice of the Church of Soldeus sits at a table of the Inn putting to ink his thoughts as quickly as they come. Some have said that the combination of a priest and a philosopher are incompatible and corrupt in the eyes of Soldeus. Some of the even more ultra conservative priests have ventured to whisper that a combination of priest and warrior are impious and blasphemous in the eyes of Soldeus. Those who such things are considered both stupid and impious by the man sitting at the table doing battle against the parchment on the table with naught but his quill for a weapon.

In the eyes of Novice Griegor McVennor, the only thing more impious than a stupid man, is one who refuses to take up arms to defend what Soldeus granted his people. Indeed Griegor himself believed that all warriors must be philosophers for the mind is no less a weapon than the sharpest of swords. In turn, all priests must be warriors for Soldeus only helps those who help themselves. In Griegor's mind, the most pious way one can help himself is to ensure one stays alive long enough to spread the word.

Thusly, one can easily imagine Griegor did not quite cut the figure of a man of the cloth. Usually one thinks of a Novice as a skinny young boy eagerly awaiting the ministrations of his elders in the church. Griegor was niether skinny nor young, hardened by long treks through the land covered in ragged clothes and whatever animals skins could be found. Conversely, one usually thought of friars as slightly overweight in an almost comical way, good natured, and fairly pious men and pacifists to boot. Griegor was good natured and very pious but he was by no means fat nor a pacifist. Many days practicing with a sword and many nights breaking up brawls in the local tavern ensured that he was neither pacifist nor fat.

It can be stated as a matter of observation that Griegor look more like a warrior at the age of 24 than a priest in training. He was not tall for his race, being only 1.6 meters tall. (5.5 feet for those in other words). He was however, densely built in a way that could only be described as squat, powerful, or for the unkind resembling something close to a primate. His small statue and large frame gave the impression of a man who was not quite intelligent. Indeed his looks served as an advantage for he could move around ignored for the most part by people who considered themselves far more cultured. The truth is that he lived the very definition of a pious man from his perspective, he was a warrior, a pious man, and a philosopher all in one.

Griegor continued his scribbling while the occasional on looker barely noticed what he was doing. "What could that brutish man be doing," thought many? "Surely he couldn't be writing, he looks far too stupid for that" thought others. As far as anyone knew, stupid and ignorant Griegor was probably drawing pictures on the table for his own amusement. The tavern patrons quickly lost interest in Griegor. This was to his liking, it allowed him to collect his thoughts on parchment while listening for heretical talk. For people loved to talk and no more so than when massive amounts of ale or wine were involved.


To be continued.............

[Griegor McVennor]

Section I: Philosophy of Survival and helping thy neighbor

One of the central tenants of the Church of Soldeus is the imperative to assist thy neighbor in his time of need. Now of course we know that in the terms of the church thy neighbor and indeed thy brother are relative terms. The Church means thy neighbor as any of your fellow townsfolk. Likewise helping thy brother generally means helping your fellow man. It is generally assumed in the Church that we are all brothers under Soldeus except for the infidel unbelievers of course.

Let us examine for a minute the other tenant of Soldeus which is the responsibility to thyself. Generally the responsibility to thyself is both a spiritual and physical thing. Don't neglect your spiritual or physical needs or it will lead to a degradation of your spark. Thusly, if you cannot maintain your own spark, it is impossible for you to help your brother or neighbor with his.

By examining these two tenants we see that the responsibility to thyself takes precedence over helping thy neighbor or fellow man. Now let us also assume that by helping thy neighbor you also help thyself. Wheras helping thy brother or fellow random passing man is not helping thyself for most likely you will part ways and never see each other again. By that premise we can draw that loyalty and assistance to thy neighbor, thy fellow Duchy Member, or thy king or assistance therein would take precedence over thy fellow man.

So from the previous premises we can surmise the following.

1. Soldeus commands us to take care of ourselves first and foremost so that we can nurture our own inner spark.

2. Soldeus also commands us to help and be loyal to our townfolks, Dutchy members, our church brothers, and our nation above anyone else.

3. Soldeus further commands us to assist fellow man but not when it is to the detriment of ourselves. Indeed one should be wary of assisting anyone not catagorized in the second statement. Generally in this day and age anyone not in one of the aforementioned groups has no such loyalty to you and will quickly end your existance while reaping the benefits of your labor.

4. Anyone not in the aforementioned groups is most likely an unbeliever. Soldeus commands us to bring the unbelievers to the light. Anyone who refuses to see the light is not to be trusted and should be considered fair game as they are outside the premise of helping thy fellow man.

5. Finally based on all the above, we can see that Soldeus really means that only the believers should be assisted by the faithful. Thy fellow man only describes those of the faith who are not directly related by blood, living in the same town, or a member of the Duchy or Church. Anyone outside those guidlines are the unbeliever and we are thus commanded to assist them in only one fashion. That is to hasten their departure from the world of Nave.

Let us recap shall we?

1. Be true to oneself first
2. Be true to your Duke, Church brother, Wessex brother, or towns' member second.
3. Anyone outside those categories will act to the detriment of yourself and your neighbor thus is an unbeliever and must be scoured from the land.

So Soldeus commands, go forth and extinguish the unbeliever from our lands.

Griegor McVennor
Novice of his Excellency the Bishop Malachi Drake
Philosopher both moral and martial

Edited by Twyster Stronngust; 03-13-2010 at 03:53 PM. Reason: Malachi Drake, note spelling.

[Griegor McVennor]

Section II: Philosophy of the Friar

It can be stated that the rolls and responsibilities within the church are many. Of course the head of the church is the role of the Bishop. The position of Bishop being one that requires the most piety and responsibility. The lowest role in the church is that of the lowly friar. To be technical about the matter one could claim that the Novice is the lowest position within the church. We must discount the Novice as a formal position since a Novice is still learning and has not yet taken the vows of the church.

Soldeus commands that men aid thy neighbor so long as is doesn't cost you your own inner spark. Indeed it is the job of the members of the clergy to spread Soldeus's radiance to the further reaches of the world. It is my belief that the role of Friar is paramount in this regard. A friar is quite literally able to spread the radiance of Soldeus in more ways than even the Bishop. That is not to say the Bishop isn't part of the process. The Bishop himself of course determines what friars go were and administers directly to the people of the capital in their spiritual needs sometimes.

The Deacons and Priests of course have their responsibilies as well but thier roles are also limited. Deacons and Priests are generally static in geographical areas that they are assigned to administer to. There are of course exceptions based on the jobs they are doing at those ranks. Most notably of those exceptions would be the role of Inquisitor. The Inquisitor's job of course is less about spreading the word of Soldeus are more about destroying the hidden corruptions of men in our fair country. Though they do have free resign to wander as their job demands.

No it must be considered a truth that friar are the most robust in terms of spreading the word of Soldeus. A friar is the basic foot soldier of Soldeus in the fight to tend the sparks of men. Friars are the wandering men that spread word far and wide to the corners of the world. Friars as well have the advantage of being fairly well traveled which allow them find common ground with foreign people that a Deacon or Priest possibly could not. Common ground or culture is one of the first things to open a foreigner to the radiance of Soldeus. Indeed I believe a Friar would be far more successful in this task than most of the higher orders of the church. That is not to say that this is a bad thing. As stated before, each member of the church has different roles and responsibilities.

One could ask the question where a Deacon or Priest may be found? The answer would be of course in their church or traveling with the army. One could also ask where the Bishop may be found? The answer would be of course with the ducal court or giving a sermon from the Cathedral. Then one would ask where a friar could be found? The answer is everywhere a man could be found, be it behind rock or tree, in a farmer's farm house, or perhaps musing with his fellow man in the local tavern. For where else could a man of the cloth subtly open the minds of his man to the truth of Soldeus without so much as one Sermon to drive them away?

[Griegor McVennor]

Philosophy of Rights to Rule:

My Brothers, sit back with me and have a drink while I deliver to you my latest sermon. Yes good people of the tavern it's no longer simply a philosophy I bring to you. Humble Griegor is now a friar in the Church of Soldeus. Being a friar does not preclude me from coming here to deliver more of my humble ramblings for the benefit of my friends and fellow men of Wessex. I should think that becoming a full friar now obligates me to come to this illustrious inn more often to share my knowledge and musings for the betterment of my fellow man. As it is written, one of the obligations is to help thy neighbor, and what is more helpful that to educate and amuse one's neighbors over a pint?

Well my brothers let us speak today of the Nobility's right to rule. Your common villein or even occasionally freeeman will of course grumble and ask what gives a Nobleman or Knight the right to command the common peasant or to tax him for his hard work. Well first we must ask ourselves what gives the peasant the ability to grumble and grouse and continue his daily work without the distraction of having a sword stuck in his back? Your average villein or freeman is good as a great many things. Artistry, farming, hunting, fishing, metalwork, and even laying the foundations of a church for example. Your average freeman or villein is not good at things such as thinking, ruling, and most importantly fighting. This isn't meant as an insult to my common man. It is simply a matter of observation that freeman and villeins are so good at their crafts they simply don't have the time to persue education or spend hours a day training in the skills of lance and horse.

One could liken peasants to sheep. They have their uses and are good at them, but they are dull minded by the very nature of being sheep. They are incapable of defending themselves and the shepherds who do defend them sustain themselves at their expense. Now if you put the sheep in charge naturally they would elect not to be clipped or to be eaten for that matter by their masters. They would of course elect this because they know that every day they will be clipped and one of their number will inevitable be eaten to sustain their protector. Sheep being dull as they are would ignore the long term consequence of the winter wolves gorging themselves of them fleece and all until none remain. Thus we see that sheep are stupid and shepherds of course manage and protect them from ultimate destruction throughout the year.

Peasants spend all their time working their crafts and paying their taxes to the Nobleman of which land they reside on. They of course have neither the time nor the inclination to spend their time learning how to fight and have not the money to educate themselves sufficiently to learn how to rule.

Nobleman of course are the opposite of the peasants they rule. They bravely sacrifice their time learning how to fight and rule their people. A nobleman does not have the time or luxury for learning the arts and crafts of the world. They must sacrifice all else and assume the mantle of rule. It is a drearly life of little emotion and a forced mask of constant wisdom and courage no matter the circumstances. They sacrifice themselves for the protection of their people. It would be a wise peasant that remembers this thing.

Please brothers simple remember this simple concept. Like the gentle sheep, the peasants support the Nobleman and Knights so the peasants may be kept safe from harm and free to live unmolested by the evils of the world. Sure you can elect to leave and never be under the rule of a Nobleman or his protections, but such a life is short and messy indeed.

Go with Soldeus
Friar Griegor McVennor