Deoch Mass 7-31-2019

It is an honor to stand here, giving praise to Deoch once again.

Let us worship together the fire of inspiration in the full light of the moon with the knowledge that some things, once gone, never come again.


When we first dreamt as Aislings, we all took our first anxious steps into the Mileth Crypt and hunted the nearly harmless pests while we learned to walk in our new form. From there we all took on roles that best suited our skills and personality: artists, preachers, combatants, teachers, politicians and writers of all kinds. Each of us forging our unique story that could only be written here in Temuair.

As we grow older our stories get longer and we make appearances in the stories of others. The desire to keep writing new chapters gives us genuine meaning to a continued life. Each contribution another link forged in an unbroken chain: a community that extends back an unthinkable sixteen decades. The legacy of our people: the Aislings, the people of stories.

There is a chance you may see a few old faces around Temuair in the upcoming days; Aislings of legend, renown for their incandescent Sparks. Hear their tales and their stories. You will find that they are no different than you. They too swatted at mice and spiders while stumbling their way through the crypts. But, they wrote their stories long and they wrote them well and for that we revere them so highly.

Many have said that Temauir grows dim, that the Light has all but left these lands completely. As a matter of numbers, it is not entirely untrue. We have lost many of our brightest peers to time as they close their books and set their quills down forever. But do not lament the nature of things. It is inevitable that the sun must set. If Temuair is to slowly fade into the dark, then it is up to us that remain to light up the night.

It is said that as Danaan is the sun, Glioca is the moon. In this way, it falls to us to emulate Glioca, to be a reflection of the brightness that came before. As the moon, we have basked in the Light of the Sun, reading and learning from the stories written by our forebears. Now, we must continue them in a way that only we can.

The legacy of our people, the unwritten parts of the story, falls to us that remain. Light up the night with the fire of your inspiration and we will continue the story together.

(Words as written, not as delivered)

Deoch Mass 7-24-2019

It is an honor to stand here, giving praise to Deoch once again.

May you embrace that which makes you an Aisling, the gift of Deoch and the Inspiration you have fostered within yourselves


Deoch has blessed me with a life of inspiration. Not only that which has come forth from my own Spark, but also an endless bounty from other Aislings expressing their inspiration in countless ways.

The older I get, the more steadfast in my devotion to Deoch I become. And with the perspective looking back on a long life has granted me, I can see that my connection to Deoch’s gift has been refined quite significantly over time.

When I was young, I had little control over it. Often times it felt like a freshly tapped geyser erupting out from the ground, the inspiration for new ideas came faster than my ability to bottle them could muster. Oh, how blessed I thought I was! With countless half written parchments for projects partially finished before inspiration lashed out so fierce that I had to turn to a blank slate and a new idea.

Many ideas were put into action without proper refinement as I was so intent on finishing one thing and immediately moving on to the next so I could do as much as possible.

It has been with age that I have gained consideration. I came to learn my younger self was not blessed by Deoch with limitless inspiration that was being washed over me. No, I was instead a foolish glutton that was gifted an open well and decided to submerge my face instead of drawing from a cup. I still had my fill, but so much potential was wasted in the process.

In my youth, inexperience and inability to moderate became exhausting. Drenching oneself in inspiration without proper control leads eventually to fatigue. I have both experienced this myself a few times but also seen it happen to countless others. The wellspring of inspiration is not an endlessly replenishing resource. Over exert it without consideration and the well eventually draws empty. Many creative Aislings are lost in this way, they try so many things so quickly that their Spark can’t maintain it. They end up becoming disconnected from Temuair for a time… or forever.

I have been there myself. Disappeared from Temuair for ages and returned; with a well that is replenished. Luckily, time has granted me patience. The patience to savor each sip from the Deoch’s well. To give each flit of Inspiration its due consideration and full attention. To thank and praise Deoch for his bounty and not just mindlessly become drunk with it.

We are all here today because of Deoch and his contribution to the Aisling Spark. Repay him by using his gifts wisely. Our community is improved by inspired Aislings making their mark over a long period of time. Make every draw from your well count.

(remarks as written, not as delivered)

Deoch Mass 7-10-2019

It is an honor to stand here, giving praise to Deoch once again.

May you embrace that which makes you an Aisling, the gift of Deoch and the Inspiration you have fostered within yourselves


As we know, Deoch has been known as different things throughout time. During his servitude to Chadul, Deoch was the god of Debauchery. And, of course, we praise him now for being the god of Inspiration and Creativity. But there is one thing Deoch is occasionally called that you may not have heard yet.

Outside, you’ll see a very old, dilapidated signpost that points at this temple and says: Temple of Deoch, God of Rapture. It is an old view of Deoch, one that existed as a way to bridge the contradiction between his former nature and his current one.

You might ask: How does Rapture bridge Debauchery and Creativity?

When it comes to Debauchery, Deoch’s link to Rapture was entirely physical. Deoch’s Debauchery was unbridled and sinister. Among his many temptations, Deoch used his dark magic to craft fruits that were the largest and most colorful Temuairians had ever seen.

Deoch welcomed all to feast with him, tempting the Dark’s embrace to those willing to turn away from the Light. Those that did so found that those fruits weren’t only as flavorful as they looked but once eaten they gripped the body in a perpetual state of ecstasy. After one bite they could think of nothing else and the more they ate, the more lost they became in their own minds as their physical pleasure took priority. With the promise of more fruit, the enthralled practiced depraved rituals of the flesh to Dark powers with lecherous abandon. A rapturous but ultimately damning arrangement for those foolish enough to engage with a god of Darkness as the magics eventually warped them beyond all recognition into true beings of Darkness. Thralls of Chadul.

Like many things, when Deoch forsook the Darkness, this link to Rapture also changed.

When Deoch completed the Spark in Danaan’s absence, he performed what is still the most unthinkable union: a harmonious melding of Light and Dark energies. This act was the apex of creativity; an accomplishment so inconceivable that it transformed Deoch into the god of Inspiration.

Surly Deoch must have felt it in that moment, just as many of us have felt it at many points during our lives. The rush of mental triumph, the pleasure of a unique and creative endeavor being fulfilled. Something that only we, ourselves, could have created given form by our hands. This is intellectual side of rapture. The spark that flits from a simple idea and grows into a flame of elation inside of us as we bring that idea into creation.

This connection to Rapture is the mythos that was created to explain Deoch’s dual sided nature immediately following the birth of the Spark. The one that tried to explain how a god can transform so completely that he becomes unrecognizable to his former self; that there must be _some_ connection between the two. It has never been a widely practiced view, but it is a view of Deoch all the same and, as with all things, something to think on.