It pleases me when Aislings take an interest in the past; in our race’s shared culture and history. We are, after all, in the twenty-sixth cycle since the dawn of Aisling kind. A lot of time has passed and countless Aislings have walked these lands during that time. I can imagine that coming to Temuair at this late age can be quite overwhelming with the weight of everything that has come before.
Oftentimes I hear advice given to new, inquisitive Aislings. They are told they must bury themselves in the libraries and read the works of those that have come before. It is only then that these new Sparks will be properly equipped to contribute their perspective to Temuair.
I can certainly agree that you should read the works of the most enlightened. Even us old Aislings have a deep respect for the wisest of those we walked alongside. So, by all means, read the treatises of the great Philosophers. Study the chronicles of the eminent Historians. And be enthralled by the imagination of our most skilled Storytellers. These Aislings have helped set the basis for continued debates and the stories we still tell to this day.
But I impress upon you not to allow appreciation to give way to worship and idolatry. Realize that just as you have, even the most enlightened Aislings were once stumbling around Mileth in peasant clothes, picking through the molds of the crypt. Understand that nobody is beyond reproach and not a single work in the library is unassailable. Just because something has been written in the past does not necessitate that it must determine the future.
Such rigidness is the domain of Gramail or perhaps Luathas. The creative spark shines brightest when possibilities are unshackled.
I tell you this: Do read the works of the past; allow them to enrich you, but do not slavishly attach yourself to every word that crosses your eyes. Even better, challenge accepted thinking. Shake the foundations of ‘accepted’ knowledge with the fresh perspective that you have coming into Temuair for the first time. Allow your fresh ideas and your fresh voice to rise above dusty tomes written centuries ago.
It is new ideas and novel perspectives that keeps Temuair from stagnation. This is why I still dream of Temuair, to see this very thing. I will look forward to the fresh thinking this generation here today brings to Temuair.
I count myself fortunate to have been blessed with both the inspiration and opportunity to make an impact on Temuair. It is important to remember that success in such things does not come easy or without hardship. Although we might try our best, we must accept that not every endeavor we embark on is going to be a triumph. Yes, there will be failures. And if you are lucky, spectacular failures. If you are wise, you will heed well the lessons that failure can teach you.
When something I worked hard to bring to life didn’t turn out how I hoped, I was naturally quite disappointed… not always at myself. My younger self was often misguided, prideful, and even arrogant at times. If I failed at something, I didn’t always look at myself first. Instead, I blamed outside factors and then continued on, forgoing the lessons that failure was so eager to teach. The recklessness of youth, perhaps.
Each time I encountered failure it became harder to blame others. Mistakes, lack of foresight, misunderstanding the people around me… I started to see my follies clearer every time they were repeated.
I remember perhaps my biggest failure...
I attempted to bring back the worship of Danaan and I wanted it to be a spectacle. My head was so full of lofty ideas that I completely lost sight of what mattered. To the casual observer, the gathering may have seemed a success. However, the reality was that I had badly misjudged so many factors and disappointed many people with the way I had approached everything. It was a devastating blow to the ego… perhaps one that I badly needed at the time.
After that it might have been easier to leave Temuair behind… and I did hesitate with that thought for a moment. But I did not. Instead, I opened myself to the lessons that such a debacle had earned me and I made myself better by confronting them. I persevered and I moved forward with a better understanding of myself.
In this journey to old age, I have tempered the brazen aspects of myself through much self-reflection on the mistakes of my past. My failures have made me humble and measured; they have given me a better understanding of my limitations and helped me refine what I truly want to accomplish in this dream.
If you continue to dream as long as I have, you will have many opportunities to leave your mark on this place. If there is any single piece of advice I could give, it is thus: Do well to accept your failures, learn from them. Take your newfound knowledge and grow yourself with it. For it is only when you are willing to accept change within yourself that you are able to bring change to Temuair in the way that only you can.
Frequently I sit near the Undine Lake and think about far away times. The other day I was remembering when friends from the first guild I ever joined in Temuiar, Vaillaire Cura, held a gathering on the newly discovered Lynith Beach. My memory is of a picnic where we sat on the sand and celebrated our growing friendship over various fruits and plenty of spirits. Mieri, CoriLynn, Kamshisha, Jherek, Gido, and Lybrae; how fortunate I was to have so many cherished friends.
For those of us that are quite long in our days, the temptation to dwell in one’s mind can be especially pronounced. It can be comforting to live inside a moment in time recalled as ‘better’. One of the gifts of age is having a large amount of treasured memories to look back upon: memories of youth, adventure, and of course romance.
Perhaps having many positive memories can be a curse if one is struggling to find meaning in the present, but that is not to say that the past is something to be avoided. There can be many comforts drawn from a look backwards.
I like to think back during moments of reflection, when I’m struggling for inspiration, or when I need a reminder about the worth of life. Those far away times are reminders of happiness, friendship, and love. When I need them most, these old feelings support me still.
The people from the memory I imparted to you no longer dream of Temuair, most of them a very long time now. You might think that looking back makes me sad or wistful… and certainly it can…but precious memories like these have allowed me to endure here in Temuair for as long as I have. Without these people and the time we spent together, I would never have formed the ties to Temuair that I did. It is from these memories of far away times that I draw strength and that has allowed me to be with you here today.
For those of you here that are aged Dreamers, think back on your past here in Temuair. About the people you have met and the friendships you have made. Think about the very real feelings you have felt while dreaming in this place. This is the proper role of the past; as a teacher and a companion that reminds you to savor every moment.
For those of you new here to Temuair, I encourage you to live well. There may be a time far in the future that you’ll look back on today for the inspiration to continue on. Be sure that the memories you make now are up to that task of inspiring a future you.
Greetings to you all and especially the new Sparks that have awoken in our little dreamland of Temuair these past handful of moons. It is a delight to see so many new faces here in this Temple today.
For those that do not know me… my name is Landon, a minister of Deoch. I have held this regular mass at different points over the past 200 years. First as assistant to one of my cherished mentors Carnaugh and then to our Temple’s earliest High Priestess Morrigan. Now I hold regular mass whenever Deoch’s inspiration finds me. For a time, I will be holding this mass at this time every double moon; I would be glad to see all of you here in the future if you can make it.
Now…
Here in Deoch Temple, we have a sort of oral tradition passed down from the first dawning. Deoch, as you may be aware, helped create the Spark… that is, the catalyst that attaches to our former mundane selves and births us Aislings into this dream. Whenever I come back to hold a series of masses, I tell this part of our shared history in hopes that you, too, will carry forward this legend and impart it to others. It is with your help that we can keep this old tradition alive here in Deoch’s fellowship.
This is the Legend of the Aisling Spark.
~~~~
Deoch was a shifting, shapeless being born of the Darkness. He held incredible power, much more than that of a normal Dubhaimid creature that crawled the lands at the time. He was one of the favored of Chadul and was deployed not to decimate the enemy but to tempt them -- to lure them to the side of Darkness. If Deoch at the time was a mindless drone like his lesser brethren or not, we do not know for certain… but nevertheless, during his mission he happened upon something unexpected that would change his very nature forever.
For you see, one day Deoch encountered Danaan seemingly by chance. She was cloistered away; no allies tending Her. She was alone, vulnerable, and looked to be calmly working on something that was taking Her full attention. Being the powerful force of Darkness that he was, this would have made a tempting target for Deoch but he did not take the opportunity to attack his vulnerable foe. Something instead compelled him to watch in secret.
What he saw was Danaan pulling threads of Light out of thin air and weaving them into something which Deoch could not see from his vantage point, but still he remained motionless. Transfixed by the Goddess engrossed in Her task.
For days... months... years... time passed. This time changed Deoch; Chadul called to him many times. But he did not answer. He chose to forsake his servitude to his Dark Lord instead of pulling his gaze away from Danaan and the mysterious work She had occupied Herself with.
Over a century had passed since Deoch ignored the call of Chadul until one day Danaan disappeared, mysteriously and without warning. In the years leading up to this, Her work had started to become frantic as if She was working against a deadline. Deoch, either through habit or cautiousness, continued to wait. But Danaan did not return. He slowly emerged from his hiding place and stood before the creation Danaan had left behind. It was a Spark of Light. Delicate in its weaving yet strong but… it was incomplete. If something wasn’t done, it would soon wink out of existence. The work Danaan had done would unravel and be lost forever.
Deoch knew he couldn’t let this happen; for he had come to love Danaan and this Spark was all that remained of Her. Filled with sorrow at the disappearance of the Goddess he started to work, inspired by the dedication he had been witness to for so long. Although he wasn’t able to see the full picture of how She had been weaving this creation, the decades he had been watching her outside motions… he was certain he could at least approximate Her design.
For us, it would seem not much but a blink of an eye. But in that moment Deoch spent lifetimes completing Her work. A delicate blending of style and form – two very different creators with very different energies – an impossible union of Light and Darkness. When he stepped away, satisfied with what he had done, Deoch thought back on his time watching Danaan and felt contentment for the first time. A brilliant flash enveloped him, rebirthing Deoch as the God of Inspiration for his role in giving life to Danaan’s final work: The Aisling Spark.
