Lura Syllana
It only takes a couple of days before we all feel confident and take the test. All of us pass easily enough and move on to the next level, this time taught by an Accepted man with light, sandy skin, dark black hair and average blue eyes. He’s tall and broad-shouldered, with narrow eyes and long, pointy ears. He greets us upon our arrival. “Welcome to level two. I’m your instructor and advisor, Meifinas. You’ll find the book you need in the back cupboards. Teachings of the Light, by Nostra Longswitch. To gain level three, you must understand and accept the core values of the Light. Any questions?”
After none of us speak up, he nods. “Then get to it.”
We all grab a copy and find empty desks. Upon opening it, I flip through it until I find Terel’s notes at the far back of Nostra’s book. But that doesn’t keep me from reading it. Nostra Longswitch is currently a Mother of the Light and a close friend of Sister Damaris. I should take her teachings to heart.
I spend all class getting as far as I can within the book, and most of what it talks about makes sense. Through the Divine Light, you will find salvation. The Light will protect your soul. It is best to live in the Light of the truth instead of hiding in a shadow of lies. Find redemption in the Light for your fallacies, mistakes, shortcomings, and flaws. Seek forgiveness and earn redemption. Commit no evil, seek no revenge, and speak no lies. Good deeds have their own reward. Keep the heart pure. Life is precious, don’t end it. Act with grace and humility. That last part must’ve been what Damaris mentioned to that high-born Sister.
Most of the book covers Mother Nostra’s own accords and experiences with Akrasiel’s teachings. She recounts the miracles and blessings Akrasiel has brought upon the people; His gentle and kind heart, still with a strong sense of justice within him. He spoke of how you should always forgive and forget, even if you know they will commit the crime again. However, that does not mean wrong-doers should go without punishment.
If a child misbehaves, then he should be held accountable for his misdeeds. If a man commits a crime, he should also be held accountable. However, the punishment should fit the crime. A child who steals fruit to eat shouldn’t receive the same punishment as a man who murders or rapes. Lesser crimes should receive lesser punishments if only to teach lessons. Execution shouldn’t be given out lightly. Only those who seek malice against those he calls neighbor and those who bring only death should receive death as a punishment. However, those who have murdered for self-defense or out of emotion should not be held to the same accord. Once a person has been held accountable for their crime, truly repents with their heart, and has made amends with those they have wronged, they should be forgiven and be treated as if they are a new person; the crime that was committed should be washed away as if it never happened.
The book goes into detail on how a person should behave within the Light. Describing how we should pray, eat, and treat others. Even the lowest of the low deserve the same rights as the highest of the high. A child of no home or family should be brought in and treated like a son or daughter without conditions. Children are the future, and if not looked after the future will not be so bright within the Light. The elderly should be listened to and respected. They have the wisdom of the cycles they lived through and one should take time to learn from them. Treat each elder as if they were your father or mother, for surely, they have earned your respect. Those who live without a home should be given shelter and fed. But give an elf the fruit of your labor and he or she may eat once. However, share with them the knowledge of how to harvest the land, and they will never go hungry.
Never act in ignorance or arrogance. Pride in one’s work is good, but pride in one’s self leads to arrogance. Arrogance leads to ignorance, and ignorance leads to failure and mistakes. Always be prideful about your harvest, but do not feed your pride to your ego for that will surely lead to your downfall.
Do not confuse joy with pleasure. Joy comes from within and pleasure comes from outside. Joy comes from the heart. You receive it when you act with compassion, love, gratitude, and have a noble purpose. Pleasure comes consuming that which comes from the outside of the body, but it lacks satisfaction and diminishes with every quench. Joy is the simmering coal that lasts a lifetime, and pleasure is a burning, raging fire that burns out rather quickly. With each raging fire, it takes more timber to gain the same flame, yet the simmering coals burn with the same heat for a lifetime. Joy takes little and gives much, while pleasure takes all and gives very little.
Find delight in moderation. Find happiness in work. The destination does not deliver wisdom, but wisdom is earned while on the journey. Mistakes and failures are not final, nor should they be avoided at the cost of success and victory. There is no greater teacher than the failures and mistakes of our efforts. They surely teach us lessons that are far more valuable than any success could ever bring. However, it is better to learn from the mistakes of others than to endure our own.
The Light shines within all of us, but some need a little more timber to feel it. Do not forsake those whose Light is dim, for they are the ones who strive where the Light is hardest to find and will help guide you through the darkness. Share with them your kindness, and surely you will find a friend in them when you are lost in the dark. Your Light will brighten theirs.
Do not let temptation be an acquaintance. For the lure of temptation is far greater when you let it whisper in your ear than when you are too far to hear its desirable words. Even the purest of hearts will fall to temptation when they let it speak to their own desires and vices. We are but mortals, and none of us live without desire and vice. In order to not give in to such things, we merely forsake them within our lives. Free your house of temptation, and you shall never fall to your vices. If you can’t see or hear the lure of pleasure and sin, you will not be tempted to give in.
Sometimes the darkness in our lives makes it hard to see the Light. When we lose the love of another, grieve for the death of a lover, or find sadness and pain where love and friendship once blossomed, we will find ourselves lost in the dark. It is okay to lose yourself in darkness, but do not let yourself live within the dark forever. Remember, the Light shines from within and from outside oneself. If you find yourself surrounded by the dark, just look within. Let your own Light shine and the Light of others will find you. Let go of that which keeps you in the dark. Let go of fear, grief, sadness, guilt, shame, and anger. They need to be felt within the moment but do not hold on to them, for they will swallow your Light and leave you in the dark. Instead, feel and let go of them. Embrace the pain and accept it. Only then can you understand that the pain is only temporary and it is a pain of love. Once you learn to embrace pain, it can no longer hurt you. Your pain will become your strength. Your shield. But do not let it become your anchor, for it will not let you go until you learn to let it go. When you break the chain that holds you down, you will find peace and relief once the burden of your pain is lifted off your shoulders.
The teachings all feel important and applicable. Some I wish I knew a long time ago. Some still seem a mystery to me today. I am glad I read it now more than ever. We all study together and go over what we learned from the book. Share it with each other and test each other.
—
The four of us have grown quite close. We’ve developed into friends from acquaintances. They are not the only ones either. Chalia has become one of my closest confidants.
I feel like I can tell her my secrets, and as I meet her back at our room, I decide to do just that.
“Hey, Chalia?” I say, biting my lip as I fidget with my robes.
“What’s up?” she asks, as her eyes meet mine.
“Remember the first day we met and I told you I wasn’t exactly a low-born and you asked what my family name was?” I ask, avoiding her eyes.
“Yeah, you said you weren’t supposed to talk about it,” she says as she takes a step closer.
“Well, I feel like I can trust you. You’ve been the closest thing I’ve ever had to a sister,” I say, meeting her eyes with a genuine smile from the bottom of my heart.
She returns it in kind. “I feel the same way.”
I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Well, my last name is Syllana.”
My breath catches in my throat as her eyes go wide. “I’ve heard of your name. You’re one of the noble houses that was ostracized and stripped of name and title for being loyal to King Volodar after he abdicated. Many like your family wanted to raise Prince Faelar to the throne, but the council, along with the Golden High Elf Trading Company and many other noble houses were fiercely against it.”
“You’re not telling me anything I don’t know,” I say, letting out the air I’d been holding in.
“I’m sorry about what happened to your family. It is a shame about all the houses being ostracized for being loyal to the royal family. Most of the common people are still loyal to the Morric family. He brought us stability and spread the wealth. Ever since the Council and the Golden High Elf Trading Company took power, many have fallen into poverty, and the gap between the rich and the poor seems to have grown too far.”
“Trust me, I understand. My family lost everything. We lived in Tent City before the rest of my family were sold as slaves.”
Her eyes grow soft. “For the Light… That’s awful. Why?”
“It’s complicated. I’ve been trying to save up coin to free them, but I lost everything when I accidentally used magic and was arrested for it. They took all I had,” I say, leaving out the part about killing Phraan with magic. No one needs to know those things.
She puts a hand on my shoulder. “I will give you what little help I can offer, but I don’t have much. I lost all I had after my father passed away.”
“You don’t need to give me anything. It is my responsibility to help them,” I say.
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