Early Fall Journal of Led, High Priest of Mondul
Life and death are two sides to one coin, and how they connect to each other is a paradox that few can grasp. Many would say they are opposites. Like heat and cold, light and darkness. But Glacies came up with a very interesting observation the other day about this. She's tasked herself with discovering the purpose of death as part of her training as priestess of Mondul. Her observations included that while we live we must eat and also while we live we remain warm. It's as if our bodies keep themselves at a proper temperature so that we can function. She spends all times of day and all weathers out on the walls of Mondul's temple. From the black of night in the dead of winter to the noonday heat of midsummer's day.
She has done excellent work on the walls, as well as organizing the other masons and consulting with Paulus over the design. But when we spoke last I put the question to her. It is a good question, that of how life and death are connected. Few in our little flock could have provided such an insightful response to the comparison between life and death and hot and cold. I believe her words were
"That, dear chap, is a whole heap of slag. Life and death are nothing like hot and cold. Hot and cold are opposites if I've ever seen them. You cannot have them at the same time. Either it is hot, or it is cold, but there is also in between. If I'm warm and spend too long outside in winter I get cold just like everything else. So there are degrees of hot and cold. Light and dark are the same. If you have a sealed room it is dark by the sheer absence of light. With light you have likewise varying degrees. But life and death... you are either alive, or you are not alive."
It was very interesting once you truly begin thinking about it. Cold is simply the absence of heat. Darkness is the absence of light. But death and dying is not the absence of life, necessarily. There are parts of us that continue on, that are, as it were, immortal. Not immortal like the elves, but as far as I can tell, untoucheable by mortal means. Our spirits are what I refer to. That which gives us the spark of life when united with our bodies. Death occurs when the body can no longer sustain life and the spirit departs the body, but that spirit does not die.
Of course, I do not refer to that abomination which is the undead. They are not alive and no foul magicks can bring them fully so. Where our spirits go and what happens after this life is what I've been pondering on while I work, now that I'm whole again. Bedrest is useful for thinking, but work clears the mind better than perpetually lying around. Perhaps that is why I drive the others so hard to work. That they may gain the vision of life through work. Or rather, of the significance of death as an integral part of life. I almost pity the elves. To be undying inherently must give them a terribly altered perspective of life. We shall do our part to bring them to an understanding. Paulus and Fre are surprisingly ... zealous of this concept. I would have expected more difficulty with them, but with our official policy being to sieze the caravan goods as part of the 'repatriation' program that King Tosid has instituted we only take it a small step farther.
I was concerned initially that bring death to the elves might be a mistake. What if they didn't truly have souls at all? But Mondul has enlightened my mind. Where there is life, there is spirit. Where there is spirit and body must also come death.
I digress now though, my intent in writing was also to clarify the events of these last few months that I've been laid up. I have precious little time as there is a vast amount of workable material with which to praise our goddess. I shall do my part in preparing for the formal consecration of our temple.
Work has progressed well. Glacies and her crews, despite some delays have progressed well and are preparing to begin capping the thing off. The pate or dome may well require a slightly different construction technique but I'm sure they can handle it. The other clan members have been busy working towards Fre's project and I heartily approve of it. Life outside had grown increasingly dangerous and I do not forsee it getting any better. Just last week the dwarven caravan arrived. We'd seen some activity to our north already and knew of two avar patrols in that region.
Imagine the trader's surprise when they begin heading across the bluff to find nearly sixty armed and armored avar and the same number of unicorns as mounts camped out. They managed to break through, though from what I hear they suffered the loss of a guard.
The masons up on the walls apparently got a good view of the action and were able to report. I was surprised the traders made it at all but apparently they had news to deliver as well, by order of the King himself. The head merchant was pleased to have shelter for their stay, particularly underground. So many outposts had cropped up that left their trading structures outside and unprotected. In any case it seems that our 'settlement tax' had been paid "by Lord Fahlstrom himself" out of Onol Lened's coffers. Imagine my surprise! Also, it seems that our settlement has been downgraded back to an outpost due to the report he submitted on us last year. We have numbered less than twenty for some time now. And according to him, our continued success in the face of 'siege conditions' that he himself had personally witnessed would ensure that we remain on the trade routes.
What I think he really meant is that they'd be more than happy to cart away all the odds and ends our foes bring with them. Which of course we obliged them with. In exchange for as much steel as they would give us.
Despite lightening their loads considerably, particularly since they didn't have to haul out all the metal for our 'tax', one of the merchants didn't leave our little valley. They lost him as they broke through the now somewhat scattered ranks of avar once more.
So, despite all that has happened it has been a very peaceful year so far and we've gotten much accomplished. With any luck we shall finish off the Temple exterior in time to dedicate the structure properly to Mondul at the end of next year. I can only hope all goes well.
24th of Moonstone (footnote)
Heh. Glacies called me up to the walls to watch the sight. The small army of avar to our north were being scattered all over the mountainside by a zombie Giant eagle who seems to have picked them out as a tasty morsel. Unfortunately the avar were to quick and the eagle never got any of them but it was still amusing to watch. I would have loved to see a unicorn carried aloft but no such luck apparently.
