The Art of Existence

For a person is more than the thoughts and deeds they manifest as they are alive. The ripple caused by a waterdrop carries further, a tidal wave to some, a tsunami for those that stand close. Do not underestimate the consequence of your actions.

— The Scholar

The Art of Existence is a book filled with anecdotes, journal entries and further explained texts of the leaders of Aradeian society. Its contents are loved by many and referred to by those who aim to expand their own self to what lies beyond. From personal experiences to philosophical escapades, it provides the reader with a multitude of approaches to life, existence, resurrection and death. It expands on the religious and scientific approaches to mortal and immortal existence and gives perspective to what every being fears most - disappearance.

As these texts were gathered, many protested against the book's publishing, in fear that it might compromise the importance of religion and the significance of immortal and mortal independence. Still, many have taken the teachings to heart and lean towards a holistic view of life. If mortal and immortal life coexists, the obstacles in Aradeian life can be overcome. Only then, the peoples can be united and work and breathe as one, living in harmony, without war and pain.

This article shares a selected handful of quotes and anecdotes in tribute to all those that were mentioned in this book.

As my eyes fell onto the cloudless sky, I felt the stars brighten under my gaze. Every glimmer resembled the blink of an eye, every breath of wind resembled the air flowing through my lungs. I am the sky, the sky is me. My heart beats with the heart of the core, my soul cries with the tears of the arcane flow. There was no word spoken, no arm wrapped around my shoulders. With the memory of my dear companion fresh in my mind, I rested my head on the grass and closed my eyes.
Death coexists with life, life coexists with death. We move with the flow of centuries and halt with the beat of time's drum. Expecting the world to stand still when our world's stop to turn, and yet, we keep on breathing, keep on fighting, keep on yearning. It is the thought, the memory, the voice in your head that seizes to exist. Those that we have lost haven't been lost at all. As long as the thought exists, no person is forgotten, and with each memory we share the individual lives on and time becomes irrelevant.
We are time. Time is us.

— The Hermit

Beyond the mortal perspective, there is the view of the Elders of Elethien and the view of the Fathers and Mothers of Stone. The first one to be shared is that of the oldest Elf that was willing to share his texts with Lorlan mortals - Sylvaneth of the First Order.

So, what do you expect of life when life is never-ending?
I have seen the rise and fall of empires, the birth and death of species, the growth and decline of populations. I have seen it all and yet, life never lost its spark. Every being carries new information, new ideas, new concepts. Similar to others, yes, I cannot deny, but a new breath arrives with each that wanders this earth.
It is true, however, that many lives blend into one, and soon, the memories you form distort into patterns, to harmonies. There is no fear left inside of me. Not the fear that I see in a mortal eye. I know no panic, no surprise. I see the world as an artist's palette, a collection, a gathering of colors, waiting to be selected, mixed, transformed.
The world as we know it is bound to these colors and we accepted them, made them our own. Immortal life cannot exist without mortal life. We depend on the green, the new of the dying. Without new seed, without the critters of this earth, the old trees will rot and wilt.

If someday my death will arrive, I will accept it with open arms and greet the very roots that my life was built on. I will forgive my shortcomings and I will leave behind the pains, the faults and the times unused and untaken. Our lives are limited. We may return, but not with the face we know or the eyes that mirror our soul. We will vanish in the depths of the dirt beneath our feet, buried inside the very earth we claimed was our own.

Accept the pain and face the fears of your existence. Their presence is merely a blink of who you are. Step forward with pride. Be firm in your beliefs. Be strong and be mindful in a world that is constantly changing. Embrace the new. Let go of the old. Choose wisely what is worthy to stay in your life. Our soul perceives what our earth provides. We just need to listen to its voice.

— Sylvaneth

Underground, day and night have no meaning. Time is relative. Emotions fade away. I have wandered these halls for all I have known, only one time having seen the light that the mortal races yearn for. I understand their excitement, their fire when they talk about the sun. My kind prefers the warming glow of the hearth, the familiar smell of charcoal and ashes and the enticing gleam of embers in the air.

Our songs are everheard and eversung, our voices loud enough to rumble the earth. We don't know the fear of the young folk, we don't need to fear the death that lurks inside the shadows. We have lived enough, drank enough, ate enough. No feast was too small, no night forgotten.
We spend every day with the certainty that death is imminent. It is everywhere, just waiting for us - but we do not care for it. We live with every breath. We fight and we work and we pride ourselves in who and what we are.

To all of those who read this, I ask you this:
Why do you regret? Why do you falter in the eyes of your own demise? Why do you crumble under the pressure of non-existence? If you want to face the inevitable end, make your life worth the time you spend for it!
Do not give in to the temptation of acceptance! Do not waste time on the pressures of your peers! Do not prove right the ones that taught you wrong!

Strengthen your mind. Shield your soul. Armour yourself against those that want to harm you.
You are neither weak, nor are you hopeless. So act like it.
You have only one chance at life.

— Goregrim, Father of the Second Stone