At the Shrine of War
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".. who're you?"
He then smirks.
"Ironic for someone who hides his face to call someone else a coward. Oh well."
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A helmed man approaches out of the forest smelling of foul blood and claps well said… I am back as I see no one is listening to your babbling I should let you continue as you are obviously doing more good for me then harm.. Keep up the good work and i would say practice what you preach... Coward.. Laughs hysterically and walks off See ya arounnnd! continued laughter
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The smooth-tongued and fleet of feet that avoid all strife and never defend their beliefs wreak more harm than the most energetic tyrant, raider, or horde leader
"Talking can go on forever, only making a conflict last even longer. Words are easily twisted, and can be used to corrupt anything. A sword or an arrow is quick, clean and has immediate results.
Wanting to solve conflicts trough battle rather than words is made out to be for savages, but why? Are constant snide remarks and veiled insults that civilised? Is twisting a man's beliefs until he gives in that much greater, that much more honourable? Is coiling and twisting until you can put a dagger into someone's back the mark of a greater man?
Arguing is pointless. Talking and running didn't defeat all the threats to Narfell so far, and it never will. Battle did. Words only offer protection while everyone believes it. It isn't the word of law that keeps people from breaking it, it's the swords of the guards that do it. If not, why do towns have guards?
The bottom line is that those who can't fight and kill will always be at the mercy that can. It doesn't matter if you're devoted to 'good' or 'evil'. If you have the strength, and Tempus' favor, to get your way, you will get your way. Whether you like it or not, that's how the world works. Diplomacy has no other purpose but to learn your allies and enemies strenghts and weaknesses. Trade has no other purpose but to bolster your resources. Politics is dogs snarling at each other because non of them are strong enough to overcome the others. In the end, everything is gained and kept by the sword. And this is how it should be."
And with that, a long series of different sermons ends.
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Consider the consequences of the violence of war, and do not wage war recklessly.
_"Narfell's had its share of wars, and they've usually brought change with them. But they also bring suffering and death with them. No matter how honourably you fight, you will hurt at least someone in the process. That's simply how it is. Like they say, you can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs. But just how many eggs do you need to break? You don't need to smash the entire hen house for your omelet.
War is messy business. Most of of us would prefer peace, but the world won't let us have it that easily. Just like all things, peace is something you have to defend, and fight for.
A true warrior knows how to pick his fights well. He doesn't need to rely on dishonourable, cowardly tactics and tools to win, but he knows how and where to hit to earn the quickest victory. A true warrior doesn't fight like a great axe, cleaving left and right at anything within reach, but he fights like a spear, with focus.
That is the essence of war as Tempus decrees: to never avoid war, but to end it as quickly as possible, and to direct your fury with wisdom and focus."_
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Tempus looks with favor upon those that acquit themselves honorably in battle without resorting to such craven tricks as destroying homes, family, or livestock when a foe is away or attacking from the rear (except when such an attack is launched by a small band against foes of vastly superior numbers).
_"It's all too tempting to hit high and low, and wherever you can, to gain some advantage over your enemy. It's all too tempting to cause much more damage on your enemy than can be repaired. But for what cause? Does it make you a better warrior? No, only a more desperate one. Does it end the war more quickly? No, because your enemy remains .. and the lasting damage will be all the greater. What you destroy, you cannot claim.
It's not stupid to face your enemy head-on, regardless of what some might say. Let them talk about how much more convenient it is to poison a well, or slit an enemy's throat in the dark. Those cowards will not hide forever, and they won't be able to stand before the true warriors. Let the snakes hiss and snap. In the end, what little they can take, the favor of Tempus will let the true warriors take back, and far more.
So it was with the Eastlanders. So it was with the orcs. So it was with the ghouls. So it was with the dracolich. So it will always be._"
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Disparage no foe and respect all, for valor blazes in all regardless of age, sex, or race.
"A true warrior respects those who fight beside him, regardless of who they are. As well, he respects those who he fights against. Trough the favor of Tempus, the weak can be strong and the strong can be weak. Honour is respect, and seperates warriors from assassins, the brave from the cowardly.
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Defend what you believe in, lest it be swept away.
_"If you don't protect what you want to keep, it will be taken away. We take what we want, if we can. Whatever the reason, we all do. A paladin fighting others might try to take their lives because trough it they threaten what he stands for. Or a raider fighting the same people might do it simply because he wants what they own. Different reason, but same results. We take what we can, because we can.
Tempus teaches that we should all learn to defend ourselves and what we want to keep, and do everything He allows to do so. If you back down from doing so, you give it up. Perhaps a single battle does not make a campaign, but many campaigns have been decided in a single battle. And only in hindsight will you know which one that battle was."_
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Remember the dead that fell before you.
_"I am that which lives. I remember that which does not. My mind does not forget my hand or its sword. I am the warrior. I am the champion of life's cause. My mind does not forget my chest or its heart.
Warrior of the past, we honour you.
Warriors of the past, we thank you for your sacrifice. Warriors of the past, we ask that you bless us with your strength.We stand in your place. We guard. We teach. We learn. That which you have given has not been in vain. We stand ready.
…
On the sacrifice of heroes, the future is built. Honour the Fallen."_
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_Even with the unrest in Peltarch, Hammer still continues to preach at the shrine – likely for a diminished crowd, if any at all. It hardly seems to matter to Hammer, who would preach to thin air if it came to it. Though, perhaps with the current chaos in the city and the threat looming over it, the words of Tempus are all the more important to hear.
Slay one foe decisively and halt a battle quickly rather than rely upon slow attrition or the senseless dragging on of hostilities.
"It's very tempting to gather as much resources and allies as you can to simply overwhelm your enemy. But so much more would be spent and lost than necessary. How many wars have been fought over one noble insulting another. So many lives lost and so much damage done because two men didn't have the courage to fight their fight themselves, and leave it at that. Everyone is responsible for themselves, no matter what "nobles" or "lawmakers" might say. Your fights are your own, and bringing other people into them will only cause conflicts to grow beyond what is necessary.
In war, attrition involves wearing your enemy down. It can involve sieges aimed at starving an enemy into submission, or it could involve throwing endless numbers at an enemy until he can no longer hold them off. Between persons, families or even towns, it can be feuds. Two "combatants" who keep circling each other, trying to gain some decisive advantage – an advantage that will likely not come. Not only is this cowardly and cruel, as you extend suffering and conflict, and do not have the courage to risk yourself, it's also foolish. Why drain yourself like that when you should strike a decisive blow. Defeating your enemy, destroying his allies and making life miserable for everyone that ever associated with him is unfitting for a warrior, unfitting for men. Tempus favors those who take decisive, focused action. Tear out the throat of your enemy, and let that be the end of it."_
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Retreat from hopeless fights but never avoid battle.
_Tempus does not demand death or glory. He wants all to face what they must. However, a battle can never be decided on as hopeless until it's joined, and even then.. hopeless is a vague word. How many warriors have fought on to the death, earning everlasting glory under Tempus? A true warrior knows death can come at any time, but doesn't fear it. And he knows that to die bravely in battle is the best death a warrior can have; what greater show of devotion is there than to die fighting for something?
And how often has the sheer strength of faith and stubbornness pulled a victory away from the jaws of certain defeat? It's said that a single battle does not make a campaign.. but how many battles can you lose before you lose the campaign? How much ground can you give? Better to fight every battle as if it were your last. After all, even though you try to retreat you may not succeed.. and then you would die, run down as cowards rather than facing death head-on._
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Arm all for whom battle is needful, even foes.
Tempus commands us to give all who want to fight a chance to do so, even if they want to fight you.
You want the chance to fight when you do, so why would you deny it to others? It's simple. Don't attack a defenseless or unarmed enemy. Don't attack an enemy who doesn't know he's under threat. Those who fight should be warriors, not assassins. Only the weak and cowardly stalk trough shadows and put a blade between someone's shoulders.
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_It should not be feared, but seen as a natural force, a human force, the storm that civilization brings by its very existence.
War is conflict, and conflict is just as natural as birth and death and fire and wind. This world is full of different creatures, different lands, different gods, different beliefs. People will come into conflict over anything and everything. So often, conflict, battle and war are made out to be 'dirty words'. But is "storm" or "fire" a dirty word? No. Perhaps feared, but respected and accepted as part of existence. War is the same, in any scale. There is nothing 'stupid' or 'bloodthirsty' in defending yourself and what you care for by arms, nor is it wrong to accomplish your goals trough battle. War guided by honour is fair and so is Tempus. The thought that you will accomplish more and lasting trough words and deception is a lie. It shows a lack of determination to gain and keep what you want. Words won't protect you from an arrow or a sword. Lies won't stop dedication.
War is the province of humans. We will fight over anything, anywhere. We do not have the born-in skill at magic or long years of the elves, or the inborn skill at smithing or the sturdiness of dwarves. What humans have, is sheer tenacity and courage, that drives us to face the same things as the other races, and more, and do better. While most elves, dwarves, gnomes and halflings find a kinship with each other based on nothing but race, and in this they find unity, we are as likely to fight amongst ourselves as with others. Us, without 'god of our race' or 'the way of our race'. Us, who are scattered across the world, but thriving everywhere. No other race throws themselves into what it wants and does with the same fire and conviction as us, and for this, Tempus watches over us. For we are the force of change in the realms. And change is conflict.
Every race has its warriors, and most have a god who patrons these. Dwarves have Clan-Ge-Ding. Elves have Corellon. And there are a good many others. But above all stands Tempus, Lord of Battles.
While the others only concern themselves with their own people, and their own battles, and dictate how these battles should be fought, Tempus sees all battles and gives His favor to the the worthy, regardless of who they are. In this, He is a great keeper of the balance, as with His favor even a small band of gnomes can defeat a great orc horde. And trough His favor, an honourable warrior can stand strong against the trickery and cowardice of the weak. Trough the favor of Tempus, the honourable and courageous prevail and the weak are punished._
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"War is fair in that it oppresses and aids all equally and that in any given battle, a mortal may be slain or become a great leader among his or her companions.
War brings change. It allows the high to fall and the low to rise. It is not a place of words or politics, but a place of action. Greatness lies within the grasp of all those who reach for it, and for those who earn the favor of Tempus to do so. Only in the face of death do we live the most, and only in the face of death is the true worth of someone's soul revealed. A single hour of battle will change more than ten years of talking and reading and working, both for a land, a people and your own self."
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"No, I'm pretty sure he was being sarcastic about what you said about stabbing people in the lung…I don't know...I'm off, see ya everyone."
the mustachioed hin treks off into the sunset
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"If you aren't willing to fight and risk death to protect what you care about, then yes.. abandon it for whoever is willing to fight and risk death to take it from you."
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Maero looks to Cal
Why are we even hanging out here? I was on my way to the Mermaid to hit on that waitress…
shifty eyes
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_Cal pipes up
"You wouldnt want to be killed in battle, Why do it to them?"_
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_Even if it's more convenient, it doesn't make it right. Battle and war is messy enough without having to resort to dirty tricks. You wouldn't want your enemy to stab you in the kidneys, so why do it to someone else?
Besides, it's not a question of right and wrong. Tempus frowns on it, and he may just deny you His favor when you need it next time._
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Maero claps and cheers
"Good one, mate, bravo! Uhh…one thing I disagree with "Only the cowardly attack an enemy who's unaware he's under attack." I mean, I'm all for honor and all that stupid stuff, but if you get them when they don't know your there BAM! Ask anyone BAM! BAM! Hurts them more, kills them while they're not even thinking about it, so it will hurt less. It's simple, really.
Great speech though."
