The Elements of Flame
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[edit] The Elements of Flame
A primer on the True Way of the Flame for those who are not follower of the Flame.
Compiled from the amalgamated beliefs of the High Temple of the Flame in Eltabar, the believers of the followers of the Flame around the world and the written word of the Holy Fyre, Marslent Morslent.
Transcribed by Baberis Sepret
[edit] Who is The Flame?
This question is in the same vein of "how many sands are on the beaches of the world?" "What is the sound of a color?" or "What is the taste of a feeling?" It defies explanation. Even trying to give a partial explanation could fill ten, ten thousand written pages.
Kossuth is a mighty, powerful and wise god who sees and knows all. He has centered his kingdom in a place known as the "Heart of The Fires", though this is commonly, and incorrectly called the "fire plane" by wizards. The term "Heart of the Fires" is often used interchangeably to described either The Flame, his domain, or both at the same time, the meaning based on context, such as “May the Heart of the Fires bless and welcome you, into the Heart of the Fires”.
It is generally considered irreverent to use His name more then needed or in casual conversation and because of that, he is usually referred to by his followers, in other terms of respect and honor. Common names disciples of Him use to describe him in every day life is The Flame, The Eternal Flame, The Heart of the Fires, The Almighty Flame, The Flame of Passion, The Flame of Reason, The Heart of Reason, The Fire of the Body/Mind, he is referred to among dwarven writings as the Heart of the Forge or The Heat Of the Forge. His true name is generally reserved for more reverent and serious occasions, not everyday discourse.
[edit] The Walking Flame, His Servants
The Heart of the Fires is a place where the souls of the righteous and true followers of the Flame go upon death, to sit at His feet and learn wisdom for eternity. It is also populated by the Walking Flame.
In the same way that men are an order of life above and more pure then animals and insects, the Walking Flame is an order of life above men, closer to the Flame and the natural populace of the Heart of the Fires. The Flame in his infinite wisdom has chosen to allow his mortal men to look to him and learn wisdom. The Walking Flame is sometimes sent to our world, to act as messengers between the Eternal Flame and mortals, to teach us wisdom and allow us to learn the nature of truth. The Walking Flame is never used to refer to The Flame, but wizards commonly call "Fire Elements", another misnomer. The Walking Flame often resembles a large man made entirely of fire, but it can take any form or shape. The true name of the Walking Flame is hard to pronounce in the human tongue and harder to write but if written would approximate "Li-Xyz-Irt-Fet-Pertz-Qzly", as this is very difficult to pronounce by even the most faithful, the Walking Flame is a term of respect and honor, used instead, in day to day life. The language of the Walking Flame is called Ignan and is very difficult to replicate with the human mouth, but can be learned after a great deal of practice.
Ignan is unlike any mortal alphabet or language in that it has tens upon tens of thousands of letters which each represent a concept, but no actual words. By mixing these concepts, ideas and language occurs. Written and verbal language exists because our minds are separate entities, yet we wish to communicate with other minds. Our words and written languages represent concepts, but do so, imperfectly. Ignan is a language far, far better suited for communicating complicated concepts, such as spiritual and philosophical matters and for that reason, many Kossuthan writings are written in Ignan. Due to the complexity of the language, it is nearly impossible to learn any more then a handful of concepts from a book but must instead be taught verbally by others. Study of Ignan is actually one form of meditation followers of the Flame engage in.
The Walking Flames are old beyond the reckoning of men, elves or dragons and are very, very, very wise. In the same way that children do not always understand their learned elders, the ways of the Walking Flame are not always understood by men. Sometimes wizards attempt to bind the Walking Flame by magic, to followers of the Flame this is a sin of equivalence that most folk would reserve for the raping of children or the creation of undead. The Walking Flame is not native to our world and is either sent by the Flame, or compelled by magic. Only the weakest and youngest of the Walking Flame can be forced here by magic against their will and what Walking Flame an individual may meet which is hostile, is almost certainly one which has been bound here, against their will. Some wizards summon the Walking Flame, asking for aid for a righteous cause, or bartering in exchange for their help, this is not offensive to followers of the Flame.
[edit] The True Way
The followers of The True Way of the Flame hold that the Flame desires a balance of the forces of the world. A balance of chaos and order. A balance of love and hate. A balance of peace and war. This balance has been disrupted in the favor of what is normally called “evil” over what is normally called “good” and this balance has been disrupted, for thousands of years, beyond written memory or spoken word.
To bring the Balance in line with the Flames teachings, disciples of the Flame and his priests do acts of righteousness and loving kindness, to bring the balance.
The followers of the True Way know that the Flame is the perfect balance of all things. This balance is often described by the 3 principal aspects of fire, creation, continuity and destruction in equal measures, yet ever changing. Others who follow the Flame in only one of these three paths do not truly understand the purity and perfection of the flame, but only aspects of it. These individuals are known as “aspectivists” and are actively sought out to help and teach the truth. Destructivists, those who focus only on destruction are the aspectivists most harmful to themselves and to non believers and the followers of the True Way hold it as their obligation and sacred duty to find and show these individuals the error of their ways, before they do any harm.
The pursuit of the wisdom of the Flame is the pursuit of knowledge and ultimately, truth. For that reason, lying is abhorrent to the priests of the True Way and many of them take vows of absolute truth, not only to speak the truth, but to never intentionally lie to others.
[edit] Why study the Flame?
The followers of the Flame consider their religious devotion of a different nature, then those of others. Those of the True Way do not pray to the Flame to ask for prosperity, or to beg mercy from the hardships of the world. They study and revere the Flame as a learned and revered teacher. To the followers of the True Way, the Flame is the ultimate embodiment of all knowledge, all wisdom, the fundamental nature of truth and the knowledge of the world. By studying the Flame and his tenants, we are able to learn the fundamental truth, of truth and elevate our consciousness to a higher plane. With this greater understanding, also comes a fundamental understanding of the nature of the world
Men come to study the Flame for many reasons, not all of them the pursuit of wisdom. Some come for greed, or a lust for power, others come for to learn healing arts, or how to do kindly works. While some come to study in the pursuit of greed, the study itself will change and purify them. A man may for example see followers of the Flame who are very wealthy and come to study the Flame in greed hopes of achieving great prosperity, or power. If the truly study the Flame and his precepts, he will gain a knowledge of the fundamental truth of the world, which will indeed gain him prosperity, power and wealth. At the same time that he gains these things, the wisdom of the Flame will make him loose his love of them.
A man may come to the Flame for love of riches, he may well gain these riches, but in the process, he will loose his love of them and realize that ultimately, riches have no value, that power is arbitrarily and pointless and that the only true reward, the only true treasure, the only thing truly of value, is wisdom.
As a man comes to spurn material goods and learn the nature of wisdom, he will begin to understand the fundamental nature of the world around him. This will in time allow the most devoted to study, the most diligent and the most determined, the ability to change the world around them. Miraculous deeds will become commonplace to them, all material needs that they have will be filled in abundance, all foes will fail, no matter how impossible the odds seem. All of this comes in time, to the most devoted.
[edit] How wisdom can be found?
For a devoted follower of the Flame, all of life is an exercise in the pursuit of wisdom. With the tenants of the Flame, wisdom can be found in every aspect and every moment of life, from the mundane cooking of food, to walking down a path, to meditation, to martial combat.
One of the most important ways by which men can seek wisdom is by the contemplation of fire. Be it a humble candle, a fireplace or the sun, it makes no difference. To the untrained, fire is simply, fire. It is much, much more. Fire is a balance of chaos and order, of light and dark.
The language of Ignan is modeled after the purity of fire itself. Information, any information, from the numbers of an invading army, to the number of loaves of bread in the pantry, to the past, present and future and elemental wisdom can be found in the fire. This is often confused with divination “magic” but it is not magic at all. Fire has a language all its own, of near infinite complexity, but over the course of a lifetime of study, men can begin to learn the language and seek great wisdom and knowledge. No spell or incantation is needed, only careful study and contemplation of fire.
Wisdom can and should be searched for in the fire, but there are other ways as well.
Why is gold or diamonds generally considered to be valuable? They are valuable because they are rare and difficult to acquire. Part of the inherent value of any desirable thing, is the difficult and rarity in which it is obtained. By willingly submitting to hardship, great truths can be found. Meditation is a key practice of the followers of the True Way. Meditation in distant and hostile places, such as deep in fire caves, or deep within the dessert is one way to find wisdom. Followers of the Flame often make long and difficult pilgrimages to distant sands or hot places in the world, to meditate and study there.
Our bodies are the vessels of our souls, but they also fundamentally cloud or judgment and our perceptions of the world and the pursuit for wisdom. Bodies demand food. Bodies demand water. Bodies demand air. Bodies have carnal lusts, bodies have impure feelings. All of these things interfere with the search for wisdom. To aid in the journey for wisdom, many of the followers of the Flame spurn rich food, alcohol and many take vows of chastity.
One fundamental way to pay homage to the Flame and seek wisdom, is to devote yourself a very difficult or seemingly impossible task. Through the difficulty the journey, a man can learn a great deal about himself, the Flame and the fundamental nature of truth.
Physical hardship helps open the mind to new possibilities and is of great aid in the search for wisdom. It is no secret that many of the priests of the Flame burn their bodies, to some this seems odd, it must be put into the proper context. By burning their bodies, or even putting our eyes, or taking off fingers or ears, they purify their minds by separating them from the body. It purifies and magnifies our minds and allows us to see past the cage of our own flesh. No true follower of the Flame would ever submit another to burning in this fashion, the point of such practices are to seek wisdom and purify their own minds, doing it to another would accomplish nothing and be an impure act.
