The Old WaysCelarushistoryghostsèÒ) üðò ùýThe Old Ways:ýThe Customs and Philosophyýof Grave and FaithfulýCouncilù We who know the Old Ways are well aware of the existence of aspiritual world invisible to the unenlightened. Just as oneliving in a kingdom but unaware of the political machinationsmay see a new tax or battle preparation as capriciousfortune, many observe floods, famines, and madness withhelpless incomprehension. This is deplorable. As the greatCuilean Darnizhaan moaned, "The power of ignorance can trulyöshatter mithril like glass." What, after all, is the origin of these spiritual forces thatmove the invisible strings of Mundus? Any neophyte ofArtaeum knows that the spirits are our ancestors, and that,while living, they too were bewildered by the spirits of theirancestors, and so on to the original Acharyai. The daedra andgods the common people turn to are no more than the spirits ofsuperior men and women whose power and passion granted themgreat influence in the phantom world. Certainly, this is ourtruth and our religion, but how does it help us in our sacredduty to seliffrnsae, or "provide grave and faithfulcounsel"? Firstly, we can easily grasp the necessity of both bringinggood men great power and making powerful men good. Werecognize the multiple threats that a strong tyrantrepresents -- he breeds cruelty which feeds the daedra Boethiahand hatred which feeds the daedra Vaernima; if he should he dieperforming a particularly malevolent act, he may go torule in Oblivion; worst of all, he inspires other villians topower and other rulers to villiany. Knowing this, we havedeveloped patience in our dealings with such despots. Theyshould be crippled, humiliated, impoverished, imprisoned.Other counselors than we may advocate assassination oröwarfare, which, aside from its spiritual significance, isexpensive, aleatric, and likely to cause at least as muchpain to innocents as the brutish dictator was inflicting. No,we are intelligence gathers, dignified diplomats, notrevolutionaries. How, then, are our counselors "faithful"? We are faithfulonly to the Old Ways -- it is essential always to remember thespiritual world in watching our world. Performing the Ritesof Moawita on the 2nd of Hearth Fire and the Vigyld on the 1stof Second Seed are essential means of empowering thesalutary ghosts and debilitating the unclean spirits. How,then, are we faithful to those we counsel and to the Isle ofArtaeum? Perhaps the sage Taheritae said it best: "In Mundus,conflict, disparity is what brings change, and change is mostsacred of all the eleven forces. Change is the force withoutfocus or origin, and it is the duty of the disciplined Psijic(enlightened one) to dilute change where it brings greed,gluttony, sloth, ignorance, prejudice, cruelty ...÷Taheritae lists the 111 Prodigalities ... and to encourage change where it brings excellence,beauty, happiness, and enlightenment. As such, the faithful counsel has but one master, his mind. If the man the Psijiccounsels acts wickedly and brings oegnithr ÷"bad change" and will not beöcounselled, it is the Psijics duty to counterbalance theoegnithr by any means necessary." A student of the Old Ways may indeed vassal himself to alord, but it is a risky relationship. Should the lord refusewise counsel and order the Psijic (to use Taheritae'sout-moded word) to perform an act contrary to the teachingsof the Old Ways, there are few available options. The Psijicmay abandon his lord, which will bring shame on him and theIsle of Artaeum, and so may never be allowed home again. ThePsijic may also kill himself. ö