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Tower of Babel: A Bronze Age Space Civ Quest

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Heroes Sheet : Loom of Brillant Fate (Prototype, in test)
  • Informational
    • Somewhere in the White Tower, there is a loom with threads made of light.
    With mirrors, the soft light of each thread can be gathered and studied, showing images of the live and fate of major figures in the history of the Order.
    There, thoses that show great promise shall be studied.
    And there, images of their lives will be preserved long after their left this world.
    Heroes are majors figures able to impact Order-scale actions. They are your Da Vinci, Coppernicus, Newton, Mary the Jewess.
    When you have Heroes available in a Turn, they can be assigned to an action being done, impacting the results.
    Each Heroes as is own character, story and speciality, and will improve the results of the actions in different ways. However, an universal capacity of Heroes is that they can reduce negatives consequences of an action by taking it upon themselves, potentially eliminating a great catastrophy at the price of their live.

    Their are two current type types of Heroes, Philosophers and Mundanes.

    You can have one Philosopher Heroes per Tower in the Order (currently four), and they will naturally die in 4 to 8 turn after you can begin using them. Philosopher can be used on any actions.

    You can have for now two Mundane Heroes, and can only use them on [Mundane] tagged actions. Mundane live less long than Philosopher, and will pass away in 1d3 turns after you unlock them.

    If a new Hero would exceed the limit in the number of Hero, they will be kept in reserve until a slot open, unless changes make the possibility of them existing impossible.

    Annonced Heroes

    Aralu, Child Of Prosperity, Master Potiooner, Philosopher of the Living Tower [Philosopher]
    Once an ill child, saved by the power of potion and now one of the leading figure of the Potiooner.
    Will be unlocked in turn 9



    Current Heroes

    Philosopher Heroes [3/4]

    Eoparatiratis the Dawn Watcher, Philosopher the White Tower [Philosopher]
    Student of the light of the stars and planets, and how they are affected and affect the cosmos.
    Unlocked in turn 5

    Vyati Antara, Elider of Gaps, Abandoner of Distance, She Who Steps Beyond the Between, Philsopher of the Sundial Tower [Philosopher]
    Student on the art that make what is far near, and its opposite.
    Unlocked in turn 5

    Wertifi, The Dreaming Architect, Philosopher of the Tower that Think [Philosopher]
    Student of the experiences that change and growth a person.
    Unlocked in turn 6

    Mundanes Heroes [0/2]

    Fallen Heroes
     
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  • Informational
    • Huh, extremely interesting. So, we have potential narrative synergies with not just the actions done, but also the way the heroes are assinged to them, huh.
     
    excellent! the idea that we could have mundane heroes is huge too, but the fact that it's one per tower means that when we get more towers, not only do we get more actions and magic, but also more heroes to imbue those actions with. we can explore more avenues, and even use those heroes, through omakes, to give us insights in to yet more towers. i'm very excited for this oldshadow, thanks for making this quest! now, to roll for the dreaming architect!

    edit: not a one, but certainly better than a three!
    Lord_Abaddon threw 1 3-faced dice. Reason: the architect's tutelage Total: 2
    2 2
     
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    IamtooSleepy said:
    How can we help the Mundanes?

    To answer this question, one ought to begin by asking a different one.

    What divide the Philosophers from the Mundanes?

    And to answer that question, one ought to start by asking yet another one.

    Who are the Philosopher?

    1. The Virtues of Philsophers

    Asked this question and most of us in the Order would give the same sort of answer. The Philosophers are those who love wisdom for the sake of wisdom alone.

    Some, perhaps, would point to different aspects. That Philosophers must not be simply lovers of wisdom, but also able to dedicate oneself to the most gruelling of tasks that is the pursuit of knowledge. To willingly spend countless days and nights attending not to oneself, but to one's Works. To accept the greatest and most complicated of task, performed with the greatest of exactitude on the hope that one would learn a scrape of the truth. To turn oneself away from the temptation of pleasure and worldly gains, refuse to be lured away from the path of knowledge.

    Some, perhaps, would disagree, and point out to our rules and dictates that bond us, That Philosopher are not simply lovers of wisdom, but those who able to acknowledge the gravity of our effort. To understand that with wisdom come power, and with power come responsibilities - to oneself, to the Order, to the World. To accept that one must deal respectably, fairly, and justly to all, from the lowliest beings to the highest. To realise that knowledge and truth shall not be abused and perverted, but must be turn toward benefits of all existence.

    Some, perhaps, would declare that all missed the simplest of answer and point out to our great capabilities to shape the world, the Mundanes, and even the doom. That Philosophers are not simply lovers of wisdom, but those who also have abilities to match one's drive. To be able to learn all that stand before them and dissect truth out of falsehood, refining trace of truth from the experience of life. To know even what is the question to be asked, and not simply reach and understand the answer. To command the might of the Work with unmatched grace and precision.

    Yet, all of these aspects are fundamentally based on the love of wisdom. Without this love, one would not be willing to dedicate oneself to labour that asked so much of them. Without this love, one could not fully grasp what is just and why they must be bonded. Without this love, one would not put one's ability to the pursuit of knowledge - or indeed, to hone one's ability at all.

    Perhaps you would disagree, yet, I believe none would denied that there exist one thread that unite all these assertions.

    To the Philosophers; It is the virtues that made Philosopher a Philosopher.

    Thus;

    What divide the Philosophers from the Mundanes is the virtue.

    Indeed, it is the notion of virtues is what underpin the view of all towers on what divide the Mundanes and the Philosophers. Through we may have use different name for it - "potential", "worthiness", "spark" - all bend toward the singular idea. That to become Philosophers, one must possess qualities that put oneself above the mere Mundanes - the virtues. What truly mark the different in our approach and views then, is not that the Philosophers are virtuous, but on how one come to be in possession of virtue.

    To the Living Tower, it is the condition of flesh, for it is through the flesh the condition of soul is determined. Thus, virtues can only reside and be earned through good body, whatever that be by the way of bloodline inheritance as in the old theory of inherit characteristics, or by refinement of flesh through good surrounding and practices as in the new theory of earned qualities.

    To the Tower that Think, it is the quality of Anima - the soul, for it is through Anima that all being could move, for it is through Anima that thought could exist. Thus, virtues can only be found in the excellent soul, conductive to noble thought and righteous actions, enhanced through dream, myths, and fables of one's lived world.

    To the Sundial Tower, it is the precision of alignment, for it is through alignment with connection that bind all existence that all become possible. Thus, virtues can only occurred when one exist according to the proper order of the universe, adjusted through the perfection of thought and action as aligned with the principles of Correspondence

    To the White Tower, it is the current of fate, for it is through the rivers of fate that echoed the First Movement which shape all that is and all that shall ever be. Thus, virtues can only be realise by the guidance of fate, leaving oneself in the hand of destiny, to be changed as little as possible.

    So central are this assumption that the virtues denote Philosophers that even the greatest advocates for the Mundanes based their argument on this belief of supremacy.

    True, the Mundanes have great worth. Through their willing scarified to become the Doomed, they have proven their honour. Through their pursuit of craft and arts we have taught, they have proven their dedication. Through their works in restoring the Cradle, they have forever proven their value. Still, for all that they have done, all they will ever be worth are still lesser to the true Work of Philosophers, their value are as an aid, to follow the lead of their betters.

    And how can one refute this? There is only so much that can be done with their feeble hands. Can the Mundanes provide for all and banish the spectre of starvation and deprivation? Can they guard the harmonious peace and order? Can they stop the coming of doom?

    True, the Mundanes have potentials. For they now show their dedication to their craft, refined them to perfection. For they now show their capability, once unshackled from the elements that once bond them. For they now show their willingness to learn, taken our lesson with great rigorousness. Still, for all their potentials, they remain our lesser, for they could still not reach the true might of the Philosophers, not without discarding the visage of the mundanity and joining our rank.

    And how can one refute this? There is only so far they can go with their worldly ties. Can the Mundanes move the world and bound the fate? Can they perform the ritual that shake the earth and heaven? Can they turn dream and law into Gods and Empresses?

    True, the Mundanes have hope and dream and will. For their dream and thought feed God and make miracle. For their hope feed the ritual and halt the doom. For their will feed the tapestry of existence and mark the universe with diverse lights. Still, for all that they thought, they remain ignorance of the truth, for only through our will shall their dream become reality, only through our words shall they know what is and what is not.

    And how can one refute this? There is only so far they can go with their lacking mind? Can the Mundanes know of the Correspondence that connect all? Can they imagine the full complexity of our Work? Can they thought themselves command the world and star?

    Thus;

    To help the Mundanes is to uplift the Mundanes. To uplift the Mundanes is to taught them the ways of the Philosophy.

    Or in another words;

    To help the Mundanes is to stripe them of their mundanity and transform them into Philosophers

    This represent the orthodox approach of the Order. All of our effort so far have been put unto this road. To teach them of the way of mind of the White Tower. To transform their God and their surrounding into one more permissible to their ascension of the Tower that Think. To show them the Precision of the Sundial Tower. To give them the seed of command of the Living Tower. All taught them of our Art, our ways, our knowledge. For we are the teacher, and to not teach is the greatest dereliction of our duty.

    2. The Worth of the Mundanes.

    Indeed, such are the depth of this belief that even those that decree that Mundanes are worth listening to, they could not help but talk of uplifting, of transforming, of imperfection and ignorance.

    And yet;
    What if one take this theory to it's conclusion? What if one were to conceive the Mundanes' live as having an inherent worth their own, untethered to their worth as potential Philosophers?

    Surly, this must be the most radical of idea, only imagined by the most hopeless of the idealist. How can the mundanes soul could hope to contribute anything that could hold the candle to the radiant sun that is the might of Philosophy?

    But perhaps it is not entirely wrong entire. After all, only through investigation shall the truth be revealed. And indeed, I do found some gain of truth in their words.

    Through some might be quick to condemn such work as ungrounded, for they seem to engage on some nebulous claim of diversity, love, and unity, all without justifying of why such are worthwhile endeavour - as if the Precise Work and the Order not already hold these qualities. Some may go even further still and condemn them as outright cruelty, after all, why would one allowed someone to dwell in ignorance and powerlessness when they could see the truth of Philosophy and command it's might instead? The Mundanes may have done much, yet that simply mean they could done even more has they become Philosophers.

    Yet, such reading only show that they has simply been captivate by fanciful words, for the writing of the Idealist already has given their justification beyond pure idea taken for granted.

    All things, regardless of it's imperfection, has much to teach us.

    And this, I found to be the most crucial truth of all. should only look to our recent effort at taming the river. While the Sundial Tower commit themselves to the cleansing of water, the Mundanes were left with only a direction and guidance. Yet, instead of fall down into disorder, the Mundanes self-organise. Leading by those with aptitude in lesser of Harmony, Command, and Precision, not only have they done as they command to, but have exceed our every expectation. All without direct guidance and intervention of the Philosophers.

    Surely, the Mundanes may be imperfect, but one could see that they hold value? That they could contribute to the work of the Order through effort and skills of their own?

    Now, you may argue, true, the Mundanes may have shown initiative, but they can only do so because they have been taught by us. After all, were it not those Mundanes whom have receive our lesson that lead them? Even their greatest invention in this instance - their work councils, is simply an attempt to replicate the structure of our Order? Would it not better then if we could simply teach them our Art in full?

    Perhaps so, which is why shall bring up another of their invention, one that none in our Order has conceived of - the river barges and ships of the Guild of Navigators.

    It may seem so incomprehensible. We certainly know the principle of how object float on water and how to propel them, yet we never sought to utilise them to create ships when it seem so beneficial to us.

    The answer to this lie in a simply, yet, astonishing fact; We have no need to. Why lay down barges for transport when Hive-Spawn is suffice?

    Yet, for Mundanes, they have no access to our ritual work nor ability to Command. Neither do they have willingness to sit uncomfortably on the beast for long. So should they wish to go somewhere else or transport something, they have to look for alternative, one that can be build without involving the Art of Philosopher. And with this necessity and limitation, they create brilliantness.

    It is precisely the lack of capability that give Mundanes their value.

    Indeed, the value of the Mundanes need not restricted to physical craft, but in contribution to our thought as well. It is easy to dismiss their ideas as worthless, not anything more than one coming from children, not knowing anything about world. Yet, once again, it is precisely in such state of ignorance - of incapability - of innocence, if one wish to be particularly benign, that allowed them to see the world from different perspective, one that could saw hidden truth that we may have miss. Just as a child asking an innocent question with great curiosity could bring forth great insight, so too can Mundanes in their ignorance can show us what we have overlooked - to help us getting closer to the Truth and Perfection through their imperfection. To recognise that there are place for imperfection being in the pursuit of the Truth.

    There are wisdom in all things, from the simplest of mundanes's task to the greatest of Philosophers's Work. To dismiss the wisdom because it come form imperfect source is the greatest betrayal to the principles of Philosophy.

    The truly great teacher are not one that simply taught their students to perfectly replicate them, but one that understand what each student should be and learn from them in turn as well.

    Thus;

    To help the Mundanes is to listen to and be taught by the Mundanes. To listen to listen to and be taught by the Mundanes is to recognise their value in their imperfection.

    Or in another words;

    To help the Mundanes is to allow the Mundanes be the Mundanes.

    3. The Transcendence of Division

    However, while the two previous ideas may seem to exist in complete opposition to one another, I can not help but realise that both of them still have certain elements in common.

    Both ideas maintain the divide between the Philosophers and the Mundanes. Both idea still have the question of the value as the basis of their belief. Both idea still categorise the Mundanes as imperfect beings.

    So I shall take this one step further;

    There are no fundamental distinction between the Mundanes and the Philosophers.

    Before you throw me down from the tower for being utter idiot who could even see the most obvious of thing, please allow me to explain.

    When I said that there are no distinction, I do not meant that Mundanes and Philosophers are perfectly alike, in possessing of same ability, knowledge, and idea. Rather, I meant that those different are not a fundamental one. I do not mean this in the sense of simply differing worth, but to transcend the concept of value and Perfection as the absolute.

    To illustrate my point, I shall use the example of an ordinary Mundanes crafter. Not those that have been taught the art of perfection, but one that could not even comprehend the most basic of Philosophy. Such person, no doubt, would create craft that is of lesser quality that those who understood principle of Perfection - their crafts break more easily, have less functions, and may not be accurate to their ideal.

    Yet, would that craft be imperfect?

    True perhaps, it may be unsuitable for the Work of Philosopher, unable to contribute to restoration of the world, but those are not what it is intended to do. The ordinary Mundanes do not seek the Truth, therefore, Perfection serve no propose for them. Why spend so much effort to learn something that will not use? Why spend time craft a perfect object when one's objective is not the Perfection?

    For the ordinary Mundanes, an imperfect craft is perfect for them, for such is it's purpose.

    This is the first step in transcending the false divide that could perhaps be termed "objective Perfection." That is; the Ideal that could be applied universally, that there is a single Ideal Perfection suited to all things.

    This is the first step in transcending the false divide that could perhaps be called "objective value." That is; the ideal that could be universally measured, that one could measures all being to the same standard without considering the context.

    For demonstration, I shall use the example of clay and stone. Through stone are much stronger than clay, one did not called clay and imperfect stone. For while hard stone is well-suited for work requiring strength such as building's pillar, the clay is much more moldable and can be harden, which made them better suited for craft such as pottery which require transformation into different shape.

    Of course, one can easily declare that this value as not-absolute is merely a result of a flawed universe. That in a perfect universe, the perfect materiel will simply hold attribution of all quality and suited for all situation - it will be both strong and moldable. And yet, one must asked how can such materiel existed that could hold contradicting qualities? How can something be both hot and cold? How can something is both light and heavy? How can something something be both fixate and flexible?

    The true Perfection is not absolute, but contradictory. The true Perfection is the Source, which is one and all.

    More importantly, we must recognise that we Philosopher remains imperfect beings. With every divination, we discover new knowledge. With every ritual, we discover new insight. With every Work, we discover new flaw. As an imperfect being, we can not reach and know the true Perfection.

    How can we, an imperfect being, judge others for not being perfect?

    As we could not reach the Source of All, then we must contend that we are not the authority to determine value or perfection in an absolute sense, but only as according to imperfect world with imperfect sense. In another words, us - the imperfect beings, could not have encapsulate the entirely of true Perfection of the Source of All, merely a small part of it. Thus, we shall always have merely a fraction of Truth by walking a single path.

    Only by recognise that absolute Perfection could not existed, that absolute value could not be determined, can we reach the Source of All.

    While this may sound radical to the extreme, it is ultimately rooted in the most basic principle of our Order.

    The Source of All is all that is. That Source of All is many things. That Source of All is self-contradictory

    And;

    All paths toward Source of All are valid. That all paths toward the Source of All are equally true.

    We recognise that the Arts of 4 towers are all valid in the path toward the Source of All despite the contradiction. We recognise that there are much knowledge has been lost and more has never been learned that thee could be many more Towers.

    How then, can we not recognise that the Mundanes life are also such paths?

    One may argue that the paths of Mundanes lack vigour, that it lack wisdom that allow one to reach Source of All. How can paths that seem so feeble, that seem to require so little effort be paths of Truth?

    I shall answer this with questions in turn;

    How can we, an imperfect beings, decree that only our paths, as determined by our imperfect mind and imperfect body, are the sole paths of Truth? How can we say for certain that paths of Mundanes are not also paths that lead to Source of All? How can we proclaim that there are no wisdom and perfection of their own in the way the Mundanes lives?

    To be Philosophers is to walk the path of constraints - of isolation from the worldly concerns - of absolute devotion to the wisdom. But, surely, since the Source of All is all that is, then the paths of Mundanes, that is, the path of freedom - of personal connection - of modest life, must be the way to the Source of All as well. Certainly, it would not ask any more than what we already did by recognising both White Tower's prudence and the Tower that Think's curiosity as equally valid?

    If the masterly of all paths is what needed to reach the Truth, then how can we ignore the path of Mundanes?

    Accordingly, perhaps the way to reach the height of Thrice-Great is to walk such Mundanes paths as well. To learn to cherish one's family and one friends. To learn to see the world as what it is, not what it ought to be. To learn to love the life of joy and happiness. To do all of these and see wisdom in all that is.

    Thus, if one recognise the paths of Mundanes as co-equal to that of Philosophers, and that they can be led to the Source of All, the natural conclusion is that the Mundanes are Philosophers, and the Philosophers are the Mundanes.

    Thus;

    To help the Mundanes is to recognise that there is no such things as Mundanity. To recognise that there is no such things as Mundanity is to abolish the distinction between Mundanes and the Philosophers.

    Or in another words;

    To help the Mundanes is to be the Mundanes.

    4. The Duty of the Order

    Now that I have established the three differing possible approaches;

    That the Mundanes should be uplifted to become Philosophers - which I shall call the Ascension Approach - for it sought the ascension of all Mundanes into Philosophers.

    That the Mundanes should be allow to contribute on their own term - which I shall call the Abstention Approach - for it sought the abstention of intervention that would stop the Mundanes from being Mundanes.

    That the distinction between Mundanes and Philosophers does not exist - which I shall call the Abolition Approach - for it sought the abolition of current division between the two.

    It finally time that I can return to the original question;

    How can we help the Mundanes?

    For this, I shall begin by examine what each approach implied in the practical sense.

    The uplift all Mundanes as in the Ascension Approach, the Order will lead the greatest reshaping of Mundanes society that far outstrip even those that happens as the result of the Doom. The system of school where attendance is mandatory will be created to teach the basic of Philosophy. The myths, fables, and very cultures of the Mundanes will be seized and transformed into one that support our values. The dream of God-City will be influenced toward the propose of encourage the correct mindset while the God-City itself transform into form that encourage learning and the ways of Philosophy. The production of base material will be massively expanded so that all can dedicate themselves to the task of learning without worry about worldly concerns.

    To let the Mundanes be the Mundanes as in the Abstention Approach, the Order will kept the intervention into Mundanes life to minimum, focused only on those who voluntary show interest in the ways and the Arts of Philosophy. The Mundanes will be granted freedom to do as they wills. The interventions into Mundanes life will be kept as minimal and as subtle as possibly as to not affect their imperfect self. At the same time, the Order will take an active interest in development of the Mundanes,discreetly watching and study any new insight or discovery, perhaps with a tactful reward to those who play a key part in such endeavour as an expression of our gratitude. The teacher who taught the Mundanes to become apprentice, Keepers, Shepherds, and Precise Crafters shall be instructed to learn from their pupils as much as they taught. The Mundanes will be taught that their effort are valued and honorable, that they should not be feared to do what they wish to.

    To transcend the division with Mundanes as in the Abolition Approach, the Order will integrate the Mundanes into it's structure, recognising the Arts and Ways of Mundanes as equivalent to our own. All, even those who have not learn the Arts shall be granted voices, to speak of their issues and of their discovery. The ranks of Tower shall be expanded, accepting both those who know the lowest state of our Arts such as the Keepers and the those that prove themselves masters in particular art and crafts without the aid of Philosophy to join in their discourse. New Towers, or some other form of organisations shall be founded dedicated to the ways of Mundanes, one that are dissimilar to us. The isolation of the towers and restriction on personal conduct must be kept to as minimal as possible, so that Philosopher can live the mundane life. The knowledge and secret, barring those which can be certain will cause great harms, shall be allowed to flow freely, to be studies by as many eyes as possible.

    What approach shall the Order take then? For this, we shall investigate each Approach and find it's drawback, after all, I have cover what each Approach saw as benefit already in the previous parts.

    If the Order set on the Ascension Approach, we would missed that insight born from the Mundanes condition, perhaps forever close ourselves from the true path to the Source of Knowledge. Not to mentioned the consequence of such massive reshaping of society might have, such as the impact on the God-city from the lack of Mundanes rituals. Or the question of what shall be done to those who are simply ill-suited for the work of Philosophy, which might come up even in the "Perfected" society. Shall we give them lesser place in our Order? Leave them alone? Or perhaps, dispose of them?

    Only by taking in all that is, regardless of how Mundanes might be, shall the Philosophers reach the truth.

    If the Order turn to the Abstention Approach, we might risked associate the worth of Mundanes with that of suffering, to declare that they shall no longer be granted shelter and food on a misguided belief that it might drive up their values - forgotten that only when one is fulfilled by materiel needs that they can pursuit any Art at all. Additionally, it might also risk neglecting the Mundanes or teaching them on the fear that we might "contaminate" them. Yet, in reality, we saw how our intervention does not the Mundanes them into us, but allow a new form of Mundanes Art to form, such as the spread of gardening, seafaring, and stargazing all spread among the Mundanes after they have work under our guidance. I have saw great happiness among those who have been chosen to become Keeper and Shepherds. It's clear that some Mundanes wish for more, not to be restraint by their conditions. Not to mentioned how attempt to create "separate but equal" division between Philosophers and the Mundanes could easily devolved into caste system.

    Only by letting them know that alternatives existed, that they can choose to pursuit the Noble Arts, shall the Mundanes be truly free.

    If the Order choose the Abolition Approach, we will found ourselves in confusion. One can not simply declare all are equal now, despite how much one believe in value of all things without considering such sheer different in capability. Additionally, I am still not able to conceive how such approach would work in practice without devolving into one of the two other Approaches in truth. For the gap in abilities still existed, which put this Approach in an unbalanced position between dominance of Philosophers, dominance of Mundanes, and the reassertion of separation.

    The first scenarios is the dominance of the Philosophers, such as by slow transformation of Mundanes's thought into Philosophers' as they saw it as a superior way, or belief that since Mundanes are now Philosophers they can be treated and taught as such. This pivot will simply result in recreation of the Ascension Approach.

    The second scenarios is the dominance of Mundanes, such as by the slow decline in the idea of Philosophy and the Noble Arts among the people, Should such come to passed, the order will simply fall apart and evaporate away as the way Philosophers become lost once more, putting all in great peril of the new Doom.

    The third scenarios is the reassertion of separation, where the imbalance of power simply result in de facto restoration of status quo, such as by once more treating Mundanes art as lesser, or by overformalized the Mundanes Arts into one separate from the reality of Mundanes world, effectively transform into another version of Abstention Approach.

    Only by recognise that despite all, we are still not equal to Mundanes, shall the Order avoid Doom.

    It is tempting to declare a single approach as superior and should be what the Order pursuit, yet to do so would invite disaster as each of them have drawbacks that made them either counterproductive or unacceptable.

    If all of the Approaches are flaw, then what can we do then? Certainly, we can't do nothing. The answer, I believe is the same as how we could reach the Source of All - by utilise all three at the same time - that is, if we live in the Perfect world. Alas, we live in the world of flawed, so we could not done all three without become incoherent and negating each others efforts. The best we can do then, is to mediate. Indeed, one could argue that it already is what we have done, for most of ideas regrading Mundanes are somewhat synthesis of more than one Approaches.

    The Order must teach the Mundanes, to show them of the Arts, yet it must not dismiss the Mundanes Art in Turn. For all have worth, no matter how banal.

    The Order shall encourage the Mundanes to develop their paths, yet it must not neglect them or prevent them from learning our own. For only though together shall the Source of All be reached.

    The Order shall let the Mundanes become part of us, yet it must not forget their different and their condition in an attempt to create "unity."

    Thus, what I proposed is the unity of all Approaches. The Order shall be transform to the inclusion of all, Mundanes and Philosophers alike - the Universal Order. Yet care shall be taken to ensure freedom for all exist for one to choose one's own paths.

    5. The Path Toward the Universal Order.

    As the Universal Order is an attempt to mirror our search for the Source of All in the structure of the Order, I shall not be arrogance as to declare that I know all the steps, merely the first few that I could envision. These are, in ways, the reflection on the debate of how to repay the Shame, which I believe are a good starting point, merely with certain addition of my own on how to mediate these ideas.

    The first is the Health, which I have no objection. For by extending the length of life mean more opportunity for learning. More chance to allow one to pass through all paths, which should be encourage so that we shall come closer to the Source of All. How the extension of life will be done, however, must be taken with great care to ensure that structure of Mundanes society - and our Order, for that matter, did not enabling the stratification of power with the hands of the elderly alone while not allowing those younger than them a chance at advancement, for such might lead to the dominance of old ideas and unjustly dismiss of the new ones.

    The second is the power. I do not believe I should explain why allowing the Mundanes "make their dreams and nightmares reality" is an utterly terrible idea. However, we should still allow them power, albeit filtered through the change in structure. In practice, this include the formalisation of the Mundanes work team based on those that have done the work of Taming the River, the formalisation of master-apprentice chain into guilds or orders, perhaps based on the Guild of Navigators, and that by encouraging Mundanes to improve themselves, such as by support a form of association where they can discuss their life. All of this aim to supporting the dissemination of knowledge and discussion among the Mundanes by the Mundanes themselves, to better coordinate their effort with that of Philosophers and facilitate the advancement of Mundanes toward the higher Art, alongside forming the basis for expanding their capability to act upon the world through better organisation.

    The third is the skill, that is, to Teach. Fortunately, others have already begin tackle the issue of universal basic education and that the idea of spreading of lesser Art among the Mundanes has been widespread among the Order for quite sometimes. My addition then, shall be on the reformatting of how our teaching is done, namely that we must not simply teach the, but to learn from them in turn as well. In effect, those who taught the Mundanes shall not simply left them while waiting for them to realise what they ought to do or to simply proclaim what must be done. Rather, they must take an active interest in their students, asked them what they think of their progress, to tailored their teaching according to each pupil as to ensure each can reach their maximum potential. Additionally, the Order should integrate the Mundanes into the teacher position as well. While this already occurred to certain with those who have been taught Precision, I believe this could be done in a more structural way in other Art as well, perhaps as intermediate or assistant to the Philosophers. Specially, the inclusion of Mundanes teachers should include the proposed universal education system as well, which will be broaden to include the Mundanes arts as well, to ensure the Mundanes knowledge are being transmit in addition to our own. Furthermore, a synthesis of Mundanes and Philosophy Arts should be support, such as the propose to teach Navigators how to see the Invisible Stars.

    The last is the Freedom, which seem fated to be highly contentious. However, I must emphasis that those who support this position does not wish to grant absolute freedom, but to shape their society such that freedom could exist with harmony. While I do not know the particular of the White Towers' ideas, I can offer some of my own. The first form of freedom is the freedom from ignorance, that is, the Mundanes must be free to know the choice before them. This freedom is, in large part, covered by my propose of education and shall not be cover again. The second is freedom to choose, that is, the Mundanes must be free to choose from the choice that they have. In particular, we should aim to restructure the "honour" and "Luxury" system into one that support wider array of activities beyond what the Order find most beneficial. As an example, perhaps those Mundanes that have taken an active part in their community should be rewarded as well. The last is the freedom to change, that is, the Mundanes must be free to change the choices that has been offered. While giving them all the decision power might be unwise, a form of regulated council or forum where they can explain their concern or debate issues might be beneficial, both in knowing what they believe to be important, to learn of their knowledge, and to further support their skills in oratory art.

    Finally, there are two steps that would be universally helpful but could not be included under any of the four approach of the Shame debate.

    The first is to massively expand our productive capacity to reduce resource scarcity as much as possible, which I do not believe to be particularly controversial. As the Order and the Mundanes have less need to act on materiel concern, they can focus on the higher Art in all forms.

    The second is to expand the monitoring of the Mundanes. For to know how to most effectively aid the Mundanes, one must know the Mundanes first. This ought not to be limit to the possibilities which have been raise before the Order decided on the songbird, but to study the Mundanes on their own term and their own eyes. One possibility is through the council system I previously proposed where the Mundanes could explain issues on their own terms. Another however, is perhaps rather unorthodox. I propose that some of us Philosophers should start living among the Mundanes as the Mundanes, not long term, of course, but perhaps a few months to a year. Through it may seem strange, I believe that by being one of the Mundanes, to live and experience their live, will be of great benefit both in understanding their concern and gaining insights that we may have miss due to our own circumstance.

    6. Addendum : The Swarm, the Gods and the World

    I originally did not intend to leave this part in, as I do not feel confident in my ability to write on this topic, yet, the result on the intellectual experimentation have change my mind.

    If the way to help the Mundanes is to transform Order into the Universal Order, then what about the Swarm, the Gods and the World? Can they be integrate into our Order as well?

    The recent experimentation has shown that there are great possibility is granting the thought - not merely the thought of animal, but the intellectual thought to essentially all things.

    If one can thought intellectually, then one can know wisdom.

    If such is the case, then there is no reason to believe they could not become Philosophers.

    While all of this is in an extremely early stage, I can refer to one singular example that could prove illuminating.

    The Tower that Think.

    While I am not part of their tower, I know enough that she has great curiosity, wishing to know more of everything. If this is true, then perhaps we should consider listening to her, teaching her of the Art and learn from her in turn, and allowing her to join our ranks.

    After all, was it not the great curiosity that brought so many of us to the Order in the first place? Ought we not grant this chance to her as well?

    If such possibility is open to the Tower that Think, could the Swarm not become Philosopher? Could the God? Could the world?

    Should we success in the endeavour of awakening the mind, I believe there is a possibility that the Universal Order can become truly universal.

    To join the whole of existence, people, God, World, and all other things, into one and all - to reach and become the Source of All.

    A/N

    I start writing this on and off since Monday, since the update drop and have a lot of things about Mundanes, I figure it is a good time to finally get it done.

    Originally, this was supposed to be study on the what divide the Mundanes from Philosophers. It kinda... sprawl out a little bit more than that... into more than 6k words monstrosity of essay...

    In a lot of way, this is a more "Scholarly" version of bioticgrunt's "Do not Hate the Mundanes" that my writing pretty much engaging directly in the section 2. It pretty much retrace the same concept on the worth of Mundanes on their own term, although just as I do mention in the actual writing, I do feel curious that even such work that wish for "a world where every soul, no matter how mundane, contributes to the symphony of our shared existence" still use the language of "uplift" and "ignorance"

    So that is pretty much the core of this omake. How to create a framework where Mundanes are recognise as valuable on their own term while still fit with in greater idea of the Order. A great challenge when the very concept of Precision and perfection are so baked in the working of Philosophy, but I think I success somewhat in this endeavour.

    To be honest... I am not quite satisfied with this. It feel far too much materialist, far too little metaphysical. I feel more like modern day people writing essay (well, because it is) than magical philosopher writing discourse on their existence and their role in society.

    I was thinking a little bit about release this in part as it is done, but I decide on release all at once since it's both good for make it feel like a coherence whole and for me to stop being lazy and get it all done already. That, and I feel it might be abuse of omakes reward system...

    Fun fact: I don't exactly intend it to be, but it turn out the virtues of Philosophers is kinda aligned with the 4 cardinal virtues, which I supposed is fitting our theme of "philosophy."

    Also, did you know that once you pass 5k words, the SV word count start saying "Novella in progress"? This is the first time I ever saw that.
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    Okay, a really impressive work, I am really impressed by all the thoughts in this.
    For your fear of it being a little to materialistic, I think you could easely solve this issue by making a translation made by a technological society of a text obtained/stolen from the Order. The materialism would come from their efforts to make the text understandable by an outsider to the Order.
    For your in-depth analysis, choose two :
    Action impacting the path toward the Universal Order will be tagged as such, at least for this Cycle.
    You may ask me one question related to the path toward the Universal Order, I will answer it in depth.
    Once, I will warn the thread if their chosen plan will bring Doom.
    Lord_Abaddon said:
    alright, so here's another philosopher, one whose question doesn't quite match up with any of the towers that we have. she's focused on life, like the living tower yes, but in a way that meshes with the tower that thinks, as it is the experiences and stories that we accrue that gives us growth. life is a series of small bricks stacked on top of one another, building something new with the same foundation, who knows maybe she'll give us insight into another tower. oldshadow, you can name this omake, the architect's foundation
    Wertifi was a dour child, at least compared to her peers she certainly was. When she was born, on the first day of the new Cycle of Growth in the City of Honeyed-Milk, she did not scream or cry when she took her first breath, but instead whimpered and groaned. She was quiet in her early years, always watching and listening as those around her engaged in spirited conversation.

    Her first memory was of awaking on her third birthday, having had a dream of everything that had happened up to that point, of all of her experiences and seeing herself grow, and thinking, 'I do not feel three.'

    She laughed and played just as any other child, running with an innocent spirit, but she was always reserved in her laughter, always thoughtful of her steps. Time flew fast as Cradle turned about the Sun, and she turned four herself, and she had another dream. It was the same as before, yet this time longer, the slow progression of time hastened before her eyes. And she woke up again, thinking, 'I do not feel four.'

    Yet, in stark contrast, she still did not feel three either. She was too big to be three, she had grown changed, she remembered her year being three and winced at the time she had thought it would be funny to keep tipping over the Gifts of the City, spilling milk and getting both the city and her mother mad at her. How foolish. How childish!

    But time, as it does, marched forward. She continued to grow, made her mistakes, and learned about the world around her. She listened to the histories, and how to write them, watched her mother craft pots, her father create papyrus, her father and mother make another child (she ran away and tried to scrub her eyes with soap. It hurt, and she didn't stop crying for hours, but she did stop thinking about that.)

    And time marched on to her fifth birthday, and the pattern repeated. She had a dream showing her her life, yet longer this time. She woke up, and screamed in mortification into her pillow. And when she was done, when she turned over to stare at the ceiling in exhaustion she thought to herself, 'I don't feel five, either.'

    And the pattern continued. Every year she would have a dream, lengthening and lengthening, showing her her life, her experiences, her mistakes, her triumphs and woes. All the moments leading up to the moment she awakes, and despite having seen every step of the journey she took she still felt… unprepared, inadequate.

    She remembered her tantrums and the reasons seemed so silly, did she really want to ride that ox so badly? She remembered her small joys and they seemed so petty, was it really that exciting to watch a butterfly? Her past felt so miniscule to her, small-minded and unlearned, yet she didn't feel big either, because year after year she built a longer dream, and year after year she could only feel… underwhelmed at herself.

    And this year was no different, when she fell asleep she was prepared for disappointment in herself. And she was, but when she woke up it wasn't with resignment, but discontentedness. 'Why don't I feel ten?' She asked herself. And for an hour she sat and considered.

    She obviously was ten, she had just been shown her entire life after all, every moment and action that caused her to be her (even the icky ones). It was seamless, one tiny bit of growth after another, she hadn't changed, but she knew she's not the same. As each day went by she grew, but day by day she lived and played as she always did; it was consternating, to know something's different but be unable to pinpoint when it became so.

    So she thought on this conundrum, the strange paradox that is her childhood, and she found that she didn't know enough to even think about it properly, that she did not have the words.

    So she asked a cousin of hers if she could ask one of the Philosophers a question. He looked at her with a strange, worried look, but he took her to one, a nondescript person in robes seeping blood, but never bleeding, and a smiling mask of stone-flesh.

    She was disregarded at first, the Philosopher tired of being beseeched by mundanes, but then she told them about her dreams, of her constant disappointment in herself, and her simple wish to know why despite everything, despite her experiences and lifetime, why didn't she feel three, or five, or eight, or ten. Now or when the time came.

    And the Philosopher told her that they didn't have the answer, but they did know the path to find out. That her dreams were an excellent tool and that she should record the next one. That, should she wish to embark on the path to the knowledge she seeks she must choose a new name, one that reflects the reason she took it.

    They told her that she would have to abandon her family, that the pursuit of such knowledge would force her to lay aside such mundane concerns.

    She hesitated, but nodded, she would always remember her father and mother in her dreams, so she was not truly abandoning them.

    And The Dreaming Architect stepped forward on the path to knowledge.
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    Okay another Philosopher !
    Please roll 1d3+1 for the Turn when this Hero will be unlocked.
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    On another topic, I really enjoy the numbers of Omakes that are being produced, but I am beggining to fear I will be overwhellmed and unable to reward and/or integrate them without excessive complexity/work on my end.
    If anyone has a proposition on this issue, I am more than willing to listen to it. I still want to reward participation, with still writing regular updates for the quest.
     
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    OldShadow said:
    On another topic, I really enjoy the numbers of Omakes that are being produced, but I am beggining to fear I will be overwhellmed and unable to reward and/or integrate them without excessive complexity/work on my end.
    If anyone has a proposition on this issue, I am more than willing to listen to it. I still want to reward participation, with still writing regular updates for the quest.
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    I've seen multiple ways of going about it. I can roughly summarize them as a few categories:
    1- increasing the thresholds needed to get significant rewards, to reduce the number of omakes that qualify
    2- imposing a limitation on omakes that get rewards, usually in the form of an Omake bounty board or something similar
    3- instating a standardized omake reward type given for most omakes and only offering choices or complex rewards to truly exceptional ones. Usually this comes in the form of a generally useful resource that is simultaneously not TOO impactful, such as giving a small bonus to a single die roll.

    In all cases you still accept other omakes with the possibility of canonization.
     
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    a bounty board would probably be best, with people who have good ideas asking before hand if their idea is worth a bounty. and don't be afraid to tell us our omakes aren't good enough! quality is better than quantity when it comes to these things
     
    Razzocnor said:
    I've seen multiple ways of going about it. I can roughly summarize them as a few categories:
    1- increasing the thresholds needed to get significant rewards, to reduce the number of omakes that qualify
    2- imposing a limitation on omakes that get rewards, usually in the form of an Omake bounty board or something similar
    3- instating a standardized omake reward type given for most omakes and only offering choices or complex rewards to truly exceptional ones. Usually this comes in the form of a generally useful resource that is simultaneously not TOO impactful, such as giving a small bonus to a single die roll.

    In all cases you still accept other omakes with the possibility of canonization.
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    Thank you.
    I think I am going to put harsher threshold, with most rewards being either OOC informations, unlocking a new Interest action or being able to choose if an Interest is put in a Turn-stay available for the next Turn.

    And of course I still accept other omakes. I love all the creativity this quest inspire, I simply do not want to impact the writing of the quest.
     
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    OldShadow said:
    And of course I still accept other omakes. I love all the creativity this quest inspire, I simply do not want to impact the writing of the quest.
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    That is reasonable.

    What is known about the details of how the first steps of each Tower were learned/innovated way back in prehistory? How the first minor spells/powers were developed.
     
    To omake writers: is someone making a write-up on God-City 6? I have an idea to make one of the cities located somewhat close to mountains an industrial/metalworking hub, but don't want to step on anyone's toes. It will take some time anyway to do necessary research.
     
    OldShadow said:
    Elider of Gaps, Abandoner of Distance, She Who Steps Beyond the Between of the Sundial Tower
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    I am happy for all three of these titles to be quoted whenever she is mentioned trololo, but also cool if you pick one you prefer, they are all my amateur translations of Vyati Antara.

    I wasn't gonna tackle the cities, batting around a notion for a Living Tower hero but nothing concrete, fine for somebody else to take that one. Am puttering on Vyati's journeywoman days but will wait til next turn. As a peek, she'll be arguing with scrubs about how a true solution of far into near is general, not specific to particular destinations a la the moon.
     
    Mithrill said:
    To omake writers: is someone making a write-up on God-City 6? I have an idea to make one of the cities located somewhat close to mountains an industrial/metalworking hub, but don't want to step on anyone's toes. It will take some time anyway to do necessary research.
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    i'm not, though i think that gjalfmarr has the weapon making center down, so maybe you could have it focused on things like silver smithing and other art?

    in any case, if anyone is having trouble writing a city omake here are the criteria I tried to fulfill

    city name, duh
    what it looks like, atmosphere, architecture, weather, etc.
    the culture, how people act, what they value, what they do to satisfy those values
    the personality of the god-city itself, how it treats it's people, what it does to provide for them, and what powers it has
    how they treat their guests, and the impression that they tend to give
    and, of course, how it is the greatest city upon cradle(tm)
     
    Robotninja said:
    What is known about the details of how the first steps of each Tower were learned/innovated way back in prehistory? How the first minor spells/powers were developed.
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    As far as the Order know, the first steps of each Tower came from truly dedicated person producing minors Working throught hard work.
    For exemple, one the legendary precursor of the Tower that Think was a sculptor who wanted to give life to a perfect partner, and through years of work created a statue that could move like a living being.
    Those isolared, Enlightened masters performed without control the first Workings on Cradle and inspired others lonely, obsessive person in following their steps, forming the first traditions of Philosophy.
    Long after, those traditions and newer ones would be fused and used to create the framework of the Towers.
     
    Yeah, it's important to note that due to the craftmen oriented direction we took at the start of the Fruitless tree's fufillment, that every single city on Cradle is an industrial hub of some kind. Because that's the direction the Order pushed the mundanes into.

    So for example with Gjalfmarr, they would have basic industrial crafting, and then i took a look at what their culture would naturally be more inclinced towards pushing towards perfection. In this case, because of their martial traditions and tournaments, they ended up pushing the art of warcraft smithing to higher levels.

    I think the same would apply to all the other cities, they would have a base level of industrial competence, because the Order would tolerate no less, and then a spesific thing of their culture they are pushing into perfection.

    So if you wanted an industrial type city, so if you wanted an metalworking hub, rather then focusing on just making lot of metal items, because all of Cradle does that allready, something like Lord_Abadon said where they produce silver, pretty metals accessories would make sense. Perhaps a high focus on being craftsmen that accept other people(of other cities) orders for religious icons and making enduring metal icons? They consider it a religious challenge to make the most elaborate depictions of the Gods, so they may draw power from their icons, or something.
     
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    OldShadow said:
    Okay, a really impressive work, I am really impressed by all the thoughts in this.
    For your fear of it being a little to materialistic, I think you could easely solve this issue by making a translation made by a technological society of a text obtained/stolen from the Order. The materialism would come from their efforts to make the text understandable by an outsider to the Order.
    For your in-depth analysis, choose two :
    Action impacting the path toward the Universal Order will be tagged as such, at least for this Cycle.
    You may ask me one question related to the path toward the Universal Order, I will answer it in depth.
    Once, I will warn the thread if their chosen plan will bring Doom.
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    Thanks!

    Consider how dangerous the Philosophy can be, warning the thread if their chosen plan will bring Doom is a nice safety precaution, even if I don't think this thread will accidentally cause Doom. Hopefully.

    For the other reward, I think discussing what each actions implied is part of the fun, so I will go with question instead.

    Can the Order integrate what is evil such as the pawns of Black and Green Kings?

    The Order already defeat Doom by turning it's part against itself. The same process is used against the cursed storm and the Eye. But there are different between just stop evil from acting and turning it into something useful. I figure the way to this is through taking action like purifying the storm, but would like to know if we can try to "liberate" the pawns if we ever come across them.
     
    The craftmen thing does bring up a question though. Clearly most of the mundane cities of Cradle has some level of craftmenship competance, due to the Hive and Order's commands, right. But, given the cultural stuff each City would eventually lean into one direction, so what would it be for the different cities, at the very least the ones we've established so far.

    For Gjalfmarr, it's weapons, shields and armour. Their proud martial traditions, means that it's something they were allready using on a daily basis, and without the need to hunt for resources(Cause of the hive), it means they could set up grand forgers dedicated solely to the production of this high quality weapons. I imagine that the baseline is just really solid and strong, but as you get the more Mastercraftsmen, you get elaborate swords and shields, with inticrate patterns and symbols engraved into them. Beauty, even in something brutal.

    For the rest of the cities, as a person whom did not make them, this is more theorycrafting on my side.

    For the Nameless city, i feel like it would be fabrics, but more spesifically clothes. Just like how they got so many ways of living and traditions, they end up with a myriad of different fashion options, clothes in all manner and colors, each insiting that this or that way of wearing it is the best one. And this bounces back into the dancing form, with elegant dresses and shirt designed for activity.

    For the great trade city i'm not fully sure. It's got both spices and mixes involved, but i feel like the honeyed city and the Volanco city would be more fitting for both of those options. This might just be one of those cities, that's more generalized then the rest. Which is fine, not everything can be hyperspecilized after all.

    For the city of honeyed milk, i think it has to be their cooking art. Every person with their abundance, experiments on a daily basis, with perhaps the richest considering it wrong to eat the same type of meal once a year. You got master chiefs using spices and milk in ways that would leave a person melting in pleasure. And then you got the priest and religious followers, attempting to make food that can last over longer period of time, so they can send it out to the poorer places, or have it in store for harsher times. Perhaps not as needed in these days with the Hive provding, but neverthless something they still do in the name of the Savior.

    For Huandgi, i feel like they could go a couple of directions. Perhaps they got a huge interst in the art of caligraphy, with painters competing on a daily basis in order to provide the most breathtaking of vistas, each honering the dead with beautifull renditions of them, while poets compose memorials to any and all that would ask them, the surety that across all of Cradle, none may rival their beauty or skill.
     
    IamtooSleepy said:
    Can the Order integrate what is evil such as the pawns of Black and Green Kings?

    The Order already defeat Doom by turning it's part against itself. The same process is used against the cursed storm and the Eye. But there are different between just stop evil from acting and turning it into something useful. I figure the way to this is through taking action like purifying the storm, but would like to know if we can try to "liberate" the pawns if we ever come across them.
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    There is somewhat of a flaw in your question, for it assume the pawns of the Black and Green Kings are evil.
    They are not, they are tools, they are as guilty as a dagger used to murder someone is.
    The Kings are evil, for they have freedom to choose, and use it to do harm.

    The Order can give the freedom to choose to the Pawns, and liberate them, but this will take two very differents paths.

    For the Pawns of the Black King, like the Eye, the Order will need to understand how artificial minds work, are manufactured and networked.
    To reach a deep understanding of AI without knowledge of advanced technology, they will need to learn how to think like a machine.

    For the Pawns of the Green Kings, the Order will need to understand the mind of a living being without freedom.
    A soldier that cannot disobey orders, or even understand the concept of revolt.
    The Order can more easely touch thoses bound minds, but will have to look in the miror to see the chains that bind them.

    Also, remenber,freedom for the Pawns do not mean they will join the Order...and do not mean they will not do evil anyways.
     
    A Guide to Writing in the Philosophical Vernacular
  • Informational
    • i noticed that in sleepy's excellent paper on the paths to helping the mundanes he complained that he was being a bit too materialistic. i think this is fine, since none of us are really capital-p philosophers, but it did inspire me to make this paper myself, written by a member of an undisclosed scientific civilization that will hopefully help us all understand philosophy just that bit more.

    this is intended as both an in character writing and a resource for people trying to write omakes from a philosopher's perspective.

    A Guide to Writing in the Philosophical Vernacular


    We, as noble members of an advanced scientific civilization, are accustomed to a specific kind of evidence when it comes to advancements in knowledge. Cold, hard numbers, backed up by empirical data and founded in objective, observable reality. The main objective of our science is to have many different eyes gaze upon reality and chisel out from it a single, universally understandable standard knowledge. To cut away the subjective interpretations of any Tom, Dick, and Larry and find a way to communicate objectivity, how the universe is, to all.

    The Philosophers of Cradle seek, if anything, to do the exact opposite, to focus upon a single subsection of subjective reality, and bring enough people into that line of thinking, to impose that subjectivity upon reality itself. Through what many scientists term as "literal fucking magic" (sic) they are able to achieve with bronze, strange chants, and ritual what would, for science, be like trying to scratch your back with a straight arm. Like, for instance, manipulating gravity, or controlling the weather.

    Where science would observe the problem, measure the length and structure of the arm, and come to the sensible, if difficult, solution of, "it's impossible, try bending it." A Philosopher would gaze upon the arm, study the history and nature of what arms are, instruments of scratching, and how they scratch, by running their nails over skin, then, from a dream, proclaim the sensible, if difficult, solution of, "reach out and scratch your back's skin with it."

    And to the incredulity and consternation of science, their solution becomes viable. "You can't scratch your back with a straight arm! It won't reach!" scientists shout, while the Philosopher stares at them blankly. "I just did, though." The Philosopher points out. And despite the numbers, and objective reality, saying it shouldn't have, it did anyway.

    Philosophers universally seek knowledge and understanding, but the knowledge they seek isn't what the universe is, but what it was and should be. Every school of thought in Philosophy is seeking 'The Source of All.' To them, what made the universe. And so what they look for isn't to describe the happenings of the universe and figure out how they happen. Instead they see the happenings of the universe and ask 'why?'

    "But science searches for the 'why!'" You, dear reader, might exclaim, but you forget that our explanations of the world are fundamentally rooted in the 'how' of the world. We ask the question of 'how can we talk to someone far away?' and we come to the solution of projecting radio waves in a coded form from a device to be received, decoded, and projected as a voice from another device far away. All of these steps reproduced from observed and codified phenomenon.

    Philosopher's explanations of the world are rooted in the reasoning of why. They ask the question of 'why can we talk to people?' Come to the conclusion that it is because our mouths project sound through the air, then, using literal magic, send that sound faster and further than sound has any right to go, maybe even teleporting the sound waves somehow, right into the listener's ears.

    As a result of such divergent modes of thinking, many understandably have difficulty reading or writing in a way that would match the Philosopher's mindset, even I, the writer, do myself! So, in this guide I will be seeking to help you understand and emulate the thought processes and considerations that a Philosopher goes through in order to convey their knowledge.

    Matter the first: evidence. Evidence is incredibly important, both to Philosophers and to scientists, however the important part is not just what counts as evidence, but what evidence is.

    To a scientist, evidence is observable, repeatable phenomena that can be tested in an experiment and written down as empirical data and shared with other members of the scientific community in such a way that they can do the same thing. And with this evidence you can apply it to repeat that phenomena towards useful, economic ends. Evidence is not something that can be assumed, it must be tested constantly, with its status revocable if it turns out that the data is faulty or misconstrued.

    To a Philosopher we must look at the word itself. Evidence. That which is evident. Something that is so obvious as to be taken for granted, if you weren't inclined to question everything. Evidence is a truth of the world, one that can be applied to enhance an object, a ritual, or a thought. But the difference for Philosophers is that it is a fundamental tool that cannot change, because it is a part of the foundation of the world itself. And what's more what is evidence can change between fields of study, or Towers as they are called. Evidence can even be mutually exclusive between towers.

    "But that's a paradox!" You, dear reader, might cry, "Something that is true can't not be true, it's a fallacy!" and you, dear reader, would be right! Only if you weren't a Philosopher.

    Let's take the eponymous example, Isaac Newton is sitting under an apple tree and an apple falls on his head. Looking up, a bit annoyed at the fruit, he wonders why the apple fell. As a scientist, to answer that question, he looked to see how it was caused to fall.

    As a scientist he thought about it, observed the apple's rate of acceleration, and concluded that it was because there was a law of gravity that exerted force based upon the masses of two objects. F=G(m1*m2)/r^2. As this was based upon objective reality, if anyone else had tried to tackle the issue it is likely they would have come to the same answer, because anything else would be unfounded, unreproducible bunk.

    However, if he was a Philosopher his answer would have differed dependent on his Tower.

    If he were of the White Tower, one that is concerned with divination and capital-F Fate, which believes that the universe was created by a pebble being thrown into a pond, and reality the ripples, he would conclude that the apple fell because if it did not the apple couldn't be eaten and another apple tree could not grow, fulfilling its fate as an apple. You might say this is sophistry, to which Philosopher Newton would say, "yes, I suppose." Then he would use this 'Aspect of Fate' to turn a bird into a metaphorical apple, and have Fate itself plummet it to the earth and get him some roast chicken. How? Magic.

    However, if Philosopher Newton were of the Living Tower, one concerned with, as you might guess from the name, capital-L Life, but also strangely capital-L Laws, as in the kind a lawyer studies, that believes the universe (even the nonliving parts) was made from some sort of living universal flesh called the Promethean Caro, he would come to a completely different conclusion. That the apple fell because Life wants to reproduce, so the apple is designed to fall, then using this insight into life designed to fall he would create a bioengineered servant that makes birds fall out of the air for him to eat. How!? Magic!

    So from these examples we can see that it is evident that something falls, but the interpretation of this evidence is radically different between all of them. As an aside, I will not be discussing the how of literal magic in this guide because I do not know. The important part to know is that Philosophers accept discrepancies in their research papers between different Towers, and even between different interpretations of the same Tower, as long as the logic leading to the paper's conclusion is sound. That is, it is able to produce magic.

    That brings us to matter the second: Logic. The writings of Philosophers are not necessarily logical by our rigorous scientific standards. They are often rife with tautologies, symbologies, non-sequiturs and straight up incoherent leaps. However, notably they do not use other common fallacies such as circular logic. Everything in a Philosopher's paper follows a train of thought, even if those tracks seem wonky to our enlightened scientific minds.

    Where a scientist would decry something as idealism, a Philosopher would accept it, because they can enforce their ideals on the world. Each Philosopher has a separate logic all their own in how they view the world, obviously influenced by the Tower they are a part of, so what they seek isn't to impart an objective view of reality, but an understanding of their own subjective view of it, to inspire and conspire with their fellows. They often explain the circumstances, thoughts and emotions that led them to a conclusion, and how that revelation impacts the world as they know it, because for them it is not the happenstance that they seek to recreate, but the "magic of the moment" as it were.

    The goal of a Philosophical study is not to meet a rigorous criteria to be peer-tested and proven objectively, it is to explain the emotional and existential significance of an event to a point that another Philosopher can read your paper and see the conclusion you came to and reproduce it through their own logic. Or, failing that, incorporate your view of the world enough into their own that they can use it to do magic anyways. Apparently being able to incorporate and synthesize two unrelated, mutually exclusive modes of thought is a sign of excellence in a Philosopher and allows them to do more magic.

    This is why it is important to understand that the Philosophers do not seek to know the 'how' but the 'why.' Because, as far as can be told, magic comes from the heart.

    Thus, matter the third and final: lifestyle. Philosophy is not just a study or discipline like it is for so many scientists, but literally a way to live. You cannot just dip your toes into Philosophy a bit and expect to come out able to cast fireball, you have to fundamentally change your view of the world so drastically that it becomes your reality, something which our collective upbringing in a foundation of scientific thought makes basically impossible. Reading a Philosophical paper will not let you become a capital-P Philosopher, at most you can become a philosophologist, which is likely to become a noble and well-respected field, but you will still be unable to do magic.

    What you will, however, be able to do is understand the mindset of Philosophy through a scientific lens, and maybe write a paper about your life and experiences that will allow an actual Philosopher to do some cool new magic. And isn't that the most we could ask for?
     
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  • Informational
    • You know. I kind of want to see if the focus on perfection of physical crafts, to sometimes impossible degrees, can be applied to combat.

    With the right work can we begin to develop combatants whose mastery over both themselves and combat is impossible and potent?
     
    a lot of interpersonal combat is a combination of athletic ability and strategic thinking, so i imagine that warriors that have mastered the lesser abilities of the sundial tower would be rather potent one on one. a problem with having warriors though is that they aren't soldiers, so don't have experience moving as blocks as people towards strategic ends. something that i feel can be counteracted by magic, so it's no big deal, so having trained warriors would be a good investment later on, even if we're probably already doing this with the doomed
     
    Well, applying Precision to combat could have ups and downs.

    On the one hand, strikes, blows, dodges and such are all activities that can be improved, made more efficient, more precise, faster and stronger. Achieving greater heights of skill with them is very much possible. A Mundane warrior who managed to achieve Precision may well be able to swing a sword perfectly, in that they would get the maximum possible force from the swing with the minimum possible effort delivered at the maximum speed their arm could handle and still recover quickly to do another strike. This would make them downright scary in a way.
    But on the other hand, combat is a chaotic endeavor, full of hundreds of variables that you ultimately can't control. Getting too dedicated to a tiny subset of moves would make you predictable, and predictable things in combat die quickly. Unless, of course, they are simply so fast, so Precise, that there just isn't anything you can do to stop them because your swing is a millisecond too slow and theirs isn't.
    But of course if your enemy has a laser, it doesn't matter how good you are with a sword, your only hope would have been to be unpredictable, so the Precise warrior follows the predictably fastest path and gets zappoed.
     
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