The Inner Light, or Thaumaturgy

Thaumaturgy is the ability for an individual to be able to draw on the Inner Light to various ends. Such practitioners are called thaumaturges. The Inner Light is believed to be an innate source of inspiration and power that dwells within the souls of all of mankind, though it requires adherence to a strict discipline and philosophy to draw upon. Its effects are known to include providing powerful inspiration, healing wounds, purging nether, and serving as a source of literal light. When physically manifested it is in the form of a golden light.

The source and origin of this power is uncertain. Many believe it to be an innate property of the souls of humankind. There are some few who believe it may originate from Serafina the Torchbearer, though the commonly accepted belief is that Serafina serves only as a guide and not the source.

The Church of Light cautions against the misguided assumptions some make that thaumaturgic ability is a measure of goodness, or that all good people may become thaumaturges, or that an individual's inability to practice thaumaturgy indicates that they are of lesser goodness. It is merely a sign of an individual being adept at one particular spiritual discipline.

The Church of Light

The Church of Light is described as a spiritual charity organization based upon the philosophy of the Inner Light and the teachings of St.Vito and Serafina. Though it has an Immortal patron and guide in the form of Serafina the Torchbearer, it is not in fact a religious institution and does not focus on worship of any Immortal. It is a Lost Lands offshoot of the Church of St.Vito which originated in Constantia, and focuses foremost on the three tenets of Compassion, Charity, and Self-Reliance. These tenets are believed to be linked to the Inner Light.

Membership in the Church of Light is not limited to thaumaturges. In fact, membership of the Church of Light is primarily made up of individuals without any thaumaturgic ability. The bulk of members are individuals who merely wish to do good for their fellow man, often in tandem with seeking their own self-improvement and heightened sense of self-worth through the philosophy of the Inner Light.

The Church of Light is dedicated to spreading compassion, charity, and self-reliance, but they do not proselytize. They are content to serve as an example.

Ascetics

Those members who seek particularly diligently to tap into the Inner Light through the methods taught by the Church of Light are now referred to as Ascetics, following a path of rigid discipline, spirituality, and humility. Such individuals are taught from the beginning that they should be willing to accept that they may not succeed in harnessing the Inner Light through their practices, as the lifestyle does not suit everyone, and not everyone is willing or capable of changing themselves to be suited to it. Nor should they: The Ascetic's Path is only one of many ways that an individual might find fulfillment and self-worth, and one that is frankly not appealing to many.

Ascetics in the Lost Lands are increasingly being called upon to defend the defenseless and contain and purge the rampant spread of nether and feral nethrim, much like the Templar were tasked with until their order was disbanded by the King of Ivial. There are some Ascetics who continue to uphold the ways of the Templar and seek to continue their work, reciting the Templar Code despite the order's official disbandment by the King.

Those interested in walking the Ascetic's Path are cautioned that doing so solely to gain the powers granted by the Inner Light will almost certainly be met with failure. A common adage is that the type of person able to draw on the Inner Light is also the type of person who would not be bothered if it turned out they were unable to do so. The actual meaning and wisdom if this adage is at times debated.

Ascetics are expected to adhere to the discipline and philosophy written of in the Edict of St.Vito. The following are some of the qualities, disciplines, or guidelines they must adhere to: (taken from this BBS post)

• Compassion. One should always show compassion and kindness to others. However, one may also be savvy to when they are being taken advantage of and refuse to give support in such cases. Giving charity in a time of need is one meritous. Enabling someone to live on continual handouts rather than develop a means of self-reliance is not. Compassion does not mean blind forgiveness or not holding others responsible for their actions.
• Respect. Strive to always show respect to all people. This does not include allowing others to walk all over you. It is possible to be respectful while also holding someone responsible for their actions. This includes self-respect. The Ascetics tend to get their fair share of members who struggle with self-doubt or even self-loathing and are in need of a second chance at discovering some sort of worth within themselves.
• Honesty. Be honest in all things. This does not mean one cannot keep secrets, nor does it mean it is required to give any information anyone asks for. One can be honest while also maintaining security. There is nothing dishonest about refusing to volunteer information to someone who will misuse it.
• Poverty. One should be able to sustain one's own survival as self-reliance is a key tenet of the Church's teachings, but money isn't the only way to achieve that. An emergency stash might be something like enough to cover replacing a single piece of lost clothing or broken armor. Not buying an entire suit of armor at once, or buying someone a house. Monetary aid is not what the Church (or the Ascetics) are about. There are plenty of organizations that provide monetary aid charity already. The Church can do without having piles of reserve money, and are in fact actively against the hoarding of money, even if in the name of emergency preparedness. A charitable and compassionate community will care for someone in need even if they don't have money.
• Humility. Do good deeds for the good of the deed and its positive impact on your fellow man. Don't do things for the fame or the glory or the recognition. Do not confuse honor for social standing or renown. Avoid smugness, arrogance, and elitism.
• Modesty. Avoid apparel, tools, gear, etc. that are opulent or luxurious. There's no practical purpose to gold cufflinks or gem-studded bracelets. Price is not always what determines this: A celestium sword would be worth a fortune monetarily, but if one came into the possession of an Ascetic it would be a very useful tool in fighting the nethrim. If an Ascetic found themselves loving it for its monetary value or the looks and comments they got over it, then it would become a problem. Rationalizing to justify having fancier or more luxurious things is clearly not understanding the spirit of the rule. Arguing that a solid gold paperweight is heavier and so better at holding things down, to give an exaggerated example. False modesty is both obvious and abhorrent.
• Sanctity of life. Always consider whether a situation could be solved without violence (but also accept that sometimes violence is necessary. It's a crazy world we live in). Avoid goods and activities that involve the death of a sentient creature. Eat meat sparingly (generally only if there is no other choice), avoid wearing leather or fur, etc. (Tip: If you have to debate whether something is "sentient" or not and whether it breaks this rule or not to kill it, you're probably not getting the spirit of this one.) Avoid over-utilizing goods and activities that involve the death of any life (excessive logging, foraging, etc).
• Sanctity of the world. Similar to the above, but applies to the environment and land in general. Don't cause damage to an environment just because it has no or minimal living organisms in it. A natural cavern of beautiful rock formations has its own spirit and worth even if there aren't any plants or animals living in it. Try to preserve it as much as possible even if there are veins of exceptionally pure iron in it to be mined, and maybe even leave it completely unspoiled if that iron isn't absolutely necessary to some greater cause right this moment.
• Discipline and Willpower. Discipline is not only about practicality, but about maintaining self-control and regulating one's desires, and learning to find contentment in less and simplicity. Always maintain control over one's own mental faculties. Strong drinks and other mind-altering substances are forbidden.
• Peace. One should strive to be able to find a significant measure of peace in one's lifestyle and the activities one spends time participating in. This includes both effort and dedication to worthy causes as well as a balance of leisure time and activities and self-care. Peace is not to be confused with complacency, nor contentment with laziness, but neither should one be unhappy without some sense of constant progression or limitless ambition.

OOC guide

Here I will give some OOC advice to those who may wish to have a character set out along the Ascetic's Path. It is a compilation derived from my own experience, the observed experiences of my peers, the advice of NPCs, and OOC community discussion with staff on the subject. It is my hope to put much of it into an IC book one day, but some of the advice is difficult to portray in an IC manner.

Simple Adivce

• It is best for your aspiring Ascetic to be your main character. This will show dedication to the idea rather than risk it being perceived as only a passing interest on a rarely-played alt. It is of utmost importance however that you should be content with the character even should they never become an initiated Ascetic.
• Set a limit of total riln owned. I have found 5,000 to be sufficient. Expensive armor pieces may be saved up for and purchased one at a time and I have found many crafters willing to accommodate.
• Set in your bank vault a single trunk and armor stand, and do not exceed the storage limitations of those two items.
• Do not eat meat. Most shops include vegetarian options.
• Do not drink strong drinks. Most shops include soft drinks.
• Do not use leather items or any other items that utilize materials requiring the death of an animal. This does require sacrifices: For quite some time I was required to put my weapon in a backpack because there were no wooden scabbards or haft-rings. I to this day have no foot protection because we have yet to receive foot armor that does not contain leather somewhere in its construction. We thankfully have seen the implementation of cloth padded armor, cloth brigandine, and plate attached to cloth under-armor.
• Speak respectfully. This may vary per character, not all respectful language must sound like a Viali. Avoid vulgar language. Say "thank you" often.
• Use the MODIFY command to hide the quality of fine equipment to avoid being perceived as showing off.

Complicated or Controversial Advice

• Choose a struggle for your character. Perhaps they struggle with accepting their own self-worth, or they have a love of material wealth and finery, or they have a short temper and find it difficult to suffer fools or forgive trespasses. This will give your character opportunities to RP the struggle and show growth over time as they walk the Ascetic's Path. Take care with this advice, as indulging the deliberately conflicting character trait too fervently may make one unsuitable for the path. It is meant not as an unchanging character facet, but to be a point of reference for progress, learning, and character development. It is important that the character harbors a desire to overcome this trait rather than believe they can succeed down the Path despite it. This is an important distinction.
• There is an observable theme in NPC dialogue about those seeking the Ascetic's Path to gain powers of thaumaturgy being unfit for the path. This may seem contradictory, but I believe the OOC implication is quite clear: If you are only seeking thaumaturgy powers and not interested in the ascetic lifestyle, you will not get them.
• Do not seek or utilize loopholes. It may be tempting to accept gifts from friends of items that would conflict with the Ascetic's guidelines for poverty, humility, and modesty, and say that you only use them because they were gifts given by another and you would have been rude to decline. Learn to politely turn down such gifts. Utilize phrases such as: Thank you, but I am afraid my order forbids me from accepting such a gift.
• If the Edict of St.Vito or any of this advice feel like they would be obstacles to your enjoyment of your character, do not seek the Ascetic's Path. These rules and guidelines should be a sought out and enjoyable aspect of one's RP, not a frustration. It is not worth the frustration to approach membership otherwise, and a bedgrudging adherent is unlikely to find success.