Oliver's Sermons to Mystra

[HinAttack]

OOC: I thought I would place my sermons here, once I have preached them to the goodly folk of Arelith. Not sure if its an IC Story, but it was part of the stories we are playing as we develop our PCs.

Enjoy

Oliver Lane, Knight of the Mystic Fire and Sage of the temple of Mystra in Cordor.

[HinAttack]

*kneels down next to the Altar of Mystra*
*kneels*
Let us give thanks to Mystra before we begin.

Mystra, thank you for surrounding us with your favor and protections; Your Glory as an adornment; Your wisdom as words of life; with your weave as a gift of magic; Behold your blessings are a downpour of magic!

Mother of Mysteries, source of the weave, giver of all magic, We thank you for the gifts ye bestow upon us, for the breath that sustains magic, for the vessels on this isle that nurtures Your weave, for the love of magic and the loyalty of companions, without which there would be no life.

We thank you for the mystery of the Weave, for the beauty that the eye can see, for the joy that the ear may hear, for the unknown that we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder, for the expanse of weave that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.

We thank you for setting us in this community: for families who nurture our becoming, for friends who love us by choice, for companions, who share our burdens and daily tasks, for strangers who welcome us into their midst, for people from other lands who call us to grow in understanding, for children who lighten our moments with delight, for the unborn, who offer us the new vessels for the weave.

*gets up and turns to face the crowd* I wish to again, thank you for allowing me to speak to you all. I am one of many Knights of the Mystic Fire that have come to this isle. Mystra commands and we, of course obey. As a knight and protector of the weave, we were deeply concerned about the well being of the most holy vessels of Mystra.

So the Knights of the Mystic Fire are here to offer our assistance to any that call upon us. Our goal is to simply protect the weave, nothing more, nothing less.

------------------------------------------------

Let us begin:

I have named this sermon Hubris as Mystra has taught me a valuable lesson recently and I would like to implart that wisdom upon those willing to listen.

As you may know, the edict Mystra gives us is to find any hidden magic and share it with the isle. The day starts out as any other day as we prepare to wander the isle looking for Mystra's gifts. Accompanying me on this Holy Journey is Sir Kristofer Edgerton and one of Mystra's vessels, Croft Stafford.

Starting in Wharftown, we prepare and cloak ourselves with Mystra's gifts. I am always wary of using too much of the weave as it may appear to be irresponsible. Yet we would be prudent to prepare for any creature that may wish us harm as we carry out Mystra's Holy Commands.

To avoid this 'shipwreck' as I like to call it is to walk Mystra's path and to use not only the weave She besows upon us, but our intelligence and wisdom as well.

For this end, we must be knit together in this work as one man, we must entertain each other in brotherly service, we must be willing to abridge our selves of our desires, for the supply of others necessities, especially the vessels of Mystra.

We must uphold a familiar commerce together in all meekness, gentleness, patience and the use of the weave, we must rely in each other, rejoice together in our triumphs, mourn together, labour, and suffer together, always having before our eyes Mystra's teachings and Her Holy vows.

So shall we keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, Mystrians will delight to dwell among us, as Her own people and will command a blessing upon us in all our ways.

But alas, this was not the case on this fateful day. Mysta's path took us upon the frozen mountains past the dwarven strongholds to the giants of ice and snow. We believed that Mystra was upon us and we delved deeper into the mountain collecting magical treasure to share with the peoples with the isle.

We believed that Mysta was, and is among us, when three of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies, when we shall praise Her Holy Words, that men shall call upon our deeds as Holy.

*looks at the assembly and sighs* This was our downfall.

For we forgot that the weave is there for all, not just Mystrians, not just mages, but for all. And we encountered giants that mastered the weave and worked in harmony with the weave. This bastion of giants housed vessels of Mystra as well and we were overcome.

We saw ourselves as the soldiers of Mystra and saw no others as doing Mystra's work. Yet here were giants that harnessed the weave and commanded many difficult castings. We must consider that we shall be not an island but a city full of differing wonders and faiths.

Mystra's way is like a city on a hill, the eyes of all creatures are upon us; so that if we shall deal falsely with Mystra in this work we have undertaken and so cause Her to withdraw Her presence from us, we shall be made a story and a byword through the isle.

We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the way of the Weave and all professors for Mystra's sake; we shall shame the faces of many of Mystra's worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into Curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whether we are going.

Mystra allowed me to come back to the isle and for that, I am truly grateful. But more importantly, she has allowed me the wisdom of Her life lessons, which I impart to you.

The vessels of Mystra are many and varied. To cause one harm is to cause your own downfall. This we know now. And we shall concern ourselves with what Mystra wishes, not what we think she commands.

But if our hearts shall turn away so that we will not obey, but shall be seduced and worship Shar or other Gods and Goddesses, our pleasures, and profits, and serve them, it is propounded unto us this day, we shall surely perish out of the good Land whither we pass over this vast Sea to possess it.

Therefore let us choose life, that we, and our Seed, may live; by obeying her voice, and cleaving to her, for she is our life, and our prosperity.

[HinAttack]

If you will induldge me, I usually start any sermon with thanking Mystra for allowing me to be Her voice and protector for Her divine vessels.

*kneels*

Mystra, thank you for surrounding us with your favor and protections; Your Glory as an adornment; Your wisdom as words of life; with your weave as a gift of magic; Behold your blessings are a downpour of magic!

Mother of Mysteries, source of the weave, giver of all magic, We thank you for the gifts ye bestow upon us, for the breath that sustains magic, for the vessels on this isle that nurtures Your weave, for the love of magic and the loyalty of companions, without which there would be no life.

We thank you for the mystery of the Weave, for the beauty that the eye can see, for the joy that the ear may hear, for the unknown that we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder, for the expanse of weave that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.

We thank you for setting us in this community: for families who nurture our becoming, for friends who love us by choice, for companions, who share our burdens and daily tasks, for strangers who welcome us into their midst, for people from other lands who call us to grow in understanding, for children who lighten our moments with delight, for the unborn, who offer us the new vessels for the weave.

*Oliver gets up off his knees and rests his hand on the altar of Mystra. He looks out onto the crowd.* "What profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the weave?"

THIS question is asked and answered by Midnight before her glorious ascension, and I believe it means about this:

"What good does a person get out of life if he lives only for what this world can give him?"

If any person has ever been able to give the right answer to this great question, out of her own wisdom and experience, that woman was Midnight. Yes, she came into this world a peasant, but look at the riches she was gifted with.

Shar and Cyric have a mortgage on some people from the cradle, but Midnight had no such handicap, for she was pure of spirit. She was the favored vessel of Mystra, she was one of the greatest and best women who ever lived, for her father, Archmage David, was a man after Mystra's own heart.

Midnight was made vessel of Mystra in her early childhood, her father was still alive to counsel and help her up to her ascension. From this we see that she had every advantage that high moral standing and boundless energy and opportunity could give her.

She had wisdom, talent, wealth of spirit and honor such as no peasant ever had before her or since. When she ascended, an invincible army stood ready to do her bidding, and all the power of a great religious nation that was under the special protection and favor of Mystra, Azuth, Selune, and Oghma were behind her.

She had only to command, and it was done; to express a wish, and it was gratified. She had received the best education it was possible to give her, and was called the wisest of Goddesses.

The fame of her wisdom covered Abeir-Toril, and caused Elminster, greatest of all sages, with a great retinue, to make a long pilgrimage of weary weeks and months, to sit at her feet in wonder. He looked upon the beauty of her works and the magnificent temples her followers had built.

She reviewed her matchless army; considered the numbers of men who served her and the elegance of the Order of the Starry Quill, the Order of the Shooting Star, and the Order of the Mystic Fire that surrounded her, and took his departure, declaring that the half had not been told to him.

This is the kind of ability Midnight had with which to answer her own question. She wrote three thousand proverbs and a thousand and five songs, all full of wisdom. If she wasn't qualified to speak as an expert, where can we find one? Every great pleasure was at her fingertips.

If she wanted anything she had only to reach out her soft-jeweled hand and take it. Her kingdom had peace and rest from war, she was honored, admired and flattered as few Goddesses have been. No greater honor than standing in her light could be known, no greater wisdom found in any books, and no higher station attained. She was rich in that her weave could not be measured. For she was, in essence, three Goddesses - Mystra, Midnight/Mystra, and Mystryl.

So, ask yourself, "At what profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the weave?"

At some time in our lives we have all envied godsand goddesses of great scholarship and intellectual attainments, and have thought of what a foretaste of spiritual reward it would be to have the time and opportunity to learn all the things we would like to know.

We have believed that one of the greatest joys this life could give is the joy of knowing things. Well, who among us did not fancy drinking that well dry?

*smiles*

For who among us would not fancy exhausting all the schools and colleges of this isle, and give all the arcane masters nervous prostration in their vain endeavor to teach something more than we already knew?

Get into your golden chariot with the diamond-set wheels and go round the track in a way to set the bleachers crazy. At breakneck speed, gallop over the rose-lined avenues of sensuous pleasures that open for you in every direction, looking as if they lead straight to paradise;

but ere long the shining wagon of delight lost a wheel and down in the mud you go again! Crying out to any who might be following in your wake:

/s "Go back! Don't come this way, for here all is vanity and vexation of spirit!"

Perhaps to the Nomad we go? Take to the finest elven wines and the rosiest kind of dissipation. Perhaps you should explore the love many strange men and women, laying hold on folly with both hands.

Will seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines give you solace? Will it ascend you to greatness? But soon the same verdict as before is given, and again you cry out, "Vanity, vanity; all is vanity!"

*walks to the other side of the platform*

Perhaps you have discovered something really substantial? And your talents lie in the building of great works and houses? Let's explore this magnificent temple you sit in this day. It required seven years to build, and took the combined efforts of seventy-seven thousand Mystrians and strangers to do the work.

It took seven thousand men eleven years to cut the trees. There were seven hundred hewers of wood, and seventy thousand burden bearers. There were seventy seven thousand squared stones, all so perfectly shaped by magic and by craftsmanship in the quarries that the sound of neither hammer nor mallet was heard in putting them together in this glorious temple.

At the completion of the work there was a feast of seven days at its dedication. The temple is built of grey marble, so artfully joined that it appears like one stone. The roof is of olive wood, covered with pure gold. When sunshine falls on the temple its splendor was so dazzling that eyes are almost blinded.

The great architect Artos built his temple, *sweeps his hands out to encompass the entire temple* but do you see his name anywhere upon the dedication stones? Or the plagues or paintings that hang on the walls?

*pauses for a moment*

Perhaps you should turn your great talent and wealth toward making a beautiful Cordor? Plant vineyards and lay out gardens that were like the Elven stories of Myon, and then like a tale of magic, produce orchards of the finest and rarest trees in all Abeir-Toril.

Trees from every clime, and flowers of every kind and hue would be there, and all these were kept green and beautiful by irrigation from arcane and natural means. It is doubtful if the world would ever see greater beauty, and the elves would weep from such beauty, but even all this must die and would please your fancy for only a little while, and all too soon you have nothing but dust, and again cry out.... "All is vanity!"

And so, oh wise and honored adventurer, go drinking first from one golden cup and then another, only to dash them all away as soon as you taste bitter disappointment, and then after you have tried them all, to say, "Not one can satisfy!"

To find starvation of the most awful kind today, don't go down into the slums in lower Cordor, but go to the adventurers in the Nomad who are enormously wealthy. For who among us achieved more the first few months off the boat than the remaining years gathering fame and fortune? Every adventurer wants to be satisfied. I do. So do you. Everyone is reaching out for happiness and peace and rest.

There are those before me who have tried many things in pursuit of happiness. You have climbed high and you have probed deep, and some of you have not found what you have sought.

*looks out at the crowd, locking gazes with a few*

All who are here are on the verge of eternity. The past is simply a memory, the future an uncertainty. No matter how old you are; no matter if your hair is gray; no matter what your bank account may be; some of you must say, "I have not found happiness. I am a failure. My life has been a failure.

/s All is vanity and vexation of spirit!"

Why don't you be great? Why don't you show courage, and take up the star of Mystra? Why don't you rise to what you might be? We were all meant for better things. You were never meant for the slop and the swill barrels of Shar. Why do you let the deceiver control you? Why do you let her make you a pawn on the board on which she plots utter destruction?

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread? Is there any bread in fame? Ask the poor fellows who have been spending their earnings for drink during all these years of dissolution. Ask their wives and their children. No bread for them. Ask the Sharran saloonkeeper. There is bread in it for him, but none for those who drink what he sells.

Is there no good to be found in any of the things with which the adventurer employs his time? Is going to the wilds of Arelith no better than wasting time in idleness? Does a keen appreciation of the beautiful carry with it a curse and not a blessing?

Is there no benefit in architecture, music or sculpture? Is there nothing but evil in wealth, wisdom and high station in life? Are we starving while apparently feeding on the finest of the wheat?

When a man tells you that the whiskey business is a good thing for Cordor, you know that he is looking at things through the eyes of a brewer or a saloonkeeper, and not through the eyes of a father who has a son that has become a drunkard.

When a man tells you that he doesn't believe in helping Wharftown or Burrowhome, you know that he don't know any more than a jack rabbit knows about running for councilor. From what he says you know the viewpoint from which he has come to his conclusion. To know a man's viewpoint is to know why he sees the thing he claims to see, and now we know why we have said, "All is vanity and vexation of spirit!"

It was because he was looking at things from the viewpoint of "under the sun." As if a man could tell what a rainbow were like while standing on his head in a dark cellar. In the parables of Midnight, from which this text is taken, the expression "under the sun" occurs thirty-one times, as if Midnight wanted everyone to understand that what she said therein was said from the standpoint of low ground.

The Goddess was looking at things from a low, sensual, materialistic plane, and from that viewpoint every word she said was true.

Take away the Deities, take away the Holy works, take away inspiration and revelation, take away all hope of a better life in the world to come, destroy all thought of salvation, and put in its place nothing but hopeless and endless night, and you have nothing left that is worth living for.

The life of the greatest and wisest man is then no better than that of a fool. The best fruits of the world would then turn to ashes on the lips, and it was better to die than to live. For this is to live as a Sharran! We have only begun to know a little about the spirit when we discover that nothing under the sun can satisfy it.

It is this great truth when we begin to realize that nothing but disappointment in the very best the world could give us. Under the sun nothing lasts; nothing endures; nothing satisfies. No sooner do we begin to think we have a thing safe forever than it is gone. We love but to lose.

Whatever we have is ours but for one brief moment, and the anguish of our loss is a wound that no cleric can heal. No happiness is possible without the hope of certainty, and the thing we feel we must have mocks us as it flies. No fountain under the sun can hold enough to satisfy an immortal spirit, and that very fact proves us to be spirits in prison while we are here.

All the gold mines in the world have not given up treasure enough to satisfy the man who has a greed for gain. As a Knight of the Mystic Fire, I can say for certainty, no man with a hunger for honor and distinction has ever been able to get enough of it, and the same can be said of everything else for which men strive and struggle and destroy each other and themselves.

Fret not Adventurers! Spread your wings, my adventuring spirits, on the wings of faith and get higher than the sun, and change your viewpoint that changes the meaning of life, for now you can see with a clear eye. Listen to this, and note how our vision has expanded, and our sight cleared up, surely I know faith is that which lasts forever.

There is no more talk about everything being vanity now, and the reason is because at last we have a viewpoint higher than the sun, as is always the case with even the humblest adventurer who has faith. We can now see that nothing good is ever lost, and faith lasts, endures, and is the companion you always have.

See that wisdom is better than weapons of war, the plain meaning of which in our day is that good common sense is better protection than a bastard sword. And there is no vanity about anything Mystra does.

Who among you has not seen one that has looked at life from a viewpoint higher than the sun? Who has seen the fisherman working upon a boat never seeing fish but having faith that once complete, he would feed his family? Who has had a vision that pierced the realms and went far beyond the sun? Who has endured through the ruins and strongholds of Arelith knowing that eventually you will see the sun again?

For I look at things from faith. Who among us can say, "To obey is better than sacrifice" and "I will trust my life through Mystra even though She will slay me." Who among us does not feel that we shall be rewarded by finally closing the curtain on our lives when our goddess calls us for our final meeting?

Faith *smiles* Everyone want to go to paradise, just no one wants to die.

For faith allows us to say, "The avatar of the Goddess of Mysteries encamp round about me and deliver me. O taste, and see that Mystra is good; blessed is the man that trusts in Her!"

*bows his head* Let us give thanks to the Words Mystra has given us.

[HinAttack]

If you will induldge me, I usually start any sermon with thanking Mystra for allowing me to be Her divine speaker.

*kneels*

Mystra, thank you for surrounding us with your favor and protections; Your Glory as an adornment; Your wisdom as words of life; with your weave as a gift of magic; Behold your blessings are a downpour of magic!

Mother of Mysteries, source of the weave, giver of all magic, We thank you for the gifts ye bestow upon us, for the breath that sustains magic, for the vessels on this isle that nurtures Your weave, for the love of magic and the loyalty of companions, without which there would be no life.

We thank you for the mystery of the Weave, for the beauty that the eye can see, for the joy that the ear may hear, for the unknown that we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder, for the expanse of weave that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.

We thank you for setting us in this community: for families who nurture our becoming, for friends who love us by choice, for companions, who share our burdens and daily tasks, for strangers who welcome us into their midst, for people from other lands who call us to grow in understanding, for children who lighten our moments with delight, for the unborn, who offer us the new vessels for the weave.

A Lost Opportunity

Midnight, when she was writing, spoke of a parable, and it vexed me. I read it many times yet I could not understand its meaning.

"And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And Mystra said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it."

*Walks about the room.* Thyself hast decided it.

I did not know what this meant until our encounter with the Drow! Let me explain.

As we contest by arms with the denizens of the Underdark, a great battle rages, and a certain important prisoner has been taken!

Her skill in leading the forces of good have been marvelous, her courage in the thick of the fight striking; and now she is a prisoner.

*sighs looking down to the floor*

The one of Drow Sharrans puts her in the keeping of a soldier, saying, "Guard this woman; if she escapes thy life shall be demanded for her."

It is possible that they gave an extra pull to the thongs that bound the prisoner and the guard was left alone with him.

It is an important duty he has to perform. His life hangs in the balance. He must have been impressed with it. But, as we read on between the lines, strange as it may seem, he becomes negligent, his crossbow is laid down and his sword is left standing against the tent.

He becomes hungry and takes a few small cakes to eat, he is weary and lies down to doze and sleep.

Suddenly there is a snap and a bound, and the guard arouses himself just in time to see his prisoner dash into the darkness of the Underdark, and she is gone.

Now the Drow Sharran requires the prisoner at the guard's hand. Terror-stricken, he falls upon his face to cry aloud, "And as thy servant was busy here and there, she was gone. And the Sharran said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it."

Mystra is always placing opportunities within our grasp. In a sense they are bound, for they may be made to do our will if we rightly use them. And it is also my purpose to show that as Mystrian and Sharran alike we have permitted opportunities to slip away while we doze in weariness or give attention to matters of less importance.

*looks over the crowd*

As for the Sharran's opportunity, it is to repent thy evil ways and to embrace that which is freely given!

Mystra, save us all from the expression, "It might have been," when it is too late, for even Mystra herself cannot reverse the wheels of time and bring back the lost opportunity. We see this all about us.

*takes out a cold iron ingot from his pocket*

I hold in my hands a piece of cold iron. I cannot bend it; if I put it in the fire it becomes pliant; if I take it out it is cold again. There is a point in time, however, where it is bent as easily as a piece of paper.

Years ago I was sent to Arelith to witness the miracles of Mystra. Preparation for this great trek had been going on for months. There was a critical moment when the tides, the weather and the season were all in line.

Every sailor aboard that ship knew that at that moment his eye must be on the horizon, if he is to have a safe voyage. If he should miss that moment no power on or above could bring the space of time back again. The world is full of these moments.

Archmage Melf studied the relationship between acids and bases and beheld the principle of his spells. The gnome, Watt looked at the teakettle lid as it was lifted by steam, My ship captain saw the wind's direction and knew there was land not far away.

The difference between these men, to whom the world is indebted, and many others is this, that others look at the acids and are unmoved, have allowed the teakettle to boil without making an impression upon them, and the wind to blow without leading them to any shore.

The opportunity for greatness is gone. There is not a person but to whom at some time a great opportunity has been given, and for the use or abuse of it we shall be called to a strict account.

I would not preach to others what I did not first preach to myself, but there are many of us as clerics of Mystra, who, one day, was visiting an old man seventy-two years of age, apparently in perfect health.

They talked together about everything but Mystra. I was inclined to speak about his soul, but did not. Before morning the old man was dead. I returned to the house, called all the old man's household about him, and offered the most touching apology and prayer.

I spent the entire day in the woods, saying, "If I had been faithful this might not have been." I have no question but Mystra would say, "So shall thy judgment be."

You have doubtless heard of that young girl of whom Midnight tells us. She had a string of pearls in her hand and her hand is in the water, the string is broken, and one by one the pearls slip away.

So it has been with you who have been Mystrians. My hope is that there may be one pearl left yet. Today is the accepted time; do not let the opportunity slip.

But whether my message is to Clerics, to worshippers, to families or to the unsaved, I call your attention to this fact:

It was when the soldier was busy that the prisoner escaped. Many of you have been busy about pleasure, and some day it will mock you.

You have been caught by the fascination of business, and it does not prevent your soul having been surrounded by shar from which after a while you cannot escape, and if the opportunity slips away so shall our judgment be, for we must decide it.

In a few years at the latest, possibly in a few months, perhaps in a few weeks--who knows but within a few days?

--eternity shall be upon us. If it is an opportunity that is gone or a soul that is lost it will be a sad eternity indeed for us. To this end may Mystra keep us watchful.

[HinAttack]

*looks around at the assembled folks and bows his head.*

Mystra, thank you for surrounding us with your favor and protections; Your Glory as an adornment; Your wisdom as words of life; with your weave as a gift of magic; Behold your blessings are a downpour of magic!

Mother of Mysteries, source of the weave, giver of all magic, We thank you for the gifts ye bestow upon us, for the breath that sustains magic, for the vessels on this isle that nurtures Your weave, for the love of magic and the loyalty of companions, without which there would be no life.

We thank you for the mystery of the Weave, for the beauty that the eye can see, for the joy that the ear may hear, for the unknown that we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder, for the expanse of weave that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.

We embark upon this adventure with you upon our lips and within our soul. Mother of all magic, grant us the wisdom to use your precious weaver wisely and allow us to set an example to others that gaze upon us.

Breathe your weave upon the vessels that you choose. Allow them to use the magic you give them carefully and with restraint. Allow your knights the foresight and temperment to weed out the irresponsible vessels and offer them an audience with you.

We thank you for setting us in this community: for families who nurture our becoming, for friends who love us by choice, for companions, who share our burdens and daily tasks, for strangers who welcome us into their midst, for people from other lands who call us to grow in understanding, for children who lighten our moments with delight, for the unborn, who offer us the new vessels for the weave.


My sermon this night is, Letting the Truth Slip

*clears his throat*

“We ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip."

*gets up from his knees and turns to face the crowd*

*looks about* One of the many vows we can take as a Knight is the vow, “Speak the Truth even if it leads to your death.”

The truth that saves the spirit is not picked up as we would pick up the pebbles along the beach, but it is obtained rather as gold and silver, after diligent search and much digging.

Midnight used to say: "If thou criest after knowledge, and lift up thy voice for understanding; if thou seek truth as silver, and search for truth as for hidden treasures, then shalt thou understand the fear of Shar, and find the knowledge of the Weave.”

The man who seeks to obtain the truth will have to use his wits; he will need much prayer, self-examination and self-denial. He must listen diligently in his own soul for Mystra's voice. He must watch lest he fall into darkness and secrets, and he must meditate in the truth of Mystra day and night.

Speaking the truth is not like taking a holiday picnic out at Lake Minmir. The men and women who are full of the truths, who are walking embodiments of the truth, have not become so without effort. They have dug for truth; they have loved it; they have longed for it more than for their necessary food; they have sacrificed all for it.

When they have fallen they have risen again, and when defeated they have not yielded to discouragement, but with more care and watchfulness and greater earnestness, they have renewed their efforts to attain to the truth. They have counted not their lives dear unto themselves that they might know the truth.

Wealth, ease, a name among the nobles of Cordor, reputation, pleasure, everything the world holds, has been counted as goblin dung and dross in their pursuit of truth, and just at that point where truth took precedence over all creation they found it! The truth that Shar flees from, that satisfies the heart that answers the questions, that brings fellowship with Mystra and joy unutterable and perfect peace.

But just as it costs effort to find the truth, so it requires watching to keep it. "Riches have wings," and, if unguarded, flee away. So with truth. It will slip away if not earnestly heeded.
"Buy the truth, and sell it not. It slips away little by little. It is lost as leaking water is lost not all at once, but by degrees.

*spreads his arms wide*

Here before you is a man who was once full of the truth. He fought the enemies of Mystra yet prayed for them; but, little by little, he neglected that truth that we should turn a deaf ear to the darkness that is Shar, and truth slipped away, and instead of purpose and prayer for his enemies, truth has become bitterness and sharpness.

The Knights of the Mystic Fire watch over this temple.

*nods to the knights*

We pour gold upon the poor and those of the needy, and for the spread of Mysta’s Weave. We are not afraid to trust Mystra to supply all our wants. We embrace truth so much that all fear is gone, and we are certain that if we sought Mystra and the Weave, all other things would be added by her divine blessings unto us.

We do not fear that Mystra would forget us and forsake us and leave our seed to beg bread.

Even when the knights were fined for breaking a law by praying, we gladly paid it. For we knew in our hearts that it was Mystra’s will. We serve Mysta gladly and with all our hearts; we would be satisfied with a crust, we would be happy and careless as the sparrow that tucks its tiny head under its little wing and goes to sleep,
not knowing from where its breakfast is to come, but we trust Mystra, who opens Her hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing with the weave, and gives them their meat in due season.

*pauses a moment and looks down*

We must remain vigilant. Little by little, Shar’s deceit gets into our hearts, and, little by little, the truth of Mystra’s faithfulness slips. We shall seek out the enemy in our hearts, lest we become stingy and grasping and anxious about the morrow, and altogether run away from Mystra.

*looks back up and spreads his arms wide* There are many examples of when truth becomes weak. Where we become weak without knowing, for the loss of truth is not a deluge of lies, but a trickle of misgivings. Let us talk about a few examples.

Prayer.

I pray all the time. I love to pray. Prayer, to me, is the very breath of my life. But, little by little, I let the truth that men ought always to pray slip, and, for a time, prayer was a cold, dead form with me. At first, I did not recognize the truth in me that my prayers were slipping. Through the knights, I was able to overcome my melancholy and pray with vigor again.

During Cordor’s council meetings, one such man would spring to his feet the moment an opportunity to testify was given, and whenever he met a comrade on the street he must speak of the good things of Mystra;

but, little by little, he gave way to foolish talking and jesting, which are not convenient and let the truth that they which adored Mystra spoke often one to another slip, and at last he quite forgot the solemn words of Mystra, that for every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof to Shar. For he no longer remembers, "Life and death are in the power of the tongue"

We must let our speech be always with grace seasoned with salt, and so, now we can talk glibly on every subject but that of Mystra or the vileness of Shar.

The old, thoughtful, fiery testimony that stirred the hearts of adventurers, that brought terrible warning to careless sinners, that encouraged fainting, timid hearts, and brought cheer and strength to soldiers and knights, has given place to a few set phrases which have lost their meaning, which have about the same effect upon a meeting that ice mephits would have on fire elementals, and which are altogether as fruitless as the broken shells in last year's bird's nest.

But what shall these people do?

*looks around the assembly*

Let them remember whence they have fallen, repent and do their first works over again. Let them dig for truth again as adventurers dig for gold, and search for truth as for hidden treasures, and they will find truth again. Mystra’s reward of the weave is to all persons that diligently seek Her.

This, of course, may be hard work; as it is hard to mine for gold. It may be slow work; as it was slow to lose one’s truth. But it is surely work. Seek and ye shall find.

But it is necessary work. Your spirit’s eternal destiny depends upon it.

So what shall those who have the truth do to prevent its slipping? For the knights, we keep and seek for all the vows we have spoken. For others, meditate therein day and night.

You may ask, for what should I meditate on? Should you meditate upon this sermon? That thou may observe upon some of the things written therein? I say No! A young knight asked me if he may lie for the greater good, I said, this lie shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, and then I replied:

Find an hour that is neither day nor night; in that thou may lie for the Greater Good.

The "Mystrian" is not only a man that walketh not in the counsel of the Sharrans, nor standeth in the way of the vessels of the weave, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but, notice, his delight is in the truth of Mystra, and in Her weave doth meditate day and night.

If you want to hold the truth fast and not let it slip, you must hold the truth in your heart. You must speak it even if it causes you pain and loss. You must know you are an example to all others as a servant of Mystra.

You must constantly refresh your mind with truths, just as the diligent wizard constantly refreshes his spells by reviewing his Tomes.

I am “a sac ub ucel ynoyr” in celestial, I am a man of one truth. The truth will surely slip, if you do not refresh your mind and spirit by constantly battling sloth and Shar’s bitterness. Truth is a recipe for making Holy people!

*smiles at the assembly*

Truth is the guide book to show goodly men and women the way to salvation. You must pay strict attention to its directions, and follow them accurately, if you are ever to get there. Truth is Ilmater’s path, to show people how to get rid of soul-sickness.

We do not live by bread alone, but by every word you utter and every deed you act. The truth we speak unto others, they are spirit and they are life!

Quench not the Spirit. The weave that permeates the land is truth - the Spirit of truth. Then, if you do not wish the truth to slip, welcome the Spirit of truth to your heart, and pray to Mystra to abide with you.

Cherish Her with truth.

Delight yourself in truth.

Live in truth.

Yield yourself to truth.

Trust Mystra. Commune with Mystra. Consider the weave a living thing, your Friend, your Guide, your Teacher, your Comforter. Do not look upon truth as some school-children look upon their teacher -- as an enemy, as one to be outwitted, as one who is constantly watching a chance to punish and reprove and discipline.

Of course, the lies we speak will do this when necessary, but such a necessity grieves Mystra.

Her delight is to comfort and cheer the children of the weave. She is Magic! Bless be the truth from all lips!

Grieve not the followers of Shar and Cyric, their lies will entwine them like the vines of the Druid’s Grove. Seek your truth, every day. Day or night.

[HinAttack]

If you will induldge me, I usually start any sermon with thanking Mystra for allowing me to be Her voice and protector for Her divine vessels.

*kneels*

Mystra, thank you for surrounding us with your favor and protections; Your Glory as an adornment; Your wisdom as words of life; with your weave as a gift of magic; Behold your blessings are a downpour of magic!

Mother of Mysteries, source of the weave, giver of all magic, We thank you for the gifts ye bestow upon us, for the breath that sustains magic, for the vessels on this isle that nurtures Your weave, for the love of magic and the loyalty of companions, without which there would be no life.

We thank you for the mystery of the Weave, for the beauty that the eye can see, for the joy that the ear may hear, for the unknown that we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder, for the expanse of weave that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.

We thank you for setting us in this community: for families who nurture our becoming, for friends who love us by choice, for companions, who share our burdens and daily tasks, for strangers who welcome us into their midst, for people from other lands who call us to grow in understanding, for children who lighten our moments with delight, for the unborn, who offer us the new vessels for the weave.

*Oliver gets up off his knees and rests his hand on the altar of Mystra. He looks out onto the crowd.*

Unless Mystra gives me a clear indication to go another way I will be preaching during these next sermons on the ministry of the Weave.

I feel a great yearning in my own heart to know more of the Weave's power for mages and I should understand the Weave's power for myself as well. I feel a tremendous need to learn to rely more fully on the guidance of the weave as a beacon of wisdom and truth. Like the wind, the magic-giving, renewing weave blows through this temple,

*spreads his arms wide to encompass all of the temple*

and my great desire is to unfurl the sail of my heart and watch it fill up with the Holy Weave of Mystra and be drawn in her direction, at her speed, in her power.

The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with everyone who is born with the weave in their vessel. Sadly, I am not such a vessel. Yet I rejoice in my role. As Midnight ascended, she spoke to those around her, "Draw near to Mystra and the Weave will draw near to you."

We will see the paradox in that statement today, because we can't even begin to draw near to Mystra without the Weave's help. Which means that in our very effort to draw near to her, she has already drawn near to us. But that does not negate the promise at all: it remains true that if we draw near to Mystra, she will draw near to us! Lift your sails into the Holy Wind of the Weave, and she will fill them.

*pauses for a moment to catch his breath*

It is obvious on why the vessels of Mystra need to commune with the weave, but why should we need the weave as a non-vessel of Mystra? Why should I, one that does not have the Weave sing in my being, commune with a Goddess that does not grant me the Weave?

As Adventurers, are we not surrounded by the effects of the weave every day? Do we not encounter those that use the weave to do us ill or boon? As the Frost Giants of the Spire Mountains cast horrid wilting upon your party, do you ask yourself, Mystra! Why do you forsake me? Why do you let my enemies use your Divine Will to combat me?

I tell you now, the Weave is for all. The weave touches every life and everything upon this isle and throughout the realm. The Weave breathes magic upon this world; Mystra allows the lifeblood of her being to breathe magic upon this world! The weave is there for all to drink, but some that drink become drunk with the power it offers.

Those that seek more and more power, without giving thought to responsibility are the reason those that do not partake of the weave, like myself, protect it. Those that do not feel the touch of the weave have duties, responsibilities and vows.

We are to protect those that partake of the weave so recklessly from themselves. We are to protect those that cannot use the weave from those that are irresponsible.

We need to embrace the weave in these next weeks. Things are happening; and my great concern and expectation is that they happen under the guidance and in the power of the Weave. For example, we have seen golems made with hate and malice invade the Tower of Sorcery.

We have seen the bramble wood rangers reject the altars we have consecrated for use outside this temple. We have seen sharrans grow strong in the dark places and we have had to defend the vessels of Mystra against the Dwarves of Brogdenenstein due to a misunderstanding.

Irresponsibility has grown strong. We have seen warlocks in the tower openly proclaim their ignorance of their great burden.

As Mystra directs me and I anticipate that there will begin to emerge small groups of people gathering for prayer and mutual up building in faith and outreach. And on top of these gathering of folks, there is the supremely important transformation of individual lives from the ignorance of the Weave to embracing the weave as Mystra's being.

From conversations as we walk the isle and from the pulpit begets faith and stirs up love and joy in our midst.

We need the Weave in these times so that we can say in days to come, "We planned and we worked, yet not us but the Weave of Mystra is in us, willing and doing her divine Will." And we will be able to say this if we draw near to Mystra and raise our sails into the Holy Wind of the weave blowing on us.

Open your hearts wide! As Adventurers, go hard after Mystra! In your prayers! Wrestle with Mystra till dawn, till she gives you the blessing of her fullness. Understand what she wishes you to do. Seek her presence in your adventures! For truly, is not the Weave upon the isle? Is the Weave not part of Mystra?

*kneels*

I bow my knee before you, Mystra, giver of your life for us, that you grant us the ability to seek out those that use your life's blood irresponsibly, according to the riches of your glory you may grant to me, to all of us, let us be strengthened with might through your Spirit in the weave, and allow your spirit of the weave to dwell in my heart through faith; that, being rooted and grounded in the vows I have taken.

Allow me the power to comprehend your Will with all the vessels and non-vessels of your faith, that I might be filled with all the fullness of Mystra.

*stands back up*

We'll come back to that prayer in the weeks to come, but the very least it means is this: there is more of Mystra to be had than we now experience! We are all vessels of Mystra's Weave to some degree. We carry the weave bound upon our clothes; we embrace the vessel's magical abilities that wash upon us as we protect them. The weave permeates all things, and like the weave, we are all interconnected.

The Weave brings us together; it binds us with common quests and allows us to defeat those that spit upon our beliefs. All who embrace the weave will have the opportunity to repent, to allow Mystra upon their heart.

That is why even your enemies have access to the weave - all have the opportunity to embrace the responsibility of Mystra. It is a choice.

Through the weave we have found fellowship and peace with each other; we have all drunk of the same Magic.

The interconnectivity of the weave is but the beginning of another quest, "that we might be filled with all the fullness of Mystra" a quest which I think will never end to all eternity, because no matter how much is poured into our hearts from the ocean of the weave, it will always be replenished from the springs of infinity.

Come with me as we go hard after "the responsibility of the use of the weave" in these upcoming adventures.

*pauses for a moment and looks around*

As for those that do not believe, or use the Weave without giving reverence to Mystra, it will be our desire to convert the unbeliever. There must be a beginning; nobody by nature delights so much in the character of Mystra that he hungers to drink of the weave.

For to weld such power is a terrible responsibility as well as a Wonderful Gift! Who among us has not felt the weave touch their lives and not shivered in the realization that power we embrace will consume us?

We are, by nature, children of wrath and chaos. For the vessels that embrace the weave, do they not shout, "Behold, the power of the weave is upon me, the power I drink will destroy us all! We come into the world bent on being independent and walk with the illusion of choice, yet if the weave is upon us, we walk upon the tears of those before us.

Whether a vessel of not, we all understand the weave is neither good nor evil.

It is neither lawful nor chaotic, it simply is. Our choices, our paths, make the weave what it is. Something has to happen to us if we are to be saved from the wrath of irresponsibility. We must be profoundly changed and strive continually for enlightenment.

This change can happen in many different ways. I'll mention a few. We must not allow the weave to be the lock upon which the slave masters cage us. We must not allow the devils and demons of this realm promise us the weave. To drink upon their lies and become a false vessel is a perversion of the weave and of Mystra.

We must cease from being slaves of desire and become mentors of the Weave. We must live and die with our vows firmly upon our lips and in our hearts. We must use the weave responsibly even if it leads to our deaths. If we are to falter and use the weave falsely, we must repent, that is, we must experience a change of mind that causes us to turn from a desirous thing to trusting in Mystra's mercy.

Does the weave forgive?

I say no, it neither forgives nor condemns. It is the Weave. Mystra forgives, as the weave is part of the Goddess, so, in essence, are you, vessels and non-vessels of Mystra. For do you not allow the weave to permeate your body? To allow Mystra to forgive you, first you must forgive yourself. Will you give yourself a new heart and put a new spirit within it?

Take the darkness and stony heart out of your flesh and give yourself over to the morals you embrace?

For to break with the covenant of the Weave is to endanger all that live upon the realms.

As you adventure with the weave cloaking you like a warm blanket, we must become a new creation. "If anyone is with the weave, it is an ever-changing and new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come" We must become like children: "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never fully understand the weave.

Look upon the children of Cordor. See the wonder and the excitement within their eyes. See the love and the joy they embrace. Do you see bitterness? Hatred? Longing? No, they embrace the gifts the gods and goddesses give them and do not belittle others for their gifts.

They do not covet the gifts of others and accept them for what and who they are. If we are to keep the weave pure and allow magic to remain in this realm, we must be born into the weave. From head to toe, we must understand the terrible responsibility of our actions. Imagine what it would be like to be barred from the use of the weave?

There is no 'second chance' without tremendous sacrifice. If Mystra turns her face away from us, we will not be saved. We will experience no peace in our lives, or any hope for magic, only wrath and fury.

So there is nothing more important for any individual than that he experience this responsibility, this new birth, and understand the privilege the weave bestows upon us. All of us, vessels and non-vessels alike.

What I want for all of us in this temple and what I pray that we will want for all our neighbors is to be "filled with all the fullness of the Goddess of Magic," which fullness is found in the weave.

But before a person can experience or even desire such fullness, he must become a new kind of person. And the specific question I posed for my message is, "What is the role of the Weave in that change?" The question for now is not, "What becomes of us in the new birth?" but, "Who brings this about?"

*looks around the congregation*

Mystra believes in you, in your judgment and your actions. As for who brings this about, it can only be you. You are the one the goddess gives such a terrible burden. You are the one that the Goddess believes in and trusts in.

For you are the one that is capable of maintaining the worlds as they are or destroying them. In each and every one of you, is the Goddess' trust you will do the 'right' thing. The teaching that I want to try to persuade you is true and precious.

The new birth is the result of the interaction of you and the Weave preceding and enabling our first act of embracing faith. We do not cause our new birth by an act of faith. Just the reverse: the cry of faith is the first sound that a newborn babe makes.

Regeneration, as we sometimes call it, is all of Mystra. We do not get the Weave to fill us by trusting Mystra; we trust Mystra because the weave is already upon us!

We all partake of "irresistible grace." The weave can overcome our faults and our forebodings and fill us with the knowledge we are all part of a greater thing. We are all instrumental in saving the realm! Not by some great calamity, but by the choices we all make every day.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one accepts the weave into his heart, he cannot recognize his faults and shortcomings." Whether we refer the weave of this verse to the power to cast magic, or to the garments that have bound the weave upon our person, or to just the objects we see in everyday life, the main point of the verse is the same.

Being a vessel or wearing the weave upon your person is no guarantee of salvation; you must decide every day to protect the weave and the peoples that are not even aware of the danger you and others pose to them. For you carry the terrible weapon of the weave upon your person!

"That which is born of vice is vice, and that which is overcome with the help of the Weave is forgiven." "vice" simply means fault. "As Ao has given Mystra the power over all things magical, so has she given this responsibility to us." So I am saying here, your faults make you merely human. But when you are of the weave, allowing it to wrap around you, then a new dimension of life enters in, spiritual life.

New responsibilities, new inclinations, new allegiance, and new perceptions, all enter your life. A new person is born when the Weave breathes upon them. The vessel of Mystra does not welcome the gifts of the weave for they are grandeur folly to him. The vessel of the weave judges harshly only one thing - himself. But is himself to be judged by no one.

As we accept the weave upon ourselves, we judge ourselves harshly, until we judge ourselves, we are unfit for Mystra's grace. We are mere persons who do not welcome the things of Mystra. Before a person welcomes the Weave, he has no inclination to trust himself with such terrible power, for salvation, and therefore he cannot become at peace with himself.

Faith is the most beautiful, Mystra-honoring, and humble act that a human can perform. Faith in one's Goddess as well as in one's self. For faith will give you a rock to sit upon in a storm as you make the decisions that will affect not only your loved ones but the rest of the isle as well. Before a person can perform the best of all acts, he must become a new person. Thorn bushes don't produce figs, apple trees don't produce olives, and a doubtful man does not produce faith. He cannot.

Those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, and those according to the Weave set their minds on the things of the Weave. For the mind of the flesh is petty and bitter, but the mind of the Weave is part of a greater thing. For the mind of the flesh is at enmity toward Mystra, for it does not submit to the Weave, nor can it submit.

Those that harbor secrets and darkness in their hearts are so hostile to the Weave and its responsibilities that it cannot submit to faith. We must be born again, born of the Weave, before we can judge ourselves and trust ourselves. Faith is not the means or the cause of the new birth; it is the result, the fruit of new birth.

The weave blows where it wills, and, spiritually, you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes. It is in you, through you and around you. The sounds of the Weave are there; just open your mind and your heart to listen for it. The weave blows where it wills and we cannot fathom the meaning of its direction.

Why are some blessed or cursed with the Weave while others, truly deserving cannot breathe it in? Again, we strive to be like children and do not harbor resentment to our fellow Mystrians. We cannot start the weave to strike us, and we cannot change the direction it flows or make it blow where we want it to. Mystra wills it!

The Weave blows where she wills and, therefore, everyone born of the weave has been acted upon by the weave and has been born anew, neither of blood nor of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of Mystra. The vessels of Mystra are not a result of our decision or our act of will. It precedes and enables the heart's decision, it is simply is. Trust in Mystra to guide all of us.

No one can come to Mystra unless they partake of the weave. And to partake of the Weave, Mystra chooses you. So does that mean that all that are not vessels of Mystra are not worthy of Mystra's love? No, I say no. Upon my armor, I bind the weave, upon my gloves and my helm, Mystra allows me to bind her life force to combat the irresponsibility of the isle.

Upon my blade, she breathes her magic for me to overcome my enemy's defenses. She calls to me, I go to her. I am not a vessel, yes, but I partake of the weave. As we all partake of the weave in the potions we drink, or the magic we cast.

Vessels of Mystra *looks out upon the audience*
Do you take offense at this? Those that are low born, not chosen of Mystra as you are. Why shall we partake of the glory that awaits those that give themselves to Mystra? If you were to see Midnight ascend, do you say unto yourself, "That should be me! I am worthy?" Judge yourself and no other!

Followers of Mystra, do you see the vessels of Mystra and think, that should be me! I am worthy; I have given all to Mystra and still am not rewarded? Judge yourself and no other! Vessels, Mystrians and Non-Mystrians alike are given the opportunity to embrace the weave. Whether it is internal or external, it matters not.

It is the weave that gives magic; the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are of magic and life. But there are some of you that do not believe that the weave permeates you, or that Mystra grants such things.

For the Weave is a neutral thing, like a hair or an eye or a hand. The Weave neither knows nor cares what is in your heart, for it IS your heart. But it will know if you betray it. For to betray the weave is to betray yourself. Why Mystra allows the betrayers to embrace her weave is a mystery I can't fathom.

For Mystra knows those that from the first breath of weave upon them who will not believe and who will betray her. Why does she allow this? I don't know, all I know is I have faith in Her path. She gives us the rare opportunity to allow the divinity of her to be consumed by us only to have the weave reborn as we consume it.

To believe or not believe is thy personal choice. To believe that Mystra touches each and every one of us with magic and the weave is a personal choice. *lays his hand on this holy symbol* I am a believer, obviously, but there are others that are not. Yet she gives us the freedom to do whatever we want with the weave she allows us to use abuse or protect.

There are some that even combat our beliefs, to lay us low preaching that we are false prophets, speaking blasphemy. What sets us apart, what she asks, is that you have faith in Her plan. Faith.

Let me close by giving you three reasons why I love this teaching of the Weave and why I think believing it is essential to Mystrian living.

First, the Weave gives all glory to Mystra and keeps me humble before Her. It prevents me from robbing Mystra of any of her majesty by crediting myself with something that she alone has achieved. It reminds me that as human, I am corrupt and hostile in mind and that I would never have called upon Mystra without her weave that I see every day.

It keeps before my mind the truth that all the benefits and rewards of obedience are not earned by me because all obedience comes from faith which is a free gift of the Weave. Therefore, I cannot boast in any virtue or achievement because it is all of Mystra.

Secondly, I love the doctrine of the Weave's sovereign freedom in allowing for us to choose because it enables me to pray for the lost that are "dead in trespasses and irresponsibility." I do not know what I could ask Mystra to do for a hard-hearted, resistant Sharran or loved one if I didn't believe the doctrine of irresistible grace.

As I pray in battle with the other knights, I ask Mystra to provide my enemies some allurements to believe, but don't make them so strong they are irresistible; work in his heart, but not so thoroughly that he feels an overwhelming urge to believe.

O, no, I will not pray like that.

On the authority of Mystra's Word I pray: "Overcome his darkened heart, Goddess of Mysteries! Take out of his flesh that heart of stone, and give him a new heart of flesh! Placard your weave irresistibly before his face, and open the eyes of his heart so that he cannot help believing for joy.

Don't keep your distance; ravish him with your glory." I love this doctrine because I cannot pray for the lost without it.

Ours is to witness by life and word; Mystra's is to give repentance. And therein is great freedom and encouragement for witness. Finally, I love this doctrine because it gives to you a choice. Mystra does not force you to worship her, or to believe in her. She gives herself freely and whole heartedly to any that is capable of enduring her Divine Presence.

She does not ask for boons or tasks, she only requires you to make a choice. Your choice is free of influence or duress. For me, a non-vessel, I do not need any other witness of the Weave's work within me than the desire I feel to come to Mystra. If there is one spark of longing in you to trust Mystra, it is the Weave.

But always it is your choice, and you may take heart that she is there in the weave awaiting your call. She has not left you to yourself, but she will not influence you. Imagine the power she gives you and asks for nothing in return! Who among us is so giving? Confirm her work by your faith. Make your calling and election sure: cleave to Mystra, and she will never let you go.

And so I commend to you all this blessed work of the Weave. And I urge that none of you take any credit for your new birth, or for your faith. It is all of Mystra. I am persuaded that if we miss this note here, all our thinking about the work of the Weave in the next weeks will be off-key. Faith needs bedrock to anchor upon, and Mystra roots us deeply in the glory of her sovereign grace.

What is the role of the Weave? It is the new beginning we must all make in order to be saved and filled with all the fullness of Mystra.

It is very simple; it allows you to make a choice. Will you embrace the terrible burden of responsibility or shall you be found wanting? Will you have faith in yourself knowing that no one can judge you, or will you allow other gods or goddesses to decide for you?

Mystra does not want to mold or shape you to her divine image; on the contrary, you shape her by your use of the weave. What goddess gives her utterly to an imperfect thing, like me or you? When you use the weave, think of the sacrifice others have made before you, what the Goddess sacrifices every day. You are blessed with an unimaginable burden. Yet She has faith in you...

[HinAttack]

*looks out over the crowd*

You may wonder why I am in armor for this sermon. Why I am adorned with Mystra’s magic and have my sword and shield upon my back? Why the knights here are similarly adorned?

We do not turn our faces from the events Mystra shows us. The recent attack upon this temple is Mystra’s Divine Warning to us.

I have come to the realization with the events unfolding as they are, Mystra wishes us to discuss irresponsibility. *puts his hand on his holy symbol* The Sharran cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: The Mystrian cometh that they might have choice, self-judgment and life”

It is a mantra that I live my life by. But to have a choice, self-judgment and life, you must embrace responsibility. And, brothers and sisters, it is a hard path to live your life, to judge thyself with responsibility.

Consequently, there is nothing as easy as Irresponsibility. That is a simple doctrine which is often forgotten. The sharran is not in any need of genius. The fool, the withered heart, hath said, "There is no reason for responsibility."

For by the sharran's actions, I want to smite and humiliate and expel, if I can, without thought and without consequence. The notion that it requires a very great genius to be a Sharran is ludicrous; for to be irresponsible is akin to sliding down a slippery slope. There is no thinking, no genius, only choice and then, once the first choice to embrace the darkness is complete, there is no longer any choice.

What am I to you? *pauses and looks around the room.* What are the knights to you?

The Knights and I labor under a great disadvantage in this matter. We are fanatics! *smiles at them all* We are well-meaning believers of Mystra and the Weave, but: We. Are. Accountable. Accountable to the vessels of Mystra and to the population of this Isle! We act responsible every day we draw breath. Mystra Wills it!

Shar is the easy path to ruin! To be self-destructive is to be popular here in cordor. To send us a runner from the Speedy Delivery Service to base Mystra is the act of a withered heart. To trump up charges to allow the Cordorian guards to offer a writ allowing the vile followers of Shar to enter this very temple...

*his voice gets loud*

/s And to attack Sir Edgerton and others with destructive magic! It is Irresponsible.

Praise Mystra that Sir Edgerton’s Faith was strong and was not easily defeated by the craven attack of Lady Rashmi. Thrice he struck her down and thrice she called upon the Weave to heal herself. Knowing she was defeated, she hid behind the Cordorian Guards like the craven coward she is. Like her religion, like her goddess, she hides in the shadow of others to plot foolish plots.

*looks down at the rug and sighs* However, her irresponsibility caused the death of worshippers here in this temple.

There is, I repeat as my starting-point, nothing as easy as destruction, as the sharran cast her destructive magic with no regard for anything except her hatred, she is called irresponsible. Like a mad woman who goes round the temple with an iron rod in her hand and smiting all images of beauty and purity and dignity.

Like a crazed beggar in the sewers of cordor, running towards others simply to smite, maim or kill, she has no regard for responsibility.

How much genius does it require to break a vase? How much genius does a sharran possess for destruction?

Look at Nature, and the same lesson is taught us by the gods and goddesses. Any beast can crush a flower: but who can put it in joint again? It takes Chauntea to make a flower. It takes Mystra to breathe the magic within her divine veins to make the beauty of nature so magical. It is a focused effort. Not wanton beauty, but a single act begets the result.

As knights, I have mentioned we are accountable. We are accountable to the vessels of Mystra, to the citizens of this city and to all on the isle. And what are we if we are not responsible? Would it have been easy for Sir Edgerton to wade through the guards of Cordor, smiting them as they harbored the craven coward?

Of course. Mystra was upon him that very day. Would She have allowed such an event? Of course, as a Mystrian we judge ourselves first.

But what of responsibility? What of you? Of me? Of the newly arrived folks here in cordor? For surely, if Sir Edgerton attacked the Cordorian guards, he would have been exiled from this fair city and the Sharran would have worn down the faith that is this temple.

And what of this temple?

Who would protect it then? To forsake our vows and to embrace irresponsibility as the Sharran coward wished us to do, would be unforgivable.

I am dwelling upon the ease of destruction. It is an offhanded trick. Mystrians! There is nothing in it. Why are you fooled by it? Why do you allow yourselves to be taken away from Mystra’s altar and Mystra’s teachings and Mystra’s faith because somebody has said "No, believe in Shar"?

Give a sharran an hour in this temple, and it will never be opened. Would she not destroy the pictures and the beloved statues by the dozens? Is the Sharran then great? Deserving of popularity? Will you cry out for her, "Let us have freedom of thought, freedom of action"?

Is this not irresponsible?

Freedom of thought and freedom of action are just honeyed words sharrans use to twist your choices and be enslaved by Shar! Do you not have freedom of thought and action already? No one can take them away from you, except you! To Judge thyself allows no other to judge you.

*points to the stained glass window above him* A skilled and talented artisan made this work of art. It took this artist long months to make it; he dreamed about it, he conversed with fellow artists respecting it, it grew upon him like a dawn.

But as a Sharran, the coward would wade in, and with spells and hate, dash it out of existence. Is she therefore to be memorialized, and to have her name written on monumental brass, and to be looked upon, and if she is arrested, shall she be a martyr and a hero?

I think not. The Sharran is a craven and petty person. To fill thyself with bile because others have skills you do not. Embrace Mystra when she states, “Do not judge others, judge thyself!” Look upon the magic that surrounds you, do not look with hate and envy upon your eyes but with wonder and love.

Our vessels, our gifts from Mystra, *looks at the magic users in the room* have been given such a burden. Yet we are here, vessels, non-vessels, Mystrians and non-believers, all interacting here on this isle. Does Mystra favor any of any other? No. She allows us the freedoms to act how we see fit.

We can act responsibly or irresponsibly.

It is our choice.

But your choice is like a raindrop that falls upon a pond. The raindrop disappears almost instantly, but the ripples of that raindrop rebound for some time. As it rains, ripples cross the pond only to interact with other ripples. Yet the raindrop – the action – is long gone.

*spreads his arms wide*

We are that rainstorm, as our actions rebound upon others, we are like a thousand raindrops falling upon the pond we call Arelith. So ask yourself, do you wish to rend the work of others into a hideous ruin? Or do you wish to be the one that allows the ripples of choice to wash over you and embrace the magic of other peoples work?

This is responsibility.

Mystrians! Why do you follow so largely and enthusiastically sharrans who have nothing to say to you but words of destruction, who try to rob you? Those that take from you one tender and inspiring association is a thief.

You are not the young man you were before that depletion took place. It was a tender association; some called it superstitious, but no association or uplifting of the soul is superstitious that sends a man back again into the market-place to keep responsibility his scals and measure.

The Knights of the Mystic Fire and perhaps even you might be charged as a follower of fanaticism and superstition, vision and contemplation and cloud-beating, but it sends us back to heal the sick, to nurse childhood, to take the blind pilgrim over the road out of danger's way; and it makes us, when we have spread our banquet, send a portion to him that is hungry.

Is this what Shar wants of you? Not only to be solid in body but content in spirit? No, Shar wants you to deceive, to betray and to realize you are lost. To be broken.

You are not lost, my friends. If we are to embrace responsibility, then ask thyself, “How do my actions affect others?” Embrace your associations with others. I care not how far these associations take you, as long as they allow you to judge thyself, and to judge your actions solely.

Will these associations send me back again a sturdier citizen, an honest, more chivalrous man? Will your actions provoke truth by their moral effect?

Yet, what a great noise one little Sharran makes. One Sharran will make more noise than a thousand Mystrians, and noise is thought to be prosperity and success and the utter uprooting and total routing of Mystra. It is always so that the destructive becomes, I will not say more popular, but in the first instance more notorious, than the constructive.

Let us talk about the constructive and the responsible. What vessel is responsible? What believer is responsible? Do you need to show off to those that do not possess your talents?

Should I, while walking with the knights, cast Mystra’s most destructive magic upon a deer or a badger solely to show those companions that I can? Should the rogue or the troubadour take out a scroll of great cost just to defend himself against the goblin? I border upon irresponsibility this very day!

I am cloaked in Mystra’s magic not to show all that are here how favored I am by Mystra, but to prepare myself for a sharran attack that I believe is coming. What if that attack never came to fruition? Am I irresponsible or am I prepared.
Judge thy self, my Mystrians. My heart is true, as I prepare myself to defend all of you in this temple. The ripples of this raindrop does not cause ruin. It washes over me.

Will there be times where the destruction of a badger or a deer by great ruin is necessary? I would have to say yes, since I cannot fathom every circumstance. Will there be a time to kill others?

I sadly have already had to do this. But ask yourself, will death be your first choice? Or will it be your last and only choice left to you? Judge thyself – consider the consequences your actions will ripple upon Arelith.

So if one little sharran a few inches high should get up in this temple and make a noise, we should all hear about it. Do not mistake the importance of the event; it is not without significance; even the noise of a Sharran should attract some attention finely adjusted to the occasion.

But also look upon the penitent man "Behold! He prays." Ah, then the whole temple should turn round, and with tearful eyes gaze on the beauteous spectacle, and with swelling, ennobled heart should praise Mystra that another soul had been saved, as he embraces responsibility.

Responsibility is a constant war within ourselves. Do we place others above us? If we smited the Sharran and the guards in this very temple, we would have been exiled. We would have succumbed to Sharran hate and jealousy. And the craven would have dealt a telling blow to Mystra as one of her temples would have been empty of the faithful.

Mystra allows some of us the terrible destructive powers of Magic. Does that mean that these vessels of Mystra should go and rain destruction and ruin upon those we ‘believe’ to be Sharrans? I have had vessels destroy items in this very Temple when they could not contain their gift.

The mention of Sharrans set them off in a magical rage. Darkness enters your heart only if you allow it!

I say to you all, do not allow this darkness to creep into your hearts! You all have the choice to destroy or to save. To destroy, to rain fire from the heavens only takes a moment, but to save takes time. Embrace the long road, for the journey is the reward, not so much the destination.

Responsibility is not to be wrought out in a moment. Mystra breathes the weave upon you little by little, night and day. It is not an instantaneous act. Embrace patience. Mystrians may be in a sense saved in a day, but they are not educated, instructed, edified, and consolidated in a day.

And what rude scholars we are! How inept, how reluctant of heart, how soon wearied, if we do not know the path we walk has no ending. Do not judge others, until thyself is first judged!

The road to responsibility is like a hill. When the hill is very steep others take us up arm and arm that we may get our breath again. When the road is leads downward, we pause, and look upon others for sure footing.

We persevere as responsible Mystrians are an example to all others. But all this expenditure of time, thought, care, solicitude; and all this means the exercise of a patience that cannot be fluttered, because it has its center in eternity.

You can order the death of a sharran tomorrow to save others from the lies and hatred of their religion, but you cannot order a character. "Where were thou when I laid the foundations of this temple?" Mystra is the foundation of your temple.

She is your constructor, your creator, your builder. "Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who hath stretched the line upon it? And as for thee, man of words and fretful spirit, canst thou bind the sweet influences of the Weave or loose the bands of Responsibility? Canst thou bring forth Responsibility in this season?

Or canst thou guide others upon the path of righteous magic?" This is not the voice of the destroyer, a little sharran with a great flail smiting and destroying things. Mystra allows your guidance, rules, morals and actions to keep things in order.

The responsibility we speak of is not just my responsibility but our responsibility. To suffer the Sharran among us is a vile thing. But we suffer the night around us knowing the day will come and we suffer the storms among us knowing they too will pass for we know we are protected by Mystra’s weave.

The Sharran is just another thing that tries to wear us down; to weed their way into our hearts.

To give us anger, hate envy and jealousy.

I say shutter your soul with faith, brothers and sisters! Do not allow the breath of darkness blow past your faith. For like all things, she, too will pass.

It is a greater miracle to have things preserved than to have them destroyed. We cannot be made to think this; we are curiously disposed to see more in the stroke of anger than in the smile of love. Did the sun rise and set today? Of course; you return the answer in an instant "Yes." In that circumstance find the true miracle. A universe preserved is a universe created.

If we could impart this conviction to the idea of Responsibility, we should have a new state of things. Does the destructive power of our spell fireball destroy our enemy? But if there is only one, shall we study the flame arrow to preserve the tree, grass and others that happen to be near your target? The vessels of Mystra are fraught with choices.

Even you and I, the ones not blessed with such a burden are given the opportunity for choice every minute of every day. With my sword, shall I smite the evil doer? Am I to judge him? Is his actions evil? You must have conviction upon your breast when you decide to act.

Whether it is to brush off an ant from your shoe or to lay waste to entire village, ask thyself, is this what Mystra wishes me to do with the power she breathes upon me?

As a responsible servant of Mystra, consider your actions and then act decisively. Do not hesitate! You are Mystra’s favored. Keep Mystra in your heart and speak the truth. What other religion permeates the entire realms? What God or Goddess can boast that she touches the lives of so many like Mystra?

Mystra is audacious in its beneficence! Mystra will do nothing perfunctorily; she will make clean, clear, complete, exact, and permanent work along all the line. She does not rough-hew her subjects and allow them to finish; she continues all her operations until the very last is as the strongest, and the least is counted one of the mightiest on the isle.

For that is what the weave does to all of us! Not just the vessels, but those martial skills will take down the mightiest foes! Those that embrace the arcane will command terrible and beautiful power!

Allow Mystra to mold you over time, give the sages of Mystra time. A Sharran may rush into your house, and in five minutes ask questions which all the philosophers in creation could not answer in five centuries. But the Mystrian goes in, asks where the sick one is, walks quietly to the bedside, and prays through tears. Who can measure the issue?

The fool came in as upon the wings of a tempest; he went out with a noise destitute of music. The servant of Mystra did not lift up his voice and cry and cause his voice to be heard in the street, but patiently, gently, lovingly, sympathetically, he spoke to those that needed it

/s This is responsibility!

Forsake your ego, your hatred, your bitterness and desire for vengeance! Pray that your actions do not cause undo suffering to you fellow Mystrians. If the Sharran has refused Mystra, they will certainly refuse Her servants. We are to prove the responsibility of our vocation by our persistence.

The time will come when all the other people will drop away. Time tries all. When the clouds gather, and the winds cool, and the night deepens, you will say, "Where are they?" and echo will answer "Where?" But there will be one left, and when you ask the name of that one who remains, it will be you.

Will you stand on an isle full of magic and wonder? Will you stand and say to the heavens, “yes, through my actions, and through my decisions, I have helped shape this magical place! Or shall you stand upon the ruin and destruction of your life?

The sulfur soot still upon your fingers as you cast your last spell. Then shall you drop to your knees and lament, “I need more time! I can make the right decision!” The time to make the right decisions, to embrace responsibility is now.

We have to be upon our guard from the taste of irresponsibility, for it is possible for a man to destroy his own life. Nothing is so easy as destruction there as well as elsewhere, and no other destruction is possible, if you will it to be so.

No man can hurt you but yourself; you have nothing to do with your reputation, with public criticism; you have nothing to do with tradition and slander. No man can murder thee; no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. There is only one form of destruction possible, and that is your choice of irresponsibility, for irresponsibility is easy.

There is but a step between thee and all kinds of irresponsibility. Do not narrow that passage to one little meaning. There is but a step between thee and social irresponsibility, moral irresponsibility, spiritual irresponsibility; it is but a step.

The road lies along a very high and dangerous precipice - one step, and all is over. "Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe." Mystra, who dost lay foundations and allow us the use of the Weave, Thou who art the choice giver, give me the edification of Thy grace lest I stumble and fall and die.

"To thine own self be true,"

Nothing is as easy as irresponsibility. Here in Cordor is a man who has been living forty years in this great city, honored by all, trusted of all. How long would it take that man to destroy his character?

One moment, and nothing could redeem it. He has but to act irresponsibly, he has but to utter one sentence, and let it be known that he has uttered it, and his prayers are forgotten, his professions are looked upon as unmasked hypocrisies.

We need continual watchfulness. "Stand upon those lands of magic and beauty.” As knights, we consider ourselves blessed once we die doing Mystra’s work. "We call no man happy until he is dead," says our vow, "for at the last he may perish, free of the choice of responsibility."

Blessed day when I am permitted to put my foot within the door. So near is death, so easy is destruction, so broad the gate that opens upon perdition. Do not despair; let Mystra breathe the weave upon Arelith. You are in process of salvation; that is to say, you are in process of education and edification.

Yield to responsibility; have no will but Mystra’s. The tempter will be hard upon thee, O friend. Through much tribulation we must enter the association of responsibility. You have not chosen the easy work. The sharran has come to deceive and to kill and destroy -the easiest of all work, a coward's work.

“Mystra gives you the opportunity to choose Responsibility" that is the hard work, the noble work, the blessed work. You will often be discouraged and disappointed. When I began my journey with Mystra I said, surely the people will only need to hear that responsibility is the best path, and they will man by man fall down and hail the path I walk as their own.

It has not been so. Some have listened to the words of Shar. I can mention those that dwell in darkness one by one, and characterize them, and describe them, and eulogize them. But they have eluded us all. When I speak their names, it is as a wound, the memory a stinging disappointment.

Do not fall down, broken and used by Shar, but every day..

Every day..

Embrace responsibility! Use your gifts and the talents you have honed to stand upon the beauty and magic that is Arelith.

To thine own self, be true.

[HinAttack]

As you may not know, I was bested by a balor lord and its master, a witch, recently. Even though it was overwhelming odds, Mystra compelled me to act. Jenna, Steve and I fought bravely, but the balor was too powerful.

This day, more than most, I feel I should give thanks to Mystra and her Divine Wisdom.

*kneels*

Mystra, thank you for surrounding us with your favor and protections; Your Glory as an adornment; Your wisdom as words of life; with your weave as a gift of magic; Behold your blessings are a downpour of magic!

Mother of Mysteries, source of the weave, giver of all magic, We thank you for the gifts ye bestow upon us, for the breath that sustains magic, for the vessels on this isle that nurtures Your weave, for the love of magic and the loyalty of companions, without which there would be no life.

We thank you for the mystery of the Weave, for the beauty that the eye can see, for the joy that the ear may hear, for the unknown that we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder, for the expanse of weave that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.

We embark upon this adventure with you upon our lips and within our soul. Mother of all magic, grant us the wisdom to use your precious weaver wisely and allow us to set an example to others that gaze upon us.

Breathe your weave upon the vessels that you choose. Allow them to use the magic you give them carefully and with restraint. Allow your knights the foresight and temperment to weed out the irresponsible vessels and offer them an audience with you.

*gets up slowly* I wish to again, thank you for allowing me to speak.

Recently, we have expelled a number of Mystrians from the temple. A truly sad day, but those that have been expelled have lost their way. I have placed an edict to the knights that if we are to see any Sharrans preaching to the faithful, we are to bind them in chains and bring them to the temple for repentance. "I persecuted this way unto the death; binding and delivering into prison both men and women"

Why do we not just kill them? Why do we seek their repentance? It is Faith that moves us, that guides us and it is faith that stays our wrath. But what is our faith? Is it Dogma or life? In fact, our religion in the last manifestation of our Goddess is neither dogma nor life; it is a way from sin into the Grace of Mystra. Its bed-rock is truth, its pavement is character, and its destination is responsibility.

It is a plain way; as indicated in the prophecy, "A trail shall be there and a way, and it shall be called the way of faith; the wayfaring man, tho a fool, shall not err therein." To the faithless no question is more bewildering than this: "What shall I do that I may enter into the weave and the grace of Mystra?"

In the Crags, I found it very difficult to keep upon the old trail; tho it was easy enough for my comrade, who had been born and bred in the vicinity. It is the same for you. We have seen those bewitched by sharrans. They have spoken for and defend the spokesperson for the Goddess of Darkness and Hate. They speak out to me, "All my life I have been a loyal follower of Mystra; I am Mystra's Chosen! For I self-judge myself and found myself pure of spirit."

Yet they harbor our Goddess' greatest enemy.

The misguided are faithful, I agree, they have faith they are doing what Mystra calls upon them to do, yet they support the darkness of Shar here in Cordor by harboring Sharrans in their house and with their skills that the weave provides! It is my present purpose to make this matter as clear as I can. Let it be said at the outset that one thing only is needful in order to become a follower of Mystra- to wit , responsibility.

Every one of your actions speaks to your character! Like raindrops that fall upon Lake Minmir, our actions are far reaching and impact more than we can see. Do we all stumble when we are on our path for responsibility? Of course, we all stumble. But a Mystrian must repent before she can be folded back into the flock. Now repentance is not a saving grace, having value only as it leads to something further on. "Repent ye!" Since without repentance there is no adequate sense of need, nor disposition to accept your actions, your responsibility.

Let us get a clear understanding of repentance. It suggests at the outset, an apprehension of irresponsibility as a fact; not a figment of the imagination, not "a belief of mortal mind"; not an infection due to environment, and therefore involving no personal accountability; but a distinct, flagrant violation of holy law, by which the sinner is brought into rebellion against Mystra!

Actions irresponsible must be apprehended, furthermore, as a calamitous fact, that is, involving an adequate penalty: "The Mystrian that acts irresponsible shall die." A true penitent recognizes the justice of the punishment which is imposed upon him; the penitent state, "We indeed are condemned justly." One who spends his time in trying to explain away her irresponsible acts and justify the acts of the heretic, the sharran, is not a penitent Mystrian.

The true penitent fears her irresponsibility, hates it, loathes it, abhors it, and determines to quit it. But observe all this is merely preliminary to the one thing needful. There is no virtue in repentance per se. The penitent is not saved; he has only discovered his need of salvation.

She knows her malady; now how shall she be cured of it? To pause here is death. Fishing upon the seas of Arelith and realizing one is in a sinking boat must not be satisfied with stopping the leak; the boat must be bailed out. Penitence must be a life change.

To believe in Mystra and the Weave She provides is to believe in yourself. Do you not see how your actions affect others? Do you not see how the simplest of decisions will impact your friends, your fellow Mystrians, and even the non-believers? To repent for your irresponsibly is not merely words spoken but a personal commitment to change, to take responsibility for your actions.

Perhaps death will be your purchase price of redemption. Will you willingly pay it? Are we not tempted to turn aside from each of our great purposes? The sharran will lead us to the mercantile distric or the Nomad or even out in the wilderness, and with a wave if her hand, place the stain of shadow upon our spirit, our commitment to Mystra. Will you take responsibility for your actions if it means your death? I know thy purpose: thou art come to preach to you for Mystra and if necessary by dying for Weave and for the responsible vessels.

Why pay so great a price? I know thy fear and trembling, but what is this physical thing without our commitment to Mystra? Shall we stand in the way of harm to protect those that Mystra has blessed with the power of the weave? I say yes, whole heartedly and with conviction.

I cannot be turned aside from the work which I have been chosen to do. Therefore put away the irresponsibility with the words, "Get thee behind me, Sharran! I cannot be moved! I know the necessity that is laid upon me. I am therefore resolved to suffer and die for the deliverance of Mystrians."

"Get thee behind me, Sharran! I know thee! I recognize thy crafty suggestion; but I am not to be turned aside from my purpose. Get thee behind me! Thou art an offense unto me. Thy words are not of divine wisdom, but of human policy. Thou savor not the things that be of Responsibility, but those that be of darkness!"

Understand that your faith begets responsibility. And sometimes we all will stumble and act irresponsibly. Recognize your irresponsible acts for what they are, a misstep upon your path for Mystra. Walk upon your new path - Pertinence. Your irresponsibility will have consequences - embrace them, even if they lead to your death. Go to the foot of our goddess and profess your sins! Allow the Goddess to breathe upon you her forgiveness and her judgment.

Do not allow your irresponsibly to guide your feet upon a new darker path. Do not be so prideful that you think that your actions harbor no consequences. Embrace Mystra and the Weave. For your actions, all actions will affect someone. My decision to excommunicate a Mystrian weighs heavy upon my spirit. But the darkness that she harbors cannot not be allowed to spread within this temple I pray that she eventually embraces repentance.

I, too have consequences that I am called to answer for. The false cleric of Mystra that was smote by the Goddess in this very temple has consequences. The teachings of Lady Rashmi and my keeping the knights from seeking her repentance has consequences. Consider your actions as you make your decisions. Consider those that are under your charge, and how it will affect them. For me, all Mystrians are my temple of conscience. For the Archmages at the tower, the young vessels that are part of the tower are their temple of conscience. For each and every one of us, perhaps it is the adventuring party that walks the dangerous path with us.

In closing, the actions that define you, do all this in the open. It may be that some who refuse to confess their irresponsibility; but the presumption is immensely against the adventurer who lives that way. "Stand forth into the midst!" "Quit thyself like a man!" The water gushes from the rock, but we shall die of thirst unless we dip it up and drink it. Pertinence is there, all we have to do is embrace it. We must grasp Her extended hand. "It is the grip you hold that saves you." Mystra stands waiting- the Goddess offers responsibility for the taking. Who will have it? The worst of sinners can make it his very own by saying with all his heart, "I will! I do!"

[HinAttack]

Again, my thanks for coming to the sermon; Let us give thanks to Mystra before we begin.

Mystra, thank you for surrounding us with your favor and protections; Your Glory as an adornment; Your wisdom as words of life; with your weave as a gift of magic; Behold your blessings are a downpour of magic!

Mother of Mysteries, source of the weave, giver of all magic, We thank you for the gifts ye bestow upon us, for the breath that sustains magic, for the vessels on this isle that nurtures Your weave, for the love of magic and the loyalty of companions, without which there would be no life.

We thank you for the mystery of the Weave, for the beauty that the eye can see, for the joy that the ear may hear, for the unknown that we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder, for the expanse of weave that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.

Breathe your weave upon the vessels that you choose. Allow them to use the magic you give them carefully and with restraint. Allow your knights the foresight and temperament to weed out the irresponsible vessels and offer them an audience with you.

We thank you for setting us in this community: for families who nurture our becoming, for friends who love us by choice, for companions, who share our burdens and daily tasks, for strangers who welcome us into their midst, for people from other lands who call us to grow in understanding, for children who lighten our moments with delight, for the unborn, who offer us the new vessels for the weave.

*get up from the altar and looks out over the crowd*

Recently, a group was formed and we set about to search for any scent of a sharran gathering, I was asked by a nonbeliever, “Why give all your coin to the temple, wouldn’t it be better if you kept it and prepared yourself better for any attack upon your person?”

The argument started as we discussed the exorbitant prices of the powerful magical artifacts for sale in Wharftown. “Would I not be the most powerful sage upon the isle if I can wrap myself in those unique magics?

And to do this, I would need to collect all I could, ravage the temple’s coffers, order the knights to allow me to collect all the coin from the dead and dying enemies of Mystra.” All for the glory of me!

Honestly, it is tempting. To be almost invincible as I battle the foes of the Goddess of Magic; it would be my life’s dream! To lay low the followers of Shar cloaked in the most powerful magics my Goddess grants mortal men would be an almost unbearable temptation.

And as I fantasize about me being one of the seven, an avatar of my Goddess, I remember a story from my days of learning to be a divine speaker of Mystra.

My teacher, the Sage Zacharias, tells the story about a boy that loved collecting marbles. He lived next door to a little girl who had a lot of candy. She said to him: “If you’ll give me all of your marbles, I’ll give you all of my candy.” He said he’d think about it.

The next day, he hid a few of the marbles in his room and offered the rest to the little girl for her candy. That night, he couldn't get to sleep. He tossed and he turned and he turned and he tossed all night because he was so troubled.

And what do you think troubled him so much he couldn't sleep? What troubled him was the thought: “Did she really give me all of her candy?”

Did he concern himself with his duplicity? Did he give a thought to his greed? No. What he saw was his reflection in this little girl. Since he was duplicitous, so, he thought, she must be.

This reflection is temptation. The artifacts are truly tempting, but what path do we walk if we are to concern ourselves with monetary things like the artifacts? What gifts does Mystra give us which are not free? She freely gives us the use of her essence, her weave.

With it, the vessels can shape it to do terrible things as well as miracles. And it is free to those that are willing to put in the time and effort to use it responsibility and with restraint.

But let us walk the path of the great temptation. You need coin to buy such amazing things. Truly, I am tempted to adorn such powerful things, but at what price do we pay? Coin is not the only thing that we give up for such things.

But to make coin, we can walk many paths. We can embrace Waukeen’s merchants and put the ‘art of the deal’ above all else. We can walk the darker paths of the merchants and lie, cheat and steal from others to obtain our coin. But this will lead to a greater good? Yes?

Or we can walk the path of the adventurer, as many of us do. We can hunt those that are loaded with coin and seek to do us harm. We can solicit others to help us and we can go assault strongholds and bastions of our enemies and collect all the coin, giving none to anyone that supports us.

How soon will it be before those that have been supporting us say, “I can’t afford to help you, Mystrian. The coin I spend on magical items, healing kits and repair of my gear is too great.” Shall we then say, “Let us hope that the evil we do will bring a greater good to this isle.”

So what do you sell, in order to buy temptation? Temptation infects you with greed. It is a sickness of selfishness. And your malady drives you away from your friends and companions. What price do you pay for such wondrous items?

The price is too great. The cost is too steep. Do you wish such darkness upon your soul? I say hold a mirror up to you, look into the reflection, really look and ask yourself, “Will I wish to be a companion to that which I see?”

I am not saying that you should discard all your wealth to the poor and starving here in Cordor. Just understand the source of this disease is love of possessions and money. And there is only one cure for this disease – Reflection.

The seller of these items is like the boy in the story. Consumed with monetary things, he places the value upon such items and expects others to become destitute to feed his greed – his sickness.

Mystra calls upon us all to follow her! What does that mean? Shall we embrace the weave and become the weave? Shall we be the source of new magic? No, Follow her and be responsible with your acts.

Self-judge, allow others to judge themselves. And do not allow the darkness of temptation weed itself upon your soul. Like the boy with the marbles, seek out the feelings of resentment, duplicity and greed and, unlike the boy, recognize Shar’s darkness that is creeping upon your soul.

If you want all that this world has to offer, then be prepared to give all that you have. Temptation calls you to sell out your soul, do you answer such call? Or are you a Mystrian?

A Mystrian is one that keeps faith with other vessels, knowing they will do right. A Mystrian is one that will reflect upon his actions and judge thyself every day. A Mystrian will embrace responsibility. Every day and night, you are a Mystrian. Every day and night, you hold a mirror up to your actions and judge thyself. There is always temptation.

Can you recognize how it eats at you and your companions? If you allow temptation to worm itself into your soul, things begin to disintegrate. Others you call friends will have to take up your spiritual missteps. Others you call companions will start making excuses for you.

WE succeed as a whole if all of us self-judge. If we forsake temptation, we recognize it as a stain upon our soul and it will not have power over us.

If you wish to sell yourself, then sell yourself to Mystra. Give yourself completely over to your Goddess. Know what she wants of you, speak to her and seek her council. Be rich in spirit and in soul. Be rich in companionship and in friends. WE are all one body of Mystra! Each of us are many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Mystra we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If your gift is prophesying, then use it in proportion to your faith. If it is adventuring, then adventure for Mystra; If you are chosen to be a vessel, then be an example of responsibility; If it is encouraging, then be the beacon all can look to; If it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; If it is leadership, let him govern diligently; If it is giving repentance, then show mercy as you send the soul to Mystra

As a Mystrian, we are already in possession of artifacts, given by our goddess and nurtured by our faith. WE are each unique to Mystra and invaluable. Our price is incalculable. For does not Shar or Cyric or Bane covet us? Do you not feel the temptation of greed upon us every day? For those that hide in darkness fear the light. For those that are lost, they try and convert others so their misery, their hate and their greed can be shared. The door to Mystra is open, yet many are unable to walk through. Do not cover yourself in the darkness of temptation, of ruin and misery of loneliness. Embrace you as you. Know that you are of an incalculable value to others. Artifacts are nice, yes, but are they worth such a high price to pay?

As the knights and other Mystrians walk the isle in search of these coveted artifacts, and if we find any, I will say as my vow this day. We shall GIVE them away to the deserving. For the value of the artifact can not come close to the value that you are to me; as a Mystrian.

[HinAttack]

*looks over at the assembly*

Many people think of hope as a poor, precarious thing, an illusion, a vanity, a disease of the mind. The sharran has said, "He, who lives on hope, will die starving." and let us not forget, "Hope is the most hopeless thing of all."

But I have hope, I have the 'patience of hope" and of "hope that maketh me not ashamed." My hope is both sure and steadfast.

My hope is that throughout the darkness we have encountered these last few months, that all will band together and rise up to defend their beliefs, their values and their loved ones! THIS is my hope! "A hope both sure and steadfast."

The Mystrians have been attacked many times in the recent past. We have had Lady Rashmi, a professed Sharran come into our temple and attack Sir Edgerton, only to realize she will be defeated and hid behind the Cordorian Guards.

I have been bested by the Warlock known as the ooze mistress on the bridge that connects this city to the Arcane Tower. I was ransomed back to the city for twenty thousand gold.

We have responded to the Drow attacks on this city, right under us. We have found a maskite temple and a shadow door that we believe the Drow are using to enter the sewers of Cordor.

We have encountered the warlock Balphor in the tower of Arcane Sorcery where he spouted how his warlock powers are freeing slaves. His deluded ramblings convinced him that robbing others and doing evil is justified for doing good.

We now have to contend with the cowardly attacks of desecrating our altars here in this temple, and throughout the isle by person or persons. We have found no clues or evidence of the identity of the wrongdoers.

But this has given us impetus to gather our forces and head into the Underdark to look for the culprits.

We are being beset upon by all sides. Warlocks bent on the destruction of our forests and our lands, Sharrans bent on the destruction of all things so they can wallow in their misery. Drow now gaining power and attacking Cordor. It seems that all hope is lost.

I say nay! I am the realm's greatest optimist. I am proud of the distinction. There is something buoyant and healthy in being an optimist. It is because of my optimism that I have gone through life in the service of Mystra.

I have hope that we shall unite with the other factions that have been attacked by these foolish deluded creatures!

But you cry, “There are many and we are few!” How can we hope to defeat such a foe? I say we can, and we will, because we have something that these withered souls covet! The reason they attack, the reason they hate and they cringe upon their blackened souls! We have the ability to cooperate.

It is a fundamental trait that we, as followers of our gods and goddesses have the ability to trust one hundred percent in our fellow faithful. It is a valued trait we can rely on others to save us, to protect us and to fight for us when we feel all hope is lost!

Teamwork is our armor! Faith in our fellows is our shield! We are not a collection of individuals but one force, one unstoppable force that will overcome, if we give ourselves to our fellow soldiers against the darkness!

If we look to what is important to our faiths, then we can use the tactics taught to us by our experience. For example, we are guardians of truth and light, all our vessels and our divine casters can light our way by casting light upon us all.

For all of us, we should be cloaked in Mystra’s weave with death protections, armor protections and enhance our constitution. Displacing us or cloaking us in invisibility is also wise. Allow all of us to see in the dark. Everyone is given the opportunity to cast the ultra-vision.

Our scouts should be cloaked with camouflage and amplify their skills. They should be cloaked with armor protections as well and give them the gift of invisibility.

Our vessels should use all the spells available to them to keep them safe –displacement, stoneskin, greater stoneskin, elemental shields and protections, protect your minds from attack and cloak yourself in mage armor.

What I propose, to give us hope is to have us break down in groups of seven. Preferably two front line attackers, two divine casters, two vessels and one that can shoot from afar that will double as the scout.

Husband your spells, and give them out to those that need Mystra’s gifts. For instance for the front line fighters, focus on giving them the strength and endurance of a bull along with cloaking them in bark and stone. Ward them from death and give them protections for armor and shield.

Cloak them in invisibility or displacement so they are hard to hit. These are the ones that will be protecting the party, so ask yourself, if I was up there, what would I cloak upon myself.

For the scout, enhance their dexterity and cloak them in shadows and camouflage them so they can strike from the woods, gaining surprise.

The most important thing we can do is band together and communicate with each other. This is what evil fears! This is what they covet. Our hope and our willing devotion to our deity.