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#Post#: 278--------------------------------------------------
A view on Life
By: Sila Date: April 14, 2015, 2:23 pm
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Write a short story that exemplifies your characters life views!
This can be as in depth and serious as you desire. Rather than
describing the views directly, try to show them through what
your character says and does in the prompt.
#Post#: 312--------------------------------------------------
Re: A view on Life
By: Caleb Norwill Date: April 28, 2015, 11:07 pm
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[quote]
Brother:
I apologize if this post is late. The postal service of the
Eastern Kingdoms is notorious unreliable, and I am writing this
from a location that is not often frequented by runners to
Stormwind. I have faith in the young Argent I have given this
to, but less faith in her horse’s surefootedness and swiftness.
In our last meeting, I said that my weakest virtue was that of
Respect. I am uncertain if that remains so. Respect is the
tolerance you have for others, and that is something I have. I
must have that tolerence, because it is only through tolerance
that I have survived for as long as I have. I must be honest,
because if I was not honest, I would not be writing this. I
would have written that Respect was my weakest virtue and given
you some tragic story that is only a shadow of true tragedy –
and you would have believed me. But I did not do that. I did
not, because for all of my belief that I am fundamentally a liar
– I think I am honest. I have come to believe that withholding
information for the security of all around you, for their
comfort, is not a lie. If I was asked about certain traits of my
personality, if I was asked about why my breath comes never, and
I step away from the Light conjured from the hands of better
men; I will answer truthfully. Temperence; the balancing of all
things, including our desperate attempts to try to balance our
hateful personalities and natures. This is something that I have
long struggled with, but I am fitter now, in this respect, since
I went out to see. After sitting on the bottom of the ocean,
with nothing but yourself, you begin to know yourself so well
that you can calculate your every movement and your every
inclination. You know why you twitch. You know what makes you
hungry, and what quells your urges. Thus, following my self
appointed rules were no longer a problem. I could stop myself
from wanting, or try to want something that I could not want. I
know why I want things, now, and I know why I cannot want
things. I have a great equalizer in my life: I raise rabbits.
This activity has calmed my nerves, which were once so shaky,
seeing shadows from a dark and frightening past at every corner.
I have been a paladin before, twice anointed by respected
members of the Church of the Holy Light. The first time, I was a
very young man, with a lot of strange ideas about the world. It
was a strange thing. To my knowledge, I was the first afflicted
with this curse to become a full paladin in the eyes of the
Light – but there was none, nothing that sprung to my fingers at
my beck and call. There was a great emptiness, then, an
uncertainty that coloured me, when I was young. That
uncertainty led me to a darkness that was all consuming. I could
feel uncertainty in everything I did, from opening up my journal
to riding into battle with my dearest friends. This darkness led
me to do things that I did not wish to do. This is necessary for
the answer to my question. Otherwise, I would not be writing
this. It is part of the grand tragedy that I am afraid I cannot
lie about. My commitment to honesty comes from a desire to
master the parts of my life that I was so out of control in. I
cannot take the events themselves back. But I should like to at
least, be able to believe that they had a purpose. So I cannot
lie about what happened. I walked out of aforementioned
darkness, even less certain of who I am, what I was meant to be
then when I first felt this terrible feeling of uncertainty.
My belief in my virtues was not impaired, nor was my ability
to understand them. Those were the certainties in a life where
nothing was certain. Those were what I wanted to follow – and
that I knew I could follow. But there was uncertainty still, a
crisis of the self that was something so cancerous and
dangerous that it impaired every virtue. The pollution has
effected me from bone marrow to vitreous humor; the clear jelly
inside an eyeball. It still is with me, but now, I have such a
problem under control, a tight grip. Yet, when this question is
posed, the same uncertainty rears its head, and the reins slip
through my fingers. I would like to give a ready answer to this
question, and say with bright and clipped phrases that my
weakest virtue is Respect – or Tenacity. I could beam with pride
as I say that my weakest virtue is Compassion; because it is the
most difficult to master, there is no shame in saying that you
do not understand it. I wish I could say with certainty that
any of these Virtues are the ones that I find myself incapable
of understanding – or that I know that I struggle with these
virtues by their very nature. But that is not what I feel, and
I am trying to remain as honest as possible.
Perhaps the virtue that it closest to what I have troubles with
would be Tenacity’s tenet of Judgment, something that requires
an amount of certainty. To judge another is to know something
about them, something that you can hold on to. But, then again,
I believe that judgment is what human’s interactions are founded
upon. Anybody who says that they do not judge is lying – we all
judge. We all see another persona nd begin to form speculations
about them, believe something about them that is very difficult
to dissuade us from. I have experienced that judgment quite
frequently, being who and what I am. I believe that I do judge
others; it would be foolish to say that I do not. But there is
always a hesitation that comes with – a hesitation that does not
lend itself well to the Tenacity expected of me.
I am trying to come to a point, but I keep running into
obstacles.
Compassion is the last of the virtues, the one that I have not
discussed. People do not like me, I am not personable. I am too
harsh, and I am known for misery. Sadness is not a constant, but
it is certainly there. But I am merciful, because to not be
merciful would require me to make a judgment that I personally
do not feel comfortable making. I will kill that which wishes to
kill me, but that is the extent of my judgment. I do not feel
comfortable being in the position of a murderer, an executioner,
a judge and jury, depending on interpretation. I can see things
from too many perspectives and understand too many factors. Is
this uncertainty? Is this the thing that colours my
interpretation of all the virtues and makes me so incapable of
picking that which I find the most difficult? Even this note
itself is an exercise in uncertainty, my brother. Not for lack
of thinking. I have been asked this question before now.
I am running out of paper.
I suppose that I do have an answer; a certain answer. For the
sake of this last sheet of paper, if nothing else. I do not have
a single virtue that I am weakest in. That is not to say that I
am particularly strong in all of them. That is to say that in
all circumstances, there will be an instance where I have failed
at some aspect of a virtue, or have not fulfilled it as much as
I possibly could have. There will always be a time when I fail
at Respect, Tenacity, or Compassion. There will be situations
that are too brutal for Compassion’s gentle hand, or too
uncertain for the harsh judgment of Tenacity. I will never be
completely a paragon of any virtue. I say this because I am
human. I will strive to behave within the Light. I will strive
to embody these virtues to their fullest extent, but invariably
– I will struggle. I will fail, at certain intervals and
circumstances. But that is only motivation to explore the nature
of the Virtues once more and hope to perfect myself in the eyes
of the Light.
I am sorry that I cannot give a better answer than that. I am
truly sorry I cannot say simply Respect or Tenacity or
Compassion. I am sorry I am forced to give an answer that seems,
even to me, like a refusal to answer the question presented to
me. I assure you, it is not. I really believe that this is the
only honest answer that I can give, and I am trying to be
honest.
I give you my warmest of regards, from a cold land; and I hope
this Argent Crusader delivers this missive on time:
Caleb
[/quote]
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