Sgrios Mass: The Goddess of Compassion
A Sgrios Mass from Paramour & Vaegar
I will now hand the floor over to Lady Paramour to add her own
perspective on the subject. Lady Paramour, I thank you much for this
opportunity to be of assistance in your mass. The honour is mine. I hope
to one day be as revered and well recieved as you. *Bows deeply*
So I urge you all to walk with Sgrios' love in your heart and show the
true unyielding strength of compassion. Bring the world the true love
that thrives only in the forgotten corners. Never let anyone convince
you that your scars make you less beautiful than those with unblemished
skin. Our Lord loves us as does he those who would shun him. Let us pull
our enemies closer and force upon them the divine understanding of
Sgrios, our lord and protector.
Vaegar's Sermon
A hearty hello to all who have managed to join us
today. My name is Vaegar Kael'thas. Our wonderful Lady Paramour has
asked me to assist in mass this day, and it is beyond my honour to do
so. Many Deochs ago, I was a priest of Glioca, but I had felt a deeper
part of me calling to a different purpose. At the time I could not place
a finger on it, but as the time went on, the feeling seemed to get
stronger and stronger. Finally, a brush with death had let me meet our
Lord Sgrios for the first time, and that is when it all became clear to
me. For in my fear and time of need, my Goddess was nowhere to be found
to me, but I felt reassured still. I had finally found the source of
this deeper feeling I had been feeling. It was Sgrios, catering to the
darkness inside my soul. Although there were no
words spoken aloud, I had a deep conversation of
enlightening with Sgrios. From that moment on, I knew my purpose was to
dwell in the darkness, live in the chaos, smell the decay. And so, I am
before you today, a force for our Lord Sgrios, with a new purpose.
Today we are going to touch on the topic of Sgrios and
Glioca, and their relationship. Many from both faiths wonder why Sgrios
and Glioca are not enemies. This is a good question, considering our
Lord Sgrios is the god of death and decay, and Glioca is the Goddess of
compassion and love. They seem much like opposite ends of the spectrum.
Especially when Glioca and her followers, heal the scars Sgrios places
on an Aisling. From my studies I have come up with a theory; While many
do not see a God of death and decay as a compassionate being, I believe
he is. Let me ask, what happens when an Aisling dies? Where do they go?
Their sparks are sent to our lord
Sgrios, where he proceeds to give that spark another
chance at life, leaving his scar as a reminder to the Aisling. So why
would Sgrios not just keep the sparks with him for eternity, or leave
them to a much worse fate? I would think this could be considered
compassion, to an extent. At the same time, it would almost be
detrimental to our lord if he let all of the sparks just fade away after
death, rather then giving them a another chance, as Sgrios feeds off of
death, it makes him stronger. Giving an aisling another chance at life,
gives them another chance at death as well does it not? *Grins* And so
this is the circle of life in our lands. Glioca is also the goddess of
love, would we say Sgrios does not love, or show love to all Aislings by
acting as he does? As Lady Paramour has touched upon in her previous
mass, without decay, many creatures in our lands could not thrive, could
not live, as they feed off of it. As for us Aislings, does Sgrios not
show us love by giving us another chance to serve in life, rather than
death? I for one, feel the love, feel the compassion, it matters not if
it is bathed in the darkness, nor the light.
Also, to touch on a another reason of why I believe the
two deities are not enemies, as some know, and for those of you who
don't, Deoch was once a kin of the Dubhaimid, a main reason why Deoch is
an ally of Sgrios. Glioca is the daughter of Danaan, who was the reason
for Deoch changing to the light. Deoch was once under servitude to
Chadul, as the God of debauchery. So in some distant way, it is possible
Glioca may be attributed, or akin to the Dubhaimid. But she is also the
mother of Cail, one of Sgrios' enemies. If you would like to hear more
about the nature of the relationship between Cail and Sgrios, Lady
Paramour gave a fantastic sermon on the topic last moon, I am sure she
still has the parchment around if you require her knowledge, and would
be more then happy to oblige.
Paramour's Sermon
What a rousing and insightful speech; we are truly blessed to have one such spark among the dark flock. It is so rare to get an intimate glimpse into life in other temples. While it might seem like transitioning from the Gliocan faith to Sgrios would be like the difference between day and night, it is not so.
Through all the initiation tests I've given to
potential Sgrios worshipers, the most common incorrect answer I get when
discussing our enemies on the octave is that Glioca, daughter of
Danaan, opposes us.
Had you known nothing about the ideals and natures of
the gods of Temuair, and entered a grand hall filled with magnificent
marble statues depicting the physical manifestations of our deities, one
would be forgiven to pit Sgrios and Glioca against one another. For
here, on one hand, we have the grim countenance of a terrifying monster
whereas Glioca's beauty, which mirrors the best traits of the aisling
form, is without rival. Should we judge our gods by their likenesses
only, there is no doubt we would see these two in direct competition.
Luckily the gods are more dimensional than their
aesthetics suggest, and, for the most part, are not so fickle. I'm
hoping it comes to none here as a surprise that the Sgrian and Gliocan
temples share very little in ways of conflict. The most divisive
difference in our theology tends lie in our attitudes towards the scars
which we receive from Sgrios himself and the attitudes towards life and
death, as these Gods fall on different ends of that eternal cycle.
As for Glioca's focus on the realms of birth and
health, it can be said of the Sgrios faith that we exist on the same
spectrum, just further down the line. What we choose to preach as clergy
of our faith is influenced by the the thoughts and desires of those who
give the sermons. To me, a complete understanding is valuable, so I
like to assess every realm of our faith. In the past, though, we have
seen many Sgrian Priests focus solely on the darker aspects of our lord.
I'm sure there are Gliocan priests who are able to appreciate the value
of death as it pertains to life, itself.
As for scars; our congregation views the subject as
sacred. To some, a reminder of our dear lord's presence in this world so
fraught with danger and uncertainty. To others, a physical gift which
we carry in bold defiance to the idea of aisling mortality. To me, the
Sgrios scar is an enduring symbol of the love He shares for
aislingkind... A small undecipherable note of eternal affection. It
proclaims, in His grim wisdom, that on this day I was saved from death
by my lord. That He loves me so that he would return me to life.
For the Gliocians, though, this is not the case. I
cannot speak as to whether or not this symbol is a vain affront to the
visualized perfection of the eternal youth and beauty which Glioca
presents to us, but the optimist in me would like to believe that the
innate desire to heal drives them to erase any marks that suggest
suffering. The holiness of the scar is in direct conflict with their
reverence for health and beauty.
When I had returned to the lands from a long journey
abroad, I met a young and inspired Deoch worshiper here in this hall who
was curious about my life and how I came to find myself in His service.
After spending some time getting to know me, he was vexed as to how
someone with such a full and caring heart could walk obscured in the
shadows when the temple of Glioca would seemingly be a better fit.
Have any of you visited the Glioca temple? It's
gorgeous; sun streams in through the massive skylights. A natural spring
feeds crystal clear water through a series of canals, an ingenious feat
of engineering allows the canals to deliver water to the lush
vegetation which grows in the hall. I'm filled with an enormous sense of
peace and well-being in that temple. It's beautiful.
Yet this is my home, and I spend more of my waking
hours in this gruesome pit than any other location in all of the known
world. The fact is that Sgrios IS a god of compassion; he IS a god of
love. How powerful must his will to provide for us, who treat him as a
fearsome monster, that he can continue to save our sparks even when
confined to the darkness? Nay, anyone can feel hope or love or kindness
when they walk among the flowers of a sunlit garden, or have compassion
for an aisling with a beautiful, unmarred face. It calls to a deeper
well of kindness when you can surround yourself with ruins and perform
miracles for those who vilify you, or show charity to the ugly and
broken.
Comments
Post a Comment