Sgrios Mass: Crimes of Complacency

I like to think that, as Sgrians, we have a keen finger on the pulse of our fleeting mortality. By finding a home in the darker corners of Temuair, we have become sharply aware of the tenuous grip we have on our precious lives. Each wound that shrinks to a scar; each illness that sets us on our backs, each passing deoch that brings us closer to our end - these are bells that chime the song of Sgrios, and with each brush with death, we devote ourselves anew to His service.

But not all signs of death are so obvious; there are ways in which we sacrifice our lives without the drama of disfiguring scars; without coughs; without pain; without calendars. Of all of Gramail’s repulsive gifts to the world, there is one with which he syphons our spark, ounce by ounce, until we’re left as little more than a necromancer’s puppet: this disgusting trance through which our spark is snuffed out is the dangerous swamp known as complacency.

While Sgrios is best known for His chthonic duties; tending to the dead and safeguarding the Aisling spark from Chadul’s dark embrace - this is only one aspect of His domain. Many forget that Sgrios thrives in chaos and instigates anarchy - that he shrugs off the chains of oppression and serves as the Patron God of the revolutionary. Here we find the crux of our conflict with Gramail, who seeks to regulate the world into conformity and drown us with his stifling bureaucracy.

And through His sickening perversion of Decay, Gramail uses his foolish legislation to drown the inspired Aisling in minutiae. That we spend as much of our lives as we do lost in trivial tasks that bring us no joy and no fulfillment is an insult to Sgrios; whose grim presence stands to urge us towards greatness. We have a limited time to walk this land; even our dreams are finite. To spend even a moment of this fleeting existence in a state of contentment in the face of mediocrity is an insult to Sgrios. It is a call for great introspection and change.

We all face slumps in life where our spark feels all but extinguished; where our zeal for life is replaced with a monotonous cycle of mundane tasks. Here, in this despicable state, we find a comfort in routine, we find that the divine gifts of creativity and our passion for adventure are replaced with a brutal acceptance of “good enough” and “comfortable” - and this is an affront to the Gods. Deoch brought us the ability to bring light to the lands with our creative minds and Sgrios stands between us and the abyss; together our great Gods urge us to take perilous risks, to chase the thrill of adventure, to dedicate ourselves to creating and building and ushering in a new golden age for Temuair.

Beware, Aisling. Beware the trappings of the mundane world; fight the phantom chains of bureaucracy that seek to wrap themselves around your neck. As a Sgrian, and as an Aisling, I encourage each of you to break the chains that bind you to any life that doesn’t bring you divine satisfaction. Show that pompous law-giver that our mortal lives are worth more than a meager salary. Inspiration doesn’t come with a guarantee of safety, but allowing order to hold our sparks captive isn’t a fair price. Do something radical today; embrace anarchy by abandoning responsibilities for bliss.

Bring honor to Sgrios on this day and all that follow by untethering your heart and striving, once more, for greatness.