Sgrios Mass: Tarnished Sparks

Let us first take a moment to acknowledge the accomplishments of a couple Aislings in our trinity. Tyl, who has been a fixture of the temple, has ascended to the rank of Priest here in our humble shrine. We are very proud to welcome him into the clergy. Additionally, over in the temple of Deoch, Priestess Inuyoko has taken her first step into the high clergy with her role as Cleric of Deoch, which is a tremendous feat. All of Temuair will benefit from the light these Aislings bring to our temples.

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Deoch gifted us with more than the inspiration to transcend lives of mediocrity when he chose us as bearers of his spark; he also gifted us with a sort of immortality. Wounds and illnesses that would rend lesser beings naught but food for decay simply give us an audience with Sgrios’ great judge, Nyarlathotep. Through the combined brilliance of the Aisling Spark and Sgrios enduring vigilance, we need not waste an anxious moment fearing death - either at the hands of a catastrophic injury or through the great decay of time as we age. For a god so often maligned as the bringer of death, this partnership between Deoch and Sgrios renders the Aisling as nearly immortal.

Yet, death comes for us as it does all things, just not in the same fashion as it does the goblin hordes or the ravenous insects of the deep woods. While speaking with an Aisling of some renown - Kedian, the oldest living Aisling and one of the very first to have been granted the spark of inspiration from Deoch’s own hands, I had quite an insight. I had wondered why, of all the Atavism Aislings, which numbered in the hundreds, he was the only one who remained. I don’t mean to speak for him, but in essence, what it comes down to is that walking the lands is restorative to his spark. That, even over two-hundred years after the Aisling Awakening, he still finds Temuair to be a place of immense inspiration and delight.

But what happened to the others? If Sgrios’ bond with Deoch prevents us from slipping into oblivion, why do we not bump into others who witnessed the age of Atavism, or even those who walked at the dawn of our influence in the land? We guard these Sparks as the cultural treasures they are, and we are blessed in this time to witness a great number of them who have returned to the lands - still, during this time of abundance the census never peaked beyond a thousand waking Aislings, and yet Kedian told of thousands who sparked after Atavism. If Aislings are not slaves to death, we should be absolutely swamped with a bustling society of inspired beings, but our population still struggles to remain relevant as Temuair decays around us.

There is one fatal outcome that can claim the Aisling life, and it is something not even Sgrios can safeguard against. When we lose sight of the inspiration Deoch blessed us with, we become vulnerable to the decay of mortality. As our spark dims, so, too, does our resolve to remain here in Temuair - this is not a possibility, it is a certainty. I’ve lived long enough now to have seen even the brightest sparks of Temuair lose their lustre and slowly fade from being; sometimes for a brief hiatus, sometimes to be lost to Sgrios touch. I, too, have found myself retreating to slumber when the light of inspiration falls from my sky.

However, one of the oldest traditions of our kind, and that which differentiates us from our Mundane counterparts, is to dream. By trusting our spark to Deoch and Sgrios and allowing ourselves to slide into one of many dreaming realities, we’re often able to rekindle our tarnished sparks. By dreaming, by submitting ourselves to other fantastic realms, we often find a renewed purpose upon our return home to Temuair. When our souls are reduced to cinders, it is our obligation to reignite that passion of inspiration, and build it into a beacon that illuminates wonder in those around us.

Every day I watch the numbers on the census dwindle, and the casualties of that loss are not only the fresh sparks. Those of us who bear the influence of age are, perhaps, the most susceptible to this malady. Even as the promise of this brief golden age begins to decay, and those pillars of old Temuair again begin to crumble beneath the weight of the aspirations of the next generation, we must always remind ourselves that our spark is the most precious thing we carry - that through engaging with our creativity, we are fulfilling our purpose. We must heed the call of whatever it takes to feed that inner fire.

So just as new sparks are stepping into roles of influence, and those who held influence fade back into Sgrios' embrace, mind your spark and listen to it's needs as if your life depended on it.