Good, Evil, and

  Balance

Inherent Choice

Galatyne Knightwyng—Autumn 1999

I have been told that I was destined to become what I am, that I was meant to walk this path in the Light, and nothing could have kept me from it. But I know otherwise. I remember the exact moment that I set foot on this path, and I know that I could just as easily have turned aside and chosen another. For that matter, I still can.

Whenever someone tells me that I was “destined” to walk this road, I find myself thinking about my adversaries. Were any of them “destined” to follow the path into Darkness? Was evil thrust on them as part of some greater plan? Essentially, is evil inherent?.... read more

The Scales of Balance

Galatyne Knightwyng—Spring 2000

When I began my journey as a paladin of Lyfaye, the path before me seemed sure and my purpose clear -- advance the cause of Light and bring an end to Darkness. Since first setting foot upon that road however, I have found it to be anything but sure and clear. Instead, it has been narrow, winding, and fraught with roadblocks, at times barely perceivable amidst the shadows that pervade this existence.

One murky patch in particular has consistently obscured my path -- balance.... read more

Inherent Chaos

Satyir—Summer 2000

I have been told that I was destined to become what I am, (I forget who said it though), that I was meant to meander about these paths in the world(s). In the Light, in the Dark, back into the light again for a bit and then into some shadows for a while (to avoid to much sun, you understand) and perhaps off the path for a bit to rest in a meadow and drink some mead....

I remember the exact moment when I set foot on this path (actually, it was a different path in another world, but all paths are the same in many ways) and I knew that, unlike some, I had but little choice on where I began or where the path I was on led.... read more

A Response and an Adjustment to
the Scales of Balance

Brother Bartholomew—Autumn 2000

I have finally had the time to read your thoughtful essay in the spring edition of the Daoine Sidhe. You will agree, I am sure, that things have been rather hectic these last several moons, and it was not until the paths became less tangled that I was able to give your work the attention it truly deserves.

We have been down this path many times, my good friend and brother, and we have at various times agreed, disagreed, and convinced each other of the logic of our particular point of view. That is why it pains me to see you twist and turn on the spit of logic in such a tortuous manner. What makes it worse for me is that you have come so close to a fundamental truth and yet, because of your very nature, you cannot see it.... read more

To Brother Bartholomew on Balance

Galatyne Knightwyng—Winter 2001

I believe you have misinterpreted my position in “The Scales of Balance.” Foremost, you took my statement of “good and evil rest precariously on an empyreal fulcrum” to be my view. It is not. Rather, I was paraphrasing the manner in which the proponents of balance present the ancient adversaries - that one cannot be present without the other; that removing the weight from one side of the scale would cause the other to plunge into oblivion, bringing about the end of the world as we know it. You yourself said that a world without good or a world without evil could not exist for there would be nothing against which to compare it. Indeed, such has long been the argument for not allowing one or the other to gain the upper hand.

I understand the intent of such a stance, but I believe that the energies used to uphold it are misplaced. I fear the champions of balance have not looked deeply enough into the true nature of the interaction between good and evil.... read more

The Good, the Evil, and
the Inherence of Balanced Chaos

Hoot Dreamsinger—Winter 2001

What is the basis for good and evil? Is there a necessary balance between them? Are things predetermined or do we have choices? These questions have been tossed around in the arena of these pages, and now I will add my own layer to the discussion.

Let me start with a simple example: The wolf eats the deer. Now, if you are the wolf, this is a good thing, for you are feeding your family and sustaining your own life. On the other hand, if you are the deer, this seems like evil at its worst, for your life is ending by means beyond your control. To most detached observers, this is simply the balance of nature and has nothing to do with good or evil.

Let us go one further.... read more

A Response to Galatyne
and Hoot on Balance

Brother Bartholomew—Spring 2001

It seems that your two thought-pieces, in response to mine own, occupied a good eight hundredths of the last issue of the Daoine Sidhe. I find that, if I were to choose to answer each and every one of your ideas with the time and explanatory disposition it deserves, I should be able to fill the entire next issue and then some. Permit me to say, though, Sir Knightwyng, that your words and the ideas behind them show your usual depth of thought and reason, and I caution you, Ser Bard, that your façade of frivolity, chicanery and debauchery is in danger of being rent asunder, and your true depth of character revealed to all.... read more

Some Points on Balance

Satyir—Summer 2001

I vish to discuss some points made recently, most notably the one made by Brother Bart about “maintainink the Balance.” Then I vish to point out some think about the nature of the semantics ve use to discuss our philosophies of good and evil and so on.

First: Brother Bart, I know that jou have a vested interest in this whole “Balance” think, vhat vith it beink jour religious ideology and all. But there is no need for any sentient beinks, be they elf, human, dvarf, goblin, dragon or vhatever, to fight for stasis. There vill alvays be “evil” beinks, and “good” beinks, and “beinks that don’t care neither vay.” The Balance does not need a maintenance crew; that duty is taken care of by life in general. Now I know jou believe that this mysterious life think is part of some grand scheme by a couple of influential deities, but this just goes back to the idea that is goink to be expounded upon below: Personal Choice.... read more

Of Good, Evil, and Balance

Beorhtric von Adlerheim—Summer 2001

My friends, I have been rapt at the unfolding of the current discourse regarding the natures of good, evil, and man. This Grotto truly draws out only the most thoughtful members of each kind of being!

It is to this most esteemed gathering that I would beg to introduce my personage with apologies; I am so very humbled by this company that I am awed to be among you. But I digress. I am most formally known as Herr Beorhtric von Adlerheim, but generally answer to Beorhtric, Kiernan, Get Out Of The Way, and several others. I am of noble blood most thin, having no lands; I am also a fledgling Mage of the Naming tradition.

That there is a Good and an Evil (or Light and Dark, as some prefer) I have no doubt. That they have an influence on the course of events is an argument that I find quite suspect.... read more

A Response to Brother Bartholomew
on Balance and Happiness

Hoot Dreamsinger—Summer 2001

From your claim of “frivolity”, I can only assume that you were confused by my last grotto oration. I admit that trying to tie chaos and all the preceding discourses together all in one speech, while at the same time toying with the language used, made my oration a bit obtuse. I will attempt to hold myself to only one issue this time, so as not to confuzzle you further.

After going over your last discourse several times, I am pleased with your basic logic, as druidic as it may be, for you have given me a base from which to start. Certainly, we agree that many decisions are made on the basis of the functioning of nature, ie. survival, which, for the most part, have nothing to do with good or evil.... read more

A Response to the Grotto on Balance

Brother Bartholomew—Autumn 2001

I greet you all at this glorious beginning to the new season, and as the 2 nd Cycle of the New Tree of Life draws to an end. I have read and re-read all of your latest entries into our noble discussions, and find that I grow increasingly frustrated. Why, when each and every one of you begin so industriously, does none of you bring your conclusions to proper fruit?

While I could discourse for hours and write volumes in response to each of your most recent dissertations, I shall necessarily spare the forest of trees that would be required to properly address your flawed logic - however well-reasoned and well-thought-out your presentations - and limit myself to correcting one of the more egregious errors in hOOt’s train of thought.... read more

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