Quendalon/Session25LiInterlude

In Brinlack, as Aekino bandied words with the Mayor Stone Rain, as Thorwald brooded in his quarters, as Zera and Fetek stole into demon-haunted Tul Tuin, Li of Orchid sat in her chamber and wrote.

“The sword of the mind”

Will is the sword of the mind. Oftentimes, men do not act as they will but as their desires dictate. Everyone has felt the desire to act in a way they know will be unwise, or painful, or contrary to their values. These desires are like foes on a battlefield. The only way to overcome them is to acknowledge them, understand them, and then to cut them down with the sword of the mind.

All great warriors know that knowledge of one’s foe is required in order to achieve victory. Therefore, do not deny the existence of one’s base desires for to do so gives them free reign within one’s spirit. That is like pretending an enemy army does not exist and letting it range across one’s lands unopposed. Acknowledge the existence of these enemies but do not allow them to persist and influence one’s actions.

Work constantly to sharpen the sword of the mind. When the will is strong, nothing can be denied it. Weakness, doubt and sorrow fall away. Only through constant struggle against base desires and instincts can this be achieved.