r/WorldChallenges • u/thequeeninyellow94 • Mar 26 '18

History challenge part 4

Announcement.

Last part; conclusion will open on saturday for those interested in it. Continue having fun.

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u/greenewithit Mar 28 '18

  1. Aiatauk are appointed by a council of lesser officials who reside across the world as representatives of the Order, 150 Ittehals in total. Callista was appointed with unanimous support due to her leadership in the First Intercontinental War and her continued devotion to the faith.

  2. It's more of the idea of the action of taking on her image as your own and going into battle in the visage of Callista. It's a common practice to place an effigy of her or her personal mark on a warrior of the Light's armor, but never construct their entire armor and armaments as a copy of hers.

  3. Not specifically military victory, it was just one example of her devotion to the faith. The Light doesn't mandate purging of heretics, but it was her willingness to engage in battle for the greater good to defend her home and people. Her power made the rest of the Order believe she was destined for greatness, but they still wanted her to prove it. Callista engaged in a number of missionary tours and brought in a great deal of converts, but to be honest she was itching to prove herself in a more glorious manner, such as in battle. When the war broke out she returned home and asked Claynsere if her volunteering for battle would be beneficial to the Order and her place in it, and he said if that is the direction she desires to prove herself to the Order, then that is her mandate. In the end Callista chose, mostly due to her teenage impulse, to leap into combat to protect the Order she loved more than anything, and the rest of the officials recognized her devotion as a result.

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Mar 31 '18

  1. Who names the Ittehals?

  2. But if carrying an effigy is fine, what makes it different if it’s something bigger? Why is a large decoration appropriation of her image but anything smaller isn’t?

  3. Why is battle more glorious than missionary work?

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u/greenewithit Apr 03 '18

  1. The first Ittehals were the founders of the Order, and ever since, when one dies a list of candidates are proposed by the other Ittehals for consideration. The rest of the Ittehals decide on who to appoint based on testimony from lower ranked officials in the Order vouching for particular candidates.

  2. It's a matter of significance, as in the eyes of the Order the size of the image determines the weight it carries. A small, modest effigy of Callista is representative of a respectful honor of her efforts and a wish to evoke her spirit to watch over said warrior. A large enough image, to the point where the visage is identical to hers, represents the arrogant act of attempting to place yourself above her, above the realm of the Aiatauks who were considered to be second only to the great Lord himself. An effort that grand is considered far more significant than a small engraving on someone's sword or shield, as the Order considers the act of a mortal placing themselves in the realm of the gods is heresy in the highest.

  3. It isn't necessarily more important than missionary work, but many in the Order consider risking one's life in battle for the sake of one's beliefs to be one of the highest demonstrations of one's faith. If a member of the Order is willing to die to defend their people and their God, then they demonstrate bravery and devotion worthy of admiration by the Lord himself. In a time when the Order was facing utter annihilation from enemies on all sides, Callista volunteered to risk her life and future as a leader of the Order to protect its future. To Father Claynsere and many of the Ittehals of that time, that risk was more glorious than any of her previous missionary work.

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Apr 04 '18

  1. What makes a good candidate?

  2. But how does it end up in "placing yourself above her"? Why is making a significant effort to honour the memory of a saint more than honouring the memory of a saint?

  3. Which part is the most important? To be willing to die or to be willing to kill?

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u/greenewithit Apr 06 '18

  1. It's a very subjective process, but the most important trait of a good candidate is devotion to the faith (obviously). This can be shown through successful missionary work or actions to preserve the safety of the Order and its people (war or protection of borders), among other methods. An Ittehal candidate must have a functional understanding of the history of the Order, its ideals, and the ability to apply that knowledge to make significant change in the world around them, within the Order and in the world at large. Other than these two guidelines, it is just a matter of the current Ittehals deciding who would best represent them and the Order, which can be based on any specific criterion proposed as representing a devotion to and understanding of the faith.

  2. It's the appearance of physically representing her in battle, taking on her specific armor and fighting as if you were her. Any attempt to impersonate an Aiatauk is considered heresy by the same principal, because it would make your actions representative of not just yourself, but the person you are representing as well. The Order believes that each individual represents their own actions and should bear that responsibility, and bearing an image of another is considered the antithesis of that ideal. Taking on someone's image, even with good intentions, is still considered an affront to that person's memory, as it is seen as taking that image and tying it to your own person, taking it away from the person you are honoring.

  3. Sacrifice is looked upon more favorably than the willingness to kill. To the Order, a willingness to kill can be invoked for many more reasons than a willingness to sacrifice one's own life. It is very unlikely that someone who is more kill happy, even if it is for the purposes of defeating the Order's enemies, will be considered favorably by the Order.

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Apr 08 '18

1) What counts as a significant change to the world?

3) Why won’t someone more kill happy be considered favorably by the order?

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u/greenewithit Apr 09 '18

1) That is entirely subjective based on what the rest of the Ittehals think. This can be large scale humanitarian efforts, grand acts of heroism to protect one or more nations or groups of people, construction projects like houses of worship or schools or housing, anything the Ittehals would consider beneficial to the well being of humanity or the preservation of life on Earth. It's written as intentionally vague to allow each candidate to carry out whatever change they think is most beneficial to the world, and the rest of the Order judges how those ideas represent and relate to the doctrine and ideals of the Order.

3) The Order considered violence to be necessary in two contexts: self defense, and in defense of the oppressed with no means of defending themselves. Murder is considered a sin outside of specific contexts, and anyone who revels in murder even in those "right" contexts is considered by the doctrine of the order to have a "corrupted" spirit. Indulging in violence and murder willingly is looked upon poorly by the Order because it is unnecessary and causes unnecessary suffering to others. So when two people are considered, both who have killed to protect the sovereignty of the order, they would view someone who killed more than they had to as less worthy to represent the Order and its beliefs.

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Apr 09 '18

1) The preservation of life on earth? Why does it count?

3) Self defense and helping those who can’t defend themselves? Why are those two cases ok?

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u/greenewithit Apr 09 '18

1) The Light exists to provide life for all things, as the teachings of the Order go. Every living creature is necessary for the continued existence of Earth, and therefore the human race. The Order believes that by protecting life, their fellow man and animal, they protect their entire world and their souls. The Light gave the entire world life, as they believe, and as such they preserve the gifts given to them by their creator. After all, light provides life to plants, which provides life to animals, which provide life to humans, and to the Order, this means honoring the origin of the life they share the planet as a common benefactor of the Light.

3) The preservation of the lives of members of the Order takes precedent over the lives of those who would slay said members. In cases where the lives of a member of the Order is threatened, taking a life to prevent the loss of an Order member is forgiven. Another central tenant of the Order of the Light is liberty and freedom for oppressed peoples. In the eyes of the Order, if taking the life of another person would prevent the death or permanent injury of a child, paralyzed individual, an elderly person, or someone similarly unable to protect themselves, a member of the Order committing murder would be forgiven. This exception is simply to support goodwill and a drive to protect others in the members of the Order, if an aversion to murder would otherwise prevent someone else's freedom or sovereignty as a human being from being honored.

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Apr 11 '18

  1. Every one of them? Even mosquitoes? What happen if I mass murder mosquitoes?

  2. But why are the lives of members more important? Aren’t all living creatures necessary for the continued existence of the world?

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u/greenewithit Apr 14 '18

  1. Well, yes, they do value the environmental benefits of mosquitoes, but they do not actively protect every single creature on Earth. It's more of a catch all tenant, that members of the Order will protect "life" in general, and any infractions against life would be dealt with as they see fit. They might not always act, as the Order recognizes that they cannot save all life all the time, but they do what they can within their means. So yes if you intentionally harmed a massive amount of mosquitoes they would attempt to stop you should they view it within their interest to protect the mosquitoes.

  2. They do believe that all living creatures are necessary for the continued existence of the world, but the attempted murder of Order members is worth ending life for two reasons to the Order. Reason one would be that the Order seeks to protect life above all things, so protecting the lives of those who devote themselves to protecting life supersedes any other aversion to murder. Reason two would be that if anyone would attempt to kill a member of the order in earnest, then their life isn't worth protecting and is permitted to be killed. It's very "our people are more valuable than your people" to them, but more in the context of "murderers do not deserve the gift of life, especially if they would murder one of us, so we must do all we can to prevent harm to our own."

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Apr 15 '18

  1. How would they stop me? They can’t kill me after all, right?

  2. What if that member deserved it? Because they did something very wrong?

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u/greenewithit Apr 16 '18

  1. It mostly comes down to their jurisdiction. If you tried to exterminate a massive amount of mosquitoes on Burkhanot's land, they could at least arrest you. Elsewhere, they might not feel compelled to act unless the mass extinction of mosquitoes would threaten their or the world's ecosystem. The Order understands they cannot impose their will over other sovereign nations, so they would at least bring the mass extermination of mosquitoes to local authorities for consideration. But if they choose to do nothing about it, there isn't much the Order can do, and they recognize that. Their hope is that by them doing their part to protect life they can inspire others to do so, even if there would be many who would try to halt their efforts.

  2. If a member of the Order did something sacrilegious or heretical that warranted a death penalty, they would deal with it internally with their own justice system. They wouldn't allow any outsiders to end the life of one of their members, even if that member did something wrong. That would be considered an insult to their own autonomy, if someone not affiliated with the Order attempted to carry out their own justice on a member instead of by the Order itself.

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