Tag: the light

Compendium of Light: The Time Worn Path(6)

compendium of light

“- All rivers do not have to end but eventually they must bend. It is saddening to hear that your mentor Armand is dead. But as you have had no talent with the art of war or shapeshifting I do not know if I would make a adequate replacement….-I would recommend you stay on your current path Novice.”

When my mentor died I cremated his remains and I did contact the other members I knew. So few were they that it took months before I had a response from enough to satisfy me. My mentor’s loss was mourned but those that remained either were unwilling to take me on as their novice or politely declined my requests. They were willing to provide me with information and let me to interpret it as I will and to guide me to what would become my mentor’s resting place.

The area now known as Eastern Plaguelands was once populated by bountiful farms and small villages and called Eastweld. Those familiar with the maps will note of the mountains. It was there I took my mentor. Carrying him in a small urn with my waterproof cloak wrapped carefully around it.  Dornoll, Cathbad, Amergin, and Bodmail awaited me when I arrived and it was them who guided me through a small cave entry that barely fit two men side by side. These other members of the Spiral spoke almost nothing to me as they guided me to our destination. Our destination was a large cavern where part of the ceiling had collapsed to allow in the outside world. Our every step echoed as we approached the altar.

The Light is multifaceted. Do you remember what I told you about there being no one true Tyleril? The same is true for the light. I worship the Sun Goddess who speaks to me and once I bore her blessings with me into battle. I was nigh unstoppable, raining down cold burning fury and- ah. The good days before my heart started to fail me. One day I’ll take you to our sacred place. We used to have countless sacred sites, but time and long gone enemies have reduced us to one. 

It is impossible to describe the feelings you experience in there so I’ll tell you the basics. The Gods were once bountiful with their blessings when we were numerous and farther spread out. Each person who carried the blessing of their God would return to our sacred site when they felt death coming. The blessing would be set there for the next one worthy to bear the burden…

It would be more accurate to say there had once been several altars. The design of a spiral was carved onto the floor of the cave and nine altars were placed around it, with one in the center. Each altar, I had noticed had been damaged. Some looked like they had been worn away by time, others looked as if someone had taken a hammer to them.  Cathbad took time to silently point towards the altar on the farthest left. It had split in twain. Amergin next to my ear whispered my mentor had carried the blessing the altar had once held.

The ceremony that they sent my master off with was simple and soft. Voices never going beyond a soft keening wail. Armand was loved and I saw it etched in the faces of those present.

If the blessing cannot be given back when the Priest dies then the stone that held it breaks. Sometimes even when the Priests were able to return the blessing to the sacred site their successor could not bear the burden. And over time we have lost much. But fear not! Things change. With you as my novice I think the Spiral could continue on in some form…

There are some vows that cannot be broken.  Some promises that you should not ever make because they will force you to pay up when payment is due. Some trades you should not make, some deals you cannot make.

I was not wise enough to keep that in mind.

To swear by the Light is no trivial promise. It is promising something in the face of the Light that it will be done. And if it is not? You will suffer the consequences of breaking your obligation. Never take one that you cannot or will not fulfill. Remember the tale of Dalor and how he was burnt to ash for breaking his, Novice, and see to it you are never forced to suffer the same fate…

The Spiral etched onto the cavern’s floor once held twelve blessings. Each stone was heavily magicked- each bore shining runes and intricate designs that were old. Strong enough to hold a blessing only those devoted to the Light and blessed by it would ever obtain. Perhaps some time ago the Spiral had more stones like this. But by the time I entered the cavern that day there were only two stones that were intact. All others were damaged. 

Looking back now, centuries later I think they had found a way to extract the blessings of the Light. But unlike the Blood Knights they found some way to keep them  and continue passing them on, thus ensuring that the strong among them were even more so. But I have no idea how they were able to do it. I only know that whoever bore a blessing obtained from the stones had to return it before their death or the blessing was lost and the stone that was held it damaged.

One of the things I remember my mentor saying was ‘I don’t want to die yet!’ when I had teased Armand of a human’s short lifespan. Armand had laughed then and we joked back and forth like the pair we had become. Now, even centuries after the words haunt me as I remember his face. Maybe it was the blessing that had killed him, a burden that grew to heavy for his heart.

There’s so much I’ll never know. The members of the Spiral used these blessings for their own benefit, that much is obvious. The Light does not bless everyone so generously. Only the most devout and strong among us could hope for the Light to shine down on us so.

That day, I started the path I could not leave. I swore an oath to the Light I could not break.

But that, is for me to write another day.

Previously: The Spiral Broken

Compendium of Light: Gods of the Spiral (3)

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By the time I was aware of how close to death the Spiral was I was to late to recover much of the writings that had been left behind and my mentor’s book was a tome that was rotting away.

My mentor wrote a book six and ten years before his death, proposing that there was Light in all of us and it connected us to everything else. He called it the theory of Light. I can say I have never read the book, at least not in its entirety.

Thinking of him now brings to mind the smell of pine and the back and forth we shared. The thin glasses he wore and the cheerful way he approached life. His skin was tanned and his hair liberally peppered with grey and whire. Armand was not a man without fault but his presence made our travels exciting.

I digress however, but maybe now you can carry some small shred of the mentor I knew with you.

At any rate, though I am long lived I do not consider myself a scholar or a adept researcher.  I have mentioned my mentor and the other priests of the Spiral believed the Light was not one deity but several. But not necessarily polytheists. Rather they believed all the Gods and Goddesses they worshiped were aspects of the Light as a whole.  There might not seem a difference between the two but it does make a difference when discussing how they related to their deities.

If the Priest believed their Goddess was unique and separate from the next God then it would not guarantee she would get along with them. In much the same way we treat every elf differently so too, would multiple gods need to be treated differently than one multifaceted deity.

I do not remember the deity names well. Each deity had its own names and titles.  But the remaining Spiral members I knew and my mentor all had strong moral codes, but didn’t think quite the same many of the church would think today. The Light is not simply good or evil, it simply is. If a storm rages and rains flood your gardens then it is foolish to blame the rain of evil intent. It is simply behaving according to its nature. 

The Light is not all powerful, I believe. It has limits, operating within the same universal rules we do. It is, however, far more powerful than we are. We do not rely on the magic within us when we call on the Light. No, we are a drop in the bucket. But when we call on the Light we summon an ocean with out strength and belief.

Of course saying everyone is capable of it would be to lie to you, my reader. Some study their whole life and never manage to heal more than scratches or light a candle with holy fire. Others will call on the Light and the first time they call the Light responds in full strength.  You can praise the Light and believe it exists, but that does not mean it will come because you demand it. Calling upon the Light requires strength of will, belief, and devotion to the greater good. 

 As you encounter others who wield the Light you’ll see each has their own character and temperament. This shapes how the Light responds to them, which in turn is influenced by the Lightwielder. When you can talk to the Light you don’t need to use words or thoughts to do what needs be done. In the moment you call for the Light it knows and your willpower.

I intended to write on the Gods of the Spiral but today this has gone somewhere else and I know not why. My memory has failed me and the names lost.If only paper did not rot and humans did not die so quickly.

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Compendium of Light: The Spiral’s Beginning (2)

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tyleril-silversword:

The word ‘Spiral’ for me conjures up memories that evoke the same emotion they have in centuries. But for many ‘Priest and Priestess’ would be more accurate. For some it conjures up elderly human men with beards and white robes, others think of elven priests and paladins or those clerics who wear mail and bear the symbol of the Light. Some will imagine mystics communing with the Holy Light in a church built upon the backs of the poor. Whilst others imagine fanatics or the ever virtuous paladin. Strangely, few imagine female priestesses in proper garb as their initial image.
There is no ‘true’ or ‘only path’ of the Light, as each person sees it uniquely. When I first became a novice it confused me greatly until my mentor explained it thus:

“There is no ‘one’ you. In each man, woman, and child you meet there is a recollection of you that exists for them. It is not the same recollection I have, nor the same you have of yourself. To say there is one Tyleril is a lie- you exist as many different recollections and echos. Does any one echo or recollection make all of the others false?  The man you think of yourself as exists only for you. In your long lifetime there will be millions of different echos and recollections of yourself. Each one will have you in it and yet ‘you’ ‘yourself’ isn’t really anyone at all.”

He concluded it saying:

“There is no one true path to follow the Light and what it teaches. It is your duty to consult it as you travel a path few will take and fewer still will ever live long enough to see the true meaning of.”

This might make it confusing. However, it is worth keeping in mind that change is a constant in our world. No matter how small it is change is still there even if everything else remains the same. So while the Light is still there the methods of reaching it and drawing upon it will differ as time goes on. 

The Spiral was not well known and when i joined it it was well and truly on its way to its death. My Mentor often spoke of a massacre that decimated the  Spiral, destroying the last few connections they had to human society. I do not know how much they had before I joined over 500 years ago, and now I will never know. It may well be my mentor did not know how many were lost and some seeds of the Spiral remains.

He portrayed the Spiral members as people of great wisdom who once had high social standing saying:

“The members of the Spiral hear the Light however it speaks, whether it be whispers, riddles, or the campfire. The Light must be worshipped, no evil done, and the standards we have set maintained.”

According to Atticus de Paor, who wrote this when the Spiral was at its height:

“The Spiral has its own eloquence, and teachers who claim to have learned from druids and angelic beings of the Light. They profess to know the movements of the heavens and stars, and the will of the Light which is interpreted differently by each Priest. They teach many things to those who seek them out, with instruction lasting as long as two decades, meeting either in the wild or the very edges of society.”

Some of the more glowing writings on the Spiral came from those who were actively involved with them in some manner, so I do not rule out that mayhaps they laid their flatter on thick to curry favor. I have not seen a trace of them exist outside the Eastweld, though I will admit I could be wrong. The Spiral did not believe in writing down their rituals, philosophy and beliefs and it was only in its dying days an attempt was even made. 

I attempted to find what I could but it is difficult to say with certainty precisely how much influence the Spiral had, all the gods they worshipped, their rituals and teachings, and how much of its knowledge was lost. However, not all was lost. There are many scraps to be found, comments and criticisms laid against them by others.
When I became a novice of the Spiral many of those within it were healers, accepting of the changing times and that their religion would likely die with them. Some, however, were fighters rather than healers. One of them was called Dornoll and to me she taught what she could:

“There are three accepted paths to the Light with each of the three paths splitting off into countless other, smaller paths. But to the main three special honor is paid. We are not defined not only by what we believe but by what we do…”

It would have taken two decades to fulfill my duties as novice and to have become a priest, taking my place among my fellows in the Spiral. As it was my mentor passed away two years, eight months and eight days into my teaching. I was left to get what guidance I could from the remaining members, what remained.

I learned, wrote, and gathered what I could. I was carefree until my mentor died and I realized how little of his wisdom truly remained. I took trips to sacred sites, I performed the rituals they taught me until I could do it from memory alone, and I worked hard those last few years. Eventually, I even took the last ritual and became a Priest, recognized only by myself. By then i was the last member of the Spiral, the only adherent.

There is a condition of the ear that is called tinnitus. It is a ringing in one, or both, ears that can be very soft or it can grow so loud that all one hears is the ringing. It has more than once cause. Sometimes it rings because the nerves in a ear are damaged due to loud sounds, other times it comes without any meaning or damage. Describing the  ritual is like this but I know of no other way to describe how I obtained the halo over my head.

 The ‘ringing’ I hear is always there now. Never ceasing no matter the day or night. I can ignore it or let it fade in the background. But still it remains, waiting for me to listen.
But that, is another thing to write, another day.

Keep reading

Compendium of Light: The Spiral’s Beginning (2)

compendium of light
image

The word ‘Spiral’ for me conjures up memories that evoke the same emotion they have in centuries. But for many ‘Priest and Priestess’ would be more accurate. For some it conjures up elderly human men with beards and white robes, others think of elven priests and paladins or those clerics who wear mail and bear the symbol of the Light. Some will imagine mystics communing with the Holy Light in a church built upon the backs of the poor. Whilst others imagine fanatics or the ever virtuous paladin. Strangely, few imagine female priestesses in proper garb as their initial image.
There is no ‘true’ or ‘only path’ of the Light, as each person sees it uniquely. When I first became a novice it confused me greatly until my mentor explained it thus:

“There is no ‘one’ you. In each man, woman, and child you meet there is a recollection of you that exists for them. It is not the same recollection I have, nor the same you have of yourself. To say there is one Tyleril is a lie- you exist as many different recollections and echos. Does any one echo or recollection make all of the others false?  The man you think of yourself as exists only for you. In your long lifetime there will be millions of different echos and recollections of yourself. Each one will have you in it and yet ‘you’ ‘yourself’ isn’t really anyone at all.”

He concluded it saying:

“There is no one true path to follow the Light and what it teaches. It is your duty to consult it as you travel a path few will take and fewer still will ever live long enough to see the true meaning of.”

This might make it confusing. However, it is worth keeping in mind that change is a constant in our world. No matter how small it is change is still there even if everything else remains the same. So while the Light is still there the methods of reaching it and drawing upon it will differ as time goes on. 

The Spiral was not well known and when i joined it it was well and truly on its way to its death. My Mentor often spoke of a massacre that decimated the  Spiral, destroying the last few connections they had to human society. I do not know how much they had before I joined over 500 years ago, and now I will never know. It may well be my mentor did not know how many were lost and some seeds of the Spiral remains.

He portrayed the Spiral members as people of great wisdom who once had high social standing saying:

“The members of the Spiral hear the Light however it speaks, whether it be whispers, riddles, or the campfire. The Light must be worshipped, no evil done, and the standards we have set maintained.”

According to Atticus de Paor, who wrote this when the Spiral was at its height:

“The Spiral has its own eloquence, and teachers who claim to have learned from druids and angelic beings of the Light. They profess to know the movements of the heavens and stars, and the will of the Light which is interpreted differently by each Priest. They teach many things to those who seek them out, with instruction lasting as long as two decades, meeting either in the wild or the very edges of society.”

Some of the more glowing writings on the Spiral came from those who were actively involved with them in some manner, so I do not rule out that mayhaps they laid their flatter on thick to curry favor. I have not seen a trace of them exist outside the Eastweld, though I will admit I could be wrong. The Spiral did not believe in writing down their rituals, philosophy and beliefs and it was only in its dying days an attempt was even made. 

I attempted to find what I could but it is difficult to say with certainty precisely how much influence the Spiral had, all the gods they worshipped, their rituals and teachings, and how much of its knowledge was lost. However, not all was lost. There are many scraps to be found, comments and criticisms laid against them by others.
When I became a novice of the Spiral many of those within it were healers, accepting of the changing times and that their religion would likely die with them. Some, however, were fighters rather than healers. One of them was called Dornoll and to me she taught what she could:

“There are three accepted paths to the Light with each of the three paths splitting off into countless other, smaller paths. But to the main three special honor is paid. We are not defined not only by what we believe but by what we do…”

It would have taken two decades to fulfill my duties as novice and to have become a priest, taking my place among my fellows in the Spiral. As it was my mentor passed away two years, eight months and eight days into my teaching. I was left to get what guidance I could from the remaining members, what remained.

I learned, wrote, and gathered what I could. I was carefree until my mentor died and I realized how little of his wisdom truly remained. I took trips to sacred sites, I performed the rituals they taught me until I could do it from memory alone, and I worked hard those last few years. Eventually, I even took the last ritual and became a Priest, recognized only by myself. By then i was the last member of the Spiral, the only adherent.

There is a condition of the ear that is called tinnitus. It is a ringing in one, or both, ears that can be very soft or it can grow so loud that all one hears is the ringing. It has more than once cause. Sometimes it rings because the nerves in a ear are damaged due to loud sounds, other times it comes without any meaning or damage. Describing the  ritual is like this but I know of no other way to describe how I obtained the halo over my head.

 The ‘ringing’ I hear is always there now. Never ceasing no matter the day or night. I can ignore it or let it fade in the background. But still it remains, waiting for me to listen.
But that, is another thing to write, another day.

Compendium of Light: The Altruist

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Some kill living beings for purposes of defense
Some kill out of anger.
Some kill for revenge.
Some kill for sacrifice, honor, fear.

They are not to be thought of less for what they do. But is us who know their suffering and what is is. Because we see and understand their pain, the cause of our own happiness and pain, knowing others too.

And those who see and understand others feeling knows his own feelings.
He does not raise his hand to harm or in defense. He does not hate, he loves.
Because of his love when he enters the field he does so with the intent to see every ally, every friend walk off it.
This is the Altruist’s desperate need.
Knowing what is pain and desiring to change the capricious tides of battle, knowing he could drown beneath those tides.

This is what the Altruist knows.
The love for his allies, the pain he sees and understands.
And out of love, sacrifices himself for those that need him the most.

To those that fight alongside me I will be true
To those who carry heavy brudens I will be their shelter
To those that stumble I will be strong
To those that hesitate I will be brace
I will be brave, for there is much to fear on this path I’ve chose.

I will help all of my allies
I will heal their wounds, cure what ails them, and use my gifts to see them return home.
I am strong, but so very weak
I stand at their side through loss and despair, victory and happiness

I am strong, but I am so weak.
I am willing to do whatever is needed to see them home.
I am Light and bring it on the darkened paths I tred
Through victory and failure, loss and pain, through sunny days and darkened nights

Swords clash and magic thunders
Where armies meet and lives are torn asunder
With a thundering crash and rising dread
The tides of battle turn again
Thunder rumbles in the sky with disdain
As the night lights up with arcane

A gentle whisper
A spoken plea
Torn flesh is mended
Stamina restored

We bring the Light as we enter the fray
Voices rising as we pray
Our skill unmatched, our focus strong as iron

In bloodstained fields and dark paths we tread
Through sacrifice, through love, and the Light
We will turn the tide of battle
And bring and end to the dark night.

Living beings are without number
I vow to show them the Light
My enemy is without number
I vow to show them the Light’s fury
The teachings of the Light are immeasurable
I vow to study them.
The path of the righteous is long.
I vow to reach the end.

This journey I do make
With a weary heart and heavy steps
But determination keeps my shield up and my hand at my hilt
Light, I beseech thee for the a flicker of
Your warmth
My faith can move mountains
But steel and flesh get dull and weary
And eventually my magic runs dry
But I will clutch at my faith
For where there is Light, there is hope
And where there is the Light there will always be Me.

I desire neither revenge
Or even freedom from death and pain
I desire only to heal
And to bring the Light
to those afflicted by misery and pain
Light, lead me from the unreal to the real
From darkness to your Light
From pain to serenity
May there be peace
May the teachings of the Light spread wisdom throughout the world
And may everything I see the Light in bring me peace
Ashal Quel’Thalas

Compendium of Light: To Keep Going

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  • “It is grace, pure and simple that none of us feel we deserve. But the Light loves us anyway.”
  • “In all things, paladins must reflect the Light, which supplements our strength. To strive to be divine for one of our kind does not mean we strive for godhood–we strive to be good in all actions.Although called upon to smite evil in these harsh times, you must always remember that it’s aiding others that will truly set you apart from the other citizens. Compassion, patience, bravery–these things mean as much to a paladin as strength in battle.Know this well, and never forget it.”

You have heard it before, whether it was spoken through the dusty pages of an old tome or through the lips of another. “The Light is good. The Light loves us. it forgives.” If you were anything like I was you get tired of hearing it.  It’s annoying to have a cleric or a paladin repeat that with the same certainty that we have two moons.

Does the Light love you? Does it forgive? Does it give its favor or benefaction?

I am one of the Sin’dorei- a Blood Elf- and I have lived for a good few centuries. During any life you will find one mistake or some regret. Something that you think of deep in your cups, that returns with a haunting whisper at the edges of your mind, or that we carry with us as a burden. I’ve made such mistakes and some days I still feel them haunt me. I feel the marks they left on my skin as fresh as the day I got them. I feel the emotions well up inside my chest. It hurts and I would give much to undo some of the mistakes of my past. It is a sign of my greatest failures, of my weakness, and my failure to live up to the standards I set for myself.

They linger like scars on my skin. No matter if I drink, lose myself in my work, or occupy myself with any number of activities they remain. Somedays I do not feel as if I can be forgiven for all of them.

But yet, despite them I keep trying to hold to the three virtues of the Light. Not because I am a Priest but because I cannot stay standing still. The Light calls to me and when I reach out I find no judgment for what I have done. I feel loved without judgment, accepted despite what I have done. I do not have the words, my dear reader, to describe the feelings properly.  I can whisper all of my regrets, all of my sorrows, my angers, my selfish feelings and I am accepted without judgment. At my core I feel the pain in my chest ease and serenity wash over me.  Reach out to the Light and speak. The Light will not reject because of your failings or flaws. It will love you the same as if you were as perfect as you wished to be.

But even after centuries of being a Priest and the Light forgiving me, there are times when the Light still doesn’t feel enough.

It is odd to write those words. Is it as odd to read them? No matter what you have done, what lingering regrets, sorrow, and despair grabs at your soul sometimes it is not enough. It does not make you less to acknowledge it. On those days when the Light is not enough I push myself out of bed. I follow my work schedule. When I see my children run around the home, my friends at the forges, the many pets my children seem to have adopted, the wounded in the infirmary, and the smiles of those that love me more than I love myself- I try to remember to tell myself.

The Light loves me. The Light forgives me and in its benevolence gives me it’s benefaction. It forgives me and it forgets. But I cannot continue alone. I see myself reflected in the eyes of those that are important to me. It is every bit as wondrous as the Light. So when the Light’s love is not enough, when the teachings of the Light cannot help you then do not fear. But do not continue sitting and praying if that cannot ease the burdens you carry. Sometimes we must get up on our own power and face the demons we have made. The Light will always be with you but take strength from those close to you. Those that are important.

That will be what keeps you going when you cannot hear the Light and your faith is shakey. Their faces, their smiles, the memory of what is important. 

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“We come from different homes, races, planets, and times. Our beliefs and strength differ as do the sides we fight on. We are all loved by the Light. If any of my siblings in the Light ever reads my compendium I want to say you’re not alone. When I was younger the words always comforted me, now I hope they do the same for you.”

Compendium of Light: For Those New to the Light

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tyleril-silversword:

Tools-

For those among us who have been able to join an order like the Argent Crusade, the Silver Hand, the Church of Holy Light and others we are able to enjoy the experience of others in guiding and enriching our knowledge. We have books, we have people who know spells and rituals like the back of their hand, we have tools the solitary practitioner lacks. What then for those without such tools?

They must be creative. Self Teaching is a great challenge and those listening closely will hear the Light. But most often we have to start with four different tools:

  • Study
  • Thought
  • Prayer
  • Experimentation

Using the four mentioned above is the best way for the solitary practitioner to increase their own knowledge and understanding of the Light. This fourfold approach will help you strengthen your belief and help answer your questions if you’re willing to place your trust within the Light. If a new practitioner is reading this I encourage them not be caught up worrying if they are doing something incorrectly. 

There is no one method used for everything, whether it is healing, invoking the Light, rituals, or calling down the Light’s fury in battle. The fact that there are numerous people on different sides who have their own methods of invoking the Light, calling to it, hearing it, and wielding it show the unique opportunity that lies in wait for the solitary practitioner: To discover new ways of listening, of using the Light. Thins that others, who have been conditioned to accept certain avenues of the Light’s expression, have missed. 

While I am not a member of any order that uses the Light I will say that doing this on my own has made things different. I see things differently, the light whispers differently to me. How the Light manifests through me is different than, say, a human priest of the Church of Holy Light.

That was through centuries of the above however. Study, thought, prayer, experimentation and repeat. Do not feel frustrated if you do not get the results you desire. Be patient, believe, try again. The Light does not ignore you. It simply waits, trying to help you find the path that is best for you.

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In all things, paladins must reflect the Light, which supplements our strength. To strive to be divine for one of our kind does not mean we strive for godhood–we strive to be good in all actions.

Although called upon to smite evil in these harsh times, you must always remember that it’s aiding others that will truly set you apart from the other citizens. Compassion, patience, bravery–these things mean as much to a paladin as strength in battle.

Know this well, and never forget it.

Tome of Divinity

  • “The enemy’s dark resolve will seep away in the light of your righteousness.” – Judgement of the Light
  • “The enemy’s shadowy cunning is no match for the pure insight of the light.” – Judgment of Wisdom