Archetypes

I spoke with Aramis and his associate Felix before leaving Turia. They wanted me to remain in the city and conduct auditions with them for the Turian production of Fall of Agamedes. It was, however, time for me to leave that city, the purported Ar of the South. She is a beautiful place, and I admit to having a greater appreciation for her this visit than I have in past encounters, but ultimately she is not home. I'd like to think I might return there some day, but I get the feeling I will not. 

"The roles are essentially archetypical," I explained. "It is important, only, that you find actors who understand those archetypes."

The play is popular, I think, because it challenges convention. It illuminates the duality of our nature, showing two sides to the coin. While I don't think it bridges the gap between good and evil, I think it suggests the thin line between the two and, inherently, for those inclined to make the mental jump, the thin line between many seemingly opposite states. Good and Evil. Love and Hate. War and Peace.  Bliss and Pain. One state is meaningless without it's counter, and the counter-state is closer than we like to believe. Bonds of purity are fragile, often held together by little more than a faithful ideology at best and cynical dogma at worst. 

I may revisit the Southern Plains for a time, reacquaint myself with the Wagon Peoples, Tuchuks in particular. Or, perhaps, I will travel north, back along the Genesian Coast, to Port Kar. Or I may wander with no clear direction, true to my caste, that of the Poets, and earn each round of sa'tarna with a song.  

Rediscovered Country

From time to time, I leave my home. It may be for a few days, a hand or two, or as much as a year or more. These journeys have made me the man that I am, arguably as much as the providence of being born in the finest city on Gor. When a man sojourns for a lengthy period, there is much more to the travel than his destination, apparent intentions, or stated agenda. He is looking for something or, to put it more succinctly, searching for something. Is the compulsion to wander, after all, not greater than his desire to remain in the place of his birth, the city in which he pledged to a Home Stone? Too often, and perhaps this is a product of our self-effacing behavior under the shame of Cosian occuptation, men place far too little value in the preciousness of their Home Stone and, subsequently, in themselves. But how do we know ourselves, if we do not test the boundaries of our coveted self-image? How do we know our city, if we do not seek the differences and similarities, first hand, of other places? I think pride and faith are certainly components of a well-rounded man, but so are skepticism and curiosity. One must believe strongly in his convictions, but one must also be open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. One must change his ways, even for a time, if only to confirm that his established truths are not only self-evident, but preferable.