[ycleption]

Of Culture and the Gods

In the orphanage, we were always told to refrain from speaking of the past. I have abided by this, and yet, there is one thing which I wonder, namely, would I be a follower of a particular deity had I been raised in an elven community. Obviously, the monks believed that culture was important enough that I was taught the language, and trained in the tradition elven weapons, but in my theological education, they seemed to feel that the elven gods were not worth great study. Most of the elves I have met worship deities that I think are probably incompatible with my monastic path: those who follow Aeridin are usually too hesitant to use force, those who follow Folian too unstructured, etc.. I have no doubt, the path of the monk is the correct one for who I am, the only way I could be true to myself. Still, there is a part of me that is forced to wonder if I would be a different person, had been raised in one of these traditions. Of course, the monks did not try to push any of us towards a particular god, but since they mostly worshiped Toran, Rofirein, Vorax, or no god at all, I think most of us simply adopted one of these choices without nearly as much thought as such a decision would seem to warrant.
The reason for all this, is someone (they did not offer their name) today asked me what god I worshiped, and I, quite reflexively, said none. However, upon reflection, I fear that my answer was less than truthful. Almost universally, I have found, when people say they worship a god, they mean that they do not worship any other. While I am not devoted to a single god the way paladins and clerics are, I feel that the justice of Toran and Rofirein guide me on my path. Does the fact that I do not give either my exclusive worship invalidate my prayers or the way I draw inspiration from the pair? I have never thought so, and yet somewhere I seem to have absorbed the notion that caused me to answer the way I did.
On my path, re-creating myself into the best being I can become is the single most important thing. My body must be strong and quick; my mind even more so. However, this in itself is useless without some purpose. The path may be more important than the destination, but without any destination at all, one will just wander in circles, and make no progress. On my path, only I can see within myself, but Rofirein and Toran help me with the destination. In the short term, they help me execute justice in the small missions I find myself charged with. In the longer term, they are a major reason I have decided on the goal I have. Toran's desire to empower the weak, and Rofirein's desire to forge egalitarian order, searching for justice and knowledge: these impulses are in harmony within me, they help create my destination.