Anger and hate are two things that are completely estranged to me. I may have known both anger and hate in my past life, but I no longer trust either emotion and I don't let either of them take control of me.

Hence why I hate nobody.

There is one thing that I do hate, however. And that's when people try to manipulate me for their own selfish purposes or to poison my mind with their own anger and hate for others. I don't take it kindly, regardless of my stance in the heat of the moment, and said people end up tasting their own medicine sooner or later.

I prefer to give my foe the respect he deserves, like I would if he were a friend instead. I prefer to carry the weakness of decency, honour and humility than the strength of self-righteousness, arrogance and greed.

You can hate me for that, but I'm a human who came here with all the prejudice he earned in his past life, not a newborn of this world nor a pile of clay to shape me as you like.
 

I'm no true fighter to speak about my military ways. I have chosen to follow the path of the wayfarer instead, always clad in black robes, my only company a walking stick, a flask of water and my journal. One might think that a walking stick can be a good weapon when the need rises and there is no way to resolve things in a peaceful manner. But that isn't the purpose of my own walking stick. It's merely my travelling companion when there is nobody else to travel with, which is the case most often, but it has its own special power: it can keep me upright and let me continue my journey when my strength falters and my limbs can't hold me up any more.

In truth, I do carry a sword with me as well for those rare cases when fighting is an absolute necessity to ensure survival. A simple iron longsword it is that can be used either as an one-handed or two-handed weapon, which used to be perfectly concealed under my robes to avoid drawing attention upon myself. Now, however, my sword stands at my side with its sheath exposed, although my stance about my skill in fighting and my self-perception as a non-fighter hasn't changed at all.

I have written several times already that I'm not a fighter. But one shouldn't be fooled by that. In the world where I came from, I spent some time training in sword fighting and I can use my longsword efficiently as an one-handed weapon with or without a shield, sometimes even as a two-handed one as well. It only depends on the circumstance and how skilled my opponent is. The key, however, is to hit hard at every opportunity and, if that fails, to cripple and disarm my opponent before delivering the final blow.

I also have a round wooden shield, slightly bigger than a buckler, but I have never used it in this realm. It stays under the shade of my tree near Wasp's Totem along with the rest of my belongings. I may use it, however, when it matters. I have encountered quite a few people in my past life who believe that the only purpose of a shield is to block blows coming from an opponent. This is in fact true only when it comes to arrows. Where a shield truly shines is in the hands of a warrior who can use it as an offensive weapon rather than a wall for him to hide behind. Quite efficient in deflecting blows or even bashing an opponent, it can be used to make openings to an opponent's weak spots and to devastating counter attacks.

Then we come to my armour. A simple chain mail tunic and a full leather armour set is all I have. Nothing special about it either, except for the fact that I always wear it underneath my robes. In truth, it doesn't offer that much of a protection, but being as light as it is, it lets me move and manoeuvre freely. Now one might wonder that I'm well armed and armoured, perhaps too much, for someone who claims he isn't a fighter. Well no, I'm not a fighter and it would be a big mistake to take me for one.

Yes, I do insist on this matter, because my sword isn't my only weapon. In truth, I consider my quill an even mightier weapon, as the old saying goes. Words are the means to solve matters and only when they fail, swords should come into play. And it's hard for them to fail if one knows how to use them right. However, I'm not a diplomat. Although I may not be that straightforward either, the use of the right words at the right time can save me from a lot of trouble. However, in a heated moment, words might be more harmful than even swords and the damage they deal harder to remedy. I'm a flawed man and I have made that mistake a few times, but never intentionally. I regretted every single one of them, but sometimes regret isn't enough.

There are those times, however, when words do fail, but swords remain unnecessary. In such cases, I tend to use my third weapon, which isn't literally a weapon, it can't be used to save me from a tough situation, it isn't meant to be used offensively either, but it's a good means to express myself when there are no proper words to help me do so. I'm talking about my art, the one I have committed most of my past life to: dance. And although I have spent many years working on it, I still can't find the proper words to explain that feeling of relief, relaxation and freedom I feel while improvising or working on a specific choreography alike. It's a painful art, almost as painful as sword fighting, but that feeling of flowing smoothly and gracefully from one position to the next, that feeling of overcoming even gravity itself at times, it's the greatest compensation for all the backaches, knee-aches and all other sorts of aches I have suffered throughout my life as a dancer.

I also own a war horse, which I found at Fenths Press. It was a gift from Windy, the proprietor of the Wind & Rain Pub at Sanctuary's View. It's a white stallion about 21 hands tall with a grey fore-lock, mane and tail. He may not be fast, but he has strength and endurance. He may not be the horse that saved me from certain drowning either, I may also prefer to walk instead of riding, but I'm not one to turn such a generous gift down. So, I chose to call him Turcanna, which means "Powerful Gift" in one of those few languages I used to speak from time to time in the world where I came from.

In a small pouch, I carry an equally small acorn cap, a gift that my tree dropped on my head, after we managed to resolve an old argument between us. It used to have a corn, but I decided to plant it near my tree so that the seed doesn't get wasted. I know from a long time ago that acorn caps can be used as whistles. Perhaps, I could teach Turcanna to listen to it, so that he can easily find his way to me, each time I let him loose to do as he pleases.

Writing about my military ways was something simple and more or less straightforward. Explaining my beliefs with words, on the other hand, is a different matter entirely, will require a lot of effort from my part and it will be doubtful whether the potential reader of this document will understand anything at all. Words may be one of my weapons, but they aren't always the strongest I have. I will give it a try though.

So, what do I believe in? Being a resident of the forest of Loreroot, I'm expected to believe in Nature and its four Elements. Truth is that I don't. I do respect the Earth I walk on. I do respect the Water I'm made of. I do respect the Air that gives me life. I do respect the Fire that gives me warmth. I do respect Nature itself for all its gifts and all its blessings and I cherish each and every one of them. However, these aren't my gods.

Since my very early childhood, I learnt to honour my ancestors and to respect and learn from my past, with its dark days and its bright moments, with all its shades of grey. So my faith mainly lies in them, my ancestors and my own past, both of which made me who I am today. My faith also lies in these hands of mine, since without them I would be unable to do anything at all. My faith lies in my mind, since without it I would have neither the ability to use my hands nor the knowledge to perceive and understand the world around me. My faith lies in my heart, since without it inspiring my mind, there would be nothing for me to strive for, however small, however simple. My faith also lies in the people around me, those I call family and those I call friends, the people I left behind from my homeland of old, my fellow citizens of Loreroot, my brothers and sisters in the Guardians, since without them I would be empty, barren, hollow, lifeless, nothing. These are my own gods.

However, beliefs aren't limited only to matters of faith. They also involve matters of principle. If creativity and inspiration were principles, they would be the most important to me. In truth, I find it hard to separate them from each other, since they both feed and influence each other. They allow me to set goals, they give me incentive to work on them, to improve myself and become better, so that I can get closer and closer to said goals. They are in truth the motivating force that makes me want to create things with my hands, use my mind to solve problems or just to dance. I see them as part of the principle of Imagination, even if it contains a lot more than creativity and inspiration. It is, however, the motivating force that can put things in motion, for better or worse.

Balance comes next. It may appear second in this document, but it's equally important as Imagination to me, if not more important. In its simplest form, it involves both physical and mental health, in other words it means to be in a physical and mental condition not just to create things, but also to co-exist with others, interact with them and work together with them to do something one person alone can't do by oneself. Like with Imagination, there is more to Balance than that. For a dancer, it's also attached to his ability to perform every technique he knows with precision and to always land safely and gracefully on his feet. Sometimes, a dancer may also strive to avoid Balance. One may wonder why and how that can be done. Jumps are the short answer; the dancer's desire to have his own strength overcome gravity itself while dancing is the longer version of the same answer. However, gravity always wins and a dancer is destined to return back to a balanced position, whether he manages to land on his feet or fall flat on his back or his face.

One important aspect of Balance, or lack thereof, is that it involves a series of forces that are applied upon everybody and everything. So, nobody and nothing can be considered balanced, without taking the whole system that somebody or something exists in into consideration or without seeing everybody and everything as a system on their own. In other words, Balance is the result of several forces pushing and pulling everybody and everything around, just like the dancer's own strength against gravity that I mentioned before. One can't see the dancer without considering these forces as well. As one of my tutors used to say: "Balance is key to everything, but it's nothing you can achieve on your own. It requires at least two, even if those two are just yourself and the floor. Therefore, you must build a strong relationship with the floor, make it your best and most trusted friend. Its judgement may be harsh and frequent, but only if you heed it, you will begin to master your own self."

Outside of these two very important principles, I value every moment of calmness and relaxation I can find, whether it will be in seclusion, under my tree, near the lake or anywhere else, or within the company of friends. Simple things that can clear my mind and rest my body, things that can rekindle creativity and inspiration inside me and make me keep working on improving myself, not only in terms of skills and knowledge, but also and most importantly in terms of character traits, strengths and weaknesses alike.

To conclude this rather lengthy document, if it ever falls into the hands of another person, there are a few things they should know. I have mentioned before that an important part of my faith lies in the people I call family and friends. My faith isn't blind however. I will gladly worship my protector until my back breaks and my knees bleed, as long as my protector works for the well-being of my homeland and this world as an extension. I will only become an adept to somebody though, if that somebody can prove to me he is a worthy mentor. I don't give my adept-hood away to promote somebody into a protector blindly or merely because I'm in good terms with them. For the same reason, I'm not going to follow people around blindly, so whoever wants me to become a follower should simply not ask about it. I won't give it away just like that. The only person that can understand and represent my needs and interests better is none other than myself, however selfish that may seem at first glance. And in my humble opinion, the same should apply to everybody else. Nobody can represent them better than themselves. And last, but certainly not least, I'm not a leader nor do I intend to become one, so I shouldn't be followed either.
 

"Don't walk behind me; I may not lead.
Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow.
Just walk beside me and be my friend."