Tyranny's Eclipse
1. Preface
To take efforts to aid the disenfranchised is considered saintly and benevolent; to ask why the disenfranchised remain in this way is considered seditionist and anarchic. The bloodmoon that is tyranny is also what we in Faerun refer to as "Civilization". The King. The Duke. The Chieftain. The Mayor. The Chancellor. Each of these lofty titles is intended to convey authority and dominance over those without.
We MUST understand: THERE IS A FINITE AMOUNT OF FREEDOM IN THE MULTIVERSE.
This sounds more complicated than it actually is, and it is easiest to consider the freedom as a loaf of bread. Under civilization's present system, even the most tyrannical city-states and empires possess ample "freedom" - But it is concentrated in the hands of the few.
Seven of the eight slices are shared by this few, the rest of the crumbs of the eight handed aside to the many; due to this particularly finite resource, the few EXPECT the many to fight one another for the pieces - As opposed to the keepers of the seven. And in this way, the desperation of hunger and poverty prevent organization against the few.
It is the absence of freedom to organize, collectively bargain, and stand strongly against one's oppressors that creates the status of oppression. The few dissuade the many from such organization by many means:
An emphasis on conformity. "Security" and "order" being prized above all else in society. Castes of guards, societal divisions based on wealth, heritage, and social strata, draconian punishments for crimes hardly deserving the punishment - Especially those crimes in protest of the standing regime. These are all examples.
Branching off of that, it's important to note:
NO OPPRESSOR WILL EVER WILLINGLY PROVIDE YOU THE TOOLS TO YOUR EXPLICIT AND TOTAL FREEDOM.
It is for that reason that it is necessary to organize along common ground with one's peers of class and social strata - For your "many" is the primary advantage one has over Civilization's "few". Recognize, thirdly:
TO SEIZE LEADERSHIP IS TO BECOME THE NEW OPPRESSOR; STEPS MUST BE TAKEN TO MINIMIZE ONE'S OUTPUT OF AUTHORITY.
In minimizing one's own authoritarian output, we run a far smaller risk of the status of the "few" being crowned upon a new tyrant's head.
We can ABOLISH the few, and bring a new age of freedom and happiness to the many.
There are three steps to follow in pursuit of a better Faerun, three answers to the quandaries listed above in capitals. Each tenet may be found in its own companion book expounding on the meaning.
"ENSURE the right to well-being for ALL."
"NO-ONE rules if we ALL rule."
"RECLAIM the SHADOWS, BREAK the CHAINS."
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2. The Right to Well-Being for all
When Torm stood against Bane in Tantras, he absorbed the souls and lives of thousands of his followers to attain the power to defeat the Dark Lord's avatar and defend one of the Tablets of Fate he'd hidden there. Since then, Torm has gone on to be a fundamental patron of Paladins Faerun-wide, a peerless being of justice and benevolence.
Contemporary tyrants are fond of the argument that "You're costing lives by opposing our tyranny" - Paraphrased, of course. Few tyrants are actually so willing to admit their favored methods of "Order". The lesson to be taken from Torm's example in Tantras is that sometimes, life is worth dying for.
A commonly implied goal of the "goodly" is to ensure freedoms and the /opportunity/ for well-being, so long as they're comfortable and wealthy enough. Well-intentioned as it may be, the competition invariably creates heirarchies that persist for decades and generations. The good fortune or interpersonal connections of a Fishmonger's rise to become a Merchant Prince are expected not to be the norm, but a fishmonger whose son also assumes his Father's trade is.
The tale of these two men with humble origins can lead to congratulations for the wealthier, and perhaps pity or chastisement for the poorer - But as living souls, they hold the same value - Or /should/. To argue otherwise is to argue that the realms were intended to be built for the suffering of the weak for benefit of the strong.
And this pyramidal society has become the basis of Faerunian civilization. Even small cities or large towns boast massive slums and commoner-cantons where the vast majority of a city's labor is undergone. Labor, as should be self-evident, is one of civilization's backbones.
But for reasons unexplained, the already-wealthy Few are entitled to a portion of the total value of labor that their underlings produce. One could argue that this is the price of their protection, but "protection" is often a euphemism used by thieves' guilds, highwaymen, and generic brigands.
A manufacturer's means of profiting is expressed through a simple equation: Product's value minus wages equals profit. To earn the most profit whether they're a simple mine foreman or an Amnian baron, there is an innate, greed-based incentive to increase the value (or worse, simply the /price/) of the product, while offering the smallest wages or payments possible to prevent the workers from refusing to work or even dying off.
Good-intentioned as any leader of men might be, the unscrupulous have realized that literal slavery is a far easier means of amassing as much income as possible: Slaves require no payment save the basest necessities of their survival. The distinction between "Freeman", "Serf", and "Slave" is a very feeble one - They're all subject to variations of the same mathematical formula. An improvement of such a system's variable in wage still maintains the same heirarchical system that produces slums and the misery for hundreds of thousands across Faerun that follows.
Recall that NO TYRANT WILL EVER WILLINGLY HAND YOU THE TOOLS FOR YOUR OWN LIBERATION. Thus the discrepancy between rich and poor isn't a sad accident, it's BY DESIGN. Were people independently wealthy enough to oppose their conditions, they'd have the accumulated coin and worth to fight for them on any arena. Refer to how so much of Faerun's history is steeped in wars between kings and nobles, all the way back to the First Crown War of the Tel'Quessir. This bloated, inherently unfair and unjust system from time immemorial has survived every empire and even many of the gods who made Faerun as it is.
In the assmumption that the reader and I agree that this system must be changed or removed, how are we to go about it? Our civilized conditioning is liable to cause us to seek the "legal" methods first - Petitioning an Oligarch or Representative for support and change after having presented a case of the evidence would usually be the first step taken. A simple "appeasement" of increasing the taxation level of those who are wealthiest would be a simple and relatively painless way to remedy things, at least in /theory/. This increased level of public glut and spending could then be put towards services that would aid those most in need - Temples, Leisures, and access to life's necessities could thus be more profuse in a given poor population.
But recall how the system still exists: It's one that praises initiative and competition, often cut-throat. The mentality of preparing for famine has stuck with us even when we're surrounded by plenty - Measures intended to bring universal support often become just as staggered in their distribution. Put simply, using charity as a sort of damage-control for civilization's tendancy to leave the losers in life's games to rot - It screams to anyone willing to critique it, that there simply hasn't been developed a means to ensure that all people are able to live adequately and comfortably by design.
As one who is himself orc-blooded, I've seen a laughable similarity in the society of Sibayadan orc tribes, and (at the current time, 132 AR) Cordor. There are, of course, staggering differences. One is a sprawling desert populated by chauvinistic male orcs of multiple varieties who prize naught more than brute strength and abyssal power; the other is the largest city upon the Arelithian Isles, and with one of the highest densities of resident adventurers per capita in Faerun.
But both societies cling to the barbaric supposition that might confers right; that the strong are not only expected but encouraged to dominate the weak, and that the exploiters feed off the exploited in a cruel symbiotic relationship of masters and slaves. The Sibayadi orcs, of course, would be considered by the latter to be nothing more than piggish savages, and in this observation they'd be correct. But to cast scorn and blame in this fashion and be blind to one's own misdeeds is hypocrisy in the highest order, and emblematic of the struggle that the disenfranchised face.
What, then, is to be done? The solution that I have after many years of experiencing and observing this hypocrisy, are for the disenfranchised to be encouraged to set aside their ideological and physical differences. The all-consuming societal pressures to "own" and to "have" while others do not, extends even to the very poorest. It's a sort of "reassurance" that even though things might be incomprehensibly terrible, "they could be worse" - As if it's intended to be contenting knowledge. To them I say: "Could it not also be far, far better?"
The crux here is to encourage the formation of "unions", "groups", "parties", or "syndicates", the latter my favored term. The infamous "peasant revolt" that every nobleman from Cormyr and Tethyr fears, is an ancestor of these groupings. For equity's and equality's sakes, these groupings must if at all possible remain "leaderless", inclusive, and wholly democratic if to prevent an old tyranny from being replaced with a new one. So democratic, in fact, that "representation" is to be mitigated to the status of "message runner". The runner doesn't dictate the message, he repeats it. The message to be repeated is either the common consensus reached, or the divided and compromised decision agreed upon. Some may criticize the method as slothful, but it is necessary.
In the end, know that one item to ponder when considering the tenet "The Right to Well-Being is to be for All", is that one must NEVER LET THE ESTABLISHED LAW PREVENT YOU FROM DOING WHAT'S RIGHT.
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3. No-one Rules if we all Rule
When discussing the egotism and bureaucracy that plagues civilization's kingdoms, burghers, tribes and gods-know-what-else - It is important not to lose sight of how much of your own intended path fills their boots. Power is professed to be sought for various reasons - Order and stability, to promote one's faith, to become wealthy and powerful; these are some of the basic reasons given.
I posit instead a different conclusion I've come to question: Power and Corruption are synonymous; Power is often sought for the sake of Power in an endless vampiric lust.
Rarely is there ever a state in which someone who has tasted what it feels like to hold the metaphorical (sometimes physical) lash - Where they'll ever feel cause to willingly relinquish it. In any guild, army, or cult - Higher ranks confer higher degrees of authority. With that authority and ability to direct your "lessers" as you bid, it creates in the mind an AMBITION to use the tools acquired in search of more. More pawns and resources confers the ability to gain even more... And so on.
All of this knowledge serves to make the notion of a community at once cohesive enough to exist peaceably, and at the same time be freer than a flying bird, quite difficult. As I am what some might term a "veteran adventurer", I present a contrasting viewpoint to the aristocrat-favoring norm. The concept of "the party" as an adventuring institution is renowned and fabled throughout Faerun as the first and last line of freelance defense against horrors and plots infathomable. Within such a party are component individuals who in turn cover another member's weaknesses, making each and every person valuable and important to the success of the group. The Priest calls upon their patron for wards and healing; the warrior stands at the front and shields for the others, the rogue handles utilitarian work, and the arcanist levels their foe with the Weave's might.
None of those roles are more or less important than the others, nor are they set in stone as unchanging examples. Some individuals are more well-rounded, others focus the brunt of their skills on one talent to the expense of others. These variables may make the trials ahead more or less daunting, but to do away with them in entirety or to force them into service that deadens their enthusiasm, is to the detriment of the rest of the party and casts ripples far past that.
Such, in turn, can this analogy be applied to a non-adventuring organization such as a worker's syndicate or even a tribe's composing members. "Menial" jobs that are often the least desirable ones in a society are curiously enough the ones that such societies wouldn't be able to exist without - Sewer maintenance, farming, heavy labor, and the like. These are often the role of slaves, serfs, and peasants who lack the political and economic clout to excuse themselves from such drudgery. It is the author's opinion that such jobs and those who work them deserve FAR more praise and compensation than they oft earn.
Spreading outwards from the menial tasks like a spider's branching web are more "sophisticated" tasks; management and foremanry over the above, scholars who were taught literacy, mathematical expertise, mercantilism. Above that tend to be titles of nobility, and matters arcane and divine. Through this hierarchy are diffused the rewards and means to survival garnered by the lowest castes; in essence, a laborer's total value produced has it stripped away from them and a bafflingly small ratio of the earnings denoted "their wage"; a farmer is entirely at the mercy of the arbitrary wonts of nature and fortune not only for their own well-being, but for that of a society's. The existence of the hungry and those who simply can't afford to purchase food that should be in such incredible profusion among all, were it not hoarded and controlled by the wealthy and powerful.
It is in observing the versatility and internal democracy of the "party" that we can envision a larger-scale form analogous to the smaller. Each band of people have different occupations, roles, and things to contribute to the others. Do they in turn not deserve the dignity of respect, no matter who they are? Of course, kind words go only so far. They must be rewarded fairly and as close to "equitably" as possible; to genuinely offer them as much value produced by their labor, as can be done.
A certain finesse will be required; ambition and hope are often interlinked. All people desire to better themselves, but both ambition and hope must be fed - By example if at all possible. Without the other, hopeless ambition is simply backstabbing, and hope without direction is idleness.
There is a finite amount of freedom and power to be distributed amongst the populace; freedom, in effect, IS power. Kings and Leaders have the freedom to act as they please, and the power that results from that freedom is enormous. Used the wrong way, Freedom is easily transformed into "Freedom at the expense of others." This is anathema to the tenets.
Empathy and benevolence are the foundation of a truly free society; THERE IS A FINITE AMOUNT OF FREEDOM IN THE MULTIVERSE. Encourage its distribution as equitably as possible, and encourage that distribution through selfless, genuine example. PROVE to those of Law, of the old ways, that a better way of life is possible.
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4. Reclaim the Shadows, Break the Chains.
There is often good reason for the various "places of ill repute" to be associated with shadows and darkness. "The Underbelly of the city", "The dark alleyways", and "The lightless depths" are examples of such places. Note that in all three, the "fear" that is meant to be conveyed by the term is represented by a "darkness" adjective or synonym.
It's more difficult to ask the question "Why is this" - To anyone with a "typical" Sword Coast or Western Faerun's Right and Wrong, it seems to go together as easily as dwarves and ale. "That's just how it is."
"The Shadows" are the choice area for those rejected by visible, ordinary society to retreat to. It is a place that they fear, and as such one is at less risk from "them" venturing out of their safe-zones to confront them.
Deities such as Shar, Mask, and similarly malign and dark powers have made regions of physical and moral darkness their demesne. This is a fact well-known to most in Faerun - However, what seems to be considered far less is the choice to take such regions, and mold them.
There is a tale of a planar city called Curst that was filled with evil people who performed horrible acts on one another - Supposedly, they were so evil that the entire city was dragged to the fiendish plane Carceri, where they were left to suffer the consequences of what they'd wrought. The moral of this tale, of course, is that BELIEFS CAN MOVE THE PLANES THEMSELVES.
By extension, that means that WE, the mortal avatars of belief, must hold ourselves responsible to tug our plane - No matter how shrouded in darkness - to a better place. We need to delve into the shadows, make those of darkness FEAR THEM just as much as "The Goodly" might now. Push, push, and be underhanded if necessary - "Honor" matters only to the living. Be unpredictable, should you lead a cell of adventurers or an army dedicated to the reclamation of the darkness.
Darkness gives our appreciation for Light the context it needs. I have long felt it better to understand the Darkness, rather than fear it. Should the Eclipse Tenets spread, Civilizations and Monstrosities alike will attempt to squelch them out. Entrenching in a dark, foreboding place may be what is needed to keep the candles of freedom alive, and keep shadows dancing alongside the walls.
And it is in when plying within the darkened regions of the world one sees and hears the rattling chains - Not merely of serfs, slaves, and peasants - But held by High Priests, Kings, and villains. Those who fulfill the tenets of the Eclipse must strive, if at all possible, to continue their work. Be nomadic and mobile, and reclaim the shadows. Find strength in your differences, and find camaraderie in your shared freedom.
It isn't merely enough, however, to emancipate all of Western Faerun. The Host Tower of Luskan may lay in ruins, Lord Nasher Alagondar may abdicate, and the Sultan of Calimshan may sue for peace; but there are unseen players behind them and behind the foul faiths that wrench freedoms from Faerun's people.
The Gods.
They are who we often turn to and seek shelter within - The promise of an afterlife, the hope that their favor will bring good occurrences, the art and culture they twine with in nations. These, of course, are the "goodly" ones. "Malign" deities are renowned for sponsoring and championing monsters; demanding blood and living sacrifices, and seeking in some way to bring agony, tyranny, or suffering to the masses.
The Chains won't be Broken in whole until they lay beated back or destroyed. String Lolth by the neck in her own webs. Seal Shar in a lightless oubliette. Bring Bane to Tantras for his second, final execution. Make the Supreme Throne Cyric's grave. Make them FEAR mortalkind, for once the people have tasted freedom, it will not be denied to them by any who clutch chains and bind petitioners to dark temples.
Nor, either, will it be denied to them by the goodly. All deities are tacitly in support of The Wall of the Faithless, which surrounds the City of Judgement that sorts and divvies all forever-deceased souls. The Wall is grown and maintained by the unspeakable torture that is to dissolve Toril's irreligious within it. All deities - From the illustrious Triad, to Sune, to Tempus, to Kelemvor himself; They permit and encourage it to remain.
The Death God Myrkul is responsible for the wall's construction as a "failsafe" - To force mortalkind to worship deities and thus provide the sustenance they need to exist. As it threatens their stations and possibly their very continued existences, all deities support it remaining and support the agony emnating from it - At least, it's unknown if any have audibly objected.
If we are to be truly free, if we are to truly call our souls and fates our own - If we are to Break the Chains once and for all... The Wall of the Faithless must be torn down and forever buried.
It hasn't always existed, and the gods got along just fine without such an imposing shadow of endless torment - regardless of how benevolent an atheistic mortal might be in life, in death horrific agony awaits. Fiends "save" some souls on the walls only to introduce them to fates possibly worse; Kelemvor apparently has an agreement with the Baatezu to provide their petitioners' souls to fuel the devilish legions, and Tanar'ri routinely "raid" and drag souls they tear away to the Abyss, never to be seen again in that form.
The fact that a murderous Cyricist can spare themselves the Wall versus a valiant, humble Old Order Monk - It's blatantly immoral and it's obvious that even our divine benefactors cannot, or won't take steps to do what's right.
When at last the Wall has been torn down and the Crystal Spire has been surrounded, we will have conquered death itself. We will reunite with our dearest loved ones, save those not yet absorbed into the Wall, and herald the next epoch of Faerunian progress.
The AGE OF MORTALS, the AGE OF THE MANY.
All beings deserve the right to well-being.
No-one rules if we all collectively rule.
Reclaim the Shadows, Break the Chains.
- Rhaeg