Ok, back to my discussion of HONOR from a week or two ago. The context of the discussion is in my upcoming novel - Star Viking. SciFi with an Asatruar main character (Book3 in a series of 9). The main character is addressing a group of military graduates, and is trying to convey the importance of honor. I look forward to your comments. Here is what Ive written so far: ------------------------------ Haldor Olsen looked out over the hundred or so graduates of the Rig’s Vaka training program. He was proud of them. Each man, woman, or other sentient being that stood there, had committed their lives to the pursuit of justice, loyalty, and honor. And that was no small thing; Mankind had long ago trivialized such simple, yet powerful virtues. Lives were filled with distractions such that men and women were too busy to worry about trivialities like strength of character. Life became transient, meaningless. And in that hollow existence an ancient ember had gone cold. An ember bestowed by the gods themselves. A gift. A precious gift. And yet, it was not quite out of reach. That gift could be re-kindled here, and Haldor was the spark. “As I look upon all of you here today I can’t help but remember stories that my grandfather told me as a boy. They were fanciful and exotic. Tales of gods and men, good and evil. The battlefields changed, heroes died, others were born. There was one thing that every story had in common - honor.” Haldor took a breath and swept his gaze across the sea of recruits. Every one, silent, still, and majestic. They were truly breathtaking. Dozens of graduating classes had stood here, though each one kindled more pride in Haldor that the last. “Honor,” he repeated, “the good had it, the evil did not. Many will tell you that honor is a vague and abstract term. Perhaps it is…to those who do not have it. For those like you who stand before me, it is much more real. Honor is a being’s quality of worthiness and respectability. It defines an individual…or should. Some will ask - how can you define worthiness or respectability? Is there a standard, or set of measures by which one defines honor? I believe there is. My human ancestors codified such things in myth and story, in the sagas. By the deeds of great heroes we see those standards being demonstrated. But why are those standards best, you ask? For the simplest reason of all. Survival. For my ancestors to survive in a harsh and unforgiving landscape, they had to be worthy, respected. Worth and respect implied that they had something to contribute to the survival of the group; perhaps knowledge and wisdom, a strong arm with a spear, a keen eye for game, or nimble fingers for weaving. The lore tells us that even a blind man can tend cattle. Any contribution, however small, was respected, and gave that person worth. The ones who refused to share their gifts were not honored.” “There is another component of honor - that of doing what is excepted - within the morays of your culture. To my ancestors, that meant avenging the death of a relative, marrying a woman you got with child, feeding a widow and her children if her husband died nobly in battle. It meant doing what was right, even when nobody knew.” --------------- And if you want to learn more about my novels, stay tuned to Northern Runes Radio. Daniel Updike will be interviewing me about my fiction, and well talk all about the series!
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 19:27:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015