"Praise be the Light!"

From before the days when our peoples could read and write, before we were one nation, we have always been united under the Faith of the Light. Thousands of years have come and gone, kingdoms have risen and fallen, and yet, our people remain steadfast followers of this great belief, and the virtues it has espoused.

Where our religion came from, nobody can say, and yet it has remained a vital part of our culture. The importance of it, and the good it has done for us, can never be overstated, although, beyond our borders, a number of misconceptions exist regarding how outsiders view it. For their sake, if nothing else, I shall now attempt to dispel such notions, assuming, of course, that they have taken the wise decision of reading this chronicle.

First, let it be known that we do not follow a deity per se. The Light referred to in our Faith is not some all-powerful figure, ruling from on-high. Instead, the Light is an ideal. All who follow it know this to be true, that within every man, woman and child, there exists the potential for good. The Light shows itself when this goodness is acted upon in our daily lives. Friendship, compassion, honesty, a devotion to one's family, a desire to help others over oneself. All these and more are known as the "aspects of the Light", and it is through such acts that one can become better than they are. But adhering to such virtues, and encouraging them in others, we allow that Light to shine in us all.

Likewise, there is also the matter of the Darkness. Let it be known, here and now, that I do not speak of that unknown mythic force from the legends of the dawn sage, although it is easy to understand the confusion between them. The Darkness in our Faith, much like the Light, is not some powerful inhuman figure, but instead the darker aspects of human nature. Greed, selfishness, cowardice, murderous intent. These are the traits that allow the growth of the Darkness in one's heart and soul. To act upon these traits, these impulses, is to debase yourself and lessen our people as a whole. The Light is harmony, peace and to weigh the value of the whole against the one. The Darkness, likewise, is anarchy, violence and putting yourself above others.

But, like other faiths of other peoples, there is indeed a belief in places beyond our mortal existence. For those who follow the path of Light, there is the realm known as the Ethereal Plane. This domain is a place of peace and tranquillity, where one's worries and cares are left behind. To go to such a place is to enter into a state of everlasting comfort, rewarded for the selflessness one has performed during their days as flesh and blood. On the other side of the coin, however, we have the cursed realm of Tartarus. Mentioned before in our talk on the myths of the dawn age, Tartarus is a terrible place, where those who allow themselves to follow the dark path are condemned for eternity. Here, their misdeeds and guilt are repeated before them, over and over, as punishment for their crimes.

It is a grim thought, and yet, we cannot forget that those who eventually fall to such depths are there by their own hands, not by any others. They are wretched souls, whose names need not be given a second thought. And those who go to the Ethereal? Those, we praise and remember in story and song, as examples for the rest of us to follow in our daily lives. And follow them we do, for we live in an age of peace, as mentioned before in earlier chapters. Those who follow their darker impulses have dwindled greatly in recent years, and for the most part, our realm is one where it is the aspects of Light which prevail. And in this, we must forever be thankful.

There are no prayers for our Faith, it must be said. No temples are built in its name, no sacred parchments are written, and no idols are erected. Our Faith is one taught from birth, intended to spread ideals of harmony amongst our peoples. And harmony we have aplenty, for the Faith has done its work well. It may be good fortune, or it may be the tireless efforts of those who continue to teach of it, but whatever the reason, the Light is within the heart of our peoples. Should fortune bless us, it will continue to be with us till the day when our civilization, like all others, passes into the annals of history.