Prince with a thousand enemies

[Placid Dingo]

Feedback welcome

All the world will be your Enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and when they catch you, they will own you.


But first they must catch you.

In the beginning, all was dark. In the darkness there was form. This form swirled in gentle harmony for many millenia.
Then, in part of the form, a tiny ripple began to emerge. This ripple started to move against the form, and the two halves began to pull apart from each other. They began to pull apart from each other.
With a violent burst and a crack that echoes across the universe, the two halves split from each other.
The two halves of the form sat in the darkness, aware of each other. For the first time they could conceive themselves, as for a moment they could perceive That-which-was-not-self.
Said the larger half to the smaller, "Brother, I have fears you cannot be trusted. It was in your half that the ripple formed that tore us apart. I will take responsibility for creating new things, and you may watch."
"As you will, sister," said the other half, amiably.
The sister took great care in developing the universe. She puffed up the great balls of gas and lit them to set them on fire, so she might see her work. She then crafted the great planets. For many years she worked tirelessly, and the brother watched on, content.
When she was satisfied with her work she looked upon Earth and began to create animals. Over time she changed them, very slowly. Some grew taller, lost their hair and their tails. These were our forefathers.

1.

1. HEAR this O Child of Earth! O Child of Westria! You have been greatly deceived and blinded! Illusions have been set before your eyes.

2. An illusion is no solid thing. Illusions have only the power we give them.

3. We are the lovers and bedfellows of our own deceptions. There is no illusion without consent. The Uniform says 'AUTHORITY' and the mind gives consent. The soul makes love to the illusion.

4. Illusions are seedy Pick Up Artists with many tricks to get us to sleep with them. They wrangle from us our consent.

5. They take our money! They take our dreams! They take our identity! They take our desire! They take our allegiance! They direct our conversations, and plan our itineraries! Even our lives. EVEN OUR LIVES.

6. We have grown lazy. Our bodies are not threatened. We need not fear violence. Our society protects the body.

7. The body is left unharmed but the mind assaulted with great violence.

8. This attack is less subtle. It will not kill us immediately, but neither can it be fought with conventional method. We must learn anew how to fight. 

9. O Child of Westria, this is a great call to arms to defend our minds, and take the power from the illusions. I call on you to be a Aukyrie!


In the dark times, man was not as he is now. There are our forefathers. These are the Greyfolk.
All were naked or clothed simply to stave off the cold, faces expressionless. Life was very simple. Food was collected, prepared simply and fed to the people. Weapons were made to fend off wild beasts, sex was indulged infrequently.
No songs echoes off these dark walls. No images were carved into these walls.
This way of life continued for many years, and all held that it was good.
Up in the cosmos, Brother grew restless.
"Sister," he spoke, "all has remained the very same for some time now. The Greyfolk have lived out this day as their descendants did one thousand years past. Surely you would consent to allowing some change to our Earth and allowing us to make sport of our creatures? I fear myself steeped in ennui."
"Brother," sister replied, "They lived this day as they did a thousand years past, and will live just so one million years hence. What need for change? The Earth is good, the folk are good. Let it be."
Brother though, could not let it be. His sister had forbidden him from creating anything, and at any cost, he did not know how.
So it was that he descended himself into Earth to try to find means to entertain himself.
He spoke to the Greyfolk, though they were little interested in conversation. They could gain no benefit from speaking with him, therefore they ignored him.
On some occasions he visited them in the form of wild beasts, though every time was driven off.
He tried to disguise himself as one of them, but still they perceived the truth of his form.
Sister looked down upon his failed deceptions and smiled, knowing that her Greyfolk could not be deceived by her brother. And Brother meanwhile, sobbed into the red dust that billowed around him, and howled angrily to the moon.

2.

1. Is there such thing as Free Will? A great question, but for our purpose, meaningless.

2. A person under complete servitude of illusions, doing as directed by maliciously constructed propaganda, has no free will.

3. One who questions what one hears may not be free, but may be more free.

4. So too the next may be more free than the last, ad infinitum.

5. When we reach the last, most free person, are they absolutely free, or simply as free as can be? I say to you, the difference is negligible. Whatever that person is, that is what we fight to become.

6. I seek for you to become an Aukyrie! To fight against the tyranny of illusion and free yourself from the manipulations of others.

7. Your head is full of other people's thoughts. Your soul is swayed by other people's values. Your heart yearns for other people's dreams. Your path is trodden by other people's soldiers, leading you into other people's snares.

8. How free shall you be? How free will you be? AS FREE AS YOU CAN. From the hills, the buildings, the screaming electron, the rebel, the fighter, the freak, screaming the words. HOW FREE SHALL YOU BE? AS FREE AS YOU CAN! AS FREE AS YOU CAN! AS FREE AS YOU CAN!

9. There are many dangers on this path friend, but so too many treasures. The treasure of the limitless soul awaits, but not freely.

Brother walked to the edge of the river where the Greyfolk fished. He stared at his reflection in the water, and felt lonely.
Taking two rocks he struck them against each other until one shattered. He pounded it against the other time and time again, until he had formed a slim blade. This he used to cut off his finger, and throw it into the lake. He cut off another finger, and another, then began to slice chunks from his arm and throw them into the river.
And each chunk of Brother's body, as it landed in the water, turned into a silver fish, that darted through the lake. And he continued to cut himself into pieces until finally there was nothing left.

More; https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cWx7sUZJK-_SLAo2Y-sBvShPGk6F8PtWsKMZmFOEkL0/edit

[Triple Zero]

I've only really read the first parts a bit and scanned the rest, but so far I love it! BTW the initial bit about the creation of the universe and everything reminds me a lot of a collection of short stories I once read, I believe Cram linked them once, I'll try to find them and link you later.

[Placid Dingo]

That would be great, thanks Trip.