Tenets of Ambition

Ambition’s guidance: a discussion
Viviane de Coeurdefer, Ambition’s Cardinal; Ranae de Rondell, Troubadour to Ambition

Early Winter 383

To all who preach of Ambition and Virtue: I know that while Anvil is where we meet, our guidance is valuable to hundreds or thousands of others across the Empire. Sometimes we come to preaching from different starts and at different times; and so I bring what meaning I take from the tenets of our Way.

Here, I wish to discuss what these mean for us as priests, for our Dedicates, and for intelligence as a whole. You are welcome to disagree with me, to discuss with me and to share this among other priests, and mark this: I speak as one priest, not the voice of the Synod. My opinion is not the only or absolute answer, and you should always consider Wisdom and Vigilance, and the Way itself: What if there are better questions to be asked? What if I am wrong? What is your decision? No other has the right to dictate your choice.

Nowhere is that set out so simply, to me, than in the five tenets of Ambition. All of the Virtues’ tenets follow the same pattern, set out here as wayhouses on a pilgrimage:

Aim high; pursue your dreams; nothing is beyond your grasp.
This seems simple. It takes the lesson of the Doctrine of the Creator and the Paragons; that our destiny is our own, and that our potential is limitless. Humans are immortal. The Way will last forever, lifetime after lifetime, on from our hands to others’. It is easy to forget, betimes, that our will can shape the world – that we have the power to change society. Do not be afraid to dream greater than one lifetime.

This is not solely about our individual capacity; but about the strength of all. We are all parts of a greater whole – whether in our lives as humans, which will end and start again, each part of the greatness that is our immortal spirit; or our lives as social beings, which are part of the tapestry of intelligence, history and society that we are all threads within.

We must each of us choose for ourselves what we want to do – to change the world, to shape our lives and the lives of all those around us. There is no shame in choosing as a goal to build the Empire up by supporting others in their aims; nor to choose to bake the best cake in Anvil – but we can dream bigger, and Ambition’s Dedicates should.

My dream is – the world. That everyone can live and die a citizen of the Empire, so we might teach the Way of Virtue and make this world a place strong and glorious enough that we can leave it behind in good conscience when we Ascend. I want the world in my hands and yours, cared for, taught to understand that our will is absolute, our strength is great – that we have the power in ourselves to achieve anything.

Nothing is beyond our grasp. We are immortal, eternal; the legacy we leave behind in each life will never be forgotten so long as intelligence exists – so long as we work to make it so. And here is the other half of that lesson: We must work for that. Ambition is hungry, ever needing fuel. We do not subsist on dreams, or false, vague hopes – we choose to act on the vision we have. This is what separates Virtue from dreams: a clear goal, and the determination to make that happen.

Even the most impenetrable forest may fall one tree at a time.
Here, we are shown that every great vision, every glorious dream, is made up of every step on the path. It is easy to say “this my dream is a mountain – I cannot step to the top”, and grow discouraged. But here we have Tian’s path set before us, and the wit and will of our own minds: we can consider our goal, and plan best how to achieve it, step by step.

I am not afraid of my goal, though it take my life and every life beyond, because I can see each step – and each sidestep, each opportunity and each falling back, and how to make the most of it. Here the first half of this lesson: that we can and should think how to break our dream into stages, and know that each stage is possible. We can take one step, and one more, and how many more one mores; and one day we look behind us and see how far we have come.

The second half of this lesson is Ambition’s danger. In breaking down our dream into steps, we must remember why we take these steps – we cut down a forest to reach the other side; or to use the wood for a greater goal; or to save us from a threat within it – but always and always, the steps are not the dream. Remember always to stop on the path betimes, to look around you, and remind yourself of where you are going. And when we do, it may feel hard – we may grow tired, we may be empty or forlorn at how far we have yet to travel (how many Territories we must bring back; how many foreign nations see us as enemy because they do not understand…) and then we must look back and around, and remember what we have achieved. We do not rest on our laurels, but in Prosperity and Pride, step onwards, renewed, knowing that we have the capacity to change the world.

It is better, by far, to try and fail, than fail to try.
Ambition’s demand is this: try. Never be put off from achieving something simply because it is hard, or because you are tired, or because you are afraid of failing. Our greatest threat is within ourselves – doubt, fear, guilt, complacency. Virtue always bids you act. Faltering is understandable, always – we as priests can always give help and succour to all who pause, or who fear to start. We are not here to chastise those who fail to try, but to give them help and encouragement, in word and guidance.

As well, it is better to try, and to fail – because we can learn how to succeed. We take lesson from our failure. We do not let ourselves be overwhelmed by the past. Once we have learnt, we can try again, take another step forward. No one ever was perfect at a skill the first time they attempted – it takes us months and years to learn to walk! Why should we forgo the effort, simply because we stumble over our steps? I know that I have changed my plans, altered my steps, because of others who have shown me that I am wrong; that I have failed, and I am stronger for it. I am not ashamed of my failures. I trust others around me to help guide me onward, as I guide them.

Consequences are the price of Ambition; no price is too high to realise your dreams.
Each one of the tenets of the Virtues has a warning. Herein is ours. There are two lessons I take from this.

First: our dreams and our goals must be worth the price. I know that there are some who claim Ambition's prize and Ambition's price for goals which are petty, or actively destructive in some wise. I call them wrong indeed to claim that their will is Ambition; instead, selfishness or greed, or cheap self-aggrandisement. Our Virtue encourages us to action, it expects us to build our own goals internally, it is a process itself by which we can change the world.

My vision of Ambition and of Virtue is always that it expects us to consider our goals in concert with the greater goals of this our Way: to ensure that we are capable of Ascension. To embed the skills and the decisiveness, the will and the clarity of vision, into our spirits that we will be able to ascend through the Labyrinth to the greater challenge set to us beyond. We are encouraged to choose a goal which will make this world better - not least because in this we will achieve the prizes which will leave an impression on the world strong enough to be remembered as Benevolence, as Inspiration, as Salvation, as Legacy.

Secondly, the price must be paid by us ourselves. It is in no wise another's duty or burden to pay this my price and my cost.

Saying loudly "The deaths of all who stand in my way in achieving my goal of a comfortable chair was Ambition's Price" is a nonsense - that is not a price you pay; it is a price you demand others pay on your behalf. Saying instead "The responsibility for the deaths of those who choose to fight in this war in achieving our shared goal of a stronger, greater Empire; of the protection of our homes and lands, of the sharing of our Way, is Ambition's price; and I will take that responsibility by working for those who come after" - that is the truth I understand.

We are all tools in Virtue's Way; and we must take care of our tools, as good crafters will always do. If our actions in some wise cause others, especially those we have a responsibility for, some cost, then it is meet and right that we repay them their distress. The price must be paid, and it is for us to take on that price and mitigate it for others. If there are no best routes, we must work for the least worst; and we must take those consequences as best we might on ourselves.

Despise the weakness that comes from pettiness and lack of vision.
Here, we despise lack of action, lack of scope, and the weakness that comes from it; but we do not despise the person. We teach them, support them and encourage them; ask why they do not believe they can change the world, show them that they have an idea of what they want, and the power to achieve it.

We are afraid, often and often, of imagining ourselves larger than we are. Our spirits are infinite. The worst thing that can come of our actions is death, when we will have the chance to try again. The worst that comes of our inaction is – nothing. Nothingness, bland, absent centuries spent in a Labyrinth we are too afraid to move beyond.

Our legacy is greater than our lifetimes. We may not live to see it. I have lost my sister, my friends, on the field, and I will fight with every beat of my heart and every flicker of my soul to ensure their lives, their love, will not be wasted. The world is a better place because of our actions; and pettiness is thinking merely of ourselves in this one life. We are greater than that – we, humanity; we, intelligence; we, the Empire, and we the world are more than just one person, and we deserve the glory that we can achieve together.

Let our fire burn higher because of each other; because of what we dream and what we do. Be afraid, yes, because it hurts to be burnt – but never let that fear stop you. Death is not the end, no matter if you be human, orc, or other. We live on in the deeds we do, the legacy we leave behind, and the glory that we share.

Despise pettiness, and lack of vision; others’ and your own. The world is wide, and we are eternal. Dream bigger yet. Accept fear, and know that we are greater than it. Accept doubt, and know that we are strong enough to overcome. Take your mettle and shape it in Ambition’s forge-flame, and know you are the greatest creature in the world.

This is Virtue.

This is Ambition.

I bid you burn.