Disclaimer: The following document fragment is presented from an in-character perspective, it should not be taken as the truth of the setting.
Context: An old adage states something about how bravery is not the absence of fear, but the will to act in spite of it. Fear is a natural response of the human (even mage) mind to the universe it is forced to inhabit. But is that really an issue? In this excerpt we see a few different perspectives on the issue, coming from different learned mages across the ages.
Through Fear, our eyes become occluded by a waxen seal
The loss of clarity of our Mask that we inflict on ourselves
To gaze upon the world can be an ordeal not all can overcome
To gaze upon the Cosmos is yet a heavier, embittered burden
Thus when it becomes too much to bear within our chalice
It overflows, and with it, we take away the clarity of our sight
Like children, we shield our eyes from the weight of the world
We make ourselves believe that what we do not see
Has no power over us, no… that it no longer exists in our world
We pour the wax into our own eyes, to blind ourselves from the Fear
In the self-imposed dark, the Mask weaves its illusions for us
From the memory of Fear a tapestry of foreboding danger
It cloaks all before us, twists the faces of innocents into monsters
We pour the wax into our own eyes, to blind ourselves from the Fear
Listening to footsteps in the night, the little Fear that helps us forget
We drive our blade into it, seeing it not for what it is, but what we need
The great Fear drives its blade into us in kind, as it was always there
We pour the wax into our own eyes, to blind ourselves from the Fear
That is our self-inflicted ritual blinding
We could peel the waxen visage from our faces
But it would hurt more bitterly than death
The human mind has a peculiar relationship with the nature of reality. The Mask, we call it, the image of the world we perceive, hiding from us the truth. But, not every Mask is made equal. We are driven to surpass the limits of our understanding, ever questioning what we think we know and understand. This urge seems to exist within us on some primal, subconscious level, driving us to devote ourselves to our magna opera.
This pursuit demands much from us, and our human nature hinders us. Emotions ravaging our psyche, send ripples through our perception, obscure and distort the world. May it be love or hatred, hope or fear, every emotion is a double-edged sword, sayfun ḏū ḥaddayni.
However, among different emotions, fear warps the Mask most peculiarly. It bestows upon us self imposed limitations of caution, that let us survive so that our machinations may continue another day. But, a mind consumed by fear oft escapes into delusions.
The mind traps itself in an illusionary world, distorted to grant it understanding and control over the unknown and the chaotic. To assert this sway over reality, a mage may embrace the most fragile paradox, commit themselves to the most heinous atrocities — all to fight the fear consuming them inside. In doing so, not only do they endanger our great work, but the existence of humanity itself.
Embrace fear, but do not let it consume you.
In the moment you proclaim yourself fearless,
you lose agency over your own Fate.
Esoteric Musings... 