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By Indiana
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~~~ Arion, God of Valor ~~~
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Arion, God of Valor, also known as the Lord of the Troll race stands for the ideals of The Four Pillars of Valor: Strength, Discipline, Courage, and Honour.
The symbol of Arion is a muscular golden arm wielding an illustrious golden blade, embodied on a square of royal amethyst.
Strength
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Strength is not simply a matter of how big your muscles are. This pillar doesn't reffer to physical strength only, but to the strength of mind of soul as well. In order to achieve this goal, one must find the equilibrium between his body and soul, between physical and mental.
The easiest part is to train your body to wield your weapons better and use them at their full potential, yet for the mental part hours and hours of deep meditation are required, philosophical training is needed as well in order to discipline one's self in something as simple as an argument and don't let his own emotions run freely. And only then one can say he found the true balance between those two and has the true strength.
And indeed it can be hard to achieve. It takes time. Sometimes it can take one's whole life. Yet one must judge his actions clearly and control his own reactions and sometimes feelings in order to put Valor in front of his own mortal emotions and see the true Path of Balance.
Discipline
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Discipline is one thing a Knight must be aware of before anything else. The Paladin Guild is one of Fighters and thus we must be disciplined, obey to the rules, acomplish any tasks we are required to do and all this in a Chilvalrious way. This means that one must train your mind to think twice before doing something, to ask himself "how will this affect me and others?". Seeking the best possible response, someone who is disciplined will control the situation and ultimately make the right choices.
In time, one must discipline his own and let it govern his actions, his emotions. In life, it is inevitable to get upset, disappointed or even angry. It is one's discipline that prevents him from doing things could later regret and choose the right way he should behave.
Also someone must be disciplined when talking or generally interacting to other people. One must know how and when to laugh at a joke, yet not overreact and live his life as Chivalrous and disciplined as possible.
Courage
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A knight must be willing to serve his master at all costs. Still, this is not limited to combat. Yet it involves self-confidence and understanding of the purpose of your actions, knowing who the friends and foes are. Although courage can in some cases be seen as foolishness, one's courage must guide him to victory, drive him on when giving up seems to be the easiest solution.
Still, one must show courage to his friends, allies, but to his enemies as well. The true test of a knight's courage is often found in his dealings with his friends, rather than on the field of battle with his enemies.
Honour
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Honour is a virtue every Knight must posses. It is one of the most important as far as I see it and can be very hard to act honourable in all cirumstances. But what does that mean?
The basic aspect of honour can be seen in combat. One should never attack someone without a warning. One should never attack someone that cannot defend himself. And more can be added, yet the most important thing is to understand them, to understand that they are required and comply to them under any circumstances.
Honour can be referred as well to each person's own life. Honour means to keep your word all the time you promise something, respect your superiors, your family and your friends, don't let them down when they are in need.
Yes, Honour has many aspects. Help those in trouble, protect the innocent, show respect to those that deserve it, fight for your cause. You can't even think of a Knight without sense of Honour.
These are the Lord Arion's Pillars of Valor. As far as I see it, those are the base for each and every Knight's training and living, as should be for other people as well, as they could change this world and bring more Light and Valor to this Land.
Penned by my hand on unknown.
