Greetings all of Sapience. This is the first of many Essays I will
present to the world of Sapience in order to Educate and learn from my
fellow Achaeans.

The Truth Behind The Seven Truths

The Seven Truths of Evil have always been the driving forces behind true
Evildoers, whether they worship Lord Appolyon or Lord Shaitan, or live
in and abide by the laws and lifestyle of the City of Mhaldor. But do
these laws transcend the realm of evil? Can they be applied by one who
does not consider himself evil to advance himself? These are the
questions I shall attempt to answer in this document. Starting with the
Seventh Truth and working towards the first, I will take a deep look at
each of the Seven Truths, and analyze them in order to understand their
effectivenss, and whether they are universal truths, and not simply a
guide for evildoers to follow.

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The spirit may be made stronger by enduring hardships, both self-imposed
and externally-imposed.

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This Truth can be likened to the philosophy 'What doesn't kill you can
only make you stronger'. Sometimes, it is physical strength that is
gained, as in when someone spends their time performing grueling
excercise routines. At other times, it is mental strength, or wisdom
that is gained, which is what this Truth refers to.

What makes this Truth unacceptable to most is the self-imposed hardships
part. The potential gain that such masochism can produce is not
necessarily worth the pain that one would have to inflict upon himself.
Pain, to these peoples, is a reaction your body makes to protect you,
not a measurable commodity to be used in self advancement.

---
The mind may be made stronger through the elimination of conscience. One
does this by inflicting pain on others.

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What does your conscience tell you when you hunt wild animals simply to
gain another circle? Nothing. It does not matter, because such creatures
have become
nothing to us. Yes, some folk do not hunt good denizens, but near
everyone bashes poor, harmless, innocent animals. I do as well, and I
will not deny it. While our conscience is not completely eliminated in
this way, it is diminished in some capacity.

---
The body may be made stronger through combat.
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Combat makes the body stronger. We all know this first-hand, as we all
go around bashing things in order to gain higher circles of Experience.
This is indeed the most Universal of all of any of the Seven Truths.

-----
The enemies of strength are those who trumpet the effeminate values of
forgiveness, tolerance, and laxity of discipline.
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The universality of this Truth depends on how one would define
'Strength'. There are moral strengths, physical strengths, emotional
strengths, and many more. Things such as Forgiveness and Tolerance show
strength of will, for example. Perhaps a better word than strength for
this truth would be 'power', as the lack of the mentioned values are
most associated with Tyranny,
Oppression, and Evil.

--------
Weakness must be eliminated in all its forms: Physical, Mental, and
Spiritual.

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A major problem with this truth is one fact: everyone has weakness, and
it is not always condemnable. However, it is a noble aspiration. To
elimanate the things that hold one back would be to near Fully realize
all of your potential. This Truth, as it seems, is purely motivational,
if not unattainable.

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Cruelty - the application of pain - is the method by which one weeds out
the weak and feeble-minded from the population.

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By stating that cruelty is -THE- method by which one weeds out the 'week
and feeble minded', the truth in this statement is negated for all of
those not of the 'evil' mind. There are certainly other ways to weed out
those who must be weeded out, if the 'weeding out' option is necessary
at all.

----
What is called evil is simply the drive for advancement, for greatness.
We seek, through discipline and pain, to spur the advancement of nothing
less than sentient life.

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This is a Truth that one could only attest to if he were evil. It is
more of a
disclaimer, than a truth. It is what establishes these statements as the
Seven Truths of EVIL, and not simply the seven Truths. Discipline is
necessary to becoming adept at whatever it is one wishes to become
adept. Pain is a powerful motivating factor.

Applying the Seven Truths to your one's life can produce an efficient
warrior, businessman, performer, or anything, for that matter. However,
in turn one loses some of the values that separate sentient beings from
animals. Conscience and 'Effeminate' emotions, are both things that the
mortal races of Sapience have that animals can not feel. For some, this
is only a paltry price to pay for ultimate efficiency, but for many
others, that price is entirely too high.

With Studious Honour,
Mardosi Rumenea-Crescent

Penned by my hand on the 18th of Chronos, in the year 429 AF.