I have a book, which was the only book recommended to me to learn about Darkness: Modern Darkness, 3rd edition. I have read it time and time again, seeking meaning to the unease in my spirit, but I could never quite find the inspiration I was looking for. Having been outside of Hashan for a few months now, I can more clearly see the effect of these teachings of Darkness, and how it hides complacency beneath a label of progress.

There are five faces of Darkness: Agency, Conflict, Identity, Strife, and Truth. Already a bit of a jumble of unrelated ideas. This is all underneath the tent of Progress. Let us investigate these faces and how they "serve" progress:

----

1. "Agency may be defined as the capacity of an individual to make their own choices. It is the freedom to be wrong, to be flawed, to err imperfectly, for in doing so one embodies Darkness by exercising independence of thought, body, and deed."

All are empowered to the freedom to pursue their own goals, and thus become cats to herd when put into a city. Restless energy, unchanneled, undirected.

"Collaboration is not mandatory, nor do we all dance to the same tune. There are almost no wrong choices, because it is the very act of exercising free thought"

And taken as such, Agency becomes an excuse for people to stagnate - not progress. To sit around, to pursue fickle relationships, to avoid responsibility to their city, to avoid growth for themselves.

----

2. "Conflict is growth's great stimulus; it is the crucible in which struggle begets improvement, where barriers are broken and visceral confrontation allows potential to become tangible progress."

Conflict is spoken of, but not sewn or endured, neither in the citizenry or outside. People choose to be non-combatants, unable to defend. The inertia of stagnation causes even those who fight to sit around unmotivated when there are regions under attack. Those with the know-how simply wait for others to come to them with desire for progress; a convenient excuse to do no work.

----

3. "Identity is the matter of casting aside delusion, arrogance, ego, and pride in favour of knowing oneself and remaining confidently true to that sense of self [...] We view personal identity and sense of self as one of the most precious qualities of character. "Your identity is your own" spake the the Dark Lord, and it is our right alone to define ourselves, to choose how we act, how we speak, how we appear without judgement or conformity to externally imposed expectations in order to assuage the sensibilities of others."

Yet more inactionable words that sound comforting on paper but nothing more. We are free to define ourselves as sloths, as lustful, as greedy, all without "judgment". Bad seeds are allowed to take root. Bad behaviours are allowed to endure. Nobody fears judgement as everyone must play nice.

----

4. "Strife might be described as conflict without a clear enemy; it is the domain of paranoia, mistrust, and division. Sown properly, it is an efficient and potent tool through which wedges are driven and the mind loosens its grip on what it perceives as truth, allowing new ideas to flourish and opposing viewpoints to blur."

At odds with any of the freedoms mentioned before, in my perception strife only turns around and targets the city that claims adherence to Darkness. If you have ever studied Hashan history, you could probably see that the city does more damage to itself. If you've spoken to people outside of the city, you'll find that Hashan is known for "not doing much".

A listless populace without direction, they sew strife within themselves. "A potent tool for allowing new ideas to flourish" - such as finding Truth outside of the city walls and what is offered by Darkness.

----

5. "Truth is at once the simplest and most complex of the five - in its fundamental form, Darkness is the Truth of reality laid bare. [...] Truth is inherently Dark: unknowable and uncertain."

Yet more words to permit laziness and stagnation. If truth is unknowable, then why pursue it? Seek comfort, dear masses, in sitting on your butts. Don't pursue, don't endure, don't grow. There is no knowable truth, we all have license to follow our "own path", and we hedonistically seek our desires without "judgment".

----

This singular recommended source of reading on Darkness is small, uninspired, and directionless. I felt an unease and approached out my hometown faith, but did not find the answers I thirst for.

From outside of Hashan, I can see more clearly. Hashan becomes a perfect microcosm of the effect of following "Darkness": Uninspired words, easy excuses, facades to save face, a lack of commitment to ANYTHING. Ironic, for a populace that pays lipservice to progress yet only verbally decries stagnation - in its trap, Darkness makes you complacent. It makes you stagnant.

Penned by my hand on the 5th of Mayan, in the year 1011 AF.