Post by frankthetriviaman on Feb 18, 2021 22:59:42 GMT -5
In the world of magic, humility is seen as a more attractive trait than pride, and mages of humble disposition are more revered than those of a more prideful stance.
Likewise, on the Island of Ordos, which for centuries was the center of the Magic World, among even the non-magic users the humble mage was a more revered figure than the proud knight. But why is this? No single incident can be called the cause of this, but there is something which does offer a sort of summary for why this is the case.
First existing in the written form around 1118 AD, The Tale of the Humble Mage and the Arrogant Knight is a short tale that follows two figures- a mage of humble disposition, who becomes a welcome and respected member of Ordosian society, and a proud knight, whose ways led him to being scorned by the people of Ordos.
The tale was written by the well known Ordosian scribe Tuggis EysenToz; a non-magic user whose contemporary writings offer unique insight into what was going on on Ordos from an "observer's" persepective during this time. While the tale does not chronicle any specific events, evidence does suggest that he based the humble mage on the Colorfolk, and the arrogant knight on the KNUCKLEHEADS. This, is the story:
.........
On the land known as Ordos, the mages and non-magic users live side by side, in peace and solidarity. But there are those who wish to ruin and destroy that peace, and thus the call to defend these hallowed lands has gone out. And answering that call are two individuals whose tale I shall tell: one is that of a mage dressed in all blue, of calm and humble disposition. Another is a knight of pride, clad in shining armor and ready to strike at any time. But who shall make the finer defender?
One day in one of the Northern towns, there was a disturbance near the shop of the local baker. Attention from passersby was drawn to the sounds that came from the small building. When, suddenly... two boys of about 14 years were seen running out of the store, each with a sack full of loaves in hand. The baker, furious, ran outside his shop and declared "stop those thieves!" as the two ran further away. Everyone was still, except for one...
"Worry not, good baker, I shall save your precious loaves!" The arrogant knight declared as he mounted his horse and prepared to chase down the boys, drawing his sword as he galloped towards the bread snatchers. The boys ran with all their might, but not even this was enough to outrun the knight and his steed. "You foul scum! You shall pay for this horrendous act! how dare you ruin a hardworking man's livelihood just to feed yourselves!" He said as he caught up to the boys, and knocked them to their feet. As the two fell, they made sure not to crush the sacks of bread. Then, the knight dismounted and walked towards the boys, sword drawn as the two began quivering. "Scum like you make me sick; once you paint my blade red I shall return this bread to the hard working baker, and justice shall win the day!" he declared as he marched closer. But before the knight could thrust...
"Wait! Do not spill blood if you do not have to!" Cried a voice. The mage in the blue robes ran up to the three, panting from the frantic pace he had just ran at to stop what he was about to witness.
"Stand back blue one! These foul beasts are mine!" The knight declared.
"You'll kill them without even giving them a chance to explain themselves? What kind of a knight are you?!" the mage asked, stopping the knight in his tracks, as well as bringing up a valid point to the onlookers.
"Well, I... they stole the baker's bread! Is that not enough to call for justice?" The knight said in reply.
"There is a difference between stealing out of malevolence and stealing out of desperation; let us see which it is" the mage pointed out as he walked to the boys. "Tell me... why do you take the baker's bread?" he asked camily.
"We didn't want to do it, but we've no choice. Friar Redonis, the caretaker of the orphans in town, has had trouble securing the coin he needs for food as of late; there are 12 of us he's responsible for and its been 2 days since we've last had anything meaningful" the boy with brown hair explained.
"We had every intention of paying the baker back when we had the money; but we can't stand to see our juniors so sad anymore" the boy with the red hair followed up with.
The humble mage assessed the situation as the baker finally caught up to the sight many spectators were now taking in. The mage looked up towards the baker, "if these loaves are paid for today, will you forgive these two?" the mage asked.
"I... I suppose so" the baker admitted, somewhat surprised by how the turn of events. The mage looked over the two boys and counted the loaves. Then from his belt produced a small sack and counted coins, giving them to the baker. Once having counted them himself and satisfied, the baker turned and left back for his shop.
The mage then turned to the knight, "A word of advice- this is not Draco's Greece. Not every crime deserves death, and learn to distinguish crimes of malice from crimes of desperation" the mage said before turning to the boys, "I think the foodworkers of my faction may be able to help; come, let us go to Redonis so we may discuss some things" the mage said as he left with the boys. The knight was left standing there, as the onlookers looked at him with shock and mild disgust.
"The mage is right; stealing bread doesn't deserve death" said one.
"To think, the knight was willing to go that far without thinking" another observed.
"Knight was right about one thing though, justice did prevail today" a third noted. Lost for words, the knight simply mounted his horse and went to return to his faction.
.........
The knight was out on patrol one day along the coast. As he approached the southeastern end of the island he was shocked with what he saw; a fleet of a dozen or so ships, of substantial size and unloading many men and supplies. The knight kept his distance and observed what was going on. While some of the men appeared to be dressed in clothes of nobility, many were dressed as if preparing for battle. And indeed, among the food and other assorted supplies, the knight did see many weapons... including a half a dozen ballista's.
"What is this? Is this an invasion?!" He thought to himself. Then, he saw a sight he did not expect... the mage in the blue robes, with some of his fellow mages, approaching from the woods and assisting the landed group with unloading and moving supplies.
"Is this everything?" the mage asked.
"Oh yes, everything that is coming off the ships."
"Are you ready to begin heading to the meeting place?"
"Yes; I am glad you showed us such a perfect place. I only hope that the King of Ordos does not mind this surprise"
Now the knight was certain, "this is an invasion, and the blue mage and his allies are going to help them overthrow the king! I must find my companions and organize the ranks! We must launch a preemptive strike on this invaders!" He declared as he turned around and ran for his faction's base.
Later that night, around 200 knights, including 50 or so on horseback, gathered in the woods a fair distance from where the invaders were. They were waiting for the right moment.
"Why do they set up their six ballista pointing away from Castle Ordos though?" One knight asked.
"It matters not; if these invaders wish to take our island, then we will stop them" the leading knight declared. "Those on foot will charge in first; then, the horsemen will charge in and scatter the survivors" he explained the plan. He then proceeded to observe for a little while, before raising his sword and declaring, "CHARGE!" at the top of his lungs. The 150 knights proceeded to charge in at the invaders, when suddenly the earth gave out from underneath them! Indeed, the 150 were now dazed and confused, as they found themselves standing at the bottom of a 8ft deep trench.
"I saw you coming from a mile away; be glad we did this though as it saved Ordos from quite the mess" a voice said, who then revealed himself to be the mage who wore white. He was joined not a minute later by the mage who wore blue. "May I ask, why do you feel the need to attack emissaries here on a diplomatic visit?" The mage asked in curiosity.
"Emissaries?" the lead of the charging knights asked in confusion.
"Yes; the King has been expecting these visitors for 2 months now; but they had good winds and arrived early. Our king is in for quite a surprise; not only did they arrive early, but this exchange of weapons may provide useful for the future defense of Ordos" the mage in blue robes explained.
The observing knight suddenly realized what the "surprise" actually meant, but that wasn't the end of it though. "Wait a minute, if these are emissaries why didn't they land in our island's major harbor?" he asked.
"Is it not obvious? A visiting king from another land could very well attract unwanted attention; from thieves or assassins, so it was best to play it safe" the mage in the white robes noted. "Were... were you seriously about to attack these visitors?" he followed up with.
The knights felt very silly indeed... they had gotten all worked up for no reason. "A word of advice" the mage in blue robes began, "it is never wise to strike without knowing your potential enemy; after all, for all you know they may very well not be your enemy" the mage finished as he directed his attention back to the visitors.
The knights, embarrassed at what they had done, got themselves out of the trench, and went home to their base. No blood was shed that night, but the pride of many knights was bruised.
.........
"I just don't get you at all; what the heck is your deal?" the knight said to the mage. They were walking through a town square and the knight had a few things he wanted to say.
"I'm not sure I understand" the mage replied in confusion.
"It's clear you mages are pretty powerful; not unbeatable, but clearly more than capable of holding your own. So why aren't you showing it? You don't brag about your accomplishments or anything like that" the knight said.
"We have written accounts of our actions; surely you have read them" the mage in blue robes pointed out.
"that's not what I mean" the knight said with a grumble. "I mean that you don't spread your tales wherever you go; how can people know who strong you are if you don't spread tales of your feats?" the knight pointed out.
The mage was taken aback, "We are defenders of Ordos, first and foremost. We see no point in spreading tales in the sense you speak of since it does not actually help with the defense of our home. Tell me, why do you fight?" the mage asked.
"For honor and glory, of course!" The knight declared proudly.
"There's your first problem; you prioritize intangible rewards as the final goal over what is actually important- the defense of Ordos and its inhabitants. Honor and Glory are no doubt fine things to possess in character; but you will never be an effective defender if obtaining those is your end goal" the mage said sternly.
"I would suggest you take this more seriously; WE are your rivals after all" the knight boasted.
"In name only and only to you; if you don't agree with us on some philosophies, that is fine and we respect that. But we will not entertain the rivalry you are so desperate to have; we will not put such a trivial matter ahead of the defense of Ordos" the mage replied.
"Why you little... are you saying that my faction is not good defenders?!" the knight asked, now offended.
"No, simply that you need to reevaluate your priorities" the mage corrected.
Now the knight was angry, "I'll show YOU rivalry! Draw your blade, blue mage!" the knight said as he drew his weapon and entered a duel stance.
The mage only stared for a second before uttering "not interested" and walking away.
"Oh, a coward, are we? Come back here and fight me in combat!" the knight said.
"I said no" the mage said, still walking.
"FIGHT ME!" the knight thundered as he charged the mage, only for the mage to cast a rapid spell on the knight; a pink cloud formed around the knight's head as he suddenly felt sleepy.
"A word of advice... never fight pointless battles, and don't be hostile to those who aren't your enemy. I'm not fighting you over such a pointless mater, and at the end of the day we are not enemies so I have no reason to be hostile to you. Get your priorities in check, will you?" the mage politely asked as the arrogant knight lost consciousness and fell asleep. The mage walked away, sighing, "can't the understand they have no reason to do that?" He asked himself before beginning to make his way home.
.........
The dark days were at last over. After many years of conflict the people of the island could rejoice, for at last the war had concluded. Though both the Knights and Mages had each waged a separate, but parallel front both had fought bravely to defend against the hostile forces. Relieved by this news, the King of Ordos summoned representatives from both factions to congratulate them accordingly and come to an understanding about what had happened. The King spoke before those assembled.
"It brings me great relief knowing that at long last, this war is behind us. Gentlemen and ladies, I simply must know what was the secret to your respective successes" the King said.
"We fought for our honor and glory! Whenever the enemy wanted to strike at our fair island, we would strike first and strike with a force ten-fold their own! They did not know what hit them and scattered like the cowards they were, no match for knights as fine as ourselves!" one of the lead knights declared rather pompously.
"I see... and what of you, mages?" The King asked, curious at their approach.
"We were careful and methodical in our approach. As rewarding as it would be to fight for glory, we knew we could not, for that is a distraction from what is truly important- the defense of our beloved island. We did our best to fight the enemy in places where damage could be minimized, but unfortunately that was not possible many times; forgive us your majesty" the Mage in the Blue robes stated solemnly.
"I can tell that this was a hard choice to make, and it was not intentional; as such I only ask for your assistance in rebuilding these damaged areas" the King replied. "But Knights... what is this I hear about your use of fire?" The King asked.
"Ah, you wish to know of our greatest victory" the Knight said proudly. "Well, it was several months back; we had just routed the enemy and they had fled into that section of forest in the North; the one cut off from the rest by the great river. We knew we had a chance to finish them off once and for all. So we did the only thing we knew would flush them out. We waited until nightfall, then we set that patch of forest on fire! Those that weren't caught in the flames we managed to strike down as they fled the forest, denying them from any further attacks in the region" he concluded.
"While I do not deny the end results... I take considerable concern with the means utilized" The King sighed.
"Why would you?" The Knight asked, now taken aback.
"I... am not convinced that the end justifies the means, as some would say" the King began. "Yes, you stopped those attacks, but at what cost? That forest was a valuable center of resources, and you are quite lucky that the forest is not dry this time of the year" he began pointing out. "Its a miracle that you didn't burn down the rest of the island as well; and were you not so careless..."
"Your majesty" The mage in Blue clothes began, "If I may, I believe the risk was lower than you think; the winds were not only blowing away from the rest of the forest, but the space created by the river does make for a substantial break. Not to mention the fire was kept under relative control with the rainstorm that started soon after" he pointed out.
"Nevertheless, I did decree that damage to the island should be minimized by defending parties, including our forests. Not to mention you struck them down rather than trying to force them to surrender, which I fund particularly frustrating because now we have no way of getting intelligence from that part of the invading forces; we still know little about where they come from or what their ulterior motives are" the king sighed.
"We concede that did not occur to us; and I will take responsibility for my faction's actions that day" the lead knight said, sticking to his sense of honor.
"If anything, this should be treated as a learning moment" the blue clothed mage said. "Remember- we all have a duty to respect the authority of ruling bodies, such as our king; for we do not act to assert our power, we act to protect those who live on the island, including those who must rule in times of war and peace. And furthermore- do not strike down an enemy that is already down- what is the point? If you can get them to surrender, that is how we can get intelligence and it avoids a needless battle; save your time and energy for when battle is necessary" he finished.
"Perhaps you are right, mage. Perhaps you are right" The Knight nodded, but stood firm by his faction.
.........
In time, the Knight followed his desire for honor and glory, but in doing so he forgot something most important- it is not the desire for honor and glory that allows it to be earned; it is rewarded when others see that it is indeed worth being given to someone. The mage, on the other hand, did not seek such things outright; he sought to defend his homeland for the sake of protecting those who lived there. When the Knight won great victories, he beamed with Pride and spread tales of his accomplishments. When the mage won great victories, he studied and learned from what happened so as to prevent another attack from happening. Others would speak of him fondly, and spread tales of the mage who defended his home, but not once would he brag about his victories.
It was not wrong of the Knight to become confident from his victories; but it was wrong of him to develop and arrogant disposition and claim superiority over others. Thus, the humble mage became very respected on the island, where the Knight found that there were those who looked down upon him, and others would scorn him.
When asked why he would not fight for honor and glory itself, the mage simply said "arrogance is the enemy of judgement; one must remain humble to have a clear mind. As such, I recognize the importance of not letting victory go to my head." These words inspired many on the island, and in time, others would follow the path of the humble mage.
Likewise, on the Island of Ordos, which for centuries was the center of the Magic World, among even the non-magic users the humble mage was a more revered figure than the proud knight. But why is this? No single incident can be called the cause of this, but there is something which does offer a sort of summary for why this is the case.
First existing in the written form around 1118 AD, The Tale of the Humble Mage and the Arrogant Knight is a short tale that follows two figures- a mage of humble disposition, who becomes a welcome and respected member of Ordosian society, and a proud knight, whose ways led him to being scorned by the people of Ordos.
The tale was written by the well known Ordosian scribe Tuggis EysenToz; a non-magic user whose contemporary writings offer unique insight into what was going on on Ordos from an "observer's" persepective during this time. While the tale does not chronicle any specific events, evidence does suggest that he based the humble mage on the Colorfolk, and the arrogant knight on the KNUCKLEHEADS. This, is the story:
.........
On the land known as Ordos, the mages and non-magic users live side by side, in peace and solidarity. But there are those who wish to ruin and destroy that peace, and thus the call to defend these hallowed lands has gone out. And answering that call are two individuals whose tale I shall tell: one is that of a mage dressed in all blue, of calm and humble disposition. Another is a knight of pride, clad in shining armor and ready to strike at any time. But who shall make the finer defender?
One day in one of the Northern towns, there was a disturbance near the shop of the local baker. Attention from passersby was drawn to the sounds that came from the small building. When, suddenly... two boys of about 14 years were seen running out of the store, each with a sack full of loaves in hand. The baker, furious, ran outside his shop and declared "stop those thieves!" as the two ran further away. Everyone was still, except for one...
"Worry not, good baker, I shall save your precious loaves!" The arrogant knight declared as he mounted his horse and prepared to chase down the boys, drawing his sword as he galloped towards the bread snatchers. The boys ran with all their might, but not even this was enough to outrun the knight and his steed. "You foul scum! You shall pay for this horrendous act! how dare you ruin a hardworking man's livelihood just to feed yourselves!" He said as he caught up to the boys, and knocked them to their feet. As the two fell, they made sure not to crush the sacks of bread. Then, the knight dismounted and walked towards the boys, sword drawn as the two began quivering. "Scum like you make me sick; once you paint my blade red I shall return this bread to the hard working baker, and justice shall win the day!" he declared as he marched closer. But before the knight could thrust...
"Wait! Do not spill blood if you do not have to!" Cried a voice. The mage in the blue robes ran up to the three, panting from the frantic pace he had just ran at to stop what he was about to witness.
"Stand back blue one! These foul beasts are mine!" The knight declared.
"You'll kill them without even giving them a chance to explain themselves? What kind of a knight are you?!" the mage asked, stopping the knight in his tracks, as well as bringing up a valid point to the onlookers.
"Well, I... they stole the baker's bread! Is that not enough to call for justice?" The knight said in reply.
"There is a difference between stealing out of malevolence and stealing out of desperation; let us see which it is" the mage pointed out as he walked to the boys. "Tell me... why do you take the baker's bread?" he asked camily.
"We didn't want to do it, but we've no choice. Friar Redonis, the caretaker of the orphans in town, has had trouble securing the coin he needs for food as of late; there are 12 of us he's responsible for and its been 2 days since we've last had anything meaningful" the boy with brown hair explained.
"We had every intention of paying the baker back when we had the money; but we can't stand to see our juniors so sad anymore" the boy with the red hair followed up with.
The humble mage assessed the situation as the baker finally caught up to the sight many spectators were now taking in. The mage looked up towards the baker, "if these loaves are paid for today, will you forgive these two?" the mage asked.
"I... I suppose so" the baker admitted, somewhat surprised by how the turn of events. The mage looked over the two boys and counted the loaves. Then from his belt produced a small sack and counted coins, giving them to the baker. Once having counted them himself and satisfied, the baker turned and left back for his shop.
The mage then turned to the knight, "A word of advice- this is not Draco's Greece. Not every crime deserves death, and learn to distinguish crimes of malice from crimes of desperation" the mage said before turning to the boys, "I think the foodworkers of my faction may be able to help; come, let us go to Redonis so we may discuss some things" the mage said as he left with the boys. The knight was left standing there, as the onlookers looked at him with shock and mild disgust.
"The mage is right; stealing bread doesn't deserve death" said one.
"To think, the knight was willing to go that far without thinking" another observed.
"Knight was right about one thing though, justice did prevail today" a third noted. Lost for words, the knight simply mounted his horse and went to return to his faction.
.........
The knight was out on patrol one day along the coast. As he approached the southeastern end of the island he was shocked with what he saw; a fleet of a dozen or so ships, of substantial size and unloading many men and supplies. The knight kept his distance and observed what was going on. While some of the men appeared to be dressed in clothes of nobility, many were dressed as if preparing for battle. And indeed, among the food and other assorted supplies, the knight did see many weapons... including a half a dozen ballista's.
"What is this? Is this an invasion?!" He thought to himself. Then, he saw a sight he did not expect... the mage in the blue robes, with some of his fellow mages, approaching from the woods and assisting the landed group with unloading and moving supplies.
"Is this everything?" the mage asked.
"Oh yes, everything that is coming off the ships."
"Are you ready to begin heading to the meeting place?"
"Yes; I am glad you showed us such a perfect place. I only hope that the King of Ordos does not mind this surprise"
Now the knight was certain, "this is an invasion, and the blue mage and his allies are going to help them overthrow the king! I must find my companions and organize the ranks! We must launch a preemptive strike on this invaders!" He declared as he turned around and ran for his faction's base.
Later that night, around 200 knights, including 50 or so on horseback, gathered in the woods a fair distance from where the invaders were. They were waiting for the right moment.
"Why do they set up their six ballista pointing away from Castle Ordos though?" One knight asked.
"It matters not; if these invaders wish to take our island, then we will stop them" the leading knight declared. "Those on foot will charge in first; then, the horsemen will charge in and scatter the survivors" he explained the plan. He then proceeded to observe for a little while, before raising his sword and declaring, "CHARGE!" at the top of his lungs. The 150 knights proceeded to charge in at the invaders, when suddenly the earth gave out from underneath them! Indeed, the 150 were now dazed and confused, as they found themselves standing at the bottom of a 8ft deep trench.
"I saw you coming from a mile away; be glad we did this though as it saved Ordos from quite the mess" a voice said, who then revealed himself to be the mage who wore white. He was joined not a minute later by the mage who wore blue. "May I ask, why do you feel the need to attack emissaries here on a diplomatic visit?" The mage asked in curiosity.
"Emissaries?" the lead of the charging knights asked in confusion.
"Yes; the King has been expecting these visitors for 2 months now; but they had good winds and arrived early. Our king is in for quite a surprise; not only did they arrive early, but this exchange of weapons may provide useful for the future defense of Ordos" the mage in blue robes explained.
The observing knight suddenly realized what the "surprise" actually meant, but that wasn't the end of it though. "Wait a minute, if these are emissaries why didn't they land in our island's major harbor?" he asked.
"Is it not obvious? A visiting king from another land could very well attract unwanted attention; from thieves or assassins, so it was best to play it safe" the mage in the white robes noted. "Were... were you seriously about to attack these visitors?" he followed up with.
The knights felt very silly indeed... they had gotten all worked up for no reason. "A word of advice" the mage in blue robes began, "it is never wise to strike without knowing your potential enemy; after all, for all you know they may very well not be your enemy" the mage finished as he directed his attention back to the visitors.
The knights, embarrassed at what they had done, got themselves out of the trench, and went home to their base. No blood was shed that night, but the pride of many knights was bruised.
.........
"I just don't get you at all; what the heck is your deal?" the knight said to the mage. They were walking through a town square and the knight had a few things he wanted to say.
"I'm not sure I understand" the mage replied in confusion.
"It's clear you mages are pretty powerful; not unbeatable, but clearly more than capable of holding your own. So why aren't you showing it? You don't brag about your accomplishments or anything like that" the knight said.
"We have written accounts of our actions; surely you have read them" the mage in blue robes pointed out.
"that's not what I mean" the knight said with a grumble. "I mean that you don't spread your tales wherever you go; how can people know who strong you are if you don't spread tales of your feats?" the knight pointed out.
The mage was taken aback, "We are defenders of Ordos, first and foremost. We see no point in spreading tales in the sense you speak of since it does not actually help with the defense of our home. Tell me, why do you fight?" the mage asked.
"For honor and glory, of course!" The knight declared proudly.
"There's your first problem; you prioritize intangible rewards as the final goal over what is actually important- the defense of Ordos and its inhabitants. Honor and Glory are no doubt fine things to possess in character; but you will never be an effective defender if obtaining those is your end goal" the mage said sternly.
"I would suggest you take this more seriously; WE are your rivals after all" the knight boasted.
"In name only and only to you; if you don't agree with us on some philosophies, that is fine and we respect that. But we will not entertain the rivalry you are so desperate to have; we will not put such a trivial matter ahead of the defense of Ordos" the mage replied.
"Why you little... are you saying that my faction is not good defenders?!" the knight asked, now offended.
"No, simply that you need to reevaluate your priorities" the mage corrected.
Now the knight was angry, "I'll show YOU rivalry! Draw your blade, blue mage!" the knight said as he drew his weapon and entered a duel stance.
The mage only stared for a second before uttering "not interested" and walking away.
"Oh, a coward, are we? Come back here and fight me in combat!" the knight said.
"I said no" the mage said, still walking.
"FIGHT ME!" the knight thundered as he charged the mage, only for the mage to cast a rapid spell on the knight; a pink cloud formed around the knight's head as he suddenly felt sleepy.
"A word of advice... never fight pointless battles, and don't be hostile to those who aren't your enemy. I'm not fighting you over such a pointless mater, and at the end of the day we are not enemies so I have no reason to be hostile to you. Get your priorities in check, will you?" the mage politely asked as the arrogant knight lost consciousness and fell asleep. The mage walked away, sighing, "can't the understand they have no reason to do that?" He asked himself before beginning to make his way home.
.........
The dark days were at last over. After many years of conflict the people of the island could rejoice, for at last the war had concluded. Though both the Knights and Mages had each waged a separate, but parallel front both had fought bravely to defend against the hostile forces. Relieved by this news, the King of Ordos summoned representatives from both factions to congratulate them accordingly and come to an understanding about what had happened. The King spoke before those assembled.
"It brings me great relief knowing that at long last, this war is behind us. Gentlemen and ladies, I simply must know what was the secret to your respective successes" the King said.
"We fought for our honor and glory! Whenever the enemy wanted to strike at our fair island, we would strike first and strike with a force ten-fold their own! They did not know what hit them and scattered like the cowards they were, no match for knights as fine as ourselves!" one of the lead knights declared rather pompously.
"I see... and what of you, mages?" The King asked, curious at their approach.
"We were careful and methodical in our approach. As rewarding as it would be to fight for glory, we knew we could not, for that is a distraction from what is truly important- the defense of our beloved island. We did our best to fight the enemy in places where damage could be minimized, but unfortunately that was not possible many times; forgive us your majesty" the Mage in the Blue robes stated solemnly.
"I can tell that this was a hard choice to make, and it was not intentional; as such I only ask for your assistance in rebuilding these damaged areas" the King replied. "But Knights... what is this I hear about your use of fire?" The King asked.
"Ah, you wish to know of our greatest victory" the Knight said proudly. "Well, it was several months back; we had just routed the enemy and they had fled into that section of forest in the North; the one cut off from the rest by the great river. We knew we had a chance to finish them off once and for all. So we did the only thing we knew would flush them out. We waited until nightfall, then we set that patch of forest on fire! Those that weren't caught in the flames we managed to strike down as they fled the forest, denying them from any further attacks in the region" he concluded.
"While I do not deny the end results... I take considerable concern with the means utilized" The King sighed.
"Why would you?" The Knight asked, now taken aback.
"I... am not convinced that the end justifies the means, as some would say" the King began. "Yes, you stopped those attacks, but at what cost? That forest was a valuable center of resources, and you are quite lucky that the forest is not dry this time of the year" he began pointing out. "Its a miracle that you didn't burn down the rest of the island as well; and were you not so careless..."
"Your majesty" The mage in Blue clothes began, "If I may, I believe the risk was lower than you think; the winds were not only blowing away from the rest of the forest, but the space created by the river does make for a substantial break. Not to mention the fire was kept under relative control with the rainstorm that started soon after" he pointed out.
"Nevertheless, I did decree that damage to the island should be minimized by defending parties, including our forests. Not to mention you struck them down rather than trying to force them to surrender, which I fund particularly frustrating because now we have no way of getting intelligence from that part of the invading forces; we still know little about where they come from or what their ulterior motives are" the king sighed.
"We concede that did not occur to us; and I will take responsibility for my faction's actions that day" the lead knight said, sticking to his sense of honor.
"If anything, this should be treated as a learning moment" the blue clothed mage said. "Remember- we all have a duty to respect the authority of ruling bodies, such as our king; for we do not act to assert our power, we act to protect those who live on the island, including those who must rule in times of war and peace. And furthermore- do not strike down an enemy that is already down- what is the point? If you can get them to surrender, that is how we can get intelligence and it avoids a needless battle; save your time and energy for when battle is necessary" he finished.
"Perhaps you are right, mage. Perhaps you are right" The Knight nodded, but stood firm by his faction.
.........
In time, the Knight followed his desire for honor and glory, but in doing so he forgot something most important- it is not the desire for honor and glory that allows it to be earned; it is rewarded when others see that it is indeed worth being given to someone. The mage, on the other hand, did not seek such things outright; he sought to defend his homeland for the sake of protecting those who lived there. When the Knight won great victories, he beamed with Pride and spread tales of his accomplishments. When the mage won great victories, he studied and learned from what happened so as to prevent another attack from happening. Others would speak of him fondly, and spread tales of the mage who defended his home, but not once would he brag about his victories.
It was not wrong of the Knight to become confident from his victories; but it was wrong of him to develop and arrogant disposition and claim superiority over others. Thus, the humble mage became very respected on the island, where the Knight found that there were those who looked down upon him, and others would scorn him.
When asked why he would not fight for honor and glory itself, the mage simply said "arrogance is the enemy of judgement; one must remain humble to have a clear mind. As such, I recognize the importance of not letting victory go to my head." These words inspired many on the island, and in time, others would follow the path of the humble mage.