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Difference between revisions of "Immortal Words"
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This is a direct quote from Teft, so the wording should be left as-is, but I agree it wasn't super clear it was a quote; I think this is clearer.
James.white (talk | contribs) m |
m (This is a direct quote from Teft, so the wording should be left as-is, but I agree it wasn't super clear it was a quote; I think this is clearer.) |
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The First Ideal of the Knights Radiant is shared among all of the orders. Because of this, it serves as the motto for the entire order.{{book ref|sa1|59}} While saying the other Ideals appear to be essential to their corresponding increases in Surgebinding ability, speaking the First Ideal does not seem to be a prerequisite to gaining a basic capacity to Surgebind, as [[Kaladin]] first hears of it long after he first begins to infuse himself with Stormlight.
The First Ideal is not merely a statement of obvious truths. For example, even though people are always born before they die, that is not the knowledge that the First Ideal seeks to impart. As explained by [[Teft]]:
{{quote|
'''Strength before weakness'''. All men are weak at some time in their lives. The Radiant protects those who are weak, and uses his strength for others. Strength does not make one capable of rule; it makes one capable of service.<br>
|Teft{{book ref|sa1|59}}
}}
▲:The ends don't justify the means. There are always several ways to achieve a goal. Failure is preferable to winning through unjust means. Protecting ten innocents is not worth killing one. In the end, all men die. How you lived will be far more important to the Almighty than what you accomplished.
It should be noted that the Oaths are about each individual Radiant and his or her [[spren]]'s perception of them and,{{book ref|sa3|121}} since Teft was not a Radiant when he explained the Ideal to Kaladin, he may not have realized the extent of the room for variation in interpreting the First Ideal. Furthermore, as he eventually becomes a [[Order of Windrunners|Windrunner]], his explanation of the First Ideal likely hews closer to how that Order would interpret it. Notably, the [[Order of Skybreakers]] and the [[Order of Elsecallers]] would accept a more Machiavellian interpretation of the First Ideal and the Elsecallers in particular view the "journey" as that of the entire species.{{wob ref|2525}}{{wob ref|4163}}
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