Okay, these are sorta the middle two paragraphs from my scholarly essay I'm writing. It's a comparison of Lord Shikari and the Light, with a strong focus on the similarties between them. Uh, no intro yet so it sorta drives right in. Suggestions welcomed! (if you want to quote and go through the whole essay, that's AWESOME, but just make sure you do suggestions only, and put them in parentheses, please, and if you are really nice, change the colour too 
Anyways, it's 1000 words so far. Tell me what you think!
On Loyalty
~ "If you fall, and you stand together, there will always be one of your brothers to catch you."~
-The Black Tome of Shikari, the Predator
Loyalty is the most important virtue of Lord Shikari. He says even the great warrior can be warn down by numbers or bested by an even greater warrior. If you fight alone, you fall alone, however, if you fight with allies, they can pick you up, as you can pick them up. True loyalty may require the risking ones life to save his allies, so that they in turn may save you one day. This rings very true to ideas found within the Light. Lady Shakiniel teaches self sacrifice in the name of others is one of the most noble things a person can do.
The Light's teachings of love and protection can be combined well with Lord Shikari's stance on loyalty. To give the unlimited protection offered by the Light requires a certain degree of loyalty and discipline, the two traits valued most by Lord Shikari. Without loyalty there is no motivation to endanger oneself to save another. Likewise, without discipline, one can never expect to find the courage to do what needs to be done, especially if personal harm may be involved.
The skill of Sacraments itself is a very strong embodiment of ultimate loyalty and the benefits it can bring. The skill itself represents a deep pledge to an idea, and an ideology. A religious vow of loyalty. The Supernals give Their powers to the holy warriors who preform the sacraments, and the warriors use the power to further the goals of the Light. Thus Supernals and Mortal are united, and supporting one another.
The teachings of the Predator can be found even within the skills themselves. If a holy warrior of the Light falls alone, he dies alone and the fates will likely cut his thread. That being said, if his ally is around, he can be resurrected, or the ally can sacrifice himself to save the warrior. Further more, if a sacrament user does sacrifice himself for an ally, the ally can pick him back up with a simple resurrection. Through this combination of skills, as long as one sacrament users survives, the rest can eventually be saved themselves!
On Discipline
"It is essential to understand that Methrenton does not act out of malice toward evil, but does what he must..."
- The Book of Light
Discipline is an essential component of what the Predator believes. Discipline allows a warrior to remain steadfast in the face of overwhelming odds. Discipline allows a warrior to do what he must to achieve his goals, and discipline is also important in the teachings of the Light.
Lord Shikari teaches that discipline is vital to a true warrior. Discipline is many things to Him. It is the ability to holdfast in your beliefs, and perhaps most importantly, the ability to not strike out. Lord Shikari says few mortals are born brave, but a mortal can become brave through training and discipline. Bravery, in a literal sense is the ability to confront fear, and this can be expanded to the ability to confront your doubts. doubts can be anything, from questions of the morality of your actions, to questions weather or not you will live to see the sun rise the next day. Both questions, if left unanswered will cause fear. If you can answer your doubts and accept the answer for what it is, you will have mastered you fear. This is possible through discipline.
Lord Shikari also teaches that we must judge if a fight is worth having. Far to often, we see fights, skirmishes, even battles and wars for little more reason then an insult, or a minor offense such as the murder of a citizen. Lord Shikari teaches that we must take a step back and look objectively at a situation. If your citizen is murdered, is it worth sending an army into what is clearly a trap just to avenge the fallen companion? Truthfully it is not. The man is dead and no amount of needless violence will solve that. To fight over such a thing is a waste of effort and man power- effort and man power that can be used more intelligently to strike out at your opponent on grounds of your choosing, not theirs. Therefore, we must learn discipline so we can accept insults when they come, so when we fight, we do not needless waste effort, life, and resources.
The Light's attempt to banish evil from the universe often calls on it's followers to commit the very crimes it is trying to wipe out. Attacking innocents, murder, and other hard, less loving things are a part of the Light. It is key to recognize that these acts are done for the greater good and to ensure the safety of the current and future generations. For example, an uncaring, cold blooded murderer can only be dealt with one way: execution. No other way will secure the safety of those who follow the Light. This does not mean the execution must be a public spectacle designed to entertain. Such a possession would likely be mournful and sad, as the murderer could never see the errors of his ways. The Light teaches to love all. Thieves, murders, rapists, everyone is worthy of the love of the Light. This is why discipline is so important to the Light. Discipline allows it's followers to overcome their doubts about morality and do what they must do.
Discipline also stays a warriors hand. This is another key idea of the Light for a few reasons. The murder or threatening of the overall innocent denizens of the basin is discouraged by the Lady Elohora Herself. It is true that many are tempted to kill aslaran and sell them to the Krokani of castle Djarrakh, but with a disciplined mind and a loyal commitment to the Light, the warriors can accept that the sin is not worth the ultimately small finical reward, and so the warriors of New Celest are able to resist the slaying of innocent creatures.
Oddly, Lord Shikari's teachings about discipline strike quiet soundly with Lord Japhiel, the Illuminator of Merciful Justice. Lord Shikari tells us that when one is to attack, one must attack with an objective in mind. One must attack to hurt the foe and accomplish something beneficial to one's self. The blow must hurt the enemy. The Illuminator teaches us not all battles need to happen and that not all wars are necessary. Both of Them teach that one must not do battle out of anger, fear, frustration or any emotion. One must do battle because it is needed.
Anyways, it's 1000 words so far. Tell me what you think!On Loyalty
~ "If you fall, and you stand together, there will always be one of your brothers to catch you."~
-The Black Tome of Shikari, the Predator
Loyalty is the most important virtue of Lord Shikari. He says even the great warrior can be warn down by numbers or bested by an even greater warrior. If you fight alone, you fall alone, however, if you fight with allies, they can pick you up, as you can pick them up. True loyalty may require the risking ones life to save his allies, so that they in turn may save you one day. This rings very true to ideas found within the Light. Lady Shakiniel teaches self sacrifice in the name of others is one of the most noble things a person can do.
The Light's teachings of love and protection can be combined well with Lord Shikari's stance on loyalty. To give the unlimited protection offered by the Light requires a certain degree of loyalty and discipline, the two traits valued most by Lord Shikari. Without loyalty there is no motivation to endanger oneself to save another. Likewise, without discipline, one can never expect to find the courage to do what needs to be done, especially if personal harm may be involved.
The skill of Sacraments itself is a very strong embodiment of ultimate loyalty and the benefits it can bring. The skill itself represents a deep pledge to an idea, and an ideology. A religious vow of loyalty. The Supernals give Their powers to the holy warriors who preform the sacraments, and the warriors use the power to further the goals of the Light. Thus Supernals and Mortal are united, and supporting one another.
The teachings of the Predator can be found even within the skills themselves. If a holy warrior of the Light falls alone, he dies alone and the fates will likely cut his thread. That being said, if his ally is around, he can be resurrected, or the ally can sacrifice himself to save the warrior. Further more, if a sacrament user does sacrifice himself for an ally, the ally can pick him back up with a simple resurrection. Through this combination of skills, as long as one sacrament users survives, the rest can eventually be saved themselves!
On Discipline
"It is essential to understand that Methrenton does not act out of malice toward evil, but does what he must..."
- The Book of Light
Discipline is an essential component of what the Predator believes. Discipline allows a warrior to remain steadfast in the face of overwhelming odds. Discipline allows a warrior to do what he must to achieve his goals, and discipline is also important in the teachings of the Light.
Lord Shikari teaches that discipline is vital to a true warrior. Discipline is many things to Him. It is the ability to holdfast in your beliefs, and perhaps most importantly, the ability to not strike out. Lord Shikari says few mortals are born brave, but a mortal can become brave through training and discipline. Bravery, in a literal sense is the ability to confront fear, and this can be expanded to the ability to confront your doubts. doubts can be anything, from questions of the morality of your actions, to questions weather or not you will live to see the sun rise the next day. Both questions, if left unanswered will cause fear. If you can answer your doubts and accept the answer for what it is, you will have mastered you fear. This is possible through discipline.
Lord Shikari also teaches that we must judge if a fight is worth having. Far to often, we see fights, skirmishes, even battles and wars for little more reason then an insult, or a minor offense such as the murder of a citizen. Lord Shikari teaches that we must take a step back and look objectively at a situation. If your citizen is murdered, is it worth sending an army into what is clearly a trap just to avenge the fallen companion? Truthfully it is not. The man is dead and no amount of needless violence will solve that. To fight over such a thing is a waste of effort and man power- effort and man power that can be used more intelligently to strike out at your opponent on grounds of your choosing, not theirs. Therefore, we must learn discipline so we can accept insults when they come, so when we fight, we do not needless waste effort, life, and resources.
The Light's attempt to banish evil from the universe often calls on it's followers to commit the very crimes it is trying to wipe out. Attacking innocents, murder, and other hard, less loving things are a part of the Light. It is key to recognize that these acts are done for the greater good and to ensure the safety of the current and future generations. For example, an uncaring, cold blooded murderer can only be dealt with one way: execution. No other way will secure the safety of those who follow the Light. This does not mean the execution must be a public spectacle designed to entertain. Such a possession would likely be mournful and sad, as the murderer could never see the errors of his ways. The Light teaches to love all. Thieves, murders, rapists, everyone is worthy of the love of the Light. This is why discipline is so important to the Light. Discipline allows it's followers to overcome their doubts about morality and do what they must do.
Discipline also stays a warriors hand. This is another key idea of the Light for a few reasons. The murder or threatening of the overall innocent denizens of the basin is discouraged by the Lady Elohora Herself. It is true that many are tempted to kill aslaran and sell them to the Krokani of castle Djarrakh, but with a disciplined mind and a loyal commitment to the Light, the warriors can accept that the sin is not worth the ultimately small finical reward, and so the warriors of New Celest are able to resist the slaying of innocent creatures.
Oddly, Lord Shikari's teachings about discipline strike quiet soundly with Lord Japhiel, the Illuminator of Merciful Justice. Lord Shikari tells us that when one is to attack, one must attack with an objective in mind. One must attack to hurt the foe and accomplish something beneficial to one's self. The blow must hurt the enemy. The Illuminator teaches us not all battles need to happen and that not all wars are necessary. Both of Them teach that one must not do battle out of anger, fear, frustration or any emotion. One must do battle because it is needed.
Cool. That's all I have to say.
I really liked it, all I can say 
