A Summarized philosophy of the Eleventh Circle:
----------------------------------------
The pursuit of power is the highest of arts.
While some may seek to improve their mind, or fill their coffers, the Eleventh Circle recognizes that these are merely affectations or pieces of the Path of True Power, whose reach stretches to all facets of mortal existence.
It is still worth scoffing at those who simply seek combat strength and call that ‘power,’ for such beings are delusional and worthy of equal parts scorn and pity. Such individuals have invariably strayed from the true Path and call themselves firm adherents of true power, they eschew Wisdom and call themselves wise. The true Path is comprised of three Laws: The Law of Knowledge, The Law of Community, and The Law of Will. Each Law contains several Tenets meant to guide the adherent along their path, and no one of the three is any more or less important than the other; though they fill different roles, they must all be given due consideration.
----------------------------------------
The Law of Knowledge
To have Knowledge of something is to have Power over it.
It is knowledge which guides the disciple through power, for all the strength in the cosmos is useless without knowledge of how to utilize it, but proper knowledge may overcome much in the way of lacking strength. A spell to control animals will not typically provide assistance in rerouting a river, yet may be accomplished with the requisite knowledge of animals and rivers alike.
Similarity
Things which are alike act alike.
It is no more possible to know everything than it is to have all the power in existence. However, it is similarly impossible to predict precisely what will be encountered, which requires your expertise. Thus, seek to learn a broad spectrum of things to such a degree that you may loosely understand the nature of something new you encounter. People with certain traits will act similar, metals of a certain forge will act similar, and magics of the same form will have similar results. Passing familiarity is better than ignorance in all cases, but remember that similarity is not identicality, and preconceptions may do more harm than assistance.
Wisdom
Act when appropriate.
It is often more potent to not act when given the opportunity to. Before acting, think through the possible outcomes of a situation, which favor you, which do not, and seek to ensure as many outcomes as possible are beneficial to you, while minimizing the outcomes which are not to your favor.
Curiosity
Suffer not ignorance to linger.
Confusion is the indication that your knowledge is incompatible with reality. Should a piece of knowledge you encounter seem to conflict with what you know to be true, this sparks confusion. As true power is in reality, not imagination, seek to eliminate this confusion by aligning your knowledge with what reality reflects. Do not allow this mismatch to linger, as that confusion is indicative that your knowledge is flawed.
Recognize and encourage confusion in yourself, stoke it and learn of its root, such that you may resolve the confusion and gain the knowledge you formerly lacked.
History
To know where something was is to see where it is going.
The state of the world can often be confusing, and seeing a single moment in time is insufficient for a disciple. Studying a fountain for mere minutes will not inform you as to whether the fountain is filling up or emptying over time. To see the trends present in your surroundings is to know whether they need correction to meet your needs. If a foe is already in decline, it is less important to eliminate them as a foe growing in strength, never mind their own strength at the present moment. If something has occurred without fail repeatedly in the past, expect it will happen in the future as well.
Identity
To know the pieces is to know the whole.
Occasionally known as the Tenet of Composition, the Tenet of Identity centers around the idea that all things are made of constituent parts acting with one another and averaging out into a whole. An army is made of individuals, to understand the individuals is to understand the army. A sword may be made of wood or of steel, and to know of steel and wood is to know of how the sword will behave when struck. The more fundamental your understanding of your subject, the better you are able to use your power upon them.
Mastery
Leverage your strengths.
It is important to choose a specialty. To learn everything is to learn nothing. Attempting to dabble in every field is to ensure that you will never surpass a master in any of those fields, and thus bring yourself to irrelevance before you have accomplished anything at all.
----------------------------------------
The Law of Community
Power acts through others.
There is comparatively little that a solitary individual is capable of, yet with the aid of others the entire world opens up before you. Power enacted through the cooperation of others is still power, and just as investments in your Knowledge and Will are important, so too is it vital to invest within the Community, that you may later extract power from it.
It is pointless to attempt to act as a wholly independent actor. Much power may be drawn from the wisdom and actions of those around you, and much power may be expressed through the actions of others in concert with your desire. A failure of community will see a disciple hounded and slain by their surrounding mortals as they turn against the threat in their midst, or toiling for an eternity on challenges which may be trivial with the aid of those around them. Power begets community, and to eschew it is to eschew nigh all of what may be accomplished by walking the Path of True Power.
Loyalty
Act only when needed.
It is tempting, as one expands their power and their capability, to desire to do everything entirely on their own, simply because they are capable of it. It is important to resist this urge, however, as merely continuing to act as you were when you were weaker is to waste your potential.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
There is value in continued practice of your foundational skills, yes, but do not allow this to be an excuse to retain control over things which others are perfectly capable of performing. Of course, do not allow them to slip from your control entirely- ensure that your underlings are performing their tasks adequately and to your standards- but proper selection will prevent this.
If an agent fails you, it is often not their failing, but yours, for giving them a task which was beyond them. Correct yourself before you correct them, and recall that failure is the greatest teacher for your agents just as surely as yourself. A costly mistake is only a mistake if nothing is gleaned, but a costly lesson forges an invaluable agent.
Learning
Experience need not be your own.
The Law of Knowledge states that having knowledge of a thing is to have power over it, yet it is not required, nor is it advisable, to learn everything wholly under your own power. Just as the tenet of Loyalty says you should find others to act in your stead, the tenet of Learning is that you should find others to learn in your stead and then learn from them. Communities have existed far longer than any individual, and they possess grand memories.
As always, do not blindly trust those around you, but all possess some small amount to be learned from, even if it as an example as how not to act. After all, a mistake undertaken by another is a mistake which you need not make, should you Learn properly.
Supply
Allow others to act for your benefit.
Just as you should allow others to provide you with knowledge per the tenet of Learning, so too should you allow others to provide you with goods and supplies. There is no grand secret to be found in the growing of wheat, in the making of bread. There remains value in the knowledge of how it is accomplished, yes, but the value attained from making your own bread with each passing day is wholly eclipsed by the other tasks you could attend to during that time.
Similarly, do not refuse gifts freely given out of pride. When granted a gift, utilize it to further your own aims. It is not weakness to benefit from the efforts of others, just at is not weakness to allow others to benefit from your efforts, and effort spent preventing others from benefiting is effort not spent upon yourself.
Honor
Hold fast to a code of conduct.
You will interact with many others as you walk the Path, and they will be most eager to work with you if they feel as though they are capable of predicting your actions. Nobody likes uncertainty, so seek to eliminate as much uncertainty as possible for those who seek you out.
Furthermore, many codes of conduct grant certain allowances for others who follow the same code of conduct, and by acting in a suitably Honorable manner, it is possible to predict what those around you shall do. This is obviously useful as per the tenet of History, as knowing how a foe has acted in the past may be enlightening for the ways in which they act in the future.
Of course, there is no requirement to actually follow said code of honor. With the Law of Community, appearance is reality. To appear to follow a code of honor in public, and break it when none will see, is no different from following a code of honor at all times. It is, of course, important to recognize the risk of a breach of honor in secret becoming a breach of honor in public, but it remains a tool for use.
Investment
All power must be grown.
While it is considered obvious that one must endeavor and invest within one’s own Knowledge and Will to grow them, that they will not expand and strengthen themselves upon their own merits, let alone if one seeks to actively undermine them, this is often forgotten in matters of Community. Your Community is a foundation for your power just as surely as your Knowledge and Will are, and do not neglect them in your pursuit of power. Do not empower your enemies, of course, but do not mistake those loyal to you as being your enemies. They are resources and must be handled accordingly.
Alliance
Enemies harm you, allies help you.
As you walk the Path of Power, you will be beset by countless enemies seeking to harm you. This may be out of jealousy, of principle, of spite, or countless other motivations. These enemies must be dealt with through whatever means necessary to ensure that they do not impede your progress along the Path. However, this does not mean that they ought to be eliminated. Indeed, many enemies cannot be dealt with in a fully permanent manner, and will constantly seek to act against you as long as they remain your enemy.
Even for those enemies which can be dealt with in a permanent matter, it is often indivisible to do so. An enemy made an ally has been vanquished just as surely as one who has had their soul annihilated, even moreso. The memory of an enemy can be just as potent as the enemy themself, but an enemy made an ally not only has no lingering spite, but so too adds their power into your own. Even for those who were not your enemies, but instead merely neutral, seek to bring them into the fold as an ally, for to do so is to follow the Tenet of Supply, gaining resources from others where formerly none existed.
----------------------------------------
The Law of Will
Will forges Power.
It is the Law of Will which drives forth a disciple, and Will which prevents them from falling to temptation. Will is, simply, one’s own self-control, the mastery of one’s own mind and impulses.
A failure of Will has two possible outcomes. The first is the most common, particularly outside of the Circle, and is simply a failure to self-actualize altogether. Laziness, lack of ambition, or any number of other failures may intercede in the life of a disciple, and Will is the Law which dictates the success of the disciple.
The second is altogether more insidious, and is the failure to control power once it is held. To become self-actualized as a locus of power, yet to fail to control one’s self is a surefire way to lose the power so carefully accumulated.
Drive
Power does not exist without a direction.
Even the greatest talent does not ensure power. Without a true desire, a true Drive to follow the Path of Power, none shall walk far along its length. Know the form you desire your power to take, and pursue it utterly. Know if you desire mastery of the flames of creation, or if you desire physical might to vanquish even gods. Know what you strive for. Do not be swayed by those who insist you must use your power for something, keep your eyes fixed upon the power you strive for and do not waver.
Discipline
Power is an eternal road.
The Path to Power is not an easy route. It requires constant, unceasing work to both grow your power and to ensure that you do not lose it. This is not an easy job, and requires incredible amounts of dedication, routine, and habit to maintain. Be Disciplined, or find yourself losing all you have accumulated. There is no end-state wherein your power is ‘sufficient,’ there is no situation where you need not progress. Always be growing your power, always be improving yourself and growing in mastery.
Honesty
Extinguish self-delusion.
There is no single person who is equally skilled in all things. There will always exist some variation in your particular strengths and weaknesses, and it is important to not delude oneself as to what those strengths and weaknesses are. It is a waste of your time and that of everyone else to pursue the wrong form of power. It is certainly possible for a mundane to become an archmage, or even a gnome to become physically stronger than a dragon, yet they will be better served pursuing power by some other means.
If you seek to fight the reality of your situation, you add reality to your list of opponents to overcome, and per the Tenet of Alliance, the fewer enemies you face the easier your Path will be. Instead, work with reality, make it your ally, and walk a far simpler and easier Path.
There exists nothing in reality which will reward you for taking a ‘harder’ Path. Focus your efforts on that which you are well suited for, and be Honest when your skills and situation change, changing your approach accordingly.
Focus
Stray not from the Path.
Countless numbers of the tenets will provide distractions, and even the tenets of Mastery and Similarity seem to be at odds with one another. This is the value of the tenet of Focus, as you must ensure you always act in the way which grants the most value to your growth. Do not be distracted when learning of how to create a staff, or how to develop a ritual. Allow the Law of Community to aid your growth and stay with single-minded Focus upon your Path, pulled off by neither trap nor trick. Do not grow complacent and wander from the Path merely because you possess ‘sufficient’ power. This is a lie, one which will cause your direction to be corrupted and cause you to lose what you have earned so far, as per the Law of Discipline.
To follow these Laws is the highest calling, to master oneself and the world around them is the highest goal, and regardless of one’s position in life, it is always possible to benefit from growing one’s own power.