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Lessons from the Irraka:
The Importance of Self-confidence in Wraeththu
by
Jessica Wagar
In
Storm Constantine's The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit,
Calanthe and Pellaz meet up with a group known as the Irraka.
Leather-clad and tattooed, the Irraka describe themselves
as "fighters,
not thinkers". A splinter group of some tribe,
they live in filth, Wraeththu urchins. Rags and rubble form their
housing and the house of their spirits is equally barren. Time
and again, they describe themselves in terms of having nothing,
indicating their own feelings of worthlessness: They have nothing,
they are nothing. Whatever travails that led the group
to such a black, despairing depression is not known, but when
Pell and Cal get there, the pit the Irraka have spiritually drowned
themselves in is clear as day:
The
Irraka were without hope… this tribe had fallen
from their path… They had no sense of productiveness;
their fire and imagination had been doused by hardship.
So
the problem is bluntly stated: The Irraka have lost all confidence
within themselves.
The lack of confidence causes many problems. Without it, the
harish magic will not work; or there is no will to try, for
the Irraka believe it won't work anyway. They don't
feel a need to join another tribe, for without any worth, why
would a tribe accept them? There is no need to better their surroundings,
because it would eventually crumble anyway. The confidence of
the Irraka is in such a low state, that in their mind, they are
defeated before they begin anything.
In
the real world, those such as the Irraka would be classified
as having depression; they would be prescribed pills, told to
go to counseling, and a directed toward great many things which
might – or
might not - work. The Irraka lack such resources; they have nothing
to turn to in their wilderness, and so they wallow in their sorrows,
unable to pull themselves out.
Contrasting
this, at the apex of Wraeththu confidence is Thiede. Near-god,
Thiede is capable of a great many magical feats, including
bringing people back from the dead. He is the first Wraeththu
and has no doubt of his power, or himself. He bends the world
to his will, without fear or self-doubt.
And yet, even Thiede is not perfect; his own confidence and
ego are a touch of a flaw.
A
thing to consider, when looking at the Irraka and Thiede is
their lack of balance. Confidence in one extreme or another can
be a detriment. Certainly, one should have faith in oneself and
one's abilities and not wallow in the failures of the
past. On the other hand, one should also consider the
proverb: "Pride goeth before the fall." The safest
path is not at one extreme, or the other, but between the extremes.
Balance
is the lesson to be learned from the Irraka: Do not fall into
despair. Do not run into manic enslavement to the ego. Falling
to despair and ennui, the Irraka have sealed their own
fates and are unable to consider any other options. Unlike
the Irraka, most people, however, have a great many options,
and depression may be fought, confidence won.
About
the Author:
Jessica
Wagar can be reached at Ravenone@paintedraven.com. Her
web site is www.paintedraven.com.
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