Blitzen's Apology
aka a perfectly good waste of a classical education

To my dearest friends,

I write to you because at this time it seems befitting. I want to discuss with you the nature of our works, the nature of our community, and what can be done to better ourselves in both concerns.

There is a peril in the way we do things, my friends. For our dearest works are much like the human condition. We come into it sinners, in frustration, and only with time do we come to be illuminated to its scope. And just as we are in life, so are we in making our creations, that only with time can we come to learn of the nature of ourselves and of our tools and gifts and use them well and seek to live righteously, yet always scarred by the mark of our births, and the original and sinful nature of our ways.

In my younger days, I used to use whatever art I could find in the world to make my creations. I thought there was no harm in snagging a nice piece here or there, and if I wanted to be really crafty, I'd sit and copy it on my own, for my own use. If I needed something to fit a specific idea, I'd try my best to craft it from whatever existing pieces I could find. As I got older, I realized that this wasn't the best, nor was it the most efficient, way to go about making my creations. Even more so lately, I've come to realize that, in my opinion, there is something inherently wrong about using the works of anyone else, and especially claiming some kind of ownership for it, either by implication, intent, association, or likewise.

Now, my detractors will say that as long as you are using your copies for private needs, there is nothing wrong with it, and I will admit right away that I agree with them. If you're using art from greater artists for your own private use, there is generally no reason for anyone else to complain, because no one except yourself is presented with the composition in the way that you're using it. However, this is where my acquiescence ends on the issue, and I will tell you why. Once a work is presented to others, it is presented as a whole. If you are using a piece of artwork from another source for your own composition (and that's what our creations are, a composition and collection of various pieces and then set to rules) then you are essentially saying, "This something is a part of something that is mine, a complete something that I am claiming as my own." It is a dishonesty to claim something as your own that you have not made, in whole in part, by association or implication. It is a greater dishonesty to build with stolen walls than building with stolen tools.

Now, on the subject of works in honor of greater works, one may say, "How am I supposed to capture the feel of the original I wish to emulate without using its own pieces? Making this creation necessitates that I copy them." With this remark, I wholeheartedly disagree. Let me make the distinction that I see nothing wrong with basing one's work off of another that has gained fame. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as they say. But there is a difference between imitation and burglary. Burglary would be stealing a piece of art right off the wall, and inserting it unaltered or slightly altered into your own work. But to show a respect for a greater artist, and their work, one should seek to have a similar style. To properly honor a greater work, one should show influence through reflection, and not a noticeable identification of parts of the greater work within your own. For when you use another’s art in your own creation, you are speaking in their voice instead of your own. There is a diligence in being able to recognize greater words when spoken, and the same can be said for the various arts in our creations, but there is no piece that is free from the falsehood of dishonest presentation. Only through our own voices and our own creations can the spirit of ourselves, and thus the spirit of our makings, be heard as truly as we intend it.

Have not the amongst the greatest of creations been the ones that are wholly or nearly wholly their author's own? Such as the memorable Quest of the Brave Hero Wilfred, or the Tale of Terrible Dream of Many Colours? Why we love the tales is because they are the truest, for they reveal within themselves the absolute efforts and imaginations of their creator. When a creation is made, intent on using the truths of others to speak their own words, they will never be heard as loudly as those who speak for themselves.

At this time, one may say, "But sir! Have you, yourself, not committed these crimes of which you accuse the rest of us?" And it with a heavy heart that I must say that I have. I had a creation which I held dear, a story about The Great Magic Empires, which was inspired by and took the name of other, greater works about the same subject. I must admit, in its creation, I have erred grievously, and only with penitence will I make amends. And to the rest of you, I say these things now to you not out of judgement, for only he who is without err can cast any accusation. To try to free myself from my hypocrisy, I am appealing to all of you out of a sincere hope that we can all strive for something greater than what we all are, for goals that I myself have pledged to attain.

In creating the work I had erred. The intention to create was not bad, but made bad, by a blind urge to consume. The greatest and most wonderful things emerge out of creation, but malicious consumption, as it is in the world, leads only to attitudes of avarice, ignorance, and self importance. These are the things we must seek to rid ourselves of, for to be open, wise, and humble, should be a central goal of all of ours, in life and in making our creations. For only in these attitudes will we rise out of the pits of cyclical decay and eventual demise, and into a better, more productive, more truthful community of men and makers. For only when you speak for yourself do you have the truest voice, and it is the truest voices that are the ones that are best heard. If you let others speak for you, you give up your own voice. I had chosen to let the voices of others speak for what I wished to show, to say, and in doing so I had erred. Also I had attached my name to a name that was not my own, essentially presenting myself as something that I was not, which I should not have done. I should have had the imagination and creativity to stand on my own and the will to be proud of something that I could make that was unique and special, but out of short-sightedness and a love for the works of the great artists my better judgement was fogged. And even though it was one of my greatest works, I apologize for its creation. I do not regret it, for the journey taught me much about creating my own works, and learning to speak with my own voice, rather than through the voices of others.

But, dear friends, I beg of you to listen not to those who would say abandon the task that we set before ourselves, and the way in which we conduct it. For there are certain tools best fit for some jobs, and then other tools best fit for others. The hammer is used for driving nails, but also, indebted to its design, can be used for prying and wedging, chipping and shaping, even if the effort expended is more than another tool would necessitate. In this way, the tool we use for our creations is best fit for the job of making creations like my own. However, if one exceeds the expected uses of the tool, he is worthy of commendation. For to craft an entire house out of only a hammer and material is something that is regarded as a feat of diligence, resourcefulness, and persistence. As such, I encourage all of you to take your hammers and learn to build your houses.

So I urge you all not to be tempted by the siren song of the easy paths of your journeys. For to make a work is like a journey, where you aim towards your goal and take the paths that are presented to you along the way. Even though few of us ever reach our destinations, I say that it is because we love the journey so much that we never plan so far ahead as to which destination we should reach.

However, most of our creations look and are very much the same works, the same houses. But in my belief we must start to change the kinds of houses we build. For in many ways our creations are like farms, where in building the farm you have a large expanse that needs to be cultivated, and also the need for seeds to plant, to help create what our farms would yield, but as it is with ourselves, the seeds rarely come from our own fruits. Just as it was in the old days, most houses are farms. Both building a farm and living on a farm is tedious and tiring, and on our farms much investment seems to bear little fruit, and to be honest it is a life I have grown tired of. It is the same with our creations. While there is a noble simplicity to the farmer, as builders we must see that not all men are farmers at heart. In this way, we must strive to build other buildings. We should try to build an academy so that we may strategize, or a market so that we may move things and money in puzzling ways, or perhaps a dungeon so that we may throw the very pulp of our adventures into it. For if all we build is farms, then those men who are not farmers will certainly leave us, and we will find ourselves worse than now, in dire straits and danger of demise. And I encourage people to try new tools to try and build other kinds of houses, for a hammer cannot shape glass, so neither can a man who uses only a hammer make something that shines with its shimmer. And if we build other kinds of houses, people who are not farmers from other places may come and dwell in ours, because we have built ample places for them to practice their loves. I might add though, there should always be a place for the farmer.

We are a nation, my friends. We are a nation of this wide world, wherein people exchange ideas, information, goods, laughter, sadness, and all other things of the mind. As a nation, we are singular in our development. There have been days before when our nation has shone brightly in our own eyes. Some are borne of us, some have come to us from other nations for, as it is in life, no nation is purely of itself. We learn from other nations, or visit them and bring back what they give us. Some leave our small home to find greater glory in the world beyond. There are also those who call us backwards and defunct, a decaying relic, those who would wish to extinguish us, and lament our kind and our works. But I say we are a great nation, and if we are not one now, that we can be great again. We must, however build ourselves into one. To see the destinations of our journeys, and then gaze upon the houses we have built with our meager tools and great minds would be glorious for us, if minuscule for others.

And if you wish to see it as such our community is a nation and thus a family, as a family we all live in one big house. I have noticed there are those who say that our nation is in danger and to save our nation, we must change the house. "We must build more rooms!" they say. Or "We must move something from this room to another room." Why I think this is folly is because these people fail to see that it is not the nature of the house that determines the nature of the people in its rooms, but rather it is the nature of the people that determines the nature of the house they build. So if we find that we build more rooms or change what goes in what room and nothing happens, that it is not the house that is to blame, for it can be seen that the house will not have any need to grow without new residents. Building new rooms to accommodate ghosts does nothing but empty old rooms. But I think that if we follow the bearing which I have decided that I myself will follow, we will begin to draw people from other places into our house, and then, perhaps, we may find the need to build more rooms to accommodate them.

But first, we must go forth with our creations to other nations, and show them with pride, and tell them where we came from. I think that the only way we draw people to our house is to bring to them what we have to offer so that they will follow us home. For while we may share whatever we make amongst ourselves, is it not good, or perhaps better, to share the fruit of your labors with strangers, and not just your family?

And so now I end my letter, and eagerly await your reply. Please send waffles.

Your friend and neighbor,
Blitzen

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