Art by  dojerodesigns - Go give them watches and faves!

I commissioned this piece at Anthrocon 2019.

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Every death by necessity leaves a void. No one exists in a vacuum. Loss creates a darkness where there was a light, a silence where there was a voice.

Choice has consequences. Bonds of friendship, and of love, are laid on the altar alongside every drop of blood that is willingly surrendered.

Even those who do not make the Noblest Choice have sacrifices to make of their own. Fear of loss is a powerful instinct, and to confront fear and defeat instinct is the Noble way. The base beasts do not mourn, do not know grief. It is a blessing to understand death in a way that no unthinking animal ever could. The ability to feel grief is a gift from the gods, and should be embraced, every nuance of it experienced to the fullest, and only through this gift is growth possible.

Devotees are invited to allow themselves to mourn, to offer their own pain up in willing sacrifice. Cherish the memory of the time you were blessed to share, and reflect on the knowledge that life is fleeting and temporary. Mourn, and be grateful that you knew each other, even if for only a little while. To refuse to acknowledge the impact of a death is to dishonor the sacrifice that has been made and to spurn the gift that has been offered; acceptance is difficult, but it is necessary to grow in the Noble way. Through the lens of loss, all relationships take on a new light, burning brighter for the darkness that surrounds; happiness cannot be truly appreciated without knowing sadness. It is the balance that suffuses the universe.

Yet sometimes the weight of it can be too much to bear. Sometimes it may feel like it would be better to join them in death, but there is nothing Noble in using death to escape pain.

No.

To cry in mourning until you are dry, to experience grief so powerful that it becomes a physical pain, to know loss so intimately, and to then make the Choice to keep living, even if for no greater purpose than to preserve the memory of a friend who is no longer by your side, sometimes that may be the most Noble sacrifice of all.

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Another masterpiece from Dojero. I commissioned this at Anthrocon 2019 as a companion piece to “Devotion” from the year before, and Dojero exceeded my expectations again. Side-by-side the two pieces create kind of a mirror image; the doe’s posture raised in praise, the wolfess’s bent in mourning, both of them two facets of Academy life. Words cannot express how much I love this piece, and I am so honored to be able to display it on my wall. It looks even better in its frame: https://i.imgur.com/FabOTnc.jpg

I’ve named this wolfess Santhe (pronounced with a long E as in Daphne).

Clean art, please keep your comments clean as well!