What does the sacrifice of a life mean? (spoilers? maybe?)

[Change]

I've been reading the Necrovion Historical Documents. Yes, you'd think I would have read them earlier, but nevermind that. When I read A Sacrifice I had chills resonating in my bones for a day...until I realized something. I got them back when I realized something else though.

 

The significance of destroying something's consciousness/soul, depends on the significance of a life. However, new souls are not very significant. If Wane, the virgin soul, was destroyed, then so what? If there's a limited amount of souls ever to be made, then what does it matter if there's now 954 instead of 955? If a soul is created when a body is created, then in real life, think of all of the millions of different souls that could have been born but weren't. It's impossible in this case for every potential soul to exist.

 

Thus, with this type of sacrifice, where the sacrificed dies completely, a lot of the sacrifice of it is in the responsibility that the sacrificer takes for the death. They couldn't control if there was 1000 souls destined to exist or if there was 550. But by sacrificing the soul, they take responsibility for there being one less.

 

If the sacrificed doesn't have their soul destroyed, but rather dies and goes to a place where all people go when they die, then again, this is the sacrificer taking responsibility for something that could have happened anyways.

 

Therefore, two much bigger sacrifices, and the only ones that I now have a really hard time stomaching  is if one, say it was impossible for a normal person to die naturally before they were under 1 day old in MD. Then, if someone under 1 day old was sacrificed, it would have no natural equivalent for that someone being killed so soon. They might go to the same place, 

but they would be denied the life that others were allowed to have as a given.

 

The second one is the biggest one of all. It's if someone, when sacrificed, would not cease to exist, would not become a ghost, would not go to where all who die go to, but rather, they would go to a place where they're consciously tormented (they can feel it, experience it. If they couldn't, they might as well not exist, and it'd be like the sacrifices talked about above). This torment would never happen to someone naturally. Let's say that this is what the demon shades did to someone sacrificed to them. That is truly an unfair sacrifice.

 

If, by any chance, the biggest sacrifice comes up as a possiblity, and if a land or person would make such a sacrifice, then I truly would not want to follow them or be in the land. Peace has sacrificed Wane to the shades. Presumably, he just died like a normal player, or he ceased to exist. However if it was the last possiblity? That he was sacrificed to the demon shades and he is now forever tormented? Then I'm not sure I could ever justify such a sacrifice, or a land that does it, for now.

 

If it's not that kind of sacrifice though, and if Wane has ceased to exist, I do view the burning of Khalazdad's soul as the actual senseless sacrifice, since he had time to live.

 

Edit: A nice way of summing this up is, To give someone death, is a neutral act. But to give someone life in the form of eternal torment? That, is truly evil.

Double edit: Actually, a better way of saying it is, I'm undecided on whether sending an unwilling and innocent soul to eternal torment is worth any gain. However, killing them? Causing them to cease to exist? That, may indeed be worth it.

 

Non-existance is nothing. Existance, can be painful.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Change

[Maebius]

and on the flipside, creating something, and offering it life, by saving it from a short existence, is good, right?   

Or is it like the old Chinese 'curse' that essentially reads:  "May you get everything you wish for" ?

[Change]

Offering something life is just making life. It's not a sacrifice, at least, not as directly. You're still taking responsibility for its life, just like you'd take responsibility for the sacrificed's death. But other than that, one more soul, one less soul? Doesn't make a difference really, given that there might have been one more or less soul created naturally anyways. The number of souls is arbitrary.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Change