Prosperity

The Path of Prosperity

To the one without Virtue, Prosperity is oft misunderstood as the pursuit of wealth and luxury, yet neither the wealthy miser, gluttonous sot or lucky gambler can truly be called Prosperous. True Prosperity is the culmination of effort and labour, sweat and toil, and celebrating the fruits of that labour. The Prosperous are: the farmer who toils to bring in the harvest and enjoys his bounty; the magician who strives to master a magic and then uses her newfound art; the merchant who competes fiercely for each coin they earn and then spends it in celebration. True Prosperity enriches those around them as well as the individual, and so what may seem the pursuit for the sake of the self is to the benefit of the many.

Guidance on the Path

Through study of the Paragons and Exemplars, the priests of The Way have gleaned insight into the heart of the Virtue and how best to pursue it. There are collections of parables, tales, sayings and teachings that distill this for Imperial Citizens to learn from. The following are a handful of teachings and sayings deemed to be essential to understanding the Path:

• Strive, toil, and claim the just rewards of your labours.
• Enjoy the fruits of your labour today; no one knows what the morrow holds
• There are three things that should never be made: Food that goes uneaten, coin that goes unspent and magic that goes unused
• The Prosperous are not selfish; all that is worthwhile is shared with those who deserve it
• Despise the thieving bandit, the lazy wastrel, the grasping miser and those who take without giving

Paragons and Exemplars

Paragons and Exemplars of Prosperity are considered reasonably easy to identify owing to their efforts and labour, and how they use - or share - the fruits of those labours. Known incarnations include:

• Good Walder, the oldest recorded Paragon, whose legends pre-date the Marches and Dawn, but who is most fondly remembered in the Marches. So the legend goes, Good Walder was a travelling merchant and would come upon each village and holding. If he found the people there were good and virtuous, their fields would flourish, their labours succeed and they knew health and happiness. Yet if he found them small-hearted and miserly, misfortune oft befell them - sometimes at the hands of Good Walder himself and his oaken club.

• The Little Mother, whose Church lies in the League. The Little Mother is considered an Exemplar of Prosperity for the wealth shared with the orphans of the League Cities and nurturing them to becoming valued - even highly stationed - Citizens of the Empire.

Symbols, icons and trappings

The Path of Prosperity has many symbols across the Empire but one of the most common is the Wheatsheaf. This is symbolic of harvest time, which is widely known as a time of prosperity. Many Priests and Pilgrims of this Path may have a stalk of wheat or other grain upon them. Along similar lines an Apple or a Cup or a Coin are known symbols of this Path.

It is quite common for Priests and Pilgrims of the Path of Prosperity to carry waterskins, or bear fruit or other food, to enjoy or share as Virtue guides them. It is not unusual for some to also carry an oaken club as Good Walder did.