"Impact" ((Inuyoko Mass #42))

"Impact"

by Inuyoko

Originally read in deoch 219 on the 14th sun of the 1st moon.

((04/02/2026))

Hello, everyone. My name is Inuyoko T’Alveni. I am a Priestess of this Shrine, and a member of its clergy since deoch 53. Last double-moon, I spoke about creativity as a craft. Today, I’m going to speak a bit generally about Deoch, and art, and other things. 

Recently, my friend Kedian Ta’Null finished another series of excellent lectures and compiled them all together for the consideration of the College. I was fortunate to attend most of them, and I’ve been reading them again, and it is so full of interesting insights about the gods. When it comes to Deoch, I fear I cannot state many of his points any better than he already has, but the idea of Him existing in a reciprocal state with us, where we all draw inspiration from the universe and are shaped by it together, resonated a lot with me. Though we may at times in our arrogance consider ourselves or the gods something outside of or above the universe in some way, that is far from the truth. We are all connected, and thus that interplay between not just ourselves and Deoch, but one another, is a critical part of what allows the potential of our world to grow and expand. I like this part of Kedian’s lecture, where he says: 

“Deoch is the mythic representation of this process: a self-improving, self-reflecting loop between thought and form, between possible and actual, between raw formless potential and...this lecture. Deoch is the divine face of the possibilities of art, and Aislings are the hands that shape it. Together, in concert, we create our world.”

I like it because it makes me think about what it means to create our world. Obviously, when someone creates a sculpture, there is a physical manifestation of art that we can see and touch that now exists. But then again, oftentimes such a sculpture is actually the result of stripping away what was already there – wood or stone or some such material, so in a way we are left with less than we started with, but clearly, this is not the way we think about it, nor should we. To me, that indicates that there is something beyond simply the physical form that while not tangible, is certainly adding something to our world. This has been a recurring theme of mine, about how every poem crafted and read, every song played, every arena duel held, is a deeply important act of creation. 

And while I don't want to make this Mass just a re-expression of Kedian’s work, I feel I must quote him again. He says: 

“...Aisling means more than individuals or moments: it is the summation of our culture. The totality of our history, our philosophy, our literature and stories, indeed all our art…”

This is the crux of the point, I think. Because just like a group of people collaborating is another entity in and of itself, filled with that invisible energy which connects each individual and allows them to build off one another, so too is the world itself built from each little piece, but greater than all of us.

So remember as you leave here and continue on your adventures that you are the world in action. What kind of impact do you want to have?