On the Vorn

Written by Mortag of Horrinaine, this short essay is one of the best I have found on the nature of the Tessalindrian Vorn. The vorn is the essence of the Tessalindrian being, encompassing all the complexities that make them what they are. Much of what is written here has been debated and disputed since the time beings came to exist, but this writing is considered by Sessashians to be the definitive work on the topic and most in line with the presentation of the vorn in the Tessarandin.

Mortag of Horrinaine is perhaps the most influential philosopher of the Dawning. He laid a foundation for much Tessalindrian thinking as the tiny planet staggered under the devastation and confusion of the Long Night. Though translated from its original Tessamandrian, the translator has made every effort to preserve the compact and cogent style of this worthy original thinker.

To understand our natures, who we are and who we are trying to be, we must, without hesitation seek to understand the vorn. By understanding, I do not mean a simple acknowledgement that it exists or that every being has a vorn, or even that it is complex and multi-layered, but rather to accept all these and then seek to categorize this gift of Mah’Eladra so that we may grow.

It is the vorn that is grown and matured. To the extent that this growth is evenly developed through the whole vorn is the extent that we become whole beings, fully capable and fully connected to the expanse of our world. It is my assertion, that many fall short and live incomplete lives because they do not understand, or seek to understand the vorn.

The vorn is found to have five identifiable layers, each of which contributes to and comprises the whole being. The layers form a hierarchy and an anti-hierarchy at the same time so that the physical and the ethereal elements of a being can be ordered and harmonized within it, the extremes of the hierarchy forming the purely ethereal and the purely physical and each transitioning into one another as they progress through the other levels.

The hierarchy descends from the most to the least signicant in the layers starting with the el, then the nephus, the hjarg, the loga and finally the basa. It is a curious paradox that the anti-hierarchy of awareness ascends in exactly the opposite order, the Basa being the most obvious and visible and the El being the farthest removed from our natural physical awareness.

These names for these layers are the original names in the Kor’Alura and I use them here to emphasize their distinctiveness and to differentiate them from more vernacular names that may confuse readers in their inaccuracy and emotional content.

It has been debated vigorously as to whether the el and the Basa really belong to the vorn at all, because, it is argued, the el belongs to Mah’Eladra and is given as a gift to strengthen the nephus, and the Basa is a vessel wholly tied to the physical nature of our world, and though it is a container for the vorn, it is not indeed part of the vorn itself. I have chosen to include both the El and the Basa in this discussion because in whatever view one holds, the fullness of the vorn cannot be understood without them.

In either case, I will try to define each of these layers and the way that it is tied to and interacts with the whole:

The basa equates most nearly to our physical body, though in essence it is a bit more than physical. It includes all the systems and animation of physical life, health, strength, stamina and heredity. It reflects the physical history of our parents and holds the promise of progeny. It is nourished and fed by Tessalindria through the most fundamental appetites for food, water, fresh air, sunlight, physical exercise and the physical contact of other beings. The Basa interacts with the loga, allowing us to learn about all these needs and create systems that enable us to satisfy them with reason and with increasing success.

The basa is the most visible and the most commanding of our awareness. Its satisfaction is often foremost in our minds and its pain provokes the most immediate response of all the vorn layers when injured. Its demands, if not ordered and understood by the loga, will eclipse the other layers of the vorn in a progressively more severe manner as they ascend away from the basa, so that a being who allows himself to be dominated by the basa will lose all sensitivity to the el and may barely perceive his nephus.

In death, the basa is all that remains when the vorn leaves. It is left inanimate and cold and becomes as source of dread. All of it strength and prowess is gone and it is considered useless for anything, and indeed becomes a burden that must be carefully disposed of lest its presence becomes a source of further death. Though its eternal value is minimal, it is reanimated and made eternal, returning to its owner in a form that is not well understood. The new basa lasts forever and is well suited to life in the infinite, free from the physical appetites and decay that plagued the vorn during life on Tessalindria.

The loga is the center of the intellect. Its appetites are for knowledge, skill, the satisfaction of the basa and insight into the hjarg. It is the center of reason, wisdom and logic and its struggle is to comprehend the curious demands of the basa, which often rages against the loga, and to categorize the content and the leanings of the hjarg that is pulling on the loga from the opposite direction.

The loga is second in awareness, which can be attested to by the ability of most beings to categorize and describe what they think and to be able to reason and argue yet it is more easily ignored than the basa.

In death the content of the loga is lost, unless the being has systematically transferred its contents in the form of writings or instructions to other beings. It is this accumulation of the logas of many beings that lead to progress for our world. Unlike the basa, that has no transference in death, the loga may live on if it has been purposely preserved. In eternal value, the loga is next to last in the hierarchy, being only of any consequence at all if it has been effectively used to train the hjarg or other beings in the awareness of Mah’Eladra.

At the middle of the hierarchy is the hjarg. It is the center of emotions, or relationships and feelings, of sentimentality, nostalgia, love, joy, kindness and peace. The hjarg is the middle ground in the war between the basa and the el. It is the prize for the victor of this war. It lies between the loga, that allows us to understand it, and the nephus, which tempers it with the innate character of Mah’Eladra.

It is third in awareness and third in infinite value. It is the layer of the vorn that most directly connects to and affects the vorns of others around us. Unlike the loga, the content of which can be passed to others in words or demonstrations, the disposition of the hjarg is passed on at a lower level of awareness through the eyes and the tone of words, through physical touch and example.

In death, the hjarg is applauded as having had a more significant impact on other beings. It is the first level of the vorn that has any eternal value and, although third in awareness, it has enough visibility in all beings that its contents are the most highly praised, commended and scrutinized by Mah’Eladra. The disposition of the hjarg drives outward in both directions, ultimately determining the disposition of the loga and extending to the basa as well as setting the direction of the nephus on the path to the infinite or oblivion.

Beings are less aware of the nephus than the hjarg. Though it is one step closer to Mah’Eladra, there are some that deny its existence altogether and many who have no awareness of it at all. It forms the residence for and connection point to the el. The nephus belongs solely to the individual being and the responsibility for its nurture and development rests on the shoulders of it owner. Other than its influence on the hjarg and the consequent effect through that channel to the lives of others, it is not readily visible to outsiders, yet it is that part that will be evaluated most critically by Mah’Eladra.

The nephus is the layer of the vorn that will be least left to this world and the most visible in the infinite or in Oblivion. Even while caged in the basa, it is the truly that part of us that is totally unbound by the progression of time. It is the nephus that gives us our awareness of eternity, because it is a part of eternity itself and the longing to understand the infinite originates here.

The el is another layer that many will argue, is not really part of the vorn, but it is so intimately connected to the nephus, that to those to whom it has been given, it becomes an extension of who they are and draws the nephus into the presence of Mah’Eladra while the basa remains time bound here on Tessalindria.

It is believed that the el is a piece of Mah’Eladra, a connection and a promise of Mah’Eladra to remind the mankind about the promise of the infinite. In the same way, most who believe in the presence of the el in the vorn insist that it is not a discovery, but a deliberate, willing decision on the part of the individual with an equally deliberate appeal to Mah’Eladra for its inclusion in the vorn. The nature of this deliberate appeal is a matter of some argument, with the Sessashians claiming that it is in the fires of Eshen that the el is invited into the vorn where others claim it is a matter of simple decision to believe that it can happen.

The subtleties of awareness surrounding the el in an individual are also a matter of much debate because it is the farthest removed from the Tessalindrian bound nature and therefore the most difficult of the layers of the vorn to perceive and allow to command our attention.

It is generally argued that the vorns of animals are lacking in the nephus and the el. It is clear that animals have a basa, and the intellect, the domain of the loga, of some animals is astounding in its cunning and obviousness. Any thinking person who has owned an animal, be it a farm animal or a pet, will readily argue that nearly every animal known has some semblance of the hjarg as they demonstrate affection and obvious emotion that would only emanate from the vorn. What is missing in the animal nature is the nephus and the el.

There are those that believe, among them those who follow Sessasha, that it is possible for those of the mankind to reject the nephus and the el so completely that they become no more than an animal. They dress the same and walk the same—visibly and culturally they appear no different than others of the mankind, but they have reduced themselves to animal nature. Their rejection of the nephus within them atrophies the hjarg and they enter into a world so removed from compassion and connection to others that they become capable of the most heinous of actions, brutal and altogether lacking those elements that make the mankind distinct.

Though there are many views of the vorn, it is clear, that though it can be broken down conceptually for the purpose of better understanding it, it is a whole, a whole that is shaped by and controlled by the individual. Not only is this a great challenge, it is also a most sacred obligation, so sacred that Mah’Eladra saw fit to give the gift of the Kirrinath to men to help shape the vorn and keep it in balance. It is this balance that culminates in true psadeq and kirrin, which many have seen simply as a state of their loga rather than a fully balanced vorn.

The struggle to keep this balance is the greatest and deepest challenge as well as the most significant yearning of all Tessalindrians.

For more on the Kirrinath and how it is considered in the effort to balance the vorn, it is good to read Mindar Colloden’s definitive work, “The Kirrinath”