Originally published at: Empire Tips: January/February 2023 | The Associated Worlds
Ithával excellence tip:
“Pretentious” is the whip wielded by insipid souls against the ambitious. Treat it with appropriate contempt.
Kubé Salvarin legal tip:
He who guards a thing, guarants a thing.
Azuma Morotai family tip:
Devotion does not come from blood, but from the heart.
Olbria Amanyr courtesy tip:
Humility is a shameful admission in the low, and a nauseating affectation in the high. Eschew it.
Gilea Cheraelar lifestyle tip:
The best things in life are expensive. That’s what value means.
Olbria Amanyr pride tip:
Only the inferior must prove their superiority.
Arlannath ethics tip:
Ill means poison all good ends.
Vinaz Oricalcios health tip:
If someone doesn’t want to live forever, find out why they don’t want to live now.
Arlannath lifestyle tip:
You, and only you, are responsible for yourself.
Alwyn Muetry theology tip:
Seek not answers from the gods; ask them only for the right questions.
Arlannath philosophy tip:
Seeking the truth is a simple matter compared to accepting it, once found.
Olbria Amanyr ethics tip:
A gentleman’s promise is a gentleman’s debt.
Imperial surrender tip:
EMBRACE LIBERTY OR YOU WILL BE ERADICATED.
Kynthia Andracanth courtesy tip:
In his own hall, there is every man a sovereign.
Valentia Amanyr ethics tip:
None may perform by another an act which he may not perform himself.
Azuma Morotai social tip:
Fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers.
Lord Blackfall plotting tip:
Explain your victory only once it has been achieved.
Isif Alclair preparedness tip:
Train as if you’re in command. You never know when you might be.
Orimúr Falsazik engineering tip:
If a solution’s side-effects make things worse, it never was a solution.
Gilea Cheraelar economics tip:
One should weep to hear the poor rail against greed, for it is as if the starving blamed hunger for their plight.
Azuma Morotai courtesy tip:
When one wolf seeks to challenge a rival, they bow.
Vinaz Oricalcios health tip:
Wounds to the body heal faster than wounds to the spirit.
Gilea Cheraelar economics tip:
That which has no price has no value.
daráv xíjirár; jaqef vigínár
(“A sophont chooses; a servile complies.”)
– traditional wisdom
Elyse Phylarius conflict tip:
We best destroy our enemies when we make them our friends.
Alphas Amanyr ambition tip:
Do not quail, nor turn away, nor shun risk, nor hide behind the mask of cautious counsel, for fortune favors the bold.
Sung Iliastren rationality tip:
You are the slave of the thoughts that you refuse to think.
Overheard From Another Universe courtesy/survival tip:
Don’t go visiting other folks’ intentions. Don’t ever.
Niomé Sargas dating tip:
Mortal peril may make for a fun date, but always let your companion know in advance so they can dress accordingly.
(Shoes that are both fashionable and perilous take time to arrange.)
Irilenne Naratyr fashion tip:
A sharp appearance may cut deeper than the sharpest of swords.
Elyse Phylarius negotiation tip:
She who speaks with anger makes her anger heard, but her words forgotten.
Octíëve Súrnedal documentation tip:
Write it, or you’re going to the special hell.
Marú Liuvis temporal mechanics tip:
Time travel can’t solve any problem that it hasn’t already solved.
Galatia Allatrian conflict tip:
If a situation requires violence, it can only require violence of an appropriate severity.
If it does not, it befits you as a daryteir to remain courteous, kind, gentle, generous, honest, and clement until the killing begins.
Even afterwards, if you can manage it.
Gilea Cheraelar economics tip:
Cultures that develop elaborate philosophies about their lack of need for wealth are compensating for something.
Usually poverty.
Alphas Amanyr greatness tip:
Look upon my Works, ye Mighty, and surpass them!