The Greatest Knightly Virtue Options

[Graywind]

Originally posted on the previous HKW Forums, here is a wonderful discussion about the virtues of knighthood.

Dalthalion
Good Knights, Companions and Applicants, I would ask of you: what is the greatest virtue of knighthood, and why would you consider it above any others?

Trebain
Well one of them would be the comradere. To be able to hangout with an outstanding group of individuals, like these here, is truly a great pleasure.

And there is nothing like being in the din of battle with these comrades in arms fighting side by side with no words being spoken and our minds thinking as one

Iker
I would say Honesty . . . only when we are honest to ourselves and to our brothers may we truly be able to serve each other.

That sounded kinda korney! lol but its true!!!!!!!

Luzbel
Brotherhood that we share as one can be found here. In every corner we are helping each other serve for the good of everyone... now, is that what mankind is supposed to be about??

Sentarius
Mercy.

Rightous anger and/or justice are all well and good, but mercy is where love really shines through.

Graywind
Compassion. I think that's the beginning of many good things that define a knight. Compassion first, what follows will follow...

Varilas
Honor. A knight with Honor may stand with his brethren knowing he has never let them down.

Kalandorno
Faith.

Faith in yourself
Faith in whatever you choose to worship.
Faith in your brothers.

With faith, the twigs become an unbreakable bunch.

Raykobud
I agree with Varilas. Honor, because it's the only gift a man can truly give to himself.

Valxon
Soul, the soul is the essance of ones being. It drives all thoughts feelings and virtues. One must try to keep his soul clean and redeem it when it has been scarred or blackened. One's soul is their heart, the one thing that can make one the happiest they could ever be to the most saddened possible. Life contains many bumps in the road and they only make us stornger, we need to focus on the fun of going back down and realize proceeding up just makes us a better person as long as we make ourselfs learn from it.

Rainark
Before a Knight can close his eye before the great darkness he must know that he has kept one thing....his Honor

Raykobud
I like this thread

Valrotha
Good question, but does it not presuppose that everyone knows the knightly virutes. As an apprentice, I may have no real understanding of chivalry. And as an apprentice, I am apt to look to those wiser than myself for wisdom and guidance. In addition to the postings of my superiors and other wise respondants in this thread, I add the writings of Gary Gygax (anyone know who he is?)

"The knightyly virtues are these:
Liberality
Glory
Courtesy
Honor
Unselfishness
Bravery
Good Faith
Pride

The code for a feudal campaign may be summed up as follows...

Noble service cheerfully rendered
Defense of any charge unto death
Courage and enterprise in obediences to rule
Respect for all peers and equals
Honor to all above your station
Obedience and respect from all beneath your station
Scorn for those who are lowly and ignoble (this includes knightly limitations on weapons and armor)
Military prowess exercised in service to your lord
Courtesy to all ladies
War is the flowering of chivalry
Battle is the test of manhood
Combat is glory
Personal glory above all in battle
Death to all who oppose the cause
Death before dishonor"

(Adapted from Unearthed Arcana by Gary Gygax)
Though it does seem that Gygax did leave out a few traits.

But as to your question, "What is the greatest knightly virtue?"
Alas, I must again defer to those more learned than myself...

"ARTHUR-Which is the greatest quality of knighthood?
Courage? Passion? Loyalty? Humility?
What do you say Merlin?

MERLIN-ahh...ahh...ahh The greatest...umm. Well, they blend...like the metal we mix to make a good sword.

ARTHUR-No poetry-just a straight answer! Which is it?

MERLIN-Alright then-Truth-that's it-yes-it must be truth-above all.
When a man lies he murders some part of the world-you should know that."

(From John Boorman's "Excalibur" movie 1981, with Nigel Terry et al.)

And so the quest for the holy grail of knightly virtues continues.

Sorry for the long post.

Dalthalion
And there it is. Truth. Not the truth of convention. Not the truth of the moment. Not the truth that is many-faceted. Rather, it is the truth which cannot be denied when it confronts us, before which all other virtues must prove themselves. Without the truth, comraderie and brotherhood are a farce. Without the truth, we cannot know the meaning or value of mercy or compassion. Honour without truth is shakeable and faith without truth falters. Without truth, the soul wanders off course, with no fixed point as a guide.

While other virtues are necessary (and often crucial) to a knight, their benchmark must be the truth. This is probably the farthest I'll go for now, without quoting Scripture.

Raykobud
Strike that....I REALLY like this thread!

Graywind
Good old Mr. Gygax...

And I agree with Rayko... a very good thread.

My response was spur of the moment, and with more emotion than thought. After reading through the replies and thinking upon it, I think the virtue above all others may be too hard to express in one word, or one paragraph.

An emtion, a state of mind or being. Almost a compulsion for this virtue. I think that may begin to describe it. Though I say you all have done a fabulous job explaining it. I enjoy the responses of Truth and Honor best I think.

I think we've all hit upon describing it, that note that strikes a chord with our souls, that common bond. Where, were we to look each other in the eyes, we would know, as plain as we'd know ourselves, who that person is.

Well, perhaps it's something like that. I may be lost in a tangent now, but I enjoyed it.

Lament
You've all missed a virtue, one that i consider very important. Dignity, for unless you can apply these virtues to yourself in your own mind, you can not truly apply them to others.

Raykobud
That's a good point Lament...thanks

Sentarius
I'm not sure that I care for the UA list.

Specifically,

Glory
and
Pride

I don't see those as virtues. Glory sort of happens, but it would be, well, prideful to seek it. And pride, well, its not humble or self-sacrificing, which strike me as important virtues.

I have even more problems with the feudal list:


"Obedience and respect from all beneath your station"

Like glory, if this happens, fine, but to expect it is arrogence.

"Scorn for those who are lowly and ignoble (this includes knightly limitations on weapons and armor)"

That's just mean.

"Military prowess exercised in service to your lord
War is the flowering of chivalry
Battle is the test of manhood
Combat is glory"

A little on the violent side, but I'll deal since that's sort of what knights do, no?

"Personal glory above all in battle"

Not at all! Protecting others, working as a team, and ignoring the unworthy (such as PKers) are much more important to me than seeking 'personal glory in battle.'

"Death to all who oppose the cause"

This clashes with Mercy, which I highlighted in my initial response.

P.S. As Raykobud said, this is one heck of a thread!

Valrotha
Indeed my leige, by contemporary standards much of what knights did would be considered mean. Understanding Europe in the dark and middle ages is important. If a contemporary American looks back on how knights really acted-then they might not consider them to be chivalrous at all!

Let's address some points...

Prideful to seek glory??? Surely you jest!!! Let me explain. If what I define as glory comes from hard work, honesty, presence of mind, and attention to detail, should I then not work hard, not be honest, have no presence of mind and no attention to detail because I'd be considered prideful? Of course not. Why? Because, in this case, my glory is the result of pursuing other things that the got me glory-things that are good in and of themselves. I would say that excessive pride perhaps results from glory.
In this case, I do agree with you that "Glory sort of happens." Yet pursuing glory, in the proper sense, is good.

And pride itself? This may be purely a semantic difference. Does pride refer to arrogance? Or does pride refer to mere self-esteem. In the former, it would reflect poorly on the knight; however, in the latter it is merely a function of competence and preparedness.

""Personal glory above all in battle"
Not at all! Protecting others, working as a team, and ignoring the unworthy (such as PKers) are much more important to me than seeking 'personal glory in battle.'"

I agree, but...reports have it that it was not rare for mounted knights to run over their own footsoldiers in order to get at the enemy.

""Death to all who oppose the cause"

This clashes with Mercy, which I highlighted in my initial response."

Yes, however, mercy was granted to those who asked for it. Usually the one asking for mercy swore an oath never to attack the knight or his lord again-this in exchange for being shown mercy. Once the person accepted this, gave his word, and mercy was shown...then the treat was eliminated. Essentially, the person who took the oath no longer opposes the cause.

""Obedience and respect from all beneath your station"

Like glory, if this happens, fine, but to expect it is arrogence."

Great for the HKW. Not good at all for men who fight on the real battlefield. Combat is one of the most chaotic activities imaginable. Lack of order on the battlefield most surely will lead to defeat. Every military organization for the past 2000 years has understood this. You will find this reflected in various conventions such as prohibitions of officers fraternizing with enlisted men.

""Scorn for those who are lowly and ignoble (this includes knightly limitations on weapons and armor)"

That's just mean."

Yes it is. But the reality-nay the truth of what knights were should be understood by all who claim to hold their values. It's so hard for people alive today to remember what it was like. The entire civilized (if you could call it that) world was organizaed around some feudalistic or monarchical system. The social structure was very rigid-meaning there was no opportunity for advancement out of the lower classes. The most a medeval peasant could hope for was mild starvation and a quick, and mostly painless death. Those in the lower classes were looked down upon as uneducated, banal, unrefined, and virtually hopeless-and this was common among nobles (even knights).

There was no such thing as equality, at least not in the sense that we understand it. It was an utterly brutal time. Also, please keep in mind that I was not attempting advocate any particular tenet with the Unearthed Arcana posting. In the spirit of the truth-it is important to face not only what we want to be, but what we once were-as a nation, as a knight, or as an individual.

"And the truth will set you free"

I hope nothing in this post sounded terse or aloof. I respect your thoughts Sentarius-and your right about this being a good thread.

Sentarius
>I hope nothing in this post sounded terse or aloof. I
>respect your thoughts Sentarius-and your right about this
>being a good thread.

Not at all! In fact, I'm going to go into full debate mode here, if you don't mind.

Firstly, I think we disagree about the purpose of this thread. You're talking about history. As I read it, "Greatest Knightly Virtue" is about just that: an ideal. In this thread I'm not interested in how Knights ACTUALLY behaved. I'm interested in how I would have WANTED them to behave, and how I would try to behave as a Holy Knight of Westmarch (in role).

Fortunately, I am about to create a thread about REAL knights. (See "Favorite Knight or organization"

That more or less explains where I was coming from, but a few more details:

>Prideful to seek glory??? Surely you jest!!! Let me
>explain. If what I define as glory comes from hard work,
>honesty, presence of mind, and attention to detail, should
>I then not work hard, not be honest, have no presence of
>mind and no attention to detail because I'd be considered
>prideful? Of course not. Why? Because, in this case, my
>glory is the result of pursuing other things that the got me
>glory-things that are good in and of themselves. I would
>say that excessive pride perhaps results from glory.
>In this case, I do agree with you that "Glory sort of
>happens." Yet pursuing glory, in the proper sense, is good.

This is a matter of intention. WHY you do something can be as important as what you do. Just as good ends do not justify bad means, good means do not justify bad ends. You should not work hard, be honest, have presence of mind, and pay attention to detail IN ORDER to gain glory. You should do these because they are the right thing to do, and if glory should find you, then so be it.

>And pride itself? This may be purely a semantic difference.
> Does pride refer to arrogance? Or does pride refer to mere
>self-esteem. In the former, it would reflect poorly on the
>knight; however, in the latter it is merely a function of
>competence and preparedness.

Quite right. I was using it's inclusion in the so-called "seven deadly sins" as a rule of thumb.

At this point you digressed off into real history, and I don't have anything to say. It was a very informative little lecture. Or rather, I found it accurate, and I'm sure others found it informative. Not to be rude.

Morkai
Honesty, why? Because without it everything else fails, be honest to yourself and others and honor and everything else will come naturaly...

JamesWest
>Because without it everything else fails, be honest to
>yourself and others and honor and everything else will come
>naturaly...
>

The most evil being can also be honest to oneself.

Raykobud
It would seem to me that all these virtues are dependent on each other. Again, a very fascinating thread.

Sentarius
The Eight obligations or aspirations according to the Knights of St. John.

(According to a random internet source, but I like them.)

1. live in truth;
2. have faith;
3. repent of sins;
4. give proof of humility;
5. love justice;
6. be merciful;
7. be sincere and whole-hearted; and
8. endure persecution.

Credit

Dalthalion
Those are very good and worthwhile, I think.

Argus Ageweaver
In my opinion, I would say that Pride is the most important virtue to a truly great knight. Pride is: respect, honour, dignity, self-less, valor, confidence, strength, and the love between two people. As I quote many: "I have never been more proud of you in my life, son". Real-life moments such as those with pride, is priceless. (Not Visa Card meaning )

Sentarius
Given how many virtues you have folded into pride, could you give me an idea of what other virtues you would list?

This is just out of curiosity.

Argus Ageweaver
The most important virtues IMO are:

-Pride
-Mercy
-Dignity
-Tenacity
-Respect
-Humanity
-Prudence
-Self-control
-Trust
-Honesty
-Courage
-Love
-Compassion
-Civic-Duty
-Friendship
-Security

Those are the virtues that I think not only make up a great knight, the medieval warrior and guardian, but also a great human being.

Luzbel
Id agree with most of the virtues except mercy. Mercy is the death of justice and the ultimate sacrifice... if an enemy has not proven worthy of it then why should we offer it at all?

Sentarius
>Id agree with most of the virtues except mercy. Mercy is
>the death of justice and the ultimate sacrifice... if an
>enemy has not proven worthy of it then why should we offer
>it at all?

This is one of the things I like about the St John's list.

"5. love justice;
6. be merciful; "

I think it gets towards the right balance between justice and mercy, although here I'm getting a little Christian on everyone (sorry). Specifically, one should love the idea of justice, and know and love God's ultimate justice, but in daily conduct one should practice mercy. Who are we to judge anyway?

And how does one determine if an enemy is worthy of mercy? Unlike the above question, this is not rhetorical. I'm serious.

Jarnnave
Courage - "Without courage, all other virtues lose their meaning. --Sir Winston Churchill

Valharion
Compassion, coupled with brotherhood.

Dupre
For Hardcore Knights - Humility

\Hu*mil"i*ty\, n.; pl. Humilities. , humelit<'e>, F. humilit<'e>, fr. L. humiliatis. See Humble.] 1. The state or quality of being humble; freedom from pride and arrogance; lowliness of mind; a modest estimate of one's own worth; a sense of one's own unworthiness through imperfection; self-abasement; humbleness.

Not to say that anyone is here is unworthy, But knowing your limits is by far a great Hardcore attitude.

Kalandorno
Well.. time for my two cents, I mean to cause no offense.

Right.

From my perspective.. there are three ways to look at this thread.

1)The way knights of the middle ages actually where.

2)The modern day idealistic knightly virtues.

3)What the fantasy version of knights were/are.

May as well start at point 1)

Now, I have know researched knowledge, and to tell the truth, I dont have the inclination to go indepth into it.. because I dont have hours to waste. So please, take what I say with a grain of salt, and feel free to pick holes in it.

Knights were.. well, noble-blooded fighters. There was absoloutly no way for a peasant to become a knight. you needed birth-right certificates, etc etc. The term "noble" is of two definitions relitive to this speech.

1) Possessing hereditary rank in a political system or social class derived from a feudalistic stage of a country's development.

2)Having or showing qualities of high moral character, such as courage, generosity, or honor: a noble spirit.

Now, surpossedly, those two were mutual, Idealistically.

This however was not the case.

"Knights" of the past were brutal fighters, the only reason they were renowned, was the fact they had the money to spend in training that the rest of the army did not. They also had the bonus of fighting from horse back as "Befit there station" making them more useful warriors.

They looked down on commen soldiers, peasants, even other nobility. It would be like now days having Congress who had big sharp swords.

they surpossedly looked out for the commen man, but in reality, they looked out for themself, person glory was all. better to let a lower class soldier die, and kill two yourself, than help him, and only kill one.

Call those good traits? then your.. wait.. family forum.. sorry.

well.. as I said.. Im no expert on the matter, but this shall be continued in the next message....

2)The modern day idealistic knightly virtues.

3)What the fantasy version of knights were/are.

these two items can be grouped into one account really.. as they are almost one thing.


Now, to see what a "Knight" is to most people now days, pick up a fantasy book. Sturm from Dragonlance, or even Lancelot from King Arthurs Tale. (before he went to bed with the queen)

Knights, Paladins and Templars are almost all the same thing in peoples minds now days, the only thing as it goes up (Knights -> Templars) they get more Zealous and Rigid in there code of honor.

And thats what It boils down to.

The Knightly code of honor.

"I am holier than you, because I serve the world"

Now, in some cases, this is so. The idea is right, Defending the weak, driving back evil.. etc etc.. you all know the drill.

The only problem is the same as Christians (not all, just some) have today.

Over Zealousnous. "You dont fit what I think is good, therefore you are evil"

There is no black and white. No Grey. Comming from where I stand, It bites (no pun intended)

Now, going off topic a little, but here is how I see it.

There are two sorts of "Knights" of old.
1) The ones that are idealistic, The ones that will help a begger, even if he is unclean. Ones that will protect a "Goblin" (for lack of a better term) woman from being raped, even if her race is evil. Who are they to judge? that is God's right, not theres.

2) Is the type I only have disdain for. The "Black and White Knight" I am Right, you are wrong, so I shall smite you with god's rightous wrath. Because I have a direct link to him and I know best.
Can you say Crusades? Persecution of a black man, because he is black? is that holy? is that noble? no.

so.. too sum up my ramble.. I want to say a few things.

a ) Be Type 1)
b ) Dont just be it in game.
c ) Knight = Christian. Are you more worthy than me?

Mortekai
Sacrifice

"We can not escape, they have almost breached the inner doors!!"

The soldier was panicing and a quick slap in his face silenced him and brought him back to reality.

"He is right, the passage is to narrow for us to make a quick retreat, they will hunt us down and kill us."

Trebain looked around the room and pointed at the huge stone tablet with the last chapter of the Krego sah', the holy book of the emilians. It was large enough to fit over the passageway and it would slow down the enemy enough to give them a chance for safe retreat. The ony problem was that it could not be used from the inside. Someone had to stay behind.

The others looked at the tablet and they all knew what had to be done.

"Move quickly, we have no time to loose."

With the help of some of the soldiers he move the heavy tablet in front of the passageway while the rest make a run for it down the passage. When only a small sliver remain, large enough for a man to pass by Trebain look at his comrades.

"Go now, I will seal the entrance behind you.

The soldiers nod softly and vanishes into the dark passage way. Behind them Trebain secure the tablet so that it cover the whole passage way.

The sound of breaking wood tell him that the enemy has breached the last door and will soon be upon him.

He draws his sword and send a last prayer that his friends may get away safely. He prepares to do battle and to die in protection of others.

He will die so others may live.

He do so gladly.

He is a Knight.

Dupre
>Sacrifice

All I have to say to that is.....


Wow!

Luzbel
Is Knight=Xtian always? Being a pagan Id find that quite weird, since I would be disqualified. Hee hee. I agree, it was a requisite in those troubled times when you were either a Xtian or you were set afire in a nice pire just in the outskirts of town . However I think that one that follows what he thinks is right in his heart (of course not having the white/black version of it) is entitled to become a knight. I just hope my ancestor wasnt one of those overwrought zealots though. Very interesting article Kal!

Sentarius
This is where the history/fiction divide becomes sharpest.

Does a "Knight" have to be a Christian? Of course not.

Was a Knight a Christian? Well, depends on definitions. But we're talking abouot landed nobilty from Western Surope, so they certainly all at least followed the forms of the Roman Church.

As for the nice pyre, I don't know that they bothered. If I recall correctly, they ofter wandered into cities with swords and applied the "Beard Test." Of course, Orthodox Christians also wore beards...

*Oops*

Raykobud
Hail Mortekai!

That about sums it up for me.

To me, the virtues listed in this thread are that of what a Holy Knight should be and what I believe the members of this guild uphold, not of what they were in the historys past.

As honorable people, we have to set an example to the world by living our lives to the best of our ability.

Remember this world will (hopefully) be around for a long time after we have died. I believe living by the above mentioned virtues would guarantee a more tranquile and peaceful planet for our children and so on.

Some of you are very good at writing your point, I hope I just stated mine to how my heart feels.

Trebain
Patience... ...nuff said

Osseion
I think that if I could choose ANY virtue, I would agree with "Truth". I'm uncertain, however, if Truth can really be though of as a virtue, not to mention whether a human can actually know a universal and overarching Truth, rather than his own personal truth.

For these reasons I will choose "Humility". It seems to me that most other virtues can be seen to stem from humility. If one does not think too highly of himself then he will accord all others with respect, compassion, and mercy if need be. He will not be arrogant or vainglorious, and he will diligently pursue his goals. Above all, he will be honest and never try to fool others. Having pride in ones accomplishments is not something to be scorned. It must, however, be kept within limits.

Ornbarn
Pride!...and selfessness!

Kalandorno
Let me clarify... when I said Knight = Christian.. I proberbly should have elabarated some what.

First. I must define what I mean by Knight and Christian.

The Knight reference was to what it means in a "fantasy" Ideal. Read my previous post for a definition of that.

As for christian. it literally means "A follower of Christ" which there for nullifyies any instruction in the Old Testiment (ie, before christ came)

So, If you compare what a fantasy knight is, it is very close to what Jesus (Im assuming for point of debate that he existed. or else the christian thing is a moot point) wanted his followers to be.

So.. to sum up. A christian should try to be noble, honest, trusting, all the knightly traits that have been brought forward from a fantasy point of veiw..

Understand?

Think of it in secondary (or whatever its called) maths, Circle A is inside Circle B
All A's are B's
Not all B's are A's

Raykobud
uhh k

Sentarius
>(Im assuming for point of debate that he
>existed. or else the christian thing is a moot point)

This isn't really an assumption.

>Think of it in secondary (or whatever its called) maths,
>Circle A is inside Circle B
>All A's are B's
>Not all B's are A's

Which is A and which is B?

Dalthalion
>As for christian. it literally means "A follower of Christ"
>which there for nullifyies any instruction in the Old
>Testiment (ie, before christ came)

I wouldn't rule out the Old Testament. It alluded to Christ quite often, and much of what was hoped for in the Old Testament was fulfilled by Christ during his time on Earth (and there is more that He has plans to yet fulfill).

My two denarii.

Sentarius
The place of tbe Law of Moses in Christian practice is much debated, even among trained theologians.

Luzbel
Ok...this is getting weird. Lets just say knights are great, aye?

Sentarius
Wierd? Certainly historical, perhaps theological, but why should we put an end to it?

Luzbel
Hee hee... I did not say put an end to it (may edit since I dont remember my last post) But theological conversation always end almost the same, everyone keeping their old point of view maybe with some new ideas or info but thats it

JamesWest
With so many responding before me, I'm responding before reading them all to avoid saying 'so & so, said it for me.

To put your life on the line for others. Whether friends or innocents.

Morgrith
Honesty and having the strength of will to uphold the good in all things.

Grimroth
Hail!

Great way of putting it, Kal.

Yes, knights did not live up to what most of consider good ways. Neither did the rest of the people, I bet. Truth is, things have not changed over the centuries. Compare Knights to Police and townsfolk to modern day civilians. You still find crookedness all over. I can only hope that there was one real knight that lived up to the standards of ideal ones as I am sure that there are good people in modern times.

Since I am also a believer in Christ, I'll give my two devaluated pesos too, as well as an example.

Total and undying servitude: The ability to give yourself completely, willingly and lovingly for a cause, being this and idea or a person. (Or the plural). Whether you are Christian or not, imagine for a moment the most powerful Being in the universe, capable of vanquishing any Evil or moving mountains with a meer thought, the creator of all, The One. You get the idea. Now, imagine him bowing down to wash the feet of his pupils, creatures much lowlier than him. This was an activity deemed unworthy to most.

Isn't that example what knights were supposed to pursue? Weren't they supposed to pledge their fealty and serve a liege, to protect their Princess?

If you are to serve your master well, whatever he/she/it might be, courage, thruthfulness, strenght, faith, sacrifice, mercy, justice, etc, will be requested if not demanded from you. Honor, glory and pride, etc, will follow after that.

Now, that's what I think the greatest virtue for a Knight is. Ideal if you will. However, if you ask me what it should be for any or all beings, it should be Love in the grander sense of the word and all it encompasses.

Wow. Great thread. Wish I hadn't read it so late.

Sondan
I am not a big "Thy" and "thou" person around here and most know it BUT I can say from PERSONAL experience that it is TRUTH. I literally should be a multi-millionaire before I die and I would gladly give it up if I had been Truthful with myself about a certain part of my life. Yes I know that this is kind of cryptic but it is because it is something that I will always be ashamed of until the day I die. So to end this without Truth in EVERYTHING you do then it matters not. The truth of your actions, words, and deeds is the basis for ALL roads you take in life. If you don't believe me take ANY situation in your real life and ask yourself if you were Truthful about it with yourself/others and then find out the result. To me a nuetral results is the very best you could achieve.

P.S. Sorry if this was way to deep but it hit a spot with me.

Sentarius
Thanks for sharing Sondan...

Grimroth
Ooh! read this one at the office earlier and just had to write it down. It is also good:

Integrity: Integrity is always doing the right thing even if nobody is watching.

I still go with my first choice though

Blonteck
Hail to you Holy Knights of Westmarch.

It's been awhile since I've wandered through these parts, but it's been a great pleasure to see this thread after such a long absence.

I've read so many great responses to the original query, and I think this was, is, and will always be the greatest guild to ever grace the Diablo realms. You all remind me of why I applied to this guild so many years ago, and why it has always been so deep in my heart.

My answer would be humility (to be humble). It isn't an easy virtue to have consistently.

Look around to see who among you speaks softly despite loud actions. For one who gives credit to others before oneself. This is the Knight that impresses me the quickest.

This is also why I've always thought so highly of my friends here at the HKW, because Humility is practiced here on a daily basis.

I've missed my friends that are still here, as well as those that have moved on. Too many to mention, but not too many for me to remember.

Until the next time I pass through,

Blonteck

Fuzzy
Compation, for everyone and everything.