53 - A comprehensive step-by-step guide to your life's goal.
SO YOU WANT TO BE THE PILLAR OF CEPHIRO.
Step 1: Ensure that you are qualified.
You will need to be strong-willed and capable of spending long stretches of time (preferably every waking moment) in prayer. Current rulers of other countries, people who are prone to experiencing frequent bouts of emotion, and generally anyone who likes themselves at all is advised not to pursue the Pillar.
Step 2: Go to Cephiro.
If you are already there, stay put. You must physically be in the country in order to become the Pillar.
Step 2-and-a-half: LEAVE THE CASTLE ALONE.
It is not strictly necessary to conquer Cephiro or its people or gain their consent to your rule. Permission to rule over Cephiro will be given to you by a higher power and, as such, your prospective subjects have no say in the matter.
Step 3: Find the Path to the Pillar.
Or it may also find you - no one is completely sure how this works. You won't miss it, however, I assure you.
Step 4: ???
You will be given a Trial. Not everyone who begins the trial completes it, and those who do never speak of it again. As an unqualified spectator to several such events, I can only advise that you be prepared to lose the last shreds of your humanity.
Step 5: Congratulations!
If you are reading this then you have not successfully become the Pillar of Cephiro, because the actual Pillar would not be able to spare the time or attention it takes to read something. I am afraid that the position will probably not re-open any time within your natural lifespan, so you may as well pursue a different path. If your heart is truly set on government, there may be several open positions within the palace - however, many of these come with more specific qualifications. For example, due to a stringent application process and a training period that may last decades, the position of Guru is considered to always be open to applicants.
Step 1: Ensure that you are qualified.
You will need to be strong-willed and capable of spending long stretches of time (preferably every waking moment) in prayer. Current rulers of other countries, people who are prone to experiencing frequent bouts of emotion, and generally anyone who likes themselves at all is advised not to pursue the Pillar.
Step 2: Go to Cephiro.
If you are already there, stay put. You must physically be in the country in order to become the Pillar.
Step 2-and-a-half: LEAVE THE CASTLE ALONE.
It is not strictly necessary to conquer Cephiro or its people or gain their consent to your rule. Permission to rule over Cephiro will be given to you by a higher power and, as such, your prospective subjects have no say in the matter.
Step 3: Find the Path to the Pillar.
Or it may also find you - no one is completely sure how this works. You won't miss it, however, I assure you.
Step 4: ???
You will be given a Trial. Not everyone who begins the trial completes it, and those who do never speak of it again. As an unqualified spectator to several such events, I can only advise that you be prepared to lose the last shreds of your humanity.
Step 5: Congratulations!
If you are reading this then you have not successfully become the Pillar of Cephiro, because the actual Pillar would not be able to spare the time or attention it takes to read something. I am afraid that the position will probably not re-open any time within your natural lifespan, so you may as well pursue a different path. If your heart is truly set on government, there may be several open positions within the palace - however, many of these come with more specific qualifications. For example, due to a stringent application process and a training period that may last decades, the position of Guru is considered to always be open to applicants.