Survival. Survival means not dying. Simple? Yes. But don’t over simplify it. Survival means defending yourself from hunger, from thirst, from the elements, from predators, from competitors. Planting a garden is self-defense as much as a can of pepper spray. Survival means knowing how to find clean water. Survival means knowing how to navigate legal system of the culture in which you live. Survival means knowing how to make friends and allies. Survival means being able to preserve your existence in a universe entirely indifferent to your survival. And so, survival takes priority. Survival takes priority over everything except the code of the Three Unknowable. And this is fine. We can prioritize mystery, story and action when we protect our own survival. Beyond those core beliefs, Survival takes priority. Survival is the first virtue. The dead have no morals. The dead do nothing. We must if we are to take any action. So Survival takes precedence. Survival in the soil in which we plant all of our dreams and goals. And without it, nothing grows.
This is the lesson of First Mother and the Flight from Glass Tower. In the story, the Last Princess learns of the corrupt nature of the Empire. But is is when the Crown Prince learns that the Princess is to be tribute that the Crown Prince and Last Princess flee along the Witch Road. It is the threat to their survival that triggers action. They are aided by the Dreamwalker and cross the Threshold out of reach of the Locust King. And as a result, the Mirrored City Falls and the Fog rolls in. Change cannot happen if we do not survive to make it happen. Survival is the most basic motivation and the most fundamental. All change starts with survival. It starts with the realization of danger. Its starts by recognizing abuse. And it advances to the decision to resist, to defend. And it rests when we have removed ourselves from danger.
One’s own self defense takes priority, But I need to stress that one’s own comfort is not essential. Comfort is nice, but discomfort is not an assault on your person. A disruption of your privilege is not an assault on your person. A challenge to your beliefs is not an assault on your person. You are not harmed by other people acquiring rights, unless you benefit from them being deprived of those rights. You are not harmed by the administration of justice, unless you benefit from injustice. And thus the Code of the Firebird: I remain humble and seek to be corrected. Survival does not take priority over your duty to remain open to correction.
Survival is defense. But defense is not vengeance. And vengeance is not justice. Vengeance is just vengeance. If you have been harmed by another, harming them back is neither justice nor self-defense. It is wise to be perceived as dangerous, as one not to be messed with by others. Because deterrence is defense. But vengeance is the opposite of defense, because it creates cycles of vengeance and brings down more danger on those who engage in it. Be somebody that gives others pause, not somebody that others hate. The best defense is convincing others not to wrong you. The best defense is prevention. The best defense is deterrence.
Survival takes priority over everything except the code of the Firebird, the Weaver, and the Serpent. But that means that your defense must preserve the sacred Mystery. That means that your defense must preserve the story. That defense must preserve your ability to act in the future.
Professor Harbinger's School for Villains 