Blade Maidens: What Fools These Mortals Be – 23

“Balance is key.

I’m sure you’ve heard this countless times in your life. Even if you are reading this as as a curious mind rather than an aspiring member of the Twin Fists. Balance your meals. Your drinking. Your work. Your family. All the beautiful, intricate facets of a life, each their own individual feats of balance.

What people tend to forget is that balance is malleable.

I have enjoyed my fair share of celebratory nights of drinking and feasting, waking up and feeling like I had my head pummeled by Vaust herself. But that night now carries memories of joy and kinship with my friends that shall warm me when I am too busy for drink or have no food in my pack.

Overindulgence and denial are the same empty virtue. Neither can make you whole. And while many of my siblings in the Order may favor the latter to ward off the former, I must respectfully disagree. We must take our joys where we can find them. Whether it is in combat or in bed, at the dining table or the temple.

I take pride in each time I raise my fists. Because I trust in my path. If I fight, I fight well. If I stand against someone, it is because they need opposition. If I take satisfaction in a blow well struck, it is because my opponent made it a challenge.

The Twin Fists teach moderation. But not denial. They teach satisfaction. But not gluttony.

I find my balance anew every time I wake, and every time I throw a punch. I hope you can do the same.”

– An excerpt from the Teachings of Sister Locke, a Monk of the Twin Fists