Submitted by Abraxus

Abraxus, the prophet of the Storm, sat in contemplation at the altar of Storms in Elbar's temple when an initiate came to him seeking advice on how to overcome the troubles he was having when trying to bring Chaos to Tharel.

The initiate was concerned because no matter how hard he tried, eventually Order would return and undo all that he had strived to achieve. Patiently, Abraxus listened to the initiate describe the many ways that he had attempted to bring Chaos before speaking.

"You work very hard to do Elbar's bidding, that much is obvious. Unfortunately, this is also your downfall," Abraxus said to the puzzled initiate. "To truly bring down Chaos and defeat Order you must learn to be Chaos, not simply apply it. If you think of Chaos as a force to be used against Order then you will always struggle, for when two forces meet the strongest shall triumph."

"I do not understand Tza'fiel," the initiate cried. "Surely this is how it was meant to be? Chaos is stronger than Order, do our teachings not say that this the way of things?"

Smiling as he answered, Abraxus said "Correct, however you must understand that Chaos is strong in ways that Order is not, just as Order is strong in ways Chaos is not. If you use Chaos as a force against Order then sometimes you shall be successful and other times you shall fail. Instead you must learn to embody Chaos, to submit yourself to it and in that way you shall overcome Order for ever more."

Seeing that the initiate was still puzzled over the meaning of his words, Abraxus asked the initiate to fetch three items from the relic room within the temple - a small wooden box, a vial of quicksilver and a wooden dowel. Returning quickly with the three items in his hands, the initiate placed them in front of Abraxus.

Picking up the small wooden box, Abraxus rotated it in his hands so that the initiate could see the box contained two small holes on opposite sides. He then carefully opened the lid and held the box open for the initiate to see inside. Contained within the box was a well-crafted maze made from small wooden blocks that reached from the floor of the box to the top.

Closing the box once more, Abraxus took hold of the wooden dowel and slid it into an opening on one of the sides. The dowel was only able to slid into the box a few inches before it struck the first wooden wall of the maze inside the box. "Let the dowel represent the Chaos you try to force upon order, let the box represent Tharel and the maze constructed inside as the structures of Order you seek to overcome," said Abraxus to the initiate. "The final goal you seek is the exit at the other side... victory of Chaos over Order."

"You meet no challenge in applying Chaos to Tharel until you strike the first obstacle that Order places in front of you. Then it becomes little more than a contest," Abraxus continued, tapping the dowel against the inner maze to highlight his words. "If you apply enough force, the dowel may overcome this first wall but it will stop again when it reaches another obstacle."

Abraxus then thrust the wooden dowel into the opening with great force, a loud snapping sound came from within the box as he did. "Of course, there is no guarantee that you will even overcome the first obstacle," he said as he withdrew the dowel and placed it on the altar so that the initiate could clearly see that the tip of the dowel had splintered.

"Instead you must learn to flow, to act without conscious thought, then your actions shall embody Chaos," Abraxus said as he picked up the vial of quicksilver and removed the stopper. "Order will be unable to stop you for your methods will be in ever-changing and unquantifiable."

Tipping the box up so that one opening pointed towards the high ceiling of the temple and the other faced the ground, Abraxus poured the silvery contents of the vial into the box. Within a matter of moments, quicksilver began to trickle out from the lower opening and formed small pools on the stone floor.

Shifting the small pools of quicksilver into one larger pool with the toe of his boot, Abraxus spoke quietly to the initiate "This is how you must see Chaos, not as a force but as a way of being. Let it always change the way you move and think and you shall flow over and around every obstacle that Order places in front of you. When you understand this, you shall truly know how to bring the Storm to Tharel."