Welcome to Aristeia, the Action Realm of Infinity, dedicated to the inspired pursuit of excellence. Seekers of power, beware! These magical forces are intended for one purpose and one alone: the empowerment of true heroes in the pursuit of noble aims.
Are you committed to leading a life of inspired excellence*?* Be careful how you answer. Count the cost. Average is average. Skill is skill. But inspired excellence is something else entirely. Inspiration costs itself - to be inspired is to be possessed of a vision, intensely driven, seeking, striving after the beyond, endeavoring to achieve something unheard of, daring to defy the odds…
“There is a third form of possession or madness, of which the Muses are the source. This seizes a tender, virgin soul and stimulates it to rapt passionate expression, especially in lyric poetry, glorifying the countless mighty deeds of ancient times for the instruction of posterity. But if any man comes to the gates of poetry without the madness of the Muses, persuaded that skill alone will make him a good poet, then shall he and his works of sanity with him be brought to nought by the poetry of madness, and behold, their place is nowhere to be found.”
— By Socrates, As Recorded By Plato, From The Phaedrus The Madness Of The Muses
Don Quixote made a mockery of heroism**.** With its publication in the early 17th century, Miguel de Cervantes marked the passing of an age: nobility, chivalry, quests - these became bygone words, the silly stuff of old-wives’ tales, fools errands. No more dragons, no more heroes and heroines, nor kingdoms to be saved. Modernity was abandoned to the impersonal tides of history: the naked pursuit of money, power and pleasure. Romanticism regarded as weakness. Cynicism regarded as wisdom. Might regarded as Right.