There is no more of a highly debated topic then that of “The Balance”. It is true that one… even Tel’Quessir must spend a lifetime devoted to its study to truly understand it. But in this essay I will give a brief summary of what I have come to understand. This is just one perspective of the balance mind you, and some will debate and disagree.

I will start with a puzzle… some clues to help us understand the balance and I will generalize so forgive me. We find ourselves in a strange land… it is isolated from all others. We are impressed by all we see, all within are friendly, healthy and vigorous. From what we can tell it has been like this for as long as all who are there can remember.

It seems we are in luck, we are invited to stay and that night we sample the food provided. Now, we find this food unfamiliar though very pleasing… we cannot help but ask what is this? The answer is simple… it is “B” meat and that’s all they eat. We are of course dumbfounded by this, “B” meat they say… the insects that gather honey? We are of course laughed at and lead to a window overlooking a path, those are “B’s” says one of them pointing to a residence across the way. We of course find this all rather confusing and ask, you mean you eat other people? They would simply reply that they eat “B’s”. We would find that they are not penned up, nor kept as slaves because their own food the “A’s” are found right living right next to them.

Finally, we come to an understanding. “A’s” are eaten by the “B’s” who are in turn eaten by the “C’s” who then eat the “A’s”… there is no lording over any because each is food for the other. Now, we are all quite perplexed by this… in-fact some might call this “lawless” but they are adamant against this. They do indeed have laws… and they follow them without question. It is in-fact these laws that make their lives so harmonious.

We have the basis for the knowledge here… how can we discover the laws of this land?

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"It is by the holy beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning, it is by Java alone that I set my mind in motion."

So the land has laws, they follow these laws invariably. It is the basis that makes the balance work so successfully, how do we discover these laws? First, we must find what never happens in the natural world. Second, we must see what makes the balance work. Third, we must see what happens when the laws are broken. Through this method we will have a better understanding of the balance.

Now, we have an understanding of a way find how this works. It is no secret that the system works, the forests thrive and the animals are healthy and well populated. Though, the "civilized" world draws back in horror from it, they fear it in-fact. They see it as a world of chaos, endless competition, and where every living creature lives in fear for its life. this is not the case at all, those who live in this "world" would defend themselves to the death rather then be separated from it.

Take the deer, some would claim the deer and the wolf are enemies... but I can assure you they are not. The wolf does not massacre every deer it comes across, it only takes what it needs. A content and full wolf will pass by a herd of deer who will happily go on grazing. That is the basis from one of the laws, it is not chaos... it is in-fact a law of peace keeping.

It is when one thinks that they are exempt from these laws that the problems start. They create a civilization that flaunts the law at every turn. This is where some might disagree with me, that civilization can work in the balance... but in the form as we see it now. I can attest that there are those who live with the balance and do not flaunt it. So is it civilization that is against the laws of the balance or is the "people" themselves?

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"It is by the holy beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning, it is by Java alone that I set my mind in motion."

Rule 1 Competition: You may protect your territory, you may protect your food, you may not exterminate your competition.

There are four things that "Civilization" does, that never happens in the "wilds" or the community of "The Balance". The first being the extermination of competition. In the "wilds" an animal will defend its territory and their kills, but it will not seek out its competition and kill it, just for the sake of killing. Even when the two species include competitors as their prey, they never seek them out just to kill them the way a farmer does with wolves, foxes and crows. In general terms, what they hunt, they eat they do not exterminate like the farmer.

It is of note though that animals of the wild can and will kill in self defense, or even if they feel threatened. Take the frozen wastes of the north, in the frozen north there are extremely aggressive wolves. These wolves will form into packs and attack a snow leopard or bear that hasn't attacked them. The point is though, the wolves will form into packs to look for food, but will not form into packs to look for snow leopards or bears. To put it simply, when animals hunt, even aggressive animals like the wolves of the north, it is to obtain food, not to exterminate competition or even other animals that prey on them.

The proof that this law is followed by everything but the civilized world is that there is diversity amongst competitors. If all acted as the farmer, the competitors would hunt each other to extinction and there would be only one predator. This predator that would remain would be of course the strongest and the only one left.

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"It is by the holy beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning, it is by Java alone that I set my mind in motion."

Rule 2: Take what you need, leave the rest alone

This is one of the most important laws and the most dangerous threat to "The Balance". The farmer will destroy the source of food for everything else to make room for his own. This expansionist policy is what the druids fear the most.

The biggest problem with this is the excess in food. The more food that is needed to be stored, the more the population will grow. Thus in the coming seasons the land that is being cultivated is not enough to support the now larger population. What does this mean? It is simple... more land is needed to cultivate and thus more intrusion into the wilds. This greater population also adds a greater threat of diseases to be spread and famine to occur.

This puts some of those who work with the balance at odds with each other. Take the faithful of Chauntae, she sees to both the wild, and the agriculture domain of the plants. This has caused a certain split in the church and also made those of other faiths who tend to the balance weary of them. Just how far will Chauntae go to see the farms thrive and the population grow... and when does it become a hinder to the balance if it is not already is.

This can also be applied to hunting. Take the game hunters of the noble humans. They see little fear in killing massive amounts of "game" and have no understanding of how it can be dangerous to the surrounding wilds. There are times yes, when the population of certain animals grow too large due to an excess of food, like the deer. In times like this it is a policy to cull the excess and return the population to a level can be stable to the environment. This is the job of the druids though, it is for them to decide when this must be done.

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"It is by the holy beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning, it is by Java alone that I set my mind in motion."