Loyalty

Loyalty is faith to a person, a group or an ideal, placing the preservation of another above one’s own temptations and interests. It is a commitment, uttered through oath, or kept silent in the mind. Yet however it is cited in ceremony, loyalty cannot be demonstrated through ritual, or loud proclamation.

Like courage, loyalty is measured solely when challenged. Otherwise, it only a word. 

We all demand it to varying degrees because it is a promise of support and stability within a dangerous, uncertain world. It is not always consciously commanded. Nor is it effortlessly deserved. But if loyalty is given, it must be expected in equal measure.

Goodman Nathan, as an example, was so faithful to his Lord (or to the Lord’s daughter, I would argue) that his presence persisted here beyond death. Even now, torn from the time he knows and with Mira’s fate undetermined, he remains at her bedside and protects this place without complaint. She, in the brief time she appeared, seemed to hold him in the same high regard.

But this balance is difficult to achieve, and many times is not at all. Westel is a recent case. From the information he gave, I calculate that his and his lover’s definitions of fidelity are incompatible. One cannot both have, and refrain. One definition must conquer the other. As a different example, I questioned Urukha's application of loyalty some months ago. I tried to have her consider that balance between what is given, what is taken, and what is still held for those no longer relevant. And she chose to support Pip. 

As for me, to the Tribe and to the Regent I have declared fealty. The Regent has since claimed it in official capacity, and it is one of the few formalities recognized by both of us. Then, there is my darling. I cannot look upon it without partiality; my devotion cannot be sufficiently expressed in ink.