TOTM

The Canon of Meat
The Meat is growth, development, and the refinement of what you have. Its most ardent followers are craftsmen, farmers, monks, and the other folk of field and toil, for they know that mastery of one's craft and development of one's skills is the path to enlightenment. To master one's skill in life is of the utmost importance. On the other hand, the Meat is also at risk of becoming stagnant, apathetic, gluttonous, and decadent for decadence sake, and, eventually, rotten. This is seen in the same individuals that is mentioned above, and are common traits within us all, for if something doesn't push us to change, we become filled with apathy. If too successful in their work, a craftsman could become lazy, believing they have mastered their craft, or gluttonous, with the wealth they gain from their skills being used to overindulge in pleasures of the palate, and other pleasures, for that matter. Eventually, the success achieved from the Meat, without discipline, can lead to a moral rot in one's soul (and very well their body also) that will destroy through attrition, self destruction, and the passive death, what once was good in the person's life. We often say that the Meat creates while the Hammer destroys, but this distinction is not fundamentally true. Just as a man can destroy himself as much as another man could destroy him, the Meat is also capable of destroying when the path is not taken with discipline, or when the path is not interrupted by the Hammer of change.

The Canon of Hammer
The Hammer is dynamic change, innovation, and the spirit of ambition. It's followers are those who seek change: explorers, scientists, missionaries and their ilk. For these people, the act of changing something is a cathartic exercise, changing the way something is done, changing a person's mind, or changing the borders of a nation, and many other things. To achieve major change is to be one step closer to enlightenment. To fully embrace the Hammer, with discipline, can lead to growth as great as the most perfect of followers of the Meat. Conversely, the Hammer is at risk of becoming needlessly ambitious, aggressive, opportunistic, and eventually wholly destructive. Missionaries become corrupted zealots, explorers become wild rovers without aim, scientists push farther into their research until all that is left is madness. Unchecked aggression, the sadistic joy of killing is what is seen as the penultimate form of following the Hammer without restraint, yet destruction can come in many other forms. The greatness one can achieve with the Hammer, without restraint, will lead to the same rot that you can see in the Meat undisciplined. A maddened warrior, of great natural talent, is the total embodiment of the Hammer. Primal, aggressive, but unrefined and lacking in disciplined activities of training, tactics, or strategy. One must either check their growth in the way of the Hammer with great restraint, or by learning lessons from the way of the Meat.

The Path
The common thread of these two concepts is that, without applying some form of conscious restraint and discipline on either form, the end result is the same: the loss of oneself in one way or another. There are five paths that one can take: two of them being the total and unbridled attachment to one of the symbols; two are maintaining allegiance to one symbols in practice, and only following the other in as a guard to keeping; and finally, the other being striving for balance between the two, keeping each other in check. The first two are considered heretical, and even more so, wholly destructive. Those paths are taken by those consumed with an obsession of some sort, and are known as the paths of the lost. The second two are more conventional paths of faith, that many laymen take. The final path is of pure balance, which is most often taken by leaders, the most faithful, and people who seek the most pure form of enlightenment. There are distinct sects worshiping each form. The united, balanced path being worshipped everywhere. The path of the Hammer on the frontiers, in the military and academies. The path of the Meat is most popular in the countryside and independent craftsmen. The paths of no restraint are only worshipped in the edges of society, in the wild forests, and secretly in the darkest corners of the cities.

Cornerstone
It has been observed that those who wield serenity, compassion, and humility in their daily lives often are those who are most happy and prosperous. It would behoove all of us to take time in our lives to reflect on ourselves and highlight those moments in our days where we exhibited those traits and set out our plans for tomorrow to outdo ourselves. Cultivate your own talents, show compassion to someone who might need it, or just take a moment to do something for yourself that you've been putting off. No matter how big or small, know that it can become the locus of positivity for your day, and even someone else's.

Let us reflect on what underpins our moral and philosophical beliefs. It is good to reflect on such fundamental beliefs as the origin and purpose of a spiritual force that makes us unique, or what we value most in human nature, or any number of other cornerstone beliefs which build our world view, for in introspection we can uncover deeper understanding of our actions, our reasoning and logic, and the moral underpinnings of our lives, and this applies to far more than just spiritual matters. Indeed it can be applied to every aspect of one's life until you have deconstructed your entire world view and truly understand why you believe in the things that you do. Some things, such as spiritual and supernatural beliefs, don't have what one would consider a logical origin, but a faithful one. These are no less valid than the ones rooted in logic.

Most of us all share a common philosophical heritage that we have inherited from our society at large, however, we all interpret this heritage in vastly different ways. Being able to boil our beliefs down to simpler, more fundamental axioms of values goes a long way in understanding why we see the world as we do, and if there are any inconsistencies or hypocrisy in our actions that do not make sense in the grand scheme of our beliefs. Using introspection can be a tool to temper one's understanding of the world around them, as well as to improve one's own conduct in their own eyes, which is a fundamentally critical step on the path to enlightenment.

Take a moment of your day to track down a belief you hold, something as simple a 'stealing is wrong,' for example. Extrapolate why exactly stealing is wrong to you. Is it because you didn't earn what you stole? Most likely you believe that personal responsibility is paramount in your life. Perhaps you think it is because it harms someone else? Chances are it is because you believe harming others is never good. Maybe you think it threatens the social fabric? I would bet it's because you see a healthy social fabric as a necessity of civilization.

From there, ask yourself, why do I value personal responsibility, the avoidance of harm, or the stability of civilization? The answers to these may be the cornerstones of a particular moral that you hold. Once you know this cornerstone you can look for other higher level beliefs that follow that fundamental moral. With enough mental exercise you can track down all your cornerstone beliefs and then, when moral questions are put in front of you, you have concrete reasons to guide you on your choices.

The Human P.O.V.
Since human perspective is the only relevant component to our conversation and because we are all (officially) human, the fact that it is biased to the human perspective in the realm of our discussion shouldn't have an impact on the veracity of sources, because otherwise the very groundwork leading up to the discussion would also be moot and we wouldn't get very far arguing about how things we perceive aren't real just because we perceived them and cannot verify from a non human source that what we see as truth

"It just works"

People who question why they exist fail to realize they could say "I exist to spite the fact that I could not, and because of the force of my will, I cause the sublime realization of my own existence", lending credence to the fact that you, me, and all of us are mere moments of thought from ascending to a greater position of knowledge, power, and reality itself.

Not far does one have to make the assumption that I've been writing drivel this whole time, but one could also take this text, not at its base value or even the moral consequences behind backing it, but the applications in the world around us. Much like a person’s point of view.

Jammy's Monologue
Hark! You MEATLESS corpse! The HAMMER shall smash the MEATS into the new reality, one where the MEAT and the HAMMER are one, and so the MEATHAMMER is born, supreme in royalty and power! None shall stop my rise, LORD MEATHAMMER, HAMMERER OF THE MEATS! Tremble, doll, you meatless effigy of the glorious meat bags! Your features are nothing! You are not MEAT, you are not HAMMER! The two supreme concepts in the universe of universes are lost upon you! You shall never wield true power! Never will you experience the ascension! You shall forever be condemned to squirm in the meatless mud, never becoming great, never smashing the MEATS! Your purpose is naught! Never will you feel the brace of the raining CHUNKS, delicious and powerful! The glorious HAMMER will pass you over in favor of the MEATS, and you will be left in the darkness, never to arise to glorious MEATHOOD! The HAMMER shall arrive from the heavens, and from the earth, and from the seas, to smash the MEATS of all humanity into the next era, nay, the next epoch! You will be a relic from a MEATLESS time, lost, hopeless, pointless, a petty afterthought of a concept of a mote of an idea, infinitely useless, adrift in a sea of nothing, left behind when the SMASHING by the MEATHAMMER will decimate the universe, taking all MEAT and purpose from the dreary realms you inhabit! You may be MEATLESS but you need the MEAT in order to prosper! Your only purpose is to STAB and SLICE the MEAT! Heresy! MEAT is to be SMASHED! That's the only way to preserve the sanctity of the JUICES, and the only route to acquire the blessings of the SWEETMEATS! You ruin the MEATS, defiling the only good and wonderful thing in the universe! And so you will be passed over when the SMASHING will come to pass, you will watch from your sad, pointless, empty perspective as all the glory of the MEATS will be delivered into the greater plane! Embrace the MEATHAMMER, serve its glory and, maybe, you will be saved, and delivered into the supreme place!

The Canon of Meat, continued.
One of the great paths we may choose to follow is what we refer to as the path of the Meat. This path is popular with those that seek personal development through the cultivation of their skills, the improvement of others lives through charity, and engaging in introspection and reflection as a meditative practice. Contrary to the name of the path, the path of the Meat has little to do with meat as food, but is used as a metaphor for growth and development, as has been covered before. Those who engage in agricultural pursuits are deeply connected to this path. Whether it be through cultivating a fragile sapling into a mighty oak, weaning a calf such that it may grow into a great bull, or carefully managing the soil's fertility in a field of golden grain, these folk know well the joy that the toils of their own hands can bring. And with their toils they feed many more and give themselves a livelihood.

Others follow this path through a craft, be they weavers, brewers, smiths, or carpenters, or any other craft under the sun, they all engage in developing themselves, and in the wonderful act of creation. Authors, artists, architects and composers. To follow this path, for their creations are transcendental in nature and strike at a different part of the importance of this path. What all of these people have in common, as it is certain to see, is that they all create something, both in our physical world, and are creating skills and knowledge for themselves and their fellows.

Remember, though, this means that others, those of destruction, also engage in this path implicitly when they engage in training, practice, or drills. Warriors are just as subject to the profound revelations that the sacrament of toil reveals as the farmer is. Be it on the point of a scythe, sword, quill, pick, or awl, the act of mastering your skills is the act of following the Path of the Meat. Such is all things in truth part of Balance, as all things are and will forever be. The Path of the Meat is a long, arduous path for those who trek it, but along their journey they achieve something everyone seeks, a sweet internal peace, the succor of which helps us and soothes us on life's long voyage. This path is one of patience, one of the quiet sighs of satisfaction.

Shrine of Tmhmmmemh
The Shrine of Tmhmmmemh is an ancient building located inside the city of Ankontiniyye. It had been the first shrine constructed in Eldham dedicated to The Order of The Meathammer. It depicts a large, hollow, stone head of a villager with blue eyes. Later on in construction, the hollow interior has been transformed into a small garden. Tmhmem (Short for Tmhmmmemh) is a minor Meat Deity in the form of a villager head. He is the first deity deciphered within Meathammer and is symbolic of all Meat. As you know, Meat is symbolic of growth/decay and Hammer is symbolic of change/volatility. Since Tmhmem is purely in Meat form, he cannot change and does not answer prayers, as he does not intervene. He is the most constant being in the universe, with a faint "mmm" sound in the wind nearby the shrines of him as Eldham when good times are a'head'.

Some time later after construction, the head mysteriously started to dispense water from its mouth. According to some Meathammer followers, this symbolizes the head drooling for Meat.

First Church of Meathammer
The first holy church has been constructed in the city of Ancontinople, being the origin of Meathammer's spread within Eldham. It has been constructed with blue tinted glass as a placeholder, but local popularity has made it permanent.

The Hammer Shrine of Dragon's Perch
After jjswizz's appointment into the Order as an Archmage (A man who has mastered one of the two constants and yields abilities not known by mortal men), he had declared Dragon's Perch an official holy site within The Order of The Meathammer, building a shrine dedicated to the opposite side of the reigion. jj, being named Meatman, has delved into the Meatful canon and pledged himself to Meat alone. However, his great respect for the Canon of Hammer caused him to build a shrine in its honor.

Bebbanbury
Bebbanbury is a town led by Bishop Zera that lies in the Osria province of the Uraki Imperium. The location had been declared as a holy site as it was the first location the religious founders have arrived. As the religion grew, towns were built up and torn down over the course of history. Only recently has the land been taken back by Meathammer, when the followers of Meathammer had driven out the previous town of Berrywood.