What is Honor? (Questions from Children to Adults)

Lore World's End Tavern: Role-play and Fan Fiction
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Silvani Nitroglitch has a growing 6 year old son, who asks a lot of questions. Unfortunately, his mother doesn’t always know how to simplify all of life’s answers.

Young Jax Nitroglitch, in his quest to sate his never-ending curiosity, has decided to go (sneak out) to the city and ask as many honorable-looking orcs (and other honor-bound looking individuals) to answer his questions.

Rules:

  • Anyone is welcome to participate!
  • Your character(s) may answer as many questions as you like.
  • Honestly, you don’t have to be an orc nor “honorable”. This is a 6 year old we’re talking about. How well do you think he can judge who looks the honorable type or not? Lol.
  • Have fun!

Here are the Questions:

  1. “What is honor?”

  2. “How come honor is a big deal?”

  3. “What’s the difference between honor and respect?”

  4. “How do you know when you been dishonored?”

  5. “What do you do if someone dishonors you?”

5.2 “What if they’re too strong to beat up, even though they dishonored me? Is it okay to get help?”

  1. “How do you know how not to dishonor people?”

  2. “What if you dishonored somebody? How do you fix it? Does saying sorry work?”

  3. “I don’t understand, where does honor come from? Who came up with it?”

  4. “If I practice being honorable, will it make me a man?” It’s pretty clear this young Goblin wants to be an adult, lol.

  5. “Thank you, I think I understand better. One last thing though… Do I have to kill bad guys to get honor? Like points in a game; the more I conquer, the more cool I’ll be, like those tough orcs everybody likes, right?”

10.2 “But, mom says murdering people is really bad, but killing bad guys is for the good… But if bad guys are people… What’s the difference between killing and murder?”

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One of the orcs Jax found was hardly the most noble looking. In fact, he had an air of barbarity and menace. But, when approached, he seemed to be open to questions. Fortunately for Jax, he found the mighty Con’mar Firemaw, known for being an erratic and high-energy wildcard, at a calm and thoughtful period.

“Come sit, boy. What are you curious of?” the towering warrior asked.

“That is not an easy question to answer, little one, for honor exists in many things and is a word to show it. It is much easier to outline what is and is not honorable in the many places honor exists: In the battlefield, at home, in a profession, and in your society. Describing honor is like describing love. Words aren’t sufficient enough, and the truth is in your heart.” the orc began.

“In the grand scheme without more sensitive context: it is the worth of a man and how he conducts himself. The honorable are practical, sensible. They do what is best for their people in the long-term, and hold others to the same standard. To be honorable is to be brave, faithful, self-sacrificing, honest to others and to yourself, and to act with fairness and respect in all things, where there is nothing for you to regret.”

“It is a big deal because it says a lot about you, what you believe, and how you act. That in turn tells you what you expect of other people, and it tells you how others – friend and foe – will treat you. A man without honor can only rely on those without honor, will be seen as suspicious, and will only be treated as he treats others – which is rarely well. Those of good-character would not put themselves at risk mingling with scoundrels.”

The orc smiles somberly. “There is more to honor than respect. The honorable are rightly respected and treat others with due respect, but having and showing respect is not enough to make one honorable. In fact, there are dishonorable people that are treated with, or act with, a degree of respect.”

Con’mar nods slowly. “That depends on if someone has dishonored you, or if you have dishonored yourself. If you’ve dishonored yourself, you will know, because you’ve done something truly bad and regrettable that makes others look down on you and trust you less. If someone else has dishonored you, they’ve given you no dignity. They treat you unfairly, show you no respect, and worse yet, they may even call into question your honor – to your face or not.”

The orc offered a toothy, callous grin. “You reclaim it from them. You don’t take a challenge lying down, you rise up to it, avenging yourself the indignity if its worth the fight, or proving yourself more honorable than they if fighting words have gone unthrown.”

Con’mar gently pats the boy on his back, lowering to his level as he questions him. “When you are going to make a choice that impacts people, even if they are your enemies, ask yourself: Have you been fair to them? Have you shown the respect they are entitled to? Have you truly wronged or cheated them? Is it something you would have to apologize for in better times?”

The orc tilted his head, posturing himself again. “An honorable man acts in a way where he never has to apologize, and a man treated honorably – even if he is not happy with what has been done to him – cannot complain about how it was done.”

Con’mar frowns slightly. “That depends on how they’ve been dishonored, little one. To fix it, you have to right your wrongs, in such a way that you’ve done all that can be reasonably expected of you to do to make up for it. In the best case, saying sorry works, but usually, you have to do a bit more depending on what you have done.”

The warrior grunted. “There is no, ‘who,’ little one. It comes from nature. If peoples from continents and planets away from each other all have a word for honor and that honor is about the same between them, then it is not made: It is discovered.”

Con’mar chortled at the question. “It won’t make you an adult, but it will make you a real man. In being honorable, you’ll be more mature than most of the grown ups you see now.”

“As a warrior, yes, but not as a commoner. No one will ask you to fight if you cannot. But, as a warrior, there is nothing honorable in leaving a threat to your people alive, and there is nothing honorable in reserving your strength when might could haul your people out of suffering. But do remember, young one. Conquest is not all about killing. It is about domination!” the orc noted, clenching a fist in emphasis before elaborating further.

“Sometimes these threats aren’t monsters, pests, and beasts that cannot be reasoned with. Sometimes they are people, like you and me. Yes, some people just need killing, but on the whole: with a show of enough force to bring them to their knees, done through our own strength rather than cruel tricks, they will surrender, and that will be that.” he clarified with a nod.

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Lol, thank you so much for the awesome reply, Con’mar.
At this point, he’d puff out his little chest all proud-like and declare he’s going to become the best “sword-man” ever and use it to protect his mom, and beat up the kid that stole his Hallow’s Eve candy two years ago.

He will have at least 1 last question though, which I’ll also update the question list with:

“What if they’re too strong to beat up, even though they dishonored me? What do I do? Is it okay to get help?”

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The orc grunted again, thinking for a moment with a low, vocal rumble. “That, too, depends. When men settle scores, it is one against one, fighting on their own merits. But, sometimes you will find yourself dishonored in a way that cannot be settled with an honor duel, even though fighting is the right answer. In a battle against many, or against something great and terrible that men alone could not stand against, it would be foolish not to accept help.”

The orc sighed slowly. “Those who have never lived as soldiers will never truly understand, but listen well: There is a hard difference between killing and murder. To murder is to slay without just cause, against an innocent life that did nothing to invite your blade. To kill is to rightfully end the life of one that has knowingly opened themselves to the risk of death.”

“We have to kill, boy, to protect ourselves, to protect our loved ones, and to protect those that cannot defend themselves. That goes for all things. The difference between killing and murder is the difference between two soldiers fighting to the death and a soldier butchering a civilian. The same goes for the guard cutting down a murderer who has slain an innocent person in cold-blood. Do you understand?” the warrior waited patiently, with a solemn expression.

Con’mar laughed, slapping himself on the knee. “Ah, I’m sure you will. Honor and glory, young Jax. May you find plenty of both!”

5

Ju pauses to take a sip of wine

I’m afraid you’ll never find a straight answer, cub. But I’ll tell you this; there is value in it. In the end it is up to you what it truly means. At its core it is a…code of sorts; a set of rules you follow and have to enforce. Typically others are expected to follow the same. Regardless of what else you here I’m sure that much will be common.

For most, honor keeps people of power in check. It can keep a warrior from preying on the weak and encourage him to punish those who do. It is the means by which the strong keep their strength in check. Without honor one is nothing but a shell, often unfit to properly live.

Honor to me is a matter of principle and morality. It is a matter of doing things you believe are right to do. Respect may be part of this. It is a matter of perception and choice; that is how you see a person and how you choose to treat them. To treat someone with respect is to treat them well because you choose to. To act honorably may be to do this because it is right.

She pauses a moment then clears her throat.

…If you don’t get it now you probably will later.

That depends on what is considered dishonor…

If you experience something that affects you personally, something against the code, that is generally considered a dishonor. Again, at its core, that much is likely common.

Well that’s simple, look for a way to make things right…

There are many ways of doing this. While violence is the most likely you hear of you should know that violence isn’t always the best way, no matter what anyone says.

Whatever the case it can be okay to have help, but only to match numbers. If your problems lie solely with one person you must gain the strength to overcome them alone if you don’t already have it.

The best you can do is uphold your own honor. When you do this you will usually be fine. There is little more that can be done without losing something of yourself in the process.

For some apologies can work. Sometimes you’ll need to do more, depending on the situation. Sometimes it simply isn’t worth the trouble, but you should try at least once.

Ju lets out a contemplative hum. After a moment she takes another sip of her drink then points to her head

For most it should come from here. In the end honor is merely an idea, like trade and law. It is something most agree on and that is what allows it to work.

There is more to that than honor, I think. You should practice anyway, though.

To me honor is more than killing. There are many honorable people who have gone their entire lives without killing.

Mostly I think it’s intent, and context. It is especially a matter of perception. Not everyone who seems bad, or good, truly are; sometimes people will do things some view as bad but others as good. Think of it this way…

A hunter and his wife live the forest. One day while picking flowers the hunter’s wife finds a lone tiger cub. She sees no other tigers and so believes the cub is an orphan, so she decides to give it a home. On her way back she is attacked by an adult tiger, the cub’s true mother. The hunter sees them and quickly fires an arrow into the tiger, but he is too late to save his wife. Now the hunter’s wife is dead and the cub is without a mother.

Who was right and who was wrong? Don’t answer, you’re supposed to think about it for a while.

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You wish to know about an adult topic such as honor boy? Sit, you have my attention and my words.

A question that will change depending on who you ask boy. Honor is your code. It is the difference between a fellow inhabitant of the battlefield saying that they hate you or saying that they respect you. It is how you treat your enemies and their ilk, and how you treat your own people. How do you want to be treated boy? Respectable, feared, but looked to for guidance. These are the roots to honor and how you may obtain it. It’s something you feels, not just know.

For us warriors, honor is as important as money or love. You want you skills to be tested and pushed, not what some other person invented to help you win. People like me aren’t as magically gifted if at all. All we have is are our skills at arms and we want to improve it, not have it rely on some guy inventing an acid to go through armor.

Through honor, respect is earned. Honor is how you conduct yourself boy. Respect is how you act to others.

I will put this in an example you can understand. Say you’ve given a client a fair shake on a trike. It runs well, well tuned, and you even provide a warranty. Everything is fair and good. Now this client decides to not only destroy the trike but sue you for damages saying it was your fault despite you providing the warranty and takes your money. That feeling of betrayal and hurt you’d feel from that person. That’s the feeling of being dishonored.

That depends on you and how you feel what needs to be done to make it right. Some do nothing. Others kill the offending party, others still duel the offending party. It varies boy but I will tell you this, no amount of dishonor is worth you dying over. You just die dishonorable.

"Who knows. But I’m sure it was a person who wanted people to conduct themselves better than backwoods savages.

No. That’d just make you another soul for the meat grinder of war. Honor can be gained from a profession but it is mostly on how you conduct yourself to others. While honorable combat is a thing, it is only one way of honor but, never forget boy. In war and battle, it is all too easy to forget yourself and who you are, then you’d never have honor ever again. Purge this path from your mind.

There is no difference. Both carry the same burdens on your soul. No matter what you call it, at the end there is a dead person at your feet and the knowledge that you put them there. It stains your soul each time.

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I think I would like to give this one a try. See where it goes.

Echey’Neahok was minding his own business stroking the fur of his white tiger Snowstalker when the tiniest of Goblin children wandered up to the pair. The Albino Tauren looked down at the small green child with his pink eyes. Snowstalker doing much the same with her emerald green eyes.

“What is honor?” The young boy suddenly asked. Echey’Neahok snorted as he wondered why such a goblin boy wanted to know. From what the tauren knew of the race they had their own version of honor; the all mighty gold coin.

“Honor can mean many things to lots of different people.” The Albino finally responded. “Honor can be how one chooses to live their life. To live honorably. A code of rules one chooses to follow. What one person may find as honorable another may not. It is something to always remember.”

Satisfied that he’d answered the young goblin’s question Echey’Neahok went back to stroking Snowstalker’s long fur. That’s when the boy asked a follow-up question, “How come honor is a big deal?”

Echey’Neahok snorted. “Quite the inquisitive little goblin I see. To some honor is a big deal. To others it is something to be used like a tool. An Honorable person is typically seen as more upstanding and respected than one whom has no honor. You should not hang out with such types. Now if there are no more questions run along.”

“What’s the difference between honor and respect?” Alright so the tauren was sensing a pattern here. This boy was not going away until his curiosity had been sated. With a long sigh Echey’Neahok gave in to his fate.

“Honor is a way of life one chooses to lead, where as respect is something someone gives and receives from another. You cannot give honor to someone but you can give or show them respect. For example you respect your parents by doing as you are told. Listening and heading what they have to say even if you do not always agree with it. You can also do this with those other than your parents.”

The tauren paused for a moment. “You can honor someone to a certain degree, but it is not quite the same as having honor. in this way honor and respect are similar. Tauren for example honor their ancestors by carrying on the traditions. Passing them onto their chidren whom in turn pass them down. It is a way of showing both honor and respect.”

“How do you know when you been dishonored?” It seemed like the logical direction this conversation was going. Echey’Neahok was not sure how he wanted to answer the boy. He didn’t want to give him the wrong advice but he knew he wasn’t going to get any piece unless he did.

“That is hard to say. It can be a hard thing to know if or when you’ve been dishonored as most of the time people think so out of anger. Though typically this would happen if someone disrespected you in some way. You could feel dishonored. If you feel you’ve done something against your will, or that you know is wrong. If you feel guilty about it. Then you could feel dishonored.”

“What do you do if someone dishonors you?” The boy asked almost as quickly as Echey’Neahok had finished answering the last question.

“That’s entirely up to you young goblin. There are ways of dealing with those whom showed such dishonor. I don’t think I am the one you should be asking however. The thing is that nobody can really take your honor. It doesn’t work like that. It can be lost but cannot be taken unless you allow it to be.”

“What if they’re too strong to beat up, even though they dishonored me? Is it okay to get help?” This question caught the tauren off guard. Who had this little goblin been talking to, to think he needed to beat someone up if they dishonored him?

“Whoa hold on there little one, let’s take a step back. Fighting should be a last resort. It is true warriors are honored for their bravery. Willing to lay down their lives for something greater than themselves. Something they feel is right. To answer the second part of your question you should never feel it is dishonorable to ask or need help. Just look at me. I am a big Tauren, one of the largest in the Horde but when I get called to the front lines I have my trusty animals by my side. Snowstalker here has saved my life countless times.”

Echey’Neahok was not sure how long he’d been answering this boy’s questions or how many more there were to come. Somehow he knew there was another on its way. “How do you know how not to dishonor people?”

Ah a more philosophical question. “This is another of those questions that can be left up to interpretation. You learn. Short and simple. As you go through life you will learn in your own way what is seen as honorable and not. You will make mistakes I am sure. As you grow you will dishonor your parents a time or to. You may not mean to at the time but it will happen. You will come to regret this actions and hopefully learn not to repeat them. That is how you will learn not to dishonor others. It will be a hard road.”

“What if you dishonored somebody? How do you fix it? Does saying sorry work?” The boy asked. Echey’Neahok was beginning to think there was more to this line of questioning that the small goblin was letting on.

“It can.” The tauren responded quickly enough. “More often however words are rarely enough. If one has dishonored someone they must take steps to make amends. Different cultures have different customs. For example Orcs have a Duel of Honor where two parties will fight with pre established rules. This is often times to the death.”

“I don’t understand, where does honor come from? Who came up with it?” It was clear the young boy was still searching for an answer that the tauren had not yet given. The questions continued as did Echey’Neahok’s responses to them.

“It comes from inside. I am not sure who was the first to coin the term as it was likely hundreds of generations ago. Before civilization was a thing and our ancestors only stared forming small groups. Honor came from the need to survive. It evolved as we did. I am sorry it is hard to explain.”

“If I practice being honorable, will it make me a man?”

“Well yes and no. If you are honorable you are more likely to reach adult hood. However it isn’t really required to becoming a man. The only thing you have to do is not be born a girl and eventually you’ll become a man. What type of man however would remain to be seen. I would hope that with all these questions you’ve been asking you’ll one day grow up to be a well respected and honorable goblin.”

“Thank you, I think I understand better. One last thing though… Do I have to kill bad guys to get honor? Like points in a game; the more I conquer, the more cool I’ll be, like those tough orcs everybody likes, right?” This was another of those questions that made the tauren wonder to whom this young goblin had been talking.

“War and death should never been taken lightly. Certainly not like a playground game. There is a big difference in being cool and honorable. Orcs have a special type of honor. They come from a savage land where the very grass you walk on could rise up and choke the life out of you. It is not an easy place to live and grow up. Bullies are tough when they are picking on those smaller and weaker than themselves. This does not make them honorable. The exact opposite in fact. No you do not have to kill at all to have honor. Some of the most honorable people have never raised a hand against another.”

“But, mom says murdering people is really bad, but killing bad guys is for the good… But if bad guys are people… What’s the difference between killing and murder?”

“Your mother is very wise. The difference is in the eyes of the beholder. There really isn’t any difference between the two. Any time you kill something be it an enemy on the battlefield, an animal for food, or just that pesky insect that wont leave you alone you are committing murder. You are taking a life that is not yours to take and ending it.”

“Now we don’t call killing on the battlefield, or hunting for food murder because it is typically for our survival. Kill or be killed, eat or be eaten. This doesn’t make it right. It is just how the world is boy. Taking something’s life simply because you can is murder and is a very dishonorable act.”

That was fun…

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