Becoming Champions __EXCLUSIVE__
One of those conversion stories is his own compelling transformation story from being a soul-sick, drug-addicted, sin and crime laden youth to becoming a Rosary warrior and falling in love with Jesus and Catholicism.
Becoming Champions
[00:00] Good evening, friends. It's nice to have the opportunity to be with you this evening. As we continue on with this next segment of exploration about serving the divine plan. Tonight the theme that I'm going to talk about, becoming champions of justice, really draws on a number of topics and themes that have been presented in other talks over the past couple of years. For example, Mr. Barnes spoke before about the concept of justice. Recently, Dr. Khan spoke about scholarship and building a new civilization. I gave that talk before about knowledge. I think you start to see as we continue and talk about different things, a lot of these themes starting to come together, the different threads being brought together to start to give a real a picture of the dimension of what it takes really to advance the divine plan and build a new civilization.
[28:41] "Be not dismayed if your endeavors are dismissed as utopian by the voices that would oppose any suggestion of fundamental change. Trust in the capacity of this generation to disentangle itself from the embroilments of a divided society. To discharge your responsibilities, you will have to show forth courage, the courage of those who cling to standards of rectitude, whose lives are characterized by purity of thought and action, and whose purpose is directed by love and indomitable faith. As you dedicate yourselves to healing the wounds with which your peoples have been afflicted, you will become invincible champions of justice."
Jurgen Klopp admitted he was overwhelmed at Liverpool's achievement in winning the Premier League after they were confirmed as champions, describing it as an "incredible moment" for all linked to the club.
The teams that Stecklein have been producing are championship level teams. With just these past two years, he has already doubled the number of times PV baseball has been to state. When Stecklein joined the program, the last time PV Baseball had been to state was 2003, and then only one other time before that.
Champion is the term used to refer to different individuals that become loyal supporters of either a deity or a cause. They are usually mighty warriors, powerful mages, or a combination of both. Many champions are mortals, and their condition grants them new abilities, sometimes even changing their very nature to something more divine.
Due to the Divine Gate, neither the Prime Deities nor the Betrayer Gods can interact directly with Exandria. Divine champions are usually the ones who take care of their deities' interests in the Material Plane, defeating their enemies, defending their cult or representing them in great quests.
Divine champions don't necessarily have to be active followers of their god in order to obtain that position: a moment of need and common interests can forge that relationship (maybe after some sort of trial), and sometimes it leads to the champion becoming an actual follower of their divine benefactor. In a less ideal situation, it can also be possible for a deity to forcefully obtain a champion through blackmail, torture and/or corruption; in those cases, the champion becomes a tool for the god, obeying orders without choice.
After The Divergence, before returning to his realm beyond the Divine Gate, Kord created an entrance to the Dreadnest as a passage his champions could use in case it was necessary to chase Lolth and her forces into the Abyss. He trusted the secret of the passage and the way of opening it to a line of mortals who went extinct at some point between 536 and 836 PD. However, the nether gnome Dryca found one of the last members of the line and learned about the entrance, acting as the Stormlord's mortal champion when it needed to be opened.[5]
Months later the circlet had changed Opal's appearance, making her scarier, and Lolth was able to communicate with her easily, and even affect her magic. The goddess tried to convince the warlock to seek the Children of Malice, while the adventurer proposed they improve Lolth's image so she wouldn't be associated with evil among the mortals. The Spider Queen responded by proposing to make Opal her champion, and offering her a test that would have turned her into a horrible monster if she failed; however, the human succeeded, becoming a champion and awakening her vestige in the process.[22]
In history there had been at least five Champions of Pelor; one of them, Yos Varda, leader of the Beacon of Arms, fought and was defeated by Vecna during the first attempt of the lich becoming a god.[23][24]
Five of these known champions have been memorialized with a star on the Crest of Whitestone, as Pelor is the patron god of the city. After Vex'ahlia became a champion herself, Percy de Rolo pointed out that they would need to add a sixth star to the crest,[27] effectively doing so at some point before 832 PD.[28]
Three champions and early followers of the Raven Queen after her ascension were known as Clay, Dust and Stone. The three of them gave great importance to funerary rites, and when a hero died in a battle, they debated about what to do with the body. The goddess, explaining that she had already taken what was rightfully hers (the soul of the hero), advised them to seek instruction from The Wildmother; Melora solved the debate by making the champions part the body in three parts: Clay kept the head, Dust the main body and Stone the limbs, and each of them proceeded to apply the funerary rites they deemed correct, honoring in the process different gods. Their families continued taking care of the dead after them, honoring their ancestors' mission.[29]
When Vex'ahlia died during the retrieval of the Deathwalker's Ward, her twin brother Vax'ildan made a bargain for her life with the Raven Queen,[32] eventually donning the Champion's armor[33] and becoming a new Champion of the Raven Queen.[34] Vax'ildan served the goddess during his missions, and when he died, both established a new agreement: the Raven Queen would allow her champion to return to life as many times as necessary until Vecna, enemy of the goddess, was defeated, and only then would the soul of the rogue be hers. That deal was respected, and when Vax'ildan died permanently, he ascended to a new form of existence, still a champion of the Matron, but a celestial, an angelic entity known as the Champion of Ravens, staying under her service the following years,[35] and appearing before his mortal family and friends very briefly on counted occasions.[36][37] During the apogee solstice of 843 PD the champion was lured into a trap while he was trying to protect the Voice of the Tempest, being captured by Ludinus Da'leth's forces and compressed into a dark sphere (a "sliver of divinity") to use it as a lens for the Malleus Key in the Tishtan excavation site.[38]
The Prime Deity would influence Wilhand Trickfoot in dreams, inspiring him to leave his family's mischievous ways, and he did, teaching his descendants about the goddess. One of them, Pike Trickfoot, would become a cleric of Sarenrae. The deep gnome became a part of an adventuring party and channeled her goddess' power, becoming the main healer for her friends. However, after a particularly hard fight with a glabrezu, she was killed and subsequently resurrected in a small temple of Sarenrae in Emon.[42] That event made Pike more bellicose. While on one occasion the goddess limited Pike's power for her lack of compassion,[43] the Everlight generally cared about her cleric and supported her in her adventures. Pike, in turn, showed her devotion and helped restore her temples.[44][45][46]
Arkhan, a dragonborn paladin was once contacted by the Scaled Tyrant in a moment of need, and from that moment on he was a devout follower of the dragon goddess, and a champion to the cause of freeing her from the Nine Hells. To succeed in his goal, Arkhan conducted several missions in the Material Plane, at one point visiting Exandria and undertaking a mission to the Aggrad Mountains with several adventurers (including Keyleth and Percival de Rolo) to obtain the Wreath of the Prism, a vestige connected to his goddess.[58][59] He also spent time in Avernus, commanding Tiamat's forces, obtaining his own followers,[60] and even raising chromatic dragons like Obatalá.[61] By then Arkhan had gained power beyond his mortal capabilities, becoming a Highlord under her service with his own tower in his queen's layer and prison.[62]
There are certain champions in Exandria that, through their own will and deeds or through some great destiny made for them, have achieved a great power, nearly god-like; along with their power, they usually gain a limited form of immortality, or at the very least, an extended longevity that allows them to live longer than what their mortal lineage would allow.[68]
These champions spend most of their time in seclusion, lending their power to others, and it is believed that said isolation is precisely what allows them to grant such gifts, while they reserve their full strength to face an event worthy of them.[68] While these champions can obtain their power through their followers' worship, that's not always the case, and some of them can remain powerful even when they are despised by others.
These champions are mythic iconoclasts: this means that each of them, in one form or another, attacks or criticizes cherished beliefs or institutions. Examples of this are Azgrah taking attributions related to Laduguer and surpassing in popularity the Crawling King himself; or Ghaladron betraying the dictatorship of their nation.[68]
Alyxian was a human from Wildemount who was born near the beginning of The Calamity under the full moon of Ruidus,[69] thus considered cursed by many. Alyxian tried to escape from his own destiny by becoming a warrior and doing good deeds in the world. Despite the horrors he witnessed during the battles of the Calamity, Alyxian did become a great hero, and on three different occasions, he asked the gods for assistance: Sehanine, Avandra and Corellon answered his prayers, helping him and giving him power to face his many challenges. While the latter was the most distant of them, the other two were more active in their support, and it is said that the Changebringer even grieved for the hero's dark destiny.[70] 041b061a72