Why I Choose Kami

[rhaenaan]

Why do I choose to breathe? Why do I allow my blood to flow through my veins? Why do I choose to stay on the surface of Atys rather than flying off into space? I choose Kami because there is no other choice if I choose to live on Atys.

My people have long been the protectors of Atys and have aligned themselves blindly to the Kami. At first, I rebelled. I was disgusted by the Kami and the Karavan declaring themselves protectors and overlords of this world and keeping us "protected" from our own history, technology and heritage.

Time has mellowed me, though. In a battle of titans, neutrality simply means that you have two enemies, no allies and you're a nice easy (but somewhat squishy) rock for one side to toss at the other.

Anyways....with time, I have come to the conclusion that, while we are closer to the Karavan in form, we are the true Children of Atys and our survival is far more closely tied to that of the Kami. In protecting the world that sustains us, the Kami protect us (whether by intent or by coincidence.) I don't pretend to understand the Kami. Since I can not understand them, I can never be sure of their motivations. So trust is not something that I give blindly. But their behaviors are towards goals that I share (namely, keeping the planet alive and thriving)

The Karavan, on the other hand, seem much more like us. The altruism of the Kami is replaced with all of the Homin frailties of character and questionable motives of greed and self-preservation. Most that I have spent time with seem put upon to be here and do not share our love for Atys. Instead, they seem to long for a world where they don't need armor and breathers to survive. (a world where, I suspect, we could not survive). Yes, they are very much like us, but will never be able to share Atys with us. How, then, can their motivations align with our own?

We were once like Gods. Our history before Atys is clouded, but the legends speak of how we came here from another world. Surely, we didn't journey here on the back of Kitins or in ships made of bone and zerx leather. The Kami and Karavan both know our history and, yet, keep it from us. They know we had technology, yet instead of helping us to regain it, they teach us to impale one another with sticks and shells. There are times that I beleive both races would be happier if we simply killed ourselves off as a species and left them to their battles.

So.....do I choose Kami out of love and blind devotion. No. I choose them out of a sense of shared goals. There may be a time that our goals no longer align. But...until then....

[wardone]

most common why did i choose kami?

the welcomers are so cute

[lmcready]

Ahem! my goodness everybody's gleaming with great uberosity. I've been gone too long. But I'll be back soon, with a brand new pick!

Anyway thought I'd just reply to an interesting thread here. Kami are the protectors of Atys, and the Karavan are just an advanced form of cannibals in the guise of greedy indutrialists that are secretly in pursuit of fine delicacies that involve magically infused homin flesh. The Karavan easily lure power hungry homins into their factions by offering them a place at their side, until the Karavan have gathered enough of us (which they seem to be doing a pretty damn good job) to take us away and feast on our bones while they travel to the next world in pursuit of a new flavor.

Pretty simple no? Anyway, I'd rather stick to my 'roots' and not be food for the gods.

[rhaenaan]

>The Karavan easily lure power hungry homins into their factions by offering them a place at their side

There also seems to be a lot of metal-like shine on those nasty wheels spinning in the main cities. Another Karavan plot to deprive homins and keep them in submission? Hmmm...the tokens have that shine of metal about them, as well.

They're evil, I tell you. I know that I will do my part to deprive them of thier stuffed yubos and fireworks so that they won't lure any other hapless homins into thier evil grip!

Rhaenaan - "Let's Chance it....you lose"

[scope006]

I read all the lore, or at least 90% of it on the website back in Jan. 2007 when a first tried the game out. I also re-read some of the sections now that I have come back.

Based on my interpretation of the lore, the Kami (whether harsh or not) seem truly dedicated to preserving the planet Atys. The Karavan have always struck me as suspicious in their black suits that cover their entire entity. Also, they have their ships and technology which are quite foreign to our world. The fact that they show up, claim to be our guardians and ask for offerings of our natural resources to worship the "Godess Jena" seems pretty fishy to me at best.

In my opinion the Karavan are foreigners that are a more advanced biped race (It's not that amazing that they have a similar shape to us.) from another world with more advanced technology than us (due to the partial destruction of our civilizations). It would be/is so easy for them to impress us homins with their advanced technology and make us believe tales/lies about a Godess Jena that we must worship and give offerings so that she might save us at the end of our world. I think they are here to stip mine our planet of it's resources, but even with their technology they are not powerful enough to do as they please with the ever watchful Kami presence. (As for preservation; I would make sure I built good supports and took care of my coal mine too ...till it was out of coal.)

When I weigh the evidence, I am convinced for myself that the Kami are the true guardians of the planet Atys, and I intend to ally with them and aid them however I can. That does not mean I will abandon or refuse to help my fellow homins that follow the path of the Karavan, but I will stand in the way of harmful actions against the Kami, Kami Guilds, or other Kami followers.

[23off]

Why I chose Kami?
Because I started in a time where it didn´t make any difference. And gasmasks are uncomfortable.

[rhaenaan]

Why I chose Kami?
Because I started in a time where it didn´t make any difference. And gasmasks are uncomfortable.

But they sure came in handy during the Great Zorai Chili Cookoff.

[petersk]

Very interesting thread here. I can see where people are coming from, on both sides of the issue, and it all seems an extension of our RL beliefs. As I am still a neutral, I hope that when I do chose a faction, I don't lose the friends from the other....that would be a shame if it were to happen. As a neutral, I have fought for both sides in OP battles and have had the pleasure of going out for hunts with members from both sides afterwards.

Keep the posts coming, interesting stuff and good for reflection.

[iceaxe68]

As I am still a neutral, I hope that when I do chose a faction, I don't lose the friends from the other....that would be a shame if it were to happen.

Anyone called friend who abandons you was never a friend.

(Sorry for invading the Kami thread, I'll leave now. )

[sidusar]

I can see where people are coming from, on both sides of the issue, and it all seems an extension of our RL beliefs.

Not all of us! When I first joined the game and read all the lore, I concluded for myself the Karavan were the more evil faction. They demanded offerings from their followers, they were intolerant towards other religions (Trytonism in particular) and they discouraged or even outright prohibited homins from recovering information about their past. It all strongly suggested they were holding homins back to keep them subservient. The Kami just imposed a few rules to preserve the environment, and apart from that seemed fine with allowing homins to develop and explore as they choose to.

Magic also appealed to me more than technology. Had I lived on Atys myself, I would've chosen the Kami. That's why I made a character who followed the Karavan.

My opinions did change over the years though, partly because playing a Karavan character made me see their good points, and partly because the Kami have become more evil and hypocritical since I started playing. Now I pretty much see them both as equally good and equally evil. But then, now I also believe that if as a player I ever consider one faction to be more evil than the other, that's a flaw in the lore.