Fenrir continued the lesson.
"There are three main Debilitating Attack Types as I explained earlier. Each attack type has many Debilitating Stats within its arsenal that the Weaver Of Calamity could inflict upon an unsuspecting person. Likewise, there are three main ways to nullify each type of Debilitating Attack. There is a unique method of nullification per Debilitating Stat within each arsenal. However, regardless of Debilitating Attack Type, the methods of nullification are vastly similar. You could say each attack type is an echo of the other. Nullification works along this principle as well. Let's get past the complexities and get straight to the point. There is one and only one medium through which the Weaver Of Calamity ever attacks a person. You recall the Libra System's functionalities don't you?" Fenrir asked.
We thought back.
"The Libra System measures the genome of animals against that of humans. Priority is placed on the digestive system of the animal" Ariel recalled.
"A Food Chain" I thought seriously.
"Exactly, the Weaver Of Calamity always attacks a person…via their Food!" Fenrir said seriously.
"Are you for real?!" Keiran asked.
"Let's start with Physical Attacks" Fenrir said seriously.
We knew from his tone that he wasn't joking.
"When a person is in their ideal environment, they maintain a Healthy State. This Healthy State is to a large extent dependent on their diet. When the Weaver Of Calamity wishes to attack such a person, he either destroys their Food Source or any resource they could use to acquire Food or he introduces a Pathogen into their environment. This Pathogen may invade the person's body either via the Food they eat or the Air they breathe. Once in the person's body, the Pathogen attacks the person's cells causing rapid cellular degeneration. Of course once all your cells die, there's no way you can survive" Fenrir said seriously.
We realized what Fenrir was getting at.
"There's a simple rule of thumb to follow when dealing with any of the Weaver Of Calamity's attacks. It's this, 'safer to drink from upstream than downstream'. Let's put it in two other ways, 'always eat directly from the Source' and 'The closer your Food is to the Earth, the safer it is'" Fenrir said.
"I see, you mean if we purchased all our Food directly from the Source, we could skip the Venomous Supply Chain and any attempts by an adversary to intercept our Food Supply via the Supply Chain" I realized.
"Precisely because we're purchasing our Food directly from the Source and the Producer is aware of the accountability of their actions, the Food is likely to be safe" Arlene realized.
"Better yet, if you harvest your Food directly from the crop, there's little chance of it being poisoned by an adversary. As long as you ensure it is clean before you eat it, you'll be safe. The ideal situation thus is to produce your own Food" Fenrir said.
"I see" Concordia realized what Fenrir was getting at.
"What of Psychological Attacks? How do you defend against those?" Saito asked.
"It's the same way, 'watch your Food'. Just as the mouth feeds on Food, the Mind feeds on information. Our perception of the World is shaped by the info we consume from our surroundings. When that info is predominantly negative, our outlook on the World becomes such. When it is predominantly positive, we perceive the World as such. To a large extent, whether a person is Optimistic or Pessimistic depends on the info they receive from their environment. This info is what we call 'experience'" Fenrir said.
I recalled the myths about the Weaver Of Calamity's origins. It was a weapon originally created from the combined evil of mankind's desires. The constellation that confronted it roughly twenty three years ago severed mankind from the Weaver Of Calamity by augmenting all of Mankind's positive desires.
"I see" I realized.
"Fortunately, every human has the capacity to freely choose what sort of info they wish to focus on and the info they intend to base their decisions and sentiments on. People who are purely instinctual have a limited capacity to do this. They tend to consume everything that is presented to them and that is one of the Weaver Of Calamity's greatest advantages. A purely instinctual person is a reactive instead of proactive person and is likely to act in a certain way provided certain conditions are fulfilled. This also implies that it becomes easy to bait such a person once one becomes aware of their predominant character traits. The Sagittarius System exists to defend against such traps" Fenrir explained.
"I see, so by focusing on the positive instead of the negative, one can avoid this trap?" Concordia asked.
"It means being able to focus on the positive without blinding oneself to the negative. The negative is just as important. It shows us our shortcomings and the areas in which we can improve ourselves. But dwelling solely on the positive can blind us to these shortcomings just as dwelling solely on the negative can give us a negative outlook of the World. Both extremes are just as fatal and the Weaver Of Calamity knows full well how to capitalize on both extremes. Just make sure that you consciously choose what sort of info you wish to base your decisions on and that no one is compelling you to make a decision against your will and you will be fine. It is good to take advice from others but ultimately, the only one that has the power to make decisions based on that advice is you. Be conscious of your own ability to freely make decisions and you can avoid this trap" Fenrir explained.
"So it's down to Food again huh?" I realized.
"The same has to do with Debilitating Attacks centred against one's Spirit. One's Spirit is the core of their character. It is from one's Spirit that Sigils are formed. Obviously, Sigils are the only Tools one can utilize in battle against the Weaver Of Calamity and his forces thus by crushing a person's spirit, it becomes possible to eliminate their Sigil" Fenrir said seriously.
We gulped.
"Our knowledge of our identity is shaped by multiple factors but the predominant factor is how we perceive ourselves. How we perceive ourselves can also be shaped by how others perceive us. Thus on this front, the Weaver Of Calamity attacks a person by infiltrating their Social Circles and feeding them a false and predominantly negative perception of themselves. It's to build a false self-image. When a person becomes unable to recognize and acknowledge their true selves, they also lose the capacity to summon a Sigil. As far as the Weaver Of Calamity is concerned, that's one potential threat eliminated. There is a simple way to deal with this Attack. Acknowledge your identity, nothing more, nothing less. It means you should acknowledge both your strengths and weaknesses. Don't create an image of yourself that exceeds your capabilities. Any attempt to demean that image by the Weaver Of Calamity would deal a crushing blow to your ego and you might not be able to recover. At the same time, don't make light of what you are capable of and never allow another person to demean your identity. A low self-esteem makes you the perfect prey for the Weaver Of Calamity. He will falsely claim to compensate for what you lack and by so doing bait you into his trap. When you acknowledge your weaknesses, you are less likely to falter when an attack is made against your identity. The attack won't phase you precisely because you are aware of your shortcomings. You are also unlikely to attempt to overcompensate for your weaknesses and won't be baited when the Weaver Of Calamity claims to have the power to compensate for that weakness. When you acknowledge your Strengths…the same is true" Fenrir said.
"In the end, it all comes down to the Food Chain Logic" I realized.
"It also means you need to be mindful of your Social Bonds. Do not constantly place yourself into a situation where your identity is demeaned by those around you but rather into an environment where your positive traits are brought to light. It also means you should not let others decide for you how you feel about yourself. If they feed your identity anything worthwhile, you can accept it. However, you also have the power to reject it. The same goes for the negative. You are the only one with the power to decide who you want to be" Fenrir said. "You shouldn't automatically accept everything that looks good and reject everything that looks bad. Weigh your Food carefully…before you eat it" Fenrir said.