Marked for Good

You are Marked for Good.
There is nothing passive about my blessing my son, it is a charge to you. You have been found by gods, blessed by them, and you must do good in this world, and so receive it back to yourself. This, I bequeath to you. This is the fat of the land, the best there is in this life.

— From The Last Blessing of Soren Crystalheart

Words of the Elders

Arrhynsian elders are universally revered in Arrhynsia, even among humans and orcs. With age comes wisdom, and wisdom understands the importance and influence provided by speaking truth into a child from the earliest times of their lives until they die. For Arrhynsians a universal practice is blessing your loved ones and neighbors with the blessing "You are Marked for Good".

Occasions

There is no time that the blessing cannot be performed, though it traditionally is an integral part of the baptism of infants soon after birth. All sapient cultures seem to perform this rite in one form or another where the child is named, dedicated to spiritual enlightenment, and given a blessing by their respective god or goddess. The only known exception to this is the Dark Elves , whose goddess Ligeoa invokes terror in her followers as she a source of great pain, destruction and oppression.
Children are often blessed by their parents and grandparents at the beginning of the day, and adults will usually bless their family members before they take on their responsibilities for the day. It is typically spoken as the speaker touches the blessed person.
It can be spoken in the playground, before tackling emotional or difficult work, or just in the middle of the day when one sees another who needs a pick-me-up.
When elders lay dying, it is part of their last words to their families, their blessings on their children and grandchildren.

A Blessing and Duty

This blessing has redeemed moments, salvaged days, given meaning to years, transformed entire lives. It has even changed the course of history. It is a source of comfort, the warm blanket of a cozy home. It is the knowledge of being loved. It is a moment of shared decision to pursue a higher calling.
You are Marked for Good -
Five simple words, but they hold so much.
To do good
To receive good

They hold the hope for a world free from evil.
They hold responsibility to a higher calling.
They hold the discipline needed for strength.
They hold kindness and gentleness.
They hold honor and striving for excellence.
They hold protection against the oppressor.
They hold honesty in relationships.
They hold the pre-eminence of acting in the best way one knows how.
They hold the power to create a better future for all.

Sisters by Lord Fredrick Leighton

April 1967

"You are Marked for Good," said the matronly dwarven woman in white robes looking down at him as he lay in the skinny cot in the medical facility. At least he supposed it was a medical facility. He had never been in one before, but he had heard of them. There were others here injured, row after row, cot after cot, just as he was, only dwarven.
He blinked.
"Pardon, Clan Mother Donoma, but I do not believe I understand." He had always thought that his dwarven was quite good for a dark elf, but he had never actually spoken his enemy's language. Speaking was not reading, as he had discovered over the past three days.
Her mouth crooked into an odd position, the ends turned upwards, her teeth glistened whitely, and the skin at the sides of her eyes achieved deep folds. He shrunk back from her. There was no mistaking the threat of those teeth.
She reached out and touched him and he stilled under her hand. Would she kill him now? he wondered. He tensed, waiting to act until he understood her course of action. He would not let himself be killed. No, not now, not after everything he had endured to get here. Death was not allowed to be his fate.
"It's a blessing Adenshur, I was thinking what a miracle it is that you are here," she replied. "The first dark elf since the Uprising of the Dark to see Uftlon, and more, the first to come without ill intent. The All Father must have a purpose for you. I don't know what that is, but it will be good."
Her teeth no longer showed and her countenance looked serious. He stared at her blankly. Her words were gibberish. He grasped at the only point he might understand. "The Uprising of the Dark?" he asked.
"Yes, I suppose your people would not call it that. An invasion your people tried six hundred years ago. It was led by your Iraenox and Iratus clans. Their generals were - honorable men, and their soldiers were skilled, but they had to die. They killed many dwarves." A shadow passed across her face. "Perhaps that is your good, your mark, to reconcile your people with the dwarves."
She was talking about Vincere Iraenox - the Battle for the Tree, he realized. That conflict had weakened and almost destroyed his clan. They had failed utterly; none who departed on it had returned, and The Mistress had been most displeased with their leadership. Their Clan Mother, his great grandmother had been... replaced.
The Mistress who sent them still reigned in the Dark Caverns.
"I do not think so," he replied.