An Oath
“Are these people telling us that we can go on adventures?”
According to Merriam-Webster (2021), an oath is a “solemn usually formal calling upon God or a god to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says”. I will add this from Dictionary.com (2021): “a solemn appeal to a deity, or to some revered person or thing, to witness one’s determination to speak the truth, to keep a promise, etc.”. Please consider the implications.
I do not know how far we can trace the history of giving an oath, but both Britannica and the Christian Bible push this back extremely far (how is that for accuracy). Regardless of its origin, the penalty for making a false oath or breaking a solid oath was severe. Severe enough to bring down vengeance from a deity! Again, imagine the implications! If only we considered the same repercussions before breaking our word in normal conversations with our friends and family today.