The Chrysanthemum and the Void

Not too long after arriving in Sandpoint, Ren sits on his usual stool at the Rusty Dragon. Three months in Sandpoint, and already the counter bears the marks of his elbows. This morning it's tea, not sake.

He waves at Zarku as he enters. "挨拶、名誉ある友人. 私はあなたがよく寝信頼しています. あなたは勉強する準備ができていますか？" (translated: Greetings, honored friend. Are you ready for our studies?) He has his journal and pen out. "You have your book of formulae, yes? Perhaps today we study the void. The force unseen. It reminds me of a story my people tell. How does it go, Ameiko? There was a white fox named Fukuyemon..." He proceeds to tell a tale of foxes finding wives, having pups and living happily. Then he focuses himself on helping Zarku translate.

Zarku knocks against the bar gently as he listens to the tale and catches Ameiko's eye with a slight smile. A quick flick of his wrist towards Ren's tea, and then he raises to fingers followed by a grateful ducking of his head. At the tale's conclusion, during which he has his own beverage cooling in his hands, he says warmly in Minkaian, "Thank you Ren - if I thought you were more..." he uses the word 'duplicitous' in a few languages, not having it in the poet's native tongue. Ameiko chimes in with the correct translation, and Zarku continues. "..more duplicitous, then I'd say the point of your tale was to win the hand of a certain bitter bar-polishing lass." Trying to draw out one of the spectacular blushes Ren is capable of, he then laughs softly an slips a battered wooden-bound book from where it's fastened to his side by what looks like thick netting from the docks. "But I digress, the Void." He says it as if it is something holy, something precious beyond words. "In your meditations so far, I have sensed you getting close to true release, true emptiness of all but your core self. It was this chant that helped push me over the edge to awareness of the world beyond what can perceived with mundane senses."

His voice is no beauty, and it is somewhat obvious these are words that have rarely been used out loud in such a public setting by his awkwardness. His mastery of Minkaian is a rough thing, but coherent enough for Ren to follow and correct pronunciation and grammar. With the following words, his fingers move as if playing a large stringed instrument above the bar that only exists for him. "The world is full of light, but you see it not. The world is ripe with music, yet you hear it not. The world is perfumed with passion, yet you smell it not. The world is drunk on ambrosia, yet you taste it not. The world is crawling across your skin, yet you feel it not." As he finishes his mantra, the whites of Zarku's eyes begin to glow, and lines of darkness bloom about his fingers.

Ren laughs nervously, concealing his mouth with his hand. "These words remind me of a like prayer to the Lady of Chrysanthemums."

"The sun shines, the winds chime and flowers paint the air. Warm rays on my brow, honey on my tongue, my loves embrace. For all of this, I give you thanks, my Lady."

Ren holds his small spell book up for Zarku to see. "I have been writing the words in my own book, using the inks you gave me. And some other notes that Master Korvaski shared with me the other night. He and Master Drokkus have been most gracious, asking of life in Minkai. Master Drokkus would like to adapt some of our fables into a play. I wish I knew them better."

"They gave me some scrolls, which I've transcribed. This one lets a man rest while remaining watchful. I chanted the words last night, and watched the moon cross the sky even while I rested full. It was wondrous."

Zarku nods appreciatively as he listens, sipping his tea. When the prayer is complete, he chimes in, "I could see your devotion to your Lady as a means for you to refine your focus, and bring out the power locked within you. It seems you have already made great strides in that direction, as well as the second step on the path - drawing upon the power once you find it. The last step is the hardest, but will benefit you the most in times of strife. It is trick of using the emptiness, the silence, to have your intellect move at a speed where six syllables can unlock your inner doors as well as six hours of meditation. Just as a one might fold a paper flower, you fold your thoughts, teaching yourself shortcuts through the garden of your mind."

Ren thinks on Zarku's advice as he leaves the tavern and walks the streets. His steps take him along the bluff overlooking the bay. ''I shall need to meditate on this for a while. If my own inner strength can help me defend beauty and love, I should find and use it!''

Several weeks later, facing the dread quasit with dueling blade drawn, Ren recalls the words of the man who gave it to him, Fondo Barondo. "My sweet songbird, you've to find the strength within you, where your heart speaks your greatest desires. That's when true strength comes."

Recalling also Zarku's advice, he focuses his mind around the blade's pommel and feels mystic energy fuel his thrust. After much focusing and several failed swings, energy flows through his arm, guiding his blade home.