“You know I don’t do well at sea level, and to get to Sarpang, where you’ll need to go to take a ship to the Island Kingdom, would mean crossing the Great Plateau. And aside from that, what happens when I’m at sea?”
“You can swim, right?”
“Not in this form,” she said with a playful smirk.
“It’s just something to consider.”
Once we were dressed, we headed downstairs to find Roger and Tashi speaking to Dohna. Roger was going on about how he had finally found some of the white birds with red beaks that Saruul had told him about, and how they’d had a bit of a party last night.
It was weird seeing him in his new fur wrappings, even though I’d seen him wearing it yesterday. Roger’s body was turquoise, his tail feathers yellow, but the fur was white and made from the hide of a snow fox.
“And there is the man of the hour,” Roger said as I took a seat next to him.
“Morning, Roger. Sorry to interrupt. Continue.”
“There’s not much more to say about the bird party, but you were right, Saruul,” Roger told the beautiful lioness.
“About what?”
“I am the talk of the town.”
“And you are certain it isn’t your fur wrapping?” I asked him.
“I prefer to refer to it as a vest,” Roger said, sticking his tongue out at me. “And I think I’m going to have a few other ones made. It’s good to have a wardrobe. I always wanted to be human anyway. Why not get a little fancy with what I wear? Maybe a hat for warmer weather, perhaps a scarf. The sky's the limit for a bird, literally. Besides, there’s no telling what climates we will venture to next. I mean, sure, an island kingdom will probably be pretty humid, but if we go higher into the mountains, well, now I’m prepared. And you won’t have to worry about me tucked under your robes, digging my claws into your flesh as I shiver.”
“That will be nice,” I said, playfully massaging my shoulder.
Dohna smiled at me. “And you rested well, Nick?” she asked as she placed a bowl of porridge in front of me, thick chunks of bacon sticking out of it.
“I believe so, yes.”
“Maybe you’re asking the wrong person,” Roger joked, glancing at Saruul.
Dohna’s eyes narrowed on him. “What are you suggesting?”
“Nothing,” Roger said, launching back into the story about his party with the white birds. “Look, I know that the lions around here don’t pay much attention to the birds, but let me be the first to tell you: those birds are good company. They’re so much more hospitable than the birds down at sea level. Less competitive too. Several of the womenfolk seemed interested, and none of the guys tried to buck up to me or start any trouble. They all seem so cool with it, which makes me think…” Roger hopped around for a moment, considering his next words.
“Yes?” I asked him after I had taken my first bite of porridge.
“Maybe they’re some serious swingers,” he said with a shrug. “And just to be clear, my particular species is not too keen on the swinging lifestyle. Aside from the buddy I told you about, the one that liked the more voluptuous birds, we usually only have one mate for life, and if that mate dies, well, then we may get another. I’m not getting that vibe up here, though.”
“Different places, different birds,” Tashi said. The fire spirit was about ten inches tall at the moment, floating to the left of Roger, his fiery arms behind his back.
“I guess you’re right,” Roger told him with a shrug. “I may have to adjust to it. I mean, after we leave here, and once we hit the Island Kingdom, I’m going to be pretty cosmopolitan if I do say so myself. And I have this feeling that’s not the last kingdom we’re gonna go to, aside from Lhasa. Who knows what kind of clothing I’ll pick up.”
“I have no idea,” I told him.
“That’s how these adventures work, you know. You start off going one way, and something leads you in another. So Paro, Rinpunga, Tsirang? Sure, let’s check them all out. I’m ready for the world tour.”
“One place at a time,” I told him after swallowing another lump of porridge. “Will you be joining me to meet with Lhandon today? I believe that he’s doing a ritual for Gansukh, to thank the ice spirit before he frees it.”
“The birds were all planning to go take a bath in a hot spring nearby. But as nice as that sounds, I don’t know if I’m interested in getting out of my fur vest.”
“Why not? Couldn’t you just get right back into it?”
Roger ran his left wing over his head, a few of the feathers slicking back. “They sort of think that this is part of my body.”
Dohna and Saruul laughed.
“You didn’t tell them that you were wearing a vest?” Tashi asked, a lick of flame lifting off the crown of his head.
“Why would I? Look at this fox fur,” Roger said, showing everyone his back and wagging his yellow tail feathers. “How unique is this? I look part mammal at the moment, which is something they’ve never seen up here. You should have seen how many of them wanted to touch my fur chest. I don’t want to let them down.”
“You’ve been lying to them?” Tashi asked.
“Calm your flames, Tashi, it’s a white lie, and technically I haven’t lied to them, I just haven’t admitted what it is to them.”
“So you’re just going to always stay in the fur vest while the birds are around?”
Roger nodded at me. “What’s the harm in that?”
“What if you end up…” I thought about what I was going to say and went ahead and said it anyway. “What if you end up fornicating with one of them? Won’t you have to take the fur off to, you know…”
“For your information, Nick, there is a little slit down there—I mean on my fur coat, not on the female bird, of course they have a slit—not that I need a little slit, but it is there, which the tailor put in just for this purpose. Actually, I think he put it in so I could go to the restroom, but it will work for this purpose as well. But you know what? This conversation has gotten out of hand. I apologize, Dohna.”
“I think it’s fascinating.” Saruul was now bent forward with her hands under her chin, her elbows resting on the island countertop as she watched Roger.
“Enough, enough,” Roger said, flapping his wings. “I’m going to the monastery with you, screw the potential orgy at the hot springs. Are we going after breakfast?”
“No,” Dohna said, returning her focus to me. “We’re going to train after breakfast and then you may go. I assumed Saruul has already told you about the festival tonight. Please have as much fun as you’d like, but stay away from the chung. Your training will continue once you return home from the festival.”
“Before we begin today, I would like Gansukh to come forward.” Lhandon sat on his raised platform with Jigme to his left and Altan to his right, parchment spread before the former slave.
My legs were sore from the calisthenics that Dohna had put me through earlier. It had been pretty brutal, and Roger had been there this time to tease me whenever it looked like I was about to give up.
We had eventually had lunch, and upon arriving at the temple, I stopped in Bobby’s room to check on him.
A little color had returned to his face, but he was still knocked out, his eyes sometimes twitching. For a moment I thought that he was going to look up at me, that he was finally going to awaken.
But he never did.
And about that point, after Altan had come in to apply more of the medicine he concocted from local ingredients, we had been called to one of the prayer rooms.
I was seated in front of the three monks, alongside Saruul, with Roger on the table to my right. Tashi floated in the corner as did Gansukh, who came forward once Lhandon had asked for it.
The ice spirit bowed.
“As promised, I will now free you from servitude,” Lhandon said a smile on his face. “Thank you for defending my monastery and providing us with nourishment during our trip through the Darkhan Mountains. I encourage you to continue practicing, and perhaps
once we have finished codifying the Path of the Divine, it will be something you will be willing to take up.”
“Perhaps, but I have some things I need to work through first. And before I go,” the ice spirit said in its very neutral voice, “I have a gift for you.”
“Please, you shouldn’t have…”
A wisp of ice lifted from Gansukh’s form, a finger taking shape. It drew three vertical stripes in the air, topping it with a curved line and a circle above the line.
“No…” Lhandon started to say, his throat quivering as a crystal blue energy swelled forward, crackling as it radiated around his forearms. Gansukh’s form lost its color almost immediately, just a small amount of its face still visible.
“It is more useful to you than me,” Gansukh said, the ice spirit’s voice just above a whisper. “Ra-Lhak. This rune can only be learned from an elemental spirit, and by casting it, you are able to turn things to ice with the touch of your hand. I don’t know what your journey ahead holds for you, Exalted One, but I do know that this may help. Thank you.”
And before Lhandon could say anything, Gansukh was gone, the ice spirit simply fading away.
“Such selflessness!” Altan exclaimed.
“Gansukh really was good in the end,” Tashi said, shaking. “How pious of Gansukh.”
“I’m so confused here,” I told Saruul under my breath. “Does this mean Gansukh is dead?”
“No,” Roger said, answering for the snow lioness, “the ice spirit just no longer has power.”
“Then why did Gansukh disappear?”
Jigme called for one of the lion monks at the back of the prayer space to retrieve a cup of tea.
The young monk left just as Roger answered my question: “Probably for karmic reasons.”
“Then again, maybe it was just being a spirit,” Saruul said. “They work in mysterious ways.”
Tashi nodded. “Some of us do, others of us are a little clearer in our goals and intentions. I believe Gansukh knew it would be more beneficial for the Exalted One to possess the power.”
“I just didn’t expect it to leave like that…” I said as the young monk reentered the room.
He brought a cup of piping hot tea to Lhandon, who glanced apprehensively from the cup of tea to Jigme.
“Give it a try.”
“Right.” Lhandon placed a finger on the rim of the teacup, and as he did, the cup began to crystallize, the tea hardening until the entire thing was frozen solid. He looked up at me and nodded. “I don’t know when I will use something like this, but I’m sure there will be a time. I will pray for Gansukh tonight. May it cultivate enough karma to leave our plane, and return to its own, only to be reborn where it so chooses.”
Jigme whispered a mantra, and as he did so, the young monk at the back bowed his head, also whispering the same mantra.
“I suppose we should begin,” Lhandon said, looking to Roger. “I’m glad you could join us today. Your presence was missed yesterday, and in case anyone hasn’t told you, your new fur attire looks marvelous.”
“Thanks,” Roger said, his tail feathers fanning out. “And about yesterday: something came up; I figured coming today would allow me to skip the recap portion. There was a lengthy recap portion yesterday, right? Besides, I needed to get fitted for my fur vest. I know that this is important and all, but it’s freezing here, and if I’m going to sit through hours of meditation and mindfulness, I want to be warm when I do so.”
I smirked at the bird, and I could see that Saruul was doing the same thing.
“What is he saying?” Lhandon asked.
“He’s saying that he’s glad that he’s here now,” I translated for Roger. “And that he apologizes for his absence yesterday.”
“Wonderful. Now, it has come to my attention that you are missing something, Roger,” Lhandon told him as he reached into the front of his robes. He retrieved the knife that we had taken from Baatar’s bag, which now had a leather strip tied through a hole in the bottom of the hilt.
“Just what I was looking for,” Roger said. “I don’t really have a place to put it, no pocket on this vest, but I’m sure Nick can find a place.”
“He wants me to hold it for him,” I translated.
“Great,” Lhandon said as he pushed the knife to the edge of the cushion that he sat on, waiting for Roger to retrieve it.
The bird lifted into the air and quickly made his way over to Lhandon, where he grabbed the knife and returned to me.
The knife clanked against the wood as Roger lightly placed it on the low table. The hilt was made of polished bone, its sheath also cut into the same bone so that it looked like a solid piece when the knife wasn’t out. It fit pretty snuggly as well, the sheath not falling off in the process of being carried over to me.
“Today is the day that we begin the novice stage on the Path of the Divine, a day that we all start over again as Broken Swords, regardless of where we assume we are on the Path. We will first start by being initiated by a holy object, then we will begin a meditation on compassion and karma. Because the meditation can be long, we will break it up by performing prostrations. Remember, to progress to the next stage will take one thousand prostrations, which Jigme or I will be able to check. Once Altan reaches the advanced student stage, he will be able to check this as well. I think it is important that we all start at the same level, even though there are inherent hierarchies in the room based on the experiences we already have and our time at various monasteries. I want to go through the same things that a novice experiences. I want to make sure the system that I have co-devised actually produces results.”
I nodded at Lhandon, letting him know that we were ready.
“Each of you will now go to the blessing ritual,” Lhandon said, motioning us toward Jigme.
Jigme reached for what looked like the skull of an elephant. He removed a portion of the skull to retrieve a small, golden lapel inside.
“This lapel belonged to the founder of the Temple of Eternal Sky, Tsering the Uplifted. He wore it his entire life and on his deathbed ordered that it was to be tossed off the Lion’s Peak, which is on the eastern side of the Darkhan Mountain Range. Twenty witnesses saw that it was tossed off the peak, disappearing into the valley below. Yet when Tsering died, and after his body was cremated, the golden lapel was found in his ashes. We will use this as our holy object for the ceremony.”
“I’m going first,” Roger said as he flew over to the lion monk.
He bowed before Jigme, waiting patiently as the lion monk lightly touched either side of Roger’s fur-wrapped shoulders with the lapel. The monk said the mantra and then told Roger he was officially a Broken Sword.
“That easy, huh?” Roger said as he flew back to me.
Jigme handed the lapel to Lhandon, who motioned Altan forward, performing the same ritual.
Once Lhandon was done, he then asked that I come forward.
I came to Lhandon and glanced up at him for just a moment, remembering in that instant the first time I’d seen him back at the monastery, when he had led me to my bedroom.
I bowed my head and Lhandon performed the ritual, whispering the same mantra that Jigme had said.
Once he was finished, he handed the lapel back to Jigme.
Saruul came forward next and stopped before the lion monk, kneeling before him so he could bless her with the lapel.
She looked up at him with fondness in her eyes. After he was finished, she turned back to me. I wanted to pull her into my arms at that moment, but I knew better, offering her a smile in its place.
Finally, Tashi came, the fire spirit reducing his size. He stopped in front of Jigme, the lion monk lifting his hand out to the fire spirit, beckoning him forward.
Tashi hesitated.
“Go on. You can move onto the palm of my hand,” Jigme assured him.
Tashi reduced his size even further.
He slowly moved to the tip of Jigme’s finger and from there, to the center of his palm.
&nb
sp; Tashi burned a line in the monk’s flesh, Jigme barely noticing. As calmly as he had blessed the others, Jigme performed the ritual, Tashi moving away immediately once he was finished.
“Wonderful,” Lhandon said as Jigme cast a rune that allowed him to heal his palm. “After tea, we will start the conversation on compassion and karma, as well as its subsequent meditation. We will then try to do a hundred prostrations today. Once that is finished, I will go over the requirements for the second level, the cultivator stage, Wheel with a Rusty Axle. After that…”
Lhandon looked at me.
“After that, we have plans to go to the Winter Moon festival,” I told him.
“You do? That’s excellent. I would like to join you then. It would be nice to be among the people.”
Chapter Thirteen: Wrestling with Ego
My body hurt.
Between Dohna’s calisthenics and the prostrations, my thighs and my lower back were killing me. I wasn’t allowed to heal myself, and even if I were, I would probably need to save that for later in the night, when I faced off against my midnight opponent.
I figured it would take me a couple more tries to actually bring the lion man down, or at least hurt him as I had done the first night. Who knew, maybe tonight was the night.
I certainly hoped that was the case.
It was evening now, and our vantage point on the steps of the Temple of Eternal Sky gave us an unobstructed view of the village, and the festival on its far southern end.
There were paper lanterns in the air, similar to the ones that I had seen during the fight I’d had against the young girl and the cat man back in Nagchu.
As we took the steps down, I recalled how strange my first twenty-four hours had been here, to first be sold as a slave and then considered powerful enough to be put on trial through the fight.
How different would my story have turned out had I joined Mabel’s elite guard?
For one, I would have met with Bobby earlier, but I wouldn’t have made it into the mountains, and who knew if I would have ever met Lhandon. Plus, there was no telling how Evan would have acted.
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