Path of the Divine

by Harmon Cooper

  “Sounds good.”

  “There is another thing that would be helpful for you to get while you’re out.” Lhandon set a small glass jar on his desk. “But you need to learn the Rune of Inquiry first.”

  “Isn’t that the one that you cast on the spirit back in the cave?”

  “It is, and casting it around any type of spirit will put you in a situation similar to what we already experienced. If the spirit answers your question incorrectly, the spirit is yours.”

  “And you can transfer this to me without losing the power yourself?”

  Lhandon nodded. “Now that I have taken the mantle of head monk, as proven by the fact that I was able to access this library, I can now transmit powers without losing them. This one would be very helpful to you, I believe.”

  A thought came to me. I almost didn’t ask it, but Lhandon paused, waiting for me to speak. “Would it work against someone from a different world? Like a dakini?”

  “I’ve never met a dakini, but I suppose it could do something. I would need to check some of the books in the library, however, to see if this has ever been attempted before.”

  I looked down in front of me at the piece of parchment, and the quill sticking out of a small container of ink. By the time I glanced up Lhandon was standing, holding a paintbrush in his hand and focused on a piece of paper that had been stretched across the wall behind him.

  “You already know Lha,” he began, tracing the character.

  “Yes, it looks like a television with a stick hanging off it and two slash marks.”

  “I don’t know what that means, but it appears as if you know what you’re talking about. So sure, whatever helps. We won’t go too deep into characters used in the ancient languages today, but you should at least understand subscripts and superscripts. You have already learned two runic spells, the first one being Healing Hand.”

  “Lha-Mo,” I told him, sketching it on the parchment.

  “Yes, and you will notice that this rune takes ‘Mo’ as a subscript. That’s why it is pronounced ‘Lha-Mo.’ Does that make sense?”

  I nodded. “And the other one I know allows me to absorb three strikes, something Baatar taught me. To be honest, I sort of forgot about that one. I should’ve used it back at Madame Mabel’s place, but I was so lost in the moment…”

  “It is fine. Show me ‘Ma-Gyal.’”

  I closed my eyes for a moment and drew it up.

  “Again,” Lhandon said, “in this rune, ‘Gyal’ is a subscript. There are more complicated ones with superscripts and subscripts, and the way you know which one is which is through the pronunciation. Now, the two we are learning today are simple. The Rune of Inquiry is ‘Ra-Lha.’ You already know ‘Lha,’ so please show me ‘Ra.’”

  I closed my eyes, lightly setting the tip of the quill on the parchment. My hands started to make a circle, and then it naturally made an almost sideways smile beneath it.

  “Good,” said Lhandon, who was now standing before me. “You really are a natural at this. Now, how do you think you would combine them? Would ‘Ra’ be a subscript or a superscript?”

  I closed my eyes again, my hand naturally starting to form a circle, what I remembered Baatar had called a “moon.” I then formed a square with a stem hanging off of it, with two slashes beneath it.

  “Is that right?” I asked him.

  Lhandon nodded. “But which is it? Is ‘Ra’ a subscript or a superscript?”

  “Super, because it sits on top of Lha.”

  “Good, Ra-Lha. Now, try casting it.”

  I did as he instructed, making a quick circle and square, with a line stemming from it and two slash marks. It was subtle, but I noticed that the room had started to glow, or maybe it was everything I was looking at that was glowing.

  “And how long does it last?”

  “Until you trace the rune again. Once you ask your question, start to prepare your jar for the spirit. I always have an empty one in my robes, just in case I need one.”

  He brought a small jar over to my table and set it down.

  “And how do you get it to go inside?”

  “As soon as the spirit answers it incorrectly, it will be sucked inside the jar. Only one spirit can fit in each jar. These aren’t just any jars, they’re special ones that have been blessed. I suppose you could bless a larger jar to fit more spirits, but that may cause an issue, and the spirits certainly wouldn’t be happy!” He chuckled at his own statement. “It would be strange indeed.”

  I traced up the rune again, immediately recalling it.

  “While you’re on your way to ring the bell, I want you to encounter a spirit and bottle it. We could use as much supernatural help as we can get.”

  “And you think I’ll just randomly find one?”

  “If luck is on your side, yes. And if it is on your side, try to keep it on your side long enough to actually bottle the spirit. Now, there’s one more rune to learn for today, then you should prepare a bag and leave if you hope to reach the bell by nightfall.”

  He paused for a moment. “Ah, yes. There is one other thing about the Rune of Inquiry that you should know. It can only test the veracity of a question once per hour. So be sure it’s a good question, otherwise you may find yourself in a situation where you have to entertain a spirit for an hour to try again. Or fight it. Your choice.”

  “I will keep that in mind,” I told him.

  “Now, as I predicted, there was something interesting in the underground library that I believe may be of use to you. There are a good many runes down here, to be honest, but someone at your stage on the path should only learn one or two per day. Also, if you learn too many, you will start to forget the ones you don’t use as frequently, which is why it’s important to really work on inner cultivation.”

  “Through just meditation?”

  “It varies based on the student. Someone like Altan has clearly meditated extensively, yet he has not progressed. For him to progress he needs to start to develop karma from doing something he cares about, and through transmission from some of the more complicated texts. For someone like you? Meditation will help, as will pious action. The Power, this unique ability that you and only a few others seem to possess, is fueled by karma, both positive and negative, meditation and action, both positive and negative. How you’ve already cultivated enough to show up here with the Power is beyond me, but you still have work to do.”

  “I will try to meditate tonight,” I told him.

  “You should meditate before you go, and one thing that you should think about is if it is a good idea to call Saruul to the monastery.”

  “We may need all the help we can get,” I started to tell him.

  “I’m aware that she would be helpful, and you would be able to reach her from the bell, considering its altitude. But there will always be politics involved in bringing the snow lion people into this, and since you had a relationship with her, that may prove a bit troublesome for you. I’ve meditated on this, and I think the formalities and politics may complicate things. So think deeply about it.”

  “Will do,” I told him as I looked down at my parchment.

  “Do you remember the character for ‘Mo’?” he asked.

  I traced it up, a straight line with a coiled stem hanging from it and what I liked to think of as an extra leg.

  “That’s correct,” Lhandon said once he checked my work. “I want you to try to discover the character for ‘Goh.’”

  I closed my eyes, hesitating for a moment. Nothing was coming to me, and every time I put the tip of my quill against the parchment, I ended up pulling back, uncertain.

  “Breathe deeply and focus,” he reminded me. “This is one of the easier characters; I’m sure you can figure it out.”

  I eventually started to draw a fanged box, and once I got back to the top I continued the line, attaching the stem to it.

  I opened my eyes to see the character.

  “That’s correct,” Lhandon said. “Are you rea
dy to learn the Rune of Distortion?” Before I could answer his question, he continued: “It shouldn’t be too hard for you to figure out how these two characters connect. The word is ‘Goh-Mo.’ See if you can figure this one out.”

  I looked at the two characters for a moment, trying to conceptualize how they would merge. Finally, I kept most of the character ‘Goh,’ simply adding the curl to its stem.

  “You’ve got it,” Lhandon said, genuinely happy with how quickly I’d figured it out. “This is a very interesting rune but you have to be careful with how you use it. Casting it will distort an enemy’s perception for three minutes. It has a long range of fifty meters, which may prove useful. However, you must cast it with your eyes closed or it will backfire, and your perception will be disrupted as well. Think of it like this: it creates a cone of distorted perception in front of you, and by closing your eyes you aren’t affected by that cone.”

  “It sounds like a terrific way to get away from something that I can’t beat.”

  He nodded, impressed with my answer. “A most excellent way to use it. I don’t want you to trace it up here, because I don’t want to experience it, but put your hand on the parchment and practice tracing it.”

  I did as he instructed, my eyes closed as I traced it.

  “Good, good,” Lhandon said once I opened my eyes and showed him my handiwork. “I want you to meditate on the two new runes that you have learned, the Rune of Inquiry and the Rune of Distortion. And you should leave in an hour if you plan to get to the Hermit Bell by nightfall.”

  “Thank you for your teachings,” I told Lhandon, bowing my head in his direction.

  “There is no need to thank me for my transmission. It is my pleasure to be a vessel of the Way of the Immortals.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three: Stirring the Embers

  “I’ll only fly with you for a little bit,” Roger said. “Then I have to start my patrol again.”

  “I understand.”

  “I hope it doesn’t get too lonely up there.”

  “I’m sure I’ll be able to find a way to entertain myself,” I told the bird as we started moving up the rocks, following the path that Lhandon had laid out. I didn’t need a map. The path wrapped around the mountain; all I had to do was follow it.

  As I walked, I recalled how my meditation session had gone earlier.

  I was able to visualize the two new runes Lhandon had taught me, as well as a few places back in Massachusetts that I hadn’t thought about for a while, my mind jumping to a trip I once took to Vermont, to a farmer’s market where they had the best strawberries I’d ever eaten before.

  Oddly enough, it was when I ate the strawberry in my meditation that I realized it might be a bad idea to call on Saruul, right now anyway.

  I would still think about it once I reached the Hermit Bell, but for now it was important to stay focused on the actual mission, which was protecting the monastery.

  I was also intrigued by Lhandon’s explanation of reincarnation, and I wondered how he would go about finding the Exonerated One. Would the child have the same personality? What did finding a reincarnated master look like?

  “I have to go back down,” Roger told me after about an hour of walking. “Good luck up here.”

  “Thanks,” I told the bird. “It’s too bad you can’t join me for the entire journey.”

  “See? I told you that you would get lonely. I’ll see you back at the monastery.”

  And with that the turquoise bird with yellow tail feathers dove over the side of a cliff, disappearing.

  He really was a good friend.

  Another couple of hours of walking.

  I tried to do a walking meditation of sorts that I’d once read about, just focusing on my breath and the path before me. It worked for the most part. Occasionally, I was interrupted by a sound, and there were a few times when I thought I might have to draw my blade.

  But it never came to that.

  Once the sun started to set, I opted for the meal Lhandon had prepared for me.

  It really was nice seeing him slide into his role as head of the monastery.

  I could sense the confidence that had come over him once the door of the underground library opened. If ever there was a point that his style and philosophy changed, it would be at that moment. Maybe he’d really be able to figure out a way to quantify the Way of the Immortals, especially in regards to the Path of the Divine.

  If anyone could simplify yet add some sense to the system, make it more managable and thus more helpful, it was Lhandon.

  The Exalted One would do good things for Lhasa.

  “Dema?” I asked aloud, hoping that my guardian angel would appear just so I had someone to talk to.

  I waited.

  Nothing.

  I ate the bread and a couple of small boiled potatoes, continuing my walk once I’d finished.

  The walk continued to be uneventful, and as darkness approached, I started to near the bell. The air was colder up here, and I’d already heard a couple of wolves howling in the distance.

  Hopefully, they would stay in the distance, not making their way over to me somehow.

  This got me wondering: if the snow lions became people, did the wolves become people as well?

  I observed the thought and let it pass, returning to the semi-meditative state I’d been in for the entire journey.

  As I came around a bend, I noticed that there was an extinguished fire near the bell, the embers still red, a small puff of black smoke still hanging in the air.

  I quickly traced up Gyal-Ma, the rune that allowed me to absorb three strikes.

  My hand on the hilt of my sword, I crouched a bit, scanning the area to see if there were any traces of life.

  The Hermit Bell sat on a flat surface that jutted off the side of the mountain, and after a quick look around, silencing my thoughts so I could listen as well, I concluded that no one was there.

  But someone had been here, and if I rang the bell at night, and they were still in the area, they would know that company had arrived.

  I decided to ring the bell in the morning, and make my way back to the monastery with haste.

  Once my decision was made, I sat with my back against the base of the bell, looking over at the glowing embers.

  I already wore my hood to give my head some added warmth, and I was just about to open the bag Lhandon had given me to get a blanket out when I noticed something move.

  I returned my focus to the extinguished fire, watching as it started to crackle, the flames reigniting.

  I pressed up to my feet and pulled out my blade, even though I knew it would do nothing against the spirit that now floated before me.

  “I was wondering when I would run into one of you,” I told the fire spirit, still holding my blade.

  “And I was wondering when I would run into one of you,” the fire spirit said in a whispery voice that sounded like it belonged to a male. I could see the outline of a face in the flames, but every time I thought I knew what the spirit looked like, the fire shifted.

  “Well, here we are,” I said, sheathing my blade.

  “I’m glad you realize that a flaming sword would be useless against me.”

  “It was sort of instinctual to pull it out,” I told the fire spirit.

  I had my hand at my side now, ready to cast the Rune of Inquiry, just waiting for the right moment.

  “Do you know what I did to the last person that came up here?” he asked in his whispery voice.

  “No idea.”

  “Sift through my ashes and you will find out.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.”

  “Are you a treasure hunter?” the fire spirit asked.

  “No, I’m a…” I almost said the word ‘monk,’ but went with something more familiar instead. “I’m an outsider.”

  “Then you will die an outsider,” he said, flaring up.

  “Hold on,” I told the spirit.

  “Do what?” he asked, the warmth of his f
lames reaching my face.

  Crap.

  Unfortunately, our little exchange here was nothing like the exchange Lhandon and I’d had in the cave with the ice spirit. This one wasn’t claiming to be anything; there was no lie to uncover.

  But if any question worked…

  “May I ask you a question?”

  I traced up Lha-Ra while he considered my request, a glow emanating all around me for just a brief moment that only I could see.

  The Rune of Inquiry spell was in full effect.

  “What kind of question do you have?”

  “Just one, a simple one.”

  “Okay, I suppose I can answer a simple question.”

  I grinned at the spirit. “Have you ever met a man from Massachusetts?”

  “Massachusetts?” The fire spirit floated a bit lower to the ground. “Massachusetts…” he said again, trying to place the word. “I don’t believe that I have, no.”

  “Got you!” I said, revealing the tiny glass jar that Lhandon had given me. I’d even managed to pop the top off.

  “Why are you showing me that?” the spirit asked, his form compressing even more.

  I gulped as I realized it hadn’t worked, that he had answered honestly, he really didn’t think that he had met someone from Massachusetts.

  Which meant I had an hour to kill before I could ask another question.

  “This thing?” I asked, chuckling nervously. “I just thought that you would find it… well-made. What do you think? Nice jar, right?”

  “Let me take a closer look at it,” the fire spirit said, shrinking in size and floating over to me. “The glass is murky and poorly made,” he finally said. “If you want good glass, you need to go to Sarpang, home of the Druk people.”

  “Druk people?”

  “Have you ever met one? They have reptilian skin.”

  I recalled some of the people I’d seen in Nagchu with the snake-like faces. I also remembered Lhandon mentioning them. “Yes,” I said, taking a step back from the fire spirit. “I’ve seen several in Nagchu.”