Law and Justice, a monks quest -- Rectvar Digheid
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He sat still as death listening to each word of the koan, allowing the ideas to soak in.
"Law and Justice fight amongst themselves in any civilized society. Only amongst the barbarians and the decadent cities is the fight not an ongoing process."
The master paused, waiting for the student to speak.
Rectvar waited as the thought entered him and he turned it over, examining it for inconsistencies. "Why are the two extremes of civilization exempt from the battle of justice and law?"
The master smiled. "Yes, why do you think that might be so? But the true question is what more can we teach you here?"
Rectvar sighed. He had known that this might be coming but he had dreaded the day just the same. His katas were reaching a stagnation point and he was beginning to spend more time in meditation than in 'active' mode. It was the tradition of their school to send a monk out on a quest to find a truth, to bring it back. Most students did not return. His would be the way of justice and law, it seemed. But he would be coming back, someday.
The master smiled. It was nice to see a student so . . . .ready . . .to spread his wings and fly. Rectvar was one such student. His other teachers all agreed he had the makings of a fine thinker and perhaps a travelling judge. The monastery supplied such services to the local nobility as the monastery had a strong reputation for a lack of bias in any dispute.
Yes this one might be a judge someday. If he lived through the true lessons to come.
"I will go pack" Rectvar sayed, rising slowly.
"No" The master replied. "You will take nothing save that which you will be given in this room." He also rose and turned to open a door. All of Rectvars fellow students and teachers filed into the room encircling him silently.
"Into the world we send our son." The Master spoke the traditional words clearly, filling the room with his voice.
"May his Birth be gentle" The women in the room replied.
Rectvar slowly removed his robe and stood, nude, before the assembly.
"But he will not be alone"
"May our thoughts and strength go with him" The men chanted the counterpoint.
One teacher came forward and handed him a set of beggars clothes, Rags that had been poorly stitched together by the children of the monastery. Rectvar slowly, reverently put them on.
"He does not know his final destination"
"Who does?" They all replied
"He does not know his destiny."
"Nobody does" They chanted.
"He seeks a hidden truth."
"May IT find him" The teachers alone answered.
"Yes, may it find him, for truths are like a butterfly. You may chase it for forever and a day but it will come and alight on your nose, if the time is right. He seeks justice, he seeks the truth of laws."
The weapons master stepped forward, placing a whip before Rectvar. "Take with you a scourge, to remind you of the fact that punishment is a part of justice."
The healer stepped forward and placed a small bundle of herbs and bandages. "Take with you these healing items to remind you that the law tries to heal the ills of a society."
The hidden master stepped out of the shadows and added a small lockpick. "Remember to look at all sides of the elephant before naming it."
Lastly his own master stepped forward and placed a small purse before him. "A passage has been book for you on the Sea Watch. A ship leaving within the hour. This money should allow you a day or two to get settled at your new destination before you must find your own way. Be careful my son, while you have been trained it will take time and practice for your skills to come into their own."
Rectvar carefully picked up the items before him and started for the exit when his fellow students crowded up to him. Some hugged him silently, others shook his hand or batted playfully at his torso but each pressed upon him a single metal star with their name inscribed upon it. The stars were sharpened to razor edges and the last student, his room-mate for the past five years gave him a belt that would hold the stars but keep them close to hand if he needed to use them. He carefully tucked the stars in and wondered if he would ever be able to use them, to throw such precious gifts away would be almost unthinkable.
Everyons stepped aside and his path to the door and beyond was clear. But he stood there, breathing in the peace of the temple and storing the feeling in his soul, like a diver taking a deep breath before jumping into the depths. The he straightened his shoulders and walked out of the door, not looking left nor right and most definately not looking back.
Vortext
Elyl Coldraven Singer of Tales and Teller of songs
Azariah Nicholas Philosopher Druid
Rectvar Digheid Questing Monk
