The Celestial Forge

By: Schin Ka'Tharos

CHAPTER 18

(Part 2)

Awareness was kindled within me as a sweet and earthy aroma dominated my senses. I opened my eyes to see a clear glass vial laid askew a few feet away from me on the purple stone floor where I lay. The vial was tipped over on its side emptied of a thick dark orange liquid it had housed that now covered the stone in front of my face. The smell was from the orange liquid and burned my nose. I turned over on my back to stare into the faux night sky ceiling.

My body hurt everywhere. Thankfully though, it wasn’t the same agony I had been experiencing prior to passing out. Before, my entire being was breaking down and deteriorating with awful inevitability. This new pain was more akin to the ache after a long day of training or the dull affliction of a healing injury.

It felt good to be back there, in my new home. Staring up into the constellations felt familiar and right. My grandfather had stared up at these same walls and ceilings. He had been captivated and mesmerized by the very same constellations and patterns I stared at. Yet there was an oddness to the spectacle, devoid of the Celestial Forge as it was. It was like staring up into the real night sky as if the brilliant shining streak of the Celestial Forge didn’t exist.

I refocused myself on why I had been looking up to the ceiling in the first place. I could tell from how the constellations had shifted that only a few hours had passed since I had lost consciousness. That still gave me quite a bit of time to prepare before Ciara or Adeon woke up.

If they woke up.

I stirred myself to action and first set to inspect the vial I had seen. My grandfather's handwriting was etched into the side of the glass. “Lesser Thousand Hands” was all it said. It only took me a few second to find the other vial where it had rolled a few paces away. To my surprise this one still contained almost half of its contents, the shape of the vial allowed it to lay sideways without spilling. The glass on the second vial had a deep blue hue to it and on the side also inscribed in grandfather's precise lettering was “Golden Rising Tide”. After smelling both containers I realized the pungent aroma was due to the reaction of the two mixing together on the floor. Together, it seemed, they had saved my life.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I returned the vials to the cabinet and found some food in its lower part. I was extremely hungry. The Celestial Rain I had consumed over the past few weeks had sustained me to some degree but I was only an Apprentice after all, I couldn’t survive on manna alone. I still needed food and water. The little food Ciara and Adeon had given me had barely staved off starvation, so nourishment was my next focus. There wasn’t much to eat in the cabinet, mostly some dried fruit and meat, but it was enough for the moment. I figured Uncle had thought the garden more than enough to keep me fed.

While I chewed on some leathery spiced meat I assessed my current situation. I felt like for the first time since grandfather had pushed me through the portal I could really think clearly. My thoughts strayed inward, reflecting on my current Path. Was I in a place to pursue this Path set before me? Somewhere along my journey I had grown comfortable. There had always been seemingly two major aspects of my self warring within me. One version was driven, determined and disciplined. The other was content, laid back and comfort oriented.

In my contemplations I could see that I had been lying to myself. Somewhere near the end of my time in Jaspen I had grown complacent, undisciplined and weak and had deceived myself into believing it was a virtue. I had thought I was following The Way, accepting and allowing and growing more enlightened, but my vision had been clouded. However, there in my tower my eyes were opened to my many manifestations of the self. I had been kowtowing to my desires.

I put down my meal and shifted into formal meditation to reflect on a profound mystery that played at the edges of my consciousness. How to lack in desires yet become accomplished. Are the excesses of effort and indulgences of the same roots? Is stillness the ruler of movement? Silence the ruler of sound? There was much within me to overcome. A deluge of self to yet let go of.

I spent a few hours in deep meditation before rousing out of stillness into katas. No clear epiphany had come but I could feel a shifting in my being and continued to reflect as I went through the practiced movements of Jun'Dok.

Eventually I sat again, this time with the aim to soul-forge. As I stoked my natural flame I realized I had fallen into my grandfather's morning routine of meditation, katas and forging. I could almost hear his deep laugh echoing in the chamber, finding amusement in my unconscious actions.

As I began to soul-forge according to the Heart of Five Foundations my thoughts finally turned back to my present scenario. I needed to analyze my current mission, identify all assets, plan and execute.

First, clarify my mission.

Next Chapter...

Chapter 18 (Part 3)