One who is Titled Chronicler, I pray these notes will arrive safely, as this is my last message, and indeed my most important letter. I pray that you pass this story of my beginnings on to the next one who takes the great Title of Knower. And though I know it will be a challenge to find one man among many, I hope that you will take this letter with my last wish and share this tale of humble beginnings with all that you meet as a hope that they will guide you to the Knower. I will pass within the next few days, and my Title will be passed on. Thank you, Titled One, for being an individual of dignity and reliability. And more importantly, thank you for being a friend.
I will inform you that it is a curse to know everything and still know that you understand so little. If access to all knowledge is gained at once, one would lack the ability to learn anything at all. I see the world and what it is made of. I know the relationship between The Sea and the Moon. I understand why the rocks erode in the valleys. I understand why the apple falls. But I was never told why things were this way.
I did not understand why my body is the same as the planet Gaea below my feet. I did not know what put us here on this earth or why this earth was created. I did not know anyone or anything personally, and I did not understand why I am.
To be granted the title of Knower means that I understand all things. But it is not as if I know them like an old friend.
And so I asked The Sea about his beginnings, and he told me to sit. The sand on my robes left marks on my skin, and the salt drew the color from the hem. The taste of The Sea drifted through my nose, and the back of my throat began to dry, but I knew I could not take a sip of the vastness before me.
“Come back tomorrow,” The Sea said as The Sunset and the Moon began to rise.
And so I stood and asked no more questions of The Sea so that I would have something to ask the next day and instead asked The Moon, “Will you share with me why you rise?”
And The Moon casts its dim glow upon the earth and shared with me a sight of bleach-white sand that shone with the beauty of a diamond one gives to their most precious friend. And so I began to understand the Moon.
The Sea whom I had asked before continued to lapse against the glowing sand, giving me a dull impression of a snore and hinting that The Sea was asleep. I knew that I must wait till tomorrow. And before I walked off, I took a deep breath and realized that I had one more question to ask of The Air.
“Air, Why do you fill my lungs? You have such strength, and yet you allow yourself to fill every living thing above the ground. You can topple homes and tip over trees, but yet, you let my lungs use your force to supply my body with the things it needs.”
And the wind picked up as to respond, and my wet robe made me shiver, but amidst the shiver, I understood the relationship between The Sea and The Wind. I understood that the wind told me to let them sleep and not wake up The Sea that it loves with my loud mouth.
I understood the relationship that they had and knew that the quarrels that they had resulted in the great storms. The concerns of The Sea are the writhing pools and riptides, and the strong winds on the land are the stresses of The Wind.
I did not know these things. Though I knew what The Sea was made of at its simplest form and how the Moon pushed and pulled The Sea. I learned how the mix of hot and cold wind creates tornadoes, but I never understood why.
With this new knowledge, I sat on the dirt just past the sand and discarded my wet robe, now chilled by the wind. The warmth of the summer night that I camped beside The Sea for it gave me comfort as I laid upon the bedroll and fell asleep to the snores of The Sea.
As the sun graced me with its presence, I took note that The Sea slept in as the waves’ roll gave off the same tone of the night previous before I felt my hunger. Because I knew how the world worked, I began to build traps based on the tension of small sticks and some ropes from my camp. I caught some small animals and started a fire from the flint and steel of the earth that I kept in my bag.
And as the fire flared to life and I began to eat my meal, I realized I wanted to get to know The Fire. I was starting to understand The Sea but was afraid of the heat; I was reluctant.
It was The Fire that spoke first to me. “Take off your sandals,” it proclaimed, “if you wish to know me, you must walk on my coals” having sensed my curiosity, The Fire began to spread towards the forest, and I began to worry.
Upon reaching the edge of the forest, having burned away the undergrowth and creating a scarlet bed of coals, The Fire put itself out as if telling the woods not to worry. Noticing the forest was young, Fire revealed his relationship to the earth. The Forest and The Fire shared a relationship of rebirth. I understand how the trees drop their seeds in pods for the Fire to heat and bring new life as they eat away the old trees.
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Their relationship was not one of love or hate, but rather a necessity, as Fire needs the earth for fuel, and Nature needs Fire for warmth and their newborns.
As I looked upon the scarlet coals, my curiosity got the better of me, and I began to walk and felt no pain once my feet slowly moved across the burning soil. My body began to warm, and I felt Fire set its place in my heart on one of six braziers.
Knowing that it had a place in my heart and me in theirs, I asked The Fire, “Why do you burn?” and the answer it gave me was direct and aggressive, unlike The Sea or the wind or even the Moon.
“I was created for warmth and a new life. Through me, there is chaos but also life and new beginnings. Just like the phoenix, I am the one that can harm but also heal as I can close a wound quickly and warm the bodies of the cold and weary. Pick me up, Knower, and you will see that with trust and understanding of what I bring control.”
And so, Fire which had a place in my heart was held in my palm, and I knew I could trust it. The Fire caused me no harm. I could toss it around just like a stone. I grasped the Fire in my palm, and it disappeared, and when I asked Fire to return, it did as a new Fire came to life in my hand.
Knowing that my relationship with Fire was just kindling but knowing that I had gained a lifelong friend, I turned to the trees and asked, “Nature, your majesty, and beauty, and constant youth, and age, and yet I see you but do not know you. Just as I know fire, I wish to know you. Will you tell me why you were created?”
And Nature, acknowledging me as a friend of Fire’s whispered to me through the leaves, and a million tiny voices grew in volume like a chorus, “We were created to provide for everyone. Our trees built your homes. Our flowers made your clothes. You ate of Nature when you ate your meal. The meal you ate was named by you, and just as it was named by you, it provided for you. Just as a servant is to its master, just like we provide for Fire, we provide for all.”
And the million tiny voices of the leaves created a harmony of honey to my ears that made the earth shake. The animals gathered, and the stones broke. I stood before nature, and a place in my heart opened just like the brazier of fire, and a small sprout began to grow in a pot of soil.
Knowing that I had a relationship with Nature as I do Fire, I leaned down to the now chilled coals and called for the grass beneath to grow. And slowly, the grass beneath the soil began to fill in the path where I met Fire. The coals split as the grass grew through the brittle stones, and soon the cool grass tickled my feet and in between my toes.
I had made friends with Nature and Fire and learned why they were created. I knew how they grew and how to start a fire, but now I knew why Fire was designed and why the trees and the dirt were created. Both Fire and Nature were pleased with my use of their relationship, and I could feel a deeper connection with both.
I turned towards The Sea once again and felt The Wind calling me back. The Sea had been awoken by the gulls as it angrily lapped at their webbed feet. Gone was the snore of the waves, and I could see young schools of fish a little off the shores.
Wanting to know The Sea like an old friend, I once again sat on the water's edge and let my toes sink into the wet sand. The chilly welcome of The Sea and the chill of the wind on the back of my neck was as though I was greeted by an old couple that liked to pull pranks on the youth.
“Oh, Sea and Wind,” I prodded. “I can tell that you love each other and that you know each other. I know I can not know you as you know each other. Just I can not know Nature the same way Fire does. Nor how you know them too. But I wish for you to impart me one thing. Why were you created?”
The Sea spoke with years of wisdom behind him that I lacked, “I was made on this earth as a home for many creatures and to represent vastness. Nothing is more vast than The Sea on this planet. Nothing houses more than I. Nothing has the strength that I have. But I was made to fill holes and represent patience as I do not take forms without The Wind or The Moon. Just as you know Knower, The Moon controls the tides, and The Wind my storms. And that is why I love The Wind and why The Moon is a close friend. Because without them, I would be stagnant.”
“And I, The Wind, The one in love with The Sea, was created to keep everything in motion. I move the trees of Nature, I spread The Fire, but I love The Sea because we fill each other's gaps. I fill the skies, and The Sea fills the earth. I provide the air every creature breathes, and The Sea provides the water everything drinks. Together we are two sides of the same coin, and therefore I will love my other half with whom I was created beside.”
I began to understand the old couple, two empty braziers in my heart became filled with a small portion of the sea that I will aim to make as vast as what I see before me, and the motions of The Wind that I wish to have the courage to move with as much reason as she does.
I sat motionless for several moments, letting myself feel The Sea on my feet and The Wind on my back. Rising from my seat, I looked to the ocean and asked him if he would fill my hands. And he did. I cupped my hands, and in my bowled palms, a pool of freshwater was created from which I took a sweet sip draining the water into my body to provide as water does for man. And the ocean was pleased.
With the water gone from my hands, I asked The Wind to blow. And it did. The wind blew through my fingers and my clothes dried on my body. The refreshing breeze calmed my mind and made me sway. I took a deep breath, and The Wind was pleased as it filled my lungs, fulfilling its purpose.
It was not until I understood the creation of the Sun and the Moon and understood their wisdom that a seventh place appeared in my heart. Chronicler, I was permitted to pass on only one part of my understanding from The Sun and The Moon. I am not allowed to pass on what they told me, and I do not want to break their trust even in my death as I am very close to them. I can pass on one thing that I wish for you to tell each person you meet for the rest of your life. And my successor, please have him pass on this message too, as hard as it is to understand. The Sun and The Moon permitted me to share what was written in the last place in the heart. One that is revealed by the light of The Sun and the dark of The Moon:
The seventh and most important place in the heart, one I never understood how to fill or come to know, is a throne you can never approach or fully understand as it is not a place for you to place yourself. On it, in a language I never understood, is simply written: “⠠⠊⠀⠁⠍ ” And I can only assume it is for the one who knows all things and comprehends all wisdom.
-The Knower,