Christopher Stasheff - Rogue Wizard 08 by A Wizard in The Way

Author:A Wizard in The Way
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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10

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Alea took up the pouches of colored sand they’d collected for the occasion.

Gar tied a string to two pegs, tapped one into the ground for a center, then inscribed a circle in the dirt with the other. Alea sprinkled yellow sand in a tadpole shape that occupied one half of the circle, swelling from nothing at its tail to a bulbous head. Then she sprinkled red sand in the other half, so that she had two tadpoles, nestled head to tail, making up a complete circle. She dropped a little red to make a tiny circle for the yellow tadpole’s eye and used yellow sand for the red tadpole’s eye.

“Yellow is masculine, red is feminine,” Gar intoned.

“Each holds within it the seed of the other,” Alea answered. “The masculine element is hot, dry, mechanical, and active.”

“The feminine element,” said Alea, “is cool, moist, organic, and passive.”

Gar put a finger beside the edge of the circle at the midpoint of the yellow tadpole, which was also the midpoint of the red. “When both are in balance, the world is peaceful and prosperous.”

The youngest serfs began edging out of hiding, craning their necks to see.

Gar traced a finger along the edge toward the yellow tadpole’s head. “When the masculine element grows to take up most of the circle, though, governments are tyrannical. No one can think for themselves; everyone does what the king commands. There is always food, but the serfs are kept poor by high taxes.”

The young folk crept closer. The older ones began to sneak out from cover.

Alea moved her finger to trace the red tadpole to its head. “When the feminine element takes up most of the circle, there is no government. Lords are constantly fighting one another, killing the serfs and trampling the crops, keeping people poor.”

The young serfs crept closer, so intent on seeing the Great Monad that they didn’t realize their shadows were falling across it. “Only when there is balance are the people free, with the chance to find their own happiness,” Gar said.

“Only when there is harmony can people be prosperous and safe,” said Alea.

Mira came up behind one of the older serfs and said in a conspiratorial whisper, “You might as well sit down, you know. They love answering questions.”

The serf jumped as though he’d just stepped on a live wire. “You’re all welcome here,” Blaize told the people in the rock pile, “if you really want to learn. Oh, and when you’re done, you might take a hand with the sweeping.”

The serfs stared at him. Then, one by one, they came out from hiding. “Are—are you sure?” a middle-aged woman asked. “Of course,” Blaize said. “They’ve known you were there for days—”

She stared in fright. “Are they… are they magicians?”

“Not as we usually think of them,” Blaize said. “They’re sages.”

“Sit down,” Alea invited one of the younger serfs, “and ask your questions.”

The girl sat down at the side of the circle, warily, hesitantly. The boy beside her sat down, too, slowly.

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