South of Paradise: Chapter 6
Fire at our Backs
What is and what is not create each other.
Difficult and easy complement each other.
-Dao De Jing, Verse 2
The Master grinned at us. The time for us to “take flight” had come, after a handful of rough trials. We stood around in a semicircle, with some sprains and scratches (coming down the mountain had hurt even more than going up; it was slick from the rain and all our energy had been spent). This time, we spoke very little, as we had started to speak less and less, thoughts passing back and forth more quickly than words could.
The best metaphor to describe it was a buzz. We buzzed as a small hive of 10 teens.
The young master walked down the arc of our circle, inspecting each of us, sizing up the injured and uninjured, leaning down to get better looks at certain scrapes. He patted Kyle ever so softly on a shoulder that had popped out of its socket, during a fall down the mountain. Kyle gritted his teeth and did not wince.
“So my hatchlings, some of you have tried to fly and failed, hm?” The Master’s grin widened a bit. Our buzzing slowed, and we focused our mental energies and gazes upon him.
“I believe you know what is next, unlike the last few surprises.” He went on, “You’ve raced wolves, mounted horses, summed summits. But now I have a very simple task left for you, one that I believe you may know is coming.” The Master slid the top of his garment down, so that his upper back was revealed. We saw a dark, sullen, eye, rimmed in black, a black pupil, and bits of yellowed skin in between.
“The day has come, where you will receive your Mark.” He covered the brand with a flick of his wrist. “While it may appear to be a tattoo, it is not made using ink and needle.” He gestured, and an attendant standing nearby brought a pot, with 10 pokers stuck into a boiling vat of a strange liquid.
“This liquid is an important part of your craft as Vultures. It burns hot enough to melt the flesh off any creature’s bones, living or dead. For you to live and use this weapon, and know its power, it behooves you to experience it yourself.”
Our buzzing stopped. We knew this was coming, but assumed it would be some quick heat or prolonged tattooing. This seemed…
Excessive Ian thought.
I wonder if it’s more painful than… Bailey’s thought trailed off.
A thousand thoughts now buzzed through our heads, but mostly we were just wondering, and suggesting, and rejecting, who would go first.
The Master’s grin faded, he knew that pain, the natural equalizer, had thrown us into a bit of confusion. He asked “Who would like to go first?” As he gestured to the pokers. Our thoughts still buzzed, but Bailey once again chimed in
Let’s all go at once! Just like with the mountain.
We all nodded our assent. As one unit, we reached for the pokers and pulled them all out. The Master stepped back quickly, knitting his brow. A smile came back into his face as he saw us circle up.
“Remember our words.”
“LIFE IS FOREVER, DEATH IS AN INSTANT!” we all shouted. And with one mind, and ten arms, we pushed the brand into the back of the person in front of us. We all aimed for the same spot as the Master had shown, and each of us winced at slightly different times, Kyle let out a grunt (of course it was the shoulder he had just injured), the rest of us gritted our teeth as the flesh burnt. We smelled one another in a way we had never before, as we cooked.
We pulled back the brand after what felt like an eternity. What was left behind was a very red piece of flesh, but still the brand was there, black in the center, black on the outside, a bit yellowish in between. The pokers had a special shape, with 3 areas matching the three different pieces. The edges of the eyes rippled, like the folds of a vulture’s eye.
“This Mark means a great deal.” Our Master said, as we all placed the pokers back into the pot. The attendant took it away without a word. “Your destiny is now bound more tightly than at any other point in your training. You are now a true Wake.”
As he said this, the Master placed his left hand on his chest and his right hand, with two pointed fingers, on the small of his back, right where under his tunic lay his own mark. He bowed ever so slightly and closed his eyes, giving us the Vultures’ salute. We all did the same, now able to salute him as an equal.
From our peripheral vision emerged a woman in dark gray robes; the Master stiffened at her appearance, dropped from his salute to a deeper bow. We turned and looked a bit confused at his obeisance, considering we had never seen this woman before. She turned and flashed a crooked and toothy grin, with receding gums tucked under her thin lips. She was much older than she looked, and her mouth gave it away.
“Welcome hatchlings, into your new world,” she spoke quietly. “You probably have never seen one of my kind before now.” Her lips fell and she grinned. “Though your Master definitely has.” She gestured for him to get up, which he saw only after glancing up to see she was still there. He stood up quickly.
“I am one of the… Old Masters. You will come to know us better in the coming years. But the addition of your Mark means you are now worthy enough to learn from us.” We stood a bit confused, the mental buzzing had died, as we realized that a new chapter had begun in our lives.
“I am Lao Peng, your new master.” She said, but we were all distracted. We looked over at our former master, and we never saw him up close again as he receded from view back to the Nest.
