After eating, they
walked back to the bloomery compound. The sun was low in the sky and the warmth
of the day was disappearing quickly. The clay bloomeries glowed meekly under
the sand and dirt that was used to keep the embers sleeping through the night.
They walked over to a small set of flat blocks of stone next to a large clay
pot full of filthy, muddy water. 2369 motioned 9001 to take out her blade. She
brought it out and laid it on one of the stones.
She took a handful of
some mud and clay mixture and slopped it on one of the stones with the
smoothest surface. She took some water in her left hand and dribbled it onto
the rock and mud. She rested one edge of the triangular blade at a low angle
and began to move it back and forth. Her father beamed with obvious pride and
her uncle chortled with obvious pleasure.
Her uncle said: little
brother, you have taught your student well. I will admit I have never seen a
girl with so much skill. But come with me, over here. We will talk where we
won’t be overheard. Good. Now, why do you come to me unannounced, with a
request to sharpen blades for a Healing, and with an inexperienced apprentice
who isn’t even a Healer?
Her father lowered his
voice self-consciously and tilted his head closer to his brother so that 9001
would not hear him. He said: I had an awakening when we were working together
here. I came back from Bactres as a failure. I had not learnt Avestan and I was
not a ranking member of the Healers yet. Our father had always said we were
Miners, but you know that the elders selected me as the left-handed twin. You
also must have known what happened with the selection. I saw it during the
Perfect Sight. You were there.
A worried look passed
across his brother’s face. 2711 continued: do not be afraid. I am not blaming
you for what happened to my twin. I saw that he was passed on to the Elders,
one of whom I recognised. I researched and followed this Elder, using the
skills I had been taught and learnt, as well as the heresy of Perfect Sight.
This allowed me to discover the location of my twin, living life as a Masked
One.
Both brothers looked
over at 9001, but she continued sharpening her blade, paying no attention.
The older brother
said: the Perfect Sight is a heresy. It is not even real, given all the strange
mutterings of the Healers and their silly rituals and practices. That was why
you were excommunicated. And yet, you still spew this nonsense. And you violate
the selection for a child you do not even know – interfere with a woman’s
offspring for no reason and at the risk of everything you have earnt. You have
even brought suspicion on the whole family. Our father died under suspicion of
helping you. I have never been free of the cloud of heresy since.
While 2639 was
speaking, he moved his arms wildly and even raised his voice. His younger
brother placated him and entreated him to keep his voice down.
2711 said: forgive me.
That is all I ask for. Ahura Mazda is the Wise Creator and speaker of truth.
The truth is found by anyone who looks. _Asha_ exists whether we understand it,
whether we see it, or even if we ignore it. I cannot avoid the truth, and once
I have discovered it, I cannot hide it. Speaking lies spread _druj_. Even
keeping silent about the truth allows _druj_ to grow and spread. A campfire
spreads light and creates an area of clear sight. Covering the fire creates
darkness. It is the same with _asha_ and _druj_.
His older brother
shook his head vehemently. He said: you speak nonsense again. I do not know how
the fire burns so that the metal is purified and softened. We only know what
the outcome is and take advantage of it. No one can understand the process that
governs the world. Why does it rain one day and not the next? Why do the days
get longer, then shorter; hotter and colder? No one knows. We cannot understand
such a thing.
2711 smiled. He said:
daughter, come here. Older brother does not think that we understand how the
world works. Explain what I have taught you about the metals and the spirits.
9001 repeated what she
had been taught: the iron is set inside rocks and ore, each colour is
representative of which earth spirits are present. Red is found in goethite,
which is the colour of both the earth (brown) and fire (red). The wood comes
from trees which have been cut down. The tree is created from earth spirits,
water spirits, and air spirits. This is obvious because you need all three to
grow plants. The earth spirits are only used as an anchor to the movements of
the air spirits. Everyone sees the action of the air spirits when the branches
move and sway.
What is less obvious
is that the tree grows from the ground, but it does not deplete the ground.
That is, there is no hole formed under a tree as it grows and seeks water
spirits under the ground. How do we explain that? Clearly, the air spirits are
collected by the leaves and built up inside the branches and trunks. The air
spirits are tied to the wood inside the tree and anchored to the earth sprits
in the ground for support.
When the tree is cut
down, the wood is wet from water spirits drawn up to meet the air spirits in
the leaves. The wood must be dried for one moon, and sometimes a whole season
of three moons. Water runs downhill, and never up hill. In the same way, water
escapes down from the cut wood and goes back to the earth. Once the wood is dry
enough, it must be burnt in a closed space so that no air spirits can ignite
into the fire spirits which would ravage the wood. Instead, the wood is closed
off and given very little air spirits for three days. All of the extra essences
that would interfere with the metals, such as you see in common campfires, are
burnt off as thick smoke.
All that remains after
three days is the blackest black wood which is purified air spirits waiting to
spring into life as fire spirits. This charcoal is what you place into the
bloomery or the clay-producing ovens. It burns from a dull red to a bright
orange, and sometimes a seering white. Each colour is a different temperature
that Ahura designates for each earth spirit. Some spirits, like copper are red,
others like iron are orange.
2639 was thunderstuck.
He said: you have taught her the secrets of Miners? You have taught her
Healing?
2711 nodded proudly.
He said: she even can read Avestan.
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