Oracle of Tao

CHAPTER 12: In which Lina Inverse briefly shows up only to go for broke casting spells.

AMBROSIA“I just petted you not long ago. Why didn't you mention anything?” I asked Lao Tzu, when we got to the mountaintop. The cat rolled over, scratching its ear and yawning. From the last Crest, we had taken our boat to park just west of the mountain where Lao Tzu lived. Tsukuyomi Mountain was, as always, a hard climb but by this point we were beginning to see it as good training.

“Mention anything about what?” the cat asked. I had to explain that if I had known about him being the one to awaken my Tao ability earlier, I would have begged him to come with us. But he told us of this parable where some ugly guy called Ai Tai To impressed the Duke of Lu and was invited into the city, only to become deeply unhappy. I couldn't really get what he was saying, but it sounded an awful lot like he was unwilling to leave his mountain. He didn’t have to tell some long story to tell me that!

The cat rubbed himself before sitting up, and then he began to quote stuff. I wasn't sure why, but the more Lao Tzu did this, the more I felt that he was somehow trying to talk me out of claiming the power of the Tao that was rightfully mine. “If you overesteem great men, people become powerless, and if you overvalue possessions, people begin to steal. The Master leads by emptying people's minds and filling their cores, by weakening their ambition and toughening their resolve. He helps people lose everything they know, everything they desire, and creates confusion in those who think that they know. Practice not-doing and everything will fall into place,” he said. I kinda wondered at this point whether he was hinting that maybe I should reconsider my entire quest. But no, I had committed to this. And he said, “ Should I also refuse such a power as the Tao? Was it in fact mine to hold? But nah. I was the Oracle of Tao, and this quest and this power were mine. And then he said, “Throw away holiness and wisdom, and people will be a hundred times happier. Throw away morality and justice, and people will do the right thing. Throw away industry and profit, and there won't be any thieves. If these three aren't enough, just stay at the center of the circle and let all things take their course.” He tried to jump on my shoulder again, but I sidestepped.

Yup. Like the Aiken Master, he was trying to talk me out of my quest. But I was committed to it. I believed sincerely that it was my duty to confront Estheriel. The cat shrugged. Lao Tzu touched his paws to my forehead and to my chest, and suddenly I could feel the power returning to me. This was now about the third time that I had gained this power, and I still wasn't really sure what it was. I felt like if I ever did manage to define it, it would somehow lose its power or mystery. So I spoke no more to him, as he went back to sleep, indifferent of the fact that I'd ignored his warnings (or whatever they were). Stupid cat. Here the world was at risk of being destroyed, probably, and he was lazing about and rubbing his ears! Well, I suppose I could pet him a little...

ESTHERIEL

Seeking answers after I rebelled against Heaven, I went alone to the Ancient Library. Unlike the Great Library, this was a strange place filled with an endless number of stone tablets. You see, the endless amount of information that was needed in this archive required an endless amount of stone tablets. The question nagged at me, why would God fully support the Council falling? Why did God refuse to act, and instead leave it to the Oracle of Tao? There was something going on here! And I would find it out.

I started my re