Byegone Eras

Hyde left out from the groups meeting in the bakers shop having grabbed the emptied cookie basket to return to the old woman. He had questions...so many questions. It's true the woman offered knowledge of things long hidden or forgotten which perhaps offered a way to somehow take down the Lord Ruler, but in truth Hude was more curious of her having mentioned that there were other religions. Hyde was not a follower of the Lord Ruler, and certainly didn't consider himself a spiritual man but he'd heard stories of the impossible being done-of Lord Ruler's strength and might. He'd also recently found himself a part of this group having had a hand in doing what many Skaa would consider impossible.

It was probably just a waste of time, but what if there was a religion long ago that offered the possibility of bringing loved ones from the grave? What if he could see his son live again--and all he had to do was believe? To some--allomancy was a miracle of sorts-one that Hyde had been taught was bestowed upon this world by Lord Ruler himself...whose to say other Gods wouldn't be capable of doing miracles. If there was a chance...however small, Hyde would seek it out.

Hyde followed after her with vigor and after several twists and turns Hyde again laid eyes on the Yue-lang. He walked up beside her and offered the basket as he said, "Thank you for these cookies and your other crumbs of wisdom. You've certainly given that lot a lot to think about. I wonder if you wouldn't mind answering a few more questions about the days of old. I've never even heard of most of what you mentioned back there. I certainly never considered the idea of there being other religions. Do you know much about them?"

She takes the basket and sets it in front of her on the saddle. Her mare looks almost as old as she and pods along slow enough for Hyde to easily keep up.

"It's good that you are curious. You barbarians tend to be either too timid or too brash to listen properly. You all seem to have open flows though."

She regards him for a moment, alien green eyes seeming to bore into him.

"What would you like to know? I'm no monk, but I have followed the Paths of Faixu all my life."

Hyde carefully weighs his words debating how much personal information he wished to share with someone he barely knew. After a few paces, Hyde says, "Honestly, I think I'd like to hear everything-for fear of missing something important. I'm of the mind that I don't know what I don't know...which limits what I can ask about. That said, I can tell you what I'm interested in and see if anything exists."

He shrugs as he adds, "I'm specifically interested in learning if there's any religions that deal with lost loved ones. Maybe some that restore life to the dead..."

Hyde takes a breath as he says, "I'm also curious as to why none of these religions are still around...how come I've never heard their being mentioned?"

As an afterthought Hyde's guard raises slightly as he says, "And I suppose that all information has its price, so discussing what the price is for you sharing this with me is is also something that needs to be discussed."

Yeu-Lang gives Hyde a sad smile.

"I'm sorry about your loss, dearie. I'm afraid I don't have the answers you seek. I know nothing about the world before the Changing, except that the ways of Bianshi-wo are far older than your Lord Ruler."

She rides in silence for a moment before pulling back her hair to show one of her piercings; a golden hoop in her earlobe.

"When I was a girl, my brother was killed when our village was attacked by Graiwu. The blue skinned beasts you barbarians use. But before he died, he gave me his strength, so that I would not fall as he had. So it is with our faith."

She waves an arm over the city, encompassing the whole misty night.

"All life is energy, boundless and wild. But man is a controlling creature. We bring order to the chaos and tame the world to our will. So it is with Bianshi-wo and the ways of my people. We use our tools to bring order to death as we do in life, and lend strength where it can best serve the whole of creation. We have our gods, but they are far away and slumbering. They leave us to forge our own paths, and so we have the Paths of Faixu. Through Bianshi-wo my brother lives on in me, and I feel his love keeping me safe all these years."

She tuggs affectionately at her ear, looking mildly embarrassed.

Hyde hangs his head slightly, "I see. I too am sorry for your loss, but it seems you have found a way to remain close with your dearly departed. I envy you."

He considers her tale for a moment as he asks while trying to keep his saddened heart from overtaking him, "What are the paths of Faixu? This Bianshi-wo, you've mentioned, is it one of the paths? Or is it all of them?"

"The Paths are one and many. All come from Great Faixu-wan. But as all who walk the world walk a new path, so is a new path laid down for all who live. We who Follow are only those who Know we walk a path, though the path is unknown it's self."

Hyde continued on for awhile in silence attempting to grasp the meaning of the words before at last speaking, "I get that. You don't know where you're going, but you do know you're on the journey. I have felt like that. When what was most precious to me was taken, I was lost. I lived each day confused and uncertain of who I was or what to do next, until I figured out that I had been brought to the point of breaking and not broken-that I still had a purpose."

Hyde taps the horse's side gently as he says, "You believe that Faixu-wan is the one who has given you purpose. You have found meaning by becoming a survivor. You honor your brother well."

He looks up at Yeu-Lang, "Do you think that through this Bianshi-wo that I too could honor those once thought lost to me--in spirit if nothing else?"

She nods, patting her horse.

"The Path is there for all, and all must walk it whether they believe or not. I have never sought to make converts, for all Paths leads all to Faixu-Wan. All the same it is good to honor those who came before. How would you honor your loved ones?"

Hyde grimaces slightly at the question as if in pain, but slowly his expression changes into a dead pan look, but his eyes are full of determination as he seems to stare through the elderly woman saying, "By doing the one thing I wasn't able to do before-when I wasn't strong enough to save him."

Hyde looks back to the ground refocusing, "I would use the powers of those who deem themselves my betters against them. I would use Bianshi-wo...if you would help me?"

A wide toothy grin splits her face.

"I'd love to, dearie. You should come along with Lena next time she visits. I'd love to teach you. I think the Path you and your friends will take us all to some interesting places..."