Clouded Purity - Book 2 of The Trial

Clouded Purity - Chapter 22

Prism and Grim walked into the training grounds for the first time since Prism's failed execution. Master Vinh had requested their presence at the apple tree before they left the Temple. Despite the dark memories they shared about the location, they'd reluctantly agreed to the Master's terms.

When they reached the tree, Master Vinh sat among the branches, leaning against the trunk. He had an apple in his hand, but it remained unbitten as he rolled it between his fingers. When he saw them, he smiled and tucked the apple into the fold of his robes before sliding to the ground.

He bowed low in greeting. "Prism, Grim, thank you for seeing me."

"Of course, Master Vinh." Both young men returned the gesture. "Though I wish you'd chosen a different location."

Master Vinh smirked, turning his back on them and putting his hand against the tree. "The apple tree is the only place I could choose. For both of you."

"Why?" Grim asked.

Master Vinh looked into the branches as he walked a slow circle around the tree. His feet easily avoided the roots jutting out from the ground, as if he knew exactly where to step. "You know, there are a thousand different parables I could draw from this single tree. Surely more. I've meditated beneath and within this tree more times than I can count over my tenure here." He completed the circuit and rapped his hand against the trunk several times. "There are as many lessons to learn from it as there are leaves on its branches, and they renew every spring." He turned toward to face them. "I understand you're leaving."

"That's right," Prism said. "We're going north. Kaeral left this morning. He wanted to stop by Kobinaru first, to convince one of his friends to join us in the North. We intend to meet up with him on the road and travel together. He thinks we could find a home among his people, though it may take some time for them to trust us."

"I don't believe that will be your path," Master Vinh said. "At least, not in the end."

"Why not?"

"There are many different lessons, but I will give you three as a parting gift." He grinned and pointed at Prism. "One is for you." He pointed at Grim with his opposite hand. "One is for you." He opened his hands and extended them out wide. "And one is for both of you."

"Please," Prism said, "teach us."

Master Vinh chuckled and began another circuit of the tree. This time he skipped and danced over the roots, keeping eye contact with Prism as often as possible. "Prism, you came to me as a boy who wanted order. Your life was chaotic, without structure. You spent your childhood fighting to survive through nefarious means, because you'd been raised that way." He paused abruptly, raised on one leg, assuming a delicate pose of perfect balance. "Here at this tree, you learned there were different paths. But today the lesson is different."

He jumped for the branch above him with precision. Despite it being too high for the average person to catch, Master Vinh's hands just reached it, and he pulled himself onto the branch. Both Prism and Grim recognized the branch from their current position. It was the same one the would-be executioners had draped the rope over. "Because of recent events, you view this tree as an enemy, a symbol of the crime committed against you," Master Vinh said, pointing at the roots beneath him. In the dirt next to one of the roots, two deep furrows drew Prism's attention. "But I notice things others do not. You dug in your heels, you caught yourself on the roots and hung on. When you faced death, you found the sturdiest place to cling and made sure to weather through it to the end. The same tree whose branch may have served to end your life, saved you with its roots."

Master Vinh tossed the apple from his robe to Prism and hopped down from the tree. "So, too, do the roots of your soul matter, Prism. Do not neglect the spirited boy who brought you here. Do not neglect your roots in chaos to serve the branch of law. Both will keep you safe, if kept in balance."