The Fool followed the Magician up a deep ravine that curved away from the wall that surrounded the misty world. The Magician said that he wanted to show the Fool something, and to follow him. The rock walls were high and covered in moss. Everything was wet and dripping from the rocks and roots that hung down.
As they journeyed up the ravine, the ground curved up and the ravine narrowed. A heavy mist set in as the two scrambled over the wet rocks and roots of the rainforest canyon. All the Fool could hear was dripping.
I am going to show you what every adventurer searches for, the Magician said, something no one ever finds, but whole cultures have been created around looking for it.
They clambered up to the top of the ravine and found a small pond in the middle of a meadow. Lily pads dotted the dark cool water. The mist was swirling and thick around them as they stood at the pond’s edge. The Fool could see fish wearing crowns swimming beneath the murky surface.
From out of the mist, a large hand slowly extended, holding a golden chalice full of clear water that spilled over the top and into the pond. The hand stopped as it brought the cup over the pond, and a giant kingfisher swooped down to perch on the lip of the grail.
This is the grail, the Magician said, the fountain of youth. This is the Holy Spirit, Nirvana, and Knowledge that spills over that cup.
The Fool watched the water pouring into the murky pond. The scum seemed to settle to the bottom and the Fool could see all the fish wearing their little crowns and swimming around the roots of the lily pads. In the reflection of the pond, the Fool could see possibilities.
Usually, the Fool never saw possibilities when he wandered the earth. He just saw what he saw and it meant nothing, but now he saw that everything was the possibility of something being birthed. He saw art, love, and knowledge that could be created. He saw poetry in everything instead of just math. A force connected each object in the universe, granting everything the possibility to be put together and create something better.
He is the Fisher King, the Magician continued. When he is healthy, the land is fertile, but when he is maimed, the land is desolate and sick. If there are no fish for him to eat, then the world becomes famished. If he is healthy, you are healthy.
The bird turned his head to look at the Fool with one black orb of an eye. The world was reflected back at him upside down, making everything that he stood by alien. Depth was in that eye. The Fool beheld a long and complex history in the shine of the inky globe. He saw himself wandering the Earth since the beginning of time.
Creation hasn’t stopped, the Magician said. The task has been delegated to you now. Once we stop creating, time will have to end.
The mist was cold. A shiver went down the Fool’s spine. The mud around his feet was freezing. The trees stood still around the meadow and the pond. The kingfisher flapped his wings to regain his balance on the cup and looked down into the water.
The Fool felt the thumping of his heart as he yearned for more love, art, and knowledge. He wanted to make beautiful music, write haunting poetry, learn about the world he stood in, and he wanted to fall in love.
He thought about the shepherd, under the stars on a bluff; they were lying next to each other and feeling a warm buzz in each others’ hearts.
He followed the Magician back down the ravine, back to the wall.
This is my favorite so far 💕