Fireblood (Whispers from Mirrowen 1)

Erasmus cackled. “And people are so transparent, are they? They love to deceive everyone, including themselves. You cannot judge my motives any more than you can determine the real reasons for your own.”

Paedrin grinned and whipped the stick around, pointing it at Erasmus’s nose. “If you all keep interrupting me, we will never make it to the end.”

“Keep going,” Annon said. “I am interested.”

“This is starting to sound like a sermon,” Hettie murmured.

“I will be quick, I promise. No moralizing. Once the intent is divined, the next two things come in rapid order. According to the Uddhava, you make a decision to test your conclusion for accuracy. Then you act on that decision. Your action then prompts the other person to do something. And it all begins again. You observe what they have done, see if it matches your intuition, make another decision about what to do, and then act on it.”

He paused in front of the fire. The light reflected off his dark skin. “Every day, each one of us is dancing awkwardly to a rhythm of the Uddhava. Those who master it make the world dance to their tune.” He scratched his scalp. “Let me be specific. You might think I was a fool to rush into Drosta’s pit without studying it first for danger.” He paused. “This is where you insult me, Hettie. Please…don’t disappoint me.”

His comment startled her and she said nothing.

“See! I just used it against you. I know your propensity for cutting remarks, and rather than letting you muster one, I forestalled you with my own. This is an example of the Uddhava. My actions were not without thought. I went into the cave first because, as you have already noticed, I can fly.”

“It is more like floating,” Erasmus muttered gravely.

“A choice of words,” Paedrin said impatiently, batting away the comment with his staff. “I did not require a rope to leave there. I triggered the trap, which was my intent, to allow us all to learn what was down there and thus be better prepared for it. What you foolishly did,” he added, whipping the stick around at Hettie, “was come down on a fraying rope after me. I did not anticipate you putting your life in jeopardy like that, but it helped draw the creature’s attention two ways. It was clever to realize that shrouding the lights rendered it harmless. I did not figure that out. It required the collective action and reactions of all of us together to solve the riddle. Which, in my humble opinion, is the reason why Tyrus sent us there at the start. He has been using the principles of Uddhava against us from the beginning.”

He was silent a moment and then slapped the staff against his palm. “Before we return to Kenatos, we must ponder his motives, make our decision, and then act. Kiranrao did the same thing. He fed us certain scraps of knowledge, though true or false they may be, in order to discern our reaction to them and thus learn more about our intentions.”

He stopped speaking, triumphantly, and raised his eyebrow.

Hettie looked confused. “I’m not sure I even understood you, Bhikhu.”

“Not surprising. You have always been a little slow.”

“Hold the insults for now,” she answered. “I want to be clear first. So the Uddhava is a strategy for manipulating others?”

Paedrin shook his head. “In an indirect way, maybe, but we all have our choices. It is the rhythm of life and governs our relationships with each other, whether verbal or physical. It applies to fighting. Let me demonstrate.” He stepped around the fire and brought the staff in an exaggerated pose and slowly brought it down, as if to crack Annon’s skull. The blow was ponderously slow, and Annon leaned to the side so that it passed harmlessly by.

“I did it slowly,” Paedrin explained, “that you might understand. Let’s try it again.”

He stepped back and brought the staff down again, mimicking his earlier pose and attack. As Annon began to move aside, Paedrin suddenly whirled around, bringing the staff around horizontally, tapping Annon’s cheek instead of crushing it.

“There. You suspected I was going to bash you on the head, so you reacted to it the way anyone might. But that was not my intent, to attack you the same way twice. My second move caught you off guard and would have incapacitated you. I did not know what you were going to do. I merely suspected. Now, imagine this playing out at full speed where you only have the blink of an eye to understand what I am doing, make a decision, and then act upon it. If you are right, you stop the attack. If you are wrong, you are unconscious.”

Paedrin walked over to Erasmus. “The same principle applies to you.” Erasmus flinched, holding up his hands wardingly.