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Morning, 48th Brightening of Kalendryas, Winter, Era XIII (pf)
In addition to his daily meditations, Nyd had also been reading from Gri'Tai's journal. His good friend and mentor had recorded all that he had learned during the time he spent in the mountains. This added up to several years. The journal itself was easily a hundred pages with nearly that many more pages loose and slid inside. The handwriting was small and and several days worth of notes could be found on a single page. The book was bound with a plain leather cover.
It was from the journal that Nyd had learned of meditation and how Gri'Tai had used such techniques to rediscover who he was after having left civilization and relocating to the mountains. Although it had been difficult learning such things from a few pages of an old man's notes, Nyd felt as though he had made great progress. He had become troubled in recent days however by the dream of the two figures; one light, one dark, battling each other with Nyd the central focus of the conflict. He pondered the dream for days after but it wasn't until reading a certain passage in Gri'Tai's journal that he began to understand what the dream may be about.
In his journal, Gri'Tai wrote, "The journey toward the beginning stage of meditation is like being an explorer on the verge of discovery, only it isn't a new world or vast treasure, it's a whole new plane of thought. This is a very exciting time, but also one where strict discipline must be enforced. It is at the beginning stage that one learns the techniques of controlled breathing and controlled posture, as well as, a basic, easily broken meditative state. Also, the meditator gains a fuller feeling of self. This is referred to as being Awakened and is the first pillar of meditation. With this awakening, and much surface meditation, comes a heightened sense of self, allowing one to heighten his mental clarity by improving his memory."
Nyd was sitting on a bench in the city garden as he read this passage. He realized then that his dream and the feeling of conflict within him was him actually gaining a fuller feeling of self. He could feel the battle raging within him between the darkness of the orc and light of his human blood. He could feel some force overseeing that battle and realized that he did indeed have a greater purpose in life.
With this new realization, Nyd stood from the bench and went to sit in the grass nearby. He took his normal meditative stance with his legs folded, feet tucked in, his arms hanging at his sides with his hands resting on the ground. He closed his eyes and began taking deep controlled breaths. He focused on those breaths and cleared his mind of everything. After a few moments, his muscles began to relax and he felt his surroundings melt away. His mind began to recreate the dream that had disturb him so.
The massive figure of the orc stood at the entrance to the cave; a look of pure hatred twisted its brutish face. Where the figure of light had been now stood Nyd. He was dressed in long white robes, his eyes illuminating the room as pools of piercing white light. An fragile old man looked down upon the two combatants as they slowly approached each other.
The dream faded just as Nyd and the orc engaged in combat. Nyd opened his eyes and broke the meditation. He knew now at least one level of meaning to the dream. He was fully aware of the battle he fought internally with the darkness of his orcish blood. He could feel it pushing against him, stabbing at him, trying to break down his defenses so that it could conquer his very being. It was at that moment that Nyd made a silent vow to himself that he would continue to battle that side of him and learn new ways to distance himself from the brutish hatred and evil rage that he was born from.
Although still left with questions about himself and the dream, such as who was the old man and what did he symbolize, Nyd stood and gathered his things. He felt more confident than usual and much more relaxed. He took a short walk through the garden before heading back out into the city where the unexpected awaited.
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