This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/redrising by /u/ctperz on 2023-08-09 16:00:35.

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To those who wrote that we might read,

to those who fell so we might walk,

to those who came before so we might come after,

gratitude.

First Understanding:

The path to the Vale is inscrutable, eternal, and perfect.

It cannot be seen with the eye,

nor felt underfoot.

It winds as it wills.

It ends where it must.

It climbs when it does.

It falls when it should.

It stretches deep into the rocks we dig, and back into our hearts.

It winds on before and after us, in all directions and none.

Though we may walk the path we may never master it.

Though we may see the path, we can never know the truth.

The path to the Vale is inscrutable, eternal, and perfect.

It must be followed at all cost.

Fourth Understanding:

The supreme good is the wind in the deepmines,

It flows through rock, around people, and over land

The wind is oblivious to these obstacles,

though her path would not be the same in their absence.

When you smell rust on the breeze,

hear the echo of tools in the darkness.

Smile, and be glad

The path is upon you,

and you upon it.

All you must do is walk.

Eighth Understanding:

We achieve perfection first by

acknowledging our failures.

We increase understanding first by recognizing our ignorance.

Tenth Understanding:

Forgetting is essential to learning,

just as exhaling is essential to breathing.

Breathe out, then in.

Find the self,

then lose it once again.

Thus, the path goes ever onward.

The Eleventh Understanding:

If you wish to be repaired,

you must first be broken.

Miscellaneous excerpts:

The path directs itself to the Vale. Same as our breath rejoins the deepmine wind.

The path is made of many stones that look all the same.

When you trod upon evil,

do not rest or look down because goodness is only a step away.

The next may bring ruin, the next joy,

but these stones are not your destination,

They are but your journey to the path’s end.

If you wish to be straightened,

you must first be bent crooked.

When life springs forth,

death follows behind.

When goodness is found,

evil is close at hand.

The path straddles the boundary between these things.