[b]::|The Mantra of the Empty Cup[/b] The master E-Shun once received a young Pujari scholar, who came to inquire about the Thesis. Though the master's home on top of the Tower was small and bare, the worldly scholar sat in awe. He was moved by the cold, the silence, and the weight of the Traveler on the sky. For all he could see, he was at the top of the very world. Though he had come full of arguments, they abandoned him in that quiet place. E-Shun served tea, as she always did in the cool of the day, whether there was a guest or no guest at all. When the scholar finally said to her, "I have come to ask about Ulan-Tan's Thesis," she replied only "Is that so?" The scholar could not see her face through the mask. She set her visitor's cup on the metal table between them. Drops of her own Light fell from her fingers into the cup. She poured Light until the cup was full, and then continued pouring. The scholar watched Light and tea pool on the table until he could no longer conceal his horror. "The cup is overfull!" He cried. "You are wasting Light!" "Like this cup," E-Shun said, "you are already full of your own bias. To offer you Light now would only waste it. How can you expect the Thesis to fill you until you empty your cup?" [b]::|The Mantra of Good Works[/b] In the depths of the Last City, where the buildings have grown so tall they bow and touch heads, the poorest people have come together to help each other's troubles. Surely, you have seen the dark-towns of the poor, as they have grown more numerous in this time of great suffering. The Mendicant of the Last City, Gou-12, had no desire to call himself a master, nor to gather disciples, nor to dedicate himself to a campus. Instead, he carried his heavy personal transmat through the narrow streets, programming matter into toys, new clothes, and small baubles. These he gave to the children, in exchange for an answer to his riddles, knowledge he didn't have, or sometimes no thing at all. His coming and going was spread through the rumor-language of children, and he gathered about him a school in the streets. Whenever he was approached by another adherent to Ulan-Tan's Thesis, he would say to them, "Give me one Glimmer." When they asked him to come to the campus and teach, he would again say, "Give me one Glimmer." A human master of the Thesis found him in the dark-towns one day, telling fables to the children. She could sense the Light of a master within him, and wished to know him more. When he was done with his play-work, she gave him a piece of Glimmer and asked the Mendicant, "What is the intent of Light?" Silently, Gou-12 dropped his heavy transmat on the street. "Then," she asked, "what is the reality of Light?" At once, he picked up his transmat as though it weighed nothing, and continued on his way. [b]::|The Mantra of Three-from-One[/b] An itinerant scholar of the Thesis, Sabin Bell, wandered the lost wilderness of the Earth to teach isolated peoples, for he thought himself a master. Though he was a warlock, and well-learned in the duality of will and matter, the imbalance of Darkness meant his Light alone could not preserve him. So, he journeyed with a titan, though the two were not agreeable, and companions only by necessity. Sabin Bell soon realized that while the titan was masterful, and harm never reached him, the magazines of her weapon held insufficient rounds. She would fire only three bullets before striking the enemy with her fist, and then reloading. "This titan!" thought Sabin Bell, "how inefficient is her technique! We have survived this far through luck only!" Though her defense had never once led him to fear for his life, he resolved to spy on her during their next skirmish. He intended to scold her thoroughly. When those who serve the Darkness attacked once again, Sabin Bell listened to the titan as she felled them. The titan fired her first shot, destroying her foe, and said, "This is the Traveler." When she fired the second, she said "This is the Thesis." When she fired the last, she said "This is the Last City." When an enemy strayed near, she struck it with her closed fist. "And this is my will." Sabin Bell realized with shame that his mastery was incomplete compared to that of the titan. He became her pupil, and followed her for six more years. The Three-Round Master was Illia Kharan, whose teachings still shape the Thesis to this day.