Rubies in Zoisite
Prolegomenon
I'm out of shape, the messenger thought. He was not very old, only in his sixties, but the Prince never sent him out so far anymore. He surely wasn't prepared for a climb. It was well past nightfall, and he had finally reached the highest temple on Tian Shan, the majestic Mountain of Heaven, shrouded in mist just as the old paintings showed it. The monks had come out to meet him. They were prepared. The clear young faces and the humble wisened ones all wore the same stern expression of omniscience. They stared at him as though they could read his very soul like a book. He pulled his jacket closer.
"The Prince of Earth has sent me," he said when he caught his breath. "About a fortune-telling. It is very important—"
One of the young men held up a hand to silence him. "We know. Perhaps you should come inside."
"Then I may speak to your lama!"
The young man raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Er, your master. Your fortune teller."
Immediately, the youth waved him inside. He whispered to the older man as he led him down the hall: "The Master told us to expect you, weeks before we received your letter. He has been anticipating this, locking himself away to meditate for days. Frankly, I've been worried for his health, but—you are indeed the man sent from the Capital? I wish I could see it. I didn't know they would be sending a Buddhist—" He put his hand to his mouth. He started to apologize but the messenger waved it away. With a low but proud bow—typical of a student—the young man introduced him to the soothsayer, an old Taoist with a long white beard, with the odd name of Square. "Right on time," he said with a short bow to the messenger, and waved him to sit. The student stood behind, silent.
"The Prince wanted to send for you to read his fortune," the messenger said. "Is it true you come to the palace in the past?"
"Why? Too old to make the journey to Tian Shan yourself?" Square flashed a smile of missing teeth. "I am too old for that now, boy. Even older than you."
"Please, Master Square," said the student with a low bow, "tell the Prince's messenger what he has come to hear."
Square nodded and sobered. He leaned forward. So did the messenger. Master Square was indeed a visionary. His visions seemed to come out of the thin air, without the aid of bones or cards or fire, or any of the typical tools of a street peddler. "First," said Square, "the Prince will have a son."
The messenger nodded. "Yes. He already knows."
"Of course." Square leaned back and regarded his visitor. "You must have a good memory, ne? Will the Prince hear all I tell you the same tomorrow?" He waved to the young man. "I will have my student make note of the events, so you do not miss anything important.
"The son," he continued, "will be a great and virtuous Prince, loved by all. It is most convenient because the Moon Princess will have a daughter." He smiled to himself, and spoke as if thinking aloud. "If their children are to marry, then the Earth and the Moon shall consequently be married, and the two powers will not fight to rule over one another, but rule together." He chuckled at the cleverness of the idea.
"That's assuming they like each other," the student added.
The messenger looked up at the interruption; but Square just laughed. "Oh, they will," he said. "Tell the Prince," he said pointing to the messenger, "that is the thing to do, to marry the two. Disregard the mistrust that lies between the kingdoms, for that is their destiny.
"Furthermore," he said, "the gods have revealed something interesting to me that I know you will appreciate, being a follower of your Lord Buddha. They have decided the Heavenly Emperors will be born on Earth once again to guide the kingdom to prosperity."
The messenger sat up. "You mean the shitennou!"
"The what?" the student asked.
"They are bodhisattva—er, enlightened ones. Heroes of compassion who chose to remain in the circle of rebirth to help others find enlightenment," he explained, barely able to contain his excitement. By the look on his face, he knew the student still did not understand. "The shitennou were the four warrior emperors who guarded the cardinal winds. Are you certain?" he asked of Square. "How will we know where to find them? Or when?"
"There will be signs. You will find them, I know it. They will know themselves already without knowing. The—shitennou, as you call them, will find their matches in the heavens, just like the young Prince they will serve—the soldier princesses of the inner planets. It is your duty to name them, the Emperors. It is very important that they are given the proper names." The messenger leaned forward so he would miss nothing. "They must all be named after the precious green stones: Malachite, Jadeite, Nephrite, and Zoisite. And Beryl, most precious of all—"
"Why is that?" the student interrupted again.
"Green is the color of the Tao, the color of long life, son."
"The legend does say they will live for five hundred years," the messenger added, turning slightly in the youth's direction. "But why stones?"
"Don't question the Tao."
Silence settled in as they waited for Square to say more. To the messenger, it seemed he was drifting off to sleep. Then the old man started and clucked his tongue.
"Listen well," Square began again. "This is very important. The Tao is double-sided. You may be tempted to stray from the instructions I have given you. You will fail to name all of the Emperors properly; but that is only a minor detail in comparison. Conditions will make you separate the young Prince and Princess. If the balance between the Earth and the Heavens is disrupted—and it will be—Evil will undoubtedly find its way in. The Tao resists human assertion, but reason is a terrible and powerful force." He scowled. "Best not to tell the Prince this. He may try too hard to keep the balance intact."
"Then Evil is inevitable?"
Square scowled for a long moment before deciding on a reply. "My duty in this life is to tell the future as it is presented to me. But the real Tao cannot be predicted; it is beyond even my understanding. Only death is inevitable."
As the messenger gathered his few belongings for his return, Square waved to his student. "I wish my apprentice to be your apprentice, messenger. He will accompany you on your journey home."
He opened his mouth to refuse, but Square insisted. "For your protection, and the future's protection," he said gesturing to the notes. "Besides, maybe he will learn something useful in the Capital, about your Buddhist ways perhaps. An open mind is priceless." Square shooed his student away so he could ready himself for the journey, waiting until the boy was out of earshot to say: "There is one more thing you must know. You doubt my predictions, perhaps; but if the Prince is dead in twelve years, what I've said is correct."
The messenger felt his jaw drop. "If the Prince hears that, it will mean certain death. For both of us! Is this a curse?"
"Not a curse," Square assured him. "It is simply part of the vision. The Earth kingdom will be divided. I cannot change it. Besides," he arched his back for emphasis, "I'm an old man and should be dead long before then. It is no worry of mine. I trust you won't tell the Prince—"
It was his duty to tell the Prince, his master and ruler of civilized Earth, everything. But if the last prediction wasn't in the notes—
He shook his head.
"Good," Square said. "Take care on your journey," he called to the messenger and his student as they left the temple. "Remember everything."
—o—
Dearest Mercury, you asked me to tell you a story. You may not remember my name. It is Bunbo. I am Zoisite's apprentice. Forgive my frankness, for my tone may not seem as humble as I mean it as I write, but above all I must speak honestly. It is with this honesty that I confess I think I have fallen in love with you. Please don't take offense. My feelings are most honorable. Besides, I know I cannot expect you to return my admiration. You are already in love with my master. That was meant to be. But still my admiration exists, and it compels me to share with you these truths.
You asked me to tell you a story about him. I am honored, because there is no one besides himself and Heaven that knows Zoisite better than I do. His story, and the story of all of us, begins, as it always does, before we were born. There was an old man who told the future and lived at the top of the most sacred mountain in the Middle Kingdom on Earth. He saw everything that has happened so far and will happen in our lives. He said the Silver Millennium would not last. I dreamt this, but there is a monk in the Forbidden City who is called Boxy who says it's true. He told me the soothsayer, his first teacher, died only shortly before the time I was born. He told me the soothsayer's spirit is my spirit. That is why I have dreams about the future. I don't really believe him—in my heart I find it hard to—but from what I've seen in my past years in Zoisite's and the Empire's service, thus far the dreams do not lie.
But you shouldn't worry, princess. The future can always be changed. Let me tell you what has happened this far.
End of Prolegomenon