Chapter 259 - The Hero’s Circle

Finn pulled out the glass vial that he had retrieved from the safe. Inside were a number of small crystals. They resembled lapis lazuli, with a deep blue colour streaked with white, glowing softly with a mysterious aura. These were Locke’s sarira, which Finn had retrieved from his corpse. They ranged in size from the size of a kernel of corn to small berries.

Finn had done some research into sarira, learning about their origins and uses. When an Exalted human or creature died, small gems would coalesce out of their body, steeped in the energies that the Exalted was attuned to. The stronger the Exalted, the more sarira they would produce and the larger the gems would be.

Sarira were the most potent Exalted material for use in catalysts. If harvested immediately upon death, they would retain enough power to elevate an Exalted to their level from the rank directly below them.

For example, an Apprentice could use a Disciple’s sarira to immediately advance to Disciple themselves with no supplementary ingredients. The sarira could also be diluted to raise multiple people to lower ranks. 

Numerous studies had been performed on this matter. Instead of advancing a Candidate to Apprentice using an Apprentice’s sarira, one could instead split those sarira four ways and advance four non-Exalted to Candidate. Likewise, a Disciple’s sarira could be used to advance one Apprentice to Disciple, or four Candidates to Apprentice, or sixteen non-Exalted to Candidate. 

It was not an exact science, particularly since the sizes that congealed out of a body varied in size and quantity. To account for this sarira were rarely consumed directly, but incorporated into catalysts and rituals designed to increase the success rate of advancements..

The sarira would remain inside the corpse until the corpse was disturbed or sufficiently decomposed, at which time the congealing process would be triggered. The process would happen quickly and the gems would be expelled out of the body. If not harvested immediately the sarira would dissipate into the air within the course of a few hours.

Finn had taken the quantity and measurements of Locke’s sarira. Knowing that he had gathered them pretty much immediately, he estimated that Locke was originally a Disciple. There was a small quantity missing, which Finn accounted by assuming they had been consumed by Zwei in his initial advancement to candidate.

Sarira were extremely valuable and hard to come by. Not only could they be used to empower oneself or their subordinates, they were worth a small fortune on the black market. D-grade sarira, three of which were equivalent to a Candidate catalyst, were worth one hundred silver marks. C-grade sarira were five hundred fifty silver marks each, with three of them equivalent to an Apprentice catalyst. 

These were only the base prices as well. Rarer domains and pathways increased the price. There were also qualitative properties of sarira that affected the price - size, weight, colour, purity, shape, lustre and luminescence were also taken into account.

Finn contemplated the value of the small vial in his hand. The gems inside numbered twelve “D” grade and five “C” grade. It could be used to start a fledgling team of Psyche domain Exalted, or with supplementary materials, be used to advance a single Apprentice to Disciple rank. It could be sold on the black market for over a thousand silver marks - a literal fortune.

In addition, as part of the police or the military, submission of Exalted materials was worth merit for his own advancement and thus could be used to accelerate his progression.

This vial that could fit in his hand was incredibly precious.

Furthermore, giving this to Zwei would give him the materials he needed immediately advance to Apprentice. Finn had spent a good deal of time considering the benefits and risks of handing such valuable materials over to Zwei. He doubted the information Zwei offered to provide in return would be as valuable.

In the end the deciding factor was their shared connection to the Pearl Lotus Society. This was a relationship which was valuable to Finn on multiple levels.

“Here.” Finn said, handing over the vial.

Zwei accepted it without any fanfare, tucking it into a pocket within his coat. 

“So, what’s this big secret that you’ve been teasing me with?” Finn asked, “I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect you to be the dramatic type when we first met.”

Zwei frowned at Finn’s chiding words, looking Finn in the eye without responding immediately.

The shadows in the room quivered and deepened and the sound of skittering and whispers emanated around them. 

Doubling down on it? Finn mused internally.

“Candidate, Apprentice, Disciple, Adept.” Zwei said, “Those are the four Exalted ranks that everyone knows about. For most Exalted, reaching Disciple takes a lifetime of effort and contributions. With a bit of luck, wealth or connections, an individual might be able to reach Disciple on their own. However only organizations with deep knowledge and resources have the ability to advance someone to Adept.”

“Do you know what lies beyond Adept?” Zwei asked, “This is something you won’t find in the police archives.”

“Go ahead.” Finn nodded, acknowledging the limit of his knowledge.

“In a word, immortality.” Zwei said, “Beyond the four mortal ranks there are four immortal ranks. From lowest to highest, they are Emissary, Arbiter, Scion and Angel. Just like mortal ranks, each immortal rank represents a significant increase in power over the previous one.” 

“This isn’t anything new or special. I imagine you would learn about this once you’re formally conscripted in the military.” Zwei said, “The strength of a nation’s military is dependent on how many high ranked Exalted it has. Lord Noga definitely has immortals at the highest levels of his military.”

“So you’re going to tell me the secret to immortality?” Finn surmised a guess.

“Immortality isn’t really a secret.” Zwei shook his head, “There are rituals and ingredients required for the ascent to immortality— not that I know them— but basically, with the right support it’s possible to take that step once you reach Adept.”

“What Locke was investigating wasn’t how to become an immortal, but the consequences of becoming one.”

“The Calamity Mandate… That was what you called it, right?” Finn asked, “I tried looking for information on it, but didn’t actually find anything.”

“It’s not something you’ll randomly stumble on.” Zwei said, “Although it seems that all Exalted understand it subconsciously. The stronger the Exalted, the more aware they become of it.”

“What is it?”

“Have you read Runan’s Plight?” Zwei asked, continuing as Finn nodded, “It follows the classic ‘hero’s circle’ format. The call to adventure, crossing the threshold, journey to the abyss, rebirth and escalation, which leads into another call to adventure which continues the cycle.

“The typical hero’s circle goes through three repetitions, with the third cycle’s escalation stage remaining open ended, signifying the hero’s endless growth. What’s interesting about Runan’s Plight is that it continues for a fourth cycle and ends with Runan’s death in the journey to the abyss stage.

“This ending is one of the reasons why Runan’s Plight is so revered. It shows the hero at his peak, but then rather than escalating endlessly and implying the hero’s unlimited potential, it shows his fall from that position and eventual demise. This classic completely changed literature across the world, influencing writers to break the circle.”

Finn knew all of this— study of classical literature was part of every Kumin citizen’s education, and Li Ru was perhaps the most prominent author who was studied. Runan’s Plight elevated NianXing to the top of the literary world, and was the inspiration for countless other works. Even today, nine hundred years later it was still relevant.

He followed Zwei’s line of thought to its conclusion, saying, “Li Ru was writing about the Calamity Mandate.”

“Locke believed Li Ru was an immortal, writing about the universal truth of the Exalted existence.” Zwei nodded, “He was searching for Li Ru here in Kumin, before he ran into Gantt and died.”

“The path of an Exalted is a long and lonely road.” Finn said softly, repeating the words of his mentor.

“… An endless spiral into ruin.” Zwei nodded, quoting a famous passage from Runan’s Plight. “One of the main themes in the novel is critique of the constant, endless attainment of power. Each time Runan overcomes his previous obstacles, he immediately seeks more strength.”

“It’s natural, isn’t it?” Finn said, thinking back to his studies, “To be alive is to seek progress. Things that are stagnant are dead.”

“But the Calamity Mandate tells us that this path leads to tragedy. Candidate to Apprentice, Apprentice to Disciple. Each time we gain a rank, we set our eyes on the next one. At the beginning, we don’t know, we don’t understand. But each time we advance we accelerate to our demise.” Zwei said, “By the time we realize what path we are on, it’s too late to turn around.”

“So why not just stop? I mean, most Exalted can barely reach Disciple before they die a natural death.” Finn contemplated, but immediately added, “Well I suppose if you were immortal, then that wouldn’t be a barrier… But even then, couldn’t an immortal just choose not to advance?”

“There’s a line in Runan’s Plight about this.” Zwei said, “After the climax at the end of the third escalation, Runan reaches the top of the Cloud Peak. He looks out across the clouds and says—“

“I’ve reached what I thought was the top of the world…” Finn recited.

“…but my soul still yearns to climb.”