" You come to me above all, and you call me master; why is that? "
" It is because you are called a master that I have come, for I wish to know what knowledge and wisdom you share, so that I may better myself, and my arts. "
" I am also called a hermit, a monk, and a rat. Men and women say many things, and many say answers can be found in places and things, others than themselves. And in following this written-less contract, they feel absolved of all responsibility to their own path and themselves. That is not the same as knowledge, and it is not wisdom. "
The rat gestured to the ground.
" It is not enough to seek answers just on whim for an advantage or tool but to seek it as if you are seeking life itself. To desire it beyond doubt and act upon it. Even the olden rat still knows this virtue. To truly know an art is to commit it into the memories of your muscle and bone until it becomes like a reflex. To yearn for that reflex is to commit it to your mind. To clear your mind of desire, pride, and conquest then is to commit that art to your soul. That is to truly learn. "
And the rat stared deep into the stranger's eyes.
" So tell me. Do you truly wish for wisdom, or simply a new tool? "
