At the entrance to the new hallway, he looked inward, and nothing moved, but as he stepped across that invisible barrier the silence became palpable in his ears. He almost sighed with the clarity that he was able to draw from. He could finally hear his thoughts. When he neared the first set of windows, he heard a conversation within. A Doha spoke to someone. 

“To accomplish a task of this nature you must break down larger goals into smaller, manageable tasks. And as it’s a large project, acknowledge and reward yourself for completing each milestone. Each accomplishment will move through a beginning, a middle struggle, and an eventual ending victory. It cannot be accomplished without it. But the secret is to visualize the victory and move the struggle toward it until it is reached.”

“How do we know the middle struggle is done,” a young cadet voice asked.

“The journey of the middle is filled with consistency, adaptability, assessing your milestones, improvement, and maintaining your motivation and focus. So many wonderful things go in the middle before you reach victory. You see the mountain is large, so you prepare, then you begin the ascent. The path is steep and rocky, requiring you to exert effort, navigate obstacles, and adapt to changing conditions. Along the way there are times when you think you’ve reached the top, only to realize there’s more to go. You summon all your strength, focus, and determination to overcome the final challenges. You are sequentially rewarded with a breathtaking view and a profound sense of achievement. And the best part is now you can look back at the path you’ve taken, appreciating the effort, growth, and experiences gained along the way.”

“The middle sounds hard.” The cadet sounded depressed.

“The beginning is harder.” The Doha stated clearly.

Spirito rubbed his eye. That Doha and his mother would make a perfect pair. How on Canid did she marry Da? His method of teaching was ‘Go do it, and you’ll find out.’

 He turned to keep walking and found a white-robed female mentor standing silently nearby, giving him regard.

“Um, Hi, Doha.” Spirito tried not to mumble. It was rude to listen to other’s conversations without permission. He did not want to be kicked out. “I was just passing, and I heard voices, so I thought I’d…ummm…”

“Listen to them? Do not worry, young one. In this hall, listening is permitted. We do want all those who intend to enroll to hear the ways and the differences between them. And yet, we do not wish to disturb the courses taking place. As you move along you may hear other conversations. There are masters of all here.”

“Even Nul?” Spirito asked astonished. The eighth way seemed somehow too far to reach for any canid. In his young mind, he imagined a blending of Valerian and Gias together. It could not happen. 

If the Doha was surprised at his question her expression did not convey it. She remained calm and answered without hesitation. “An ancient tree with deep roots, a sturdy trunk, and an expansive canopy can provide shade, shelter, and sustenance. Within these walls, our tree, all of the seven ways are taught. We produce the seeds that will nurture the continuity of the seven so that one day the eighth way may learn again. In this sense, we are teaching Nul to our students, young ones. Every day.”

Spirito bowed his head at her knowledge. While he didn’t quite understand it seemed logical like when he told his Da all Doha together are the Nul. This made sense.

“Did you know the teaching you heard, just now?” 

Spirito blinked. Did he know how to accomplish a goal? He thought he did. “My mother says to move mountains I must take a single stone away because no matter the size, your courage and determination will conquer it. And my Da has told me to become successful in using a new weapon I must first struggle with balance, precision, and determination, but when it becomes an extension of myself, I have gained not only a weapon but a confidence to learn even more.”

The Doha nodded. “These are great examples. Do you have one for me that only you would know?”

Spirito thought about it. “When I was younger my Da took me to see…some strangers.” He glanced up at her and found only her calm facade.  He was told not to discuss the destiny he was provided by the Skaveen, but he didn’t think this small recollection would be forbidden. “When we arrived, I was taken to a room that had strange things sitting on the table. One was a piece of oddly carved wood. For some reason when I picked it up, I knew it was not complete. It had mismatched pieces and the wrong shapes sticking out. I wanted to fix it. I didn’t know how it would end up but when I removed one piece and shifted another, the parts began to connect, and the object started to change. A couple of times I thought about just putting it back down. It was hard. But I just kept adjusting the parts. And after many tries, the last piece clicked into place. It was a perfect square.” He looked back up to the Doha. “I think…that could be a mountain.”

“Thank you. Please continue your tour.”

Spirito remembered the brave small girl participant and asked the Doha before he lost his courage. “What way do you teach, Doha?”

She smiled. “I am master of Tao, the way of growth.”

“Thank you.” Spirito nodded once. He turned and resumed his walk. The hall remained quiet for some time. Although he passed windows that had murmurs within, nothing was clear so that he could listen, and he continued walking. 

He moved to a hallway that crossed the one he was on.  He thought he smelled the aroma of flowers, something like his mother’s garden.  He turned and moved down the left wing.  It was amazingly similar to the other and he worried slightly he might become lost if he did not remember when he turned.  Just as suddenly as the cross hallway, he found a small center court, one that held a bench, a tall canid pouring water from a pitcher into a pot that drained into another and yet into a third.  The repeating tiered pots holding water and losing water caused a musical dissonance and tone that was quite calming.

He wanted to step into the courtyard and run his paw under one of the water paths to see if he would hear a different song. His steps onto the gravel made him pause.  They crunched loudly as his weight shifted them. It was then he noticed the courtyard was a sound enhancement area.  If he listened hard enough, he thought he heard his own tail swishing through the air.  He stared at the musical water statue and found the canid was female wearing a short shirt and skirt, with a wide belt that crossed and buckled together at her stomach.  She wore a circlet of real flowers over her stone head like someone had placed them there recently. And she was smiling down at him.  He followed the water from her pitcher to the first, second, and final pot and decided not to touch it.  The sound was oddly like laughter.   

Spirito stepped back onto the sidewalk of the hallway and regarded the flowers.  His eyes roamed until he realized an older canid, his muzzle white and his pelt fuzzy, was sitting quietly at the base of a bush, his legs crossed, and his tail wrapped around his hips. His eyes were closed. Spirito took a long gaze at him because unlike most he’d met today, this canid’s robes were pale yellow with red braiding along the edges crisscrossing his chest. He was a small-sized canid, compared to Spirito’s Da, but still larger than Spirito. 

Trying not to disturb him, Spirito walked down to the end of the first turn around the courtyard and followed the new hallway to the right. He loved the flowers and drew a breath when a bird landed on the pink branches which looked thicker.  The small bird was bright green and had dark eyes.  He looked right at Spirito.  Spirito smiled and the bird lifted from the branch and dipped upward then twirling in a rapid succession of movements.  It was a flight dance and Spirito was enthralled. A moment later the bird flew away. The boy watched it fly upward and out of sight.  He blinked at the sunlight and drew a breath feeling warmth.

“Are you lost, young pup?” A male’s voice asked nearby.

Spirito startled, turned and found the elder canid with yellow and red robes standing in the hall in the place where he intended to go.

He didn’t want to break any rules and Doha Sobie told him to only talk to the white-robed canids.  His ears flickered in confusion. 

“Speak. I don’t often see students in these halls.”

Spirito blinked. “I am…not lost, Doha, sir.  I did not mean to disturb you. I am only supposed to talk to the white-robed today.” He drew a deep breath to find his center.  He did not want to get into trouble by interrupting a class or a master’s study.

The canid continued to look at him as if he were scrutinizing Spirito in case he needed to report him. 

“I am on tour today for the academy, you see.  To become enrolled?” Spirito swallowed at his own words.  He was unsure if he should continue to talk.  He looked at the canid’s belt tie and found the mastery markings flowing down its length.  He couldn’t quite count them, but he rubbed his ear when he realized there were quite a few more than his Da had on his mastery belt.  And they were very different colors than blue.  The peculiar markings sewn into the surface were red, yellow, and orange.  His Da has two black and one blue, his sister has three of black.  He quickly decided this master was quite experienced in whatever he studied.

“What did you find interesting about the statue girl?” The Doha asked as he tilted his head.

Spirito looked back over his shoulder and could just see the top of the water statue. He remembered the flowers and said so.

“Which flowers did you like?” The Doha asked again, randomly.

Spirito looked at the flowers and shook his head. They are all beautiful, Doha.  But I mostly watched the bird.  He landed on the pink flower branches there. They held his weight.  And then he did a pretty twirl in the air before he left.”

“I am Doha Aliq. This is my courtyard of meditation.”

“My mother would love it, Doha.  She also has a meditation garden.  Although hers does not sing like yours.”

The Doha stared quietly for a moment until Spirito realized he had not greeted him back.

“I am Spirito Deshik, Doha Aliq.  I am a work-in-progress, my mother says.” Spirito closed his eyes and bowed and hoped his mom and Da would forgive his rude behavior.

The Doha gave a nod and bade Spirito continue walking beside him as they moved away from the courtyard.

“Of what song did you hear?” he asked as they moved into another hall.

“I heard laughter, Doha.  It was fun.”

Doha nodded.  “Yes, the dance of the water is meant to sound lively. I am glad you enjoyed it.”

Spirito walked alongside the Doha and felt his ears flicker with curiosity.  

“Ask what you may, Mr. Deshik.” Doha Aliq said.

Spirito felt the hair on his neck fluffing as he rubbed his ear.  “I was just wondering, Doha, sir.  What is your mastery?”

Doha Aliq stopped walking and turned to Spirito. He lifted his belt and let the boy examine the markings. “This is the mastery third level of Sune, of peace.” His claw pointed to the yellow symbol with three parallel vertical lines crossing over an S on its side. “This is a second-level mastery of Cen, the spirit within.”  The small triangle of orange had a second triangle overlapping slightly to the left. 

Eyes wide Spirito said ‘Oh.’ He shifted his gaze to the final symbol of red. It was a small circle with a horizontal line running through its middle.

“That,” Doha Aqil pointed at the mark, “is the third mastery of Eyas, for death lives in all things.”

Spirito swallowed at the canid’s statement. He looked up at Doha Aliq’s face and found a strange wisdom behind those eyes.  It must have taken many years to learn so much.  He could only nod.

They continued walking and somehow, without understanding, they stood back at the beginning of the hall from where Doha Sobie said they should return.

“You should return to the gates, Spirito Deshik. The touring time has ended.” Doha Aliq explained, his palm showing the dimming light of the arches above.

How had it gotten so late, Spirito did not know.  He looked down the hallway toward the far end where he’d entered with the small group that morning and saw the evening light was fast approaching.  His Da would be waiting.  Somehow, he felt drained.  His feet and legs were heavy from all the walking.  And he was suddenly starving.  He turned back to the elder and gave a bow. “Thank you, Doha. It was nice meeting you.” 

Doha Aliq nodded in return. “Perhaps one day we will meet again.”

Spirito smiled and turned to walk out of the academy.

As he stepped outside of the hallway the evening air, trees blowing, street wagons moving, and people outside the academy gates all rushed into his senses.  He saw his Da standing beside the gate, his face looking grim.  Spirito waved. When his Da saw him, his visage changed to one of intense relief.