Ia and the Keeper

Ia and his disciples walked through a village which once lay at a crossroads far from lands which could be considered safe or civilized. The residents of this place lived hard lives and were circumspect and cautious in their dealings with outsiders, for they could not trust anyone who was not one of their own not to have links to those who would do the residents or their village harm. So they looked upon Ia and his disciples with trepidation and mistrust, and they were cool and distant when approached and asked for directions or supplies or lodging. Indeed, when they asked about for rooms for the night, the owner of the village's single inn rebuked them and said he would not permit them a stay under his roof.

Ia's disciple Creassin grew piqued at this treatment, and he said to the keeper of the inn, 'Do you know that you turn away and treat as mud the holiest Ia, who comes to deliver Truth beyond all other truths to the people in this and other lands?

'We have seen holy men come and go in the past,' replied the owner. 'And this one is the same as all the others. Know that we treat them all equally and that none are welcome here, for their words stir passions and bring ruin upon stable places that neither asked for nor wanted this to befall them.'

'Those others are charlatans, preachers and prophets of false idols or men who speak words which carry the air of wisdom but lack any deeper truth or meaning when closely examined,' said Creassin. 'Ia's miracles and teachings are reflections of the foundations upon which this world is built, and they are glimpses into the structure of those foundations.'

'And I have heard all the charlatans say the same before as well,' answered the innkeeper. 'Your emphasis that this time it is different can only lead the prudent mind to conclude that it is but more of the same.'

Creassin could not break through the innkeeper's cynicism and doubt, and he turned to Ia for guidance. 'How can I convince this man and men like him that your words are indeed ripe with merit and worth consideration above all others?' he asked, and Ia answered, 'You must do more than speak on the matter. You must show that you are committed to what you preach and you must do this without expectation of reward.'

'Should it be so, that this man reap the benefits of what we offer without intending to respond and repay our gifts with proper devotion?'

'Even if one does not agree to be bound to the Wheel, they are lashed to it regardless,' answered Ia. 'But all who do not cling to the Wheel will find their bindings give way it as it turns its course, and they plummet into the realm which lays beyond Danimoth when Destruction approaches them, and they will be rewarded as deserved.'

In time, the village and its residents passed through the Gate just as Ia predicted, and they were lost and cursed through their cynicism until time itself ends.