Path of Dust - The Art of Gardening
A wandering monk's handbook to sand pebbles and umber hulks
Meditations of a Sitting Dragon
In the eye of a Storm
Wandering monks wander
Says a sitting dragon
A leaf of tea soothes
The Path of Dust
I. Pilgrimage
To wander
Is to move space
It takes lots of space
To wander properly
If you are looking for space
Look for a wandering monk
Wandering monks
Have plenty of space to move
II. Pebbles
To wander
Is to move space
To move space
Is to walk through pebbles
It takes lots of pebbles
To move space properly
It takes lots of pebbles
To wander properly
If you are looking for pebbles
Look for the Path of Dust
The Path of Dust
Has plenty of pebbles to walk through
III. Gardens
To wander
Is to move space
To move space
Is to walk through pebbles
To walk through pebbles
Is to tend to a garden
Good tea is hard to get these days,
Says the Storm
Because I have pebbles in my garden
They do not yield good tea, no
Says the Sitting Dragon
It takes a large garden
To walk through pebbles properly
It takes a large garden
To move space properly
It takes a large garden
To wander properly
If you are looking for gardens
Set out
IV. Stormweaving
To wander
Is to move space
To move space
Is to walk through pebbles
To walk through pebbles
Is to tend to a garden
To tend to a garden
Is to spin threads of Perfection
Perfection is an illusion
Says the Sitting Dragon
In the eye of a Storm
Perfection is an idea
Says the Storm
It takes Perfection
To tend to a garden properly
It takes Perfection
To walk through pebbles properly
It takes Perfection
To move space properly
It takes Perfection
To wander properly
If you are looking for Perfection
Look for the Path of Dust
The Path of Dust
Is Perfection
V. Prophecy
One night
A dream
Came to visit a man
A dream
Of wandering
Of spaces
Of pebbles
Of gardens
Of Perfection
The man is sleeping now
Says the Dream
He will wake up soon
The umber hulks are coming
To step on pebbles
In his garden
I am not sleeping now
Says the Storm
And you are not a dream
VI. Endurance
or
Things to do when the umber hulk comes
And before
An unsurpassable tea blend:
The tea was delightful
Says a Golem
Looking for his reason
I am glad to have learnt that
Says the Storm
Perfection is an idea
Ideas are umber-hulk-proof
You may drink your tea when the umber hulk comes
Remember to stack tea before walking through pebbles
Annotations
Reference
Found in the copy of "The Art of Gardening"
preserved at the Avlis Tower University
This text is believed to have been partially influenced by
illithid attack over the Underdark city of Verloghokbol
in 2204 AOD, when the illithids have used umberhulks.
Sitting Dragon is a confirmed reference to Hebrin Maul,
Third Grandmaster of the monk Order of the Dragon.
Golem could very well be an allegorical name for magus
Vesdrac Noss'tau, Transmutant of the Ebony Order.
Storm is likely an implication of Dust the Philosopher
to his own self, since I have once named him "Haloisi":
It means "stormy sea" and is derived from the language
of the Faerûnian elves of the prime world Abeir-Toril.
On Avlis, the language of the Drangonari is identical with
Faerûnian elven — a heritage of their god-creator Angadar.
The Sereg'wethrin speech also borrows Drangonari words,
particulary to denote Sereg'wethrin internal military ranks.
Sage Miriel H.