A Tour of the Fist of the Five Winds Monastery
"A tour of the Monastery?" says master Xian. "Of course. I will get one of the novices to escort you. Please wait here a moment." He vanishes through the right-hand door, returning quicky with a dark-haired young woman.
"Greetings, traveler," she says. "How goes it this day? My name is Leilani, and I will show you around the Monastery. I am a novice here, having begun my training only a few months ago, but the Monastery is not hard to find one's way around." She gestures at the two doors and the stairs, and you see she is right. No art adorns the walls, nor tapestries, nor do the floors have any kind of covering. The walls are of granite, rough-hewn and stark. Yet there is an atmosphere of peace, and the place is is non-threatening in its simplicity.
"I am glad you feel that," says Leilani when you mention this. "It is intentional. From the newest novice to the most experienced Master, we are all brothers and sisters. We can count on one another for anything. We can turn to one another in times of trial, and often do. Should one of us have a trouble, a doubt, a concern, there is a Brother or Sister ready to lend a hand or an ear. Should we wish to debate, there is always someone to talk to, and when we need to practice, one of the others here is always glad to work with us. We help each other build skills here, and the more mature Brothers and Sisters can rest or train here. Often, they help teach the novices, too."
You study the two doors. They are made of solid oak beams. The doors at the front of the monstery were more graceful, with carved lions' heads and a true artisan's touch, but these are the doors any carpenter would make. Their very simplicity adds to the slightly home-like atmosphere of the stark, spare building. The doors have been polished smooth from years of use. You wonder how the doors and slightly-worn floors can seem as old as they do, for the Fist of the Five Winds is still a young guild.
"The first Brothers and Sisters of the order did not build this themselves," your guide says, as though she has read your mind. "This building last belonged to another all-monk guild, known as the White Tigers. They had it for a few years, but they did not build it either. It was here." Leilani shrugs and looks at you steadily, her head tilted to the side. She fiddles with a lock of her long hair. "Sort of myserterious, I think." She turns and opens the right-hand door.
"Here we have the library." The room is square, cool, and dim. You realize this is because are no windows, only a few Greater Lightstones in holders. "Sunlight damages books," Leilani whispers in explanation, "but the gentle light from these will not." The walls are lined with sturdy oak bookshelves, and more are free-standing in the room. Some of the books seem old, and at least one case is full of scrolls. "These books came from many places," Leilani says. "We have books on everything from history, to legends, to philosophical works. A monk's mind must be as quick as her fist, so we study hard. In fact," she says, "we should probably move on before we disturb anyone."
She leads you back to the entry, then through the left-hand door. "Come into the salle," Leilani invites you. You enter a most remarkable room. It has high, vaulted ceilings and a number slit-like windows with open shutters near the roof. The sunlight that forms puddles on the floor illuminates the room sufficiently, but there are sconces for torches as well. The walls here are still of rough-hewn stone, but the floor is of pale, glossy wood, and there are a few mats stacked in one corner. A small handful of young men and women are standing a row, practicing basic punches and kicks under the watchful eye of an older monk. He catches Leilani's eye and bows to her, then to you, before turning back to correct one novice's posture. "This is our sparring ground," says Leilani. "We learn the basics of hand-to-hand here. Some of us will go on to join the Silent Fist Clan or the Ashen Order after our novititate, so we learn no secrets. But we go off into the world well-trained. This is also where those who follow Quellios worship her, during non-class hours, or by practicing their katas, if they wish."
A door in the salle's right wall leads outside, where you see two novices working in a small vegetable garden. "We try to be as self-sufficient as possible," Leilani explains, leading you out into the sun. A lush green lawn reaches from the salle to a smaller stone building. "The kitchen and refectory," says Leilani, pointing to it. "We all take turns working in the kitchen and the garden, and those who wish to may go hunting."
Near an outside wall of the salle, several monks are seated, obviously in a trance state. "They are learning the healing trance," Leilani says. "Eventually, this will be such second nature that they will not need the trance to mend their wounds." She leads you back through the salle, where the class is over and the novices are stretching, and from there, back into the entry.
"Upstairs, there are the novices' quarters. I will show you, if you like." She leads you upstairs. The floor is divided into two sections. "Girls in one room, boys in the other," Leilani explains. She pushes open a door; you notice none of the doors you have seen have locks. The large, spare stone room behind the door has a few tiny windows, pads on the stone floor, and wooden stools. Folded on these stools are sets of novice's clothing, exactly like what Leilani is wearing now. That is all.
"We try to live simply," Leilani says. "Many of us take a vow of poverty. Also, this helps to prepare us for the days when we will not have a bed to sleep on, or any roof over our heads." You nod, knowing only too well what that is like. Leilani smiles ruefully. "The graduated Brothers and Sisters have rooms on the next level up. They have individual rooms, called 'cells'. Some rooms are for two; not all of us take vows of chastity." She grins, then heads downstairs, back to the entry again. Master Xian is still behind his desk, working on some sort of ledger and muttering figures and sums in an undertone.
"You are welcome to stay here and rest," Leilani says. "Thank you for visiting, and I hope you enjoyed your tour. I must go; I have practice now. Farewell!" She moves quickly down the hall, presumably back to the salle.
"Well," says Master Xian, looking up, "now you know a bit about us. Is there anything else you'd like to know? Our charter? Our philosophy? Our particular fighting style, the Way of the Five Winds? I am sure I can fill you in!"
All materials on this page by Simonne Grant
Copyright 2000