The Wheel of Teaching
The gods informed the kings who effectively ruled the five cities in their stead of the educational city's existence. Then they directed those they had marked as educators, along with anyone reputed as a person of talent, to make their way toward the city of learning — Ku'ar.
"…To think a city this large was sitting out here."
"There's no sign anyone ever lived here. So the rumor that a nameless god built it in half a year was true?"
As the saying goes, you see only as much as you know. The ignorant merely gaped at the city's scale, unable to grasp what was truly remarkable about it. But those who had come from every region with sharp minds and real ability could not help but marvel at Ku'ar.
Those connected to architecture, in particular, stared at the city's functional beauty and the imposing grandeur of its great temple until they drooled.
At the city gates stood clay tablets listing the educators, and guides had been posted for those who could not read. The educators named on those lists numbered a full thousand.
Some taught things bound tightly to daily life — farming, hunting, foraging. Others taught practical skills like arithmetic and writing. And more than a few taught things of no practical use whatsoever: how to sleep well, how to eat slowly.
The gifted who had come to learn were even more varied. Among them were people from the great cities, of course — but also folk from unknown little villages, wandering nomads, and even raiders. Every sort of person imaginable.
Had the gods not forbidden fighting within the city walls, it would have been no surprise if slaughter and riot had broken out on the spot.
"Well. No one is coming, as expected."
Sunya smiled sheepishly at the empty classroom.
Saying he taught the study of the mind must have sounded like so much empty talk. If he had claimed to teach painting or sculpture, things would almost certainly have been better than this — though he had no intention of changing the content of his lessons.
Not a single student had come looking for him, yet Sunya felt no urgency. Leisure, when given, was meant to be enjoyed.
Propping his chin in his hand, he drifted into idle thought.
When I go home, what shall I play with Kalam?
Kalam was the son Inanna had borne him only days before. Still a newborn, yet already a careful blend of Sunya's features and Inanna's. With the child's birth, Sunya was truly beginning to feel that he had a family.
Every moment, Kalam managed to startle him. Being a god even as an infant, the boy was strong for a newborn and grew with startling speed. But more than anything, his capacity to learn was beyond imagination. Already he could manage simple conversation. How he would grow from here was impossible to predict.
"As expected of the Sage."
A familiar voice broke through his reverie. Enede, from the village at the foot of the mountain, was stepping into the classroom where Sunya sat.
"Miss Enede. You've come as well."
"Well, I'm the smartest one in the village, after all. And the others have no interest in learning anything more."
The unexpected meeting filled Sunya with a quiet gladness. Enede was one of the few who, even knowing he was a god, had scarcely changed the way she treated him. There had been a time when she found him difficult to approach, but by now she seemed to have more or less adjusted.
"…So I wasn't the first."
The next person to enter the classroom was a cute brown-haired boy — Adapa, son of Enki, counselor to kings, the half-god half-human known as a sage. Whatever magic he had used, none of the fishlike traits — the scales, the fins — were visible at all.
"This foolish fish greets the great god."
"Oh, he's adorable!"
Enede's eyes lit up. She seemed thoroughly intrigued by the unexpected appearance of a pretty young boy.
"Sage! Who is this cute little one? Do you know him?"
"He has helped me a few times."
"Helping the Sage? He must be sharper than he looks, then."
Enede trotted over to Adapa with quick little steps.
"Nice to meet you, little one. Big sister's name is Enede. What's yours?"
"Ah — Miss Enede. Young Adapa is older than he appears—"
Sunya had been about to explain that Adapa was far older than he looked, when Adapa's response made the words unnecessary.
"Nice to meet you, big sister~ I'm Adapa!"
Watching Adapa put on a child's voice with bright, cheerful energy, Sunya's mouth fell open and his eyes went wide. For a moment he could not comprehend why the boy was suddenly behaving this way.
"Adapa? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere…"
"Hehe, it's a pretty common name. People say that a lot. Where are you from, big sister?"
"I'm from a little place called the village under the mountain. You've probably never heard of it."
"Ah! The village under the mountain! I know where that is. It's the one near Mount Ebih, right?"
"Wow! You know that? Our Adapa is pretty smart, isn't he?"
"Really? Heehee, that makes me happy."
Watching Adapa feign pure, artless innocence so naturally, Sunya had a great deal he wanted to say — and kept all of it to himself.
Well. If everyone's happy, that's what matters.
Adapa did not seem to harbor any ill intent. And Enede's heart was hardly pure either, so there was no real need to interfere.
"Still, more people came than I expected. I thought no one would show up at all."
"No way. You're the Sage — of course people would come. This situation is the strange one!"
Enede encouraged him. It was a melancholy thought, but for a fleeting moment her manner reminded him of Kubatum.
"It's true that Lord Sunya is remarkable. But why does Big Sister Enede call him the Sage?"
"Oh, that? It's kind of a title we only use in our village…"
Enede briefly explained how Sunya had come to be called a sage. The way she made it simple enough for even a child to understand suggested her gift for speaking was not half bad.
"Ah, so that's why…"
Adapa looked at Sunya with this new knowledge in mind. He had never heard that Sunya had shut himself away on Mount Ebih before meeting Inanna. For someone so gifted to have lived all this time as a nameless god — perhaps it was simply because he had never left the mountain to engage with the outside world.
Has he always disliked noise?
What he was teaching now fit the pattern too. The study of the mind, of all things. Unless someone had a streak of eccentricity like Adapa himself, or a personal interest in Sunya, it would not have been strange at all for no one to seek his instruction. Perhaps he had deliberately chosen something that would not draw a crowd.
Adapa turned the thought over in his head, arriving at his own conclusions.
"Well, it seems no one else will be joining us, so shall we begin the lesson?"
"Yes, Sage."
"Yes."
"Before we start, there are two things I would like to ask of you both."
Sunya held up two fingers before Enede and Adapa, who sat facing him.
"First — and I say this because you already know who I am — I have my reasons for concealing my identity. From now on, please call me 'Teacher' rather than Sage or by my name. 'Muni' is also fine. And lastly, when you have a question, I would be grateful if you raised your hand before speaking."
"Yes, Teacher!"
Adapa raised his hand and answered with cheerful energy. Sunya found himself wondering how long that cunning merman intended to keep up the child act.
"Good. Then — is there anything either of you is curious about?"
"May I ask what the study of the mind actually is?"
Enede asked. She knew Sunya was no ordinary man, but that was a separate matter from understanding what this "study of the mind" was supposed to be. Adapa felt the same. They had entered Sunya's class purely out of personal interest and curiosity about the man himself.
"I wrote down something as vague as 'the study of the mind,' but the truth is, it is nothing so grand."
Sunya opened his eyes a fraction and smiled.
"As we live in this world, unavoidable suffering finds us. No matter how strong, how clever, how firmly seated in power — even the great gods themselves cannot escape certain fates.
Being robbed by those stronger than you. Suffering from illness. Grieving the loss of family. Being betrayed by those you trusted. Regretting what will never return. Being crippled by a trivial mistake. Being born incomplete compared to others. Suffering because you are unloved…"
Sunya fell silent for a moment. In that brief stillness, Enede and Adapa both felt a weight that seemed almost too heavy.
"Even so, I wanted to tell you that you can still move forward. That you can still live. That there is hope. Put simply — I will teach you how to fight against the world and against fate."
The lesson began, and with it the wheel of teaching began to turn.
The wheel the sage set in motion would cross the world and leave a mark that could never be erased — though no one present that day could yet foresee it.
"Now then. Let us begin the lesson in earnest."