The sun was setting, the light dimming, and three men were traveling on a dirt road. The three men were of the Earth Path and they were making a pilgrimage to the great Samsara Cycle where they would offer their services to the villages nearby. It had been a long journey, but with the belief of the Earth Path, that journey continues every day.

“Hmm? What is it Friar?” The youngest of them asks.

“It’s a campsite. Up ahead.” The bearded monk replies.

“What are you talking about? I don’t see any tents.” The man in grey robes says.

“It’s there. There are still embers in the fire pit.” The monk says. “Come, let’s go have a look. Maybe we can get that fire started again.”

As the trio walks closer to the campsite, the monk notices an object moving next to the fire pit and his eyebrow raises.

“It’s an infant…” The monk exclaims.

“What?” The young man asks.

“Hurry, let’s run ahead.” The monk says, his pace quickening abruptly before it seemed like he was teleporting set distances towards the campsite ahead.

“Hey! What’s going on?” The man in grey robes asks before his form becomes blurry as his body rushes forward like his body was being drawn to the campsite by an intense gravitational force.

“Ah! Why are you rushing?” The young man exclaims in annoyance before sprinting as fast as he could to the campsite.

The grey-robed man approaches and looks at what the bearded man stood over. “A child?” It was an infant wrapped in rough sackcloth. The grey-robed man bends over and picks up the child, who is still sleeping. He touches the child’s cheek and could feel the warmth in the child’s body fading.

“This child is almost lost. He requires a Rekindling Ritual.” The grey-robed man says.

“Then it is our duty. We will use the embers we found him with.” The bearded monk replies.

The young man pants as he finally finds his way to the campsite and overhears the conversation his traveling companions were having.

“We can’t perform the Rekindling Ritual!” The young man exclaims before catching his breath and calming down. “We only have one set of Rekindling Stones, and it is unlikely we’ll be able to find them again at our destination. Surely there is another way.”

“None of us are skilled in the medical arts; this is our only option.” The bearded man says in regret as he looks at the child. “And my deity put this child in my path; I would not turn him away.”

The grey-robed man sighs. “Go on kid, go grab the Rekindling Stones.”

The young man grunts in dissatisfaction before taking off his traveling pack to get them. “Fine, I will do as you say.”

The young man gets the four Rekindling Stones and sets them in a Foundational Array around the embers in the fire pit.

The grey-robed man takes off the sackcloth that wraps the child and lays his naked body onto the embers. The child’s eyebrows scrunch as the embers touch his body, but his unfeeling body seems to find comfort in what he perceives as a gentle warmth. The grey-robed man then continues to bite his thumb, blood releasing with the crisp sound of skin breaking, and puts his thumb to the child’s forehead, marking him.

The bearded monk then does the same and marks the back of the child’s right hand.

The grey-robed man and the bearded monk then look to the young man.

The young man’s eyes widen. “What? No, no, no! I’m not ready to make that commitment! I’m still young; I should not have that responsibility!”

The bearded man’s eyes become solemn, and the grey-robed man sighs.

The grey-robed man speaks out, “Child, life waits for no one. Since you choose to live, you must participate. You are here and some things must be done.”

The bearded man grunts and stares at him solemnly.

The young man groans and moves forward, doing as his predecessors have done, biting his left thumb and marking the child’s left hand.

The grey-robed man smiles and says, “Go ahead, you will be performing the ritual this time.”

The young man sighs in feigned frustration before saying, “If you say so.”

“You live but are cold. You are isolated but a fire burns within. You are tempted but you are you.”

The embers beneath the child spread, reaching towards the Rekindling Stones.

“The path is ahead. May this flame carry you forward.”

The embers find the Rekindling Stones and a fire catches engulfing the child in a clear flame that was not able to harm him.

“You have our blessing.”

The blood on the child’s body evaporates, leaving dark spots on the child’s skin. Then, the flames slowly drew to the child and entered his body through his pores.

The young man touched the child’s face and felt the warmth return to the child’s body.

The bearded man sighs in relief and says, “Come, let’s bring this child to the City of Sevan.”

…

…

…

In the City of Sevan. In its only orphanage.

“Who are you to this child?” The maiden asks, taking the child in the sackcloth.

“You can call us his godfathers.” The bearded man says with a chuckle before opening the door and leaving, followed by his two companions.