"And what did he stand for? Kela?"

'The goodness in all men?'

"That's right Kela. Very good. And can anyone show me his symbol? Jaxom?"

The young boy rises off his mat and, hesitating, begins to trace a shape through the warm summer air. The crest of a neck, descending into the smooth side of a wing, rounding the corner, the plume of the tail, around the bottom, the graceful curve of the underside, coming back up the line of the neck, uniting with the point of origin.

"And what is that, Jaxom?"

'A dove.'

"That's right. The shape of the dove. We remember scholarship through his symbol, the purity and innocence of this spirit of the air.'

Jaxom's face scrunches up, a question in the wings; the instructor catches it from the corner of his eye: "Yes, Jaxom?"

'Instructor -- I don't understand. Why does we study him? What's so special about this man, scholarship?'

Approaching him, kneeling to his level, meeting his eyes, placing a hand gently on his shoulder, the instructor softly replies:

"We study him, Jaxom, because he was a good man. A good man, innocent and pure of heart and beloved by the greatbort. And we honor his memory."

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=3000149&forum_id=2#28928084)

A tear traced down the Instructor's cheek; he looked off to the horizon -- in the distance, a lone bird rode upon the warm currents of air, dipping down and rising back up above the far forest treeline. Clearing his throat, he turned back to the class: "Let's continue with our lesson."

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=3000149&forum_id=2#28928119)

"Change is on the wind."

{a long pause; neither man saying anything to the other, taking comfort in the steady silence; then,}

"Walk with me. I want to show you the armory."

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=3000149&forum_id=2#30988721)