A semi-circle of rabbits sat in front of a smouldering coal that someone had stolen from a nearby farm. They’d taken a leaf of dried tobacco and set it over the coal, filling the hall with a heady scent. They were pacifists, extremists who eschewed all violence, even self-defence. Nin—the traveller, the seeker—had come to stay and learn from them.
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Sphinx
Nin came to an abandoned keep that had once served as a toll-house. Now a gigantic and fearsome Sphinx had taken up residence there, demanding travelers answer her riddle in order to pass unharmed. Those that failed to answer correctly were devoured on the spot.
Continue readingA Small Side Story
In his fever Nin dreamed of many things. Great gods and old demons, the lives of rabbits; the fate of rabbit-kind. In the midst of these visions one small memory kept doggedly resurfacing.
Continue readingConviction
When he was young, and still living in the warren, Nin would often talk with his fellow rabbits. He debated everything, had discussions concerning all topics—from the lowest gossip to the highest philosophies. He relished these conversations, but not for the topics themselves, although he found value in them, too.
Continue readingTundra (2)
For a moment all the world was cast in shadow, but then the darkness passed.
Nin craned his neck, he could only just make out the silhouette of a winged figure circling far above him. It turned slowly beneath the sun; large, hideous wings cut the air. He squinted, and soon recognized its form to be that of a hawk. Nin could feel its eyes upon him.
Continue readingTundra
On the other side of the desert was a vast tundra, and as he approached it, Nin found it little better than the desert itself. A harsh, pervasive wind blew through the underbrush—a coarse and hardy brush hardly fit to eat. Rain fell in short, fierce bursts and never pooled upon the ground.
Continue readingMulberry
Often, before he left on his pilgrimage, Nin would sit beneath the mulberry tree and think. He called it meditation, but in practice it was closer introspection, or just arguing with himself.
Continue readingLessons (3)
“One day the truth will be so remote that you will resent it for even existing,” said the demon. “When that time comes, little princeling, seek me out and I will tell you the truth behind truths; the secret that lies buried at the heart of the world.”
Continue readingLessons
A fog crept in over the meadow. It was so thick and came so suddenly that young Nin thought perhaps it was smoke from a nearby farmer’s field.
“This is an evil fog, and an ill-omen,” said an elder rabbit. “Let us return to the burrow, little ones, where it is safe.”
Continue readingNin and the Lotus-Eaters (2)
Nin looked to those he should have called brothers, and he found among them no brotherhood. “I will not find what I seek here,” he said. “I will not have my wants fulfilled.”
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Crosstown Gate 
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