As Vivainne and Constance continued on the road towards the Castle wherein the Die of Destiny was being held by a Cruel King, they discussed the suffering that both had experienced during their recent separation and conversely, their joy at being re-united.
Suffering, they considered, was something felt by all mortals and a consequence of being alive. The very nature of being human presupposed the existence of happiness and contentment in the good times and their opposites, suffering and anxiety in times of trouble. The two knights had experienced both in abundance and were at a loss to understand how to promote the former whilst reducing the latter.
As they talked, they rode along the shore of a great lake or inland sea, and there, sitting side by side, both with fishing rods in their hands, sat a King and a Fisherman.
As they were both tired and ready to stop for a rest, they dismounted and greeted the pair that were fishing with respect and asked them if their fishing was going well.
The King replied that, no, they had not caught any fish and that they never would, because Luck had deserted them and they may never catch a fish again.
Intrigued, Constance and Vivainne sat down and listened to the story that the King had to tell.
The King had lived in a fine country, he tried every day to make the plight of his people more comfortable, but when he sat in his courtly halls and listened to the petitions of the people that came there, he was always surprised at the suffering that still afflicted them. However hard he tried to improve their lot, there were still some who were hungry or ailing. Sometimes, just when he believed that his efforts were having some effect, a great flood or pestilence would plunge his people into despair.
He decided, at length, to discover the underlying reasoning which ruled the fate of his country and so he visited a wise man who was known.
After many discussions, the King came away with the words ‘It is just Bad Luck’ ringing in his ears. So, he decided to confront Luck, and ask him how he was meant to combat the suffering of people when his attempts were always thwarted by Bad Luck.
Luck sighed and replied ‘Let me answer you this way, the world in which you live is partially unpredictable, this is what you call, “Good Luck and Bad Luck”. To understand the world clearly you must take away the Good and Bad that you associate with Luck. If then this unpredictability brings happiness, then enjoy and celebrate it. If on the other hand it brings suffering or unhappiness the you must decide whether to leave each individual to suffer alone or come together to support each other in their time of need. Suffering and unhappiness, be they physical or mental, can be assuaged with support.
The King, disappointed and angered, demanded that Luck release the world from this tyranny. He asked Luck how he determined what would happen next in the world and Luck revealed to him the Die of Destiny.
A six sided cube with numbers of dots on each side, one side was blank and represented the Physical Universe, the next had One dot to represent the Self or Unity, the next had Two dots to represent the two aspects of power, the next had Three dots to represent Harmony, the next had Four dots to represent the Cosmos of the Mind and the last had Ten dots in a triangle to represent Humanity.
With this Die, Luck ruled the fate of the world and because he was impartial, both good and bad outcomes were equally balanced. He told the King that if the Die was thrown by a being of mal intent then the outcomes would forever err on the side of evil and that, on the other hand, if the Die were to be thrown by a being of pure intent, then the results would err on the side of good.
The King, then and there, stole the Die of Destiny and carried it away with him.
For a few years the King kept the Die of Destiny safe and his people prospered and suffering was reduced in all it’s manifestations, but then one terrible day, another visiting King, who was an evil man and cared nought for anyone but himself, managed to steal the Die of Destiny from the good King and took it away to his High Castle. Since that time, things had not gone well in the world and natural disasters and plagues had afflicted the world.
The Good King was the unluckiest of all, nothing that he did was successful and only brought further distress to all that he was responsible for in his kingdom. So, one day he set out to retrieve the Die of Destiny and return it to Luck so that the Cosmos might regain it’s balance. Wherever he went and whatever he did, Bad Luck followed him and so he eschewed the company of people and travelled alone.
The Fisherman had found the King sitting by the lake, and, even though the King had told the Fisherman that if they sat together, they would never have enough Luck to catch a fish. The Fisherman sat down with the King to fill his loneliness and bring him some reduction of his suffering.
On hearing this, Vivainne and Constance could not help but tell of their quest, on which they had embarked so long ago. Having heard the King’s story they decided that, should they be so fortunate as to succeed in their quest, they would return the Die of Destiny to Luck, so that balance could be restored.
The King, pleased by this turn of events, decided that he should not accompany the two Knights as he would only bring his Bad Luck with him and they would, like as not, fail. But he was able to give them some advice. ‘I have discovered’ he told them, ‘that the Cruel king’s Castle has a hidden entrance that is disguised in a woodsman’s cottage near the foot of the hill whereon the castle is built. I have also heard that he keeps the Die of Destiny, locked in his family crypt below his great hall. I hope that these intelligences prove helpful to you and that you can wrest the Die from his control. If you are successful, I would urge you to return it to Luck, so that he may bring balance to the world.’
Having rested, the Knights Exemplar took their leave of the King and the Fisherman with whom they had shared their meagre rations. They thanked them for their knowledge and were in return wished good fortune on their Quest to capture the Die of Destiny.
The Guardians of the Cave 