The Path to the Vale

In the sixth book of the Red Rising Series (Light Bringer), one of my favorite metas I’ve ever crossed paths with runs in parallel–a story within a story, with some incredible metaphors for life. I read the book a second time purely to revisit “The Path.”

I wanted to document these because I have found them to be extremely powerful, and they have helped me align my recent re-engagement with my dharma practice, of which the purpose is to ‘cultivate the path,’ to alleviate suffering & anguish.

“The Path to the Vale” is an inscrutable and eternal journey–both literal and metaphorical-that individuals must walk in life and death. It is meant to represent life’s journey, the importance of growth, and the acceptance of paradoxes as a prerequisite to our existence. It is invoked throughout the book as a guide for moral an emotional conduct, especially in times of grief, hardship, or decision-making.

It is a source of comfort and a reminder that the journey-marked by both suffering and joy-is what matters, not just the end itself.

The Path to the Vale:

1. We achieve perfection first by acknowledging our failures. We increase understanding first by recognizing our ignorance.
2. If you wish to be prepared, you must first be broken.
3. Some currents cannot be fought, no matter how good a swimmer I think I am. Far better to hope the rapids I sail upon will carry me to new opportunities, new allies.
4. When life springs forth, death follows close behind. When goodness is found, evil is closer to hand. The path struggles the boundary between these.
5. If you wish to be straightened, you must first be bent.
6. Chains might be made by others but we’re the ones who tend them.
7. Breathe in, breathe out, find the self, lose it again.
8. The supreme good is the wind in the deep mines. It flows thru rock, thru people, and over lands. The wind is oblivious to these obstacles, though her path would not be the same in her absence. When you smell rust on the breeze, hear the echo of tools in the darkness, smile and be glad. The path is upon you, and you are upon it. All you have to do is walk.

The Path Through the Darkness:

1. The path is made of many stones that look all the same. When you tread upon evil, do not rest or look down because goodness is only a step away. The next may bring ruin. The next joy. But these stones are not your destination, but your journey to the paths end.
2. The Path to the Vale is inscrutable, eternal, and perfect. It cannot be seen with the eyes, nor felt underfoot. It winds as it wills. It ends where it must. It climbs when it does. It falls when it should. It stretches deep into the rocks we dig, and back into our hearts. It winds on before and after us, in all directions and none. Though we may walk it, we may never master it. Though we may see the path, we can never know the truth. The path to the vale is inscrutable, eternal and perfect. It must be followed at all costs.
3. Th supreme good is the wind of the deep minds. It flows through rock, around people and through all lands. The wind is oblivious to obstacles, though they shape her path. When you smell rust on the breeze, or hear the echo of tools in the dark, smile and be glad. The path is upon you and you are upon it. All you must do is walk.

One Extra Nugget of Beautiful Writing:

• I will endure. I’ve been imprisoned before. I know I must force away the thoughts of home before they make debris of me. Not for the first time, I try to seek refuge in anger. I want to fight, I need to fight, it’s how I’m made, to struggle in eternal vain. But instead of a fight, the forward motion that soothes my restless nature is the monotone hum of generators and the days congealing together. A litany of endless routine.