Eastgate Folk

The first man and woman had many children whose names are not remembered in the songs. Long ago, a band of them walked east until they could go no farther, and settled within sight of the garden. Not inside it. No one has ever gone inside it again. But close enough to see the one tall blade of flame turning slowly at the east gate in the night, close enough to feel its warmth on their faces, close enough to watch.

They have been watching ever since. The Eastgate folk measure the four great rivers that flow out of the garden, and record every seed, leaf and blossom that the waters carry out of it. They keep the memory of the first days in long rolls, written in ink they grind themselves, and their libraries are the greatest in the world. They know the name of every beast and the weakness of every creature. They learn faster than anyone alive. Both cities court them for their learning, and they are honored in both.

But the Eastgate folk carry the oldest temptation of all, the one that began everything: knowledge reached for instead of received. The faithful among them keep the watch with humility, and teach freely what they learn. The others dream. They dream of slipping past the turning sword. They dream of the tree in the midst of the garden. And some of them have sold their learning to the fallen in exchange for secrets that were never meant for men. None of them has ever passed the sword. None of them has ever stopped trying.

Ink-stained fingers and measuring cords, writing tablets at the belt, robes the color of river clay. The men cut their hair neat at the jaw and square their beards, the women knot theirs high and pin it with a bronze stylus, and their gear is Scribe's order work in river-clay tan, ink black and pale copper, with a clay tablet case and a bronze stylus worn at the belt the way other folk wear a blade. The Eastgate folk are curious, precise and endlessly patient. They answer questions with questions and remember everything.

The Eastgate folk are born to the arts of the mind: Prophets and Sorcerers, Psalmists and Beguilers. Their Wisdom makes them strong healers as well. Swords come hard to them, but no calling is closed.

You want to know things. You want to be the one who reads the old rolls, names the beast and finds the weakness. You want to stand where you can see the light of the garden every night of your life. And you want to face the oldest question there is: what you will do with all you know.