Moving from Level to Level, he had also

begun to appreciate the wealth of material he

discovered on each onein particular, the
well-stocked Armory that was housed on the
Second Level that contained a vast collection
of weapons and armor from various countries
and epochs, together with training centers
that were evidently operational. This last
discovery concerned him deeply at the time,
since his very presence within this mountain
refuge had resulted from the actions of war-
riors whose ethics were based on systematic
violence employed as a means of regulating
reality within martial models of absolute
subjection to their vertical hierarchies.
s
The existence on the Third Level of an
equally rich and eclectic assortment of archi-
tectural motifs, temples, and shrines with
their related sculptures and decorations, all
reflecting mystical and religious concepts,
only confused Pre Dominic further, as he
pondered the possible ascetic orientation of
the Residents. His perplexity was heightened
by the unusual variety of styles and representa-
tions celebrating the divine element in the
evolution and history of humanity that was
evident everywhere on this Level.
s
But Pre Dominic was even more aston-
ished by what he found on the Fourth Level.
Here were masterpieces of the human artistic
inclination to celebrate the beauty and com-
plexity of life, expressed according to various
canons of aesthetics developed over the
centuries in diverse countries. However they
may have differed in style or medium, all were
obviously intended to convey the joy and the
pain of living.
s
18 19

As Pre Dominic began to question the
Residents more insistently concerning their
community and the Doctrine, they would
smile and advise him to observe the Summit
and examine its contents. After some further
discussion among themselves, the Residents
generally agreed that, to engage Pre
Dominics mind and stimulate his natural
curiosity in a positive manner (since he was
both a scholar and a teacher), he would not
only be introduced to the world of the
Residents, but also to many other worlds as
well, through the perusal of the Summits
unique collection of narrative scrolls. These
scrolls contained the reminiscences, rumina-
tions, and recollections of many Residents, as
well as previous visitors to the Summit, who
had stayed there for varying lengths of time,
studying, practicing various arts, meditating,
or simply engaging in reflection far from the
distractions and pressures of the outside world.
Ever since anyone on the Summit could
remember, it had been a standing practice
that, before each visitor departed, he or she
would contribute a scroll to the Summits
Library, and it was to a careful selection of
these scrolls that Pre Dominic turned when
he once more began to feel the stirrings of his
life force.
s
While reflecting upon the mysterious
nature of these Levels, and their contents,
Pre Dominic had found himself wondering
about the nature of the life being led by the
current Residents of the Summit. Were they
warriors, or monks, or aristocratic collectors of
fine art? Only after he had spent much more
time among them would he begin to learn
about the long and often dramatic history
associated with this particular peak amid the
Silvery Rangea history that extended back
to the distant Age of the Shamans, during
which the Empire had coalesced for the first
time.
s
Since that period, the Summit had
sheltered generations of wanderers from the
length and breadth of the Empire, as well as
from many other countries, in both the East
and the West. They had come to this refuge,
not only from different climes, but also from
varying ways of lifefrom battlefields and
monasteries, from imperial precincts and
humble huts. But they all shared one goal:
the desire to transcend the destructive and
violent tides that swept through so many
aspects of life, in favor of those ways and
means that might help to expand their knowl-
edge of themselves, of their fellow creatures;
and finally, to penetrate to the very essence of
Reality itself.
s
20 21

During their conversation, Pre Dominic
expressed his unflagging interest in further
exploration of the various Summit Levels,
saying that he hoped to be able to spend
time studying the contents of each Level.
The Hermit raised his hand, smiling, as he
told Pre Dominic that he would have as
much time as he needed on the Summit
reassuring him that he was not only safe from
attacks by any outside forces, but that he was
also most welcome to stay as long as he wished.
s
It was then that Hori urged Pre Dominic
to spend a portion of each day delving into the
wealth of experiences embodied in the scrolls
that overflowed the Library, saying that the
stories contained within them would amplify
his explorations of the Summit by filling in the
details of the larger picture, and that the
reflections of so many different personalities
would aid him in understanding not only the
history of the site itself, but also the influence
of the wider world outside and just how each
intersected the other.
s
23
As he unrolled one carefully protected
scroll after another, Pre Dominic found
himself immersed in tales that deepened his
understanding of the people who had popu-
lated this mountain refuge from its first secret
societies, to the present mixture of Residents
and their direct contacts with the outside
world, the Itinerant Intellects, as well as all
those men and women who had found shelter
on the Summit and then left their stories
behind before slipping away again to continue
their individual journeys.
s
Many of these tales dealt with dramatic
incidents both before their authors had arrived
at the Summit and afterward, while they were
being sheltered there and, as Pre Dominic
pondered their contents, his curiosity about
the site itself became increasingly keen.
s
One morning, as he was finishing his
breakfast, Pre Dominic received a visit from
the Hermit and Hori, the Librarian, who sat
with him for awhile, inquiring mainly about
the state of his health.
s
22
24
When the Hermit and Hori left Pre
Dominic to himself, he turned to the con-
tainer of scrolls that was never far from his
resting place and his eye was caught by one
with a strangely enigmatic cover. As he
unwrapped it slowly, he found himself being
drawn into the shadowy world of the first
tale he was to read on the Summit: The
Castle in the Rain.
s