Zar’s class visits the Grove of the Greeks to study rationalism and universal truths. As they walk toward a park, Zar notices a path leading to a Temple deeper into the Grove. A philosopher named Form addresses the class as they arrive:
greetings students
to this grove of fame
i am called form
so pleased you came
god is the form of forms
the spirit is intellect or logos
and with the soul immortal
greek trinity we do compose
when we die our spirits
in splendor they dwell
yet the unjust are skinned alive
impaled in reasonless hell
Zar drifts off into his mind, contemplating a world where an absolute being, interpreted by the Ridge of Revelation, judges right from wrong and condemns non-believers to an eternal lake of fire.
As Form continues lecturing, Zar quietly slips away and heads toward the Temple. As he arrives at the white marble gate, two eagles fly overhead past each other. A philosopher who followed him from the park, catches up and asks Zar:
greetings student
why the detour
why sneak away
did you not find the cure
Zar answers by asking:
a student i am
but not just of forms kept
where in the darkness
does reason and light accept
Schatten replies:
so you are drawn
not simply lost in fright
my name is schatten, i dwell
where there is no light
i reside in the woods
but often come here to learn
how to sharpen my skills
so their arguments i burn
form is the turning point
on civilization’s stage
driving away the shadow
turning the divine tragedy’s page
Schatten points to the temple and continues:
enter apollo’s temple to behold
the greek metaphysical world
home of delphi’s oracle
where realities become blurred
myth holds that a dragon
protected mother earth
representing her chaos
in which all gives birth
then the god apollo
when only four days old
slayed the mighty dragon
a new moral order as gold
in claiming this victory
light conquering the night
he named a new priestess
to prophesize what is right
but the shadow remains
angst that holds us tight
is it not evil or wrong
but that which gives light
As Schatten finishes speaking, a crooked man holding a goat rushes by into the Temple. Zar instinctively follows him. They arrive at a stone altar covered in vines and fermented fruit stains.
An old priest takes the goat, douses it with holy water, and then slits its throat. He motions for Zar to proceed down a dark, narrow corridor that leads to the inner sanctum where an empty tripod sits above a slight chasm in the ground. Two gold eagles guard the fracture and a statue of Apollo watches over.
Zar arrives and stares at the tripod when a sweet-scented vapor seeps out of the chasm. He closes his eyes, inhales, and enters into a vision. Zar sits peacefully on the shores of the Sea of Sunyata gazing onto the expanse of existence.
Suddenly, an intense fear grips him as a dragon, covered with golden scales, soars at him over the Sea of Sunyata’s circling void. Panicked, Zar opens his eyes and beholds the goddess Dionysus sitting on the tripod, glaring at him. She says to him:
welcome to the earth’s center
what do you hope to learn
what can i divine for you
what future can i discern
Zar composes himself and responds:
what just happened
that existential hiss
that gilded dragon
soaring from the abyss
Dionysus fixes her gaze at Zar and responds:
many seek the truth
in ordered lines
in marble thought
and perfect signs
apollo shines
and men feel safe
but light alone does not
close the shadow’s gape
they worship clarity
and call it good
but life is born
from darker wood
whatever image you behold
it reflects your deepest fear
but if you try to defeat it
it will return to rule here
The man escorting Zar motions to the door. Zar leaves the temple and finds Schatten waiting for him, who asks:
how did it go
what did you learn
did you see the chasm
did its vapor burn
Zar stares past Schatten into the Grove and says:
panic came and went
leaving behind
a vision of the sea
calling my mind
i know what i must do
where i must go
when i am ready
the revolution will blow