A Sage's Story

 

Lost in the mists of a tropical mountain paradise, stone buildings poked through clearings in the trees.  There were modest houses, water channels and frog motifs on bare walls where one could see them.  The building closest to the mountain’s peak was tall with large windows pointing in the four directions where the Sages meditated and lived. The sun was just about to descend below the water off in the West, casting stunning shades of oranges, pinks, and purples amongst the ever present cloud cover. It wasn’t uncommon to see the water from such a high point in the mountains and the area had always been known for its colorful sunsets.

 

A little boy, with uncombed blond hair and big blue eyes ran up the temple steps with a small toy in his hands, upon closer inspection it was a little frog dyed with natural plant oils, stuffed with beans and made with woven goats hair.  The child puffed as he made it halfway up the stairs and as his face became flushed from exertion the pale scars on his cheeks form a mishap earlier in his young life stood out prominently.  For a six year old he was tougher than he looked and he lived each day to the fullest.

 

He wanted to see his father before the sun set completely so he could see what the older man did at night when all the good little boys and girls were asleep and in their beds.  It was his dream to be a Toad Sage just like Daddy but he’d have to be awake to see the froggy things that happened at night.

 

“Daddy, I’m here!”  The bright eyed boy ran into the temple courtyard and beamed at the little creek where his daddy usually waited for the sun to set. Only the man he loved so dearly wasn’t sitting where he usually did, “Daddy?”

 

All that was heard was the continuous babble of the creek as the water happily moved toward the setting ball of fire. A few leaves rustled just slightly before falling still once more as all became quiet again.

 

“Gotcha!” A tall middle aged man emerged from behind a tangle of vines, his sudden movements disturbing a few birds that were comfortably settling down for the evening. A long white mane of hair trailed along behind him as he scooped up his son, the older man’s smiling face distorting the red tattooed lines that trailed down from the lower lid of his eyes to just under his chin; permanent tear stains of loved ones that have since passed.

 

The boy laughed happily and twisted in his father’s arms to give the older man a big hug and to put the frog toy on top of the Sage’s head like a hat.  He loved his Daddy more than almost anything in the world and didn’t want to wait until he was ‘old enough’ to be a Sage in training.

 

“You knew I was coming?  I wanted it to be a surprise.”  The little boy pouted and looked the Sage in the eyes.

 

“Of course I knew you were coming; I am a Sage after all.” The white haired man smiled lovingly at his son and headed further into the temple. “And what a coincidence, you were just in time for bed.”

 

“But I don’t want to go to bed Daddy; I wanna stay up with you and have fun!”  Naruto pouted and tried to squirm his way to freedom.  If he wanted to sleep he could have stayed at a friend’s house for the night in the village.

 

“Naruto Uzumaki, you know very well that your bed time is just after sunset. And what have I told you about going to bed early?” Entering the main house that stood in the center of the temple’s courtyard, the blonde’s father held the child steady in his arms as he carried him to the smaller of the two bedrooms.

 

“But I’m not tired at all.”  The little boy yawned and stared glumly at his bed.  Once he was tucked in, the old Sage would leave.  “Will you tell me a bedtime story?”

 

The man’s eyes softened just the slightest bit as he took the small frog toy off of his head and set it down next to Naruto under the boy’s blankets. “Alright, but only a short one tonight; which one?”

 

The boy’s blue eyes lit up and he snuggled under his blankets, he knew exactly what story he wanted!  “I wanna hear the history of the Sages daddy!  Please, please!”  Naruto wiggled cutely under the covers as he begged for his favorite story.

 

“Alright, alright; I know how much you love that one.” Settling down next to his son on the small bed, the wise Sage began his tale.

 

“A long time ago, people learned that by communicating with nature, their lives became easier. Using that type of communication, it helped determine when to plant their crops to when they should set their cattle to pasture.   Many people believed that they could do more if they learned to listen to nature and they meditated where nature’s energies were strongest.

 

“Instead of hearing nature like they had believed, these early Sages realized they could hear the animals and if they tried hard enough the animals would answer back.  All over the land, men and women were having visions of the animals speaking to them with unusual traits and those animals were called Overseers.  The Overseers commanded all the lesser animals that shared their form and let the Sages use them.

 

“Many generations passed and Sages who shared the same animal mastery converged to share knowledge and to the younger generations the art of becoming a Sage.  Scholars traveled to the places the Sages lived and worked to preserve the Sages knowledge for everyone to learn. They sometimes had a difficult time during their travels, especially to see the Desert Sages but when they were finished there were sages for every kind of animal you could imagine.

 

“Time passed and people realized that certain families produced more Sages than others and those bloodlines were preserved and on occasion mixed with the bloodlines of other families to see if a Sage born from both could control both animals.  No one knows how it happened but those kids weren’t always able to control both animals while people in remote villages could.

 

“Peace prevailed until rogue Sages who used their powers for evil began attacking their neighbors and claiming territory as their own.   They stormed the farthest reaches including cloud forests where they met stiff resistance from a great Toad Sage named Jiraiya Sannin who-“

 

“That’s you, Daddy!”

 

“That’s right Naruto.”  Jiraiya ruffled his son’s hair playfully and smiled, the boy was too cute and he knew it.

 

“The rogue Sages suffered a great defeat at the outskirts of the temple and they were driven out of the mountains.  Good Sages worked hard and they defeated all the evil Sages and it was decided that young people needed to be taught what it meant to be a Sage to keep history from repeating”

 

“I like that story.  Daddy do you think I’ll be a Toad Sage like you when I’m older?”  Naruto snuggled under the covers with a firm grip on his father’s robes and a hint of a smile on his face.

 

Jiraiya chuckled and detangled his son’s fingers from his clothing and stood. “I don’t see why not, as long as you get the right training and go to bed on time. Now close those eyes and maybe I’ll show you a few things tomorrow.”

 

He pulled the blankets further up, tucking them under Naruto’s chin before ruffling the little boy’s soft blonde locks. “Goodnight Kiddo…”

 

“Just one more story?”  Naruto was practically asleep ad his words were so soft they might have been mistaken for a sleepy mumble.

 

Shaking his head in amusement, the old Sage turned to leave, knowing Naruto had already fallen asleep. A shadow fell over his face as he headed toward the door and blew out a few of the candles that lit up his son’s room; leaving a couple on for a night light.

 

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple Naruto. There’s still a great deal left for you to understand about yourself. And I’m afraid most of that will have to wait until you’re much older.” His voice was quiet as if he was speaking to himself rather than his son. With a heavy sigh, Jiraiya closed the bedroom door; leaving it open just a crack.

 

“Sweet dreams, Naruto.”

~TBC