Mindless Caverns – [w/ Audio]

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10/19/11 – (Updated 1/26/24)

Echoes of footfall and the heavy hiss of breathing berated the dark silence of Mindless Caverns. The damp ancient shafts here knew no sunlight or warmth, only the ageless hollow of time’s decay. If illumined, one would have expected the passages to appear a dank bluish grey, but as the garish beam from an incandescent flashlight hit the rock walls, they shown yellow and white with reflection. The focus of light danced haphazardly around the cave as the tattered man directing it ran blindly deeper into the tunnel before him. He had no shoes to hold his racing feet, and his torn garments were spattered with dried blood. He clutched a cloth sack under his left arm while holding out his flashlight with the other, probing the black darkness for a path ahead. Ten minutes passed when, without warning, the man’s right knee buckled beneath its exhaustion. He propelled forward, his hands instinctively dropping their contents and bracing for the incoming limestone floor. The flashlight flew out towards a turn in the tunnel, slamming into the wall and then crashing to the ground. All light perished with a striking metal clank.

A tortured cry of desperation rent the black air and quickly bled to gentle sobbing. It was this sound that caught my notice. Startled, I grabbed the hilt of my rapier- a truly outdated tool, but dead handy in my vocation. My lust for the discipline and honor of my early studies had never waned, so I held tightly to the steel at my waist and its grave authority.

I swiftly made my way towards the pitiful wallowing sounds. It was there I noticed a weathered man desperately searching for his flashlight. I picked it up and showed him there was an easier path to cross if he wished to continue his trek. Ignoring my instruction, the man clambered to gather his belongings and rushed furiously forward into the dark caverns beyond.

This is the truth of our unguarded thoughts and emotions, always rushing head-first towards whatever ounce of input they can get. A steady, disciplined mind can show us the way out from our suffering, yet we’d sooner continue our search for sorrow than live in the reality of compassion.