“Which means no one could understand it unless he was both,” Erasmus said.
“Which I am,” Paedrin answered. He inhaled slowly, and they watched him begin to float in the air. He put his foot on the end of his broken staff and balanced himself with his free arm. He held the pose, drawing their eyes as he circled his hand fluidly in the air. Then he stepped forward and landed heavily on the ground, startling them.
“That was to be sure you were listening,” he said seriously.
Hettie snorted and Annon smiled.
Paedrin walked as he spoke, gesticulating with his free arm for emphasis. “The Uddhava is one word that describes a myriad of explanations. A chain of things. Let me try and give you the color and shade of it. The principal element of the Uddhava is the act of observing. Observing is a form of power, a very subtle power. It changes behavior in others and oneself. You behave differently in front of a crowd than you do when you are alone. The observations of others cause you to change what you would ordinarily do. I will be crude to illustrate.”
“As long as you are not disgusting as well,” Hettie said archly.
He ignored her. “You have some dust in your nose. All right, perhaps it is more than dust. All alone, you would flick it away and be done with it. But in polite company, you do so surreptitiously. The fear of being observed has influenced your behavior. It is the same thing with criminals. If they believe someone is watching them, they do not commit their crime. In fact, it is typically best to distract the attention of the person you intend to rob so that they will not observe what is being stolen from them. Simple enough?”
Annon nodded. “So you are suggesting that Kiranrao was trying to distract us with his story about my uncle?”
Paedrin laughed. “Do not even try to apply Uddhava yet. I have not finished explaining it. Observation is the key element of it. It is more than mere looking. It is more than noticing. When we observe the world around us, we begin to notice that life is a current and we are caught up in the middle of it, but our actions change the course for others. Things act and react differently, depending on the forces that are used. The second element of Uddhava is trying to intuitively understand why a person has done what they have done. What motivated them? It is not just the action itself, but the motive of that action.”
Erasmus cackled. “And people are so transparent, are they? They love to deceive everyone, including themselves. You cannot judge my motives any more than you can determine the real reasons for your own.”
Paedrin grinned and whipped the stick around, pointing it at Erasmus’s nose. “If you all keep interrupting me, we will never make it to the end.”
“Keep going,” Annon said. “I am interested.”
“This is starting to sound like a sermon,” Hettie murmured.
“I will be quick, I promise. No moralizing. Once the intent is divined, the next two things come in rapid order. According to the Uddhava, you make a decision to test your conclusion for accuracy. Then you act on that decision. Your action then prompts the other person to do something. And it all begins again. You observe what they have done, see if it matches your intuition, make another decision about what to do, and then act on it.”
He paused in front of the fire. The light reflected off his dark skin. “Every day, each one of us is dancing awkwardly to a rhythm of the Uddhava. Those who master it make the world dance to their tune.” He scratched his scalp. “Let me be specific. You might think I was a fool to rush into Drosta’s pit without studying it first for danger.” He paused. “This is where you insult me, Hettie. Please…don’t disappoint me.”
His comment startled her and she said nothing.
“See! I just used it against you. I know your propensity for cutting remarks, and rather than letting you muster one, I forestalled you with my own. This is an example of the Uddhava. My actions were not without thought. I went into the cave first because, as you have already noticed, I can fly.”
“It is more like floating,” Erasmus muttered gravely.