Luden's path was not one of grand design. He did not gather his disciples in the way that most might imagine—through grand proclamations or organized campaigns. He did not stand on podiums or call out to the crowds. No, Luden's method was subtle, quiet, and deeply attuned to the unseen currents of the world. It was not the loudest or the most obvious who were drawn to him—it was those who had been touched by life's trials in ways unseen, who had walked through fire and found something real on the other side.
The First Few: An Act of Quiet Recognition
Luden's first disciple, Larz, had been an outlier—a man marked by suffering, with a restlessness that would eventually lead him to Luden. But as Luden began his journey, his search for disciples took on a more deliberate, but still quiet, form. He didn't actively seek the perfect people. Instead, he looked for the fractured, the forgotten, and the outcast—the ones who had suffered, those who had been forgotten by society, yet carried the potential to find something beyond their suffering. These were the souls Luden sought to heal—not by fixing them, but by helping them see their own potential.
Disciple Two: The Healer with the Broken Heart
One evening, as Luden sat quietly by a campfire in a small village, he noticed a woman working in the field. Her hands were stained with the earth, her face drawn with exhaustion, but there was a light in her eyes that seemed to shine through the hardship. Her name was Serena, and she was known in her village as a healer—a woman who could tend to wounds both physical and emotional.
But Luden saw beyond her skill as a healer. He saw that she carried a wound of her own, a deep ache in her heart. Serena had lost a child many years ago, and though she had poured her life into helping others, the grief she carried had never been healed.
One evening, when the moon hung high in the sky, Luden approached her. She was sitting alone by the river, staring into the water as if searching for something.
Luden: "You heal others, but you do not heal yourself, Serena."
Serena looked up, surprised by the sudden intrusion, but there was no fear in her eyes. Only recognition. She had heard of Luden, though she thought him only a myth. But his words cut through her, as if he had seen the truth she had buried within.
Serena: "I heal the broken, yet I am the one who is lost. I have done everything I can, but still, I carry the pain."
Luden smiled gently.
Luden: "The pain you carry is not a burden, Serena. It is a teacher. Only when you learn to embrace it will you be able to help others in a way that no one else can. Come with me, and learn the healing of not just the body, but the heart."
Serena hesitated, her hands trembling slightly. But something in Luden's words sparked a sense of recognition in her. She stood, taking one last look at the river, and nodded.
Thus, Serena became the second disciple—not because of her skill, but because she had the courage to accept her own suffering and learn from it.
Disciple Three: The Deserter
Not long after, Luden's path led him to a small encampment on the edge of a forest, where he met a man named Tarek. Tarek was a soldier—once part of a great army—but now he had abandoned the battlefield. The memories of war, of the lives he had taken and the deaths he had witnessed, had left him broken and haunted.
At first, Tarek had wanted nothing to do with Luden. He had walked away from everything—the army, his family, even his name—because he believed there was nothing left for him in the world. He thought his past could never be undone, and that he was beyond saving.
But Luden saw something in him—the heart of a man who had seen too much, but still clung to a shard of hope. Luden spoke to him not of forgiveness or redemption, but of understanding—the understanding that what Tarek had witnessed and lived through did not define who he was.
Luden: "You are not what you have done, Tarek. You are not the battles you fought or the things you've lost. You are the man who chooses what to do with the moments yet to come."
Tarek looked at Luden, unsure of what to say.
Tarek: "I don't believe I can ever be whole again. My past is too heavy."
Luden: "The past shapes you, yes. But it doesn't define you. You can learn to carry it, not as a burden, but as a part of who you are. Come with me, and learn to walk a different path."
And so, Tarek joined Luden—not because he was a warrior, but because he was willing to start anew, to reshape the path ahead of him.
The Gathering of the Other Disciples
As Luden traveled, he continued to meet people—twenty-seven more, each one different, each one shaped by pain, loss, or isolation. Some were wanderers, others were former criminals, some had lost loved ones or been torn apart by the weight of their own choices. But they all shared one quality: they were ready to learn.
Luden did not choose them based on their status, wealth, or appearance. He chose them based on their ability to learn, to grow, and to see beyond their own limitations.
Each disciple brought something unique to the circle—one brought the wisdom of a life lived in exile, another brought the understanding of a heart that had been broken but mended, and yet another brought the insights of someone who had lived in the shadows and learned to see light.
It was through their suffering that they found a deeper strength, and in their unity, they began to understand something that Luden had known all along—the true path to wisdom was not in avoidance of suffering, but in learning to embrace it and grow from it.
The Final Disciple: The Seeker Who Never Stopped Searching
And then there was the last disciple, the thirtieth—a young man named Rylan, who had spent his entire life seeking answers but had never found peace. His journey had taken him from city to city, temple to temple, teacher to teacher, but none had ever given him what he sought.
When he met Luden, he was filled with doubt, unsure whether he would ever find the answers he longed for. Luden did not offer Rylan answers. Instead, he asked him a question:
Luden: "What is it that you seek?"
Rylan: "I seek truth. I have searched for it everywhere."
Luden: "The truth is not something to be found, Rylan. It is something to be understood. You have sought it, but perhaps it is time to seek something else—to seek understanding."
Rylan paused, feeling the weight of Luden's words sink in. For the first time, he realized that the answers he had been chasing were not the answers he truly needed. Luden was teaching him not to chase the truth, but to embrace the unknown.
The Gathering
In this way, Luden's thirty disciples came together—not because they were perfect, but because they were willing to learn, to grow, and to transform. Each one brought something to the group—some brought experience, others brought wisdom, and all brought an openness to see the world not as it was, but as it could be.
They were not chosen for their strengths, but for their willingness to face their own weaknesses, and through that, they became something greater than they could have ever imagined on their own.
And together, they walked the path of wisdom, not as followers, but as companions, bound together by their shared desire to see beyond the ordinary and into the heart of existence itself.
How Luden met his thirty disciples illustrates the variety of people he chose—not based on outward qualities but on their ability to endure, to grow, and to embrace the unknown. Each disciple represented different facets of human experience, yet together, they formed the perfect circle to carry forward Luden's teachings.Each of them understanding the wispers of Arbor Divus
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Among them "Larz" stood out the most