When Edjoi had matured enough to wander the Glorious Palace of Cho, Edjoi was first drawn to the Endless Chambers of Cha to the north.
There, Edjoi observed the first Five Gods and their companions, the New God Followers of Cha, endlessly delighting in the pleasure of being, in the pleasures of the senses, in the pleasures of coupling and mating, and in many other pleasures, comprehensible and incomprehensible.
For some time, Edjoi followed their endlessly sprawling, cyclically blazing-and-smouldering bacchanal across the soothingly-lighted, plush-curtained, firm-couched rooms, all permeated with various soft musics and a variety of enticing scents, flavors, and sensations.
At first, Edjoi found themselves continually disoriented, wondering how the Followers did not get lost, or lose themselves, in the endless maze of Cha rooms. Of those who did get lost or who did lose themselves in the endless maze of Cha rooms, little was known or would be recalled.
As a stabilizing point of reference, Edjoi came to follow Ohepa in particular, curious to discern Ohepa’s actual character from the legendary stories Edjoi had learned about Ohepa, while maturing.
Edjoi found Ohepa to be one of few words, apart from those words requested by others. But the words Ohepa did choose to speak seemed to Edjoi more lovingly kind and deeply connecting than those spoken by any other God in the Glorious Palace of Cho.
Once, while sitting in close proximity to Ohepa, Edjoi heard these words spoken in Ohepa’s voice: “What appears in the round disc to swirl endlessly, with endless depth and complexity, is put to simplicity by simply turning the disc onside.”
If Ohepa had actually spoken these words to Edjoi, Ohepa’s presence did not disclose it. Turning to Ohepa, Ohepa turned to meet Edjoi’s gaze with a gentle smile and loving eyes of timeless depth in a way that made Edjoi alight from inside.
Edjoi then vaguely recalled some early, quiet sharings by elder New Gods during Edjoi's time in Chi and Che, relating that, in Ohepa’s presence, Ohepa’s desire had primacy: those who there enjoyed, enjoyed foremost because that was Ohepa’s desire.
What Edjoi came to see in the Endless Chambers of Cha was an organic, continual fulfillment of desire, apparently shared by all who participated. As Edjoi’s disc-staff-balanced Follower-friend Tode related, “not knowing whose joy it is, or where the joy will come from next, is the joy..”
Edjoi coupled out of friendliness with each of the First Gods and a number of Follower-friends, and enjoyed some of the finest food, drink, and sensual pleasures that Edjoi would ever enjoy in their lifetime before taking leave of the Endless Chambers of Cha to the north to continue wandering the Glorious Palace of Cho.
Edjoi was next drawn to the Brilliant Fountain of Cho to the center. There, the New God Zealots of Cho circumambulated an immense fountain of light that illuminated the entire Glorious Palace of Cho.
Standing some distance from the Brilliant Fountain of Cho could be refreshing for a brief while. However, it was known that the Zealots of Cho found pleasure in the extreme sensations that arose from circling closer to the center of the fountain than most would find comfortable.
Derived from a number of statements given by Ohepa regarding the origins of the Glorious Palace of Cho, the Zealots had developed a unique lore and set of practices binding them to the fountain.
The lore of the Zealots was not without consequence and their practices were not without risk–such as the likely risk of excruciating dissolution into the fountain’s light. Such an outcome was known and appreciated by all to be a fulfillment of the Zealot’s desire to Wander Afar and into the Blazing Company of Shohepavi and Shodjov in the Castle of Djo.
Edjoi observed the Zealots of Cho and their circumambulations. Edjoi came to appreciate the Zealots for their simplicity of focus upon the Brilliant Fountain. Edjoi also came to know a few of the Zealots, who were happy to share their lore and practices with a receptive listener.
As one of the elder Zealots, Djoze, related, “Because all springs forth from the fountain, the fountain fulfills all. For the Good, five First [Gods], that which fulfills their desire arises upon their desire for it. For the Good, multitude of us New [Gods], our power is not such. So we go to the fountain… which gives power to all: Power Over Desire.”
A few nearby, listening Zealot acolytes echoed, “Power Over Desire.” Djoze continued, “This is why the silent Young Gods in the Black Clock gaze upon the Fountain in harmony: their desire is completely fulfilled by it. The fountain has blessed the Young Gods with Power Over Desire.”
Again, the nearby, listening Zealot acolytes echoed, “Power Over Desire.” Edjoi came to notice an earnest brightness to the Zealots’ eyes that was unmatched by other New Gods in the Glorious Palace of Cho.
Edjoi themselves tried walking a far circumambulation, performing some initial Recitations to Wake the Drawbridge-Keeper of Djo. However, Edjoi shortly found themselves releasing the practice and gravitating away to a more comfortable distance from the fountain.
On the whole, the Zealots seemed disinterested in coupling–although Edjoi did get to engage in an intense coupling session, joining disc with one of the staff-heavy acolytes before taking leave of the Brilliant Fountain of Cho to continue wandering the Glorious Palace of Cho.
Edjoi never came to learn that, some short time later, Djoze entered the fountain, fulfilling his Zealot’s desire to Wander Afar and into the Blazing Company of Shohepavi and Shodjov in the Castle of Djo, having finally perfected Power Over Desire.
Edjoi was next drawn to the Black Clock of Chu to the south. Here, the New God Dreamers of Chu were seated variously throughout the large hall facing the spherical night sky of the Black Clock.
It was known that the clock-gazing Dreamers were among the most prone to the unnamed condition of the New Gods and its myriad dissatisfactions. The Dreamers were also known to be distant and emotionally erratic due to their dissatisfactions driving them into internal worlds of haunting visions.
It was thought that the Dreamers gave rise to extreme emotional states and endured haunting visions and modest lifestyles to fulfill a desire for communion in their shared, afflicted dissatisfaction.
Although the Dreamers had no central lore, they would sometimes share their visions with each other, even weaving these visions into a tapestry of stories. As for practices, the Dreamers would simply return to gazing into the Black Clock.
Observing the Dreamers and their gazing. Edjoi came to sympathize with the Dreamers and their dissatisfactions due to Edjoi’s personal experience with a young lifetime of myriad small, unmet desires, and with some persistent and looming, nameless desire.
To Edjoi, the Dreamers did not appear to be depressed or resentful from their affliction, rather they appeared to Edjoi as intimate, sensitive, and thoughtful. Although frequently detached from the goings-on around them, they were happy to share their stories and visions with a receptive listener.
As one of the elder Dreamers, Sovi related, “When I close my eyes, I see visions that bring me joy and I see visions that make me weep. When I open my eyes, my face is wet, yet where did these visions go..?”
Sovi continued, “When I look into the Black Clock, I see my vast, unfulfillable desire painted with the light-points of our many stories. When I look into the eyes of the silent, Young Gods, where did this dissatisfaction go..?”
Then Sovi concluded, “The silent, Young Gods in the Black Clock gaze upon the Glorious Palace of Cho, replete with all that could satisfy their desires. They find nothing to satisfy them, yet they peacefully abide.”
Edjoi themselves spent a good deal of time sitting in the dimly-lit south hall, gazing into the Black Clock, listening to the Dreamers’ visions.
Before too long, a vision came to Edjoi: that of an undulating rope of liquid light.
Edjoi then heard these words spoken in Ohepa’s voice: “That which fulfills desire.”
Turning to the voice, Edjoi’s gaze met with the gentle smile and loving eyes of timeless depth that were not Ohepa’s, but those of the Young God, Hocho.
Edjoi awoke with a start, light buzzing from within, eyes already open, gazing into the Black Clock.