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“I’ve been thinking this would be a good place to host visitors,” said Hector, “but it’d need a lot more work, first. And maybe part of me is worried about losing it as a prime meditation spot if people are constantly coming and going from here.”

“Meditation, eh?” said Haqq. “Never much cared for that. Don’t have the temperament for it. Mind is always too busy. Trying to force the calm just makes me bored, and boredom is one thing that my brain simply cannot abide.”

Hector found that curious. “That doesn’t sound right. If you’re feeling bored, then you’re not clearing your mind properly. You shouldn’t be feeling anything at all. Except maybe... peaceful. Or contentment. Which is the real point of it, I think.”

Haqq returned a dubious look. “The point is contentment, you say? Not the growth of your power?”

“I mean, that’s what reapers will tell you, sure. And it’s obviously a nice bonus, if true, but plenty of non-servants meditate, too, and they find value in it.”

“Mm. Sazandara has indeed tried to get me into meditation many times over the years. I was never able to stick with it.”

Hector scratched his nose. “I think that, too, is probably the wrong way of looking at it. You don’t necessarily have to stick with it in order to still get some use out of it.”

“No? I can hardly see how doing it only once or twice could prove beneficial. Isn’t the habit supposed to be what builds ‘mental discipline’ or what have you?

“Well, yeah, there is that,” said Hector. “Building discipline would take time. But sometimes, I find that meditation is just... good for its own sake. To give yourself a bit of peace. Especially during times when... peace is otherwise difficult to come by. Know what I mean?”

Haqq met his gaze for a moment, then looked at the waterfall again. “Hmm.”

The man said nothing more as Hector moved closer to the waterfall and looked for a good spot. There were quite a few to choose from, as the rocks provided multiple ledges going up the full height of the cliff. Some were more eroded than others, though, so Hector had been trying to assess which ones would be easier or harder to meditate on, comparatively.

With Haqq looking like he was about to join him, Hector decided to go for the easiest he’d yet found.