Fight Until You See The Clouds
The young warrior sharpens his blades, battered and bruised, bloody and beaten.
“Father, how much more do you require of me?
“Will anyone remember these victories, you stand as my only witness, for the dead cannot recall, it is just you and I. When will I taste your promises, when will I have my revenge.”
The warrior began to walk again, passing several farmsteads till he reached the road.
“I fight for you, but you do not tell me the cause, you did tell me, but I have forgotten and all the corpses that weren’t burnt are now rotten. How can I command if I cannot follow, Let me block my ears please speak to me? Now I can't tell if I kill my enemies or my friends. You place me in the fields, am I red am I blue. All I can do is raise my blade high and hope that I chop cleanly, the blood that I bathe in saves me, but I wish to be clean, please lead me to the water. My body feels broken, please bring nourishment to my bones”.
The road led to a footpath by a lake, halfway between the beginning and the end stood a warrior, armour unlike I had ever seen. Identity was hidden by a helmet, but by one glance at the posture, there was no making a mistake here. My face was not covered but my eyes are blades of a certain steel, swords drawn, this was happening quicker then I had expected.
The warriors began to charge towards one another each aiming to secure victory quickly. The first strike struct the forest into silence as the blades locked and began to grind each other blunt. I stared into the beast's eyes, I flared my upper lip like a dog revealing its fang. Still pressing blades my opponent let go of the blade with one of there hands, the tide turned quickly in my favour but in a swift motion, the warrior flicked off its helm and regained control of… of her blade with both her hands. The sun at that moment pushed through the clouds and captured both of our attention as if it was showing me where the colour of her hair had originated from the sun glowed goldenly. Eyes finally locked, the body suddenly became warm, guard begins to drop, blue eyes begin to unfreeze as they stare at the branches of her tree.
Could this be what I was fighting for, two rowing ships creep into view, they are filled with soldiers. Not a word needs to be said, we wait.
Soldiers land, soldiers die, soldiers fear, soldiers cry. The slicing and the slaughter became less lonely with a partner but the warrior waited for words from the father.
After they licked their wounds and celebrated their victory the warrior slipped away to a quieter place.
“ I am in awe Father a perfect day you have given me, we carved through the infantry you filled us with joy like we were brought back to our infancy. All the fighting suddenly felt worth it, for a while I felt like a lion being whipped at the circus. But now I feel like a king the world is my servant, only for but a moment just a day just one night, but tomorrow we start again to become darker to become bright.
Finally, the father began to speak.
“I have shown you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Is this warrior apart of my future?
“ The path no bird of prey knows, Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to Me, And the peace of Me, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brother, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you”.
What do I do now? Shall I continue fighting?
“I will fight for you; you need only to be still, For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Dont forget to Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
Filled with high hopes for the future after catching a glimpse of God’s promises the warrior was hopeful. He continued to travel with the warrior woman, and they buried many foes, however, the closer he got to her the further away he became from God this was truly conflicting.
The very next day the warrior woman lead me to a gathering of several soldiers to discuss matters of warfare and perhaps create opportunities to learn new techniques. All seated around the table, feasting, singing and then discussion commenced. The Warrior could see his skin slowly grow transparent as he became invisible, no matter what he said or how loud he talked he was not heard, he looked at the warrior woman but she could not see him, he was a ghost. They began to eat off his plate as if he was not there the warrior woman was grabbed by the arm by another soldier who invited her to practice they circled and crossed blades just as the warrior had at the lake with her. The same look that had filled the warrior with hope she gave the other soldier the same thing that had given me hope now filled me with dread. I started to eat of the other warrior's plate in the hope of revenge but a man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Amongst all these people he was alone so he prayed and prayed for protection and to be able to control these dark emotions of anger and jealousy and bitterness. A voice of an angel responded quickly and sharply “ prepare yourself for the “first flight” dear warrior. Each day that passes takes us a day closer to his glorious appearing, Live for him and get others ready for that day. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man, You do not want to be in this group of soldiers for their feet rush into evil, they are swift to shed blood. How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it! These men lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves! Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it.”
Suddenly the warrior became visible again and the warrior woman wanted to know what was wrong, the warrior's explanation sounded bizarre there was anger and emotions but they decided to move on from that discussion. Despite the warnings given to him, the warrior continued to stay and slay with the woman, on one occasion he even rushed his steed into battle to save her only to have his trustworthy furred companion get hit with multiple arrows and die later that day.
At times the warrior didn’t understand why he was given something only for it to be taken away at first he thought. “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” But later as he grew further away he thought ““Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb? Why were there knees to receive me and breasts that I might be nursed? For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest with kings and rulers of the earth, who built for themselves places now lying in ruins, with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day? “Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure, who are filled with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave? Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? For sighing has become my daily food; my groans pour out like water. What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.”
It seemed the more pleasure he received came along with more pain. It wasn’t always gloom though there were some days where it seemed like the magic of heaven was present but there was something off with the warrior and God.
The Battle Of The Falls
This was to be the two warriors greatest battle yet, there had been much preparation and many sacrifices from both sides. They rode on horseback in tandem and made their way through the fog up the curvy mountain roads. Their enemies used the cover of the low hanging clouds as cloaks and hid from the warriors in the fog. The warriors were confused as this was to be their grandest battle yet there opponents wanted no part in the melee. God let them both know he was there with them as he appeared on the nearby rock the warrior was filled with joy to see the father so close, surely this journey was still blessed, although the other warrior was not phased she just wished to shed blood.
Eventually, as the warriors continued to travel in the mountains the fog began to clear almost entirely, and it was at that point where they reached a great vantage point. Here they could see the whole valley and realised that the enemies that hid from them were as numerous as the trees which stretched further then the eyes could see. Because of there fear earlier and the great fog they hid for they thought they would fall in small numbers and now they could see that they were a great army standing side by side they roared and stared at the two warriors on the mountain top, energised and ready for blood sport.
Yet again the warrior had to decide whether he would fight by her side or not and this victory almost seemed impossible, even though it was filled with enemies the two warriors had never laid their eyes on something so beautiful, what a beautiful place to die.
The warriors looked at one another and decided to make a pact, they would either vanish back into there ronin ways and retreat from this battle separately or join together and fight for better or for worse, for glory or for gloom.
With a kiss, the pact was sealed it was time to fight.
The warrior was unsure some even say he was afraid but the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”
Soon enough every tree was supplied with compost.
Some say if you head to that mountain top you can find both warriors swords crossed there embedded into the mountain and locked by an unbreakable seal, and that every tree the eye can see contained a soul of the dead, in the valley of decision. Some say at the entrance of the mountain there is a glowing guide that will lead you to this spot and stop the mud from grabbing at your sole. Some say the winner takes it all, and some say the warriors broke each other, some say they had a great feast after to celebrate their victory, others say they separated and things ended in agony and misery. What happened or will happen to these warriors remains a secret known only to him, him being the father. For in his plans we shall prosper and not suffer, For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD
Written By Luke Gaymer (Residuos)
