(no subject)
A story once shared with me.
"Once upon a time there was a young knight, tired and weary of battle and banished from his homeland, traveling on horseback into unknown lands. One day he stopped to rest under a great tree and take a drink from a small brook. He noticed then that the land he was in was more beautiful than he had ever seen; great pastures of wheat and barley, orchards and natural grape vineyards, clear blue crystal water filled with all manner of fish. The knight had never seen such a thing before and told himself if he were to die here and now he would be happy. It was there under that tree that he fell asleep and into a beautiful dream.. In the night.. A great storm blew through destroying this land of ecstasy. Winds and rain swept the plants out from the ground and tore trees limb from limb until this world of dreams became a desolate barren wasteland. But still the knight did not wake.. for he was so deep in slumber that he defied the very laws of nature and slept through the storm. Still engaged in his beautiful dream, he had no idea the chaos plaguing his paradise..
Until he awoke.
Alone he was, struck with guilt and grief. In utter despair and desperation, he wished only to fall back asleep into his world of dreams. But those dreams were gone, along with his world. And so the knight soldiered on.. a mindless heap of man caring for nothing for himself, for how could he? The only thing he had come to love had been destroyed by forces he could not control.
Some time later after many months of travel, exhausted, and alone, the knight came across a bustling inn in a small harbor town. The name of this establishment was "Salvation," an appropriate name; for besides it there was no where else for a lone warrior to rest his head. So in he went, uncaring of its residents or other guest.. he only wanted warmth. But to his surprise he found much much more.. Salvation was filled with other warriors much like him but majorly women, intelligent and beautiful girls whom welcomed him with open arms. And there he stayed... drowning his despair away night after night with flagons of brandy and wine, finding fleeting comfort in the soft touch of women, and from time to time honing his warrior skills by besting in martial combat other warriors in the establishment; nine times out of ten after a flagon or two.. still tormented by his loss, still inviting death, still living like there would be no tomorrow day after day... Then she came! A beautiful priestess of Saula, goddess of happiness. When he saw her all his despair, disdain and spite flew out through the door on the wings of butterflies. She was described by some as being 'the kind of woman to make or break a man.' Our knight vowed she would be his, and that by the next moon cycle their lips would meet. For days and days he refused to drink, revelry, and the company of women, only to sit by the fire and coax her into conversation, attempting to prove to himself and her that his love was pure and that all in his life was unimportant in comparison.
But her being a priestess of Saula knew better and found fallacy in his words. For if he could not be contempt with himself then he could not have her, for the priestesses of Saula were a group of women pledge to gaining happiness. Most of them widows or women who's men had become scoundrels or drunkards. And so was she, a woman, a beautiful woman tainted by sadness because of the misdeeds of a man. The knight at that moment dropped to his knees and swore to her that he would never leave, never displease or abuse her, that he would remain faithful and true. The priestess remained questionable to his motives as she should, for a woman of her standing knew better than to trust, would-be reformers at a local place of ill-repute.
The knight knew his path would not be easy and this would be his first battle... of the heart.
For months, they remained friends, him constantly professing his love and her continuously pushing him away. He would not give up, never surrender. And for quite some time, this behavior continued, until one day she came to him. Dressed in the clothes of a noble maiden rather than the robes of a priestess, she had given up her place amongst the church of reformation and proclaimed her undying love to him. The two embraced and in that place they first met made love to rival the gods. They were in love...
For quite some time this stayed, they bought a cottage in the countryside and the knight took up hunting, farming and fishing. Hard work but at the end of the day he came home to a soft warm bed and the knee melting glance of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
But not long after the priestess noticed in him a strange habit. He would constantly be sharpening his weapons, shining his armor, or looking out the Northern window overlooking their garden of plants, which she referred to as 'little miracles.' She did not understand. And as the years past she began to realize that he was still preparing for battle or the coming of a storm. That he dared not fall asleep some nights in fear of losing it all. She knew this would not do, for if he truly loved her, why would he not give up his warrior ways and put down his sword? So she confronted him. 'My love' she said, 'if you cannot let go of the things in the past then we cannot have a future, for I will not live the life of a widow or concubine, in that you pay me no mind. You must move on my love.' In that, they fought, but she refused to listen, for she knew better having been victim once of the misdeeds of men. And so the knight left.. wandering again in confusion rather than sadness, for a long time he walked,until he could not walk no more. When he finally stopped, he laid beneath a great tree and rank from a small brook. Splashing water on his sun burnt face and neck then starring into the pool of water. As the ripples cleared he saw himself, examined the scars of battle.. but felt not the sting, the wrinkles of time, but felt not old, and the burn of time.. but felt not the sun... It was then that he looked up, and saw a great vast valley. One of fields of wheat and barley, of fresh orchards and natural vineyards, and of crystal clear blue streams.
But it was not the same...
Though the valley was just as beautiful as before something was wrong. Something was missing.
He dared not sit and slept to try and figure out what it was, for he already knew. He took one final look at himself in the brook, smiled, throw his sword so it sank deep down into the rocky depths, and ran home.."
The End
"Once upon a time there was a young knight, tired and weary of battle and banished from his homeland, traveling on horseback into unknown lands. One day he stopped to rest under a great tree and take a drink from a small brook. He noticed then that the land he was in was more beautiful than he had ever seen; great pastures of wheat and barley, orchards and natural grape vineyards, clear blue crystal water filled with all manner of fish. The knight had never seen such a thing before and told himself if he were to die here and now he would be happy. It was there under that tree that he fell asleep and into a beautiful dream.. In the night.. A great storm blew through destroying this land of ecstasy. Winds and rain swept the plants out from the ground and tore trees limb from limb until this world of dreams became a desolate barren wasteland. But still the knight did not wake.. for he was so deep in slumber that he defied the very laws of nature and slept through the storm. Still engaged in his beautiful dream, he had no idea the chaos plaguing his paradise..
Until he awoke.
Alone he was, struck with guilt and grief. In utter despair and desperation, he wished only to fall back asleep into his world of dreams. But those dreams were gone, along with his world. And so the knight soldiered on.. a mindless heap of man caring for nothing for himself, for how could he? The only thing he had come to love had been destroyed by forces he could not control.
Some time later after many months of travel, exhausted, and alone, the knight came across a bustling inn in a small harbor town. The name of this establishment was "Salvation," an appropriate name; for besides it there was no where else for a lone warrior to rest his head. So in he went, uncaring of its residents or other guest.. he only wanted warmth. But to his surprise he found much much more.. Salvation was filled with other warriors much like him but majorly women, intelligent and beautiful girls whom welcomed him with open arms. And there he stayed... drowning his despair away night after night with flagons of brandy and wine, finding fleeting comfort in the soft touch of women, and from time to time honing his warrior skills by besting in martial combat other warriors in the establishment; nine times out of ten after a flagon or two.. still tormented by his loss, still inviting death, still living like there would be no tomorrow day after day... Then she came! A beautiful priestess of Saula, goddess of happiness. When he saw her all his despair, disdain and spite flew out through the door on the wings of butterflies. She was described by some as being 'the kind of woman to make or break a man.' Our knight vowed she would be his, and that by the next moon cycle their lips would meet. For days and days he refused to drink, revelry, and the company of women, only to sit by the fire and coax her into conversation, attempting to prove to himself and her that his love was pure and that all in his life was unimportant in comparison.
But her being a priestess of Saula knew better and found fallacy in his words. For if he could not be contempt with himself then he could not have her, for the priestesses of Saula were a group of women pledge to gaining happiness. Most of them widows or women who's men had become scoundrels or drunkards. And so was she, a woman, a beautiful woman tainted by sadness because of the misdeeds of a man. The knight at that moment dropped to his knees and swore to her that he would never leave, never displease or abuse her, that he would remain faithful and true. The priestess remained questionable to his motives as she should, for a woman of her standing knew better than to trust, would-be reformers at a local place of ill-repute.
The knight knew his path would not be easy and this would be his first battle... of the heart.
For months, they remained friends, him constantly professing his love and her continuously pushing him away. He would not give up, never surrender. And for quite some time, this behavior continued, until one day she came to him. Dressed in the clothes of a noble maiden rather than the robes of a priestess, she had given up her place amongst the church of reformation and proclaimed her undying love to him. The two embraced and in that place they first met made love to rival the gods. They were in love...
For quite some time this stayed, they bought a cottage in the countryside and the knight took up hunting, farming and fishing. Hard work but at the end of the day he came home to a soft warm bed and the knee melting glance of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
But not long after the priestess noticed in him a strange habit. He would constantly be sharpening his weapons, shining his armor, or looking out the Northern window overlooking their garden of plants, which she referred to as 'little miracles.' She did not understand. And as the years past she began to realize that he was still preparing for battle or the coming of a storm. That he dared not fall asleep some nights in fear of losing it all. She knew this would not do, for if he truly loved her, why would he not give up his warrior ways and put down his sword? So she confronted him. 'My love' she said, 'if you cannot let go of the things in the past then we cannot have a future, for I will not live the life of a widow or concubine, in that you pay me no mind. You must move on my love.' In that, they fought, but she refused to listen, for she knew better having been victim once of the misdeeds of men. And so the knight left.. wandering again in confusion rather than sadness, for a long time he walked,until he could not walk no more. When he finally stopped, he laid beneath a great tree and rank from a small brook. Splashing water on his sun burnt face and neck then starring into the pool of water. As the ripples cleared he saw himself, examined the scars of battle.. but felt not the sting, the wrinkles of time, but felt not old, and the burn of time.. but felt not the sun... It was then that he looked up, and saw a great vast valley. One of fields of wheat and barley, of fresh orchards and natural vineyards, and of crystal clear blue streams.
But it was not the same...
Though the valley was just as beautiful as before something was wrong. Something was missing.
He dared not sit and slept to try and figure out what it was, for he already knew. He took one final look at himself in the brook, smiled, throw his sword so it sank deep down into the rocky depths, and ran home.."
The End