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WHY would ANYONE in his right mind Say That?
It’s Julian who needs this speech. Go ask him.
He’s a little hot headed, he’s a firebrand, and he’s desperately excited to share the truth with his people.
Anyway, you probably do all that in this book, and I am really enjoying reading this. So far cultures are fascinating and the character concepts are fantastic. Ok… I’ll go back and finish that section.
Glad you’re enjoying it!
No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.
Ok! I read it. It’s good. They seem very inexperienced/in over their heads, but they’re handling it with humor so it’s funny. XD
Although the wolves were scary. O.O XD
Maybe I will ask him.
*dons disguise as a character*
“Julian, what were you thinking?” XD
You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan
Lol. Leon is more experienced than Julian. J will level out, he’s just excited and nervous and high strung and…. you get the point.
No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.
*randomly pops in*
Maybe having Leon point that out would help readers realize it more?
"Don't shine so that others can see you. Shine so that through you, others can see Him." ~ C. S.
Sometimes love is dunderheaded!”
*gagging at the reference*…
"He who never quotes will never be quoted." ~Charles Spurgeon
He did, in his way. And he’ll address it again soon enough.
WHAT!?!? You don’t like that one? (or are you choking with laughter?)
No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.
I’m choking with laughter.
"He who never quotes will never be quoted." ~Charles Spurgeon
oh good. lololol.
The way that he says dunderheaded in the Scottish accent in the drama! Priceless!!!
No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.
I know.
But the MOST utterly hilarious part is the goat woo!!!!!! When we first heard it, we were utterly shocked. And then we had to repeated that part again…and again…and again…and it is still belly-achingly funny!!!!!!🤣
"He who never quotes will never be quoted." ~Charles Spurgeon
OH. MY. WORD.
I die every time I hear that part!!!! OH MY GOODNESS!!! Poor Jarold!
No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.
Okay!
"Don't shine so that others can see you. Shine so that through you, others can see Him." ~ C. S.
@hybridlore @linus-smallprint @koshka @keilah-h @elishavet-pidyon @liberty
NEXT SECTION!!!
The next morning, both young men were extremely tired. They ate a light breakfast, but neither of them felt like getting up and walking again. Leon decided to lay down and doze for another hour or so, and Julian pulled out the book from Joseph. He flipped it to a blank page and began to write down the events of the day and night before. When he was finished, Julian let the paper dry and then closed the book. He packed it away and stood, slinging his pack over his shoulder. Julian stepped to Leon’s side and nudged him with a boot. “Wake up. Let’s go.”
Leon opened his eyes and squinted in the brightness. He took Julian’s offered hand and got to his feet.
The two set off and continued to travel through the woods. The morning passed in occasional conversation and much thought.
“Julian, I was thinking about yesterday,” Leon began. “I know I can be too cautious at times…”
Julian nodded emphatically and Leon shoved him playfully. Then his face sobered. “But really, Julian. This is all different. We aren’t in Ardenta, and we aren’t on the run… yet. I think we should try to go about this a little more tactfully.”
Julian sighed. “I’m sorry for almost getting us killed,” he said humbly.
Leon eyed him for a long moment. “I have a strange feeling you’re not as sincere as you sound.”
Julian flashed a grin. “I do understand, Leon. I just… well, I want them to know!”
“So do I,” Leon replied. “But they won’t if we turn them off. Think about how long it took you to cool down enough to even listen. For me it was easier because I didn’t even believe in our gods. Not really, you know. Not after what happened.” He was silent a moment. “Julian, these people have believed lies for generation upon generation. The worship of the gods is woven into the very fibers of who we are as people of the Empire. It’s going to be very, very hard to show them the lies they have believed.”
Julian nodded soberly. “I understand, Leon. I really do. I’ll be more careful, I promise. But it’s going to be hard. I constantly think of those young men and boys we fought beside. The ones who fell in the Ardentan wars, and in other wars we’ve fought. I wonder how much would have been different if we’d known the truth, and I wish I could have told it to them before they died.”
Leon nodded. “I feel the same way, Julian. But we need to use wisdom as well as bold words.”
It was almost evening when they at last came to the end of the woods and looked down on a small village set in a valley below. Julian took a deep breath and shielded his eyes. While they had walked through the woods they had climbed steadily upward, and now they were in the lower regions of the mountains. Before them lay all that he remembered of the Empire. He glanced at Leon and saw s strange expression on his friend’s face. Leon looked over at him. “I feel like I’ve come home… but in a very wrong sort of way.”
“I know what you mean,” Julian agreed quietly. “This is how I remember it… yet I feel as though I don’t belong in the Empire anymore.”
For a while they stood looking at the village nestled below them, and the soring peeks of the wooded mountains that surrounded it. Finally, Julian spoke. “Do we risk it tonight, or camp on the edge of the woods?”
Leon considered the village for a time. Then, he turned and looked back into the dark trees. “I’d really rather not stay up here… yet the village may be unfriendly.”
A distant howl sounded far behind them, and another answered from some place above.
“That settles it,” Julian said. “I’m not staying up here with them.”
“I might be inclined to agree with you,” Leon muttered.
The two set out down the hill, sliding in the loose dirt and layers of dead leaves and pine-needles. The last few yards were a steep slope, and Julian took it at a run, leaning back to compensate for gravity’s pull. He nearly made it but lost his footing near the bottom and tumbled into the deadfall. Leon took a more tactful approach and rode the slope in an easy slide. Julian picked himself up and dusted off his clothes. “Ardenta has spoiled my mountain skills,” he grumbled.
“I expect they’ll come back to us in time,” Leon said. “Hopefully.”
The two walked along the path to the village. A high stone fence topped with spiked stakes surrounded it— a defense against wild animals and the occasional thieves. The gates were still open, for the sun had not yet set, and the two entered.
Almost everyone was inside, though a few people looked up from hurrying on their way home. Leon felt slightly uneasy, but Julian didn’t seem to have a care in the world.
“I wonder where we’ll stay,” Leon mused softly, looking about them. “There doesn’t seem to be any sort of inn.”
Julian shrugged.
The two young men made their way to the center of the village where a fountain stood. It was a work of art, for at its center was the stone image of a youth with a crown of laurels around his head. It was from his cupped hands that the water poured down. At the fountain, a girl of about sixteen was dipping a jar into the pool to gather water. She wore the clothes of a country girl in the Empire— a course brown skirt, white blouse, and a simple vest. Hers had been died blue to match her eyes, and she wore a creamy apron around her waist. Her pale blond hair was braided up over her head in a crown that framed her beautifully featured face. She looked up as Julian and Leon approached and lowered herself in a simple curtsy. “Good evening, strangers. Have you traveled far?”
“Yes,” Leon replied, coming to the fountain’s rim and trailing a hand in the cool water.
“You look weary,” the girl said. She took her jar and poured water into a shallow stone bowl that sat at the fountain’s edge. She lifted it in both hands and held it out to him. “Drink and may the blessing of restored strength be upon you.”
Leon took the water and lifted the bowl toward her, bowing his head slightly in acknowledgment of the traditional blessing. Lifting it to his mouth, he drank deeply before giving it back to her. She smiled and refilled the bowl, pronouncing the same blessing upon Julian as she gave it to him. While Julian drank, she plunged her jar back into the fountain’s pool and brought it up full. “Do you have a place to stay?”
“No,” Julian replied.
“Where have you come from?”
“We have been traveling through the country,” Leon answered, carefully. “We just came through the woods.”
“From the other side of the mountain?” The girl asked, looking back toward the boarder.
Leon nodded.
“Come to my father’s house. He will shelter and feed you,” the girl said.
Julian glanced at Leon, who nodded.
“Thank you very much,” Julian said. “We would be most grateful.”
The girl turned and led the way through the village. She walked past many houses and at last came to the one she wanted. She climbed the stone steps outside to a doorway raised above ground level. It was then that Julian remembered the snow that fell in the winter months and would have buried the entrance had it not been so high.
Julian and Leon followed her, and the girl pushed open the door, calling, “Father, I have brought two guests!”
Julian and Leon stepped into the entry and paused to let their eyes adjust to the light. A man stepped into the room, dressed in brown woolen pants and a belted tunic that fell to just above his knees. He looked closely at Julian and Leon, his eyes traveling over them from head to toe. He seemed to decide they were no threat, for he stepped forward and offered his hand. “Bernd Klein.”
“Julian Damoss,” Julian said, shaking his outstretched hand.
Bernd turned to Leon. “Leon Fischer,” the young man said.
“Have you traveled far?” Bernd asked.
“Yes sir,” Leon replied. “Your daughter invited us to stay, but if it would be too much trouble we will leave.”
“No, it is no trouble,” Bernd said. “Strangers are always welcome at our door. Come, meet my family.”
He led the way into the next room, and Julian and Leon saw two teenage boys oiling their boots by the fire. They looked up when the three entered, and their eyes passed over the strangers before turning questioningly to their father.
“These are my sons,” Bernd said, motioning to the boys. They stood and joined their father. “Rolf Klein,” said the elder, shaking hands with the two.
“Ernst Klein,” said the other, shaking hands in his turn.
Rolf was unusually slender for one of the Empire and his build reminded Julian more of someone from Ardenta. He was the elder, and Julian guessed him to be about seventeen or eighteen. Ernst was youngest of the family and had the broad shoulders of one from the Empire. The girl came back into the room, and Bernd turned to her. “This is my daughter, Liesl.”
Liesl smiled and dipped in a slight curtsy, bowing her head to the strangers. “Supper is ready,” she announced.
The family moved into the dining room, and Julian and Leon joined them at the table. Leon noticed that there was no woman of the house, and he supposed the wife must have died.
The meal was very good, especially after the hard rations the two had been eating, and the two young men thanked Liesl gratefully.
After supper, Bernd told Liesl to go and prepare a room for the guests. She went, and he turned to Julian and Leon. “Are you planning to travel much farther?”
“It will depend on what the morning brings,” Leon answered. “For the moment, we hope to stay in the village for at least a short while.”
“I see,” Bernd replied, slowly.
“Where are you from?” Rolf asked.
“I come from the South, and Julian is from the West,” Leon replied.
“But I thought you came from the woods,” Ernst said skeptically. “They are to the East.”
“Oh, yes, we were in the east. It was originally that we came from the West and South,” Julian replied amended.
Before more questions could be asked, Liesl entered. “The room is ready.”
Bernd turned to the two young men. “You must be wary after your journey.”
Leon smiled wryly. “Yes sir.”
“Rolf, please show them, the way,” Bernd said.
Rolf got to his feet and motioned for the two to follow. They came to a room where two cots had been hurriedly set up and a basin of water and pitcher sat on a small table. “Thank you very much for your hospitality,” Julian said.
Rolf nodded. “Is there anything else you need?”
“No. Thank you though,” Leon replied.
Rolf nodded. “Then may the blessing of the gods be upon you this night.” With that he left.
Julian and Leon stepped into the room, Julian pushing the door closed behind them. Leon sat down on one of the cots, placing his pack on the ground beside him. He looked up at Julian. “So?”
“Do you think they’ll listen to us?” Julian asked, eagerly.
Leon held up his hands as if weighing something in each, making a so-so gesture with them.
Julian sighed. “My thoughts exactly.”
“All we can do is trust God. He wanted us here, or else He would not have provided us this place for the night. He knows what He’s doing.” Leon said. “We’ll see what the morning brings.”
The Empire is certainly a land of tradition and customs and it’s sop fun to write!
Also, what are y’all’s thoughts on the Klein family!?
No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.
Yayy!!!
Hmm… they are reminding me of Sabina and Turin a little. More closed-off, not believers, smaller family who probably went through some grief. I’m excited to learn more about them. I feel like the father is already suspicious of them… meaning he might be really opposed when they bring up God… but Liesl will probably be open to it.
It kind of feels like she’s going to be a love interest for one of them… 🤔
"Don't shine so that others can see you. Shine so that through you, others can see Him." ~ C. S.
WhAt?!?! They remind you of Sabina and Turin? But they’re so…. different. Okay, i guess I can see where you’re going with that, but Rolf didn’t threaten to stab anyone, and Liesl is extremely sweet.
It kind of feels like she’s going to be a love interest for one of them… 🤔
Hmmmm.
No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.
You’re right, you’re right, but that was a better comparison than the Cadwicks. Plus, Sabina and Turin became nicer xD
"Don't shine so that others can see you. Shine so that through you, others can see Him." ~ C. S.
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