Guardians of Magessa (The Birthright Chronicles Book 1) (36 page)

“Well, I suppose you are wondering why
we’re here.” Josiah started. Lemin nodded, so he continued. “We were having a
discussion about the spiritual condition of the nation, but we could not decide
what needed to be done about it. One of your students, Senndra by name,
mentioned that we should ask you for your opinion, and we took her advice. So
we are here to ask you what you think needs to be done about the nation’s
condition.”

“Then you both agree that the nation is
not where it needs to be spiritually?” Lemin asked. His listeners nodded, so he
continued. “The spiritual condition of the nation is indeed depressing to
consider. While very few would deny the existence of Elohim altogether, most
people would rather not count Him into their thinking of daily life at all.
They follow His commands outwardly by bringing tithes to His temple and praying
daily, but their hearts are not in the actions. Instead, they seem to think
that strict adherence to the ceremonies is enough. However, what Elohim really
wants is for His people to follow Him in their hearts.”

“Yes, we agree that the spiritual
condition is appalling, but what should we do about it?” Petra asked. “A
revolution, either political or military, will not help because the problem
lies with the hearts of men rather than their physical state.”

“You are correct when you say that no
revolution, no matter what kind it is, will help solve this problem,” Lemin
said. “Since the problem is in the hearts of men, who is our opponent?”

“Anyone who is against Elohim,” Josiah
answered immediately.

“Those who are against Elohim are not our
enemies,” Petra quickly countered. “The people who are slaves to sin are not
the enemies. Rather, they are the prisoners that we are trying to set free.”

“Petra is correct,” Lemin interjected. “We
should not view mere people as our opponents in this battle. Our battle is not
against flesh and blood, but against sin and the powers of darkness.”

“So now we know who the enemy is, but how
are we supposed to wage this war?” Josiah asked. “I have been trained in
military arts for my entire life, and I simply do not know any other way to
fight.”

“Well, what does it take for the enemy to
be victorious?” Lemin asked. “If you can isolate the cause of the enemy’s
victory, it is easier to determine how to make sure that it never happens
again.”

“I’m not sure,” Josiah said slowly. He
turned to Petra and restated the question thoughtfully. “What is the cause of
sin’s victory?”

“Well, humans are naturally sinful,
correct?” Petra began. Lemin nodded, and he continued. “Therefore, it doesn’t
take anything for sin to be victorious. If nothing is done, the sin nature
controls humans and causes them to act in opposition to Elohim.”

“You are right,” Lemin said. “It is easier
for sin to be victorious than for it to be defeated. In fact, all that is
required for sin to prosper is for the righteous to do nothing. So then, what
is the cure for sin?”

Josiah and Petra looked at each other and
shrugged.

“If all that was at work in the body was
sin, men would not follow Elohim because their sin nature would urge them to
throw off all authority, even that which is good,” Lemin said. “If sin was all
that was at work in the human mind, there would not even be nations of people
under governments, for as I said, sin urges people to not submit to authority.
However, there are functional governments, and many people follow Elohim.
Therefore, it follows that there must be some other force at work in the human
mind.”

“The conscience,” Josiah stated.

“That is correct,” Lemin affirmed. “When
Elohim created humans, he instilled in them what we call a conscience. That is,
He made a part of the mind that constantly reminds people what is wrong and
right. Yet even with this check, sin is still exemplified in the actions of
men. Sinful men cannot do anything but sin. Of course, there are occasions in
which sinners do things that appear to be selfless; however, they are always
done with an ulterior motive in mind. In and of themselves, there is no way
that men can ever do anything but sin.”

“So that is where Elohim comes in, correct?”
Josiah asked.

“No, Elohim does not come in,” Lemin
answered with a smile. “He has been around since the beginning, so He cannot
come
in
as you have put it. However, your thought is correct. It is at this
point that it becomes evident that it is only through Elohim that we can do
what is right.”

“And is there anything we can do to make
other people accept Elohim as their master?” Josiah asked.

“No,” Lemin said. “We cannot do anything
to make people accept Elohim. People were created with a free will, so it is up
to them whether or not they will follow Elohim.”

“Well then, what can we do?” Josiah asked.
“Surely we are not supposed to just sit by and hope that people follow Elohim.”

“Of course not,” Lemin said. “How can
people follow someone they know nothing about? It is our job to tell everyone
about Elohim.”

“So all we can do is tell them,” Josiah
said. “Somehow it just doesn’t seem to be enough.”

“We should first follow Elohim with our
actions," Lemin corrected. “If we do this, others will see it and want to
know what is different. Then, when we tell them about Elohim, they will want to
follow Him.”

“You said that we are to tell all people
about Elohim,” Petra said. “What about the dwarves? Are we to tell them just as
we are to tell everyone else?”

“What do you think?” Lemin asked.

“I think they are people, just like
everyone else, but they are our enemies,” Petra answered. “How are we supposed
to tell them about Elohim? They would kill us rather than listen.”

“We are not called to decide which people
to tell and which not to tell,” Lemin said. “Our duty is to tell all people,
and the result is left to Elohim. If we die, at least we have died in His
service, and there is no nobler cause to give your life for than that.”

“But do they deserve to be told about
Elohim?” Josiah asked. “They had their chance and turned their backs on Him.
Hasn’t He turned His back on them as well? Shouldn’t we treat them as His
enemies?”

“Think about this country, Josiah,” Lemin
said. “How many of its people still follow Elohim? They have had their chance
and turned their backs on Him as well. Are they so much different than the
dwarves?”

“No, I guess not,” Josiah conceded
finally.

“Then you have your answer,” Lemin said.
“There are people of every race and nation who are sinners and do not follow
Elohim. Their heritage or the location of their home does not make them any
different than anyone else in this world. Elohim created the whole world, and
that is the extent of our mission. Not until the whole world has been told about
Him is our job finished.”

Josiah and Petra nodded and got to their
feet. With absentminded thanks, they turned and headed out of the library.
Lemin smiled and retrieved his scroll from where he had placed it. He had given
them a lot to think about, but he was sure they would consider it and arrive at
the correct conclusion when their thoughts had run their course.

******

The next few days were a blur to Josiah.
Saddun was filled past its limit with people from every corner of the country.
Politicians from all three counties, as well as many retired and active
military personnel, filled every building in the city to overflowing. In fact,
there were so many extra mouths to feed that even with food being brought into
the city every day there was still a shortage. This problem was solved by
feeding the guests as much as they wanted and leaving the rest for the army and
other normal inhabitants of the city. There was never enough food to go around,
which Josiah found ironic.

“Apparently,” he grumbled to Cirro, “the
proper thing to do is congratulate soldiers on how they have heroically saved
the country from invasion and at the same time not feed them enough.” 

“It’s probably for the best,” Cirro
pointed out. “If the politicians find out what it’s like to be short on food,
as we often are, they might become disillusioned.”

“Or make sure we have more food,” Josiah
countered. Cirro laughed so long and hard that Josiah decided to let the issue
go.

Hundreds of additional workmen were also
brought to the city to repair its damaged buildings and its wall. They also
helped to prepare the city for the fabulous ceremony in which the victorious
army was going to be recognized as national heroes. Professional chefs were
brought to the city for the occasion, freeing the normal mess hall staff from
their duties. During this time, the soldiers and other occupants of the city
found that the best way to stay out from under foot of the workmen was often to
leave the city altogether. Josiah, Senndra, Cirro, Rita, Petra, Timothy,
Vladimir, and Lydia spent a great deal of time hiking in the mountains that
surrounded the city. The young people were often accompanied by Lemin, who
possessed an incredible amount of knowledge concerning the mountains and the
animals that made their homes in them. The elf’s appearance had changed greatly
since his arrival at Saddun. Whether he did not have access to a razor or
simply chose not to use one was unknown; however, his facial hair grew
unchecked, at least for the moment.

It was during these relatively carefree
days that Josiah really had a chance to get to know the cadets from the academy
in Belvárd. Although Timothy and Vladimir were often found together, they had
practically nothing in common. Timothy was a very outgoing young man, whereas
Vladimir was rather shy. While Timothy was always willing to participate in a
conversation with other people, or at the very least put in his two cents,
Vladimir was more reserved and would not usually join in unless he held a very
strong belief on the subject being discussed. Since Vladimir did not talk a
whole lot, when he did speak everyone listened. What he said was always well
thought out and wielded a fair amount of influence.

Both Timothy and Vladimir were open to the
idea of playing games like chess, but here again they were very different. Both
had excellent minds, with Timothy being the more impulsive of the two. Often
times, Josiah was able to bait Timothy into making mistakes. But he found that
this was not an option with Vladimir, who carefully thought through each move
before he made it and was often the winner in contests of the mind. However,
his tentative mindset hindered him in physical competitions. While he was not a
bad swordsman, he was much more cautious and defensive than Timothy. And since
battles cannot be won solely by defense, no matter how good it is, he was not
victorious very often. Another difference between the two boys was that Timothy
was a man of action and preferred getting physical, while Vladimir would much
prefer to read than debate. Despite all of these differences, the boys were
still best friends and were very hard to separate.

In contrast to the many differences
between the boys, Senndra and Rita were very similar in most aspects. Both
girls enjoyed reading and could spend hours at a time devouring books and
scrolls. As a result, both had sharp minds and excelled in debates and other
contests of the mind. They were also very accomplished with the sword, Senndra
particularly so, though it was very obvious that Timothy’s near defeat by her
had been more her good luck than her equality with him concerning
sword-fighting skill. Finally, both girls loved nature and enjoyed to hike
through the mountains that surrounded Saddun.

It was because of the hiking that one day
Josiah found himself high on the slopes of the mountains of the Apathy range.
He stopped and looked back at the city, which they had left early that morning.
From this distance, the ruined state of the city was not evident. The wall had
been the first thing to be repaired, and it could hardly be discerned where the
destroyed section had stood. Even the buildings that had been damaged in the
fire that broke out during the fighting had been repaired and repainted, and
there was new construction occurring in the middle of the city where the
ceremony to honor the soldiers was to take place. Workers looked like ants as
they scurried around this area.

“Are you coming, Josiah?” Senndra called
from further up the mountain. Josiah turned from the city and climbed up the
slope to where she stood. Ahead of her, the other cadets and Lemin were still
climbing.

“It’s a beautiful view from up here,”
Josiah commented as he and Senndra resumed the climb. “Is this anything like
the view from a dragon’s back?” he asked a moment later.

“Well, if you forget that you are standing
on a mountain and not riding on a dragon…” Senndra began. Josiah waited for her
to finish the sentence.

“No, this is nothing like a dragon,”
Senndra finally finished. She looked sideways at Josiah and continued. “Dragons
normally fly much higher than we are, so the earth appears much smaller.
Everything is so small that you can hardly distinguish the people from other
features. The sun glints off the rivers as they wind across the ground and
finally empty into the sea. You’re so high and the earth moves beneath you so
slowly that, if it weren’t for the wind rushing past at incredible speeds, you
can forget that you’re moving at all. It’s just…incredible,” Senndra finished
and looked at Josiah. She got the feeling that he had no idea what she was
talking about.