Pure of Heart

The three pilgrims face their greatest trial

21.

Pure of Heart

 

In a matter of moments the sound of fighting seemed to surround the old windmill.  Arianelle and Nolen leaped to their feet, but before they could decide on a course of action, the door to their make-shift prison was kicked open and inside charged three men in shining silver plate armor, carrying blood covered swords.

Nolen pushed Arianelle behind him, grabbing up the chair as a weapon as the three knights advanced upon them.

The leading knight lunged forward, slashing with his sword, but Nolen deflected the blow, which caused the chair to break in pieces.

The young prince did not back up but clubbed at the knight’s sword arm with the broken chair.   The tangle of splintered wood pulled the weapon from his grip and the paladin snatched up the sword before the knight could react.

But he had another weapon on a hook on his belt.    A horseman’s mace was quickly pulled free, as one of the knight’s companions rushed forward to confront Nolen.

Arianelle had scooped up Nolen’s helm off of the bed and flung it at the advancing knight.    The helm knocked him back for a moment, giving Nolen enough time to engage the first knight.

The paladin did not waste time, for he was unarmored.    His borrowed sword was a blur as he pushed the knight with the mace backwards, never giving him a chance to attack.

However, his opponent’s third companion cautiously moved forward to assist.   This knight advanced, swinging his sword blindly but powerfully, which diverted Nolen’s attack on the first knight into a defensive maneuver.  

Arianelle snatched up the covers off the bed, as her opponent recovered from the thrown helmet and rushed forward to engage her.   She waited until he was almost upon her, then struck.

Her hands shot quickly out, flinging the woolen blanket at the head of the knight.    His helmet gave him limited vision, but he saw it coming and raised his sword and his free arm to snatch it out of air before it covered his head.

Yet the albino girl had anticipated this, for she moved in as the blanket was still airborne.    She rolled into his legs, and with his arms engaged with the blanket, she was able to knock him down with her body.    Grabbing up his dropped sword, she had just enough time to parry the attack of the mace-wielding knight (who had decided to leave Nolen to his companion).

She leaped backwards, over her first opponent, who was struggling to get to his feet.     The knight with the mace advanced upon her, but stumbled over his comrade’s legs.     Though it was only a mild stagger, it was all Arianelle needed.    She chopped at the knight’s neck.     Her purloined sword broke from the force of her blow, but it knocked the knight down upon his companion.    

She scooped up his mace while he was still stunned, but instead of finishing him off, she rushed over to her cousin’s aid.

Nolen, however, had skillfully countered his opponent and pushed him halfway through the frame of the doorway.     Then, as the knight’s arms were blocked by the sides of the door, he thrust the sword between the shoulder plate and breastplate.     The sword broke, but penetrated the knight’s chainmail arming doublet.     Seriously injured, he staggered out of the room, abandoning the fight in a desperate move to stop from bleeding to death.

Nolen let him go, turning to find - to his immense relief-  that Aria was uninjured.

With a nod to her, they turned to the remaining two knights.   Nolen found the wounded knight’s mace on the floor, where it had fallen from his belt clip moments before.   He snatched it up and they advanced on their remaining adversaries.   

The stunned knight was still prone on the floor, and was just beginning to recover from the blow.     The other knight had pulled himself out from under his comrade and stood to face them with his own mace in his hand.

“Surrender and we will let you live.”   Nolen offered, but the knight foolishly declined, swiping at Aria’s head.   The girl gracefully ducked his blow, pounding at his knee with the other knight’s mace.

The blow caused him to bend over in an attempt to keep his balance, and that revealed a gap between his helmet and neck gorget - only for an instant, but Nolen struck with the mace.    The blow wasn’t fatal, but it bypassed the knight’s helmet and he collapsed unconscious, straight down onto the floor.

By the time the remaining knight had regained his senses, he found that his helmet had been removed and two sets of glowing red eyes watching him as they threatened with their stolen maces, any false move he might make.

“You are bested, sir,”   Nolen warned, holding the mace an inch in front of the man’s nose.    The knight raised his hands in surrender.

“Why are you trying to kill us?”   Arianelle asked the man.   He looked back and forth between them, apprehension in his eyes.

“I…I was only doing as my Lord commanded.”

“Who is your Lord?”   Nolen demanded.

“His Majesty, King Braen… he is Lord of this land.”   The knight gave them a pleading look, obviously expecting death from them.

“How does he know of us?”   Nolen asked and the knight looked fearful, as if he had revealed too much.

“It… it was… the oriental elf… he came to my master and demanded assistance.”

“Prince Lee?    He found your king’s castle that easily?”   Nolen shot Arianelle a glance, for this did not seem to jive with the legends about the Fisher King’s castle.

“Sir, His Majesty is not hiding from anyone.    His castle is only a handful of miles from here; on top of a hill that no-one for miles around could miss.”

“And your master is known as ‘The Fisher King’?”   Arianelle asked.

“Yes, the common folk call him that.”

“We were told it was difficult to find his castle.”  

“That is ridiculous, lady.    He is the King of this land; everyone knows from where their master reigns.”

“So why did he send you here to kill us, when Prince Lee came requesting aid?   Is Lee dead?”   Nolen questioned.

“The oriental elf is a prisoner of His Majesty.  From the description of you to His Majesty by the one you call ‘Prince Lee’, you both were not of this world.   Your eyes burn bright red like the fires of Hell.   Clearly you are demonic.”

“We are not devils or demons, we merely come from another world.    We are flesh and blood like you, and followers of Yesh.”

“Then why do you come here, sir?”

“We need an audience with your king.”

“He does not wish to meet with you.”

“Why?   We mean him no harm.   We’ve come here on a peaceful mission.”

“You side with Calvin the rebel.”

“Side with him?”   Arianelle snorted, “Can’t you see?    We are his prisoners.”

The knight looked a bit unsure what to say.

“Look,”   Nolen said after a moment, “We came here out of a desperate need to save our grandparents, and her parents, as well as Lee’s parents.    They have been cursed and we were told that your master has the power to destroy all curses.   So we come to beg his aid.   It is only for this reason that we are here.    We do not seek a fight, only a cure from the curses laid upon our loved ones.”

“I don’t know about all of that, sir.   I was just following my master’s commands.”

“Well, you are our prisoner now, so you’ll follow our command, and it is to take us to meet your king.” 

“He will not wish to see you.”   The knight repeated.

Arianelle signed in frustration, but Nolen patted her arm and spoke kindly to the knight, “Sir, what’s your name?”

“I am Sir Brix, a knight of King Braen.”

Nolen nodded, “I too am a knight, Sir Brix, or rather a knight-in-training.   My Lord is my grandfather, King Eleazar.    Surely as a knight who has pledged fealty to your lord, you know that my loyalty to my king requires me to do all I can to aid him.”

Sir Brix looked a bit pale, “So you intend to use me as a hostage to force your way in to see King Braen?”

“No, though that might be the best strategic maneuver; that is not how a paladin responds.  We will accompany you to your king’s palace and present ourselves to him, to plead our case.     If he chooses to imprison us, or even have us put to death, then we will go with a clear heart.”

 

Arianelle started to say something to her cousin, but suddenly everything changed, a complete transformation, like what happens sometimes in a dream.    Where they had been in the make-shift prison of the old windmill, now she found herself alone, in the middle of a dense forest of thorn trees.  

Bewildered at the abrupt change, she looked down at her hands.    Arianelle held her sword in one hand and a shield with the tree emblem of the kingdom of Tarmard in the other hand.     She wore her armor and glancing around; she found that it was now a dark, cloudy day that felt as if a storm was brewing.  

 Nolen and Sir Brix were nowhere around.    Unnerved by the dream-like feeling of the place, she glanced around at the thorny trees.     They were black, twisted and somewhat stunted in appearance, of a species she had never seen before.    The trees bore thorns like a rosebush.   It all seemed completely unreal to her, but she could detect a faint, overgrown trail weaving among the roots of the odd trees.    

Then, as she was staring at the ground, she heard the distinct sound of sword against sword.    The sound seemed to just float on the air, coming from any direction, yet none specific.     Then, another sound, from a slightly different direction - a man’s voice, calling out in alarm, followed by an agonizing scream of terror.

It chilled her to the bones to hear the agony in the man’s voice.    She instinctively rushed forward, down the path, but the thorns grasped and poked at her as she tried to move.    Pushing what she could aside with her shield; she hacked at any thorny branch that wouldn’t yield to her.  

But her enchanted sword seemed no better than a mundane sword at cutting through the tangled overgrowth.   She expended a lot of energy chopping through the thorny barrier, and it seemed as if time froze, as if the sound of someone in terror hovered in the air, waiting for her to find the source.    She moved as quickly as she could but made frustratingly little progress.     Thorns scratched at her face, pricking her in a dozen places, though her plate armor saved the rest of her body from cuts.

Still the sounds of a tortured soul carried unending across the landscape, somewhere ahead of her.    Somehow she knew she would find them ahead if she kept hacking away at the undergrowth.   Arianelle didn’t understand how she knew, or who “them” were, but she knew she’d encounter a victim and an attacker.

After what seemed like hours, she became aware again of the other sound, even further ahead, the sounds of a sword fight, and this time she distinctively heard the voice of her cousin, Nolen, hard-pressed and yelling for assistance against his foes.    Again she sensed the scene without any real knowledge of what was ahead.   He was fighting off a handful of armor clad knights and was seriously injured and alone.

Desperation pulled at her, for her cousin needed her help!   Furiously she swung and chopped, but the thorny trees seemed denser than ever and Arianelle could almost believe that they were closing in around her.

“I’m coming!”  she cried out, her voice catching with emotion as a branch whacked her across the nose, bloodying it.   All her life she had feared for her family; feared for their safety and well-being.   Now Nolen was in grave danger and she could not get to him.

The two sets of sounds now echoed through the forest; the man in terrible, heart-rending agony, somewhere nearby, and, further away, Nolen crying out for help against foes that would certainly kill him.

Sweat mixed with the blood of a hundred small cuts, burning her eyes as she aggressively fought her way forward.    Panting like an exhausted animal from the effort and blind from the blood, sweat and her tears, she thought the fear and frustration would simply cause her heart to burst.

“Please!”  She gasped, perhaps to Yesh, “Please help me!  I’ve got to help them!”

All at once her vision cleared and she stumbled out into a clearing.    The thorny path continued to her right, and she could still hear the pitiful call of her cousin from somewhere that direction, through the dense forest, but in the clearing to her left was the source of the agonizing screams that she had heard first.

Across the narrow clearing stood a demon.    It was feminine in form, tall, diabolically beautiful and entirely naked, but clearly demonic.    ‘She’ had red skin, glowing orange eyes, and small horns protruded from her forehead, as did large black bat wings from her back.   Arianelle knew she was looking at a succubus.

She held a man in her arms as if it was her lover, though her hands held his wrists in a steel grip, preventing him from pulling himself free from her.    Arianelle recognized him immediately - it was Prince Lee, with the panicked look of a trapped animal in his eyes.

The succubus glanced up at Arianelle, sneered at what she saw and then made an almost comical cat-like hissing sound at her before turning back to her victim.   She smiled cruelly down at him, but called out to Arianelle.

“Be on your way and thank your god that I do not crave a female soul.”

“Turn him loose, demon!”  Arianelle called bravely, though she was fighting panic.

The she-demon laughed, a surprisingly pretty sound for such a foul creature, “Don’t be a fool, girl!    Can you not hear the cry of your cousin ahead?   There is where your loyalty lies.     Leave the spider to her fly.    After all, I’m actually doing you a favor.   As soon as I consume him, all the Hutcaiah royalty will be gone and their arrogant empire will fall into anarchy and civil war again.    What could be better for your family?    Go!   See if you can rescue your pitiful cousin.”

The demoness opened her mouth, revealing delicate, but razor sharp teeth, as she slowly descended on Prince Lee’s throat.

 

The moment flowed forward like thick honey being poured.   Arianelle’s mind raced, however, battling with what to do.   Nolen was somewhere ahead, fighting for his life, needing her help.   He was her cousin and the heir to Marksylvania’s throne.   Certainly he deserved her help, not only as her relative, but due to his worthiness as a good and noble person.

But directly in front of her was Prince Lee-Anke-Shinn, heir to the emperor of the Hutcaiah Empire, which had been Marksylvania’s enemy for many years.    A weak peace existed between the nations now, and Lee had come to Arianelle’s grandfather’s court as a sign of strengthening peaceful relations.    But how many of her family had died at Hutcaiah hands?   How long had she hated them, especially their arrogant emperor?    Before her was his son, helpless and about to be destroyed by a demon that seduced her victims.    It seemed a fitting ending to a man who looked at women as mere slaves to his pleasure.

Yet he was an elf like she was, even if he was Hutcaiah, and he had been their ally in the terrible curses placed on their families.   She could not live with the thought of allowing a demon to take a life that she might have prevented.

Nolen, forgive me!   She thought, grimly anticipating her own death at the hands of the she-demon.   

“Release him and go back to Hell where you belong!”   She yelled, rushing forward with her sword drawn.    The succubus seemed surprised, but spun quickly, spread her wings and flung herself at the terrified Sylvan princess.   Arianelle just ducked behind her shield, waiting for the demon’s talons to slice at her.

But something shifted again, like a nightmare that changes at the very worst part.   Now she was standing before the drawbridge of an odd looking castle.   It was all of shimmering white stone, not large in size, but still tall and majestic.

The air seemed to twinkle as if a million fireflies filled the air, and there was the sound of the peaceful chime of hundreds of small bells in the wind.   Accompanying the bells was the shrill whistle of unseen kingfisher birds.   There seemed to be nothing else but the castle before her and the drawbridge was down, inviting her to cross.

Suddenly she wasn’t alone  and Arianelle looked around in alarm.    To her left was Prince Lee, looking paler than usual and rubbing his neck.    When he saw her, he smiled weakly and bowed, as if paying homage to her for her attempt to save him.

To her right was Nolen.   He was covered in sweat and the cuts from several small wounds, but seemed to not be seriously injured.   He stood there a bit confused, catching his breath.

Arianelle could not restrain her joy and ran to him, hugging him as close as their plate armor would allow.

“Nolen, thank God you are alright!   I heard you calling to me but I couldn’t get through the thorny forest to get to you!    I had to help Prince Lee against a demon.    I was so scared you’d be killed and I couldn’t do anything to help you!”    As she poured out her relief, she kissed his cheek with affection.    Continuing the account of her recent adventure and looking at the castle before them, she did not see the reaction that her kiss had upon him.

“This is all unreal,”   Nolen mumbled, rubbing his cheek where she had kissed him.

“It seems real enough as we are going through it,”  She answered.

“Our worthiness was tested already,”   Prince Lee added, his head hanging low in apparent failure of his test.

“Yet we’re all here, and I’ll wager this is the Fisher King’s castle,”   Arianelle replied, gesturing at the keep before them.

“I don’t quite know what to believe… this could be another test.”   Nolen said as they stood there staring.

“We have no other option open to us other than to proceed forward across that drawbridge.”   Prince Lee sighed deeply and took a step onto it.

As soon as his foot touched the bridge, there appeared at the opposite end, a very large knight in silvery plate armor, carrying a two-handed sword.

“Only he that is pure shall pass me.”   The large knight’s voice thundered.

Nolen rushed to stand beside the Hutcaiah prince and Arianelle joined them.

“We have come to seek audience with King Braen.”   Nolen called across the drawbridge to the knight, his voice sounding tiny compared to the knight’s booming voice.

“You?   You are unworthy to cross.”

Prince Lee took several steps forward, “Our cause is just - we seek to save our kings from a terrible curse.    We WILL pass…”

The knight laughed at the Hutcaiah prince’s threat, his voice so powerful that the wood of the bridge trembled, “You speak bold words for a young pup.    You may be the son of a king, but your wantonness and your arrogance taints you.     Only he that is pure can defeat me.    I give you a fair warning - do not try, for I cannot be defeated by the unrighteous.”

As if emphasizing this, he held up his sword with one hand and immediately the blade burst into orange flame.

“We have no quarrel with you, sir.”  Nolen tried a bit of diplomacy, “If our cause is righteous, then Yesh will give us victory.”

“Will he?”   The knight asked, “Your heart burns in lust for your cousin!  You are immoral and know of the perversity of your own heart!   Will Yesh guide such a person?”

Arianelle stepped forward, alarmed at what the knight had said about Nolen.   She touched his arm, “What is he talking about, Nolen?”

Her cousin’s face was drained of blood and he looked at his feet in shame, only shaking his head.

Their armored opponent laughed again, “Oh, you don’t even know, do you?    You too are unworthy, for your prejudice and hatred for others you call your enemies drain you of holiness.   You are merely a girl!   Unworthy to wear armor or wield a sword!   Go back to your parent’s court and learn more womanly arts such as weaving and embroidery.   You are no knight and no match for me!”

Arianelle angrily pulled her sword from her scabbard. “You may defeat me, boastful knight, but I shall certainly try.   I am weary of these tests and games.     I don’t believe your lies.”

“Lies, Arianelle?”   The knight countered, “Look at your cousin and confirm what I have stated.    He desires you in an immoral way.   It is you that he lusts for, which makes his sin even greater than Prince Lee-Anke-Shinn’s.    For the Hutcaiah pup has never craved for those who share his own blood.”

Arianelle felt her blood turn cold as she looked over at Nolen, hoping to see him ready to angrily deny it.    He gave her a hollow-eyed, helpless look that spoke to her more than a hundred words of explanation.

“Oh no… Nolen…” She groaned, suddenly feeling utterly hopeless and lost in their quest.    Her sword arm fell to her side as she stared blankly at the wood of the drawbridge.

“See?”   The large knight called out, laughter still in his voice, “There are none that are righteous enough to do combat with me.     Two lustful princes and an angry princess stand before me.     Go find your way home, children, and face the grim reality of the curse your families face.     Even attacking me together, you shall not defeat me.”

For a lingering moment, they just stood there facing the imposing knight, the wind blowing mournfully across them.

Hopeless, Arianelle thought, All is lost.

“You’re right, sir knight.”   Nolen abruptly called out, surprising all of them.   He walked forward slowly, his hands open and down at his side, completely nonthreatening.

“We’re all absolutely unworthy,”   Nolen said calmly, continuing to advance toward the knight, “But then, who could possibly be so perfect as to defeat you?”

“You speak the truth, grey skin, but that knowledge will not change anything.”

“Won’t it?    I think it is actually the key, sir knight.   You have shamed all three of us, and certainly all of us have terrible flaws and perhaps things that make us completely unworthy.   Yet I am reminded of the tale of your master, The Fisher King, King Braen.    He was consumed by lust and cursed for his rape of Soric Potollis’ daughter.   Yet his faith in Yesh and his compassion was rewarded in healing.”

The Large Knight laughed again, “Fool, that is his story, not yours!”

“Isn’t it the story of all people, sir knight?   Haven’t we all lived flawed and shamed lives?   Don’t we all - king and peasant alike- have dark secrets and evil flaws that taint us?”

“Indeed, grey-skinned one, indeed!   Therefore, none enter here, for none are holy.”

“Yet neither was your master when Yesh healed him.   He too was flawed and unworthy, his charity to The Lord did not erase what he had done earlier in his life.”

Nolen had nearly reached the knight, who still stood there brandishing the flaming sword.    He seemed to be about twice as tall as Nolen, but the young prince bravely stood before him.   Staring in disbelief at their exchange, Arianelle suddenly realized that the large knight could have easily killed her cousin by now.   Yet he had allowed him to come near.   Turning to the equally spellbound Prince Lee, she nudged him with her hand. “Come on, Lee, we’ve got to join him.”

“But-“

“Don’t you see?   I think Nolen has found the way.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Just come on, and you’ll see!   Watch and listen.”  

The two hurried across the drawbridge as Nolen continued to address the large knight.

“Sir knight, I am a sinner unrighteous and tainted.   Yet I know that Yesh saves me, for I have faith in Him and Yesh is merciful.    That is it… isn’t it?   It isn’t skill at arms, or how pure of heart we are, it is when we realize how disgustingly dirty our souls are and how hopeless and helpless that we are, then it is possible.”

“What is possible, little man?”   The knight asked.

“Mercy.    When we acknowledge our filthy state and put our hope and trust only in Lord Yesh, then our faith purifies us by filling us with Yesh’s holiness.   It is only the purity of the Lord that will enable us to enter to see your master.”

The knight tilted his head back and roared with laughter, yet it was not a mocking humor, but joy at an achieved victory.

“Prince Nolen of Marksylvania, you have penetrated the mystery of the Fisher King.     Indeed, it is only by the mercy of God that anyone - especially a king or prince- can be purified and be made worthy.”   He lifted the huge flaming sword and suddenly lowered it quickly, touching the flat of the blade to Nolen’s head.   It did not burn him, instead a glow emitted from the flames that outlined the young prince.

Without a word between them, Arianelle and Lee knelt down as soon as they had joined Nolen.   The Knight touched Arianelle’s head with the flat part of his sword and a tingling sensation flowed through her body.    A strong feeling of comfort eased away her fears.

The knight looked down at Prince Lee, “Do you now see the power and mercy of Yesh the Merciful?”

Lee looked up at the knight, his brown eyes sparkling with emotion, “Sir, I do not understand everything, but I do know that it is through kindness and love… and selfless mercy, that Yesh gives hope and courage to his followers.    His way is the path of wisdom and is clearly the true way of God.     I… I believe that he alone is God and would even forgive someone like me… in fact, he wants to forgive me, if I only ask for his mercy.     Lord Yesh, forgive my sinful ways and take me as one of your followers.    Teach me to live as you desire all men and women to live.    Teach me to respect all people, not just the Hutcaiah.    I ask for your mercy, Lord, for… I believe.”

Again the knight laughed in joy and brought the sword down gently on Lee’s bowed head.    As soon as it touched him, he was covered with a halo of light just like they were.    To her utter amazement, she heard the proud Hutcaiah prince weeping with repentance and release and she felt any animosity toward him fade away as she realized that he was now a child of Yesh.

Just as she was looking up to ask the knight what they should do next, there was a quick flash of white light and the knight vanished into thin air.

“He’s gone!”   She uttered, though the others had seen him vanish too.

“We’ve been granted the right to see the Fisher King.”   Nolen replied, but then he took Arianelle’s hand, “Aria, I am so sorry for what I feel for you.   I realize it is wrong and promise that I will never act inappropriately toward you.    Yesh will give me the strength to get over this perversion.”

She squeezed his hand. “It’s alright, Nolen, I trust you.    I hope I didn’t do anything to cause it, though I can’t imagine what would cause you to find me even slightly interesting.    You are a noble man and I know you’ll be free of your… feelings with Yesh’s help.   Don’t be ashamed, I forgive you.   You are my cousin and I love you.”

He hung his head and nodded, so she turned toward Prince Lee, “Lee, I must apologize to you for my prejudice.    I’ve had my eyes opened too.    My sin is that family is so precious to me.    I have to let go of my bitterness over those who died in the war between our nations.    People on both sides lost loved ones and their grief is the same, regardless of where they live.    Things have changed now, and we are all on the same team.     Welcome to the family of Yesh… brother.”

Lee bowed and gave her a genuine smile, “Thank you, dear sister.    It is good to finally understand mercy.     I’m sure I’ll need it when I explain my conversion to my parents.    But perhaps we should see to the removal of our parents… and grandparents… curses first.”

They all got to their feet and together walked into the castle of The Fisher King.

Reviews

[Elina]

"Arianelle had snatched up the covers off the bed, and as her opponent recovered from the thrown helmet and rushed forward to engage her, she waited until he was almost upon her, then struck." You might break this into separate sentences to avoid a run-on sentence.
"...weaving amongst the odd trees’ roots." Perhaps, instead, something like "...weaving among the roots of the odd trees."
"...now echoed off the forest..." By saying the sound "echoed off," it gives the reader the idea of sound bouncing off a solid surface, like a wall or something similar. In a forest setting, I feel it might sound more appropriate to say that they "echoed through the forest..."
"But she wasn’t alone suddenly and she looked around her." The wording on this is a little odd, and would benefit from some editing.

What a beautiful chapter, Eddie! What a perfect symbol of our first steps of faith and continuing to walk with the Lord.