story of swords,

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 06 May 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

HOLMES	06 May 2003
long ago in a medevil kingdoms, there was a dawning of a new age, would it be an age of hope or of destruction.. only time would tell. it was morning, past dawn according to the sun when the young girl arose from the bed in which she sleeps. she streched and a knock came at the door. "come hither" she said, and in walked an man who had white side burns and raven black hair., who she obivously knew. "oh father, good morning " and got out of bed to go and hug him, and step back. "father what is it, ? she step back alarm at his coldness and fearing that it concerned her actions. "good katherine, i must leave you for a while. it may only be for a moment it may seem or depending on circumstances it may be for an eternity" the man solemnly said. his daughter looked at him very concerned and looking timid. "the time for negotations might be at an end, and our kingdom may be in trouble. and war comes in shrouds it seems " he looked at his angel and tears welled into his eyes. "oh father but you never cry" now katherine was greatly alarmed for her father while alwasy being strong of mind, rarely revealed what he considered his strength , his passion for in their family it was always kept harnassed for the tasks at hand. "why must it be war, why oh why " she got up and went behind the changing wall as the maids had been summoned with a call and now were there to help her change as such is what she was accustomed to. . "things happen in this world , perhaps one day it shall change in the time far off from here, but i rather think not for life is full of consistence and so just as there is love, and spiritual matters,and our very own physical efforts, there is also strife of the society which has to be dealt with. " he said looking ahead as if walking a scene play upon his mind. "when i was a boy there was war as well and when it came we went to defend our homesteads, well those of us who had homesteads, my father he went to defend our lands,and our birthright. and so here i may have to do so as well " his daughter came out and stood to his right, he looked at her and showed strenght that she knew all her life in his eyes. he continued sitting and staring out the window " there are people who deal with such things in life, there is murder, and such people deal with that. and then there is those who are use them negatively for their own ends. our family has always stood by justice and the way of life of our ancestors and so we shall stand, remember this in the times to come. " he reach out to her and gaved her a hug, as she fought to hold back tears, she knew her father was strong,, but he was so worried though he tried to be strong. and she watched him , and sat in her chair by her bed and pondered. he was walking down the hallway and ran into his son, and called to him . "andrew my son, come here i have need of you " and his strong muscular son came to him and grasped his arm to his arm and said " we must talk a bit before i leave " the son being a strong knight of the realm and battle wearied at times but also hardened and expereince knew all about the troubles of the realm, and how their king was sending his father on a last diplomatic mission before the war breaks. andrew just nodded and look at his father waiting for his words. "yes, my lord and father ". " should anything happend to me on this mission it is up to you to uphold the estate, and it will be up to you to furfill my postion for our king if he so chooses, " he step back and pulled out his sword and it was not his ordinary sword that was in his scaberd and andrew eyes went big. "what sword is that ? it looks to be made by a master, and i never seen it equal but for your sword" he raised a eyebrow and went silent again for he knew this was a momentus ocassion, and he had to understand the signifance of it. " andrew good son, you have kept the peace of the realm as a knight and loyal soldier to the king, however the little skirmishes you have had, and all the training you have had has never prepared you for the horrors of war on a grand scale. the smart tactican knows his strategy long before he considers his tactics and herefore is your sword to know long before you have to use it," he walked to the side of his son and look at him from a side with a grave face . "this sword was made for you when you were born and kept for you all these years and know that you have had fencing and sword training plenty but it is the riddle of steel that you must understand and even more the greater riddle of mind. " the father looked ahead and said before he left " it is your mind that train your body that teaches you to harnass the steel for your protection, your goals, and to use your very life force for those ideals, know that battle is won not in the resources, or in the power of the body but in the strenght of the will and flexiblity of the mind, and so now i go my son " and walked off quikly. andrew knew what to do, he took his birthright and went off to become one with it to understand it flow of energy as much and perhaps come to know himself more.

HOLMES	06 May 2003
there was yet one more thing to do before he left, but he knew where it would occur if he knew his other self as well as he knew himself. and so he went to the front of the house and there she stood the lady bava. "my husband," she greeted him, and suprisingly enough it was she who did the talking here. after all in a relationship, it was customary to share one fears and one thoughts and to know each other was it not .. "i trust you have done what you could to prepare our daughter and our son for the possible times ahead, and so i am here to say bye for a time of a lifetime it would seem knowing the current circumstance .." she murmured and grabed her husband and hug him to her with all her might and said "i love thee as my self, our minds are one you and i, what i think you think and what you think i think, know that once we know each other, there can be no secrets from each other as we deduce it quickly .." and she laughed and he smiled. "aye blossom to me you are still my faithful young love i met long ago and still your incredible beuty holds, you know i choose you for you were the strongest one, full of knowledge and not weak of the mind like those othere ladies " and picked up her and kissed and put her down, and both went into the barn,, for a few moments perhaps. they came out once again , holding each other arm in arm and a moment passed and he mounted his horse, and said . "bava i have prepared katherin, , that if worse comes to worse she knows that our family has always kept the justice of the land, and that we uphold the peace. i have presented the futher lord of our realm with his birth right , his sword and now that leaves you .. " and turned his horse so he could face her full force. " worry not for me for we were great warriors you and i, and i have kept my fencing, my sword training and archery up. i will protect our estate with my lifeblood and know that the costs to take it would be dear." and with that she pulled a sword from her lady dress and saluted her husband, who saluted her back with a smile. " your love for me fuels me to know that i shall not let you down, to do so would mean death to my soul, that is how much i love you gregory " she said and bowed before holding his leg from his horse for one last precious squeeze, Lord gregory asnswered in return , "know that i love you as much as my strenght will allow and if i were to die i would find my way back to you if only to die in yours arms that is how much my mind will be focused on our reunion " . one last look of strong love that knew no bounds and he was off on his steed. .. Lord gregory from a hill top took one last look at his estate and turned to ride off into the day .. his thoughts were his own, but if i were to eleborate on what he was thinking here is what i could discern knowing what i knew of him and his circumstances for his eyes betrayed nothing and his body language was a blank as a slate. (all that i am , all that i have has come from the logic of the way of steel, and the strategy of the mind that my father has enstilled in me.. i have done much to see these enstilled in my son and know that he will do what he can with all his strength which he can muster which is incredible... ) if any emotion could be seen on his face it is the elongated look he gave to the horizon, his father would do that to mask his feeling of pride. (my daughter shall be a queen of another estate,, woes to the man who tries to match wits with her for she is becoming strong in the ways of the mind, and though she is just a princess of my estate she could move the world i so reckon ) and he shifted his thoughts to the ground for a moment to recollect. (why now should i be sent on a diplomatic mission all for the king suspects my knowledge of our customs and policies and the kingdoms of ablerdi, i know he hopes my reputation is considerable but is it enough to halt a war ? ) he looked to his right and then to the left to scout for archers as was his custom. (i must start to clear my mind to know that my son is strong enough to fight for my realm , and my wife strong enough to protect our castle and my daughter to see what we can't see. ) he galloped a bit then slowed down and made a promise to himself (I will come back to see my kingdoms ruled by my son, as i know my poweress while still strong will start to wane as does my hair colour. i wish to grow old with my wife,and live content studying, and teaching,, even though times are dire and it looks so far away ,, I SWEAR IT .. ) lord gregory said and rode off to the noon sun. would he live to furfill his promise, or would he die on this mission which would force his daughter to marry for alliance sake, his son to take over the kingdom a bit earlier then plan, and his wife to take over his place, , these will be adressed in time.. (please don;t judge to harsly i just wrote just now , free from :O)

Mimers	06 May 2003
Quote: (please don;t judge to harsly i just wrote just now , free from :O) Holmes, you worry too much. That was awesome! Your story enraptured me. now I will be late for work. Will you do a story for the other suits as well? You are a man of many talents. Keep sharing them. Mimers

cjtarot	06 May 2003
Holmes.. Just had to say I love your stories and your artwork.. Blessings and waiting for the next one.. Cj

azuremariposa	06 May 2003
i think this is beautifully written...you are very gifted, in many ways, HOLMES...i, too, am looking forward to stories for the other suits... this reads like a grown up fairytale...like the one Steven King wrote (hope you don't mind the comparison, it's an excellent book) called 'Eye of the Dragon' (i think)...i really enjoyed it!! more more more!! :D much love and many blessings... ~azure

HOLMES	07 May 2003
it was nearing sun down and lord gregory upon his humble steed bart knew it was coming time to make camp. bart rode on as he looked to the forest to his right and thought to himself (be nice to camp in that meadow just near the opening of the forest, yes indeed). quietly he rode on,, pulled to the meadow and prepared his camp.. he went off in search of firewood and some game. back he came. and sat at the fire a while and begin to remember what brought upon this trip so far from home, it was irregular. lord gregory kicked the fire and said "bah" and he was in his memories... "PRESENTING LORD GREGORY, "the trumpteer pronounced regally and the nobleman with dark hair a moustache and white sideburns walked into the room and bowed to his knee before the high king of genosha. "arise my freind, for our crissis goes dire," the king called his serverant forward and took from the serverant platter one of the royal swords. a person wielding such a sword would speak next to the king himself and thus was a great many powers invested in the sword. he raised the sword and presented the hilt to lord gregory and said "i present the sword of royalness to you , when you accept this sword you are second only to me and will speak on my behalf. I do this for i need you to go to franklin and seek peace with the king " "when the mission is over i seek to make you my royal advisor which should you perish shall fall to your son unless royally decreed by me other wise " and a gleam came to the king eye for long has he wanted to do this for his most trusted and keenest subject of his realm "i can not my king, "lord gregory said as he stood up, " there are more noble men then me in this kingdom and wiser men as well. they are men of good heart and i know they could serve the idealism and praticality needs of the kingdoms as well " he bowed and begun to walk away when the king bellowed, "YOU DARE TO TURN YOUR BACK ON YOUR KING, " and walked over and slap his servant fast as he could from the throne, but it was a playful slap and said " eheh i could never be mad at you for you are my dearest freind for we hunted when we were small, ah those days were grand. .. it is for the best of the kingdom, your family heritiage and your own prestiage ,, will you not lift up the sword and carry my mission .." and the king looked away knowing his friend as he did,, that he had his freind. "yes i accept the sword" and lord gregory picked it up and held it over head as was the custom at the time.. "tell me what else i need to know before i leave, i shall send a messenger to ask my lady to prepare my resouces for my leave upon the mission you wish for me to embark on ". "the king of franklin is an old comrade and he is like me in many ways but the mind, he is easily mislead through other words even though he is loyal as a dog, hark make that a royal dog my freind" and the high king smiled knowing the humour in that remark. lord gregory grimace as to hold back his laugh and looked down nodding, knowing it was crucial he listened " latley a distant, a rift has been caused by the king royal advisors, one in particular called marco, it is only my king friend loyalty that has stopped him from attacking i am sure of it, go now and find out what is the situation, make the peace and use your ways to right" and with that the king beckoned him away, for protocol of the realm stated that when the matter at hand was over, a dimissal must be rendered or favour would be seen , though it was all known through the realm of the king favour for his loyal sir gregory.

HOLMES	08 May 2003
the maiden katherine having no concerns with the real life issues at hand, for she was being kept sheltered, was about to become embroiled in the situation as all wars and dramatic events tend to drag in possible participant. katherine was sad for her days of sewing and writing were past here and days of learning the sword, physical training that left her breathless and in the afternoons were games she only knew about, board games that the generals played in the kingdom, her brother andrew would play hard with her and hold no prisioners. Nothing held her fascination as archery taught to her by her mom, it became days of learning stories about her brother and her mother, and her father exploits. she began to see them in a new light and knew that she was no longer being babied but prepared to take her rightful place as a member of the household, and in this household, logic of the mind, and knowledge of the powers of air were strongly held in great respect. still she grew restless as she was the meeting age for new love and of the age to be arranged for marriage, such matters were traditionaly done by her father. But here.. her mother and her brother constantly talked about it, she knew. people of the age learned to love those they married, it was quite rare that marriage would be from love, as marriages were made to increase actual estate, political power, prestige, and so forth. Where would she end up, she didn't know and didn't care, for she was a strong girl and would make her will known she swore. then she went and took out her prized horse and road off to the north. she has never gone that way alwasy to the east to town, west to the forest to hunt, and to the south at the beach. the mountains layed that way and a powerful estate of a lord matthew that has alwasy wanted to see. away and off she rode it was a half day ride form her estate and after a while slowed down. her mother had told to look as a archer would, and any warrior for ambushes, so for the first time she traveled alert and wary. she didn't know what she was to be wary off and laughed to herself (i will use this a new adventure to see something new i hope). katherin thought to herself riding along. she allowed the wind to be her strenght and freind and tried to listen as she rode to see if the wind would talk to her as is the custom in their family. her brother could hear the wisdom of the winds, their mother could talk to the elementals, and their father at one time could control the wind to save them when there was a storm. (that was a legend) she thought (but could it be true. ?) (ah here we are , the lands of lord mathew and his sign of the shield what was that word called,) katherin laughed and rode up to a peasant house and was about to get off her horse when she heard cold words from a male voice, and the words from a voice that sounded humble and emotional at this time. "where is the rest of your montly tribute" the man asked with cold hard eyes at the lowly peasant. "my lord, the times have hard and now the family needs the rest to last through the winter , be merceiful my lord " the peasant felled on his knees and put his head down and his hands above his head..

HOLMES	08 May 2003
Katherine hearing the dispute stepped forward to offer her aid in the situation "please lord of these lands do be merciful, he does speak the truth one can tell from looking at the land he works " "Who in hades are you , and what does thou mean, be quick" said the dark knight looking at the lady to his right. he was thinking to himself (i have never seen such a beufitul maiden, with eyes like the black night , and skin that shones like pearls, i must keep my composure i am a lord here after all ) . and turn his horse to look at the the maid katherine. "i am katherine from the estate of lord gregory, for he is my father and one who is studied can see that this peasant land is small compared to the other peasants land in this fief, look yonder" and katherin took her new sword and swept it in the air towards the other feifs, squinted her eyes and looked at the lord of matthew estate. "that peasant house over there , it does appear to be in the middle of three land plots ,, especially one that is close to this land, yet the fence surrounding it goes outwards to that house, i would gather that peasant has taken this peasant land gift to be his own and therefore hindred this peasant in question tith to you " katherine spoke fast, for she was nervous and has never spoken thusly. the lord eyes went big and look at the land and then kicked the peasant down, who had gotten up when he plea was over. the lord saw katherin grimace at such an act and soften his tone "tell me truly , did such an act occur for it goes against the protocol we have set up here and therefore is defying the word of my father " "yes my lord, he took it when the spring started and said if i tried to take it back he would have my wife head, and if i said anything i would lose my sons, THEY ARE MY LIFE BLOOD" and the peasant felled down emotional for he did think now his whole family would be kicked off the estate and furthermore be whipped. the lord went over there to that peasant house and much yelling was heard then a few slaps and other comotion. katherine had meanwhile dropped her new sword by mistake and now had wondered to her self (how does a lady pick up her sword she dropped by mistake, is it fitting to allow the peasant to get it in front of another lord ). and she as she was making the decision to get off her horse and get it, for she didn't know own this peasant, the lord had worked his back. she noticed there was still much yelling, a bit of crying and she wonder what had transpired. the lord came over and quick as a lighting picked up her sword and jumped back on his horse it was quite impressive for katherine who saw his masculinity in action, and looked at katherine pointed yonder towards the hill over the forest that katherine came from and said "ride with me milady we have much to discuss". katherine knowing this was a powerful moment for some reason followed and they began to talk over the hill..

HOLMES	08 May 2003
"Just so you know, the commotion you heard was me passing my judgement upon the new serf who tried to acquire his land unlawfully according to our standards and so he is let go. " the lord son said, he paused to clear his throat and secretly check out the maiden called katherine before continueing "my name is will, i am the son of lord matthew and i have just returned from my travels across the world" he said regally like it was supposed to bring in impression to the young lass. "I have never left my estate but to town I would go now and then, it been my little experience that life here is just the same anywhere else just in a differnt form as the textbooks describe" she said with her head held up high , did she say such things in order to lesson will prestige or bring her up to his stands, what would he say. "never in all my travels have i met one such as you, i can't say i am better for it, but you intrigue me." will said looking at her black eyes with his own and then laughed heartedly" a lass who speaks so bolding yet conceals her true nature like the cloud before the sun is a strange and wonderful creature indeed, i can say you might even prove dangerous one day. " and will turn abruptly on his horse and offered katherine back her sword and said "i present to you your sword do you take it " Katherine was flustered for she knew it meant something, nothing in protocol or in custom, but something in the ways that were yet foreign to her. she looked at the dark eyes of the black knight and thought to herself (this is a game i don't yet understand, they say love is a sword, is that the beginner of my feelings for him. the imagining of what could be.) katherine nodded her head and said "not yet , i must know more about yourself first before i can" Will smiled darkly as to hide his true feelings and said "what is it you wish , for it is clear that your are quite intelligent being of quick mind. I can recnogize that in others as my father matthew has taught me to do so. " and they rode a while all the while will kept the sword out keeping it well known that the maid katherine would have to make a choice. and will kept on talking as he looked into her eyes " to know you is to know a fresh breath of air to have one mind renewed, but know that you are still young and still have much to learn. i admit i too have such a flaw but still i have travled further and seen more then you and so i am the more experienced . " and he look forward and smirked with a nod and said "no offense was meant kind lass, just telling you as it is that we are equals in the mind, yet growth will occure through a journey together in friendship" Katherine could take no more and looked at will with a stronge eyes and all her will and said " we are equals being of the same nature that much is clear for no poetry , no praticalities, and no wisdom comes out of your mouth but the logic of reasons, i know there is a differnt but wisdom does not become us when reasons will lead us to our goals " and with that keeping her face full force locked on his she took her sword that was offered to her by the knight will. and so what did it mean really ? just an offer to know each other on the mind, to know each other thoughts, and fear and their weakness be it the same or not they will discover in their friendship. is it not the beginning of love when two minds become one? and one offers their mind , openly for you to explore to know as your self ?

azuremariposa	09 May 2003
bravo!! HOLMES, you are doing a wonderful job! pls keep it up...i really like this...though somehow i wish it was cups!! ;) but you know me, i just have a thing for cups...:D much love... ~azure

The story of swords, thread was originally posted on 06 May 2003 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.