Battle of Faith

The battlefield was vast and destruction rang out through history. Worse and worse the ground became more sterile just as those who walked among it. They strive to cultivate it but they do it for themselves. Only few do it for and in the proper manner, only found within the one revealed as the Creator. But there are those unseen beings who deceive whoever will listen and destroy those who don’t. 

I stood with the girdle of truth holding fast to my waist, securing my centre of gravity. I see dead land for hundreds of meters; grey and black earth blended with the horizon. I was the only one as far as I could see. Demons came to tell their lies, spitting tenacious mucous effecting my view on reality.

“You cannot represent your Master. The entire world will watch you fail and never believe your Master is anything to worship,” a vicious snarl came from someone I used to call friend. It made my legs weak for I began to believe it myself. He had foundation to say it, he used to know me so well; we grew up in the same small town and were taught under the same rabbi. But he abandoned the school and was seduced by the unseen beings. He knew my short comings but he only spoke it as an agent of the demon. My sword slashed through him splitting the demon from his soul. My old friend fled, being pulled by the demon as it slipped from gripping his soul.

As soon as he stubbled away, his claim came to my mind and all my failures flooded my mind. I turned to see another demon flanked me and revealed all my sins.

“You hypocrite!” it said. “You claim to be righteous but you hate all those who don’t agree with you.” As soon as he said it all those I had argued with and held hatred in my heart for appeared all around me. All of them staring at me having exposed my emotion for them. I fell to my knees on the cold and sterile soil, no hope to redeem myself. I remembered saying the same thing about myself, I also remembered my response! I lifted my sword and in one step lunged for the demon.

“My righteousness is in my Master!” The demon shrieked and faded with the rest of the audience. 
I stood sweeping around me to see any more enemies. I only saw the mountains in the distance. When I focused on them I realized they were waves spanning across the entire horizon. Anxiety flooded me before the wave was even near, I began to run in the opposite direction. My sabatons dug into as much dirt as they could, hoping to push as much earth away as the tsunami was gaining. But it failed. The wave overtook me and I was soon being crushed by the water that engulfed me. Swept off my feet I no longer had control of where I went, but could only go where the current threw me.

I tumbled and flipped, disoriented by the waters of anxiety. One wave sucked me up into its curl, my body met the ground with the weight crippling me. My armour dented, crushing my chest. I rolled over to my hands and knees vacating my lungs of water. Getting to a knee I attempted to suck in any air I could.

“This is your Master’s blessings?” a voice came from beside me. I had not the energy to guard myself, only thinking will this ever end? “You are not his servant, he blesses his servants.” As if this beast called it forth, the dead from my family came to haunt me. Their body resembled their young selves before the time they passed. Simultaneously, my shoulder felt as it did so long ago when it degraded to unuse. Unable to serve in war, or olympia games. What had I done to deserve any of it? The horrifying demon laughed and lifted a sword to strike me down. I only felt the weight of its comments, I was given unfair sufferings. My parents showed me my Master from birth, I learned and believed, always trying to do right. But I lost loved ones, developed disease, and received rejection.

I looked to my arm, attached to my shield. It was no longer identical to its injury so long ago, and I realized, “I tried to do what was right”? I could never do what was right without my Master. He gave me what was right. I lifted my shield and the demons sword rang off of it. I lifted my sword to insert it into the demons abdomen. It shrieked and melted into the ground.

I stood, weary from all these trials. My legs shook, arms feeling numb holding my sword and shield, but I could not let them leave my side. They are my life, a gift from my Master. I finally look around to where the waters placed me and saw standing to my side, an army of the fallen. They all looked like dogs ready to be released from their owners leash. And in the centre of the horde, was the master, the one holding the leash.

“You know nothing of the greater things of this world. I have seen heaven and earth, how do you think you will ever convince anyone of the greater things?” And with that the leash was let go. The army charged forward, all at me, all against me. There was no way I could survive or withstand against a force this big. But I had to, I had to resist the fallen Day Star. Everyday and every moment. We must all take opportunities to relinquish his hold on this world. I lifted my sword and shield and prepared for the fight, even if it was going to my end.

Then some force came from behind me. Three of them combined in one, pushing the forces of the fallen back and they all ran in terror after the first strike. I fell to my knees in front of a small stream left from the tsunami. As my Master was on his way back to me three ravens came to me with bread and meat. 
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“Well done,” my Master said. “You are a good and faithful servant. I was always with you, my son. I give you my yoke.”