derision.
“Not in so many words. The prince is as he is. If he had won the tournament, it would only serve to delay the inevitable disappointment. And even so, the prince has many virtues. Men like him become heroes a little later in life. His only concern is whether he’ll ever get the chance.”
“So why am I here?”
“You have a quest.”
Once again, I do not reply.
“I visited Brightstone fourteen years ago and I confess that I do not know whether it still stands. It was, much the way that we are, an empire in great difficulty.”
“An empire?”
“That’s correct. It’s full title is ‘The Sunlit Empire of Brightstone’. It would be possible to translate their word for ‘empire’ as meaning ‘kingdom’ but this would be a simplification. The difference between our kingdom and theirs is that Brightstone is a collection of several island kingdoms all ruled by one leader.” She talks with the same knowledge and authority that one might expect of a talking book.
“So why are you unsure if it still stands?” I reply, finding myself more and more drawn in by this conversation. I feel a certain satisfaction in knowing that not many other people will ever hear such things.
“As I’ve said, it is a very old civilisation.”
“But surely those advancements will help it?” As I ask this question, I am greeted by Lady Vesta’s second smile. It is a contemptuous one.
“Advancements will benefit humans for centuries. Not for milennia. All civilisations end. Thousands of years ago, humans had technology that is unthinkable to us now. It didn’t help them. Across millennia, the only thing that keeps humans alive is their resilience, their ability to start again from nothing.”
“How do you know all this?”
“I have studied.”
“You must have had better teachers than I have.”
“You might say that. But we digress. When I left Brightstone, it was shrinking. The snow savages were preparing for invasion. To save themselves, the entire empire seemed to have turned to God.”
“Which god?” I reply, inserting a deliberate insolence into my tone.
“Another interesting question. The religions of our two kingdoms are similar and, in fact, probably derive from the same source. It is a fascinating topic. Similar to our own Christianity, they believe in one God. The morality of the two religions is similar also. They even revere the Cross in the way that we do.”
“So they are Christians as well?”
“No, not as such. When I travelled there, I gifted them with a Bible. I even translated it for them. They rejected it as heresy. The emperor would not hear their religion referred to as Christianity or accept my claims of similarity.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Stranger still… when I was there…” She pauses and looks deep into my eyes, “they were preparing for the Son of God to arrive.”
Before I have even breathed one incredulous breath, she continues, seeming to have read my face.
“You do not believe me. Do you not believe in God?”
“I don’t know. I don’t believe that though. It seems a coincidence that they began to prepare for His arrival shortly after you arrived with a Bible.”
“Precisely. Now tell me, Gruff, do you think I believe in God?”
“I would have said not.”
“But what you or I believe is not important. It is what the masses believe that is important. A son of god who is worshipped by the masses needn’t be the Son of God at all. ”
She pauses, as though understanding that the words need time to sink in. A dim understanding flutters somewhere deep inside my brain.
“The primitive mind is superstitious. It doesn’t just believe in God; it needs to believe in God. And if it needs to believe a man is the Son of God, then it will, whether He is real or not. Whether He is an exotic conjuror or the real thing, the effect will be the same: delirium amongst the masses.”
“Amongst the ignorant masses,” I correct, proud of my
“Not in so many words. The prince is as he is. If he had won the tournament, it would only serve to delay the inevitable disappointment. And even so, the prince has many virtues. Men like him become heroes a little later in life. His only concern is whether he’ll ever get the chance.”
“So why am I here?”
“You have a quest.”
Once again, I do not reply.
“I visited Brightstone fourteen years ago and I confess that I do not know whether it still stands. It was, much the way that we are, an empire in great difficulty.”
“An empire?”
“That’s correct. It’s full title is ‘The Sunlit Empire of Brightstone’. It would be possible to translate their word for ‘empire’ as meaning ‘kingdom’ but this would be a simplification. The difference between our kingdom and theirs is that Brightstone is a collection of several island kingdoms all ruled by one leader.” She talks with the same knowledge and authority that one might expect of a talking book.
“So why are you unsure if it still stands?” I reply, finding myself more and more drawn in by this conversation. I feel a certain satisfaction in knowing that not many other people will ever hear such things.
“As I’ve said, it is a very old civilisation.”
“But surely those advancements will help it?” As I ask this question, I am greeted by Lady Vesta’s second smile. It is a contemptuous one.
“Advancements will benefit humans for centuries. Not for milennia. All civilisations end. Thousands of years ago, humans had technology that is unthinkable to us now. It didn’t help them. Across millennia, the only thing that keeps humans alive is their resilience, their ability to start again from nothing.”
“How do you know all this?”
“I have studied.”
“You must have had better teachers than I have.”
“You might say that. But we digress. When I left Brightstone, it was shrinking. The snow savages were preparing for invasion. To save themselves, the entire empire seemed to have turned to God.”
“Which god?” I reply, inserting a deliberate insolence into my tone.
“Another interesting question. The religions of our two kingdoms are similar and, in fact, probably derive from the same source. It is a fascinating topic. Similar to our own Christianity, they believe in one God. The morality of the two religions is similar also. They even revere the Cross in the way that we do.”
“So they are Christians as well?”
“No, not as such. When I travelled there, I gifted them with a Bible. I even translated it for them. They rejected it as heresy. The emperor would not hear their religion referred to as Christianity or accept my claims of similarity.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Stranger still… when I was there…” She pauses and looks deep into my eyes, “they were preparing for the Son of God to arrive.”
Before I have even breathed one incredulous breath, she continues, seeming to have read my face.
“You do not believe me. Do you not believe in God?”
“I don’t know. I don’t believe that though. It seems a coincidence that they began to prepare for His arrival shortly after you arrived with a Bible.”
“Precisely. Now tell me, Gruff, do you think I believe in God?”
“I would have said not.”
“But what you or I believe is not important. It is what the masses believe that is important. A son of god who is worshipped by the masses needn’t be the Son of God at all. ”
She pauses, as though understanding that the words need time to sink in. A dim understanding flutters somewhere deep inside my brain.
“The primitive mind is superstitious. It doesn’t just believe in God; it needs to believe in God. And if it needs to believe a man is the Son of God, then it will, whether He is real or not. Whether He is an exotic conjuror or the real thing, the effect will be the same: delirium amongst the masses.”
“Amongst the ignorant masses,” I correct, proud of my
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