As Verstappen, Brandywijn and their entourage of royal Knights approached, the small crowd of people that were gathered around the Shepherd who had just completed his reading, grew frightened as they turned together to see them coming. The two royal siblings must have looked like “demi-gods” to the people. With their pristine clothing and armor, followed by hulking warriors clad in scaled armor and armed from boot to hilt, they were a sight of regal loftiness the people of this portion of the vast castle city had rarely seen up close. The crowd after all was made up of the infirm, the destitute, the impoverished and little children, all the types of people that were very vulnerable and lowly amongst the citizenry of Anglevin. The crowd dispersed a bit bowing their heads as they slinked away. Some recognized Verstappen, he often strode around the city on his horse with his scaled armor and helm on being followed by a tail of armed soldiers and knights, so they knew he was of great importance, but they mostly knew him because he was the knight that won a great many of the combat tournaments held by the city every year. As for Brandywijn, her mesmeric eyes, her spellbinding countenance, her blonde hair styled in a “Half up stacked Dutch Braid”, she dawned a gown of dark green and gold with ornate embroideries and lacey trimmings, her beauty making those who gazed upon her weak in their knees. She was so radiant that some of the crowd thought she truly was a “goddess” in the flesh, stepped down from lofty places unseen.

As the regal siblings approached the Shepherd and his brother, making the crowd disperse, the Shepherd spoke up and said to them,

“Comfort, comfort, ye fair rulers. What transgression has my brother committed to have thee appear here in the flesh?”, he said with a sly smile, his words teasing his brother by making him out to be a troublemaker. His brother smirked slightly but then grew a bit perturbed as they approached.

Brandywijn never had experienced a man be so bold towards her or her brother as to jest without bowing or greeting them formally.

Verstappen laughed heartily and put on a great smile that made her feel at ease. As they got to the Shepherd and his brother with their tail of royal knights, Verstappen spoke up,

“Now, now, we are not here as to deal retribution nor are we here to rouse trouble, quite the contrary. We are here to personally give praise and thanks to your brother for his heroic defense of our father and King of this realm.”, Verstappen said with a large smile and a gleam in his eyes.

However, the big imposing man in the black cloak stood stiff and a look of nervousness washed over his face. The towering warrior, clad in his black cloak , sort of gave a half smile but his eyes grew wide and darted down towards his brother who sat in front of him on the side of the cobblestone road.

Brandywijn raised her eyebrow with intrigue and looked to the Shepherd. The Shepherds brow was slightly furrowed with a stern, yet curious expression washed over his face. The Shepherd then spoke up,

“Heroics you say?”, the shepherd asked as he started standing to his feet. As he stood up the black cloaked warrior gave a slight deep exhale, almost like a little brother being present as someone tells their older sibling or parent that they’d been doing something naughty.

Verstappen seemed oblivious to the demeanor of both men, and spoke on gleefully,

“Yes, yes, by the gods! Your brother here displayed a prowess with a blade that I have never seen in my entire life, not on the field of battle or within the tournament square! Dare I say your brother, outside of my father and I, is the most impressive warrior I’ve ever come across! He hath slain or incapacitated TEN ferocious assassins in a dazzling display of swordsmanship and warrior-like dexterity, it was by far the most daring account of heroics within the castle walls ever put on display.”

*pregnant pause*

Verstappen’s smile shrunk ever so slowly as he looked to the men. Instead of being surprised or proud, the look on the Shepherds face was of a stern furrowed brow, and the black cloaked warrior looked to the ground with a look of a man who knew an impending chastisement was all but certain. Brandywijn smiled slightly, she was utterly intrigued. As a princess of a small but powerful midsized Frisian kingdom she had only ever dealt with royals, nobles and men of war who all venerated acts of violent heroics, but here this man, the Shepherd, seemed…disappointed, and his brother the black cloaked warrior seemed, ashamed.  

The Shepherd turned indignantly towards the black cloaked man and spoke to him in a language Brandywijn had never heard, the Shepherd was tall himself but almost a head shorter than the black cloaked warrior. His words were calm, but you could sense the disappointment in them, the shepherd faced towards his brother and away from Verstappen and her and said,

“…atah yodea sheashemah b’dam hiy m’toevet lag’vohah b’yoter”, in a disappointed tone. Brandywijn did not understand that the language was Ancient Hebrew and the Shepherd said something to the point of , “You know blood guilt is detestable to the Most High”. Though Brandywijn did not understand the words, her astute powers of discernment made her understand the interaction in full.

The black cloaked warrior sighed heavily and nodded. Upon his genuine look of remorse, the Shepherd lifted his hand and placed it on his brothers cheek in a comforting gesture and spoke again saying,

“aniy ohev ot’kha achiy, vaadonenu rach’man” or “I love you brother, and our Lord is gracious.”

The Shepherd then turned to Verstappen and Brandywijn and spoke but this time he was back to talking in the Frisian common tongue and said,

“So…assassins? As in he came to the defense of another who was being threatened with certain death?

The black cloaked warrior from behind his brother looked up at Verstappen with his eyebrows raised, slightly nodding his head as if to urge Verstappen to plead his case for him that he only acted out of defense and was not embroiled in some sort of mindless melee.

Verstappen was seemingly now aware of the situation and raised his brow as well and said,

“Why, uh, yes, of course, there was no wanton killing of men done. Your brothers feats were purely of defense, and might I say in defense of my Father and King who was not armed at the time so he was utterly dead to rights had it not been for your brothers acts.”

Verstappen finished with a nod towards the black cloaked warrior who gave a soft satisfied smile, Brandywijn was amused at the scene and smiled slightly as well. The Shepherd’s face wore a stoic expression and he let out a slight sigh and said,

“Ah, I see, couldn’t be avoided. Well I am grateful to Yehovah God that your father is well and that my brother was able to defend him in his time of need.”

Verstappen nodded but just like Brandywijn he found the Shepherds lack of pride in his brother to be strange and said,

“Yes, well, might I ask…to what land do you belong to? To what Kingdom do you two hail from”.

The Shepherd replied calmly,

“The land?…far away, is the land…The kingdom?…up on high is the Kingdom, but very truly I say to you, all are invited to the Kingdom to which my brother and I are humble servants.”

Verstappen gave a slightly nervous laugh, not sure how to react to what he was told. Brandywijn stood next to her brother enthralled by the interaction and irresistibly intrigued by this enigmatic man stood before her. In many ways, the Shepherds calm confidence and mysterious demeanor made her feel as though they were in presence of someone with a supernatural presence. She looked at the man with her beautiful greyish eyes and scanned him over. He wore a dirty sack cloth robe with a charcoal grey shawl wrapped around his neck and shoulders, upon his feet he wore a pair of tattered shoes (the princess would later be informed they were called ababa canvas shoes). His hair was nappy and wild with an almost woolen texture quality to it, his skin color was like mahogany wood and his face bore a couple slight scars. His appearance was that of a meager livestock handler, but his disposition was of someone that held authority. Brandywijn looked at the Shepherd and could not help but compare him to the stories she heard regarding wizards who would appear as beggars or commoners to kings and queens but truthfully held immense power over the forces of nature and could wield great and terrible magic. “A wizard…”, Brandywijn thought to herself, this thought brought a cheeky smile to her face, she’d found her adventure finally.

Verstappen shifted his stance a bit, not knowing how exactly to respond to the Shepherds unique answer to his question, until he finally spoke up and said,

“…I see…and uh…what gods are foremost in this Kingdom up on high?”

“…gods?”, the Shepherd said in a quick retort, while sporting a furrowed brow.

Verstappen again perplexed answered,

“Yes, gods? To whom do your people worship? I have heard of the many gods of Aegyptus and those regions far away where people with your rich complexion reside, do you ascribe to some similar pantheon?”

The Shepherd, instead of acting offended or indignant now bore an expression of calm friendliness and responded to Verstappen saying,

“There are many ‘gods’, here, there and even more across the world we have never heard of…but I happen to serve but one God, and I dare say he is the only one of any that were ever worshipped as a god that has anything to truly offer mankind. I serve God by mimicking his Son who appeared on Earth, birthed from a woman’s womb but defeated all the devils and gods of this world with his own sacrifice. Farfetched are my words to thee, farfetched it seems, but it is the truth, it is the entire truth.”

Such bold words regarding the gods and even the suggestion that the single God that he worshipped was somehow greater than their gods and any higher force was rank heresy and punishable by lashing and even death in the presiding culture and religion of Anglevin. However, Verstappen did not take offense, instead he was more intrigued than offended. The man did not speak as if he was saying something to offend but instead spoke as if he knew something they did not, it was mysterious, unorthodox and highly intriguing. The knights around them stirred, slightly off put by the heretical nature of the Shepherds words, but Verstappen raised his hand slightly as a small gesture for them to calm their stirring and hold still.

However, Brandywijn was now far too captivated by this encounter being played out right before her to stay silent and she spoke up swiftly before her brother could reply, denoting her equal status with her brother as royal blood of Anglevin, and said,

“So, pray tell, what does this ‘God’ of yours have that ours do not have?”, she said in a challenging tone,

“…Love.” the Shepherd said swiftly, with no hesitation what so ever, as his gaze snapped to the princess boldly, his gaze met hers like a lightning bolt flash.

She was taken back a bit, and slightly surprised, the delivery was bold, and matter of fact and his gaze on her bore a calm yet sharp confidence. She pursed her lips a bit in surprise, her eyes glazed over as she dealt with the tempest of emotions and intrigue that stirred within her until she quickly uttered in a curious tone,

…love, you say?”, her eyebrow raised and her index finger held upon her chin slightly.

“For all of the things God is capable of, LOVE, seems to me to be the most outstanding thing many of these gods touted across the world seem to woefully lack. I say what good is a ruler if he cares not for his people? Your father King Wotan is a great ruler, for he loves his subjects and as such defends them, cares for them and provides them with more than just a lofty throne to prostrate to, he gives them refuge, comfort and peace, and this is not due solely to his might as a warrior king but due to his empathy, and his LOVE for his peoples. In this same way, God, my God as it were, does the same for his people, and any people or person willing to recognize him as the Sovereign Ruler of all men and women who have blood to bleed and breath to breathe.”

Everyone listening was engrossed in the words of the Shepherd.

Verstappen then interjects and says curiously,

“What do they call this religion of yours?”

The Shepherd replies,

“We are followers of Christ, Yeshua Ben Elohim, of Nazareth, Son of God, Messiah and Savior of the world.”

Verstappen shifts his stance again and says,

“Christ’ians? You’re a Christ’ian? My father and I went on campaign across the sea to wage war with such Christ followers, they were war-like, touted many crosses and would force conversion to their religion upon any captured foes…these are your people then?”

But the Shepherd shook his head with an amused smile and replied ,

“Very truly I tell you, those who you’ve encountered are not followers of Christ Yeshua, nor are they brothers in Christ to me as it stands today.”

Verstappen now enthralled in the conversation as deeply as Brandywijn was , inquires and says,

“We captured some of these men I speak of for ransom and they claim themselves Christ followers and even fight to the death for him, is this not the most honorable thing they could do for your God?”

The Shepherd smiles and tilts his head slightly and says,

“Truly, look at me, look to my brother, do we brandish a cross symbol? Do we fight in wars? I have chastised my brother for clinging to his blade, for Christ told his followers that, those who live by the sword, surely die by it. I tell you, those who venerate the cross, forsake God, Yehovah, the Father, and do not follow the words of Christ our Lord do not follow the Lord they claim to follow. They represent kingdoms of the earth, but I… I represent the Kingdom of Heaven above (*points upwards*). For Christs Throne is not of this earth and the Kingdom I serve is very truly that Kingdom upon where Christ sits as ruler but only by way of his Father, the Almighty, Yehovah, he who causes to become. Furthermore, my dear friend, you see how those men come , fighting, warring , pillaging, controlling, squabbling…see me, I do not come brandishing the sword, I come with a book, they come with armies and nobles, I come with sheep and silver for your father as payment…those people are not the same as we, the true soldiers of Christ , for to be a soldier of Christ as it is written (*points to the book in his hand*) Is not to fight in the flesh but to be a soldier and fight the GOOD fight of the spirit”.

Brandywijn’s mind was in a swirl. There was much to extrapolate from what was just said, but it was delivered with the authority and confidence of someone who was truly sure of what they said.

Verstappen spoke up and replied with a smirk,

“Well dear Shepherd I admire your conviction and for whatever reason I can’t quite place, but I feel compelled to leave you in peace regarding your beliefs. We here are a people of mighty gods who have given us a strong virile kingdom, but as it were, your assuredness is a commendable trait. I bid thee well and I bow my head in respect to such bold characters as your brother and yourself.”

Verstappen then turns to Brandywijn and says,

“Sister, do say your peace, let us leave our gifts for the gentleman and let them in peace.”

Brandywijn nodded and bowed her head and bent her knees, toward the Shepherd and his brother, causing all around her to do the same out of respect for her and the two men. However, before calling her hand maiden forth to bring out the gifts she had prepared for them, she asked with a mischievous smile,

“Troublesome Wizard, by what name are you called?” then looking to the black cloaked warrior she asked as well “… and what name are you called as well humble warrior?”

The Shepherd smiled and answered,

“Wizard? I dare not claim such a title. I am a servant, I am nothing. My name is Menelek, I am honored to make your presence and converse with you fair lady. You have a sharpness to you that is very admirable.”

Brandywijn stiffened her face and neck, trying not to blush or show that she was moved by his compliment, she was also slightly impressed by his apparent disinterest in her outward beauty but instead in her ‘sharpness’ of mind.

The black cloaked warrior then spoke and said, “My name is Malakai, and I too am happy to accept your thanks, I am glad I could be of service, and I am glad your father is unharmed.”

The princess nodded her head towards them in a gesture of acceptance of their words and went to call forth her hand maiden but something arose within her to ask Menelek, the Shepherd, one final question.

She turned with her eyes blinking in curiosity and asked,

“Sir, Menelek, whom taught you your ways and the wisdom of your religion? I have learned that those with much wisdom have formal instruction to supplement such powerful minds.”

Menelek smiled softly and said,

“Our wisdom hails from God Almighty via his Holy Book and the teaching of his Son The Christ. However as for my testimony, I was first brought to the faith when I was a young warrior. A half Aethiopian, half Jewish man named Shealtiel, who was named from a great ancestor of his, making him of the line of a great king named Solomon, wandered into one of our military camps speaking of his God. He sat us down and taught us from this very book I hold today. He later confessed that my brother and I were of kin to him through this line of Solomon, son of David and he’d purposefully tracked us down to bring us to the Truth. My brother and I were the only two warriors who followed him, we acted at first as his bodyguard, though he claimed to not need any ‘fleshly guard’, but he still enjoyed our companionship so we set off with him to Greece and after years of preaching the Good News of Gods Kingdom, he passed to death…he was jailed and then murdered as it were, for offending the worshipers of Apollo, that is how this work of teaching from the Holy Book passed to my brother and I.”

Brandywijn blinked with curiosity, thinking that she would like to hear of his adventures and how he got from Greece all the way to these Frisian lands he now shepherded his flock through. However , the hour was growing to early evening and she did not want to tarry any longer and impose their presence upon the men any further. She then called forth her hand maiden and she handed The Shepherd and his brother each a small chest filled with small bags of silver pieces, enough silver to see them through the year without need for work, and also luxurious scarves of dyed purple wool, a small jar of scented oils, and each an open invitation bearing the Kings official seal, to dine and stay in the palace with her and her family whenever they found themselves in Anglevin.

Menelek and Malakai were greatly appreciative of such lofty gifts, and bowed towards the two royal siblings before they turned away back towards their carriage.

The Princess sat in the carriage as it rolled through the city streets thinking over the Shepherd Menelek’s words. She was filled with wonder and excitement, she had never encountered such challenges to her view of her world as this.

The night grew darker and darker as she drifted off to sleep. As she slept, she did not again have her usual dreams of heroic endeavors or her recurring nightmare of being thrashed about in the dark waters of a great deluge. Instead it was a powerfully vivid lucid dream where she was walking in an old city that looked like the paintings of the great city of Athens she had seen before. As she walked she came upon a fortress of sorts and walked in, the guards at the gates did not seem to see her and the gates opened for her on their own. She walked until she came to a fortified door and it too opened itself for her. She walked down a dark dreary hallway and down some winding steps until she was in front of a fortified door with bars of a jail cell built into it, the door swung open and she saw a man, wearing nothing but tattered rags and a Scarlett cloak, the man seemed to be the only one in this dream realm that could see her and he recoiled to the corner of the dungeon cell away from her and spoke to her exclaiming with a harrowed tone,

Suddenly she burst awake, in a cold sweat and out of her own mouth in a whisper she uttered words that felt like the words of another and not her own, saying, “Here lays, Shealtiel, servant of God”. She clasped her hands over her mouth as to stop her involuntary speaking and looked about her chambers, she looked out of her window and the moon shined bright through the slightly parted curtains. She stirred a bit in bed and thought…”I must converse with the Shepherd Menelek about this, for I have never had such a vivid dream and it was one of who I believe was the very teacher Menelek spoke of.”

To be continued…

End Credit Music: Last Hope (Slowed + Reverb) by Steve Ralph – Be mindful of Volume levels

Written By: Marcos A. Lopez II – 9/01/2024