“Wow! This is great!” exclaimed Jason. “Tell me more about this other field of mine!”
“Well, laddie, the best way t’ do that, would be by singin’ for ya’. You bein’ a bard an’ all, you’ll ‘ave to forgive me rusty pipes, but us farmers of the ‘Eartland ‘ave been known ta’ sing a tune or two, ‘specially when we’s hard at work. This ‘un’s called the Song of the Seed Giver:
All that you have to offer others
Comes from what’s been planted here.
And, ‘though the Gryphon is the Giver
You’ve been made the overseer.
His the gift, yours the giving:
‘Tis not for you the seeds are sown;
For he that clings to what’s been planted
Will, in the end, find nothing’s grown.
The Heartland is a gifting place:
The Gryphon’s Breath brings here the seed;
His dew brings forth fruit in abundance,
So you can give to those in need.
And all we give goes to the Giver,
Who plants it on His distant shore;
So guard your land and work your soil:
Your harvest lasts forevermore!” 7
“Why that was beautiful, master Gideon. You have a wonderful tenor voice, and a good message in your song,” commented Jason, clapping with some of the others in appreciation for the elderly man’s song.
“Oh, pshaw!” said the white-haired patriarch rather sternly, but winking so Jason could see. “I started me song t’ help make the work go faster, not so’s ya’ lazy farmers could slap the air with your empty hands! Now get back ta’ work, the lot of ye!” And all who heard laughed again, this time joined by Jason.
“One las’ thing, laddie, me boy,” said Gideon, grunting under the strain of yet another block. “If ye’ can take some learnin’ from an old man, then listen to me words. There be some out there in this present evil age who take the gifts the Gryphon’s given an’ think they’re sent to make ‘emselves fat. ‘Self-edification’ or some such nonsense they call it! Well, sonny, ‘tain’t true. ‘Tis a lie from the shadows! The fruit the Gryphon gives to us is all’ays meant for others. ‘Tis not fer ye’ to sit, an’ soak, an’ stagnate, as the sayin’ goes! Those ‘uns I’m a-talkin' ‘bout take an’ horde the giftings for themselves an’ gorge themselves fat on so much of this Gryphonsfruit that the good gift turns t’ poison an’ they start spoutin’ gibberish. The poisoned fruit has the lot o’ them thinkin’ this gibberish is the end all ‘o all the Great Gryphon’s gifts. An’ that should never be! In their foolishness they be a-changin' an’ contradictin’ the very purpose of a gift as somethin’ that the Gryphon all’ays wants ye’ t’ pass on. Yes I know ya’ need to eat what the eagles bring ya’, t’ keep mind an’ body together, but the abundance, that which overflows, that is meant t’ be the Gryphon’s gift, through you, to the starvin’ folks on Dragonsback!”
Jason nodded his head and smiled as Gideon spoke. This rustic old Heartlander with his opinionated ways and love of the Gryphon reminded him so much of his own GrandSire, who had died some months in the past.
“I’m sorry, son, I did no’ mean t’ preach at ye’, but as one that the Gryphon called t’ be a farmer, I am all’ays watchin’ what becomes o’ the plantings. Spoilage—whether through weeds and thorns that choke; though neglect that leaves the fruit t’ rot on the vine; or through selfish hoarding—these wastings of the Gryphon’s Gifts have all’ays been my enemies and I theirs! You asked for the reason we farmers o’ the Heartland willingly tend the fields of others? ‘Tis so thems that’re gifted will ever be abundantly supplied an’ ready t’ overflow with gifts t’ give!
“Father, Gideon,” said the young bard, using the honorific out of newfound respect. This old man, far from being a backward farmhand, had proved himself a pitcherplant filled to the brim with the precious dew of the Gryphon’s wisdom. “Ye’ ken preach at me any time you've got a mind t’, fer your words an’ yer wisdom put me in mind a powerful lot o’ m’ GrandSire. An’ I love him an’ miss ‘im more than I ken ever say!”
“Aye, as do we all, laddie!” replied the farmer. “An’ if y’ keep on practicin’ that Heartland brogue and let your voice drop a wee bit, ye’d sound just like ol’ Thaddeus yerself!”
~ ~ ~
Later, with humble pride and tearful gratitude, Jason surveyed the fertile acres before him. The last rays of descending evening sun revealed the result of their combined labors. Freshly plowed and planted, the reclamation process had been a long and arduous task, even with the invisible eagles carrying away the discarded blocks. Jason ached with the effort but felt such uncontainable joy, that words escaped him. He stood before the warrior-workmen of the Heartland and could do naught but glow like a burning ember.
But then, the Gryphon’s breath fell upon him like a benediction and his vision filled with that sweet and mighty Face.
Instantly the young man dropped to his knees in the cleansed soil and drew his sword. Bowing his head, he raised it hilt first into the sky, signaling to all those who stood by, I AM ON QUEST.
Man and woman together gathered around the kneeling bard and laid their work-stained hands on him in commissioning.
Song, born of Gryphon’s breath, found a willing instrument. And the Gryphon’s Son sang: powerfully, clearly, through the voice of a youth as Jason loosed the words of passion that filled his heart:
In His Name I raise my sword;
To His claim I bind my word!
Hail Gryphon King! Hail Swimmer-Son!
Hail Eagle High! Hail Three-in-One!
In battle, Yours the Victory,
Bowing down the Enemy:
In reverential awe I raise
Your Name in everlasting praise!
Hail Victor, Conqueror, and King!
Hail mighty Lord of everything!
Yours the Heart and Yours the Land,
Your every wish my true command.
Light-giver, Seed-planter, Morning Dew:
Every good gift comes from You.
I claim no more that which was mine;
All that I have is wholly Thine!
Freely given, thus sanctified,
The Heart, the Land, the Life have died:
From crumbled castles, they’re born anew
To be a garden fit for You.
Yours the power! Yours the might
That felled the fortresses of night!
Conquered now, I raise my sword
And own Thee, Gryphon, as my Lord!
In His Name I raise my sword;
To His claim I bind my word!
Hail Gryphon King! Hail Swimmer-Son!
Hail Eagle High! Hail Three-in-One! 8
Jason had been so caught up in his vision that he forgot entirely about those around him. The song had not been meant for them at all but flowed out of him as a natural well-spring of gratitude and joy. The resulting silence, overpowering in its loudness, brought him back to reality. He opened his eyes, as from a dream, and found himself surrounded by silent, staring people.
A big embarrassed grin crept across his face. The blood rushing to color his cheeks seemed to bring life as well to those who stood by.
Freed from their paralysis, as one they pressed forward, even more, to touch with loving, soiled hands the fruit of their labor, congratulating him loudly and praising his song.
Gideon, not content with a touch, lifted the startled young man to his feet and inflicted on him a crushing embrace. “Well sung, lad! Well sung, indeed,” he said and then added with a wink, “Just you wait an’ see, the Gryphon’ll make a proper bard of ye’ yet”
Perhaps it was still the touch of Gryphon’s breath or some of the new seeds taking root, but Jason felt uncomfortable to the point of suffocation, under that blanket of praise. He wondered instead what Kaleb would think if he could only see his little brother now.
Kaleb!
Sudden fear pierced Jason’s heart, like the chilling
blade of an attacker. Spinning on his heels, he searched the crowd for his mentor.
“Nathan! I need you!” he shouted as he spotted the large bard some distance away. The Heartlanders looked surprised but instantly cleared a path for the youth as he sprang toward his objective.
“Nathan, tell me, what about Kaleb?” he called out as the two came together. “The dragonmen said that he’s not in school anymore, but with them! What should we do?”
Before the bard could even think about an answer, a new concern flashed through Jason’s mind. He voiced it out loud so that all the gathered farmers could hear it as well. They had helped one grandson of Thaddeus, why not another? “Where is my brother’s plot of land? What condition is it in?”
The instantaneous somber silence that greeted Jason’s question, filled many dire scrolls in his fertile imagination. “What about my brother?” he demanded of them all, turning to gaze into many faces.
White-haired Gideon, who had followed the young bard toward his master, was the first to speak. He placed his wrinkled hand affectionately on Jason’s shoulder, sudden tears filling his ancient eyes, “Laddie, your brother’s land ‘tis all but dead to the Gryphon’s seed. If not for the tireless labor of your GrandSire, it would’ve long ago become uninhabitable for our kind. I fear with ‘is passing, that even that small greening may soon fail. Come, lad, it’s nearby. We’ll show it to you.”
Something about this is very wrong, thought Jason, and he felt a troubling in the Gryphonskin at his side. In a tidal wave of revealed truth, that which he knew to be true crashed into that which he had just been told.
He swung to face the men and women of the Heartland. “Forgive me for speaking out, when I am so young in the Gryphon. I know that I will never be able to repay you all for your labors here today and in the past; but is this what you truly believe?” he asked them. “That once a man crosses the Bridge that his planting fails? How can this be? My GrandSire now lives within the Gryphon’s Land. He walks with the Gryphon’s Son. He sees, as real, the eagles which are but flashing lights in our mortal eyes. It is those eagles who tend our Master’s gardens. It is that Master who sends them! Before, when he was trapped like us on the back of this Dragon, my GrandSire could see The Gryphon he loved only by reflection, but now, face to face! Do you truly believe that Thaddeus, son of Matthew, would not spend every speck of his new-found strength urging the Gryphon to guard the heritage he left behind?”
Humbled, Gideon bowed his head to the young bard, “Forgive me, laddie, for a moment I’d forgotten that I could rest on a troubled sea. An’ I thank ye’ for your words. They were sorely needed. It’s jus’ we’ve been seein’ more an’ more land gobbled up by them cursed dragons as of late. We’s a mighty small army compared t’ the enemy’s black horde. An’ them turncoat dragonmen aren’t makin’ our job any easier.”
Nathan, too, must have sensed the undertone of discouragement among the farmers, for he took that opportunity to exercise bard’s rights. Raising his hands to command attention, he spoke out for all to hear, “My friends, brothers and sisters of the Gryphon, I hear your words. I see your faces. And I think I know your hearts. You have accomplished much good for the Gryphon’s cause today. You waged a desperate battle against the enemy and won! Jason and I stand here as still living proof of that victory! Then you fought a different battle; and with the sweat of your brows and the strain of your backs, you helped to capture back and expose this fertile land on which we stand. Victory is yours once again!
“Yet, there are places where victory eludes your grasp. And the shadow grows across the land! Do not be weary in your well-doing, for the Swimmer goes before you. And though the night grows darker yet, He is our soon coming Light! Listen and remember the promise of our coming King!”
Nathan did not even pause to unsling his lute, instead, his rich baritone voice rose unaccompanied in majestic song:
We shall all be changed
In the twinkling of an eye;
We shall not all sleep,
In the waves we may not lie:
That day the dead shall rise
With the roaring of our King.
There is victory in the Son!
Oh, death where is thy sting?
But thanks be unto Him,
Who in triumph leads us on
Behind the unfurled banner
Of His Mighty Swimmer-Son!
Therefore, beloved brothers,
Be ye steadfast in your stand,
Unmovable, abounding,
As you work to claim the land.
For you know and can be certain
That no labor is in vain
When you follow His commandment
And you do it in His Name!
For that day the dead shall rise
With the roaring of our King.
There is victory in the Son!
Oh, death where is thy sting? 9
The farmers of the Heartland, tired, dirty, and weary though they were, responded in joyful chorus to Nathan’s song. A battle cry of victory sounded from the unified voice of the Gryphon’s faithful band. So loud and so strong rose that cry, that it reverberated between the mountain spines, shaking even the Dragon, himself. In their subterranean lairs, the winged creatures of darkness heard and trembled as they suddenly remembered their long-promised, yet still-certain fate.
Nathan then turned to his apprentice, laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, and spoke softly, “These good folks have labored long and hard on your behalf. The hour is now growing late. Let us send them home for the night will soon be upon us. If they choose and the Gryphon wills, together we will face your brother’s heritage in the brightness and strength of the morning’s light. There are shadows enough without facing them in the darkness!”
“Aye, lads,” said Gideon with sunlight in his voice as he patted the shoulders of both of the bards, “‘Tis time t’ sup, an’ you two will be spending this evening with me an’ mine. I’ll not even claim bards’ pay, fer I know how weary y’are with the labor o’ this day!”
MY BROTHER’S KEEPER
Gideon’s promise notwithstanding, both bards gladly sang for their supper: Nathan, because he felt honor-bound to do so, and Jason because he could not silence the songs of gratitude that filled him to overflowing. In fact, after the simple but sumptuous Heartland meal, the large log home of Gideon and his wife Sara gradually filled to overflowing with the friendly faces of people now familiar to Jason: many of those who had been a part of the work party arrived hoping to hear more of the bards’ singing and stories. They were not disappointed as Jason and Nathan both found their exhaustion replaced by Gryphon’s strength as their voices lifted His words.
Finally, late into the night, Gideon, the elder, rose to his feet and formally drew his sword before those who had gathered in his home. Jason instantly recognized his GrandSire’s handiwork in Gideon’s intricately carved white blade and felt a swelling of pride, knowing that that dear old man’s work would live on in spite of his departure from Dragonsback.
Surrounded by his married children, his wife, and his friends, the white-haired Heartlander raised his sword horizontally over his head, with one weathered hand on the hilt and the other gripping the blade near the point: I HAVE A FORMAL ANNOUNCEMENT. He continued in this pose until he had captured every eye in the room and every tongue yielded silent homage.
That’s an awfully formal way to say goodnight to your guests, Jason thought to himself. Yet, these Swimmers have some strange ways about them that I’m only just beginning to learn!
Suddenly, to Jason’s surprise, Gideon spun around and, still gripping his sword with both hands, lowered the blade directly toward the young bard as though he were offering it to him. Startled by this sudden action, the young bard took a moment to recognize the intent of the swordsign: no one had ever used it on him before. Unlike the hilt first presentation of a sword for examination where the examiner actually took momentary possession of the offered sword, this sign
indicated that a formal gift was being offered, usually one of some significance to the person making the offer. Acceptance of the gift would imply a bond close to kinship between the two parties involved.
Conscious that all eyes in the room were focused on him, Jason turned his head slightly to his right till his own eyes met those of his friend, the master bard. In response, Nathan smiled at him and nodded his head ever so slightly to affirm his approval.
The young bard quickly turned his gaze back to meet that of the old farmer and then reached out with his right had to grip the Heartlander’s sword at a place midpoint between the hands that held it. Emotions and excitement burst into a blazing flame in his heart.
This man is accepting me into his family! His racing thoughts shouted in his mind. He wants to give me a special gift! What do I say? What is the correct response? What can I give him in return?
Then, finding sudden clarity in the light of that internal blaze, Jason reverentially bowed his head and responded with firm conviction in his words, “In the Name of the Gryphon, Who is our Father, I gladly accept the kinship you offer! In the Name of His Swimmer-Son, who freely gives us all things, I humbly accept your offered gift! And in the Name of the Great Eagle, the Gryphonsbreath who fills my heart and voice this day, I pledge my heart and song to honor you, as they also honor Those who gave them to me! From this day forward, I am your servant and your son even as I am His!”
So saying, Jason would have knelt on one knee before Gideon, the Heartlander, but the old man quickly released his sword with one hand and gripped Jason’s arm to prevent him from doing so.
“Well said, son! Well said!” cried Gideon and those crowded into the room sounded their approval with applause. “But y’ needn’t humble yerself before me an’ mine. It is we that should bow before you in thanks fer the gift of yer singin’ and the talent y’ave been blessed with!”
The Dragon's Back Trilogy Page 36
