The Rebel Son
In days past, a King had a son who was to be a rebel of the palace, and who was wickedly handsome. The King’s son rebelled against all things growing up: his brothers, the royal seers, and often the princesses, whom he would have frequent relations with. This pleased the King, and he made a note of each of these so that when his son turned of age he could bestow upon him a rebel palace of his own, that he could use as he wished. And this palace was filled with great paintings and rare and powerful swords, for the King’s son was free to be a rebel not only in his father’s kingdom.
And when the King’s rebel son finally approached his own father with a sword that he had stolen from the throne room’s wall, the King raised his voice in defense, and sent his boy to his new palace - the palace of swords.
Life was great for the young Rebel son in his palace of swords. He would conquer small villages and bring back valuable treasures that would fill his palace rooms. He mostly traveled alone, and swung his fine swords first, and should he ever lose a battle, he was quick to read some of the most beloved tales in all the land. His actions were always followed by believers of the kingdom, who would ask the conquered to recount Rebel Son’s actions, which they would fill in various books, and songs. His father’s Kingdom was looking upon the rebel son with great pleasure and satisfaction, and would encourage his conquests.
This continued until one day in his palace that was filled with stolen treasures, the Rebel son began to think to himself. He felt that he must rebel against something, but his power had risen to such a point that he had everything he could want. He walked to his glorious wall, where hung three long swords, and began to think that he no longer needed his rebellious swords, and he could still take whatever he may desire.
And his father felt this all the way from his kingdom, and he was not pleased. The King had always forced upon his rebel son a love of swords, often encouraging him to take what he desired with them, and now he could feel that beginning to disappear. So the King walked to a sword that hung on his wall, and full of passion, spoke into the sword:
Dost thou know thy foundation
For now I see burnout, now I see
Contemplation
What was once a conquest
Once a rebellion
Is now stagnation
And the King’s sword started to vibrate, and he could faintly hear the voice of his rebel son. It was as if he were no longer looking for rebellion, but instead had found what he was looking for, yet he was just beginning finding the words describe himself.
Father
Now I feel exhaustion.
So I find deep contemplation.
So I find my renewal,
my retreat,
recuperation and solitude.
Now is my age of rest,
Now is…
And the king shattered the vibrating sword into a thousand pieces.
And so the Rebel son’s sword, made of the finest metal, was also shattered. And the rebel son, in great anger, shattered all of the great swords in his palace, and walked out into the unknown, with only his book of tales and his fine clothing.
A young knight of the land spotted the Rebel son while he was walking. The knight knew well he was a prince based on his appearance, and wondered why he was unprotected.
“My lord, may I see where thou art going?”
The Rebel son was walking and thinking to himself when he half-heard the knight speak to him. The prince’s is dashingly good looks made the knight feel that he should be of service to the prince. But he also looked to the knight’s sword, and contemplated aloud:
“Yes, knight. I have recently rebelled against the use of swords, and thus conquered them. Knights, however, I have no qualm with. You shall be in my service, and offer me protection just as my sword once did. We shall take what we please, and know that doing so is God’s will.”
“Sir, I am a knight of the finest honor, I can offer you protection, but I cannot steal, that is against my values.”
And the rebel son, answered,
“You will be convinced.” and he continued walking, and the knight followed, and he would soon be convinced by the Rebel Son that a life of rebellion is not evil in its nature.
And they walked on, and the Rebel Son felt the freedom that he always did, and he felt just as protected by his knight as he did with his sword, but now he also felt more contemplative and thoughtful than he had previously felt.
And often the rebel son would lay on the ground, and begin to consider himself, recount his actions, and plan for the future. And the knight would protect him.
That evening, the rebel son opened his book, but when he opened the leather cover and read from the pages, his the King spoke to his Rebel Son in a poem:
To one of my three sons who no longer lives in this palace:
The book read:
You are the Rebel of the Kingdom
You are the Air of my Kingdom
You are the King of Swords
The Sword is…
But the Rebel son closed the book, and felt as though he could no longer read it, or his father would speak to him disapprovingly. He buried the book, and continued on. He began to wonder what he would do should he lose a battle, for the tales of his book could always tip the odds in his favor should he need it.
And now his contemplation grew, so he laid on the ground, closed his eyes, and rested.
His knight was now convinced of the Rebel’s son good will to do as he pleases, and he protected him while he would outwit opponents, and he stood with him while he promised beautiful women that he would return to them should they desire him.
The Rebel Son felt even stronger without a sword. In addition to stealing treasure, he found a desire to rest in great places, and took satisfaction in the time he spent in contemplation. He would sleep in lord’s quarters, and often with the wife’s of great leaders.
The believers from the kingdom who would once bring to the King stories and write songs of the handsome prince and his rebellious actions, now would receive prayers and stories from the Rebel Son’s own lips, that the conquered would find as prayers, writings, or stories that their wives would share.
And soon a beautiful angel found these prayers, and so began to follow the prince and knight, and wrote the best of them in a book, and gave them to the Rebel Son so that he could understand his own actions. And this made the Rebel Son feel complete.
And so he quickly found that should lose a battle, or get caught resting in another man’s house, or stealing something he should like, he could share the sweet thoughts of his angel, and they would forgive him.
So he could extend his reach even further than ever before, all while he got the rest he truly desired. He had no fear of losing a battle or taking what he wanted, for his knight could conquer most, and his angel’s book could conquer all.
And so he became the most powerful, and the most stable king in all of the land.
After the spoken story meeting that Amy sent before last meeting, I have decided to again pursue self publishing The Golden Book of Tales; along with self publishing, I am still going to submit some other (unpublished) tales to contests, and try to get them published that way (as an alternative to self publish that someone suggested). Below is the Golden Book of Tales, that I will be self publishing soon!
The Golden Book of Tales
(Cover Image)