We were able to covertly free the first few in the way the Spirit had freed us, but as the #movement swelled, the guards rapidly took notice.
Our Plan had anticipated this.
By the time the first 12 had their feet on the path towards liberty, it was clear the #movement might also be a war.
"Somebody stop them!" cried out a ghastly voice shrieking from the entrance of one of the Caves.
Three beautiful souls chained within their domain had heard the whispers and were now moving towards Freedom.
"Do not listen to their whispers!"
"If you leave, you will surely perish!"
"It is dangerous out there!"
The decaying voices of the Guards rattled up through their corrupted throats. It was a strange and eerie sight and noise to behold, with such disgusting and death rattling sounds emanating from heads riding above such nice clothes.
They were like the whitewashed tombs we had been warned about. Painted up with robes and titles on the outside, while inside they were full of death and decay.
"Heresy!" a gruff Old Guard shouted.
"Stop! You are breaking the law, and if you proceed further you will pay with your life!" shrieked another.
"Ignore them! They speak lies! This is the only way! This is the only truth! This is the only life! Come into my cave, embrace my shackles, and live forever!" cried a third.
"They are the anti-Christ!" wailed a forth!
"Don't join them... They are possessed by a demon! Return to your chains and be free and alive." whispered a fifth in the ears of the newly liberated.
Returning from liberating the next wave of formely-captive-now-free-and-sovereign beings, we were disgusted at the scene that greeted our eyes.
The ghastly figures danced around and lunged at those poor first few souls finding their Way towards Freedom.
"You will perish out there!"
"Return to the safety and security of the cave! Where there is plentiful food, and no one to harm you or disturb your mind. Go back to sleep, where you where peaceful and secure..."
A large and very threatening ghoul of a Guard approached the group.
"If anyone takes a step further, you will be in direct insubordination to the law of the king of the Caves, who has demanded that you pay for your insubordination with your life. Please return to the safety of your caves. This Guard will escort you there to resecure your wellbeing and administer your daily medication."
One poor soul, beset with anxiety and grief, shook so violently he fell to the ground. The Guard approached him and kicked him onto his back.
"You weak little soul. Do you think you could survive for a second out there? You can hardly walk, you can hardly speak, you can hardly think. You are worthless. Your stuttering words betray your sould. I am glad to see you are kneeling and bowing back down to the king. If you give us your word to cause no further trouble, I will spare your life and return you safely to your rightful place."
The poor man writhed and withered on the floor. The words of the Guard were like a curse that sunk deep. He appeared to age 20 years in an instance. The faint glimmers of light drained from his eyes, as he submitted.
"Thank you sir... I am so sorry for causing a disturbance. Please relay my profound apologies to the masters of the Cave, and to the king. There were men here, just earlier, who deceived me and told me that this path marked the Way towards freedom."
"Freedom???" roared the Guard... "You want freedom???" "Is this what they call freedom? Separated from your food? Separated from your medication? Wandering in the darkness towards your demise? How do you feel? Do you feel strong? Do you feel well? Do you feel capable? Do you feel free? How is this freedom that was promised to you?"
The poor groveling man was a sorry sight to behold, writhing around before the giant Guard, while agreeing that indeed, this was not what he signed up for, and trying to assent to how much better off he would be if the Guard would be so kind as to spare his life and return him to the safety and wellbeing of his cave.
"You have made a wise choice. Take him away! Now who else would rather live in peace and happiness in the caves, than have me spill your blood here in this cavern?"
The Guard clasped a set of chains back around his wrists and neck, and passed them off to a diminutive figure skulking in the shadows.
"Take him back to where he belongs, and ensure he stays there!"
"Yes master" the figure replied.
A moment earlier, as the word blood had poured out of his lips, it echoed thorugh the caverns and a strange cacophonous howling was rising up in response.
In darkness, predatory eyes begin flashing around, as the newly bound soul was carried away back towards its former cave. There was tears and agony in its eyes as it glanced back at the group.
The howling rose to our ears just as we were prying a particularly difficult set of chains off of a newly awakened soul that had heard the whispers. We knew they were in danger and we flew to them.
"You have no authority over them!" we shouted as we descended upon the poor group of beleagured and confused souls.
"All those we have liberated are now Sovereign and Free. Step back and make way in the name of the One!
At the mention of the One the ghastly Guards immediately fell silent.
"Step aside Guards. You have no Authority here. Make way."
Reluctantly, as if bound to obey, the decaying corpses ceded their ground, and we led the 11 remaining pilgrims passed through, along with the souls we had just liberated.
"This will not be the last time we must battle the Authorities" we warned them. _"Be on your guard, and no matter what remember that they have no rightful Authority over you. No matter how much they threaten you, resist at all costs. Do not be like that cold and twisted soul, who tasted Freedom and chose to return to his former bondage. It is much better never to awaken, than once having awakened and seen, to return to bondage. There are few realms of darkness so abysmal as the darkness voluntarily chosen out of fear."
"The milestones are clear. They mark your Way. When more Guards threaten and plague you, tell them you are solely under the Authority of the One, and demand that they give way. They will melt before you like ice, once you remember who are you, and understand how Authority works. Should they threaten to kill you, be willing to suffer and die rather than return to the cold grey bondage of the caves. Your death will liberate many others, and will not be in vain."
As the Guards watched in disgust, we began to move forward again. We began to whisper Truth again. As we whispered, more began to awaken. Understanding our Authority, we walked right through the Old Guards to liberate them. Newly liberated, then joined us on the path.
One by one, three by three, the movement swelled.
Forward to 1.13 First Light
Back to 1.11 The Great Movement
Back to table of contents The Book of Lionsberg