[Mkguild] MK: Sharing the Light

[Mark Lowell]

Cool story!


On 9/25/08, Chris <chrisokane at verizon.net> wrote:
>
>  Good story! Nicely written J  Thanks for sharing it with us!
>
>
>
>
>
> Chris
>
> The Lurking Fox
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> *From:* mkguild-bounces at lists.integral.org [mailto:
> mkguild-bounces at lists.integral.org] *On Behalf Of *Hallan Mirayas
> *Sent:* Friday, September 19, 2008 10:44 PM
> *To:* Furry-Lit Mailing List; Metamor Keep; tsa-talk at lists.integral.org
> *Subject:* [Mkguild] MK: Sharing the Light
>
>
>
> Sharing the Light
>
> by Hallan Mirayas and Charles Matthais
>
>
>
>             "Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum in
> pace:"
>
>
>
>             Father Hough was kneeling at the altar, hands folded, quietly
> chanting the evening prayers when Drift Snow slipped through the entrance
> doors behind him.  The chapel was otherwise empty of people, and the
> boy-priest's voice carried well in the fine acoustics of the room.
>
>
>
>             "Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum"
>
>
>
>             Drift carefully shut the doors, taking care to make as little
> noise as possible.  He frowned, wishing he'd thought to shutter the lante=
rn
> he carried before entering, as it threw new shadows around the room and h=
e'd
> wanted as unnoticed an entry as possible.  Well, too late for that now...
>
>
>
>             "Quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum"
>
>
>
>             The samoyed Keeper recognized pieces of what was being said,
> enough to take a guess at what prayer was being spoken, but his grasp of =
the
> Old Suiel used by the Ecclesia was sparse at best.  He cast his mind back=
 to
> his uncle's translation, hidden in his room, trying to figure out what the
> next line would be, but Father Hough finished before he could remember.
>
>
>
>             "Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuae
> Yehudim.  Amen."
>
>
>
>             Drift waited until Father Hough had made the sign of the yew
> and started to rise before announcing his presence.  "Hello, priest."
>
>
>
>             Father Hough turned, surprised (albeit pleasantly so) to hear
> that particular voice in his church.  "Master Snow.  I did not expect to =
see
> you here.  Welcome."
>
>
>
>             Drift walked in silence around the room, pausing to admire ea=
ch
> of the stained glass windows in turn.  He lifted his lantern when the moo=
n's
> light and the light of the candles around the church were not enough.  The
> seven-sided lantern gleamed brightly in Drift's hand, each surface polish=
ed,
> the glass lightly etched.  "Misha was right," he said finally, without any
> preamble, reaching out to stroke a finger over a particularly rich blue
> pane.  "These are beautiful.  I love stained glass."
>
>
>
>             "Thank you," Father Hough replied, stepping up alongside,
> looking up at the window in front of which the samoyed had stopped, his t=
ail
> gently swishing.  Yahshua sat at the side of a well, and a woman in
> Steppelander clothes stood nearby, a pitcher by her side.  Yahshua's hand
> extended toward her in invitation.  Drift's choice of windows did not
> surprise the boy priest.  "The Steppelander woman at the well.  This is o=
ne
> of my favorites, too."  He let the silence stretch for a few moments befo=
re
> turning to look up at the white-furred Keeper next to him with the slight=
est
> hint of a sad smile at the tension his proximity seemed to reflexively ca=
use
> in the man.  Rather than unkindly draw that tension out, he cut to the
> point.  "But something tells me, Master Snow, that you didn't come all the
> way here to talk about windows."
>
>
>
>             "No," Drift replied, finally turning to look at the boy
> priest.  "I've been doing some thinking over the past month, about what y=
ou
> and Madog said.  After that, I started asking around and what I've heard
> about you has been, without fail, positive."  He stooped to one knee so he
> could look Hough in the eye.  "I don't think you and I are ever likely to
> resolve the issues I have with the Ecclesia hierarchy and their tactics, =
but
> you yourself I think I can trust."  Lowering the lantern, he held it out =
to
> Hough.  "I made this for you.  Please, consider it a peace offering," he
> said with just a hint of ingrained reluctance, "and an apology for
> pre-judging you.  I hope that it can be a reminder for all that our
> differences are less important than the things that we share."  The lante=
rn
> looked undersized in his hand, clearly meant for someone smaller than he.
> His mouth twitched slightly.  "However heretical an idea that might be."
>
>
>
>             Hough's smile fit his face perfectly.  The lantern light danc=
ed
> across his youthful brown curls and sparkled in his eyes. "Thank you, Mas=
ter
> Snow.  This is a lovely gift.  I gladly accept it in the spirit in which =
it
> is given.  We do have more in common than we often recognize." His eyes
> strayed past the lantern to note the way Drift knelt, and then rose to me=
et
> the Samoyed's gaze. "But you shouldn't give up so soon on resolving issue=
s.
> Nothing grieves Yahshua more than to see his children squabble."
>
>
>
>             Drift shrugged.  "This seems pretty amicable to me.  I'm here,
> aren't I?"  He got to his feet and brushed off his knee, his white fur
> almost seeming to glow in the broad sweep of light cast by the slightly
> lensed glass of the lantern.  "Well, I won't keep you from your duties or
> your sleep any longer," he said as he turned to go.  "Goodnight, priest."
>
>
>
>             Hough lowered the lamp, casting his face into the shadows that
> he might see better. "Master Snow?" His voice was curious, soft, and
> welcoming as to a friend. "Why will you not join us?  Your friend Misha h=
as
> been with us many times."
>
>
>
>             Drift paused, looking around, and his ears flicked with
> suppressed irritation as his eye traveled through the Stations of the Yew,
> the procession of statues depicting Yahshua's path from the courts where =
he
> was condemned to death, to fulfilling that death on the yew.  His ears
> flicked most noticeably at the last station, and he quickly turned his
> attention to the windows instead, which seemed to please him more, althou=
gh
> his lips still tightened slightly at a few of them depicting the Virgin
> Mother.  "I'll think on it," he said finally.  "I have my own place for
> worship, but perhaps for special occasions."
>
>
>
>             Father Hough nodded and smiled in a way that must have set ma=
ny
> hearts at ease. "You are always welcome here, Master Snow.  I or one of my
> acolytes will be happy to help in any way we can.  If you prefer, I will
> tell my acolytes to fetch me when you come."
>
>
>
>             Drift half-turned, one ear flicking off to the side in mildly
> baffled curiosity, Hough's smile notwithstanding.  "I was thinking more
> along the lines of Yule or Easter than for  help."  He pondered for a
> moment, running his hand absently along the polished wood of the backmost
> pew.  "Still, I appreciate the offer, and I'll consider it."
>
>
>
>             Hough nodded.  "Of course.  You must do as you feel the Spirit
> Most Holy directs.  We will be happy to have you join us during those most
> wonderful liturgies." He turned to the side and paused, his face lost in
> brief thought when he saw by Drift's expression that his slightly grandio=
se
> choice of wording had not been as well received as he might have hoped.
> After a moment of grasping for a way to repair his small gaffe, he turned
> back to the samoyed, believing he now had the right answer in mind. "Madog
> tells me that you are very gifted in working with the lighter metals, and
> from this I see he is correct.  Perhaps you can aid us here.  One of our
> stanchions was damaged during the attack last Yule, and I have never had =
it
> repaired.  Mayhap sometime you could inspect it?"
>
>
>
>             The apparent shrewdness of the remark was not lost on Drift
> after months of experience with his clever fiance, and his tail swished in
> amusement.  *Trying to bring me back with a little flattery, are you,
> since I've already declined your 'help'?* he thought to himself.  *Let's
> see what happens if I move up the time a little.*  "Madog was being
> generous, as he usually is," he said modestly, leaning forward against the
> pew and supporting himself with his hands, and he couldn't quite keep a
> small smile from his face.  "I've got a few minutes to take a look now, if
> you'd like."
>
>
>
>             Hough smiled and lifted the lantern higher. "Follow me.  It's
> just this way." The priest turned toward the altar, where one of the cand=
le
> stands beside it stood slightly askew, its top and bottom both bent.
>
>
>
>             Drift stood there for a moment, his mouth slightly open,
> feeling like he had when Wolfram had grabbed his arm mid-punch during
> hand-to-hand combat practice the month before and thrown him into a wall.
>  Now, as he had then, he thought, *wait that wasn't supposed to happen.*
> Only when Hough turned to look for him did the samoyed jar back into
> motion.  "Coming"
>
>
>  ------------------------------
>
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-- =

TTFN!!!
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