The Troubles with Power
1. There once was a good man in a good land with a good people. They made him king.
When his kingdom was sore pressed by enemies and not all his valor nor the urgent spells of his magicians could turn them away, it so happened that a loyal man-at-arms sought an audience, saying he had somewhat to offer. The king received him, of course. The man spoke with fervor and sincerity. “Sire!” he said. “I will will my life force, the mana of my soul, to you! With that extra might, you will save the kingdom!” The king was horrified. ” You would die. I forbid it,” he barked. “You cannot stop me,” the man said. Zeal gleamed in his eyes, and then his eyes were blank. He fell to the floor. Potency rushed into the king, who vomited.
Others did likewise, to the increasing horror and rage of the king. Filled and overflowing with literal power, the king won the battle and the war. and freed all. A universal golden era set in.
Still filled with power beyond what any normal man could have, and loathing himself for it, the king then worked a mighty work of magic to strip the will from his own subjects such that none could every sacrifice himself again for the king (though he left them their will in other respects–he was, after all, a good man). Something went out of the kingdom with that decree, and a greyness set in among the people, that spread and spread until the golden age ended and the kingdom fell.
2. After many ages of the world, another good king with a good land and good people arose. The path of virtue is never easy so in time this kingdom was too pressed to the very limit, like a dam where water is lapping the surface of the top.
At this desperate point, a soldier offered up his life force to the king. The king thanked the soldier gracefully and accepted. “It is right for a good soldier to desire the good of the kingdom,” he explained to his advisors, “and to know that the highest good of the kingdom is me.” The king had the dead man praised as exemplary in every town and village, put it out throughout the land that any who loved their kingdom enough to make the ultimate sacrifice, at this juncture, should. Some were willing, and with their conjoined strength flowing into him. The king won the battle and the war and conquered all for another universal era of golden peace. But something about the king’s complacency in receiving these sacrifices led to a greyness in himself, that spread and spread until at least the golden age ended and the kingdom fell.
3. And so I knew both kings had been wrong. The one should have not fought so hard against the sacrifice and never should have sought to take away his people’s will. It was only a little bit of will that he took away from them. But that piece of will was the spark of heroism. The other king never should have treated the sacrifice as such a matter of course. That level of entitlement corroded his soul. But what the right answer is, I do not know. How to take the sacrifice without taking it for granted? Should the king have accepted but cut off a finger of his own with each sacrifice? Should the king have carved each zealous soldier’s name into his own flesh? Should he have put on the man’s clothes, walked in his boots, and slept in the man’s bed and at at his board? I do not know.
Filed under: We transcend your bourgeois categories | Tags: gospel of victory, parables, power and authority
E.C.
February 3, 2023
There is a story that deals with almost exactly this conundrum, and I highly recommend it. It is the Death’s Lady trilogy by Rachel Neumeier.
It features a mild-mannered psychiatrist who is trying to treat a *very angry* Jane Doe who tells him a wild story about a kingdom whose people are living under a wicked king. He doesn’t believe a word of it, of course, until . . .
Well, go read it. It is one of those rare stories about a decent human being continuing to be a decent human being in difficult circumstances, and thus becoming heroic.
Belteshazzar, Greatest of the Magicians of Babylon
February 3, 2023
Ah, that is deep magic and thus, it is the easiest to become black magic.
Fortunately, the solution is simple. It is the solution for all sacred and holy things. It must be done by prayer and revelation. That is the only solution.
EC – sounds interesting. I am intrigued.
G.
February 4, 2023
Me too. EC’s last recommendation fell off a bit towards the end of the series but started off phenomenal and was still pretty good throughout, good enough that we bought them all and all read them.
I just ordered the first one, which appears to be called The Year’s Midnight
E.C.
February 4, 2023
Neumeier has stuck the ending so far, though you’ll want to buy books 2 & 3 at the same time because there’s a terrible cliffhanger; she released them simultaneously for that very reason. I will warn you, though, that there’s a drastic tone shift from prosaic to epic between the first and second books, necessitated by a change in scenery, and the fourth book has a different protagonist altogether.
I am not unbiased; I love the main protagonist Daniel unreasonably. He describes himself as a middle-aged man of generally sedentary habits, and yet without ever being a charismatic leader or a great warrior he manages to turn the course of history just by being his own decent self in the midst of some truly awful situations.