Ending of a Golden Age
The congregation of five respectfully gathered around the body. They formed a pitiful circle of what few were there. Barely alive themselves, they weakly stood and held onto their neighbor for support. No one said a word, for many reasons, but they all understood each other; this was a great man who had died, no amount of words could do him justice.
The body wasn’t buried, instead it laid exposed to the elements of the extreme north. There were no shovels in the isolated area, and if there were, the permafrost would have deterred any progress. It was a stark contrast to what the mourners knew. The bustling cities, deadly politics, and stubborn religious ideals were now replaced with total isolation, gradual death, and a newfound tolerance of humankind.
Snow fell from the heavens, blanketing the ground. Those who didn’t move or shake it off fell victim to the ever-mounting burden of the continuously falling snow. Unfortunately, the dead couldn’t do either, so gradually the snow concealed their secrets beneath its soft and white self.
A native boy stood by watching the event. The mourners had contacted him when their leader died to find sacred ground to which they would lay him to rest. Deciding it wasn’t wise to stand out in the freezing cold, the boy soon walked away, his snowshoes allowing him to stay above the snowline. He knew the group wouldn’t survive with their shattered clothing and no shoes, but they had insisted, stating that their god was on their side and would save his children. Before he left, though, he recited in broken Latin a legend his tribe knew. It was how that when burying someone, if the gods willed it they would uncover the face of the dead so that they may enter heaven.
As the boy walked into the snowstorm not a single person watched him do so. They knew they were as good as dead, yet none of them tried to survive, they were past that point. Too long have they put up a sword against the iron fist, and every time they were struck down. Defeated and demoralized, they had all but given up. Dying was better than living at this point.
Of course, not everything was this way. Previously Europe was in its Golden Age. There was a general peace and prosperity that every nation faced and embraced. Churches were built and schools, constructed. Children became educated and families, richer. Nevertheless, it was also a time of ignorant bliss. No one heeded the signs of destruction and the world paid dearly for its mistake, for one man would change the world.
The man who did this, his name cannot be spoken without the tongue becoming tied up and a sour feeling in one’s mouth, as if God himself put a curse on the man. He determined, in all the prosperity, to announce his opinions about the state and church publicly and see if his pleas would be answered. At first, the world took little notice of the friar’s views on the humanity, but then he became enraged that none of his wants were being seen to. In response, he talked up a storm and swept the peasants off their feet and with enough support behind his back, he chose to arm them.
Now all eyes were upon him. As he and his army spread throughout the land, so did their support, support for a new government and a new religion. There was no stopping the onslaught, war, nor could assassination attempts hold him back, and with each endeavor on his life, the rebellion would spread. Even the combination of Europe’s armies could do no good against him, the fervor so wild and the rebellion so strong that soldiers deserted and the result was resistance so small it could be stepped on.
And so ended the Golden Age after a decade and a half of warfare, replaced by a tyranny headed by the same man who started it all. His innovative government, dictatorship. His religion he called Reformed, claiming that he ‘reformed’ Europe for the betterment of itself, as he had now unified all of Europe under one banner. Yet surprisingly his toughest confrontation would be after the war and devastation he had caused.
Underground priests preached against him and the religion, though they met stiff competition from the state sponsored cathedrals. They were ruthlessly prosecuted too, but that seemed only to fuel the passion for conflict, and as time went on, more and more people saw the true terrors and began listening to the priests. That is when Abraham Crijnssen came into prominence. The Dutchman was born just as the ‘reformation’ started. From an early age, he developed a disliking to the rebellion. The lowlands did end up being the last area in Europe to be subjugated and because of that, Abraham’s zeal against the uprising fully matured.
With enough power, the priests formed their own independent Catholic theocracy encompassing the lowlands with Abraham at the lead, which made him Pope. Outside support came flooding in, as they were afraid of facing a nearly unified Europe against them, but at the same time, they knew if they left Europe how it was, its ideals would fester. It even seemed for a period like the little state could flourish, but the eyes of the devil focused its might upon it, sending his impressive armies to do his bidding.
The theocracy and its people were prepared, they knew they took a risk and would have to fight for it. Massive walls were constructed and encircling ditches were dug, stakes planted, and swords sharpened. Odds were stacked against them, they didn’t have numerical superiority and a small nation cannot hope stand up to a strong one. They faced a nation, which could field an army, three times their total population, but the theocracy put up a valiant fight, yet in the end, it was crushed. The walls crumbled against war machines, and ditches were walked over, stakes uplifted, and swords bent.
The verdict for the defeated state was genocide, with mass killings everywhere, in attempt to purify the area. The Pope and all the cardinals were sentenced to die a slow death in the northern wastes with just the clothes on their backs. With the victims blindfolded, they had no clue where to go when they were dropped off, and since there was no source of food or water they began to die off, slowly at first but then in large numbers until there were only a handful left.
Trudging through the barrens, they resolved they were going to live. A few died along the way, but they kept on. Abraham fell deathly sick from malnutrition and frostbite, but he hid it from other, and instead kept other members alive by carrying them on his back. They remained diligent until they reached a small native village. It was obvious of their pagan religion, by their idols and nature, but the Catholics believed else wise.
Abraham exclaimed divinely, “Every prophet, every ancient writer, every revolution of the state, every law, every ceremony of the old covenant points only to Christ, announces only him, represents only him, and we have finally found him.”
With that, he collapsed onto the ground, cold. His members were shocked and despaired, and tried to communicate with the natives saying they needed a burial ground. Even through the language barrier, the natives saw their plight and answered it, sending them a boy to take them to the spot along with spare food. The hospitality would have stunned them, though the death confounded them to the core.
Now here the cardinals stand watching over their leader. His entire body had been covered with snow a long time ago, but still they stood like statues, remembering the hard, stone face of their Pope. There was nothing for them to live for, with their stomach filled, but their hearts empty, they were committed to die with their leader and the cause.
Then a wind came, seemingly out of nowhere, battering the mourners as to make them cover their faces. Snow began to lift off the ground and carried by the wind. This in turn revealed the body. The congregation anxiously waited for any signs.
As if the wind was playing a cruel trick, they saw their leader’s face relax and become completely tranquil. It shocked them to their deaths as they, one by one, dropped down to the ground beside their leader and their cause. And so ended resistance to the darkness that would eventually sweep the world.