Many health crystals down, the scouts returned, they had found the ratman but he was protected by a sheild of evil made real. With blade swinging the monarch lead the battle against the hoard of fierce rats. "Get my Abyssal Blade for it affords me double damage, load up my supply of health crystals, I'll lead us through this nightmare". "Recall the assassins, send them out to scout the ratman". "There is one chance", the oracle gave hope, "if we can find the ratman, we may stop his foul magic and stop this tide of rats". "Then we are doomed, is there not anything we can do?" the monarch was resolute, "we will fight to the last man and woman, we will die proud". "The phases repeat, each harder than the last, there is no end". "Phase one?", the monarch was perplexed, "what are these 'phases' you speak of, how many are there?" "Merely phase one" replied the oracle as more rats erupted from ground, bigger and fiercer than ones they had already bested. "That was quite easy" the monarch beamed. The discarded heads faded to skulls which were crushed under foot. Soon fires were burning through the village with the stench of burning fur and the sulphurous smell of the rain of fire. Potions were bought and toilet paper hoarded. The oracle recalled an ancient text and gave word that the rats should be beheaded and the bodies burned with rain of fire. The rats would not die, healing their cuts and wounds as fast as they were made. The soldiers attacked back, stabbing, slashing and stamping on the vermin. The sun set and the rats came forth, with sharpened tooth and claw, attacking the people of the kingdom. Plans were made, swords were sharpened, patrols doubled. Children told parents and parents gossiped, soon the word spread back to the castle. Dogs cowered and sought out their owners for mutual protection. Cats ran from where they were sleeping to hide. Now throughout the kingdom rats were appearing, scurrying away to hide in dark places, to wait. Shortly afterwards another rat in another place did the same. A rat's head popped out, sniffed the air, then pulled itself free of the ground. Now, there was a scratching sound, coming from the ground. Tomhasir repeated his warnings to the mage, the sword master, the spy master and the oracle and they prepared in their own way, though for what they did not really know. He listened patiently at Tomhasir's warning about the ratman, the evil he could draw from the land, the destruction he could wreak in the kingdom. The king was always wary of the vagrant, his visits were always the portent of something bad happening in his kingdom, and a new set of furniture to get used to. Meanwhile, in another part of the kingdom, Tomhasir had petitioned an audience with the king. It was said that animals avoided him, and if you were wise, you would too. It was said he had the appearance and demeanor of a rat. He had been described as draped in furs with a necklace of small skulls about his neck. The usual sounds of nocturnal animals had been absent in the kingdom for awhile.Ī stranger had appeared in the lands. According to David Bentley Hart, some versions of ancient texts have altered Luke’s version to bring it more into alignment with Matthew’s.įor we also forgive everyone who sins against us.Too quiet. The two versions of the prayer differ a little. They all came back with tales of having healed many, saying to Jesus upon their return, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” Something a bit remarkable to me is that this request comes just after the huge success of the 70 (or 72 – texts vary) whom Jesus had sent out as an advance team to prepare people to hear his message. In Luke, Jesus shares this prayer in response to a request for guidance. In Matthew, Jesus says that we should pray simply, because God already knows what we need. No one asks him how to pray in Matthew rather, it is a direct contrast to the haughty and elaborate prayers of the gentiles. In Matthew, it is a part of the group of teachings that we call “The Sermon on the Mount,” because Jesus went up to a “mountain” to teach the large crowd. The Lord’s Prayer is also found at Matthew 6:9-13. Our scripture is Luke 11:1-13, where “a certain disciple” asks Jesus how to pray. The prayer she’s referring to is what we generally call The Lord’s Prayer. Jacqui is preaching “If We Take This Prayer Seriously…” To those who read these before our Bible in the Middle, I apologize that I’m only sending this just before we meet!
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