A Little Bold

An Iron Age Media Prompt - “The Messenger“

James knelt before the obelisk, knees trembling. He cursed himself for ever getting talked into taking this job. I’m no doctor, he thought, but I think my heart is going to burst if it keeps racing this fast for much longer.

Ah, messenger. What are my people saying about me?

“Nnnn-nothing…my lord”

What?!

“As a humble servant and messenger, I regret to inform you that over the last two weeks, no one has given me any messages for you.”

Ingrates, all of them! They should be pushing and shoving each other just for the chance to get their words heard by me.

“I have a theory, my lord”

Why did I say that? I should not be allowed to speak without having my words approved by a council first. Messenger to a god, what an incredible mistake.

You dare to lecture me or imply that this situation is beyond my comprehension?!

“Of course not, my lord. I am simply a messenger and I have my own message to present to you.”

Proceed

“As is your will. When things are going well for the townspeople here, they praise you, when things go poorly, they curse you or beg for forgiveness. At any given point these days, however, most people are either fine or seemingly indifferent”

Hmm

“In my humble opinion, this appears to be a no-win situation, if you bless them then you reinforce bad behavior, if you curse them you may get some followers through fear, which may not be what you want, or you risk driving them away completely by being seen as impossible to please and as such to be avoided altogether.”

Hmm, an interesting theory.

“What do you want from your people?”

Why would I care what these peons think, much less could even hope to offer?

“Then why does it bother you that no one has a message for you?“

That’s it. My life is over. I hope my wife’s next husband is more intelligent. Maybe this is a dream and I did not just say that to a god. At least it will be quick, I think.

What did you just say to me?

“My sincerest apologies, my lord. It was a slip of the tongue. A foolish statement from a mortal that should be given no consideration or weight.”

Careful that I do not have a slip of my fingers and end your puny and pointless existence.

“It would be an honor, would that my last moments of life be in such close contact with one as magnificent and powerful as you.”

Man, this job is the worst. Being the town drunk would be a less risky job than this. This god is one bad comment away from my total obliteration.

All I ask is that my benevolence as a god be worshipped and praised accordingly. And these plebians, commoners, and gutter trash townspeople have the unmitigated gall to ignore me?! The roof flying off of their houses will be harder to ignore. They forgot where they came from and who runs things. Oh, I’ll be more than happy to remind them. Maybe the next generation will be more grateful…and more alive.

“I-”

Yes?

“Well, I was going to try to vouch for my town but the more I thought about it, the harder a time I am having making our case. We are frustratingly bad at learning from our mistakes or changing things at any large scale. I too hope the next generation does better.”

I see. Are you speaking for your people?

“No. At this moment I am speaking as James Murphy. I have a hard enough time speaking for my town, I would not dare attempt to speak for all humanity. Although I suppose everything I just said would apply to humanity as a whole.”

Hmm, you demonstrate some capability for humility. Maybe all hope is not lost for humanity yet.

“Before I go, may I ask something?”

I suppose so. Speak

What are all of these statues around this altar for? No one in town would tell me anything about them.

These are your predecessors

Like my ancestors?

I chose my words deliberately; you would do well to listen as such. These are the messengers that came before you.

Wait, they aren’t statues?

Insomuch as a magical lightning bolt hitting a human soon-to-be corpse constitutes a statue.

Oh…

Ah memories, let’s see. That one over there, what was his name, oh well it does not matter. He was one of the most irritating humans I have ever encountered, which is saying something. The town knew that and was so tired of him that they convinced him that the messenger position was his true calling in life. It was an easy task as this man’s ego was so large he truly believed that I would be moved by anything he said or swayed by his persuasive abilities, of which he had next to none.

The one next to him, that was another funny one, I was in a bad mood that morning, not sure why, so when he tripped on his way into this sacred area, he was dead before he ever hit the ground. It does not seem unreasonable for me to expect a modicum of reverence in my sacred land.

Other ones: ugly face, hair too long, buck teeth, left-handed, and flat feet.

“Sounds like a very unlucky guy”

I must be the dumbest human to ever live. Who decides that after hearing about how all of their predecessors got killed on the job for literally any reason, that now would be a good time to make a joke?

What? Oh, I see. Ha ha ha. How clever. Very few messengers make jokes. Well, at least very few do so for very long. But that one amused me.

“Your kind words move me deeply, my lord”

And yet, somehow, I manage to live another day. This truly is a strange world I live in.

“One last question if it is not too much to ask of you, my lord”

You are an inquisitive one, how interesting. Go ahead

“I am not questioning your judgment but I cannot help but wonder why you have spared me so many times today. Your patience, immeasurable though it may be, seems to be higher for me and I cannot understand why.”

An astute observation, messenger. As I alluded to earlier, most of your predecessors lacked one of the core traits of a messenger: humility, intelligence, and some level of boldness.

“Well, I have already taken up far too much of your valuable time, my lord. I will depart for now but I look forward to our next conversation.”

Farewell, messenger.