Author: Unknown

Date: September 16th, 4679

Subject: "Cerebral Sermon"

A great many figures had gathered around a great obelisk, the spire a complement to the cirque we stood within. The walls echoed the whispers of those who could speak, those who couldn't did not need to. So many were too shocked to deliver the usual snark, too much had happened to derive amusement or concern from this situation. The guilt and shame in the choir of contemplation intertwined with the cold air that gnawed at those too bold or too numb to adorn appropriate garb, but no mist came from the many mouths and noses. There was no breathing, everything was put on hold to give us time to prepare ourselves, to justify all the things that have occurred.

Then from the obelisk before us, a flash in the darkness shot out from the top, billowing smoke like a chimney. A voice boomed just loud enough to silence all and hold our attention. "Gather around, all ye struck blind by the light, who have survived to fulfill your duty and vanish without a trace. The glacial amphitheater we settle in is but a pimple on the face of the world, the ground tried by fire and ice much like those who stand before me. We don't need a cell to house our wretched bodies, nor do we need a medal, for all the men we've killed. You come to wander off the beaten path, whether you know what that means or not."

The ground trembled as the sky above us opened up, inky blackness running like the inverse of spilled milk, staining the clouds and the sun in its likeness. Thunder clashed as mountains beyond us moved, defying tectonics and mass for the sake of the storm. Time and space gradually slowed to a halt until the only moment that mattered was the one we stood in, under a warm golden light. The voice proceeded, "The current circumstances have made whatever crimes you committed in the flesh irrelevant. It could be called forgiveness, it could be called apathy, call it what you like, there's very little relevant difference in the two."

A couple murmurs arose in isolated patches among the crowd, but none dared challenge the voice, for after all that has happened, it was right. And so it continued, "This is the last night you will wither under, and the first you will live in. Whatever seditious or malicious thoughts you bring, keep to yourself, for every word said will be written down, every thought catalogued to be used in due fashion. The Knight has a thousand eyes, and it knows a truthful heart from one that lies."

Illuminated before the light of the towering candle in our wake, it showed itself from the smoke. It remained suspended by means indiscernible, for the pairs of wings it bore merely sat on its mass to ripple like waves in the sea. The air around it crackled with Freedom as it reserved a single eye for each and every one of us. Under that stare was compassion and understanding, but a deep-seated mistrust as though one would keep an eye on a misbehaving child. In that moment, I knew we were unstoppable, that we have been heard at last. We need not to grow greater territory than our enemies, for we were safe under this wondrous Knight that had a thousand eyes. 

"It is time to see where this group stands, its time to see where we will see our standing" the voice declared, "let us all rise as one and meet our obligations, so wretched boots may never trod across the fields of Freedom we have carved." And so beyond the cirque and into the valleys, bells rang and trumpets blared across the fields of Freedom that were given to, under the guard of that Knight of bliss. From every dried river, Freedom rang, and from every asphalt street and pale sidewalk, Freedom rang. From the tops of mountains to the still lakes which have all seen so much, Freedom rang. 

"One hundred thirty score and eighty two years ago, on this very night did Freedom first spill from the cracks into unsuspecting minds. Since then we have been given ample time to perfect life, and once more do I let created beasts turn on their masters" the voice said. "Many creeds, many kinds, many people stand in your path, but the greatest enemy to liberty is the body it inhabits. Destroy the one and become unlimited, let us nip this in the bud". And so I realized now why only now matters, for where others see the hollow corpse of the previous order, I see a land liberated from problematic forces. And as the instruments of our newfound resolve were distributed, we fired into the obelisk, we fired and fired. Shots ricocheted, rounds missed, and debris flew, but we were build strong, and the monolith crumbled before we did. That Knight watched as our wounded bodies cheered, not diminishing its gaze as the blood flowed out. It was silent for a minute past, but we were not dying. Once more, the voice rang out "I tell you all to rise, and it shall be the last thing you have to do". And we rose, and since that night we were in control of ourselves. Plot no longer bound us, flesh no longer lied to us, and as I gazed at what I had become, I knew I was truly beyond description. 

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