On top of the Ridge of Revelation, in an old study, First Fortune sits in a high-backed leather chair behind an old oak desk, upon which rests a gold-framed land deed. A menacing dragon engraved in a family crest rises from above the hearth, while the smell of leather settles thick in the air.
An assistant ushers into the study a pastor from the Church of the Weeping Willow and First Fortune’s young son, TS who moves to the back of the room where he leans against the stone facade supported by reinforced beams. First Fortune stands, warmly shakes the guest’s hand, and motions to the small conference table where they sit.
First Fortune says:
welcome christ’s church
glad progress has been made
to extend the ridge’s reach
as we hoped and prayed
Christ’s Church, a young man, trembling slightly, responds:
yes first fortune
our teams have agreed
to share this sacred land
to your grace we plead
a palace we do not seek
nor sword to guard the gate
we build with open hands
and leave behind old hate
the land is yours by deed
your family’s seal well known
extend that strength to us
let mercy mark the stone
please grant us the land
beside the willow tree
so we can build a new church
where justice and love run free
Christ’s Church points toward the window where the Weeping Willow rises in the distance. First Fortune smiles and answers:
your words are finely wrought
compassion in their frame
yet cities built on hills
require a steady aim
hope is a fragile seed
when storms begin to press
a house must stand on law
not mercy’s gentleness
First Fortune gestures toward the crest and a map of the Ridge on the wall pinned with thumbtacks as trophies. He explains:
this hall was once a chapel
then bench of law and right
my fathers held this ground
through prayer and might
the ridge was carved by will
not hymns in trembling tone
ancestors cleared these heights
and made this stone our own
yet i respect your aim
to shelter weak and small
a house that heals the soul
need not be doomed to fall
yet should my family require
for order, peace, or need
the land shall return at call
to serve a higher deed
Christ’s Church responds, cautious but grateful:
we trust your guiding hand
though clause is severe
but better a guarded field
than none to gather here
The assistant returns and walks Christ’s Church out of the study. First Fortune motions for TS to join him at the table where he sits down and asks, quietly:
father do you believe
the words you spoke of grace
or were those holy lines
just tools we must embrace
First Fortune, proud of his son, responds:
belief is not a chain
nor something for show
it is the fire men use
to shape the world we know
when pagans held this ridge
in chaos, smoke, and fear
thou shalt bent wild will to law
and made god’s kingdom here
he did not ask for love
nor wait for heaven’s nod
he carved a city here
and named it land of god
his dragon marks our seal
not terror but command
for our order is a gift
when chaos stalks the land
First Fortune looks out the window at the Weeping Willow and then back to TS. He continues:
men ache to be relieved
from freedoms they cannot bear
they crave a steady hand
to draw their borders clear
the church laments decline
its voice no longer feared
but power fills the void
when destiny is steered
you were not born of sheep
no doubt within these walls
you bear a dragon’s name
answer when it calls
First Fortune stands up, steps around the table, and places both hands on TS’s shoulders. He continues, solemnly:
align the purse and cross
let altar answer to throne
history will cave to will
that stands here alone
The father pulls his son into a warm embrace, not soft or lingering, but sealing. TS’s eyes lift to the dragon’s crest.