#I don’t think anyone is denying that young people compose a large portion of the current conservative bloc | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

chancellormatt · 6 years ago

Text

Voltron Rewrite Episode Eight - Grand Regent

Princess Allura steps inside what appears to be a holding cell flanked by Coran and Romelle.

Two alteans sit on the opposite end of the room. One is an older, bearded man, and the other is a young woman, possible a teenager. They look up as Allura enters, but their eyes soon take on a darker, more skeptical look.

“ Hello there. I am Princess Allura, last in line of the altean royal family....I understand that you opted for a cell instead of remaining in your medical beds?” Allura says looking on both with concern. “After what you were through you really should be properly resting. Regardless of what you think you know about us, I am willing to make as many accommodations as I can for fellow Alteans.”

“Princess huh?” The bearded man says, scoffing. “Well you can save your ‘accommodations.’ We heard all about you and your propaganda against Prince Lotor, and we aren’t having it. Lotor is our savior and there’s nothing you can do to change that. You too Romelle, we have no interesting in hearing your traitorous words.”

Romelle grits her teeth and makes as if to shout back at the man, but Coran puts a hand on her shoulder and shakes his head. Allura by contrast is composed. She glances back at the other two and nods appreciatively before continuing.

“...You and I see the man know as Prince Lotor differently. There’s no denying that. But we are all alteans, and regardless of how much or little you respect my title, I do still think of you as my people and feel responsible for what happens to you. I want to help you. Please, let me do that.”

The bearded man scoffed. “So then ‘Princess,’” he says it mockingly, “where were you all those centuries? Why, after never having even heard of you for generations, should we suddenly trust that you have our best interests in mind? Where were you when Lotor saved us from the brink of extinction? Did you give us a home when we needed one? DId you shelter us from the horrors of the universe? No. It was Lotor.”

Allura looks physically struck by the words but she composes herself quickly.

“Coran here and myself were forced to hide the Castle of Lions and go into cryosleep to help conceal Voltron from Zarkon’s grasps. I would have done anything to be there...but no. We had our duty, and that was to ensure that the greatest weapon in the universe did not fall into the hands of a mad tyrant.”

“So you...what? Left all of your people to die so you could protect some weapon? It’s clear to see what you truly value.”

“That’s not-

“Oh, and we saw your little ‘Voltron’ or your imitation of the real one anyway. I guess you did beat myself and Vatta. But only just. And yours will pale in comparison to the real one. The one on our side.”

Allura winces at that. The old man sits forward interested.

“Ah...so our Voltron did show up after. I wish I’d been awake to see that. I’ll bet you paled in comparison to Lotor and the other real Paladins.”

Allura doesn’t say anything. That seems to be all the confirmation the man needs. He chuckles.

“You may have caught us Princess, but we’re going to win this war in the long run.”

“I don’t want a war!” Allura nearly shouts. “I just want peace, for once, in my life! I want all the fighting to stop! Isn’t ten thousand years long enough!? Or does your precious savior Lotor tell you that all the death and sufferings is going to be worth it!? I don’t know what he’s promised you at the end of this road, but it's not enough!”

The man scowls and turns away.

“...I’ve got nothing more to say to you.”

Allura clenches her fists tightly, but relaxes after a moment. She takes a long breath, and turns to address the other altean.

“What about you? Are you as hard-headed as your companion? Or will you at least give me the benefit of a civil conversation?”

The girl, who up to this point had been silent, looks surprised to be addressed.

“Come on Vatta.” Romelle urges. “Are you really going to listen to old Gratva over there? You know me. And you know how strange things became at the Colony. This Second Colony Lotor alway spoke of, yet we never saw? Don’t you wonder as all what he was really doing?”

“I…” the girl hesitates. She looks as though she might say something. But, after a look from Gratva, she averts her eyes and shakes her head. “...I have nothing to say to any of you.”

Allura’s eyes looked pained. Not surprised. “I’m...sorry you feel that way. I will make sure you are well fed and taken care of. I suppose it is the very least I can do.”

With that, the three of them walk out of the room.

***

Keith stands alone in the field outside the Garrison base. He holds his bayard, extended into its sword form. He is going through a rotation of strikes and swings. He changes his stance as he goes back and forth between different types of moves, cutting and stabbing through empty air. After several moments he stops and dismisses his bayard. He then pulls out his mamoran blade, extends it to his sword-length and begins a new set of drills with it.

After a time practicing with the mamoran blade, he summons his bayard once again, and this time begins a drill using both blades. He continues this drill until he is dripping with sweat. Finally, he takes a moment to catch his breath. He glances down and both weapons, and holds them up, as if weighing them.

“Glad to see your combat skill are still holding up...” A voice says.

Keith spins around to see Krollia along with Kolivan.

“...even if your perception skills could use a little work.” His mother says with a ghost of a smile. “If we were enemies there could be a knife in your back right n-”

“Mom!” He says grabbing her in a hug.

Krollia looks stunned by the action and doesn’t seem to know what to do. After a moment Keith stepps back, looking embarrassed.

“Uh...sorry about that.”

Krollia shakes her head and smiles. “Don’t be. I did go and leave before you even got back. I apologize, but it couldn’t be helped. We needed to act fast.”

Keith nods. “What were you guys up to anyway?”

“We knew that Zarkon returning would fill the power vacuum in the Galra empire.” Kolivan says cutting in. “So we had to do our best to mitigate his consolidation of power.”

“...meaning?” Keith asks, looking a little confused.

“Meaning we contacted all the Galra Warlords that hadn’t already bent the knee to Zarkon. Some, as it turned out, are not so keen on going back to the things the way they were.”

“Wait, you mean there are Galra who don’t want to join up with Zarkon? Outside the Blades, I mean.”

“Indeed.” Kolivan nodded. “Four of the more powerful ones have agreed to a meeting with the Coalition. If all goes well we may be able to convince a large portion of Galra forces to join our side of this war.”

“This...this is really good news.” Keith says taking a step back, still looking surprised.

“I...wouldn’t get my hopes up just yet.” Krollia says carefully. “They’ve only agreed to meet, and even then it may just be a stalling tactic. No one wants to had over their new territories back to Zarkon. There’s also...a catch.”

“What is it?”

Krollia takes a breath. “They want to talk to the leader of Voltron. In person.”

Keith blinks. “Meaning...me.”

Krollia shrugs.

“It's worth mentioning that this could be a trap.” Kolivan puts in.

“Do you think it is?” Keith asks.

“As far as we can tell? No. They genuinely appear to want to avoid joining with Zarkon, and we have not intercepted any intel to suggest they are secretly working with him already.”

Keith sighs.

“I know this isn’t really where your abilities are...the strongest.” Krollia says carefully. “But I also don’t think I have to tell you how important it is that you be here for this. The warlords won’t come if you don’t.”

Keith sighs again. “I don’t think I’ll be doing much good talking to them...but I’ll go. If it means that It’ll make the difference, I’ll go.”

Krollia puts a hand on his shoulder and nods. “We’ll be right there with you.”

“With an escape route planned out.” Kolivan added.

Keith chuckles. “Well I guess I should see what the other Paladins think of this…”

***

“So you want to go talk to a bunch of those Galra warlords we’ve spent all this time fighting for the past few month to get them to...join our side?” Lance asks with uncertainty.

The Paladins along with the Coalition command are all gathered around a table in a meeting room, with Keith sanding at it's head.

“Uh...yeah.” Keith says.“It's kinda the best option we have at the moment. Even if we’ve discovered where Zarkon and his ‘Darktron’ came from, we still need to figure out a good strategy to beat him. Evening the numbers seems like a good place to start. Does...anyone have a problem with that?” Keith looks at the other Paladins hopefully.

The other Paladins exchange looks and shrugs.

“It's the logical move.” Pidge points out.

“It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve worked alongside Galra.” Hunk shrugged.

“Guess it makes as much sense as anything else.” Lance finally admits.

Keith sighs with relief.

“Good. Now that we’re in agreement...we need to figure out who’s coming.”

The other Paladins exchange confused looks.

“What do you mean? Shouldn’t we all go?” Pidge asks.

“The Galra didn’t specify that Voltron or even all the Paladins would have to be there for the meeting. There’s also the possibility that this is a trap and it could be better if we aren’t all there when things go south. Having a few lions back here could mean the difference between all of us falling into a trap, and a few of us still being free and able to mount a rescue.”

“Wouldn’t...wouldn’t it make a stronger statement if all of Voltron was there? Together?” Allura, who had been silent up ot this point asks, with clear hesitance.

Keith rubs the back of his neck. “You’re probably right but honestly...I kind of think a lot of us really could use some time back here, especially after everything that happened on our last trip.”

Lance Pidge and Hunk do not say anything, but their looks confirm Keith’s words.

“I see.” Allura says noting her teammates expressions. “You’re right, I...hadn’t considered that.” She looks down.

“I was also hoping that you’d be the one to join me in this, Allura.”

“Me?” She asks looking up with confusion.

“You’re the only one of us with any kind of diplomatic training. I don’t really know anything about politics and negotiations and I can’t think of anyone that I’d want by my side more…even if I think Shiro should be there too. But-”

“-I’d be better served back here.” Shiro finishes.

Keith sighs but nods. Allura looks uncertain.

“I rather think my recent attempts at diplomacy have been met with...less than ideal results.” She says.

“Well there’s no way you’d do worse that I would on my own. I don’t think I could convince a fish to swim. Not without threatening it first anyway.”

“Did….did Keith just make a joke!?” Lance exclaims.

Allura still looks uncertain but that puts a smile on her face.

“I guess there’s nothing for it.” She says. “When do we leave?”

“As soon as possible. Grab everything you might need and be at your lion in ten.”

“Yes sir.” She says giving a salute that seems half joking and half actually genuine. Lance looks at her with an uncertain look. No one else seems to notice.

“The rest of you guys…” Keith says.

“I think we’ll have plenty to do back here.” Pidge replies.

“You can say that again.” Hunk adds.

***

Allura, clad in her Paladin armor, marches towards the Blue Lion.

“I really think I ought to be joining you Princess!” Coran urges from where he walks beside her.

“I’ll be fine Coran. Besides, you have much work to do on the Castle ship. I don’t want to drag you away from that. As much as you’re trying to hide it, I know you’re excited.”

“The Castle can wait.” He mutters in half-hearted protest.

“It’s going to be okay Coran, we’ll be back before you know it.”

“This wouldn’t be the first time for you to say that and be wrong.” Coran points out.

“Very well, if this turns out to be a trap or goes horribly wrong, you may see fit to join the party to come and rescue us.”

“As if I wouldn’t do that regardless!” Coran scoffs.

Allura chuckles.

“Hey Allura!” A voice calls from behind.

The two turn to see Lance running up.

“Can I uh...talk to you?” He asks hesitantly.

Allura studies him for several moments. Lance looks very uncomfortable. Finally she nods. “Do you mind?” She asks Coran.

“Not at all miss.” He sighs. “Take care on your mission. I remain certain that if this is not a trap, the Galra will be groveling by the time you’re done with them.”

“Oh yes that seems likely.” She says rolling her eyes.

“Hurry back Princess.” Coran says ignoring the comment. She nods and he runs off, leaving Allura and Lance alone. They stand there for several moments, in awkward silence.

“This is...about what I said before.” He says eventually.

Allura looks down nodding.

“I’m sorry.” They both say in unison.

They blink, each surprised with the other.

“Sorry?” Lance says with disbelief. “Why the heck would you be sorry?”

“Well I…I was callous towards your feelings. I rejected you, then left without even properly explaining my reasons and caused you what I must imagine was a good deal of embarrassment.”

Lance chuckles to himself, earning a confused look from Allura.

“Allura, you really don’t have anything to be sorry about. To be honest you told me exactly what I needed to hear. Even if it didn’t seem like it at the time.”

If Allura was confused before, she is utterly dumbfounded now.

“Lemme explain,” Lance say noticing her look. “I was pretty crushed after it happened but let’s be honest, that was completely my fault. Dropping that on you...it was pretty thoughtless of me. Eventually I figured out that...well okay, Pidge pointed out, that I should have thought about what you were feeling around that time. That you had just found out Lotor was back and what I said was...well probably the last thing you wanted to hear.”

Allura gives the barest of nods.

“Figures. Well I’m sorry about that. Funny thing was though, I learned something about myself from all this: I...don’t think I’m actually in love with you.”

“You...?”

“Yeah.” He shrugs. “I think I was sorta just falling in love with idea of you. I was giving you this image that wasn’t real. That wasn’t fair to you or me. To be honest, i think I’ve done that too many times. This is me trying to break the cycle. So uh...I guess that’s all I have to say. Oh and I really hope we’re still friends. It’d suck if I ruined that.”

Allura stares at him for a long time without saying anything. Then she smiles. “Lance you’ve shown an incredible amount of maturity saying all that. I can think of few people who would be that open and honest with themselves. You’re a good man, and it has always been, and always will be my honor to be your friend.”

“Ah shucks, what are you trying to make me fall for you for real Princess?” He says with a chuckle.

Allura chuckles as well. “Forgive me but I’m going to have to let you down easy there!”

They both laughed a while at that.

***

Lance walks back to where Pidge and Hunk stand, just outside the Garrison base.

“What was that all about?” Pidge asks, doing her best to look indifferent.

“Hm? Oh I just apologized and told Allura that I wasn’t actually in love with her.”

“You what!?” Pidge says shocked. Hunk looks equally taken aback.

“Yeah. Thought about what you said. Plus, I had a talk with my sis and granny. You were right. I was just being immature.”

Pidge can only stare.

“Are...you really Lance? “ Hunk asks, eyeing his friend. “Sure you didn’t get replaced by a shapeshifting alien or something?”

“Hey, I can have my good moments!”

Pidge studies him, but Lance doesn’t seem to notice. He turns back to watch the Black and Blue lions take off. The three remaining Paladins wave as their teammates race off into the sky, along with the Blades’ ship.

“So you’re really not into Allura anymore?” Hunk asks.

“She just wasn’t the girl for me man. Guess that was always true, just had to finally figure it out.”

“This mean you just gonna go back to chasing every girl that comes your way?” Pidge says nudging him with her elbow.

Lance considers. “...I think...for once, I’ll take my time. I figure sooner or later I’ll find the right girl, and rushing things won’t make anything happen sooner.”

“No rush huh?” Pidge says watching the lions disappear from sight. Her eyes flicker over to lance and she shakes her head. “I think that’s probably the best idea you’ve had in a while…”

***

The Black and Blue Lions, along with the Blades’ ship pull to a stop in the space in front of a planet. The planet has several moons, one of which is very close to where they sit. Across from them, hovering over the moon are four Galra cruisers.

“You guys ready for this?” Keith asks.

“I suspect I am as ready as can be expect for...this.” Allura replies.

“We’re ready Keith.” Krollia says simply.

He nods and takes a breath. “Here we go...Attention Galra ships! This is Keith, of the Paladins of Voltron, here to negotiate for the terms of a truce.”

For a tantalizing moment there is silence. Then, a voice crackles on the other hand.

“We read you Keith of Voltron. The commanders are already waiting for you on the surface. Sending coordinates now.”

“Roger that.” Keith says, as a holographic screen shows the received coordinates. With that he pushes his Lion into motion with the other two following close behind.

The surface of the moon is covered in dark blue grass across rolling hills. The moon’s host planet is large in the sky, with a more distant red sun in the background.

“Beautiful.” Allura notes, as she steps outside her Lion.

“Yeah.” Keith agrees. “Too bad we’re not here to sightsee.”

They turn to face an imposing base made of dark metal. Galra sentinels guard the doorway to the facility. Keith and Allura leave their Lions behind, while the Blades pour out from their ship and surround the two Paladins.

They march towards the exit with caution, but the sentinels do not stop them, only tilting their robotic head to watch their approach. As they reach it, the large door opens of its own volition. The group enters, finding a long corridor with more sentinels at the end in front of a second, smaller door. They walk down to the end to stand in front of the sentinels. After several moments of silence, the sentinels step aside, and the door pulls open. Keith and Allura enter the next room, to find the Galra leaders seated at a table, staring at them.

The table is circular, with the Galra leaders sit along its length at regular intervals. Each have their guards, standing at different corners of the room. On the left side, sits one massively muscles galra, with a scar down his cheek. The next one past that is a female galra with shotly cut hair, and a serious expression. The third one over to him is a lankier, tall galra man with a prosthetic eye. At the end is a squatter, but still solidly build galra who smiles the moment he sees Keith and Allura

.“OHOHOHO! Well look who’s come crawling to me!?”

Keith cringes visually. He takes a closer look at the Galra who just spoke.

“Skriel? I thought you went down with your ship when we took out your fleet.” Keith says with more than a hint of disappointment.

“Bah! I am not that easy to kill! And besides, you did not destroy my fleet, only a small portion of it! You’re going to have to try harder than that to be rid of me, hahaha!”

“Skriel I know you love the sound of your own voice, but could we perhaps get this meeting underway sometime this quintet?” The female galra says.

“Oh stuff it Erva! You always were a buzzkill! Yaknow this is the reason you never got promoted past-”

“I think,” Allura cut in, “that getting started would be a splendid idea,”

Skriel grumbles but the rest of the galra seemed to agree, if silently.

Allura nodded to Keith and motions for him to sit first. He does so. Allura sits next, taking the seat to his left. Kolivan sits at his right, while Krollia and the rest of the Blades remain standing.

Allura scanned the faces of the Galra warlords and nodded. “Thank you for agreeing to this meeting, as per your request, I would like to formally present you all the Paladin of the Black Lion, member of the Blade of Marmora, and Leader of Voltron, Keith Kogane of Earth.”

“Uh...hello there.” Keith said.

Allura winced slightly. The only reaction form the Galra leaders was an unimpressed sniff from Skriel.

“I am Princess Allura, daughter of King Alfor, and fellow Paladin of Voltron.” Allura went on, and made as if to introduce Kolvian but he waved her off.”

“I am Kolivan, Commander of the Blade of Marmora.”

There was a series of shared looks from the galra warlord’s side of the table.

“Guess I’ll start on our end, then.” The big galra with the scar said in a gruff voice. “I am called Ublok the Strong. I control from the Midara system to the Croalva pass.”

“I’m Captain Erva, and I control the entire Obva cluster.” The female galra says simply.

“I suppose I am next, then.” The galra with the prosthetic eye says. “I am Commander Mutava. As far as my territory is concerned, we tend to...move around quite a bit.”

Skriel snorted. “He means he’s a pirate that runs around looting anyone that happens to come across.”

“What can I say? I’ve never been one to put down roots…” Mutava sat back interlacing his fingers.

Skriel, dismissing the other from his sight, grinned and stood up. “While I know I require no introduction, you shall have it anyway! I am Commander Skriel! The Crusher of Paladins, Destroyer of Worlds and future Emperor of the Galra!”

Keith wasn’t the only one to sigh at that.

“I also control everything from the Ill’va straits to the Kranna system. If my math is right...oh yes, that makes me the one with the most territory here, haha!”

The others do their best to ignore him.

“Well now that introductions are out of the way, shall we begin the dis-”

“Yeah I got a question!” Skriel cut in. “Why should we sign on with your Voltron Colatition, when Zarkon showed he can easily beat you?”

The room went dead silent.

“Well?” Skriel prodded.

Keith looks uncertain, so Allura quickly jumps in. “-Zarkon’s appearance, as I’m sure it was to all of you, came as a great shock. We were caught off balance, and unprepared. Not to mention the fact that we had only just finished a great battle with two other powerful mechas. Rest assured that next time we will be ready for him.”

“Ohhhh!” Skriel said exaggerated. “You’ll be ready next time! Well isn’t that comforting!?”

“What my smaller friend is saying, is that you have not proved your strength.” Ublok says. “We do not see a reason to join with a group that is not strong enough to stand against the returned Zarkon.”

“Haven't proved our strength!?” Keith exclaims. “Where have all you been the past two years!? We took down Zarkon once already! We’ve been trouncing you guys pretty much every encounter we’ve had! Oh and did I forget the part where Lotor created his own trans-dimensional mecha and we beat him too!?”

“If I may.” Commander Mutava speaks up. “You did indeed beat Zarkon the first time, but you had Voltron. He didn’t.”

“He had his own mecha.” Keith replies.

“You didn’t just have any mecha, you had the greatest weapon in the universe.. He effectively brought a sword to a cannon fight. Zarkon was always strong, but even he didn’t stand a chance.Your victories against us hold to the same principle. As for Lotor...the evidence of that fight has never been confirmed so I’m afraid we must discount it. ”

“Like any of you have every cared about a fair fight.”

“Oh I don’t care for fair fights in the slightest. In fact, that’s our current problem. It is now a fair fight. This time Zarkon has his own cannon, his own Voltron, and he seems better at using it it than you.”

Keith looks unsure of how to reply to that. Allura clears her throat.

“Is that not then the purpose of this meeting? You need us as much as we need you. Alone Zarkon may prove near impossible to defeat, but together, Voltron and Galra together can bring him down. For good.”

“And what about after?” Captain Erva suddenly says. All eyes turn to her. “Let’s say this all goes well. We find a way to beat Zarkon, and everything’s back to square one. Then what? Will you really let us keep the worlds we hold? The systems we’ve taken? Or will you simply return to slowly bringing us down one by one, as before?”

Even Allura doesn’t seem to know how to reply to that.

“That’s what I thought.” Erva nods. “So why join forces with a group that will do away with us the same as Zarkon? Maybe you’ll take longer, but it's the same end result.”

“Zarkon will burn your worlds, everything you’ve ever taken!” Keith says. “He’ll kill you. We’re not like that. We want to find a peaceful solution if we can.”

“Peace! Ha!” Skriel laughs. “Who ever said we wanted peace!?”

“Everyone wants peace.” Allura insists.

“Only the weak want peace, so the strong lose their power.” Ublok says dismissively.

“You don’t understand galra girl, we like the fight, the conquest! It's what makes us feel alive!”

“Speak for yourself Skriel.” Kolivan says. “Some of us are tired of the constant warring, death and destruction.”

“Bah! The Galra empire was founded on war! Or have you forgotten what Vrepit Sa means?”

“Just because things have been a certain way does not mean they must stay like that.” Allura objects. “During the rule of my father the galra-”

“Why to do people who hold no territory keep talking?” Skriel interjects. “I thought we came to speak to the leader of Voltron? Not a half-breed boy his gutless spymaster,, and pet Altean! Tell me, how did peace work out for your father?”

Allura looks struck by the remark. Skriel chuckles.

“That’s what happens to ones who spend all their time talking, and dreaming of peace. Really girl your father got what he-”

Keith stands up, slamming both fists on the table.

“One more word,” he says, with cold eyes, “and you’ll regret it.”

“Ohoho! Is the half-breed runt finally showing a spine!?” Skriel grins. “Why don’t you put your sword where your mouth is, then! I was fighting in gladiator matched before you were born, whelp!”

“How about you…” During the exchange, Allura’s gaze flickers between the two, then to the other galra. Her eyes widen and she gets a smile on her face.

“...before I stick my bayard somewhere that’ll make sure you never sit right again!”

“Is that a challenge boy?” Skriel asks.

Keith looks about ready to leap over the table, but hesitates. He takes a breath and relaxes slightly. “...I-”

Allura puts a hand on his shoulder and whispers in his ear: “Do it.”

“What?” he says pulling back.

“Not just Skriel. Challenge all of them.”

“Why? I thought...I thought we were supposed to handle things politically?”

“Keith, this is galra politics.”

He looks at her dubiously.

“Trust me.” She says.

Slowly Keith nods. He turns back to the warlords.

“...yes, it is a challenge. I’ll take all of you on, I don’t care! This clearly has been a waste of all our time, so let’s just get to the part where we fight!”

The warlords look like this is exactly what they were waiting to hear.

“...gladly.” Skriel says, pressing a button on the table.

Suddenly, the table pulls down into the floor, forming a circle there. As this happens, one guard from each of the warlord’s parties step forward to present their respective leader with a weapon. Ublok takes a large glowing mace, that he swings experimentally. Erva wields a standard galra sword, but she holds it with a careful, experienced grip. Mutava bears a weapon with a long energy tether, that ends in a pointed blade with a hook. Finally, Skriel takes hold of his axe, it's edge glows with violet.

“You...can beat them right?” Allura says, sounding suddenly worried.

“After everything we’ve been through? Four galra warlords should be easy right?” Despite this, Keith has a momentary look of uncertainty as the warlords brandish their weapons.

He pulls out his bayard and his mamoran blade, holding the two for a moment, as if deciding. He ultimately puts the mamoran blade back into his belt and extends out his bayard to it's sword blade.

“...shall we keep the rules simple?” Skriel says. “Leave the circle, you’re out. Get knocked out or can’t continue, you’re out. If you die...well., obviously you’re out. Understand Kogane?”

“Sound good to me.” Keith says narrowing his eyes.

Then as one, all five step inside the circle. Skriel, to the surprise of no one, is the first to move.

“Time to pay you back for my Paladin Crusher, half-breed!” He yells charging at Keith, swinging his axe.

Keith dives to the side, avoiding the axe blade. He rolls back up to his feet just in time for Erva to swing her sword for his neck. Keith parries with his bayard, diverting her attack, while driving one of his own forwards. She jumps back, avoiding the bayard’s edge. Mutava and Ublok take the opportunity to make their moves. Mutava throws out his tethered blade, wrapping it around Keith’s bayard. At the same time, Ublok swings his massive mace for Keith’s skull. Rather than pull against the tether, Keith leaps toward Mutava, kicking the galra in the chest as the mace smashes into the floor where he just stood. Mutava stumbles, back, nearly stepping out of the circle, but catches himself just in time.

Keith whirls around just in time to see Skriel and Erva charging at him, swinging blades. He materializes his shield using it to block Erva’s sword, then parries Skriel’s axe with his bayard. He then kicks Skriel back, causing the galra to stumble, and swings his bayard for Erva’s shoulder. She blocks and shuffles back. Keith moves to advance on her.

“Hey I’m not done with you yet!” Skriel cries, running at Keith again.

However, the squat galra is knocked out of the way, by the charging Ublok. The large galra swings his mace once, twice, three times. Keith ducks below the first, dodges the second, but the third he is forced to use his shield to block. The force of the blow still sends Keith flying back, tumbling along the floor. He slides, nearly to the end of the circle. Groaning, Keith pushes himself back up. The four galra are advancing towards him. He glances over to see a worried Allura. Krollia looks about jump in herself. Even Kolivan seems uncertain.To their surprise he grins.

“Don’t give me those looks. I’m just getting started. Besides...” He turns back to the advancing galra. “...this is kinda fun.”

With that, Keith dismisses his shield, pulls out his mamoran blade, extending it to it's full length. Then he charges at the Galra warlords. Skriel is the nearest, and he is already swinging his axe for Keith’s head. Keith sidesteps the attack, letting the axe bury itself in the floor. Keith then puts a foot on Skriel’s shoulder and uses him as a step up to leap into the air. He sails right for a shocked Ublok, foot-first. Ublok is unable to move in time, so Keith collides with the large galra knocking him to the floor. Keith then leaps off the fallen galra and launches himself at Mutava. Keith swings both blades wildly, not giving the galra a chance to counterattack. Mutava is forced to take the tether in both hands, as he struggles to block Keith’s onslaught. Despite his best efforts, Mutava still earns a cut on his arm from Keith’s marmoran blade. Before Keith can do more, Erva charges him from behind. Keith steps to the side, throwing out his leg, tripping the woman causing her to crash into Mutava. He is thrown out of the circle and only barely avoids stops herself from falling out as well.

Keith taunts her with a come hither motion using his marmoran blade. Erva growls, then darts for him. At the same time, Skriel charges for Keith’s back. He knocks Erva’s sword aside with his bayard, ducks to avoid Skriel’s axe, which nearly hits Erva.

“Watch it Skriel!” She hisses.

“Not my fault you’re in the way of my attack!” he retorts.

Keith Jumps back up, parrying and blocking the two opponent’s strikes with his own two blades. Keith ducks another attack from Erva then makes as if to counter her, but instead turns to slice at Skriel, grazing him and forcing him to stumble back.

At this point, Ublok is back on his feet, and charging for Keith. Erva moves to bring her sword down on Keith’s head, however Keith knocks her strike aside with enough force to cause her to stumble. He then ducks as Ublok’s mace swings through the space Keith just vacated, and smashes into Erva instead. The woman is thrown well clear of the circle, and crashes to the floor in a heap.

Keith sighs shaking his head. “You guys are just no good at teamwork.”

Ublok sniffs and makes another swing at Keith’s head. Keith dives forward, avoiding the blow and moving inside Ublok’s guard. He swings his bayard into one of the galra’s legs, as he runs past. Ublok falls to one knee, and swings at Keith in vain. Keith moves forward again making as if to swing for Ublok’s face. Ublok tries to counter with a heavy horizontal swing. Keith however, steps back at the last moment, and the mace swings past, with Ublok sent off balance by his own missed attack. Keith moves forward, fully committed this time, and slices Ublok’s hand with the marmoran blade. Ublok drops the mace, pulling back his injured hand. His eyes widen and he reaches for the mace with his other hand. Keith is faster. He drops his blade and dismisses his bayard so he has both hands free to snatch up the mace. Hefting it in both hands, Keith swings the mace in an uppercut to Ublok’s chin. The big galra falls back down to the floor, soundly unconscious.

Keith tosses the mace aside, resummons his bayard and picks back up his marmoran blade. He turns to face his one remaining opponent: Skriel.

“Ohoho! Just you and me is it? This is the way it should be anyway!”

“Come get me then Skriel. I’m right here.” Keith replies.

Skriel obliges. He charges forward, axe swinging wildly. Keith deflects, blocks and parries each of the galra’s strikes with ease. Keith throws out a kick after knocking away another of Skriel’s strikes. Skriel is hit in the gut and stumbles back, falling to one knee.

“Ack!” He cries out.

Keith moves in to finish him.

“Just kidding!” Skriel leaps back up suddenly, axe aimed for Keith’s face. Keith manages to block the swing by crossing both blades together, but Skriel privots the heft of his axe, smashing the lower end of the handle into Keith's side. Skriel swings the axe again, forcing Keith to retreat back a few steps.

“No so confident now eh!?” Skriel taunts.

Keith narrows his eyes. He spins both blades experimentally. He takes one step forward, going into a stand where he is holding the marmoran blade in front of him. Then he shifts the stance so the bayard is in front. Then he shifts back to the first stance.

Skriel’s eyes flicker back and forth between the two blades, trying to determine which will be the first to swing. Without warning Keith pulls back and throws his bayard at Skriel.

Shocked by the action, Skriel has to scramble to hastily block the thrown bayard, putting himself off balance in the process. Keith uses the opportunity to move in and swing for Skriel’s head. Skriel tries to block, but Keith’s marmoran blade knocks the axe aside. With his body complete exposed, Keith slams his shoulder into Skriel’s chest knocking the galra to the floor. Keith then throws out his free hand, and his bayard transports from where it fell back into his hand, to rest the tip against Skriel’s neck. Skriel swallows hard.

“Do...do you think I’ll surrender? Or beg for my life? Swear to do anything if you let me live? Hrm! I’ve still got my pride as a galra!”

Keith looks down at Skriel tilting his head. “You know I could end this here? Sure maybe we’d be out of a few allies, but I could take all of your warlords off the board. If we can’t have you, why let you go crawling back to Zarkon after?”

For a moment Skriel almost looks afraid. Keith sighs, and dismisses his bayard.

“But I’m not Zarkon. And you did come here for a reason. Come on, let’s stop this nonsense and work together to beat Zarkon, to fix the damage we’ve both done. There’s been enough fighting between our people.” Keith offers his hand to help Skriel up.

Skriel eye the hand curiously. Rather than take it, he turns to the other galra, who are starting to recover. They share a collective look, and all nod. All four warlords go into a kneeling position and put a closed fist on their chest.

“We pledge our service to you Keith Kogane, until our dying breaths! Vrepit Sa!” They all cry out in unison.

Keith steps back blinking in confusion. “...what?”

Allura sighs and steps forward.

“This is what they wanted from the start, Keith.”

“What do you mean?”

“They walked into this room hoping to join up with you instead of Zarkon. But, they needed to know that you were strong enough to be their leader. All that talk earlier, was just their roundabout way of getting to this fight. Now that they’ve seen your strength for themselves…” She motioned to the still kneeling galra.

Keith looks daunted by that. “So...what about all that serving to their dying breaths? We just wanted an Alliance!””

“And we wanted a leader.” Skriel said looking up. For the first time the galra has a solemn look on his face. “After Zarkon returned we knew we’d never be able to stand against him, even if we did all join our forces together. We just aren’t...strong enough.”

“So, when the Blades came to us offering a parley, Skriel was quick to talk of its merits.” Mutava explained. “He spoke highly of the ones that handed him his soundest defeat in ages. It was...intriguing.”

“I did not believe a half-breed could be as strong as he claimed...” Ublok says. “...I am glad to have been proved wrong today, Keith Kogane.”

“I just figured that if we’re going to fight against Zarkon and his Voltron, we may as well do it with a Voltron on our side, too.” Erva says, then she reluctantly adds: “Plus I was surprised to see Skriel pushing someone other than himself to be the leader.”

Keith looks between the four, still uncertain.

“...Zarkon’s strong.” He finally says. “If all you care about is strength why not go back to him? Why side with the paladins that have been fighting you all this time?”

“Strength is important…” Skriel says, nodding. “...but Zarkon was a cruel, ruthless leader. He cared not for his people, only for the conquest itself. Many of us pretended that did not matter to us. It did. Zarkon dominated the galra for ten thousand years, with more ruthlessness than was ever necessary. What was nearly as bad was that many of us followed suit. We served a monster, so we became monsters.” Skriel looks down at his axe, contemplating. He looks back up at Keith with a smile on his face.

“But you are different. You are a strong man of conviction, and yet you did not strike me down when you could have. You fight to free worlds, rather than enslave them. And, as impossible as it seems, you only have your people’s best interest at heart. You are what the galra need, Keith Kogane. A man with a strong hand, but a good heart. I would not be opposed to you taking the mantle of Emperor today, if only we could could reach the Kral Zera and have you light the flame. As it stands however, another title must suffice. There is an old term for one who leads with the power of an emperor but can not yet light the flame: Grand Regent. I think you will wear the title well, Grand Regent Kogane.”

Keith can only stare at Skriel. He rubs the back of his neck and looks over at Allura. She can only shrug. Kolivan looks as if the entire situation was entirely expected. His gaze turns to Krollia. She smiles, as if proud. He doesn’t quite return the smile, but he does seem to regain some strength.

“...I think you’re giving me a little too much credit Skriel. Each one of the Paladins have fought for this and risked our lives to stop Zarkon. And not just us Paladins, but the Blade of Marmora, and the rest of the Coalition. It took all of us to get this far. I’m just the guy that ended up in the Black Lion’s seat, that’s all.”

“Maybe.” Skriel shrugs. “But our pledges are already made. Will you cast us aside? Or will you use us to help stop a madman with his own Voltron? The choice is yours, Grand Regent.”

Keith shook his head and sighed. He looks over the four warlords once more.

“...Skriel, Erva, Mutava, Ublok...welcome to the Voltron Coalition.”

The warlords each smile and beat their chests. “Hail the Grand Regent!”

Keith cringes. “Alright, first order: Stop calling me Grand Regent. Second, I expect all of you to live up to your pledges of loyalty, and not just to me. I expect you to listen to the other Paladins, and Coalition leaders too. Obey them they same you would me. You’ll go where we say, when we say. And, If I find out you’re back to your old ways, I am not going to be happy. Understand?”

The warlords all bow their heads. “Vrepit sa!”

“Alright…I guess we have a logistics to figure out then.”

***

It is hours later, and Keith stands on a hill outside the galra base. He stares out at the red sun, which is now dipping down towards the end of the horizon, signaling the end of the moon’s “day.”

“Mind if I join you?” Allura asks, walking up.

“Sure.” Keith shrugs.

She steps up beside him to join him in watching the setting sun. A breeze blows across the blue grass, gently rustling the blades.

“I...wasn’t totally ready for all that.” Keith says eventually.

“I understand.” She nodded. “Having people serve you isn’t something you’re used to. I’m sure it’ll take some time to get used to.”

“Dunno if I’ll ever get used to that.” He sighs. “You know Acxa said I should do this? Fill the void in galra leadership. Guess she was right. Maybe if I’d done this at the start we’d have all the galra helping us instead of just these four. But, then again, part of me wishes I hadn’t done this at all. I’m only starting to get the hang of leading Voltron, and now suddenly I’m halfway to being an emperor? Is that wrong? That we just got some powerful allies to help us win the war, and all I can think about is how I never asked for any of this?”

“I cannot say for sure…but I think it speaks volumes that you accepted this burden even though you didn’t want it. Whether you like it or not, Skriel was right, you do have people’s best interest at heart. I’m...sorry that it didn’t go the way you expected. I should have seen all this coming sooner, and warned you what you’d be facing.”

“No.” Keith shook his head. “You’ve got nothing to apologize for. I dunno what I would have done without you here. Probably argued a whole lot longer, and left mad. I might be half galra, but I think you probably understand them a whole lot better than I do.”

“I’m glad I could be of some help here, at least.” She gets a distant look.

“You thinking about those alteans we got back home?” Keith asks.

She nods. “Maybe I understand the galra well enough, yet I can’t seem to even figure out how to get through to my own fellow alteans. I don’t know how to undo centuries of brainwashing. Don’t know how to convince them I’m just trying to help.”

Keith considers. “Maybe...that’s not the question you should be asking yourself.”

Allura looks at him curiously.

“Didn’t your father used to say that the biggest mistake leaders make is to try to do it all themselves? For someone that throws that line around you don’t seem to practice it much.”

“So you think I need someone else to help reach the alteans?”

Keith shrugs.

“You could be right...but who?”

“Don’t ask me, I’m the guy that just fell butt first into becoming the Galra’s Grand Regent. ”

They both chuckle at that.

“Grand Regent!” Skrield voice calls from behind. Keith sighs and turns to see the squat galra running up. He saluts Keith.

“What is it Skriel?”

“There is something I feel that you should see, now that you are Grand Regent. A project i’ve been working on for some time. I believe it may be able to be a great boon in the fight against Zarkon.”

“Is it far?” Keith asks.

“Not at all.”

“Fine, we’ll go take a look, after we’re done here.”

“I suppose I should get my lion ready then, and send back the good news.”

Keith nods. “Alright, and Allura?”

“Yes Keith?”

“Thanks again. For everything.”

She smiles. “It was my pleasure.”

Allura runs back towards the Blue Lion. Keith watchs her go. Skriel also notes her departure.

“Princess Allura seems to be a good woman, Grand Regent.”

“I told you not to call me that. And yes, she is.”

“She will make an excellent Empress for you.”

“What!?” Keith whirls to face Skriel, blushing. “We’re not-she’s not-”

“Ah I see…” Skriel nods as if understanding. “You wish to have a galra woman to bear your children so the bloodline does not get too diluted. Do not worry, I’m sure we can get you a royal concubine and Allura can remain your Empress, Grand Regent K-”

“Please stop talking!” Keith says, growing more uncomfortable by the second.

“Oh was it because I called your Grand Regent again? I apologize, I shall strive to-”

“Yaknow what? You call call me Grand Regent all you like so long as you never repeat anything you just said about Empresses and royal...whatevers.”

“Understood Grand Regent.” Skriel says saluting again. “But just out of curiosity is the Princess your-”

“No, and don’t ask again.” Keith rubs the bridge of his nose, groaning. “I knew I was going to regret this…”

***

Honvera enters a holding cell where Haggar is lying on a flat slab table, bound by energy cables. The room is lined with glowing violet runes. Haggar does not struggle to get free, only staring at her captor with passive eyes.

Honerva observes her counterpart with interest, as she circles the table.

“I think you know how this will go. I’ll ask you questions, you’ll refuse to answer, and that’s when things get messy. But I’m afraid I know you too well. Everything that makes you tick, and all your weaknesses. So, perhaps we could skip the unpleasantries? It’ll be easier for both of us.”

Haggar says nothing for a long pause. Honvera gets a hard expression and starts to raise a hand.

“-I will tell you everything...” Haggar says suddenly.

Honerva hesitates, clearly surprised.

“...on one condition.”

“What is it?” Honerva asks, narrowing her eyes.

“I have one question. Just one. Answer it, and I will tell you everything you want to know.”

“Ask it. But I promise no answer.”

Haggar nods.

“...is your son, Lotor, alive?”

Honerva seems caught off guard by the question. She hesitates, but answers with a careful: “...yes.”

“Good. Then you must listen to me when I tell you that you have to protect him!”

“Who would my son need protecting from? These other Paladins? Thus far they haven’t shown themselves to be anything but a nu-”

“Zarkon!” Haggar blurts out. “You must protect him...from Zarkon.”

Honerva steps back, shocked.

“Wh-what madness do you speak of?” She stammers.

“In our reality Lotor was banished, to a far off sector. When Zarkon was wounded by his fight with Voltron, Lotor was called back to the Empire. He started to take over the duties of emperor, but his time in that role was short. When his father awoke, he removed Lotor from power again. Our son ended up helping the Paladins of Voltron, and in doing so gave Zarkon all the justification he needed. Zarkon called for Lotor’s life, and in a final confrontation, the two battled to the death. Lotor was forced to kill his own father, with the help of the Paladins. He has since disappeared, and I know not where he is.”

“That...that’s not possible. Lotor wouldn’t...Zarkon could not…” Her voice trails off.

“Lotor may have won his fight in this reality, but it is already clear that things went very differently in yours. Your Zarkon has control of Voltron, and I suspect, may be more powerful than our ever was, even in his prime.”

“They have fought side by side for ten thousand years! Why would they decide to kill each other now!?”

“Because you are in a transition of power. You are only just now regaining your empire, and more importantly, for the first time, there is another Voltron opposing you. Knowing Lotor, he will recognize this for the opportunity it is, and take the time to strike. And, knowing Zarkon, he will show no mercy, not even for his own son.”

“That isn’t…” But Honerva does not finish the sentence.

“Can you honestly say that they’ve never been hostile to each other? Never seemed like they were ever so close to being at each other’s throats? Or maybe they have been already, and things just haven’t gotten lethal yet. It will. Sooner or later, it will. You have to be ready to protect him, and do what’s necessary when the time comes.”

“I...I’ve heard enough of this.” Honerva turns to go.

“You have a choice to make: your husband or your son. I think we both know which is the right choice.”

Honerva hesitates before leaving. “...speak of this to no one else.”

“I will not.”

“Good.”

Honerva leaves the holding cell, leaving Haggar alone.

#kallura #keith #keith kogane #allura #plance #voltron #voltron season 8 #voltron season eight #fixitfic #fix it fic #voltron rewrite #voltron rewritten #galra #emperor keith

52 notes · View notes

dfroza · 5 years ago

Text

some didn’t recognize their King when He arrived.

and some reject the truth in Love that gently offers the rebirth of the heart and even the body at some point. it is all an act of grace. the purest gift.

this is the scene in Today’s reading of the Scriptures with chapter 21 in the book of Matthew:

Now, as they were approaching Jerusalem they arrived at the place of the stables near the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead, saying, “As soon as you enter the village, you will find a donkey tethered along with her young colt. Untie them both and bring them to me. And if anyone stops you and asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just tell them, ‘The Lord of All needs them,’ and he will let you take them.”

All of this happened to fulfill the prophecy:

Tell Zion’s daughter:

“Look, your King arrives!

He’s coming to you full of gentleness,

sitting on a donkey, riding on a donkey’s colt.”

So the two disciples went on ahead and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and her colt to him and placed their cloaks and prayer shawls on the colt, and Jesus rode on it.

Then an exceptionally large crowd gathered and carpeted the road before him with their cloaks and prayer shawls. Others cut down branches from trees to spread in his path. Jesus rode in the center of the procession—crowds going before him and crowds coming behind him, and they all shouted, “Bring the victory, Lord, Son of David! He comes with the blessings of being sent from the Lord Yahweh! We celebrate with praises to God in the highest!”

As Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people went wild with excitement—the entire city was thrown into an uproar! Some asked, “Who is this man?” And the crowds shouted back, “This is Jesus! He’s the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee!”

[Jesus in the Temple]

Upon entering Jerusalem Jesus went directly into the temple area and drove away all the merchants who were buying and selling their goods. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the stands of those selling doves. And he said to them, “My dwelling place will be known as a house of prayer, but you have made it into a hangout for thieves!”

Then the blind and the crippled came into the temple courts, and Jesus healed them all. And the children circled around him shouting out, “Blessings and praises to the Son of David!”

But when the chief priests and religious scholars heard the children shouting and saw all the wonderful miracles of healing, they were furious. They said to Jesus, “Don’t you hear what these children are saying? This is not right!”

Jesus answered, “Yes, I hear them. But have you never heard the words ‘You have fashioned the lips of children and little ones to compose your praises’?”

Jesus then left at once for the nearby village of Bethany, where he spent the night.

While walking back into the city the next morning, he got hungry. He noticed a lone fig tree by the side of the path and walked over to see if there was any fruit on it, but there was none—he found only leaves. So he spoke to the fig tree and said, “You will be barren and will never bear fruit again!” Instantly the fig tree shriveled up right in front of their eyes!

Astonished, his disciples asked, “How did you make this fig tree instantly wither and die?”

Jesus replied, “Listen to the truth. If you have no doubt of God’s power and speak out of faith’s fullness, you can be the ones who speak to a tree and it will wither away. Even more than that, you could say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and be thrown into the sea’ and it will be done. Everything you pray for with the fullness of faith you will receive!”

[The Authority of Jesus]

After this Jesus went into the temple courts and taught the people. The leading priests and Jewish elders approached him and interrupted him and asked, “By what power do you do these things, and who granted you the authority to teach here?”

Jesus answered them, “I too have a question to ask you. If you can answer this question, then I will tell you by what power I do these things. From where did John’s authority to baptize come from? From heaven or from people?”

They stepped away and debated among themselves, saying, “How should we answer this? If we say from heaven, he will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you respond to John and believe what he said?’ But if we deny that God gave him his authority, we’ll be mobbed by the people, for they’re convinced that John was God’s prophet.”

So they finally answered, “We don’t know.”

“Then neither will I tell you from where my power comes to do these things!” he replied.

[The Parable of Two Sons]

Jesus said to his critics, “Tell me what you think of this parable:

“There once was a man with two sons. The father came to the first and said, ‘Son, I want you to go and work in the vineyard today.’ The son replied, ‘I’d rather not.’ But afterward, he deeply regretted what he said to his father, changed his mind, and decided to go to the vineyard. The father approached the second son and said the same thing to him. The son replied, ‘Father, I will go and do as you said.’ But he never did—he didn’t go to the vineyard. Tell me now, which of these two sons did the will of his father?”

They answered him, “The first one.”

Jesus said, “You’re right. For many sinners, tax collectors, and prostitutes are going into God’s kingdom realm ahead of you! John came to show you the path of goodness and righteousness, yet the despised and outcasts believed in him, but you did not. When you saw them turn, you neither repented of your ways nor believed his words.”

[The Parable of the Rejected Son]

“Pay close attention to this parable,” Jesus said. “There once was an honorable man who planted a vineyard. He built a fence around it, dug out a pit for pressing the grapes, and erected a watchtower. Afterward he leased the land to tenant farmers and then went a distance away. At harvest time he sent his servants to the tenants to collect the portion that was due him as the lord of the vineyard. But the tenants seized his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. So the landowner sent other servants, even more than at first, but they were mistreated the same way. Finally, he sent his own son to them, and he said to himself, ‘Perhaps with my own son standing before them they will be ashamed of what they’ve done.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said, ‘This is the heir! Let’s kill him and then we can have his inheritance!’ So they violently seized him, took him outside the vineyard, and murdered him.

“You tell me, when the lord of the vineyard comes, what do you think he will do to those tenants?”

They answered, “He will bring a horrible death to those who did this evil and he will completely destroy them. Then he’ll lease his vineyard to different tenants who will be faithful to give him the portion he deserves.”

Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read the Scripture that says:

The very stone the builder rejected as flawed

has now become the most important

capstone of the arch.

This was the Lord’s plan—

isn’t it a miracle for our eyes to behold?

“This is why I say to you that the kingdom realm of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will bear its fruit. The one who comes against this stone will be broken, but the one on whom it falls will be pulverized!”

When the leading priests and the Pharisees realized that the parable was referring to them, they were outraged and wanted to arrest him at once. But they were afraid of the reaction of the crowds, because the people considered him to be a prophet.

The Book of Matthew, Chapter 21 (The Passion Translation)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is chapter 8 in the book of Deuteronomy where Moses instructs the people to always remember God:

[Deuteronomy 8]

Moses: You must obey very carefully all of the law, which I’m commanding you today. If you do, you’ll live and thrive, and you’ll go in and take possession of the land He promised to your ancestors. Remember how the Eternal, your True God, led you through the wilderness these past 40 years. He did this to humble you, to test you, to uncover your motivations, to see if you would obey His commands. He humbled you by making you hungry when there was no food in the desert. Then He fed you with manna, a food you and your ancestors had never heard of. He did this because He wanted you to understand that what makes you truly alive is not the bread you eat but following every word that comes from the mouth of the Eternal One. Your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t swell throughout your 40 years of wandering. I want you to know in your hearts that the Eternal your God has been training you just as a parent trains a child. So obey His commands! Live as He has instructed, and fear Him. The Eternal your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with torrents of rushing water, with springs and underground streams flowing out into the valleys and hills. It’s a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of oil-rich olive trees and date honey. In that land, you’ll always have plenty to eat—you won’t lack anything! There’s iron in the rocks, and you can dig copper from the hills. You’ll eat and be satisfied, and then you’ll humbly thank the Eternal your God for the good land He’s given you.

But then be very careful! Don’t forget the Eternal your God and disobey the commands and decrees and rules I’m giving you today. When your stomachs are full, when you’ve built comfortable houses to live in, when you have large herds and flocks, when you possess plenty of silver and gold, and when you have more things than you imagined possible; then don’t become proud and puffed up and forget Him. He brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves; and He led you through that awful, vast wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, through that desert where there was no water. He made water come out of a hard rock; and He fed you in the wilderness with manna, a food your ancestors had never heard of. He did all this to humble you and test you, but it was all intended for your good in the end. If He hadn’t, you might have believed, “I’ve gotten all this wealth by my own power and strength!” Remember the Eternal One your God. He’s the One who gives you the power to get wealth, so He can keep the covenant promises He made to your ancestors, as He is doing now. I testify against you today that if you do forget Him and pursue other gods, if you worship them and bow down to them; then you will certainly be destroyed. Just like the nations the Eternal is now destroying ahead of you, you’ll be destroyed yourselves because you wouldn’t listen to His voice.

The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 8 (The Voice)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for monday, july 6 of 2020 with a paired chapter from each Testament along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

0 notes

dfroza · 5 years ago

Text

things that were first written down and came to be

is what we see in the Scriptures that illuminate our Creator. such as in Today’s reading in the book of Matthew with chapter 21:

[Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem]

All of this happened to fulfill the prophecy:

Tell Zion’s daughter:

“Look, your King arrives!

He’s coming to you full of gentleness,

sitting on a donkey, riding on a donkey’s colt.”

So the two disciples went on ahead and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and her colt to him and placed their cloaks and prayer shawls on the colt, and Jesus rode on it.

[Jesus in the Temple]

Then the blind and the crippled came into the temple courts, and Jesus healed them all. And the children circled around him shouting out, “Blessings and praises to the Son of David!”

Jesus answered, “Yes, I hear them. But have you never heard the words ‘You have fashioned the lips of children and little ones to compose your praises’?”

Jesus then left at once for the nearby village of Bethany, where he spent the night.

Astonished, his disciples asked, “How did you make this fig tree instantly wither and die?”

[The Authority of Jesus]

So they finally answered, “We don’t know.”

“Then neither will I tell you from where my power comes to do these things!” he replied.

[The Parable of Two Sons]

Jesus said to his critics, “Tell me what you think of this parable:

They answered him, “The first one.”

[The Parable of the Rejected Son]

“You tell me, when the lord of the vineyard comes, what do you think he will do to those tenants?”

Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read the Scripture that says:

The very stone the builder rejected as flawed

has now become the most important

capstone of the arch.

This was the Lord’s plan—

isn’t it a miracle for our eyes to behold?

The Book of Matthew, Chapter 21 (The Passion Translation)

A chapter of the Testaments that is paired with Ezekiel 28 in which is seen the pride of wanting to be ruler rather than humbling oneself before God:

The word of the Eternal came to me with a message about the prince of Tyre.

Eternal One: Son of man, go to the prince of Tyre, and give him this message. This is what I, Eternal Lord, have to say:

Your heart is swollen with pride—

a pride that says, “I am a god.

I sit on a divine throne in the heart of the sea.”

But I assure you, prince, you are nothing more

than a mortal man—a man of mortal destiny.

Even though you have the self-confidence of a god,

you are made entirely of flesh and blood.

But obviously you must be wiser than Daniel, that ancient judge in Ugarit.

Clearly, you understand every mystery.

You used your wisdom and discernment to amass a great fortune,

to fill your treasuries with gold and silver.

Your knack for trade has built your wealth,

but your success and riches have made your heart swell with pride.

Here is what the Eternal Lord has to say:

Eternal One: Because you imagine yourself as wise as a god,

I am going to recruit outsiders—merciless nations—to take you down.

They will draw their swords and cut you down to size,

attacking the beautiful things your wisdom procured and destroying your splendor.

They will force you down to the pit,

and you will die the death

of those struck down in the heart of the sea.

At that moment, will you protest to your executioners, “But I’m a god!”?

To those who strike you down you are no god.

To them, you are nothing more than a mortal man.

You will die the death of all who are uncircumcised,

at the hand of outsiders.

Like the Israelites, the people of Tyre practice circumcision.

So said the Eternal Lord.

The word of the Eternal continued giving me His message.

Eternal One: Son of man, sing a lament for the prince of Tyre. Tell him this is what I, the Eternal Lord, have to say:

You were a paradigm of perfection, human life at its best.

You had everything a leader needs: immense wisdom and perfect beauty.

You lived in Eden, God’s garden.

You were clothed in magnificent splendor, covered in jewels:

Sardius, topaz, diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper,

lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald.

All the mountings were made of gold,

prepared for you on the day you were created.

I anointed you the guardian[b] of the garden and stationed you at your post to protect it.

You were on the divine mountain, the holy mount of God.

There you walked among the fiery stones.

You were entirely pure from the day you were created,

until wickedness crept in and was found in you!

Too much buying and selling—a greedy obsession!

You became motivated to violence and did wicked things.

Polluted and disgraced, I drove you off the mountain of God!

I expelled you, O guardian protector, from the fiery stones.

Your heart swelled with pride because of your beauty and talents.

Your hunger for fame, your thirst for glory corrupted your wisdom.

This is why I drove you to the ground

and made an example out of you before a company of kings.

You desecrated your sanctuaries

by pursuing sin after sin and cheating in business.

I set a flame inside of you, and it devoured you completely.

I reduced you to a pile of ashes on the ground,

a sight for all to see.

All the nations who know you are appalled at what has happened to you.

The end of your story is a horror:

you are gone, never to return.

The Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 28:1-19 (The Voice)

we will either choose separation from God (from Light and Love) or to receive the gift of grace offered by the Spirit to us in the rebirth of the Son.

my personal reading of the Scriptures for October 20, the 28th day of Autumn and day 293 of the year:

0 notes