The Sword Conclusion and the Beginning of Parties

My brother posed me this question: So, why do we like swords and not guns as a means of defense and justice in Miendur and other various forms of entertainment? I believe it could have something to do with legos, yes legos. When we were young lads, we used to construct alternate realities with legos. That's right. But we typically did not use modern lego themes. Yes we had some cowboy legos and maybe a few spaceship one, but the vast majority of them were medieval legos. We had the Wolfpack, Dragon Masters, Lion Kingdom, Ninja Dudes, and various other sets that I cannot recall exactly. It all started back then.

And all this talk of legos brings me to another point. We used to set up very interesting little scenarios with those little plastic men. They had names, rank, and even food preferences. However, my brother always took a different approach than I. Ladius used to take one guy and deck him out with all the weapons he was given (we divided our weapons pieces up evenly). This would be his hero. This social outcast would most likely live, with monkey and parrot of course, on some deserted island, only revealing himself in times of dire distress.

I, on the other hand, would create a group of heroes, a party, a brotherhood,...A fellowship if you will. Each member of this group would then have a specific role or two. For instance, their would be a captain who, though not the greatest warrior, would be the unquestioned leader of the group. Then the champion would wield two swords since he was the greatest swordsman in all the lands, therefore he demanded the finest meats and cheeses (Kenny M. From ESPN). Then there would be an amazing archer or a great hunter-type, much like Robin Hood or Legolas. I would probably also have some pyrotechnic as well who liked to execute siege tactics against moving targets. And still there are more: the physician, the warrior maiden, the burly axeman, the falconer.

Miendur has come to respect those differences as my brother and I have come to focus on our own heroic style. He tends to concentrate more on one all-encompassing hero who stands alone against the hordes of evil, whereas I tend to emphasize a brotherhood of battle, where deep relational and even emotional ties exist. For instance, I find gripping dialogues most entertaining, yet Ladius might not even have quotation marks in his entire story.

I feel that group heroism is most useful to illustrate lessons of loyalty, trust, gift-using, and interdependence. After all this story is just one gigantic allegory of the Spirit-filled life, so this illustrates the importance of the Body of Christ in a disciple's life.