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| Map of Shinar |
Seven Candles: The reclaiming of Haven
Chapters 1&2
Chapter 1“Behold the messenger of Alaric rides to gather the lost sons of haven, who are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laadicea. Also to find the seven men who will lead the sons of Haven, who are scattered, back to reclaiming haven, for the return of Alaric’s son is soon, and his kingdom is at hand.”
The rhythm of the horse’s hooves was enough to stir the soul of any man. Riding the dark stallion was Alaric’s messenger.
Hundreds of years ago, Alaric was king over all Haven. However, some of his people began to rebel against him in secret. They no longer wanted to follow the ways of Alaric but rather, the ways of strange lands.
Alaric decided to give his people a great gift and to have a feast in their honor. He brought to him two servants and commanded them to invite the whole land to the feast.
The servants came to the first stop, and the master of the house told them he could not attend. The servants received the same response at the second, third and fourth houses. The servants came to the fifth house and the master of this house invited them in and asked them why they were there. The servants told him that Alaric, their king, had a great gift for all his people and was giving a feast in their honor. The master of the house said with much anger that he did not want Alaric’s gift nor did he wish to attend his feast. In a rage, he ordered his men to slay Alaric’s servants.
When Alaric first learned that his servants had been slain, he was angry. Then he decided that his people had slain his servants because they thought he did not care for them. Therefore, Alaric decided to send his sin as his messenger. The people heard of this, and they said to themselves, “This is the heir to the throne; if he dies, we will inherit the land and its kingdom.” Therefore, they laid wait along the road Alaric’s son was to travel. They saw him coming, shot him with arrows, and left his dead body on the steps to Alaric’s palace. When Alaric saw what they had done to his son, he was furious. He sent out knights to go invite all of Haven and the surrounding lands to share the great gift his people had refused and to take part in the feast.
He also sent out three knights to proclaim to all the people who had a part of killing his son that after the feast was over and his gift had been given, he would leave for an appointed time. However, one day his son would return and he would once again rule Haven.
Seven men from Haven and their families came to Alaric’s feast. When he saw them, he told them that their descendants would have a special place in his kingdom to come.
Alaric gave each of the seven men a necklace and told them that he would be with whoever wore them. Alaric then told all who were at the feast, “I will once again send my messenger when the return of my son is near.”
Knock, knock, knock. An older woman came to the door and opened it.
“Oh, Gavin, come in. Come in!” she said.
Gavin smiled, “Oh, I cannot stay long, and I have just some to bring you the clothes you ordered from my mother.” He handed her a bag.
“You did not have to bring them here; I was going to stop by a little later on today.”
“That is all right.”
“Thank you very much. Tell your mother I said hello.”
“I will.” Gavin said as he waved and walked off.
Gavin was eighteen years old but wished he could be twelve again. He lived with his mother and adopted ten-year-old sister Lydia. His father had died when he was eight years old, and his mother had started a sewing business for income. She made and repaired clothes for many of the local people in the town of Ammen.
Gavin rounded the last corner and there was his house. It was nothing fancy, but it was home. Inside, his mother sat at the table making something.
“Did you get those things delivered?” she asked.
“Yes,” he answered.
Gavin headed for his room, where he reached under the bed and pulled out a small flute that had been his father’s. He looked at it and smiled. Then he started for the front door to go outside.
“Do not be too long. Dinner will be ready in an hour,” his mother said without looking up.
He looked back at her, “I will be back.” He smiled and went out the door.
On a hilltop overlooking Ammen, Gavin sat under a big tree playing his father’s flute. Gavin could still remember being a small boy, watching his father carve the flute out of a piece of wood. He had watched wide-eyed as his father picked it up and made music with it for the first time. It had sounded beautiful. Out of the corner of his eye, ne noticed a ride coming. As the rider came to a stop on front of him, he put down the flute and stood up.
“Are you Gavin, one of the sons of Ephesus?” the rider demanded.
“Yes,” Gavin stated blankly.
The man dismounted and announced, “I am Alaric’s messenger, and I ride to find the seven men who are to lead the sons of Haven, and all who will follow, back to reclaim their land, for the return of Alaric’s son is near and the reclaiming of Haven is at hand.”
Gavin stood on shocked silence, taking in what the messenger had just told him.
“Hundreds of years ago, Alaric gave a great gift to seven men, this gift was passed down from generation to generation. You are one of the descendants; you are one of the seven leaders who will bring the people back to Haven.”
“There must be some mistake here. I am not a leader.” Gavin protested.
The messenger pointed to the chain around Gavin’s neck and stated, “There is no mistake.”
Gavin pulled the necklace out from under his shirt to reveal the charm. “But why me? I am no leader; I have lived in Ammen all my life and…”
The messenger interrupted, “The necklace has been passed down to you, and you are one of the chosen leaders.”
“But how will I know what I am to do? I cannot possibly do this.” Gavin heard about why he had the necklace and about Alaric but never dreamed this would happen to him of all people.
The messenger reached into his saddlebag and said, “That is why I brought this.” He pulled out a book with a picture of Gavin’s necklace charm of the cover. The messenger handed Gavin the book. Gavin took it from him and opened it.
“The pages are blank,” Gavin said.
“In here, you will find all the instruction you will need to lead the people back to Haven and reclaim its land,” the messenger explained.
“But I just told you, it is empty; there is nothing in here.”
“Alaric’s book will give you your instructions when you need them, and only when you need them. The rest of the seven leaders will be arriving soon. When they get here, meet together and then you will find your instructions.” With that, the messenger mounted his horse and set off at a gallop.
Gavin watched the messenger ride off. He looked at the book. This was madness. “Was this really happening?” he asked himself. He closed the book and stared at the cover. The picture was a perfect copy of his necklace charm.
“What is going on?” he asked aloud. He looked up and then decided to go home.
The whole way home, he could not stop thinking about the book and about what the messenger had said. When he finally reached home, he opened the door a crack to see where his mother and sister were. They were both in the kitchen. “Good,” he thought to himself. He slipped in and went quickly to his room. He hid the book under his bed and put the flute back. His mother was setting things on the table now, so Gavin came out and sat down, and tried to act as if nothing had happened. Lydia came out of the kitchen with some food to set on the table. Sara, his mother, followed. They sat down and began eating.
“Should I say anything?” Gavin asked himself. Well, they would find out eventually.
“Mother?” he finally asked. “What did grandfather tell father when he gave him this necklace?” Gavin held the charm out so she could see it.
“He asked your father if he knew what the necklace was, and if he knew of the responsibility that went with it. Then he asked him if he was willing to take that responsibility,” she answered.
“And what was that responsibility?” Gavin questioned.
“Why do you ask?”
“I just wanted to hear it again.”
She sighed. “That when Alaric’s messenger comes, you are ready, willing and able to lead the people back to Haven.”
“Well…,” Gavin looked down at his plate. “What would you say if I told you Alaric’s messenger came to me earlier today?” He looked up at her.
“That is foolishness,” she said defiantly. “Alaric would not send his messenger to an eighteen-year-old boy!”
“Alaric’s messenger came to me while I was playing Father’s flute on the hill overlooking Ammen.”
“What did he tell you?” she asked, afraid of the answer.
“He told me I was one of the seven leaders who would bring Alaric’s people back to Haven.”
“But you are only eighteen!”
“Mother, he knew where to find me, and he knew my name!” Gavin paused. “And he gave me this book.” He said while getting up. He ran into his bedroom and reached under his bed. The book was still there right where he had left it. He brought it out to the table and handed it to his mother. Tears came to her eyes, as she took the book and opened it slowly.
“It is blank,” she said.
“Alaric’s messenger told me the words would come when I needed them.”
There was a pause.
“When will you be leaving?” she asked.
“When the other six leaders get here, I will know then.”
“I will clear the table, I am not hungry.”
Chapter 2
Five men sat at a table in the corner of a small restaurant in Ammen. They spoke in hushed tones. A tall man with dark hair and blue eyes walked through the door; he had a sword hung around his belt. He looked as though he was in an army of some sort. He began to look around, and his eyes came to rest on the five men seated in the corner. He walked towards them slowly.
“Did the messenger send you?” he asked warily.
A man who looked to be in his forties answered, “Yes, sit down.”
“Good to see you, Esron,” a voice said to the tall man. He looked around the table to see who had said that.
“Nimrod! I am glad to see you! I was hoping you would be here,” Esron said.
“Did you think I would not come?” Nimrod asked a little surprised.
“Esron paused and thought about what he was going to say, “Yes, of course you would be here.” He would leave it at that. Nimrod was a strong man of about 35 years of age with dark brown eyes. He still had the same knife and sword Esron remembered. He and Nimrod had fought together in the past as allies. They had made a good team.
“Now, would you introduce me?” Esron sat on the right of Nirmod.
“This is Javon,” Nimord pointed to the man on his left, “and Azor (the man on Javon’s left), Matthen (the man on Azor’s left) and this is Matthen’s brother Thammar.” Thammar was sitting on the other side of Esron.
“And I am Esron.” Esron looked at the young man sitting next to him and asked him, “Tell me, Thammar, how is it that brothers are here?”
“Well you see, our mother was an only child and when her father passed on, his necklace was passed down to her. She then married our father who also had a necklace. Matthen, as the oldest, received father’s necklace and mother’s was handed down to me.”
“Well, that explains it.” Esron said. Thammar was only about twenty years old with light brown hair and brown eyes, and he looked kind, the happy sort. His brother Matthen looked very much the same, only about five years older. He looked smart, but also like one who enjoyed life. Esron looked around the table. “Where is the seventh man?”
“We are to meet him tomorrow morning,” Nimrod answered.
A waitress came over to the table; she had a tray with five plates with potatoes and meat on them. She sat them in front of the five men that were already there.
“Do you want another plate?” she asked them.
“Yes, please, “ Azor replied, and the waitress left to go get the plate. Azor looked at Esron. “I am buying, “he smiled.
“Thank you Azor. I must buy you dinner some time,” Esron said smiling.
Esron looked over at Javon. He was tall, dark, and about thirty years old. He struck Esron as the strong silent type; he also had a six-inch hunting knife on his belt. Azor, who sat next to him, was about forty years old; he was the oldest of all of them. He was outspoken and gruff looking but a different kind of person on the inside. He too, had a six-inch hunting knife on his belt.
“Where are we to meet the seventh man?” Esron asked.
“The messenger told me we would find him on the north side of town.” Nimrod answered.
“How early in the morning?” Esron asked.
“First Light,” Nimrod said.
“Where are you staying tonight?” Esron asked.
Nimrod had grown used to Esron’s questions; he liked to know everything. “At the inn across the street.”
“It is the only one in town,” Thammar added.
“Then I will stay there as well.”
The waitress came back and put a plate in front of Esron.
“Thank you,” Azor said. “Let us eat.”
Gavin sat in front of the fire watching the flames jump and dance. It had been two weeks since the messenger had come to Gavin. His thoughts were wandering to the future, the messenger, the book, the necklace charm, the end of the world?
Gavin’s mother sat at their table making a jacket for him. She cut a thread, held it up, and said, “Gavin, come try this on.” She looked at him. He still sat there gazing into the fire.
“Gavin, are you all right?”
“Huh?” He looked up suddenly.
“Come try this on,” she said.
He stood up and walked over to her. She handed him the jacket, and put it on. The Jacket was made out of leather; it was thick and durable and its seams were tight and well sewn. On the back was a beautiful picture that had taken Sara a week just to complete it. It was the landscape of hills. On the right side in one of the valleys was Ammen. And on the nearby hills, you could see the tree under which Gavin always sat while dreaming or playing his father’s flute. On the left, you could see the sun peeking over the hills, about to make a beautiful sunrise. It fit him perfectly. He took it off and looked at the picture on the back of the jacket.
“It is beautiful.” Gavin said while smiling.
“That way, no matter how far away from home you go, or how much home changes, you can always remember how it looked,” his mother said.
Gavin gave his mother a big hug, and with his voice breaking, he said, “Thanks you.”
That night, Gavin could not sleep. He tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable, but to no avail. He lay there staring at the ceiling for a few minutes. Finally, he got up and lit a candle. He sat there on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands just thinking.
He reached under the bed and pulled out the book. For some reason, it looked different; something had changed, but he could not tell what. He opened the book and sighed as he flipped though the blank pages; he then closed the book and set it on the bed next to him. He leaned over his bed and looked out the window; it was still dark out.
Gavin reached under his bed again and grabbed the flute. He held it for a minute and then stood up. He got dressed and then grabbed the book and the flute and went out to the table. He picked up his new jacket and put it on. With the flute and book in hand, he headed for the door.
He usually walked around Ammen, but this time he walked thought it, past all the dark houses and businesses. Everything was sleeping. Gavin finally made it to the tree on the hilltop that was pictured in the back of his jacket.
He sat down against the big old tree and just gazed at the stars. “I wonder if I will ever sit here again,” he said aloud.
Hours passed. The horizon started to glow; the sun would be up soon. He set down the book, picked up the flute, and began to play as he had so many times before.
To purchase this book from the authors go to
http://www.thereclaiming.com/purchase
