Ikari

This story is inspired by Daniel 3:17‭-‬18

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up (Daniel 3:17‭-‬18 NLT).”

King Nelkon stood before the one warrior in his army that refused to follow his demands. Once a benevolent king of the small country Grashorn, Nelkon began calling for his army to attack the neighboring countries around them. The neighboring countries had thrived by living in peace and sharing the resources of their lands, but something had changed in Nelkon. Now he wanted everything for himself. His army reluctantly agreed to their ruler’s demands, but a young woman that went by the name Ikari refused.

“You will join us, or my army will crush you!” King Nelkon demanded. “Your faith will do nothing to save you, only I can make that call!”

“My faith remains in God, and His Son that rescued me from my sins through his death and resurrection.” Ikari said firmly. “God can rescue me Himself if He chooses, or He can send someone He has chosen to work through. I believe in His timing. And even if He decides not to help me, I won’t go through with this plan of yours.”

“Then you must die, and it is a shame!” King Nelkon yelled, as his eyes glowed red and his mouth began baring fangs. “You are one of my finest warriors, but if you do not do all that I command, I have no place for you. My army of loyal followers, destroy her now!”

Ikari drew her sword, prepared to defend herself to the end if needed. To her surprise, no one in the king’s army attacked. In fact, they were all frozen in place, unable to move. Ikari sensed that she was not alone after all, and she looked to her right and left. On either side of her were two men who each held a glowing blue fist in the air.

“We heard reports from the neighboring countries that the king here has been acting out of character, and we have arrived to help.” One of the men said. “My name is Kalen, and the fellow here with me is Slyvan.”

“Hello Ikari.” Slyvan added. “I made a grave mistake and unleashed a curse around the world that is causing people to become monsters, a mistake I am seeking to correct. Your king may be one such person, and I will free him from this dark magic that I unleashed.”

“Thank you Kalen and Slyvan, I believe You may have been sent by my Father in Heaven. I accept and appreciate your help.”

“Keep holding back the army Kalen, and I will take care of the king!” Slyvan yelled, rushing past the soldiers. He put his still glowing hand on the king’s shoulder, causing the king’s fangs to revert back to normal teeth, and his eyes to change from red back to their normal color.

“My army, please stand down, I have made a horrible mistake!” King Nelkon cried out. “I confess that the temptation to overthrow our neighbors crossed my mind, and all of a sudden I couldn’t stop myself from following through with those evil thoughts. Please forgive me everyone, I am so very sorry!”

“I am the one that needs to apologize, you fell under a spell that I casted.” Slyvan lamented. “I am traveling the world to fix my mistake, a mistake that unfortunately impacted you. I thought the curse would only go after those that acted in evil ways, I did not know that it would affect those struggling with temptations. Cleaning my mess up will be harder than I thought.”

“You may have caused trouble, but so did I for even considering what I was about to do.” King Nelkon replied sympathetically. “However, in your efforts to change your ways you have saved me, and I think that the God Ikari follows sent you to do exactly that. Keep on changing the world and yourself through your new direction, and as a token of my appreciation for keeping my country and our neighbors from shedding blood, I would like to offer the service of any volunteers from my army that would like to join you. If any of you would like to travel with these gentlemen, you have my blessing.”

“I will join them if they will allow me.” Ikari said with a smile. “I believe they are doing God’s work, and I would like to be a part of it.”

“Thank you Ikari, your bravery and conviction would be a great asset to our cause.” Kalen said happily. “Do you agree Slyvan?”

“I do, and I thank you too Ikari.” Slyvan said gratefully. “To undo my curse, your assistance will be most beneficial!”

*Kalen, Slyvan, and Ikari’s adventures will continue*