The Branthan Doors

The Tale Of Branthan of Harad

   From the mysterious far off lands of southern Harad came a man named Branthan Alla-maleek, a blacksmith by trade.  Stumbling upon the dwarven people of Mount Jebul he offered his services for food, in doing so he gained a depth of skill among them.  He grew also to desire the workmanship of stone like his teachers.

   It was at this time that he accompanied Kwandol their king to the last Elven stronghold in Eriduah; the great city of Mithar.  For it was Branthan himself who alone designed and devised the iron wroth doors of The Great Hall, and set ivory and gems within. The fine detail of his surpassed even that of his dwarven teachers it was said by the Elven Lords.  For six weeks he labored in secrecy tooling cunning wheels and gears of moving parts for the locks that resembled snake scales, flying birds, and figures to illustrate The Great Departure's moment of new beginnings.  It was the ceremony that began The Elf-Dwarf Alliance, and a new era of unheard of peace.

  The day  the great Brathan Doors were hung and their locks shown forth for the first time all stood in awe of such an amazing thing.  Opened in the third year, upon The Great Hall's completion was the master Blacksmith Branthan Alla-maleek slain before the very pride of Mithar he had crafted. Cut down in prime of his honor and praise by an envious Dwarven companion named Morclus of Jebul.  For, said did he that no man should ever be spoken of as having surpassed the workmanship of his dwarven teachers. 

   Yet for true peace's sake was he himself quickly slain by the king's very sword! Kwandol disagreed and beheaded the fool on the spot declaring, "No greater gift can anyone bestow than of their own deepest selves and talents for the free gift unto others! Be he of whatever race."

   The Branthan Doors were greatly prized by the fathers of Mithar because of its detail and the great cost that brought it. To this day the blood remains unwashed from that porch. For the huge stature of a man was humbled by the warmth of his giving heart as many mourned his loss on that day.

   

The Tower Rising

The Tower Raised

 Three hundred and fifty-two years before the great departure of elvendom from the shores of Eriduah the city of Mithar bustled with life as did her sister Lindon in the north. A great harbor of wondrous ships of commerce sailed through those twin-peaked cliffs into that in-land bay.

  It was Kabal Navir who desired and constructed the great light house tower before which the sailing Captains who later praise as the grandest in all the world. For eight years the city wondered if its heights would ever find completion and its aim ever reached.  For Kabal and his fourteen sons along side many others gave their total energies to it being raised. 

  Nelbal his brother did cast a great bell of iron the breadth of three across that once hung its voice was heard even by the dwarves of Mount Ipstha itself!    Both tower and bell won great affection throughout the seas as its light saved many storm warn lives.

   Yet it was for envey's sake than Handren and Formoth both came against Kabal in strife.  For Kabal had gone against their wishes to make several smaller ones along the guarding walls instead.  They had ideas but no detailed plans, no supplies or labored force which to lend aid, nor backs of their own nor hands to soil. For they wished and argued against Varendur's rising as it was not their venture nor praise heard upon its completion.

   In spite they came against the master builder and slew him with grave malice and fore thought.  Handren cut off Kabal's hands and Formoth did hang him upon a tree until he died and bled out before all.

   They in turn were scorned by the people for their vile deeds and thrown before the city lords that the act be punished.  Handren and Formoth were bound in heavy chains and so interned in the very tower they despised as its first prisoners. For seventy-six years they languished there and both died the same day moments apart.

My DEEPEST FEAR evaporated!!!!

Silly as it my seem to some, epically all these many long years later that such physiological scars and childhood baggage could linger into ones adulthood; but, be that as it may 2014 holds major mile stone for me. I was raised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses and as such DOOM AND GLOOM was always an ever present staple in our home. Comments like these were always hurled about: "Get that room cleaned up, now; in bible times disobedient boys like you would have been stoned to death outside the city gates! ANY Hope of making it through Jehovah's coming Armageddon depends on this!" Not quiet the merciful or Salvational Grace of Jesus and his coming "blissful" rapture, but an angry, Wrathfull ever present JEHOVAH and his all consuming destruction was permanatly burned in my childhood mind.

  I wanted Space1999's moon base Alpha, and Star Trek's hope of the future to be real!!! That's the kind of future every other kid of my day yearned for. However the looming Doom of Jehovah was the future I felt was always just around the corner! There was no need to worry about finishing High School, must less even caring about going to college!!!!!! And making friends outside of Jehovah's earthly Organization was considered certainty of NOT surviving The Coming Day of God's wrath! 

  But I did, marry outside the faith, make friends with an Atheist, Pentecostal, Baptist andPresbyterian. I left and developed a life beyond the shallow, dark mindlessness of that Cult! YET, yet it's deeply rooted tunicles were planted deep in my DNA, and as bazaar as it may sound to some, with the arrival of 2014 I feel a laughter, and silly blissful hope welling up that I have once and all been truly able to embrace...."joy".

  The most ancient of Jehovah's Witness doctrine was their most sacred belief that Jesus Christ invisibly returned and ruled an earthly religious Organization via the magazine called THE WATCHTOWER. Christ return in 1914!!!! The Generation that saw his return would see Armageddon's DOOM & GLOOM visited upon all the earth. Yet with all their ever changing new-light revelational doctrines, even this most sacred of cows has only been scraped even before the calendar changed to... Wait for it, you guess it: 2014!!!! More Jehovah's Witnesses have been leaving more than even before. In this I feel a great joy that only an ex-JW could really appreciate.  For me personally the LAST VESTIGES of that fear have now at long long last finally "evaporated"!!!!!

  TRUE Joy is found in the arms of mercy and Undesevered Kindness [GRACE]; and never in the hopeful thinking of "Spiritual Fire Insurance" dangled as a carrot to produce a profit for some corrupt Human Book selling Corporation!!!!! Alas let Jesus be praised!!! 

http://www.cftf.com/1914/index.html