The Monster
Before the dawn of time a monster ruled Strongland. It struck fear and terror in the hearts of all the inhabitants. They gave him a human sacrifice every three months to appease him. They also gave him all their first fruits and if they didn’t he would destroy their land and their houses. Until one man arose from among the people to fight. Legends say that he was given a weapon by God to defeat the Great Serpent. The Savior was able to defeat the monster and drive him back into prison. It was said that the savior kept the weapon safe and passed it on to his descendants for safe keeping. The monster now fears the weapon of his defeat and is said that anyone who holds the weapon can control the Monster.
What’s the origin of the Monster? What’s the weapon that can defeat it/control it?
There are a couple of routes we could go:
One, the weapon can be any random tool which the savior uses to defeat the monster and drive him into prison. The monster comes to fear that tool because its the sign of his defeat.
Two, the weapon is forged from the same matter that the monster originated from. And it’s his Achilles heel. Sort of like kryptonite. The same idea as the crown from “Jack the Giant Slayer” and the ring from “Lord of the Rings”.
Should I go with One or Two. Two is much more established. But what about taking the cross as the “reality” we’re trying to simulate in the story. Why does the cross defeat the devil?
- It was a sign of his defeat
- By death, death was overcome
- It’s the sign of salvation of humanity from the slavery of sin.
The cross itself was a tool for execution peculiar to the era of incarnation. It was reserved for the worst offenders. Or the people the Romans wanted to kill slowly. It was foreshadowed in the old testament. God the Son used that tool for execution of criminals who have been accused of the worst crimes to save humanity from its worse crimes. So he took the symbol of death and used it for victory over death. If we assume that the powers and principalities of this world are controlled by the devil, then we can assume that the cross was the Devil’s concoction. He created it to kill people. And God used his tool against him. Also of note the cross as a symbol by itself doesn’t really help, it’s the faith in the power of Christ portrayed on the cross.
We can take that principle in our story. We can say that the monster requested his sacrifices to be killed in some horrible way using a tool he gave them, but the savior takes this tool, which is designed to kill to destroy the monster and imprison him. Maybe the monster is covered with thorns. Or maybe he has thorns on his tail or something of that sort. He would pluck out one of these thorns and they would need to tie the sacrifice to it and submit it to him. The savior can use that thorn as a weapon to cripple the monster. But why wouldn’t he just kill it? Maybe we can establish that the monster is immortal and can only be weakened. Okay, if our theme is Strength in Unity, we can show that the Savior’s courage to face the monster led to the entire village to be unite against the monster and in their unity they were able to drive the monster back and imprison him in a deep prison underground. They then dismantled and hid the key. Still, how would that lead to the control of the monster? Alright, instead of driving him into prison, they take half his stone heart and melt it to make the key, which kept him imprisoned.
So then we can never kill the monster only keep him imprisoned. But then that presents an issue. If the previous generation was able to defeat the monster, why can’t this generation with their infinitely stronger military power? Maybe there was a monster that had powers and they did take its heart. But whoever possesses the heart it corrupts his own and turns him into the monster. So the heart doesn’t control the monster, but it turns its possessor into a monster.
A millennia ago a fearsome and terrible monster ascended from the depths of the earth; the like of which was never seen before in Strongland. It’s terrible countenance and awesome strength struck terror into the hearts of the inhabitants of land. The monster compelled them to do all sorts of terrible things, destroy and murder each other. The more men obeyed it the stronger it became until it ruled over all of Strongland. Under its rule the once peace loving and virtuous inhabitants became savage and practiced abominable traditions. They obeyed it even to the point of offering the most innocent among them, their children, as sacrifices to appease its terror. Hopelessness spread among all the people. They had become slaves to the monster. Until a man arose from among the Stronglandians. A man who preferred death than to offer the children of his people as a sacrifice to Evil incarnate. His name was Storm. He bade the people to unit and to reject the rule of the monster over their hearts. Slowly many Stronglandians put away their abominable actions. The actions which spread anguish and despair in the land. Actions which gave the Monster its power. Storm built an army and fought the monster. The terrible war took many lives, but the Stronglandians prevailed and culled the monster’s heart of stone out of its chest, but it would not die. It was immortal. With the heart in their possession Storm and his troops were able to control the monster. They drove it back into the depths of the Earth to its everlasting prison. Storm ground the heart into powder and formed a signet which he wore on a necklace. And as long as he had the signet the Monster would not dare cross the boundary of his prison. Before Storm slept with his father, he warned his people about the return of the Monster if they ever go back to their evil way. Even the signet will not be able to hold him back. Upon Storm’s death, the signet went to his descendants. From generation to generation the monster and the signet that controlled it faded into legend. But there are people who still believe whoever comes to possess the signet can summon the monster and control its power. Many have tried to find it, but all failed. Until now.