The Hill-King's Bride: an Allegory for the Modern Church

The Hill-King's Fortress

True to his word, Bryn Ma'ar wasn't long in returning for the promised tour. He kept a running commentary as he showed Howe the entire of his fortress. The first, smaller hall that branched off the Greatest Hall was called the Hall of War. It was here, he explained, that weapons were not only formed and stored for later use, but where the tribe came to train during the winter months.

This hall wasn't as large as the Greatest Hall, but it came close. Long and narrow, the hall served as an indoor training ground for both swordsmen and archers alike. During the day, bowyers, fletchers and blacksmiths came together to produce bows, arrows, swords, shields and anything else that might be required.

"To be fair," the king commented as Howe watched the blacksmiths and their apprentices work the forges, "the smiths produce other things here as well. Owen here is forging an axe today." The blacksmith in question nodded briefly but didn't stop his work long enough to greet the king. Since none of the other smiths in the Hall of War stopped either, Howe assumed it wasn't required. Still, Bryn Ma'ar wasted no time in negotiating the making of a new bow for Howe, from the bowyers.

The second hall was tiny and meant to protect several springs and a deeper well that had been dug there. All of the surface springs were channeled in various directions for specific purposes. One spring was piped down to water the livestock, another to where the livestock were butchered. Cuts of meat and butchering tools could be washed as needed, but also the water was needed to scald the hogs.

Remembering the spring of water that fed a basin in the Common Hall and another in her own sitting room, Howe asked, "where does the water go, that isn't needed in each place?"

Bryn Ma'ar chuckled. "It gets piped outside, to water the grass I've planted on my roof."

"Then do you have vegetables planted as well?" Howe asked him.

The king looked thoughtful. "No, actually. It never occurred to me that we should." He offered her a sheepish grin. "We do grow vegetables, just not here at the fortress."

Howe thought of the 'due' that the elders had demanded of her and nodded. "So, who grows them?" she asked.

"Whoever I buy them from," he replied mildly. Howe wondered if he knew what she'd been thinking. "I could always tell when it was your vegetables that I bought in the valley, My Princess," he added, making Howe blush. Of course, that conversation took them to the cold-storage, and then the Hall of Animals, which was actually several pens with dogs, mountain sheep and goats, oxen and fowl. Howe was delighted with the animals.