The Great Hall

As I sat on the hill that cold clear winter evening overlooking the valley I saw The Great Hall filled with a multitude of warriors. Their shouts and cheers filled the air as their leaders gave great speeches and exhorted the multitude to be strong in the face of the enemy. In the morning light they were going forth for the battle and as they gathered that evening the leaders were giving those last words of challenge and encouragement before the great struggle would begin. The enemy must be stopped before they overrun the land. It is time to go forth and take back the places that were lost from the last great battle. Take heart, we will be victorious over the enemy, they will not be able to stand against us and our army again. Tomorrow they will go down in defeat and we will once more rule the land. And at the end of each speech there was great cheering and shouts of victory. It was a night of celebration before the dawn and the coming battle.
At first I did not see him standing there but the warmth of his breath against the cold night air revealed his presence. He was in the shadows of the Great Hall listening to the speeches, hearing the cheers of the multitudes. I wondered if he was one of the warriors that would go out to battle in the morning light. But as I watched him I saw there was a sadness in his manner that told of a heavy heart, mourning for the warriors that would be consumed by the enemy, devoured before they could strike a blow for their cause.
But the moment had arrived, the first rays from the morning sun were appearing over the hill and it was time for the leaders to send forth their army to conquer the enemy. And the doors to the Great Hall were thrown open and the people poured out into the cold morning air, armed with words of anger, words they would use to defeat the enemy and drive him back from whence he had come.
As I watched the multitude armed with strong words streaming forth to battle I understood the sadness of the stranger still standing in the shadows of the Great Hall. The army had been prepared to do battle with words, names they would call the enemy, arguments they would use, words filled with anger and fear, words that would defeat the forces of evil and restore the right.
But the stranger knew the enemy would not be defeated with their words, no matter how strong they were or how often they were used. And his heart was filled with sorrow as he knew deep within his being that many valiant warriors would fall this day and the days to come as the true enemy of their soul devoured them with their own weapons. The army had been prepared to do battle with an enemy of flesh and blood, but this day was not to be their day of victory.