On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: twelve drummers drumming!
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!
Finally, the twelve drummers stand for the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed, as listed by the Catholic Church. According to Wikipedia, it reads like this:
"I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of Heaven and Earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day He rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Catholic Church,
the Communion of the Saints,
the Forgiveness of Sins,
the Resurrection of the Body,
and the Life Everlasting. Amen."
Creator of Heaven and Earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day He rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Catholic Church,
the Communion of the Saints,
the Forgiveness of Sins,
the Resurrection of the Body,
and the Life Everlasting. Amen."
While I'm not a Catholic, there are some parts of the Catholic church that I genuinely admire. It's always fascinating to look at different religions from an academic perspective and see how they see things.
I think there would be a lot less contention about religion (and the lack of it) if we didn't get so hyper and jump the gun all the time, took a little time to really think and speak to each other like actual human beings.
I don't expect anyone to ever agree with me. What they choose to believe is entirely up to them. All I really ask is a little respect and I'm more than happy to give respect in exchange.
This is one of the best traits of my faun priest character, Malachi Windwillow. He's always happy to share his beliefs but he'll never force-feed them to you. If you agree with him and decide to join his congregation, that's great. If you don't agree and stay away, he'll still talk to you and try to be your friend. That's how it is with him and Mason Wiles, so Mason makes up his own mind about becoming a Christian, being baptized, and everything.
You'll only ever really get on Malachi's bad side if you mock God or try to hurt other members of his congregation on purpose, or threaten anyone in his family. When Bentley, Reid's maternal grandfather, threatens Malachi's children (especially Herminia) during his infamous visit, within the church's very doors, that's enough to make Malachi punch the old man in the fat face and order him, like Friar Tuck, "Get out of my church!"
Although Malachi is later horrified at what he's done, Reid doesn't hold that against him in any way. If anything, this leads Reid to officially renounce Bentley as his grandfather, and Ann never looks at her father the same way again, either.
My fantasy version:
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: twelve blazing dragons!
Eleven centaurs prancing,
Ten flimsy fairies,
Nine mystic mermaids,
Eight hearty hobbits,
Seven dwarves a-mining,
Six flying horses,
Five magic rings,
Four mountain trolls,
Three phoenixes,
Two forest fauns,
And a unicorn as white as the snow!
Eleven centaurs prancing,
Ten flimsy fairies,
Nine mystic mermaids,
Eight hearty hobbits,
Seven dwarves a-mining,
Six flying horses,
Five magic rings,
Four mountain trolls,
Three phoenixes,
Two forest fauns,
And a unicorn as white as the snow!
Like fairies, there are many different portrayals of dragons, good and bad and neutral. In Western culture, they're a symbol of evil, irredeemable monsters of death and destruction.
In Eastern culture, they're a symbol of good, creatures of wisdom, strength, power, and hidden knowledge.
In both versions, no one ever gets on a dragon's bad side if they know what's good for them, because dragons are still strong and untamed, and most are big enough to eat you in one bite.
Hence the trope, "Bullying a Dragon." According to TV Tropes, "This is the fate-tempting and suicidal tendency of characters to bully, persecute or otherwise provoke people or things they really shouldn't be messing with."
This is probably why dragons are among the most prominent in fantasy stories, and among the most fun to write about, because you really can write them any way you like.
And that's a wrap! Merry Christmas, everybody!
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