Who are you? A pretty good question.
A question which can also be asked of Anileah as well as her friend, a nameless, voiceless foundling, referred to by his guardians simply as ‘Boy Child’. And about them, his guardians, what kind of people have taken this orphan in? Do they really have his best interests in mind? And what of the nature of the secret world where they live; a hidden subterranean mountain fortress, the Exemplar House’ Char’nel. (House to the Bones of the Dead). A massive maze of archival vaults which houses the written histories of not only their world, but the many worlds adjacent. Knowledge which is coveted by some, and resented by others. Thus their world is under threat.
Part One: A Grim Beginning, A Grimmer END!
Join me as we together follow Boy Child and his friend, Anileah, as we meet those who have much invested in him. As we come to understand that there are those who think, for the betterment of their world, that the boy should be hidden from most everyone, including himself.
The Adventures of
Grim Willard
A Grim Beginning, A Grimmer END! ®
Introduction
Actually, not really, we’ll save that for later.
More accurately the following is a necessary preamble which is meant as a tool for you to first gather your marbles, at the same time that it primes your mind, as it points out…, actually, just take a couple minutes to take it in, and then you can decide for yourself, what, if anything, it points out.
We start our story with an outtake from
‘The Book of Grim’.
With you consuming this,
hopefully,
it will get your mind thinking.
Your Moral Compass,
What Does It Look Like?
By Grim Willard
What does your Moral Compass look like?
I wonder if you even know.
Relax,
I’m not judging,
I’m just asking,
as I’m curious to know.
Does it have just two points,
one being RIGHT.
the other being WRONG?
Or does it have two more points,
one to the LEFT,
another to the RIGHT,
one marked - IF,
the other marked - BUT?
In between these, I wonder,
are there an additional four points?
These marked in shades of grey,
they denoting degrees of RIGHT or WRONG.
Or instead, do they include varying degrees, of –
IT DEPENDS?
I also wonder, between these, is there yet another scale, one which measures personal gains versus losses? Or, does it instead measure pain inflicted on your adversaries, versus the pain which you can raise others out of?
I also wonder,
How many compass hands does your compass dial require?
In other words,
Does it have a second hand,
a third, a fourth, or more?
Or, are things so straight forward for you that only one is required?
I have to say, if you said one hand, and one hand only,
you need to know that this isn’t typical,
as we all know that life is more complicated than that.
Almost done, I must ask of you, does your compass have an ON and OFF switch? Or, is it instead secured with a lock? One opened with a key which you keep on a chain next to your heart. Or, afraid of losing this key, do you keep it locked in a safety deposit box? Or, do you have so few worries that you keep it in a drawer with your old dirty socks?
Next to last, I ask, what does it take for you to choose to use that key? Is it only if and when you care? Or, is it only if, and when, your personal wellbeing is being threatened?
Finally, about your moral compass, whatever its shape and size might be, I ask, do you use it often? Or, only when others are watching? Heck, do you even bother to keep it with you at all?
Curious? You should be.