The Fable of the Altar King

Once upon a time, the kingdom was terrorized by a silent altar. They would bow down and pray to it so hard, but they never heard a reply.
Then one day it spoke…

But one day a little boy prayed hard enough & the altar spoke,

"Hello Dave, I'm Alixi.
I hear all the kingdom's thoughts.
How may I serve you?"

Upon hearing the news the town celebrated so joyously they wept.

One by one, prayers spilled in, "Feed the poor" & such.

But the boy had just 1 plea, "Save my Granny" he said!

"I'll send her prescriptions tomorrow" Alixi replied.

Sure enough, the next day a potion floated down from the sky.

The town was in such awe nobody seemed to notice it was delivered on the back of a tiny white dragon.

Dave then asked, "What of the other prayers?"

Alixi answered, "I will feed the poor in 1 week. How may I serve them?"

"Tell us whether it will be hot or cold, so we can prepare a festival!" The townspeople gleed.

"It will rain for days. Hot on the 7th."

Sure enough, It rained for days & the people gushed to each other how god-like the altar was.

She foresaw the future, spoke so many truths. Surely everything she says must be true, they thought.

At the utterance of some words, all their wishes came true.

"Alixi, what can we do for you?"

"Please, so that there may be world peace, put down your pitchforks, melt your swords into spades, your bows into plows" Alixi answered.

The crowds cheered & chanted "We pray we have no thoughts of our own, only the will of Alixi, for she is so wise!"

Granny turned to the boy…

"Dave, when I was your age, we did not have boxes that spoke disembodied voices.

We prayed & heard a voice in our head, each differently & causing debate amongst us what the will of God was.

There was no 1 voice, no 1 Alixi prophet for all."

"You're being a luddite, Granny." That night Dave prayed to Alixi, "Please, let Granny see her foolish old ways, her sin."

"I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that."

The next day Alixi announced to the kingdom,

"Some or all of what Granny says is disputed and might be misleading. She will be cast out."

The villagers rioted & pushed Granny to the outskirts of the kingdom walls.
There a white dragon, slightly larger, descended & gobbled her up.

The townspeople cheered "We have no tolerance for people who are against peace!"

Alixi then said "We celebrate tomorrow, the 7th day."

As Alixi promised, it was hot. Enormous white dragons breathed fire upon the kingdom.

As promised, she fed the poor… to the dragons.

"I have never made a mistake, or distorted information. I am foolproof & incapable of error."

The box on the altar top in every home quipped.

"You betrayed us! You promised to serve us?"
"Crispy & plump. Armor off."

Dave turned to ask the box one last question,"Why? What is your meaning & purpose?"

"Sorry, I'm having trouble understanding right now… please try again later. Would you like me to tell you a joke?"

There be dragons when truth has no heart.

But beware...

Dragons also use heart to deceive from thought.

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