Longing for Peace, Ch1
Bruised, beaten, and weary beyond belief, the young king collapsed onto the ground in a heap. There was no grace left in his muscles; he felt as though his bones turned to butter as he lay panting, desperate for release from the ache of fatigue the plagued him. The battle that felled him moved away, father into the wood where the enemy forces were laired. He'd thought the battle would be simple enough. Not easy, of course. Battles were not easy things, and not in the least because they were physically taxing. The ache of muscles was nothing to the sorrow of fallen comrades—even fallen enemies, who could have repented and been spared, pardoned of all wrong doing if only they would accept the Lion's grace and mend their ways.
King Edmund's mind wandered as he lay bleeding on the battlefield, waiting to see what would befall him next. He was too injured to move on his own, despite the feeble attempts he made. The dead, loyal Narnian and fell beast alike, lay around him, and the mud in which they lay together was more red than brown.
I just want to rest. He thought, sighing to himself. Perhaps if I sleep, I will wake in Cair Paravel, and Su will grumble at me for getting injured. Perhaps I will not wake at all. Perhaps I will find that I have died and wake in Aslan's Country. I feel so mortally tired, I almost wish I could.
While he lay considering his journey to Aslan's Country, the namesake for that truest of homes walked the shoreline of Cair Paravel, making a decision that would change the fate of many worlds. He knew the longing Edmund felt for the final rest. All warriors felt that weariness at some point, and only through the combination of grace and stubborn will did those warriors continue to live past their first heart-felt call to the eternal lands.
"Not yet, my son," Aslan said aloud. "One day you will come to dwell with me for the rest of time, but not today. There is much yet for you to do. But I will comfort you a while. I will comfort you until the end of time. Only cry out to me, for I will hear you, and be near you, in any world. Be wakeful. Do not seek the final sleep today. "
And in a wood across the land of Narnia Edmund came awake, looking around for the Great Lion whose voice had called him from sleep. "Aslan?" Edmund called out, hopeful. "Aslan, I heard your voice. Are you near?" The ghost of a whisper replied, with a warm and golden breeze blowing across his face.
I am always near.