Ashes and Roses of a Millennium

By Ryan L. L'Eveillee

As the main character lives an
entire millennium, he witnesses firsthand various milestones of forgotten
generations such as the Crusades, the Renaissance, and the devastating World
Wars in an emotionally charged way that no textbook could ever describe. Savor
the deepest hopes and fears of well-known individuals of ages past. Unveil the
delicate humanity within history's heroes and villains, who are not much
different than us. History is no longer a detached subject, but an intimate
force like a grandparent's weary heart and unconditional love, with an
inextinguishable promise of hope for the future. As the pages unfurl, you will
learn things you may not even know about yourself. Discover the simplest but
most profound secrets of life. Discover how your very existence was ultimately
determined a thousand years ago, and how you, yourself have been carving the
next millennium since the day you were born, engraving your own name in the
essence of time itself. Ashes and Roses of a Millennium holds a legacy
of love that will surely provoke a deep and intimate passion for history in the
young and old alike.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 26, 2003
• ISBN: 9781414030401

Ryan L. L'Eveillee

Ryan has loved writing since age nine, when he developed great interest in writing poetry, short stories, and reflective journals. His school essays earned high grades, and his fifth grade teacher told him he should compile his works in a book one day. In high school, Ryan's writing began reflecting on a new interest in history and philosophy. By his senior year, Ryan decided he should develop all his ideas from the course of his life - with inspiration from teachers, friends, and his grandparents - in a way that could be given out to the world. He then worked for nine months to transform what was in his heart into written text, compiling his first book. The rest is history.  

Book preview

Ashes and Roses of a  

 Millennium

By

Ryan L. L’Éveillée

© 2003 by Ryan L. L’Éveillée. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system, or transmitted by any means,

electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or

otherwise, without written permission from the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4140-3040-1 (e-book)

ISBN: 1-4140-3039-8 (Paperback)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2003098635

1stBooks-rev. 11/17/03

Table of Contents

Chapter I-The Paradox of Life

Chapter II-Rags to Riches

Chapter III-The Conquest

Chapter IV-The War

Chapter V-Life Will Go On

Chapter VI-A Cloud of Death

Chapter VII-A Dormant Spirit Unleashed

Chapter VIII-A Church Torn Asunder

Chapter IX-The New World

Chapter X-A Nation Rises

Chapter XI-The Renewal of Empires

Chapter XII-A House Divided

Chapter XIII-Crooks and Immigrants

Chapter XIV-The Great War

Chapter XV-Riches to Rags

Chapter XVI-The Betrayal of a Friend

Chapter XVII-The Age of the Sun’s Forces

Chapter XVIII-The World United

Chapter XIX-The World Turned Upside Down

Chapter XX-A Shrunken World

Chapter XXI-What the Future Holds

Chapter XXII-The Paradox of Life Unfurled

First, to my world: Grandma and Grampa Vogel, Mom, Dad, and Family.

Second, to some wonderful teachers: Mrs. Dawley, Mrs. Berk, Mr. Nolan, Mr. Feinberg, Mr. Blevins, and Mrs. Baldasaro.

Third, to a further collective foundation of what I am today: She who helped bring out in me all I could ever wish to be, Michelle; She who taught me the truest love of humanity, Mary-Lou; A selfless, gentle spirit who enriches my dreams, Deana; A sweet girl who melted my heart and gave me much joy, Meghan; She who gave me the courage to be myself no matter what, Abbie; And a sincere friend whose unconditional heart has been a key essence of inspiration in my life, Shauna.

Finally, to some other good friends who have inspired me: June, Louise, Linda, Scott, Ruth, and the Perkses.

I would like to thank the following individuals who have helped to make this work possible:

My mom, who provided much assistance with the technical aspects of this work.

My dad, whose living insight of the past half-century has been an element of inspiration.

Mrs. Baldasaro, for her advice of this work’s physical structure and format.

Mr. Nolan and Mr. Feinberg, for their immense wisdom of history that they have taught me over the past four years.

Dominique, whose unique heart and ideals of life inspired me with the perfect way to close the millennium.

Most of all, in memory of Grandma Louise Mickey McFarland Wibby Vogel. She is the crystallized image of history, wisdom, humility, and love, and my inspiration for this book itself, from the first idea to the final word.

Chapter I-The Paradox of Life

You don’t know me, but I assure you that I play a role in your very existence. I know deep things, and I have seen much. There is a place you have yet to see. It is a place that you want to see, but are not able to see. It is a place that you have been to many times, but you have never been there. It is a place you are in now, and yet you will never see this place. It is a place far beyond the sky, the moon, the sun, and even the most distant stars in the heavens. It is the furthest place in the universe, and yet it is so close you are holding it in your hand. The place is more real than anything else in the world, but the destination is the biggest illusion ever.

I have truly been to this place. It is a place I did not want to see, but I saw it. I was never there, but I was present at this place. I have held it in my hands, but it was not far away. When I was there this place was real, as well as the destination. I know this sounds quite strange, but life tends to contradict itself. Two complete opposites can engulf each other. Someone can be both a father and a son. To our elders adults are like children; to children adults are very old. To an ant a mouse is huge, but to a bear a mouse is tiny. I can’t yet find words to explain the paradox of life itself, but I promise these things will be opened to you in time. You will need to understand some other things first. But I will say this for now-the past is the past today, it was the present yesterday, and it was the future the day before that. In this complexity of time, it becomes

possible for the actions of a moment to become those of an eon. This complexity is what I have witnessed with my own eyes. Have you?

Chapter II-Rags to Riches

The beginning of my life is very dark in my memory. All I can really say about my infancy is that I was born in the Kingdom of the Angles and the Saxons in 1003 Anno Domini. My parents were of very high class, but this fortune turned out to be a curse for me. When I was very little there was an invasion in the land, and my brother and I were sent to the treacherous Kingdom of the Danes to await execution. A kind officer took pity on us and helped us escape to the land of the Swedes. From there, the King of the Magyars took us into his dwelling to raise and educate us.

When I grew up, my brother and I traveled to Normandy to await an opportunity to return to our native land, the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom. Eventually, I did return. There was so much to be done in the country. My heart was in pain from all the cruelty I saw around me. It was a rough time to live, the eleventh century.

My mission was simple. I would serve God and help the poor. I didn’t want wealth, strength, or reverence. All I wanted was for the world to have fewer tears. I eventually managed to drive the Danes out of our land for a longer span, and I also helped the Scots retrieve their King. There were always things I could do in my local region, as well. For example, I built churches-one of them particularly famous. In my time churches were a place of refuge for the poor. In them they could find food and shelter whenever they needed it, especially in times of war. I also let people keep a lot of my money. I always prayed earnestly that I would live long enough to bring peace not only to my country, but to the world as well.

As I prayed to God every day, I felt a power within me. Some say I had the ability to heal with the touch, but I don’t know. All I know is that I was simply doing my duty to humankind. If there was something profound happening, it was a force far beyond my knowledge.

Despite the fact that I devoted my life to charity every day for twenty-four years, despair began to find me. I felt like I was the only rich man in the whole world who cared about human life. The Danes, all they knew was slaughter. They killed so many of our innocent people, and I began to question my life. I wondered why I was spared during the conquest while so many others died. All it would have taken was the lack of one soul, the kind soldier who saved me, and I could have been killed years ago.

One night I prayed to God more profoundly than I ever had before. I asked him to give me the power to save the world and the people. I knew for sure that if this bloodshed continued, the end of the world could come by the close of the century. I felt the death of our kingdom blowing towards us in the wind as I prayed myself to sleep that night. But when I awoke, God transformed my life in a way I could never have imagined.

Chapter III-The Conquest

I had been sixty-three years old, and my heart felt very young. This old body, though, needed its rest, and I became less and less able to help others. I was so ancient that people would ignore me when I stared them right in the face. One day they ignored my life to the point that battle broke out right before my eyes, and I was too far-gone to do anything about it.

This battle springs from a cousin of mine, William, who wanted nothing more than to rule our land. He had been promised the crown, but another man-Harold II-took control. Rather than compromise or just settle the matter with Harold himself, William would do anything he could to get back what he considered his. Early in 1066 Anno Domini, the Norwegians attacked our land in the North, and we went there to drive them out. As we defeated them, however, the Normans came from the South and held the town of Hastings hostage. The Hastings residents and the nobles from London tried to defeat them, but we were all too unprepared.

The Normans claimed victory, and William took control. He took out his frustrations with political affairs on all the Angles and Saxons. We lost every bit of power we had had, and William took all our land for the Normans. For that land which we did keep, a brutal national tax was imposed. Everyday life was completely monotonous, each day being the same as the one before. We were forced to submit to the

Norman culture, and we lost our dignity. There weren’t many killings, but the murder of the spirit was vast.

In the larger perspective of our country, complex battles for control raged constantly. The Danes once again invaded, and the fighting spread through all of the British Isles. One memory that is particularly haunting to me is of William systematically destroying two entire cities. Every home, church, garden, and field was burned to the ground, and starvation consumed the residents for many years following. William also stirred up trouble in Scotland, wounding that which I had mended. A peace treaty was signed two years later with the King, but as part of the agreement William demanded that the King’s son be handed over as a hostage.

As he took more and more land, William decided to force the Anglo-Saxons into military service in exchange for a small acreage. In order to maximize his taxation, he commanded all his men to go throughout the country surveying land. He wanted to discover how much he owned, how the kingdom was divided, and how the people grouped themselves. They were compiled in the Domesday Book. By the end of his reign, only two Englishmen of what used to be thousands held large shares of land.

When his reign began, William had promised to uphold all the laws and customs of his predecessors. He wasn’t just speaking in vain. He really did mean what he said. Through his enforcement of church courts and Norman law and culture, however, much

tension arose. He had intended on giving all the people of the land their fair share, but in the wake of rebellion by Normans, Danes, and Anglo-Saxons, he became bitter and considered all men his enemy, except a select few Norman barons who shared his wealth.

He was born an ordinary child. He grew up to be a man seeking peace, justice, and happiness for all his people. Tragically, he died a bitter, greedy, ruthless, and lonely man. He felt quite hurt and worn down by those he mistook as friends. Even as a child, close members of his circle had tried to kill him. Perhaps he never trusted another human since that. He didn’t know it, but many of the Anglo-Saxons and Normans did admire him right to the end. He put them through so much suffering, but their reverence was unconditional.

I suppose the mind is extremely fragile, and it takes great diligence to keep ownership of it. Once you allow an enemy inside your mind, he or she may decide to move in and stay forever. Be on your guard against such a thing, as the mind is second only to the heart. Allow your enemy inside your heart, and it takes a miracle or a final breath to save you.

Even at the very end William was hurt. I heard of his final decree, stating that his son William Rufus was to inherit the monarchy; that Henry, another son, was left 5,000 pounds of silver; and that Robert, his eldest son, was given Normandy. He and Robert had great grievances between them. They fought on separate sides on various occasions. During the five weeks he spent dying, William Rufus and Henry were by his side. Robert, on the other hand, wanted no part of it. As the hours faded away, Robert refused within himself to make amends with the man who gave him life. Hurt as he was, William gave Robert only Normandy. I doubt if Robert ever found contentedness in his heart, for he always sought after a void in the form of land and money. But that’s a long story, and I would like to reflect on more urgent things.

As time goes by, it is so easy to forget. It has been eighty-four years since I came to the world, and I know that even if I live on for a thousand years I will never forget one moment of William’s selfishness, nor will I forget one moment of his unconditional love. He was good and evil side by side. Beyond everything else there is one thing I recall about William that will be dyed into my memory forever, standing out among all others. I will remember a William who was fully real, not just a distant, symbolic conqueror. I will remember him as a human being who was lying in a bed, unable to even move. I see a man who spent his last moments in anger and hurt because his son just didn’t have the strength to say ‘thank you for bringing me into the world.’

I suddenly felt, although admittedly subtly, a small flutter of respect for this man. He was a horrible man and a greedy man, but I truly believe he loved his children. After living a life of betrayal and loss, he felt no choice but to obtain what he was promised by brutal force. If William’s life could not make people