The Master Healer

By Ellice Wong

Set during the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan, the wife of the Great Chief of the Dawn Clan, of the Hun tribes, is dying of a rare disease. Prince Ruga and his best friend Alp the shoemaker, are tasked by the Clan's Healer to urgently embark on a dangerous journey to find the cure on Mount Destiny.

Guided by a mysterious man who appears to him in his dreams along the way, Alp comes to believe in the power of the Master Healer.

Who is this mysterious man and will his friend Prince Ruga believe him? And more importantly, will the Great Chief's wife be healed in time?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ellice Wong
• Release date: Mar 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9780648919445

Book preview

© Ellice Wong 2020

Unless otherwise stated, all Scriptures are taken from the New Living Translation (Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.)

Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

Cataloguing in Publication Data:

Title: The Master Healer

ISBN: 978-0-6489194-4-5 (pbk)

Subjects: Juvenile Fiction

Other Authors/Contributors: Wong, Ellice

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Contents

Introduction

Background

1    Unexpected news

2    Esla’s house

3    Liberty

4    The mysterious Man

5    The Wilderness of the South

6    The Dark Trade

7    A Friend

8    The Governor’s Residence

9    The Emperor’s Birthday

10    Free indeed

11    The pearl of great price

12    Berik

13    Thankfulness

14    The Tree of Human Wisdom

15    Acin

16    The River

17    Lessons in the Wilderness

18    Providence

19    The Father’s love

20    The Master Healer

21     My Father

My Story

Discussion Questions

Appendix

This book is dedicated first and foremost to the Master Healer.

To my wonderful parents: Thank you for your support in editing and critiquing my work. I could not have done this without you.

Setting:

Hun nomadic tribe settlements northeast of the Carpathian Mountains, Central Europe

AD 106-107 During the reign of Roman Emperor Trajan

Introduction

Despite the advances in modern medicine, many people still live in fear of contracting an incurable disease. At the time of writing this book, the world has been gripped by a global pandemic that has taken many people away from their loved ones forever. Countries around the world are scrambling to find a possible cure for this disease that has wreaked havoc in the lives of millions of people. The current chaos in the world has certainly caused many people to search for answers about life and faith. This book is an illustration of the believer’s walk with the Lord and aims to inspire hope and trust in the risen Jesus. Although the storyline of this book might appear to appeal to younger readers, there are many spiritual lessons that can be learned for everyone. It is my prayer that this book will help you in your journey to find the help that the Master Healer offers in the midst of life’s challenges. In the eyes of the Master Healer, no disease is incurable.  

‘But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain; even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God and afflicted for something he had done. But he was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed.’ Isaiah 53:4-5 NET 

Background

The Huns were a nomadic people from central Asia that entered Europe after 370AD. Before this time, they largely lived in the West Eurasian steppes. Knowledge about Hun society and culture remains scarce in the archaeological records. It is thought that they originated in Central Asia and are related to the Xiongnu people of ancient China. They traded with the Romans while also receiving large amounts of gold from raiding and looting other central Asian tribes. They were largely shamanistic in their beliefs.

At the time period that I have set this book in, the Huns were still a loose confederation of nomadic tribes. As the names of these tribes are unknown, I have taken some creative liberty to name one of these tribes as the Dawn tribe. Nobody knows what language the Huns spoke and many speculate that the Hunnic language was similar to that of Old Turkic, Mongolic and Yeniseian. I have incorporated some of the Dawn tribe characters with names originating from a mixture of these languages.

1

Unexpected news

Winter was not yet over. An icy breeze wrapped its unforgiving fingers around my face, causing me to turn over onto my side. Then, I deeply regretted that I had even moved. My fingers and toes were completely numb from the cold. Every muscle in my body was aching from the journey of the past twelve months.

Pulling the woollen blanket over myself tightly, I attempted to go back to sleep but without success. Just at that moment, Ruga let out a thunderous snore. Sticking my fingers into my ears did not help me one bit! Annoyed, I looked across at him. He was completely stretched out on the grass mat, mouth hanging open with a pool of saliva forming on the ground beside him. Ruga’s long limbs were barely covered by a thin blanket but he was completely oblivious to the biting cold. No one and nothing had ever been able to wake up my sleeping friend.

How was it possible for him to choose the wrong time to keep me awake every single morning? It was still far too early! I curled up into fetal position, alternately rubbing my hands and then my feet, trying to keep warm.

As I lay on the grass mat, a deep sense of dread began to fill my mind. I did not want to think about what would happen in just a few days’ time. A trickle of salty water ran down the side of my cheek. Then another. As a boy from the Dawn tribe, I had been brought up not to cry. Frustrated, I furiously tried to brush those tears aside and closed my eyes. It was too late. I had been holding them back for far too long. I clamped a hand over my mouth to muffle my sobs. I knew I could not afford to let Ruga see me crying.

Whenever a male in my tribe had come sixteen years of age, he was to live for a year in the wild away from his family. This period was known as the Testing. It was part of an ancient tradition in keeping with our nomadic life. All males would learn the skills needed to survive in the wild during this period. We were never to forget who we were as a people and where we had come from. If a male failed to complete his Testing, he would be completely cut off from our people.

These past twelve months had given me much time to think about what Ruga really meant to me. He was my closest friend. Now that we were nearing the end of the journey that had taken us miles away from home, I knew that I had to make a choice. Ruga’s father was right. I had to let go. Those were his last words to me when we first set off on our Journey of Testing. Deep down, I really doubted if I was strong enough to hold onto that decision.

Upon his return, Ruga would be the next Great Chief of the Dawn tribe. From the intricate braiding in his hair to the leather sandals on his feet, Ruga displayed his claim to leadership. He was witty and charming, traits that had endeared many of our people to him. Dozens had sent him off, desiring his safe return. In contrast, nothing important could be said about me. I was the son of a shoemaker, one of the lowest occupations in our tribe.

On assuming the position as Great Chief, Ruga would have to go through the cleansing ceremony that was performed by the Great Priest Draco. All contact with anyone descended from lowly birth was to be renounced. Friendship between a prince and a commoner was never going to last. It would bring untold shame to our families if we continued to meet. This was the way it had been for centuries. I could not let myself stand in the way of Ruga’s success. I had no choice but to resign to my fate.

In a few days’ time, I would have to promise the Great Chief Bilga that Ruga would never see my face again after the cleansing ceremony. Birth rights, family tradition and social status brought order into our tribe. Later, I realized that tradition was also a double-edged sword.

The sun had started to peep over the horizon, dressing the fluffy clouds in hues of red and purple. At last, Ruga finally stirred. Tossing back his long, braided hair like a lion would shake its mane, he let out a huge yawn and stretched his arms. Soon, I heard his footsteps approaching.

Ruga’s high-pitched singing resounded in my ears:

‘Wake up, you sleepy head!

The day’s just begun.

Don’t dream any longer

Show your face to the Sun!

"The Sun is shining,

Stop your whining!

Come out of bed,

You sleepy head!’

‘Come on!’ Ruga tugged my arm, pulling me off the grass mat. He tackled me to the ground and playfully threw a series of punches at me. Grunting loudly in my attempt to block Ruga’s wandering fists, I successfully managed to dodge them all. That was part of the morning exercise as Ruga thought that I was too unfit. Laughing, we rolled over on the grass in friendly combat.

‘You’re getting better, Alp,’ Ruga said when he had finished. We lay by the side of a grassy slope, catching our breath as we stared up at the clouds.

‘I’ve always been good,’ I panted. I was still perspiring and breathing heavily but Ruga had barely a bead of sweat on his face. How was it possible for him to be so fit?

Soon we were back walking along the narrow dirt track that would take us home in a few days. We were surrounded by wide grassy plains. The sky was now an azure blue, speckled with thin wisps of cloud. Overhead, a flock of geese was slowly making their way across the snow-capped mountains towards the east. They were too far away for us to attempt shooting one of them down. Several ancient oak trees dotted about the landscape; their branches were covered in new green leaves. Some early wildflowers sprang up from the grass, clothing the plains in a kaleidoscope of color. I could just barely make out the shimmering waters of the Fox River on our right. I could not wait to see my family’s faces again. Oh, I would see my sweet fiancée Erdene! That vivacious girl with hair as dark as midnight and lustrous hazel eyes! I had promised to marry her when I returned.

Ruga soon stopped walking and bent down. He carefully studied the tracks on the path and motioned me with his hands to be quiet. A faint rustling sound was coming from among the sea of tall grass. Grasping the bow that he had slung around his back, Ruga aimed the bow in the direction of the sound. He drew forth a wooden arrow and released it.

The next thing I knew, Ruga was holding a white mass of fur in his hands. A dead rabbit was enough to whet my appetite, after two weeks of living on roots and green shoots. The bread we had brought with us for the journey was long gone. The wild berries that I looked forward to would not be in season until many months later. Foraging for wild fruit had been difficult during this period. I was glad that Ruga was with me. He never had a problem finding food.

Within ten minutes, we had a dressed rabbit on the fire. The smell was divine! Ruga could not wait. Ignoring my warnings about eating raw rabbit meat, he sat down and tore off one leg even before it was thoroughly cooked! I pursed my lips in disapproval but Ruga did not care. It did not matter much. I had secretly left the other rabbit leg for