How Franz Liebling Defeated Darkness

Franz became a candlemaker so that he could defeat darkness. They lit his candles in every house in the village, and the village was full of light, and the livestock was healthy, and children were born. Whenever the sun was not there to light their way, they had the flame upon his candles to keep them through until morning. They too, like the gods who created the universe, could say let there be light, and light would be there. He decided the candle must be the greatest triumph of human invention, and nobody could do what he did.

Their homes lay at the foot of a great mountain, a mountain that stretched miles wide and miles high. There was a cave on the side of the mountain, but no man went there as a fearsome legend surrounded it. If you asked a child what was there they’d name all manner of pagan beasts. If you asked adults they’d say a killer resided there, or some sort of evil spirit or rabid wolf. Anytime another mundane tragedy struck the people (which was not often at all, but they still asked the gods in their prayers why they must be his tortured people), they cursed the cave creature with all their might. The most recent of these mundane tragedies was an incident involving trees.

There was no solid, deep forest in the region; meek, small trees grew in patches of forest, scattered over the land. Strangely enough, though they were by a mountain, the soil was too loose and brittle to anchor any kind of large tree with mighty roots. It was as if the rock split off at the threshold of the mountain and gave way to their dusty flatlands, like a tectonic boundary (they of course did not know what such a thing was). Mother’s rejoiced for these tiny forests, as they were not filled with shadows and dangers, and children could play in them safely without getting lost. They stopped rejoicing for them when the patch of forest closest to the village was exhausted of trees. The last tree was cut down by a father crafting a cot for his soon to be born child, so he was not villainized personally for this inconvenience, but the people lamented nonetheless.

‘Now we must walk another 300 feet for wood every single time!’

‘Oh I think it’s more like 500. How will it be in the cold months? They’ll freeze out there.’

‘And then when the next patch gets exhausted? Then what? The gods intend to make of us labourers.’

‘I’d rather say the gods intend to exterminate us!’

‘Why, don’t say that, this is no work of any gods. This is the thing in the cave.’

It was a truly dramatic affair. Franz needed fresh wood to burn everyday in order to melt his wax and cast his candles. He was an old man, and hauling trees had already been exhausting. He refused to ask anyone for help, for they would surely help him with a smile but then curse him with the cave creature's name behind his back for being a bothersome man. The man who burns all the trees and can’t even haul them himself. The man responsible for the exhaustion of the tiny forest, who makes them suffer so. They will forget he gives them light.

‘The cave creature is truly cruel for doing this to an old man. I should believe the cave creature wished to see me in my grave, and have the people in a darkness just like its own.’

That is when Franz had a strange, brilliant idea.

‘I will give the cave creature light, and its wrath shall end, and it will bother us no more. Maybe it will even bless us, since it clearly has great power, with brand new trees even closer to us. Maybe it will start piling the wood at our doorsteps.’

And so, Franz set out early the next morning, early enough that no one else would be around to see him. The fiery sun was just beginning to rise as he scaled the side of the mountain, searching for an entrance. He finally found it. It was some way from the base of the mountain, and it looked like it sloped downwards as if it could eventually lead to the centre of the earth. As soon as he entered, he started lighting a trail of candles in a line from the entrance. Thick, white pillar candles. As he walked deeper and deeper, they illuminated the droplets of damp on the cave walls and made it glitter, and Franz was very pleased. ‘Light is blessing this darkness with its beauty’, he thought, and his soul was filled with great joy. The entrance of the cave soon disappeared from sight, and Franz stopped in his tracks, as he heard footsteps from the great darkness within.

‘Who goes there?’, he called out, holding a candle out into the darkness. A human figure emerged, a man in a long, dark brown cloak, almost like a monk.

‘What is that you are holding stranger? The thing that glows and flickers like a star?’, asked the figure. He was an old man, older even than Franz. His countenance radiated something ancient, but hardly threatening.

‘It is a candle, my good man.’ Franz was not afraid, for he had his light with him. He saw something of himself in the stranger.

‘And how does it work?’

‘You cast a woven wick in a block of wax, and set it alight with a match at the top, right here.’ Franz set down the candle he was holding, got out a new one from his bag, and demonstrated. 

‘What wonders human beings are capable of.’ The stranger watched the flame closely, as if in trance. It danced beautifully for him, indeed very much like a little star.

Franz set the candle down and extended his hand.

‘I am Franz Liebling, the candle maker who lives just outside this cave. Many men and women live alongside me, and there is a new child just about every year. What is your name?’

The stranger shook his hand hesitantly, as if the gesture was foreign to him.

‘I am Philemon, who lives in the cave. Come, Franz, sit down with me.’

Franz picked the candle back up off the floor and followed Philemon through the dark corridor. Philemon led the way, navigating through the darkness as if he saw everything clear as day. They walked for about two minutes before they entered something like a stone room. It looked as if the stone had been carved, to form raised benches where one could sit and one column that was like a table. A stone cup sat atop of it.

‘Please, sit.’ Philemon motioned to the bench, and both men sat down. ‘So, there are many on the surface? Many like us?’

‘Well, yes. Of us there are forty four at present. Surely, you have been on the surface. You said my fire was like a star, so you must have seen the stars.’ 

‘I have been on the surface, but only on the other side of the mountain. I must tell you, truthfully, that I fear your side of the land. I tried to journey there, but I fled, for it was uninhabitable. I am glad to hear, from the sounds of it, that it is possible for men to live there now, and the tragedy is over.’

Franz was puzzled.

‘What happened when you came to our side of the land?’

‘Well, I was curious what lay there. So, I left the cave and went outside. It must have been before your people settled there, for I saw only little patches of forest and flat land and not much else. I rested against a tree, when suddenly a terrifying star came towards me. It was like the stars on the other side, but much bigger, and its light blinded me, and made my skin burn.’

‘Do you mean the sun? Are you saying there is no sun on the other side?’

Philemon shook his head, his mouth agape with horror from remembering the terrifying ordeal.

‘I do not understand what you say, sir, but your terrifying star stopped me from ever going back. I am glad to hear it never collided with the earth, as the thing seemed to be coming right at me. I sensed that it had thought and vengeance.’

Franz shook his head. ‘That star is no such thing. Sure, it is large in comparison to the other stars, but it is the reason the trees grow, and it gives us light during the day time. Like a big candle in the sky. It cannot harm us.’

Already fond of Franz’s little flames, the candle visual calmed Philemon down. He smiled to himself and gazed again into the flame.

‘In fact, it is that very large star that supplied us with the fire I use to light my candles! In the beginning, the gods put the first man onto the earth, and they gave him the large star so that he could have light, but only for half of every day. The man however was unsatisfied, and demanded that it be light all the time, and that the large star would never disappear from his sight. He was very fond of it. For this bothersome complaining, the gods banished the man to the moon, and from the moon he walked to the sun, bravely through the great darkness, and brought us back an ounce of the fire that it was made out of. I am this man’s grandson. The fire was passed down to me, and I found a way to capture it.’ He held up another unlit candle, smiling proudly. This story captivated Philemon greatly.

‘We had no such hero on the other side of the mountain. We lived in eternal darkness, and slowly the people died, and I buried them in the sand. I know not why I was able to keep on living, but I fled to the cave, and failing to survive on the other side out of fear of your great stars fiery rage, I waited here. The cave told me someone would come to me, and I waited many many years, and finally you have come.’

Franz was mystified. 

‘How long have you survived here? How have you survived here?’

‘That I do not know, but I know that I am very very old. I believe it is the will of something far greater than me.’

There was a silence between the men.

‘Franz, I’m afraid I must ask of you a massive favour.’

‘I will assist you however I can.’ Franz felt immense pity for the ancient man who lived in darkness.

‘Come with me to the other side of the mountain, and bring your fire to the land.’

‘Lead the way, and I shall do as you ask.’

-

The men walked out of the little stone room and through a series of twisting corridors. Franz behind with the candle, and Philemon in front. They walked for a long time, the stone walls closing in and opening back up like the throat of a great, ancient creature. Finally, an opening came into sight, and Franz saw stars. They emerged from the pit just as Franz’s candle went out, wax running down his hand. Before the men sprawled out an immense desert, with dunes as tall as towers. Franz kneeled down and touched the sand, and it was pleasantly warm. The sky was not black but a deep, royal blue, with an abundance of stars that shone much brighter than they did on the other side, and with a multitude of lustrous colours.

‘May I light a candle?’ asked Philemon, pulling Franz out of his awe stricken trance.

‘Of course, my good man.’ He fumbled in his pockets for his matches, and pulled out a new candle. His last one, from the very bottom of his bag. ‘You must strike the match on this side of the box, quickly, just as you saw me do it. Do not be afraid of the fire. Then hold it to this part of the candle until you see it set alight. Then it will burn for a few hours. I’m sorry I have no more candles to give you. I could bring you some more from the other side whenever you like.’

Philemon performed the action perfectly, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and set the candle down in the sand. 

'Thank you with all my heart. You are a truly good man, and your love will be rewarded. One candle is quite sufficient. Please, lay down with me, and let us watch the stars for just a while before you return to your land.' 

'I would like that very much.' 

The men lay in the sand, the candle between them, watching the dancing stars intently. Franz saw things unlike anything he'd ever seen. 'I must teach one of the children the candle craft and start looking into whatever ancient dance is happening up there', he thought to himself. He realised that if fire came from the sky, surely some other great wisdom must lie there too, and that it was his task as the grandson of the man who once brought them the fire from the sun to discover the next great celestial invention. 

'Philemon? Do you think man will ever journey to every single star up there, just as my grandfather journeyed to the sun?'

He received no answer.

'Philemon?' 

Franz sat up, and saw that nothing but a yellowed skeleton remained of Philemon. The candle was still burning, but strangely enough none of it had burned away yet. Although they were lying there for a while, it looked as if it had just been lit. Franz smiled, knowing that the land on the other side of the mountain now has its own light forever. A tiny, dancing sun of his own creation. He stood up and walked back to the cave's entrance, unafraid of the darkness that lay ahead.