June 25, 2025 • 42 mins
A silence only winter can hold envelops the forest as we journey deeper into The Relic Hunter saga. This transformative episode explores what happens when a man faces not just external challenges, but the harder battle within himself.
The hunter and Kael venture into an ancient Viking tomb seeking a legendary artifact—a sword hilt without a blade. As they navigate through ethereal guardians and personal trials, they discover this isn't merely another relic to collect. The sword represents something far more profound: the power of conviction and what we're truly willing to defend when everything is on the line.
"The sword without a blade isn't broken, it's waiting," becomes the central revelation as our protagonist confronts his deepest fears embodied by an invisible king. The blade only forms when he makes a decisive choice—not out of rage or dominance, but from a place of protection and love. This powerful metaphor resonates beyond the story, challenging us to examine where we might be hesitating in our own lives, what we would genuinely defend if tested, and what decisions might transform our reality if made with full conviction.
The episode culminates in five reflective questions that invite listeners to turn inward: What have you been afraid to fully choose? What would you defend if everything was on the line? What does your invisible king say to you? When have you left your power on the table? What decision, if made fully, would change your life forever?
Ready to discover what you're truly capable of defending? Join the conversation about this episode through the "let's chat" link in the description, email Anthony@gentsjourney.com, or connect on Instagram @mygentsjourney.
"True mastery is found in the details. The way you handle the little things defines the way you handle everything."
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Gentleman's Journey podcast.
My name is Anthony, your host,and today we are in episode six
of the Relic Hunter.
I can't.
I honestly I'm shocked.
(00:21):
I can't believe that this ishappening so fast Like we.
We are really, really, reallybarreling over here.
Honestly, I'm shocked.
I can't believe that this ishappening so fast.
We are really, really, reallybarreling over here.
So let me just go ahead andlet's get into the cold opening.
There is a silence that onlywinter can hold, not just quiet,
(00:46):
but the kind of stillness thatfeels like the world is waiting
to exhale.
They move slowly through theskeletal trees dusted in snow,
past, ancient stones worn smoothby time, kale and the hunter no
words, just breath, just thesound of boots crunching frost.
He carries a clock, with notime ticking now, but faint,
slower than it should, as ifwarning them that this place is
(01:10):
different.
She glances at him, wants tosay something, but doesn't.
The forest begins to thin, andahead, jutting from the earth
like a buried fang, is a stoneentrance to a tomb, a Viking
tomb, sealed in ice, marked byan emblem they've seen before,
(01:33):
the same one etched faintly intothe cracked compass.
He stops, he places a handagainst the stone, the clock
goes silent.
Kael softly says you don't haveto go in alone.
The hunter says I think I do.
She doesn't argue, just nods,steps back into the shadows of
(01:59):
the trees.
The door opens, not by forcebut by recognition.
The tomb knows him, or ratherremembers him, and as he
descends into the dark, the colddoesn't follow.
Instead it's warm, still lit byan unseen flame, the kind that
(02:24):
lives in memory.
At the center of the tomb, on astone altar, is a sword hilt, no
blade, just the handle, wrappedin ancient leather inscribed
with runes that glow faint gold.
He reaches out, stops apresence, enters the space
(02:47):
behind him.
There's a deep, ethereal voicethat says this is not a weapon,
not.
Yet the hunter turns.
No one is there, just Echo.
The voice closer now, power isnot given, it is drawn from
within.
If you reach for this, you mustdecide what you're willing to
(03:09):
defend.
His hand hovers over the hilt.
A flicker Kale's face, hervoice, a memory, a whisper of
love.
He almost let himself believe.
Then darkness, a vision she'sfalling, pulled from him, her
eyes pleading and he doesnothing.
(03:30):
His hand jerks back, he gasps.
The sword disappears, the voicecolder.
Now Then you were not ready.
He falls to his knees.
His hands are trembling.
Outside, kel watches the tomb,eyes misted, as if she knew what
would happen, and in the wind,softly, barely there, a second
(03:56):
voice whispers from the trees.
You can't protect what youwon't claim.
The air in the foot drawer wasdifferent, not colder, not
heavier, but somehow older.
Mist crawled low across thefrozen path as a hunter in kale
(04:20):
stepped from the small boatboots, crunching into gravel and
ice Ahead.
Jagged stones jutted from theearth like broken teeth, the
Fajor narrowed into a valleyflanked by tiring cliffs of
ancient volcanic rock, and abovethem, somewhere in the
mountain's crest, buried in mythand legend, was the tomb.
(04:42):
Kale adjusted the strap of herpack and looked toward the ridge
.
You sure this is the place.
He didn't answer right away.
He reached into his coatretrieving the clock, still
handless.
But when they left the motel ithad pulsed again, faint warmth,
(05:03):
like a heartbeat, as if guidinghim, pointing the way that
warmth had grown stronger,closer they came to this place,
he nodded yeah, it's here.
They moved in silence for awhile.
The slope, steep andunforgiving.
She slipped once he caught her,their eyes locked for a second,
(05:23):
too long before she looked away.
I thought you hated the cold,she said I do.
Then why do you look peaceful?
He scanned the horizon Becauseit feels like the cold.
Has memory?
Kel raised a brow.
Memory, yeah, like rememberswho's come through before, who
(05:48):
failed, who bled, like it'stesting if we'll make it farther
.
They reached the mouth of thedark, narrow cave.
Someone had blown in but melteddeeper down, leaving the rock
wet and slick.
Kel lit her lantern.
The hunter stepped first.
The narrow passage twists likea serpent.
(06:09):
Moss-covered stone runes etchedin patterns he didn't recognize
, or maybe he didn't want to.
The deeper they went, thewarmer it grew, not naturally,
but as if the tomb were alive,its breath coming slower.
Now, waiting at last.
(06:29):
They entered a vast chamber.
Icicles hung from the ceilinglike glass fangs.
A single stone platform stoodin the center, dusted with frost
, and on it a sword hilt, noblade, just the hilt.
A sword hilt, no blade, justthe hilt.
Wrapped in dark leather,weathered, old and unmistakably
alive.
It vibrated faintly, humminglike an unsung promise.
(06:57):
Carol stepped forward Careful.
He said Something's off.
I know.
She stopped just short of theplatform.
It's like it's watching us, notit?
He said something else.
A sudden rush of wind burstthrough the cavern, icy and
violent.
(07:17):
The torch flickered wildly, theshadows shifted.
From the far wall a shapeemerged, human but wrong, a
guardian.
Its body was wrapped in blackand firm bone, Its face hidden
behind a carved mask of wood andantler.
He held no weapon, only a gazethat pierced through centuries.
(07:38):
He didn't speak, but the hunterfelt it.
You don't deserve the blade,you haven't earned the right.
He stepped forward anyways.
I'm not here to steal it.
The guardian tilted its head.
Kel moved to its side.
(08:01):
This doesn't feel like theothers, because this one's not
just about taking the hunter,said.
It's about proving.
The hunter raised a hand and,with a sound like thunder
cracking bone, the chamber split.
A ring of fire encircled theplatform, the sword held, now
surrounded by flame.
You have to go alone.
Cal said.
He looked at her.
(08:25):
Something heavy in his eyes.
If I don't come back, stoppedhim, you will.
He stepped into the flame.
It didn't burn, not his skin,not his clothes, but it searched
him.
Every memory, every regret,every failure, the lie he told
himself, the night he left, theface of his brother, the pain he
buried.
(08:45):
He reached for the hilt.
It didn't move.
He gripped tighter, forcing hiswill through the fear.
And then the fire vanished andthe guardian bowed and in his
hand the hilt, still without ablade.
He turned to Kale.
It didn't give me the sword,she nodded slowly.
(09:06):
It wasn't supposed to.
What was the test then?
Kale looked at him, eyes soft,voice quiet.
Rather you try, even without aweapon.
And somewhere behind them,unseen, the blade began to form,
simmering into existence, notfrom metal, but from choice,
(09:32):
from love, from what he waswilling to fight for.
The descent into the valley wasquiet, too quiet.
As they trekked down the slopedpath through the birch-lined
ravine, an eerie pressure seemedto mount with every step, like
the world was holding its breath.
The storm had subsided, but acold mist hung low, curling
(09:55):
around the forest floor likesmoke from an unseen fire.
Kale kept glancing over hershoulder, her hand brushed the
edge of her, her coat, where herknife was hidden.
The hunter noticed and for thefirst time in a long time he
asked without hesitation whatare you feeling?
He said, voice low.
(10:16):
Kel paused Like we're beingwatched Not by something alive,
but by something old.
They exchanged a glance,neither spoke again until the
trees gave way to a clearing.
There, half buried in ice andvine, stood the remains of an
(10:41):
ancient Viking longhouse.
Its roof had collapsed inwardcenturies ago, but the stone
walls and carved support beamsstill stood, defiantly
whispering stories in the wind.
It's here the hunter murmured.
How do you know, kel asked.
He pointed to the compasshanging from his belt.
It spun slowly, not in franticcircles like when he was lying,
(11:06):
but with a steady rhythm, asthough tracking something deep
within the earth.
They stepped inside the ruins.
The air changed, the mist grewheavier.
There were no animals, nosounds, no signs of life, only a
strange tension, like walkinginto a sacred burial ground
where the dead still listened.
Kale lit a small torch,revealing runes along the
(11:29):
interior beams.
She translated aloud as herfingers traced them To draw the
blade.
One must know the weight ofwhat they would protect.
The hunter turned, eyesnarrowing.
Not who, what?
She nodded.
It's not just about love, it'sabout conviction.
(11:52):
Suddenly, the ground trembledbeneath them.
Stone shifted, ice cracked.
From beneath the earth, agrinding sound echoed Ancient
stone scrapping against ancientstone.
She rushed outside just in timeto see the ground open.
Near the edge of the clearing, astaircase emerged, slow and
solemn, carved from solidobsidian.
(12:13):
Kel looked at him.
We're not alone.
He looks at her.
I know let's go.
They descended together, thetorchlight flickering against
the black stone.
The air grew colder, but notfrom temperature.
Let's go upon a pedestal boneand petrified wood.
(12:34):
Lay the help, Just the help.
No blade, no edge, only theworn leather grip and weathered
crossguard etched with symbolsof protection.
(12:55):
The hunter approached it slowly.
Kel stayed at the edge of theroom.
He reached out but stopped justshort of touching it.
But stopped just short oftouching it.
You feel it too, kel asked.
He nodded, it's testing me.
The room darkened, the torchdimmed.
From the walls came whispers,not language, either of them
(13:16):
recognized but understoodnonetheless.
Judgments, doubts, old memoriesdisguised as monsters.
You left her a voice, said hespun, fist clenched.
No.
She waited and he ran Stop it.
(13:37):
Kale stepped forward.
It's not real.
It's the relic.
It's forcing you to face thetruth again.
But this wasn't like the flameor the stone or the bell.
This relic wasn't a mirrorreflection, it was a forge.
The voice grew louder you don'tprotect because you love.
You protect because you fearbeing alone.
The under grabbed and dropped toone knee, his chest tightened,
(13:58):
his breath ragged.
And yet he reached again.
His fingers close around thehilt.
Nothing happened.
No power, no happened.
No power, no transformation, noblade.
Until Cal screamed, he lookedup to see a figure rising from
the shadows behind her.
Not a creature, not a spirit.
A man Draped in leather and fur, face painted in war symbols,
(14:24):
eyes dead and ancient.
The hunter leapt to his feet andand in that instant the blade
appeared.
Not with fire, not with light,but with silence.
It shimmered into existence.
Not steel, but something deeper, something drawn from him.
The figure paused, sensing thechange.
The hunter stepped forward.
(14:44):
You shouldn't have touched her.
Then he struck.
The blade sliced cleanlythrough the phantom.
No blood, no crying, only dust.
And then Silence again.
Kale was breathing hard.
Her eyes were wide.
That wasn't a guardian, shesaid.
(15:04):
That was a test.
He looked down at the bladestill there, real.
I didn't draw it because Iwanted to fight.
He said.
I drew it because I couldn'tlet you be harmed.
Kael's gaze softened and nowyou know, she whispered what
(15:24):
you're willing to protect.
He turned to the torch, held ithigher.
The far end of the chamber wasanother passage and beyond it
the next trial.
But this time he didn'thesitate because now he carried
a blade.
It wasn't forged from metal, itwas forged from choice.
(15:45):
The fog didn't roll in thistime.
It rose from the ground likebreath from the earth itself.
The hunter and cattle descendedthrough the winding path that
led them beneath the frost-lacedcliffs Deeper into the
bone-ribbed valley, whisperedabout in the sagas, each step
echoed with memory of those whopassed here before.
(16:06):
Viking guardians, ancientprotectors, ghosts of conviction
.
Kel held the compass in onehand and the fractured bell from
the monastery in the other.
Neither reacted.
No lies, no doubt Not yet.
But the silence of the relicsfelt loaded, as though they were
(16:27):
watching, waiting.
The hunter slowed his pace.
We're getting close.
How do you know?
She asked voice low, carefulnot to disturb the quiet.
I don't, he answered honestly,scanning the zone outcropping
(16:47):
ahead, but I can feel it like inmy bones.
They reached a jagged altar,half buried in ice and moss.
Ruins carved from Cal's hands,long dead, glowed faintly under
the snow.
Cal stepped forward and tracedthem with her gloved fingers.
This language, she murmured,it's older than Norris, it's
(17:12):
proto-Sigils, pre-human.
Even the hunter crouched besideher.
The wound shimmered faintlywith blue light as his shadow
fell across them.
It's reacting to me?
No, she corrected, glancing athim.
It's recognizing you.
Suddenly, the compass in herhand spun wildly.
(17:34):
The bell trembled.
No sound, but it quivered.
A low hum rose beneath theearth.
Cal backed up.
You're standing on something.
He looked down.
The circle beneath his bootswas perfect green, carved into
stone, lined with jagged silveretchings.
The ground gave way.
(17:56):
They landed hard, not enough tobreak bone, but enough to knock
the breath from their lungs.
The hunter groaned, clutchinghis ribs.
Kel blinked through dust andlight.
They were in a chamber, no, aforge, ancient circular, pulsing
with old heat.
A fire that had not burned in amillennia now lit itself in the
(18:19):
center.
Suspended above the flame wasthe sword handle, the same one
from his vision.
No blade, just the hilt,wrapped in dark leather, etched
with recall-like sigils.
Kel whispered it's real.
The hunter stood slowly.
It was always real.
As he stepped forward, thechamber shifted.
(18:41):
From the far walls, threeshadow forms emerged.
Not men, not gods.
The chamber shifted From thefar walls, three shadow forms
emerged.
Not men, not gods, figures ofmyth and judgment Testers.
You seek the blade.
One atoned in his voice likegravel wrapped in wind.
But you have never chosen whatto defend.
(19:01):
The second one said you foughtfor truth, for memory, for
redemption, said the third, butnever love.
Kale's breath caught.
She looked at him.
They're right.
He glanced at her.
What are they talking about?
She didn't answer.
(19:23):
One of the forums steppedcloser To draw the blade.
You must declare what you woulddie for.
The hunter didn't speak.
What do you do for love?
The second one repeated.
Kel turned to him fully.
Now you don't have to say it,just know it.
(19:45):
But he did speak, slowly,gritting and out voice cracking.
I left everything once my name,my past, even her.
I convinced myself it was forthe greater good, that chasing
relics, solving mysteries mademe whole.
But none of it mattered if Icould protect what I loved.
He stepped forward to the flame.
(20:08):
I love her, he said.
The hilt blazed white.
The chamber began to quake.
I don't know who she was, hesaid, looking at Kale, but I
could feel it in my bones Iloved her.
Maybe I still do.
Kale swallowed hard, eyes wet.
(20:28):
She whispered you never stoppedFrom the light.
A blade formed.
It extended from the hilt, notof steel or iron, but of radiant
conviction, ethereal, alive.
The hunter reached out, andthis time the sword.
Let him hold it.
As the light settled, theshadow forms bowed.
(20:48):
You may now face what comes,they said in unison, and then
they were gone.
Kel stepped beside him.
He remembered Noah.
He said, dragging the blade Ichose, and with that the chamber
door opened, not behind them.
(21:10):
Forward they walked into thenext trial, the sword gleaming
in his hand.
The wind had picked up again.
They moved through the thickforest, now deeper in the
Swedish wilds.
Kale's GPS, long abandoned thiswasn't a place for satellites
reached.
The map she carried was drawnby hand, etched with symbols
(21:31):
that only revealed themselves inshadow.
The hunter traced his fingersalong them one last time.
Before they entered the nextclearing, a ring of ancient
stones rose before them, massiveflabs arched like teeth against
the sky.
At the center, a rusted gatelay half buried in snow.
(21:51):
Beyond it, the path nailed intoa ravine cut through black rock
.
This is it, cal said quieterthan usual.
He glanced at her, then at therelic map than usual.
He glanced at her, then at therelic map.
The wind whispered over thestone, curling around his ankles
(22:16):
like a warning as he passedthrough the gate, a subtle
pressure tightened around hischest.
It wasn't fear, it wassomething older.
Await Time felt strange here.
The sky didn't shift, theclouds didn't move.
Every step into the ravine feltlike entering memory.
Kael stepped carefully her eyes,scanning for signs.
(22:37):
Symbols had begun to appear onthe stone walls, nordic runes
fainting lowly with frostlight.
Then they heard it chanting.
Farther in, they ducked behinda broken outcrop and peered into
the basin below, figures,closed and white, stood in a
(23:00):
circle, each holding a piece ofarmor, not Viking, but
ceremonial, ancient relic.
Bound at the center was a stonealtar.
Upon it a sword handle, noblade still.
Kel whispered.
They're initiating the rite ofconviction.
(23:23):
He turned to her.
That's what this is?
She nodded.
They're initiating the rite ofconviction, he turned to her.
That's what this is, she nodded.
The blade will only form ifsomeone's willing to sacrifice
their safety for another.
The hunter's breath caught.
This wasn't about him, notdirectly.
It was about her, and he knewit.
He stood slowly, without a word.
(23:44):
Kale grabbed his arm.
Wait, but he was alreadywalking into the clearing.
Gasp, echoed.
The white-robed figures turnedone step forward, his face, like
mountain-breaking.
Who comes claims this blade?
The understood before them.
I study, I do.
The man studied him, thenpointed to Kale, still hidden at
(24:07):
the edge.
Then prove it.
Before he could respond, twofigures broke from the circle
and ran at her.
Kale cried out, stumbling back,but the hunter was already
moving.
The swordhound flew into hishands.
It pulsed, but no blade.
One of the attackers grabbedKale, dragging her towards.
The altar.
Thunder slammed into the other,fists, colliding elbows flying.
(24:29):
The robed figure was strongerthan expected.
The fight was primal Mud, blood, frostbite setting in.
Kale screamed.
The hunter lunged, grabbing thehandle and roared.
In that instant the bladeappeared clear as crystal,
forged of light and intention.
He drove it through theattacker's arm, slicing it clean
, sending him to the snow.
(24:49):
The second dropped Kale and fled.
The circle erupted in silence.
The blade shimmered, then faded.
The handle pulsed one more time, accepting him.
He helped Kale to her feet.
The right row leader steppedforward and bowed deeply you
have chosen to protect more thanyourself.
The sword is yours.
The hunter didn't respond.
(25:11):
He simply looked at Kale Forthe first time.
She wouldn't meet his eyesBecause she knew he had seen it.
He didn't just choose toprotect her, he chose her.
And now everything was going tochange.
The snow had dulled, but theattention had not.
(25:37):
As they trudged deeper throughthe forest path, behind the
barrier mountain, the treesseemed to bend in towards them,
tall sentinels keeping watch.
The storm was behind them, butthe cold hadn't lifted.
It was the kind of cold thatcame from within now, a chill
not of the wind but of what waswaiting.
Kel walked slightly ahead.
(25:59):
Her lantern casting longshadows across the snow Thunder
eyes wasn't on the path, theywere on her.
Something, the way she moved,had shifted.
She hadn't spoken since themoment they entered this place.
No jokes, no observations, justsilence.
That wasn't like her, kale.
He said his voice low, are youokay?
(26:20):
She hadn't answered, but sheslowed.
They came into a clearing.
A stone arch, ancient andcrumbling, stood half buried in
the snow and moss.
That was the entrance to thetomb.
All Norris' ruins lined thearch, glowing faintly, not from
magic, but from something older,something that remembered.
(26:42):
This is it, she whispered.
Thunder stepped forward, butKale raised her arm.
You have to go on alone.
He paused, wait why?
She looked at him, reallylooked at him, and for a moment
she saw something in her eyesthat terrified him.
(27:03):
Not fear, not mourning,recognition.
This part, it isn't about therelic, she said, it's about you.
She turned and walked away,leaving out the, the threshold.
(27:25):
The hunter stepped through thearch.
It was dark inside, but not inthe way the motel had been.
The darkness was ancient,sacred.
It wrapped around him like acloak, not to blind but to
invite.
He descended a stone stairway,torch in hand, walls lined with
shields and decayed weapons.
(27:45):
Symbols etched into stoneseemed to pulse faintly.
At the base of the steps, achamber.
Stone-carved warriors lined thewalls, each one holding a
different weapon, all broken.
A voice echoed, not aloud butinside his head you came for the
blade, but you've brought noneof your own.
(28:07):
The voice was his own, and notIn the center of the chamber.
A pedestal Upon it, a soda hill, no blade, just the handle.
The hunter approached andreached out, but before he could
touch it, the chamber lit up,flames ignited into the sconces
(28:28):
and the warrior stepped from thewalls, not physically, but as
memories, as echoes, or failedto.
Scenes played out around him Hisbrother drowning.
The night he ran from home, thelast fight with his father, the
(28:49):
time he left his wife standingin the rain.
Each moment whispered the samething you didn't stay.
The pedestal pulsed, he fell tohis knees.
I didn't stay, he whispered.
I never stayed.
Then another whisper, not frommemory, but from somewhere
deeper, would you know.
(29:09):
He looked up.
The hilt was still there,waiting, and in his mind a flash
of Kale's face, the way shelooked at him when he was lost,
the way she never left, evenwhen he gave her reasons to.
(29:30):
Yes, he said for her I wouldstay.
He stood, he reached for thehilt and when his fingers closed
around it, the blade appearednot of metal but of light, of
conviction.
He didn't wield it, it chosehim.
Behind him, the chamber wallsbegan to fade Not collapse, but
(29:52):
dissolve, as if the tomb hadnever been real, just a
reflection of what he needed toconfront.
He turned towards the stairs,back to the surface, and as he
ascended, the voice returnedOnly when you defend what you
love will you remember who youare.
The snow thickened as theyexited the forest, the tomb far
(30:14):
behind them now.
A weight still carried in hisbones, but it wasn't over, not
yet.
They stopped near a ridgeline,the land opening into a wide
tundra valley that shimmeredlike silver under a pale blue
haze of Scandinavian twilight.
The wind howled across theexpanse, but it wasn't the cold
(30:35):
that chilled him now.
It was what stood waiting atthe center of the field a figure
, a throne of stone and ice.
Behind it, nothing, an endlesswall of mist.
Kael placed a hand on hisshoulder.
This is the threshold.
He nodded, put something insideand pulled back.
(30:56):
His breath hitched as the windrose.
Not from nature, but fromsomething within the mist, from
something watching.
They moved forward in silence.
The snow beneath their bootscrunched like breaking glass.
Each step felt heavier.
As they neared the throne, thefigure grew clear the invisible
(31:19):
king.
No armor this time, no mask,just presence, felt more than
seen.
The moment the hunter steppedwithin ten paces.
The king's voice rang out notfrom a mouth but from a marrow
of his own doubt.
You shouldn't have come.
The hunter clenched the handle.
(31:40):
Still no blade.
Kael stepped beside him,trembling slightly.
He's not real.
He's part of your fears.
The invisible king turned hisface, still unseen, and she's
the part that lies.
Sharp intake of breath fromKale.
The word struck her like a blow, but she held her ground.
(32:04):
I never lied to him.
No, the king replied slowly,but you withheld.
You knew what he was, you knewwho he was once and still you
walked beside him with silence.
The hunter turned towards her.
Is that true?
Her eyes welled, but she saidnothing.
(32:25):
The silence spoke louder thanany confession.
The king stepped forward.
This is where it ends, whereconviction dies, where men run
from what they cannot control.
The hunter raised the handle.
It remained just that, a brokensword.
The invisible king circled him.
You want power, then chooserage, choose fear, choose
(32:47):
domination, not love.
But he didn't raise his voice,he didn't lunge, he simply
stared, waiting.
Kel whispered you don't need tofight him, you need to choose.
The winds intensified, thehandle pulsed in his palm.
The invisible king leaned in.
She will betray you, just asthey all did.
(33:08):
The hunter's knuckles whitenedaround the handle your brother,
your father, your wife, a beat,a merry flicker of kale in a
different light, a wedding veil,a distant vow, he gasped.
The king smiled I see it now.
The hunter whispered You'vehidden more than just the blade.
You've hidden me.
(33:29):
The king froze and in thatspace between silence and
realization, he made the choicenot to fight but to protect.
He turned the kale.
I don't care what you're hiding, I don't care what's true, I
just know I won't lose you again.
He raised the handle.
The blade appeared.
It didn't shimmer, it didn'tshine, it simply existed.
(33:50):
Form, not from metal but fromdecision.
The invisible king howled, butnot from pain but from defeat.
As the blade emerged, hestepped back, dissolving into
the mist.
The air calmed, the wind diedback, dissolving into the mist.
The air calmed, the wind died.
Kale stepped forward, tearscutting down her cheeks.
You chose love, he nodded,still hoarding the soul word.
(34:10):
Then a voice echoed from theclouds the Buried King.
You've taken your first steptowards the throne.
Then another, more refined,sharpened the Shadow King.
Be aware, the sword you carrycuts both ways.
(34:34):
Kael turned her face towardsthe sky, a quiet dread forming.
The clouds swirled above andfor a moment this opened to
reveal twelve thrones distant,barely seen.
One was now empty.
The West whispered.
A future unseen, a betrayalforetold Kael would be the cost,
(34:54):
and yet he didn't flinch.
He simply turned towards thepath ahead and walked.
You know, there's a moment inevery man's life where he finds
(35:15):
himself staring at a handle withno blade.
You know life filled withmoments where he was tested but
he didn't realize it.
You know where he was pushedbut didn't push back.
He was tested but he didn'trealize it.
You know where he was pushedbut didn't push back.
He was called but he didn'tanswer.
See, that's what this was.
This was not just an episode,not just a tomb in the snow or a
(35:38):
sword.
It was a mirror.
See, there was no blade becausethere was no decision.
And there was no decisionbecause he hadn't yet become the
kind of man who could make theone that would cut through the
noise.
See, you thought this was abouthunting relics, but the relics
(36:01):
were really hunting him.
And that Viking tomb.
You know, he came face to facewith the truth that he's been
avoiding since the beginning ofthe journey.
He never, he never really choseanything fully right, Not with
both feet, anyways, not with youknow, his heart and mind
aligned.
You know he lived in limbo ofthe almost and maybes of the
(36:24):
back doors left open and thehearts kept guarded.
But see, conviction doesn'tlive there and power doesn't
form from there.
See, the sword wasn't.
How do I say this the swordwithout a blade isn't broken,
it's waiting right.
Say this the sword without ablade isn't broken, it's waiting
(36:48):
right.
And what it was waiting for isa man willing to defend
something more than himself, todraw his power not for dominance
or fear, but for devotion.
And that changed everything forhim.
Because once you made thedecision, or once I should say
he made the decision, once hesaid her name in his soul, once
he let her matter, you knowbeyond what was safe.
(37:12):
That's when the blade appeared.
It wasn't in his hand, itwasn't his spine, it wasn't in
his heart, or I should say itwas in his heart.
It was in the way that he stoodand refused to back down.
When the visible king pressedin, his whispers didn't break
him.
This time His illusionscouldn't hold.
And it's not because he wasweaker, it was because the
(37:34):
hunter finally became stronger.
And now everything changes,because he felt the others
watching the kings, the oneswhere he thought were just
stories, because he felt theothers watching the kings the
ones where he thought were juststories, echoes in the dark.
But now he can see what theysee, that this isn't just about
(37:57):
finding relics, this is aboutbecoming the kind of man who can
guard them or destroy them.
And Kale, oh God Kale, you knowwhat happens when you realize
that the person beside you hasalways been more than they
(38:17):
seemed.
You know that the feelings youpushed down were the very key of
unlocking your power.
You know that the feelings youpushed down were the very key of
unlocking your power and thatsomeone that somewhere knew that
(38:40):
this would happen and placedher beside her or beside you, or
in this case, the hunter, asyou know, to test and, you know,
to become the truth.
You know, and we don't knowwhat comes next.
But do know this the blade it'sreal and he's not gonna unseat
it.
I mean he's, I mean he's gonna.
He's never gonna see that.
I said I should say no, becausehe's, he's, it's now, it's not
real deal, holyfield.
So let's go into our reflections, okay.
(39:01):
So I got five for you this time.
The first reflection is whathave you been afraid to fully
choose?
Think of one thing you've beencircling, never quite quit in,
never quite quit out of.
That's your handle, right.
See, power forms the moment yougrip with conviction.
(39:26):
Okay, number two, what would youdefend if everything was on the
line?
Not just protect, defend.
There's a difference.
One is reaction, the other isdeclaration.
Who or what would you draw theblade for?
Okay, who or what would youdraw the blade for?
Okay, number three, what doesyour invisible king say to you,
(39:49):
the voice of doubt, the force ofdelay?
Name it, write down the wordsit uses.
Then write your answer back,this time from the version of
you holding the sword.
Number four when have you leftyour power on the table?
Look at every moment.
You betrayed yourself, softly,letting others choose not
(40:12):
speaking your truth, playingsmall.
Those were all tests, and thenext one is coming.
And number five what decision,if made fully, would change your
life forever?
You already know the answer.
You're just waiting to becomethe person who makes it.
Let this be that moment.
The decision is the blade andyou're holding the handle.
(40:39):
You know, this is a really bigepisode, I'm telling you, and
it's only going to get betterfrom here.
I'm telling you, we arestarting to get towards the tail
end of this and buckle up.
That's all I got to say.
Buckle up.
So we?
I know I say this every episode, but I can't tell you how much
(41:00):
it means to me your guys'support, your guys' listenership
I'd say viewership, but there'snothing to view so listenership
and really the conviction youguys have for Jen's Journey, I
can't tell you how much Iappreciate it and how much it
means to me your support and youtaking time to listen to this
podcast.
(41:20):
And if you want to get a hold ofme, if you want to reach out to
me, there's three ways, okay,first way is going to be through
the description.
There's going to be a littlething you can click on.
It says let's chat.
You click on that and you and Ican have a conversation about
this episode or the 250 episodesnow that are available on Gents
Journey and in GentsJourneycom.
Okay, second way is going to bethrough my email.
(41:42):
My email is Anthony at gentsjourneycom.
And then, last but not least,you can always go to my
Instagram.
My Instagram handle is my gentsjourney.
Please, please, please, feelfree to reach out to me there.
Okay, so again, guys, thank youso very much for listening
today and remember this youcreate your reality.
(42:06):
Take care.
Hello and welcome to the Gentleman's Journey podcast.
My name is Anthony, your host,and today we are in episode six
of the Relic Hunter.
I can't.
I honestly I'm shocked.
(00:21):
I can't believe that this ishappening so fast Like we.
We are really, really, reallybarreling over here.
Honestly, I'm shocked.
I can't believe that this ishappening so fast.
We are really, really, reallybarreling over here.
So let me just go ahead andlet's get into the cold opening.
There is a silence that onlywinter can hold, not just quiet,
(00:46):
but the kind of stillness thatfeels like the world is waiting
to exhale.
They move slowly through theskeletal trees dusted in snow,
past, ancient stones worn smoothby time, kale and the hunter no
words, just breath, just thesound of boots crunching frost.
He carries a clock, with notime ticking now, but faint,
slower than it should, as ifwarning them that this place is
(01:10):
different.
She glances at him, wants tosay something, but doesn't.
The forest begins to thin, andahead, jutting from the earth
like a buried fang, is a stoneentrance to a tomb, a Viking
tomb, sealed in ice, marked byan emblem they've seen before,
(01:33):
the same one etched faintly intothe cracked compass.
He stops, he places a handagainst the stone, the clock
goes silent.
Kael softly says you don't haveto go in alone.
The hunter says I think I do.
She doesn't argue, just nods,steps back into the shadows of
(01:59):
the trees.
The door opens, not by forcebut by recognition.
The tomb knows him, or ratherremembers him, and as he
descends into the dark, the colddoesn't follow.
Instead it's warm, still lit byan unseen flame, the kind that
(02:24):
lives in memory.
At the center of the tomb, on astone altar, is a sword hilt, no
blade, just the handle, wrappedin ancient leather inscribed
with runes that glow faint gold.
He reaches out, stops apresence, enters the space
(02:47):
behind him.
There's a deep, ethereal voicethat says this is not a weapon,
not.
Yet the hunter turns.
No one is there, just Echo.
The voice closer now, power isnot given, it is drawn from
within.
If you reach for this, you mustdecide what you're willing to
(03:09):
defend.
His hand hovers over the hilt.
A flicker Kale's face, hervoice, a memory, a whisper of
love.
He almost let himself believe.
Then darkness, a vision she'sfalling, pulled from him, her
eyes pleading and he doesnothing.
(03:30):
His hand jerks back, he gasps.
The sword disappears, the voicecolder.
Now Then you were not ready.
He falls to his knees.
His hands are trembling.
Outside, kel watches the tomb,eyes misted, as if she knew what
would happen, and in the wind,softly, barely there, a second
(03:56):
voice whispers from the trees.
You can't protect what youwon't claim.
The air in the foot drawer wasdifferent, not colder, not
heavier, but somehow older.
Mist crawled low across thefrozen path as a hunter in kale
(04:20):
stepped from the small boatboots, crunching into gravel and
ice Ahead.
Jagged stones jutted from theearth like broken teeth, the
Fajor narrowed into a valleyflanked by tiring cliffs of
ancient volcanic rock, and abovethem, somewhere in the
mountain's crest, buried in mythand legend, was the tomb.
(04:42):
Kale adjusted the strap of herpack and looked toward the ridge
.
You sure this is the place.
He didn't answer right away.
He reached into his coatretrieving the clock, still
handless.
But when they left the motel ithad pulsed again, faint warmth,
(05:03):
like a heartbeat, as if guidinghim, pointing the way that
warmth had grown stronger,closer they came to this place,
he nodded yeah, it's here.
They moved in silence for awhile.
The slope, steep andunforgiving.
She slipped once he caught her,their eyes locked for a second,
(05:23):
too long before she looked away.
I thought you hated the cold,she said I do.
Then why do you look peaceful?
He scanned the horizon Becauseit feels like the cold.
Has memory?
Kel raised a brow.
Memory, yeah, like rememberswho's come through before, who
(05:48):
failed, who bled, like it'stesting if we'll make it farther
.
They reached the mouth of thedark, narrow cave.
Someone had blown in but melteddeeper down, leaving the rock
wet and slick.
Kel lit her lantern.
The hunter stepped first.
The narrow passage twists likea serpent.
(06:09):
Moss-covered stone runes etchedin patterns he didn't recognize
, or maybe he didn't want to.
The deeper they went, thewarmer it grew, not naturally,
but as if the tomb were alive,its breath coming slower.
Now, waiting at last.
(06:29):
They entered a vast chamber.
Icicles hung from the ceilinglike glass fangs.
A single stone platform stoodin the center, dusted with frost
, and on it a sword hilt, noblade, just the hilt.
A sword hilt, no blade, justthe hilt.
Wrapped in dark leather,weathered, old and unmistakably
alive.
It vibrated faintly, humminglike an unsung promise.
(06:57):
Carol stepped forward Careful.
He said Something's off.
I know.
She stopped just short of theplatform.
It's like it's watching us, notit?
He said something else.
A sudden rush of wind burstthrough the cavern, icy and
violent.
(07:17):
The torch flickered wildly, theshadows shifted.
From the far wall a shapeemerged, human but wrong, a
guardian.
Its body was wrapped in blackand firm bone, Its face hidden
behind a carved mask of wood andantler.
He held no weapon, only a gazethat pierced through centuries.
(07:38):
He didn't speak, but the hunterfelt it.
You don't deserve the blade,you haven't earned the right.
He stepped forward anyways.
I'm not here to steal it.
The guardian tilted its head.
Kel moved to its side.
(08:01):
This doesn't feel like theothers, because this one's not
just about taking the hunter,said.
It's about proving.
The hunter raised a hand and,with a sound like thunder
cracking bone, the chamber split.
A ring of fire encircled theplatform, the sword held, now
surrounded by flame.
You have to go alone.
Cal said.
He looked at her.
(08:25):
Something heavy in his eyes.
If I don't come back, stoppedhim, you will.
He stepped into the flame.
It didn't burn, not his skin,not his clothes, but it searched
him.
Every memory, every regret,every failure, the lie he told
himself, the night he left, theface of his brother, the pain he
buried.
(08:45):
He reached for the hilt.
It didn't move.
He gripped tighter, forcing hiswill through the fear.
And then the fire vanished andthe guardian bowed and in his
hand the hilt, still without ablade.
He turned to Kale.
It didn't give me the sword,she nodded slowly.
(09:06):
It wasn't supposed to.
What was the test then?
Kale looked at him, eyes soft,voice quiet.
Rather you try, even without aweapon.
And somewhere behind them,unseen, the blade began to form,
simmering into existence, notfrom metal, but from choice,
(09:32):
from love, from what he waswilling to fight for.
The descent into the valley wasquiet, too quiet.
As they trekked down the slopedpath through the birch-lined
ravine, an eerie pressure seemedto mount with every step, like
the world was holding its breath.
The storm had subsided, but acold mist hung low, curling
(09:55):
around the forest floor likesmoke from an unseen fire.
Kale kept glancing over hershoulder, her hand brushed the
edge of her, her coat, where herknife was hidden.
The hunter noticed and for thefirst time in a long time he
asked without hesitation whatare you feeling?
He said, voice low.
(10:16):
Kel paused Like we're beingwatched Not by something alive,
but by something old.
They exchanged a glance,neither spoke again until the
trees gave way to a clearing.
There, half buried in ice andvine, stood the remains of an
(10:41):
ancient Viking longhouse.
Its roof had collapsed inwardcenturies ago, but the stone
walls and carved support beamsstill stood, defiantly
whispering stories in the wind.
It's here the hunter murmured.
How do you know, kel asked.
He pointed to the compasshanging from his belt.
It spun slowly, not in franticcircles like when he was lying,
(11:06):
but with a steady rhythm, asthough tracking something deep
within the earth.
They stepped inside the ruins.
The air changed, the mist grewheavier.
There were no animals, nosounds, no signs of life, only a
strange tension, like walkinginto a sacred burial ground
where the dead still listened.
Kale lit a small torch,revealing runes along the
(11:29):
interior beams.
She translated aloud as herfingers traced them To draw the
blade.
One must know the weight ofwhat they would protect.
The hunter turned, eyesnarrowing.
Not who, what?
She nodded.
It's not just about love, it'sabout conviction.
(11:52):
Suddenly, the ground trembledbeneath them.
Stone shifted, ice cracked.
From beneath the earth, agrinding sound echoed Ancient
stone scrapping against ancientstone.
She rushed outside just in timeto see the ground open.
Near the edge of the clearing, astaircase emerged, slow and
solemn, carved from solidobsidian.
(12:13):
Kel looked at him.
We're not alone.
He looks at her.
I know let's go.
They descended together, thetorchlight flickering against
the black stone.
The air grew colder, but notfrom temperature.
Let's go upon a pedestal boneand petrified wood.
(12:34):
Lay the help, Just the help.
No blade, no edge, only theworn leather grip and weathered
crossguard etched with symbolsof protection.
(12:55):
The hunter approached it slowly.
Kel stayed at the edge of theroom.
He reached out but stopped justshort of touching it.
But stopped just short oftouching it.
You feel it too, kel asked.
He nodded, it's testing me.
The room darkened, the torchdimmed.
From the walls came whispers,not language, either of them
(13:16):
recognized but understoodnonetheless.
Judgments, doubts, old memoriesdisguised as monsters.
You left her a voice, said hespun, fist clenched.
No.
She waited and he ran Stop it.
(13:37):
Kale stepped forward.
It's not real.
It's the relic.
It's forcing you to face thetruth again.
But this wasn't like the flameor the stone or the bell.
This relic wasn't a mirrorreflection, it was a forge.
The voice grew louder you don'tprotect because you love.
You protect because you fearbeing alone.
The under grabbed and dropped toone knee, his chest tightened,
(13:58):
his breath ragged.
And yet he reached again.
His fingers close around thehilt.
Nothing happened.
No power, no happened.
No power, no transformation, noblade.
Until Cal screamed, he lookedup to see a figure rising from
the shadows behind her.
Not a creature, not a spirit.
A man Draped in leather and fur, face painted in war symbols,
(14:24):
eyes dead and ancient.
The hunter leapt to his feet andand in that instant the blade
appeared.
Not with fire, not with light,but with silence.
It shimmered into existence.
Not steel, but something deeper, something drawn from him.
The figure paused, sensing thechange.
The hunter stepped forward.
(14:44):
You shouldn't have touched her.
Then he struck.
The blade sliced cleanlythrough the phantom.
No blood, no crying, only dust.
And then Silence again.
Kale was breathing hard.
Her eyes were wide.
That wasn't a guardian, shesaid.
(15:04):
That was a test.
He looked down at the bladestill there, real.
I didn't draw it because Iwanted to fight.
He said.
I drew it because I couldn'tlet you be harmed.
Kael's gaze softened and nowyou know, she whispered what
(15:24):
you're willing to protect.
He turned to the torch, held ithigher.
The far end of the chamber wasanother passage and beyond it
the next trial.
But this time he didn'thesitate because now he carried
a blade.
It wasn't forged from metal, itwas forged from choice.
(15:45):
The fog didn't roll in thistime.
It rose from the ground likebreath from the earth itself.
The hunter and cattle descendedthrough the winding path that
led them beneath the frost-lacedcliffs Deeper into the
bone-ribbed valley, whisperedabout in the sagas, each step
echoed with memory of those whopassed here before.
(16:06):
Viking guardians, ancientprotectors, ghosts of conviction
.
Kel held the compass in onehand and the fractured bell from
the monastery in the other.
Neither reacted.
No lies, no doubt Not yet.
But the silence of the relicsfelt loaded, as though they were
(16:27):
watching, waiting.
The hunter slowed his pace.
We're getting close.
How do you know?
She asked voice low, carefulnot to disturb the quiet.
I don't, he answered honestly,scanning the zone outcropping
(16:47):
ahead, but I can feel it like inmy bones.
They reached a jagged altar,half buried in ice and moss.
Ruins carved from Cal's hands,long dead, glowed faintly under
the snow.
Cal stepped forward and tracedthem with her gloved fingers.
This language, she murmured,it's older than Norris, it's
(17:12):
proto-Sigils, pre-human.
Even the hunter crouched besideher.
The wound shimmered faintlywith blue light as his shadow
fell across them.
It's reacting to me?
No, she corrected, glancing athim.
It's recognizing you.
Suddenly, the compass in herhand spun wildly.
(17:34):
The bell trembled.
No sound, but it quivered.
A low hum rose beneath theearth.
Cal backed up.
You're standing on something.
He looked down.
The circle beneath his bootswas perfect green, carved into
stone, lined with jagged silveretchings.
The ground gave way.
(17:56):
They landed hard, not enough tobreak bone, but enough to knock
the breath from their lungs.
The hunter groaned, clutchinghis ribs.
Kel blinked through dust andlight.
They were in a chamber, no, aforge, ancient circular, pulsing
with old heat.
A fire that had not burned in amillennia now lit itself in the
(18:19):
center.
Suspended above the flame wasthe sword handle, the same one
from his vision.
No blade, just the hilt,wrapped in dark leather, etched
with recall-like sigils.
Kel whispered it's real.
The hunter stood slowly.
It was always real.
As he stepped forward, thechamber shifted.
(18:41):
From the far walls, threeshadow forms emerged.
Not men, not gods.
The chamber shifted From thefar walls, three shadow forms
emerged.
Not men, not gods, figures ofmyth and judgment Testers.
You seek the blade.
One atoned in his voice likegravel wrapped in wind.
But you have never chosen whatto defend.
(19:01):
The second one said you foughtfor truth, for memory, for
redemption, said the third, butnever love.
Kale's breath caught.
She looked at him.
They're right.
He glanced at her.
What are they talking about?
She didn't answer.
(19:23):
One of the forums steppedcloser To draw the blade.
You must declare what you woulddie for.
The hunter didn't speak.
What do you do for love?
The second one repeated.
Kel turned to him fully.
Now you don't have to say it,just know it.
(19:45):
But he did speak, slowly,gritting and out voice cracking.
I left everything once my name,my past, even her.
I convinced myself it was forthe greater good, that chasing
relics, solving mysteries mademe whole.
But none of it mattered if Icould protect what I loved.
He stepped forward to the flame.
(20:08):
I love her, he said.
The hilt blazed white.
The chamber began to quake.
I don't know who she was, hesaid, looking at Kale, but I
could feel it in my bones Iloved her.
Maybe I still do.
Kale swallowed hard, eyes wet.
(20:28):
She whispered you never stoppedFrom the light.
A blade formed.
It extended from the hilt, notof steel or iron, but of radiant
conviction, ethereal, alive.
The hunter reached out, andthis time the sword.
Let him hold it.
As the light settled, theshadow forms bowed.
(20:48):
You may now face what comes,they said in unison, and then
they were gone.
Kel stepped beside him.
He remembered Noah.
He said, dragging the blade Ichose, and with that the chamber
door opened, not behind them.
(21:10):
Forward they walked into thenext trial, the sword gleaming
in his hand.
The wind had picked up again.
They moved through the thickforest, now deeper in the
Swedish wilds.
Kale's GPS, long abandoned thiswasn't a place for satellites
reached.
The map she carried was drawnby hand, etched with symbols
(21:31):
that only revealed themselves inshadow.
The hunter traced his fingersalong them one last time.
Before they entered the nextclearing, a ring of ancient
stones rose before them, massiveflabs arched like teeth against
the sky.
At the center, a rusted gatelay half buried in snow.
(21:51):
Beyond it, the path nailed intoa ravine cut through black rock
.
This is it, cal said quieterthan usual.
He glanced at her, then at therelic map than usual.
He glanced at her, then at therelic map.
The wind whispered over thestone, curling around his ankles
(22:16):
like a warning as he passedthrough the gate, a subtle
pressure tightened around hischest.
It wasn't fear, it wassomething older.
Await Time felt strange here.
The sky didn't shift, theclouds didn't move.
Every step into the ravine feltlike entering memory.
Kael stepped carefully her eyes,scanning for signs.
(22:37):
Symbols had begun to appear onthe stone walls, nordic runes
fainting lowly with frostlight.
Then they heard it chanting.
Farther in, they ducked behinda broken outcrop and peered into
the basin below, figures,closed and white, stood in a
(23:00):
circle, each holding a piece ofarmor, not Viking, but
ceremonial, ancient relic.
Bound at the center was a stonealtar.
Upon it a sword handle, noblade still.
Kel whispered.
They're initiating the rite ofconviction.
(23:23):
He turned to her.
That's what this is?
She nodded.
They're initiating the rite ofconviction, he turned to her.
That's what this is, she nodded.
The blade will only form ifsomeone's willing to sacrifice
their safety for another.
The hunter's breath caught.
This wasn't about him, notdirectly.
It was about her, and he knewit.
He stood slowly, without a word.
(23:44):
Kale grabbed his arm.
Wait, but he was alreadywalking into the clearing.
Gasp, echoed.
The white-robed figures turnedone step forward, his face, like
mountain-breaking.
Who comes claims this blade?
The understood before them.
I study, I do.
The man studied him, thenpointed to Kale, still hidden at
(24:07):
the edge.
Then prove it.
Before he could respond, twofigures broke from the circle
and ran at her.
Kale cried out, stumbling back,but the hunter was already
moving.
The swordhound flew into hishands.
It pulsed, but no blade.
One of the attackers grabbedKale, dragging her towards.
The altar.
Thunder slammed into the other,fists, colliding elbows flying.
(24:29):
The robed figure was strongerthan expected.
The fight was primal Mud, blood, frostbite setting in.
Kale screamed.
The hunter lunged, grabbing thehandle and roared.
In that instant the bladeappeared clear as crystal,
forged of light and intention.
He drove it through theattacker's arm, slicing it clean
, sending him to the snow.
(24:49):
The second dropped Kale and fled.
The circle erupted in silence.
The blade shimmered, then faded.
The handle pulsed one more time, accepting him.
He helped Kale to her feet.
The right row leader steppedforward and bowed deeply you
have chosen to protect more thanyourself.
The sword is yours.
The hunter didn't respond.
(25:11):
He simply looked at Kale Forthe first time.
She wouldn't meet his eyesBecause she knew he had seen it.
He didn't just choose toprotect her, he chose her.
And now everything was going tochange.
The snow had dulled, but theattention had not.
(25:37):
As they trudged deeper throughthe forest path, behind the
barrier mountain, the treesseemed to bend in towards them,
tall sentinels keeping watch.
The storm was behind them, butthe cold hadn't lifted.
It was the kind of cold thatcame from within now, a chill
not of the wind but of what waswaiting.
Kel walked slightly ahead.
(25:59):
Her lantern casting longshadows across the snow Thunder
eyes wasn't on the path, theywere on her.
Something, the way she moved,had shifted.
She hadn't spoken since themoment they entered this place.
No jokes, no observations, justsilence.
That wasn't like her, kale.
He said his voice low, are youokay?
(26:20):
She hadn't answered, but sheslowed.
They came into a clearing.
A stone arch, ancient andcrumbling, stood half buried in
the snow and moss.
That was the entrance to thetomb.
All Norris' ruins lined thearch, glowing faintly, not from
magic, but from something older,something that remembered.
(26:42):
This is it, she whispered.
Thunder stepped forward, butKale raised her arm.
You have to go on alone.
He paused, wait why?
She looked at him, reallylooked at him, and for a moment
she saw something in her eyesthat terrified him.
(27:03):
Not fear, not mourning,recognition.
This part, it isn't about therelic, she said, it's about you.
She turned and walked away,leaving out the, the threshold.
(27:25):
The hunter stepped through thearch.
It was dark inside, but not inthe way the motel had been.
The darkness was ancient,sacred.
It wrapped around him like acloak, not to blind but to
invite.
He descended a stone stairway,torch in hand, walls lined with
shields and decayed weapons.
(27:45):
Symbols etched into stoneseemed to pulse faintly.
At the base of the steps, achamber.
Stone-carved warriors lined thewalls, each one holding a
different weapon, all broken.
A voice echoed, not aloud butinside his head you came for the
blade, but you've brought noneof your own.
(28:07):
The voice was his own, and notIn the center of the chamber.
A pedestal Upon it, a soda hill, no blade, just the handle.
The hunter approached andreached out, but before he could
touch it, the chamber lit up,flames ignited into the sconces
(28:28):
and the warrior stepped from thewalls, not physically, but as
memories, as echoes, or failedto.
Scenes played out around him Hisbrother drowning.
The night he ran from home, thelast fight with his father, the
(28:49):
time he left his wife standingin the rain.
Each moment whispered the samething you didn't stay.
The pedestal pulsed, he fell tohis knees.
I didn't stay, he whispered.
I never stayed.
Then another whisper, not frommemory, but from somewhere
deeper, would you know.
(29:09):
He looked up.
The hilt was still there,waiting, and in his mind a flash
of Kale's face, the way shelooked at him when he was lost,
the way she never left, evenwhen he gave her reasons to.
(29:30):
Yes, he said for her I wouldstay.
He stood, he reached for thehilt and when his fingers closed
around it, the blade appearednot of metal but of light, of
conviction.
He didn't wield it, it chosehim.
Behind him, the chamber wallsbegan to fade Not collapse, but
(29:52):
dissolve, as if the tomb hadnever been real, just a
reflection of what he needed toconfront.
He turned towards the stairs,back to the surface, and as he
ascended, the voice returnedOnly when you defend what you
love will you remember who youare.
The snow thickened as theyexited the forest, the tomb far
(30:14):
behind them now.
A weight still carried in hisbones, but it wasn't over, not
yet.
They stopped near a ridgeline,the land opening into a wide
tundra valley that shimmeredlike silver under a pale blue
haze of Scandinavian twilight.
The wind howled across theexpanse, but it wasn't the cold
(30:35):
that chilled him now.
It was what stood waiting atthe center of the field a figure
, a throne of stone and ice.
Behind it, nothing, an endlesswall of mist.
Kael placed a hand on hisshoulder.
This is the threshold.
He nodded, put something insideand pulled back.
(30:56):
His breath hitched as the windrose.
Not from nature, but fromsomething within the mist, from
something watching.
They moved forward in silence.
The snow beneath their bootscrunched like breaking glass.
Each step felt heavier.
As they neared the throne, thefigure grew clear the invisible
(31:19):
king.
No armor this time, no mask,just presence, felt more than
seen.
The moment the hunter steppedwithin ten paces.
The king's voice rang out notfrom a mouth but from a marrow
of his own doubt.
You shouldn't have come.
The hunter clenched the handle.
(31:40):
Still no blade.
Kael stepped beside him,trembling slightly.
He's not real.
He's part of your fears.
The invisible king turned hisface, still unseen, and she's
the part that lies.
Sharp intake of breath fromKale.
The word struck her like a blow, but she held her ground.
(32:04):
I never lied to him.
No, the king replied slowly,but you withheld.
You knew what he was, you knewwho he was once and still you
walked beside him with silence.
The hunter turned towards her.
Is that true?
Her eyes welled, but she saidnothing.
(32:25):
The silence spoke louder thanany confession.
The king stepped forward.
This is where it ends, whereconviction dies, where men run
from what they cannot control.
The hunter raised the handle.
It remained just that, a brokensword.
The invisible king circled him.
You want power, then chooserage, choose fear, choose
(32:47):
domination, not love.
But he didn't raise his voice,he didn't lunge, he simply
stared, waiting.
Kel whispered you don't need tofight him, you need to choose.
The winds intensified, thehandle pulsed in his palm.
The invisible king leaned in.
She will betray you, just asthey all did.
(33:08):
The hunter's knuckles whitenedaround the handle your brother,
your father, your wife, a beat,a merry flicker of kale in a
different light, a wedding veil,a distant vow, he gasped.
The king smiled I see it now.
The hunter whispered You'vehidden more than just the blade.
You've hidden me.
(33:29):
The king froze and in thatspace between silence and
realization, he made the choicenot to fight but to protect.
He turned the kale.
I don't care what you're hiding, I don't care what's true, I
just know I won't lose you again.
He raised the handle.
The blade appeared.
It didn't shimmer, it didn'tshine, it simply existed.
(33:50):
Form, not from metal but fromdecision.
The invisible king howled, butnot from pain but from defeat.
As the blade emerged, hestepped back, dissolving into
the mist.
The air calmed, the wind diedback, dissolving into the mist.
The air calmed, the wind died.
Kale stepped forward, tearscutting down her cheeks.
You chose love, he nodded,still hoarding the soul word.
(34:10):
Then a voice echoed from theclouds the Buried King.
You've taken your first steptowards the throne.
Then another, more refined,sharpened the Shadow King.
Be aware, the sword you carrycuts both ways.
(34:34):
Kael turned her face towardsthe sky, a quiet dread forming.
The clouds swirled above andfor a moment this opened to
reveal twelve thrones distant,barely seen.
One was now empty.
The West whispered.
A future unseen, a betrayalforetold Kael would be the cost,
(34:54):
and yet he didn't flinch.
He simply turned towards thepath ahead and walked.
You know, there's a moment inevery man's life where he finds
(35:15):
himself staring at a handle withno blade.
You know life filled withmoments where he was tested but
he didn't realize it.
You know where he was pushedbut didn't push back.
He was tested but he didn'trealize it.
You know where he was pushedbut didn't push back.
He was called but he didn'tanswer.
See, that's what this was.
This was not just an episode,not just a tomb in the snow or a
(35:38):
sword.
It was a mirror.
See, there was no blade becausethere was no decision.
And there was no decisionbecause he hadn't yet become the
kind of man who could make theone that would cut through the
noise.
See, you thought this was abouthunting relics, but the relics
(36:01):
were really hunting him.
And that Viking tomb.
You know, he came face to facewith the truth that he's been
avoiding since the beginning ofthe journey.
He never, he never really choseanything fully right, Not with
both feet, anyways, not with youknow, his heart and mind
aligned.
You know he lived in limbo ofthe almost and maybes of the
(36:24):
back doors left open and thehearts kept guarded.
But see, conviction doesn'tlive there and power doesn't
form from there.
See, the sword wasn't.
How do I say this the swordwithout a blade isn't broken,
it's waiting right.
Say this the sword without ablade isn't broken, it's waiting
(36:48):
right.
And what it was waiting for isa man willing to defend
something more than himself, todraw his power not for dominance
or fear, but for devotion.
And that changed everything forhim.
Because once you made thedecision, or once I should say
he made the decision, once hesaid her name in his soul, once
he let her matter, you knowbeyond what was safe.
(37:12):
That's when the blade appeared.
It wasn't in his hand, itwasn't his spine, it wasn't in
his heart, or I should say itwas in his heart.
It was in the way that he stoodand refused to back down.
When the visible king pressedin, his whispers didn't break
him.
This time His illusionscouldn't hold.
And it's not because he wasweaker, it was because the
(37:34):
hunter finally became stronger.
And now everything changes,because he felt the others
watching the kings, the oneswhere he thought were just
stories, because he felt theothers watching the kings the
ones where he thought were juststories, echoes in the dark.
But now he can see what theysee, that this isn't just about
(37:57):
finding relics, this is aboutbecoming the kind of man who can
guard them or destroy them.
And Kale, oh God Kale, you knowwhat happens when you realize
that the person beside you hasalways been more than they
(38:17):
seemed.
You know that the feelings youpushed down were the very key of
unlocking your power.
You know that the feelings youpushed down were the very key of
unlocking your power and thatsomeone that somewhere knew that
(38:40):
this would happen and placedher beside her or beside you, or
in this case, the hunter, asyou know, to test and, you know,
to become the truth.
You know, and we don't knowwhat comes next.
But do know this the blade it'sreal and he's not gonna unseat
it.
I mean he's, I mean he's gonna.
He's never gonna see that.
I said I should say no, becausehe's, he's, it's now, it's not
real deal, holyfield.
So let's go into our reflections, okay.
(39:01):
So I got five for you this time.
The first reflection is whathave you been afraid to fully
choose?
Think of one thing you've beencircling, never quite quit in,
never quite quit out of.
That's your handle, right.
See, power forms the moment yougrip with conviction.
(39:26):
Okay, number two, what would youdefend if everything was on the
line?
Not just protect, defend.
There's a difference.
One is reaction, the other isdeclaration.
Who or what would you draw theblade for?
Okay, who or what would youdraw the blade for?
Okay, number three, what doesyour invisible king say to you,
(39:49):
the voice of doubt, the force ofdelay?
Name it, write down the wordsit uses.
Then write your answer back,this time from the version of
you holding the sword.
Number four when have you leftyour power on the table?
Look at every moment.
You betrayed yourself, softly,letting others choose not
(40:12):
speaking your truth, playingsmall.
Those were all tests, and thenext one is coming.
And number five what decision,if made fully, would change your
life forever?
You already know the answer.
You're just waiting to becomethe person who makes it.
Let this be that moment.
The decision is the blade andyou're holding the handle.
(40:39):
You know, this is a really bigepisode, I'm telling you, and
it's only going to get betterfrom here.
I'm telling you, we arestarting to get towards the tail
end of this and buckle up.
That's all I got to say.
Buckle up.
So we?
I know I say this every episode, but I can't tell you how much
(41:00):
it means to me your guys'support, your guys' listenership
I'd say viewership, but there'snothing to view so listenership
and really the conviction youguys have for Jen's Journey, I
can't tell you how much Iappreciate it and how much it
means to me your support and youtaking time to listen to this
podcast.
(41:20):
And if you want to get a hold ofme, if you want to reach out to
me, there's three ways, okay,first way is going to be through
the description.
There's going to be a littlething you can click on.
It says let's chat.
You click on that and you and Ican have a conversation about
this episode or the 250 episodesnow that are available on Gents
Journey and in GentsJourneycom.
Okay, second way is going to bethrough my email.
(41:42):
My email is Anthony at gentsjourneycom.
And then, last but not least,you can always go to my
Instagram.
My Instagram handle is my gentsjourney.
Please, please, please, feelfree to reach out to me there.
Okay, so again, guys, thank youso very much for listening
today and remember this youcreate your reality.
(42:06):
Take care.
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