A Glimpse of Truth
Welcome to the Sword of Truth Bestiary. This collection offers a small glimpse of the forces encountered on Albert and Charles' journey. Each creature reflects a distortion of truth, often in ways that feel familiar. Take a moment, pause, and reflect on the allegories within.
Mirrors to be Considered
This bestiary is not meant to explain the story or resolve its meaning. The beasts are not symbols to be decoded but mirrors to be considered. Recognise something meaningful, without being told what to think.
An Invitation to Look Deeper
It is my hope that readers will leave more thoughtful, more attentive to what shapes their own lives and desires, and are more curious about where truth comes from. Above all, I hope it encourages reflection rather than consumption. It is an invitation to look deeper.
Contemplative Reading
Understand the creatures in my story through slow, contemplative reading. The allegory behind each Beast is for the reader to reflect on.
The Bestiary
The Bestiary of The Sword of Truth
1. Yamata
Location: Chapter 2 — The City of Confusion
What it is:
A great, ancient, many-headed creature associated with chaos, distortion, and overwhelming voices.
What it represents:
• Confusion masquerading as wisdom
• Too many truths competing until truth becomes confused
• “Everything is true, therefore nothing is”
Why it’s in the story:
Yamata is the first real test of discernment. Before lies can enslave, they confuse. This sets the tone for the entire journey:
“For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.”
— 1 Corinthians 14:33
2. The Beast of Plenty
Location: Chapter 3 — The Golden Bazaar / City of Plenty
What it is:
A bloated, glittering creature fed by excess, comfort, and abundance.
What it represents:
• Prosperity as proof of truth
• Comfort replacing obedience
• “If I have much, I must be good.”
Why it’s in the story:
This beast tempts through success, not fear. It shows how truth can be buried under blessing when blessing becomes the goal.
“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
— Luke 12:15
3. Corven, the Whispering Host
Location: Chapter 4 — The Valley of Echoes
What it is:
A collective entity of whispers, doubts, half-phrases, and internal accusations.
What it represents:
• Internalised lies
• Accusation and self-condemnation
• Truth distorted through memory and shame
Why it’s in the story:
Corven attacks the mind what is inside. It shows shame and doubt so that a persons mind accuses itself. It creates anxiety and feeds on it.
“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
— Romans 8:1
4. The Mist Hydra
Location: Chapter 5 — The Lake of Fog
What it is:
A shifting, many-necked creature hidden in obscurity and uncertainty.
What it represents:
• Relativism
• “Truth changes depending on perspective”
• Fear of clarity
Why it’s in the story:
This beast cannot be fought head-on. It requires steadfast truth, not reaction. It shows that clarity is costly but necessary.
“Jesus said, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life.’”
— John 14:6
5. The Veil (who calls itself Comfort)
Location: Chapter 6 — The City of Mournstead
What it is:
A soft, enveloping presence that dulls pain without healing it.
What it represents:
• False comfort
• Grief without hope
• Numbing instead of restoration
Why it’s in the story:
The Veil doesn’t lie loudly — it soothes people into silence. It asks: If am comfortable I don't need truth, I don't need saving.
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.”
— Isaiah 5:20
6. Avaran — Master of Faces, Maker of New Beginnings
Location: Chapter 7 — The Hollow Keep
What it is:
A shapeshifter offering reinvention without repentance.
What it represents:
• Identity apart from truth
• Self-creation
• “You can start over without being changed”
Why it’s in the story:
Avaran shows that truth is tied to identity. Avaran says you can create your own image.
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:17
7. Vellith, Warden of Purity
Location: Chapter 8 — The Ember Fields / Altar of the Unwanted
What it is:
A cold, severe enforcer obsessed with purity through exclusion.
What it represents:
• Legalism
• Holiness without mercy
• Purity as control
Why it’s in the story:
Vellith exposes how truth can be weaponised when it is separated from grace. It can be twisted.
“If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”
— 1 Corinthians 13:2
8. The Gilded Tongue
Location: Chapter 9 — The Tower of Whispers
What it is:
A persuasive, beautiful speaker whose words enslave.
What it represents:
• Eloquence without truth
• Manipulation
• Teaching divorced from obedience
Why it’s in the story:
This creature attacks through language itself, making it a direct counterpoint to the Sword of Truth.
“Such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of the naive.”
— Romans 16:18
9. The Shadow Kings
Location: Chapter 10 — The Valley of Empty Crowns
What they are:
Fallen rulers clinging to authority they no longer possess.
What they represent:
• Power without legitimacy
• Authority without truth
• Leadership that fears exposure
Why they’re in the story:
They show the end result of abandoning truth: rule becomes hollow, crowns become heavy.
“Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.”
— 2 Timothy 3:5
By Daniel J.York