I’m not in the habit of sharing stuff from social media, especially when I’m not entirely sure where it came from or whether it’s true or not, but I saw this one this morning and I had to talk about it.
It’s probably fake, because it’s just too awesome to be true, but a guy can dream, right?
Now, “Valar morghulis” means “all men must die” in the fictional language of High Valerian on Game of Thrones.
“Valar dohaeris” means “all men must serve.”
So this little girl walks up to this tattooed MMA coach, a big manly man filled with testosterone and badassitude, and asks to learn to fight. He is going to send her on her way, to someone better equipped to teach a young child, and then she gives this phrase.
What does he do? He answers appropriately and they settle down to get to work.
I’m sorry, but that’s so good I don’t care if it’s true or not. I just want it to be true. I want it to be true so badly…
Look, I think there’s something wrong with the world, and I do happen to believe learning how to fight is at least part of the answer to fixing it.
But more than that, we live in a world where some people are vile, senseless thugs who think they can take from the weak. They also happen to think anyone who is smaller than them are the weak.
That’s where being a Barbarian pays off, and this little girl is certainly starting along the path of being a Barbarian.
Granted, she’s young. She probably doesn’t understand the significance of what transpired here. She doesn’t comprehend the awesomeness of what has started.
She probably won’t live the entire life I envision Barbarians living, and that’s cool. It’s certainly one approach, but my way isn’t the only way, now is it?
What matters is that she’s clearly going to get started learning the big stuff, and what matters is that there will likely be a special bond between teacher and student because of that first exchange.
We need that, too.
Valar morghulis. Valar dohaeris.
