Hello everyone. Two months ago I discovered Steve's work: "The Ordeal of Petra" on Cruxforums. I was completely engrossed in it, but I regretted that some parts of the story were not in line with the illustrations and asked Steve for an explanation. Here is his response:
"Sorry for the confusion. Many years ago, there used to be a Yahoo Group message board called "Crux", which was the predecessor of this "Crux Forum." There, a poster named Pilate created a story for Petra based on a model he liked named Petra Verkaik. He asked me to do some illustrations of Petra with the freedom to do my illustrations based on how I liked the story to go. In other words, so long as my illustrations showed Petra's crucifixion, Pilate would be happy regardless for how much I changed his story.
Pilate's story "Petra of Nazareth" was a female-Christ like story, which I really wasn't interested in. Instead, my illustrations "The Ordeal of Petra" are based on the idea that Petra was a Jewish revolutionary in Jerusalem in the First Century AD who is fighting against Roman occupation, but is ultimately captured and crucified. After the Yahoo Group Crux closed down, my illustrations for Petra were posted here.
I'm not sure who the author is of the PDF document you found. It could be Pilate, based on his original story, or written by someone else who was inspired by my illustrations. I have never written a story for Petra. My story for this doomed revolutionary is solely through my art and I leave it to the viewer to fill in the story as they like."
So I decided to write a new, expanded version of the story, based on the Pilate story, but more in line with Steve's illustrations. If I don't count the compulsory school work about thirty years ago, this is my first attempt in my life to write a story. I am asking you all for help. Please write me your opinion, some advice and above all please check the clarity. I am not from an Anglophone country and I wrote the story first in my native language, so I don't know if my translation is fully and well understood. This is the first version that I will edit based on your comments. Thank you for your cooperation and I hope you will like my work. Special thanks to Steve and Pilate, to whom I dedicate my work. Thanks Varinia.
Here is the First Chapter entitled: "Witnesses of the Agony", which relates to Steve's illustration: "1. Petra + Christ"
Petra was in the marketplace that morning, looking at the palace fortifications. She broke her thoughts for a moment and watched a squad of soldiers lead several prisoners through the marketplace, and felt sick when she realized that one of them was Jesus of Nazareth. At first she didn't even recognize him as he was beaten. She knew the preacher and respected his teachings, even if she disagreed with his non-violent approach. Petra was born in Nazareth 18 years ago. When she was five years old, her father was killed by the Romans, and she and her mother then moved to Jerusalem. Here her mother, a young and beautiful widow, married an elderly, wealthy Sadducee. Petra's stepfather was a good man, but the older Petra got, the more she disliked his cooperation with the Romans. And so, at the age of thirteen, she became a member of the Zealots, a revolutionary sect that led a terrorist campaign against the Roman occupiers. On the outside, she appeared as a quiet, pious girl helping the needy, but secretly used her stepfather's wealth for their struggle. And not only how she changed from a girl to a woman, she also used her perfect body more and more often. She led more than one Roman soldier under the pretext of sex to the place where her co-religionists were already waiting to kill him. She gradually worked her way up among the Zealot commanders, while their movement continued to grow and strengthen. When she then became the secret lover of the commander of the temple guard and thus won him over to their cause, she was elected by her comrades as the leader of all the Zealots. Shortly before turning eighteen, she thus became the youngest leader and the first woman ever to lead the resistance. So she believed that she was destined by God to lead the chosen people and defeat the Romans. So she began to devise a plan to raise a rebellion and occupy Jerusalem.
So it was no coincidence that she was currently inspecting the fortifications of Herod's palace. A palace built during the reign of King Herod the Great and now serving as the occasional residence and courthouse of the hated Roman prefect, Pontius Pilate. She was thinking about her plan to conquer the palace, but now overcome by her curiosity, she started towards the crowd. What could have happened? She thought, as she followed the procession to Golgotha. She pushed her way to the front of the crowd and then stood there horrified watching Jesus of Nazareth being crucified. She felt overcome with horror and anger as the soldier nailed the titulus over his head: Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum. Despite his muscular frame, his strength and will were no match for the cruelty of the cross and he moaned loudly, the pain completely overwhelming him. His naked body was constantly moving, twisting and bucking obscenely as he fought the nails in his wrists and feet. The sight of the wildly struggling man and the cruelty of the crowd that had gathered to watch his torment disgusted her, and she was about to leave when she bumped into the man standing right behind her.
"Sorry, I'm just a little shocked." apologized Petra .
"It's okay, me too....." the man answered in a low voice and continued, "He didn't commit any crime and yet they crucified him like a common criminal." Looking around to see if anyone could hear him, he leaned toward Petra and added, "You know? Jerusalem welcomed him as the son of David, and I hoped he would lead the people against the Romans and defeat them. Instead, he just preached forgiveness..... ."
“I know, I've heard a few sermons in the temple."
"I too..... I am Judah and I work in the palace....."
"Wait, you work at Herod's palace?" stopped him Petra .
"Yes, I work in Herod's palace and I saw the trial. Pilate found Jesus innocent, but our high priests wanted to crucify him and he complied, just washing his hands of it."
"Those Roman pigs, they will calmly torture even an innocent to death." Gritted her teeth Petra.
"Yes, it is a disgusting, horrible atrocity!" nodded Judah.
"So why are you here Judah?"
"Because..... because some claim, that Jesus is the Messiah and perform miracles....."
"And you believe that, Judah?"
"I..... I want to believe it and I want to stay until the end..... and wait to see if something happens."
"I'm Petra and I'll be waiting here with you." She smiled slightly and took his hand.
For six hours Petra and Judah stood in the hot sun and watched the whole horrible spectacle until Jesus of Nazareth hung dead on the cross. But nothing special happened, only one poor man, a victim of Roman brutality, breathed his last. Completely consumed by feelings of disgust, injustice, anger, and disappointment, they both turned and walked from Golgotha back down to the city.
"That's not possible, all along I believed in a miracle that God would save him." Judah said unhappily.
"I didn't believe it."
"What, don't you believe in God?" Judah was horrified.
"I believe in God, but not in miracles." answered Petra and continued: "I believe that God helps those who help themselves and fight. Was it God who took the slingshot and killed Goliath? No! It was David who fought and God helped him win. So have I, I have been fighting for several years and today God helped me again when he sent you into my path. I believe that with your help we will defeat those Roman dogs."
"W...What? What do you mean?" Stammered out Judah .
"You said, that you work in the Herod's palace.....well, and I need to get in!"
Judah stopped and grabbed the hand of the walking Petra: "Are you crazy? The palace is full of Roman soldiers!"
"Let me go you coward!" Petra shouted angrily.
"I'm not a coward, I'm not afraid to die in battle, but I don't want to end up on a cross."
"No one wants that, but precisely so that we don't end up on it, we have to expel the Romans!" said Petra forcefully. "All this time in the resistance, I'm risking the cross anyway..... But you, Judah? How can you be sure that you won't be crucified tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?"
"Well, if I don't do anything, what....."
"Jesus also didn't do anything to deserve the cross," interrupt him Petra, "you yourself Judah said that Pilate found him innocent and yet thought it necessary to torture him to death!"
“Sorry, you're right." Judah nodded and added, "I swear I will help you. The atrocity must not go unavenged!"
"Sorry for the confusion. Many years ago, there used to be a Yahoo Group message board called "Crux", which was the predecessor of this "Crux Forum." There, a poster named Pilate created a story for Petra based on a model he liked named Petra Verkaik. He asked me to do some illustrations of Petra with the freedom to do my illustrations based on how I liked the story to go. In other words, so long as my illustrations showed Petra's crucifixion, Pilate would be happy regardless for how much I changed his story.
Pilate's story "Petra of Nazareth" was a female-Christ like story, which I really wasn't interested in. Instead, my illustrations "The Ordeal of Petra" are based on the idea that Petra was a Jewish revolutionary in Jerusalem in the First Century AD who is fighting against Roman occupation, but is ultimately captured and crucified. After the Yahoo Group Crux closed down, my illustrations for Petra were posted here.
I'm not sure who the author is of the PDF document you found. It could be Pilate, based on his original story, or written by someone else who was inspired by my illustrations. I have never written a story for Petra. My story for this doomed revolutionary is solely through my art and I leave it to the viewer to fill in the story as they like."
So I decided to write a new, expanded version of the story, based on the Pilate story, but more in line with Steve's illustrations. If I don't count the compulsory school work about thirty years ago, this is my first attempt in my life to write a story. I am asking you all for help. Please write me your opinion, some advice and above all please check the clarity. I am not from an Anglophone country and I wrote the story first in my native language, so I don't know if my translation is fully and well understood. This is the first version that I will edit based on your comments. Thank you for your cooperation and I hope you will like my work. Special thanks to Steve and Pilate, to whom I dedicate my work. Thanks Varinia.
Here is the First Chapter entitled: "Witnesses of the Agony", which relates to Steve's illustration: "1. Petra + Christ"
Petra was in the marketplace that morning, looking at the palace fortifications. She broke her thoughts for a moment and watched a squad of soldiers lead several prisoners through the marketplace, and felt sick when she realized that one of them was Jesus of Nazareth. At first she didn't even recognize him as he was beaten. She knew the preacher and respected his teachings, even if she disagreed with his non-violent approach. Petra was born in Nazareth 18 years ago. When she was five years old, her father was killed by the Romans, and she and her mother then moved to Jerusalem. Here her mother, a young and beautiful widow, married an elderly, wealthy Sadducee. Petra's stepfather was a good man, but the older Petra got, the more she disliked his cooperation with the Romans. And so, at the age of thirteen, she became a member of the Zealots, a revolutionary sect that led a terrorist campaign against the Roman occupiers. On the outside, she appeared as a quiet, pious girl helping the needy, but secretly used her stepfather's wealth for their struggle. And not only how she changed from a girl to a woman, she also used her perfect body more and more often. She led more than one Roman soldier under the pretext of sex to the place where her co-religionists were already waiting to kill him. She gradually worked her way up among the Zealot commanders, while their movement continued to grow and strengthen. When she then became the secret lover of the commander of the temple guard and thus won him over to their cause, she was elected by her comrades as the leader of all the Zealots. Shortly before turning eighteen, she thus became the youngest leader and the first woman ever to lead the resistance. So she believed that she was destined by God to lead the chosen people and defeat the Romans. So she began to devise a plan to raise a rebellion and occupy Jerusalem.
So it was no coincidence that she was currently inspecting the fortifications of Herod's palace. A palace built during the reign of King Herod the Great and now serving as the occasional residence and courthouse of the hated Roman prefect, Pontius Pilate. She was thinking about her plan to conquer the palace, but now overcome by her curiosity, she started towards the crowd. What could have happened? She thought, as she followed the procession to Golgotha. She pushed her way to the front of the crowd and then stood there horrified watching Jesus of Nazareth being crucified. She felt overcome with horror and anger as the soldier nailed the titulus over his head: Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum. Despite his muscular frame, his strength and will were no match for the cruelty of the cross and he moaned loudly, the pain completely overwhelming him. His naked body was constantly moving, twisting and bucking obscenely as he fought the nails in his wrists and feet. The sight of the wildly struggling man and the cruelty of the crowd that had gathered to watch his torment disgusted her, and she was about to leave when she bumped into the man standing right behind her.
"Sorry, I'm just a little shocked." apologized Petra .
"It's okay, me too....." the man answered in a low voice and continued, "He didn't commit any crime and yet they crucified him like a common criminal." Looking around to see if anyone could hear him, he leaned toward Petra and added, "You know? Jerusalem welcomed him as the son of David, and I hoped he would lead the people against the Romans and defeat them. Instead, he just preached forgiveness..... ."
“I know, I've heard a few sermons in the temple."
"I too..... I am Judah and I work in the palace....."
"Wait, you work at Herod's palace?" stopped him Petra .
"Yes, I work in Herod's palace and I saw the trial. Pilate found Jesus innocent, but our high priests wanted to crucify him and he complied, just washing his hands of it."
"Those Roman pigs, they will calmly torture even an innocent to death." Gritted her teeth Petra.
"Yes, it is a disgusting, horrible atrocity!" nodded Judah.
"So why are you here Judah?"
"Because..... because some claim, that Jesus is the Messiah and perform miracles....."
"And you believe that, Judah?"
"I..... I want to believe it and I want to stay until the end..... and wait to see if something happens."
"I'm Petra and I'll be waiting here with you." She smiled slightly and took his hand.
For six hours Petra and Judah stood in the hot sun and watched the whole horrible spectacle until Jesus of Nazareth hung dead on the cross. But nothing special happened, only one poor man, a victim of Roman brutality, breathed his last. Completely consumed by feelings of disgust, injustice, anger, and disappointment, they both turned and walked from Golgotha back down to the city.
"That's not possible, all along I believed in a miracle that God would save him." Judah said unhappily.
"I didn't believe it."
"What, don't you believe in God?" Judah was horrified.
"I believe in God, but not in miracles." answered Petra and continued: "I believe that God helps those who help themselves and fight. Was it God who took the slingshot and killed Goliath? No! It was David who fought and God helped him win. So have I, I have been fighting for several years and today God helped me again when he sent you into my path. I believe that with your help we will defeat those Roman dogs."
"W...What? What do you mean?" Stammered out Judah .
"You said, that you work in the Herod's palace.....well, and I need to get in!"
Judah stopped and grabbed the hand of the walking Petra: "Are you crazy? The palace is full of Roman soldiers!"
"Let me go you coward!" Petra shouted angrily.
"I'm not a coward, I'm not afraid to die in battle, but I don't want to end up on a cross."
"No one wants that, but precisely so that we don't end up on it, we have to expel the Romans!" said Petra forcefully. "All this time in the resistance, I'm risking the cross anyway..... But you, Judah? How can you be sure that you won't be crucified tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?"
"Well, if I don't do anything, what....."
"Jesus also didn't do anything to deserve the cross," interrupt him Petra, "you yourself Judah said that Pilate found him innocent and yet thought it necessary to torture him to death!"
“Sorry, you're right." Judah nodded and added, "I swear I will help you. The atrocity must not go unavenged!"