A man wandering in the wilderness looking for truth encounters a dragon who says “Give me your treasure or I will take your life”. But the man only had his life to give so he pulled out his birthright and slayed the dragon. Another day the man found a walled city with many people. He asked a man of the city “Where is your birthright? How do you protect yourself?”. The city man assured him “These walls are strong and the city is safe. We can leave our birthrights at home and live freely without fear.” So the wandering man made a home and prospered in the safety of the city.

Then one day a messenger came to the door saying “Our scouts have seen a monstrous beast coming towards the city, everyone must give a small piece of their birthright to keep the city safe”. The man replied, “This city has been good to me so I can spare some of my birthright”. The next day the messenger reported that the beast had been conquered thanks to all the people's sacrifice. Some time later the messenger returned with another warning “There is a plague coming. Everyone must give a small piece of their birthright to keep the city safe.” Again the man complied and the next day the messenger reported the plague had been avoided.

Many years had passed and a messenger came to the door saying “There is famine coming. Everyone must give a small piece of their birthright to keep the city safe.” The man replied “There is not much left of my birthright. What will I leave for my children when I’m gone?” The messenger answered, “Your children will inherit the city so they do not need your birthrights.” So the man gave over the last of his birthright.

Not long after the messenger was back at his door demanding “A beast is heading towards the city. Everyone must give a small piece of their birthright to keep the city safe.” The man said, “I have already sacrificed all my birthrights to keep the city safe. What else would you have me give?”. The messenger replied, “If you can’t give any birthrights you must serve the city as a soldier”. The man said goodbye to his family and went with the messenger to join the army.

One day while the man was guarding his post a wandering man walked by still carrying his birthrights. He said to the wanderer “Come to the city where you can be safe from beasts, sickness, and famine. You won’t need to carry the burden of your birthrights anymore”. The wanderer replied “I travel far and wide searching for truth and have found many. What truths have you found in the city?” After pondering this question for some time the man said, “I have found that no peace can last forever.”