Chapter VII, Reading 6

"I then searched for Princess Melenth. She was alive with her foster family in an area of forest ignored by the Ansu. It was an island of life in a world laid waste.

"Since that time I have carried out Queen Kwenth's instructions to protect her line. For some reason, in any generation only one child has been born. I was thankful that this was the case, for I could then focus my attention on this lone child. I have hidden your forebears among simple people, noble families, merchants, and artisans. This left a tangled skein for the Ansu to unravel. Sometimes I had to separate parents and child as I did with you. I did this to minimize the risk from the Ansu when their agents had discovered the family. More often, I just arranged marriages to different and distant people.

"When I haven't been seeing to the safety of your ancestors, I have been trying to learn as much as possible in hopes of giving you the necessary knowledge to defeat the Ansu. The purpose of my existence is to be your teacher and mentor. Does that answer some of your questions as to who I am?"

"It does."

Flindra looked down and stared at the floor of the cavern for a moment. When she looked up there was unmistakable anger on her features. "Why couldn't the Spirit have helped King Meldh?" she demanded. "Why couldn't he have destroyed the Ansu then? History says he was a great and good king. Why did he have to die?"

Kewero sighed quietly and suddenly looked very old and very, very tired. "Flindra, I wouldn’t be honest with you if I didn't confess that question has haunted me from time to time. History records the greatness of King Meldh, but the words cannot match the man. The King was one of the best human beings this race has ever produced. Queen Kwenth was very much his equal in goodness and wisdom. I loved these two people with all my heart and soul. Gladly, I would have died for them. I, too, have felt moments of burning anger at the loss of this pair."

She closed her eyes for a moment. When she finally continued her voice was low. "With the passage of time I've come to understand things a little better. Although King Meldh was a great and good king, his presence in our world wasn't enough. The allies he needed to fight the Ansu abandoned him and betrayed him to the Enemy. As creatures of free will these men and women had a choice and they acted against the King and against the Spirit."

"Oh. Will it be different this time?"

"The Spirit has worked relentlessly since then to assemble a force of willing helpers for you, Princess Flindra. I want you to also recognize that King Meldh lives through you. He is with you through your memories. I think you will also find that King Meldh is present in a more real way."

"How so?" Flindra asked.

Kewero shook her head. "I don't really understand it, but I think the Spirit has allowed him to maintain a presence in the world. I feel his essence, his spirit, on all the relics he has left for you."

Flindra's eyes were wide with wonder. "Oh," she murmured quietly.

"Any more questions?"

"When King Meldh came to me in my dream and showed me how to use Rigga, he said my mother and father were murdered by the agents of the Ansu. Could you tell me their story?"