"It is your destiny to lead the
resistance against our ancient enemy."
"Me?" Flindra queried with a
surprised frown.
"The Spirit chose you for this
role a millennium ago."
"Why? I'm just a woman and no great and powerful
warrior. Not like you," she added
with a sense of awe.
"Champions come to us in many
guises," he answered solemnly.
"There are times you need to accept the wisdom of the Spirit
without question and He clearly chose you and had reasons for His choice. However, I have a few ideas why you are the
chosen champion. When I was defeated, my
line passed into obscurity and others rose to power. Now it is time for you to stand forward to
command the forces against the coming storm.
If you were a man, you would have to challenge the existing order of the
world to gain the leadership role. Power
is rarely relinquished without a struggle and your ascendancy would result in
inevitable bloodshed, which would weaken all.
As a woman you can join with the existing power and strengthen
all."
"I guess that makes sense."
"I think you will also find that
few things inspire a man more than a noble and courageous woman can. No man will admit defeat when he watches a
brave woman stand fast. You must fill
your heart with courage and inspire others to do the same."
"I will do my best."
"I know you will. You will bring great honor to my
name." King Meldh smiled proudly.
"Why didn't the Ansu destroy us
all after they defeated you?" she asked in a puzzled voice. "Wouldn't that have been easier than
hunting me down a millennium after they attacked?"
King Meldh shrugged his powerful
shoulders. "I don't really know,
Flindra. I suspect that it was just an
economy of effort on their part. Many of
my people, including my daughter Melenth, were hidden in caves, in deep stands
of forest or in remote mountain valleys.
It would have taken much time and effort to track them all down. After the Ansu defeated my army, they
commenced a campaign of destruction and systematically obliterated all my
cities and outposts. All the croplands
were destroyed and in truth, much of the land was reduced to ashes. I presume the Ansu assumed they had destroyed
enough that any survivors would simply starve."
He smiled. "But in an act of obstinate defiance,
our world survived the devastation with an endurance and persistence that was
fostered by the Spirit. Unfortunately,
after a space of years, the Ansu discovered that we didn't die off as a world
and they began to send agents to hunt down our family to prevent the birth of
our prophesied champion. Your father and
mother died at the hands of their agents, but not until they had given you life
and knew that you were safe in the refuge of your foster family. They had at least that success to give them
peace before they passed into the Beyond."
"Are the Ansu still in our
world?"
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