TWW Leigh: The Gift.

The Twilight War Leigh: The Gift

(17-october-1999)

I sit in the darkened room, breath in the incense, feel the green life of the plants around me and force my muscles to relax. It takes longer than it should, longer than usual, but eventually the soothing aura of the room works its magic on me... the room blurs out and I am falling away into nothingness.....

~~~

The dragon was strong and she was proud. Without her, the kingdom would long ago have fallen to invaders... with her wings spread over the land, her claws out to rend any that would harm her land or her people, none dared attack.

But, although she knew it not, she was lonely. The people revered her, but did not offer one such as her love or friendship. Then one day, a stranger came to her kingdom. With his expressive eyes and smiling lips, he told her of her beauty, of his admiration for her proud spirit. And she who had never felt anything but honor and pride for the first time loved... it made her blind. She never saw what lay behind the admiration in his eyes; she never felt his hands subtly guiding her actions.

He made his way to power and under his rule, the crops withered, the people suffered and those qualities of cruelty, selfishness and greed that she had chosen not to see were soon so obvious that she could no longer ignore them. The dragon grieved, torn between her love and her duty to her people. Honor won out and she came to her lover in the dark of night.

"You have proven yourself unfit to rule this land, and I can not allow my people to suffer any longer. Because my love for you is even now strong, I will give you a choice: abdicate your throne and I will carry you far, far away... you must then never return. If you stay here, I will kill you if I must to save my land."

Her lover wept and promised her that he would do better. The dragon stood firm with her claws poised to strike. He would not yield the throne, so she slew him, though it pierced her heart.

She called together the townsfolk the next morning. "I have freed you from the tyrant, but in allowing him to harm you for so long I have proved that I am not worthy to be your guardian. I must fly away to cleanse myself and restore my honor... I will return when I can." She flew away swiftly then, with their cries of dismay ringing in her ears.

She travelled long... eventually she met up with another stranger. This man was quiet and softspoken, he spoke to her with great respect and so they began to travel together. She scrutinized him for the same signs of weak character that she had allowed herself not to see in her former lover... not matter how hard she looked, all she could see was a man of great honor, and equal sadness. Over time they shared their stories and she found that he too felt that he had failed in his duty, and was travelling to cleanse his honor. Though she fought it, her heart grew tender towards him. She hid her growing love for him behind a mask of camraderie and eventually their steps carried them back to her land.

The dragon found that in the years that she had been away, the ruler of a neighboring land had conquered her people, setting up a governor to rule for him and squeeze as much tribute from the people and land as possible. A peasant spat at her as she passed him in the street, cursing her for deserting them and bringing the suffering on them.

The dragon sorrowed, deeply regretting that she had ever failed in her duty to these people. She called together all of the peasants, going quietly to ask them to gather on the outskirts that night. To her relief, quite a lot heeded her summons. She looked among them for a man with anger in his eye and when she found one, she put a sword in his hand and lay at his feet, exposing her throat for the blade. The man's face showed surprise and uncertainty.

The dragon spoke, flicking her eyes among them all. "I have failed you, and my lapse has harmed you greatly. If you choose to kill me now, it is your right, for as your guardian I should never have left you unprotected."

The man laid down the sword and stood back as the dragon stood. "No, we do not wish to kill you - but what can we do?"

The dragon turned her head about until she had met each pair of eyes. "Let me lead you and we will throw out this usurper and give you your freedom."

They all united behind her. That night, she spoke to her travelling companion, who had been silent throughout. "Do you believe I am doing the right thing or will I just get them all killed? I do not want to watch them suffer anymore."

Her companion replied. "You must do what is in your heart - follow the teaching of the Master[1], who said that he that rules should be ruled by the peasants beneath him, he that rules should also serve."

"Still, it is not your battle, so I will understand if you would rather turn aside."

Her companion shook his head. "Where you go I will go, and fight by your side."

She trained the peasants in the arts of war and then led them against the governor's palace... they easily slew the garrison of guard and then the governor himself before sending word to the neighboring lord that they would be ruled by him no more. The lord sent a great army against them, but though they had more numbers and better weapons, they did not have the dragon, who fought with righteous fury until they were vanquished. Seeing that this was no longer a land without a guardian, the neighboring lord signed a treaty with them and peace came to the land.

"Who shall rule us now?" Cried the people, for all of the former ruling family had been slain when the neighboring lord took control. The dragon could not rule the land, for she was its guardian.

The dragon looked among them. "You must pick who you would have rule you - once I chose your leader poorly and we are only now recovering from it. Remember - a peasant can be born with more honor and fire in his heart than a king."

A man spoke, pointing to her travelling companion. "We want him. We have watched him since you brought him here and he has shown himself to be a man of great honor and wisdom."

The dragon turned to her friend. "Will you accept their choice and rule this land?"

He bowed his head. "If that is your will, I will try. I failed in my duty once, but I will try not to fail this time."

As both the dragon and her people had known he would, her friend ruled the land with strength, honor and kindness. Under his hand the crops flourished once again, the people lived in peace and the land prospered.
So the years passed and with the strength of the dragon and the wisdom of her friend, the land continued to flourish and any that attempted to attack it were quickly repelled.
Her friend grew old and finally lay dying. He called her to him on his deathbed and told her that he wanted to give her his wisdom, his power and his memories. She accepted with gratitude... her old friend opened his mouth and breathed out a cloud that entered her, then closed his eyes and died...

~~~

... I am back in my room, once again surrounded by the smell of incense, candle wax and damp earth. My face is wet with tears and Sledge's face fills my mind. I will try, my friend, to be worthy of your gift and to protect the people as best I can.

[1] Confucious

Back to The Twilight War.
Last update 18-october-99