Guardians of Fate
2: Bahamut
So you wish to challenge me?
"It is not our will to fight."
Begging for mercy?
"Never."
Impudent fools. They may have defeated the two lesser demons that I sent to test them, but I can summon far worse. They will pay for their insolence.
Damned imbeciles! Why do you wish to fight?
Silence.
Hmm…strange. These humans have no answer. I strain to hear what they are thinking, struggling to eavesdrop on the very thoughts inside their heads. Eventually, I forge a link with the mind of their leader.
It's our nature. There is no real reason. Maybe we were born…only to fight.
I see…interesting.
His acute awareness is impressive, he understands the weakness of his own race, and he accepts it. This is a revelation which normally only occurs with death, or in my case, rebirth. Yes…there is something very different about this one. Maybe Odin was right. Maybe the prophecy is about to be fulfilled. If that is the case, I will need to be sure. I will need to give them one final test.
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"I will need to give you one final test."
And so began the final conversation I ever had with my father, the conversation that would ultimately shape the entire course of my destiny. Of course, at that particular moment in time, I had no concept of the bearing that it would have on my future. I was only a mortal then, I could have no concept of the future that lay ahead of me.
No, back then, I was too impulsive, too proud, too indulgent. I could simply not grasp why I would need to undergo a test to ensure that I was a suitable candidate for kingship.
"A test? But I am your son, what further test do I need?" My raised voice brought my father's bodyguards rushing from outside the door. He quickly motioned them away with a swift movement of his hand.
"I need to be sure. A kingdom lives and dies by the strength of its ruler," he answered. To this day, I still remember how he never once raised his voice, no matter how enraged my replies became.
"Strength? Strength?" I spluttered, indignantly. "You want me to prove my strength? I am amongst the most capable warriors in the land, and you mean to question my strength old man?" He sighed, and shook his head.
"Have you learnt nothing my son? That is not the only strength needed to become a great leader, it is but one facet of the whole. You will need, not only to fight with your sword, but with your head. You must be able to think your way through every situation carefully and logically and above all you must remember to use all…"
"…of my diplomatic skills. You've told me this a thousand times."
"And that still does not seem to be enough. Great kingdoms are built in peacetime, not in a time of war. That is something that you must always remember."
"I'm sure you will never cease to remind me."
I wish that I could have taken those words back. I can only think of my mortal self with utter contempt, now, at the way in which I spoke to my own father in such a disrespectful manner. I was only young, I know, especially by my current concept of time, but that does not excuse my behaviour. If only I had realised what a great man my father was in his life, I would have been more inclined to follow in his footsteps. He was a great king amongst men, building his empire on the foundations of peace and trust, and I just saw him as a weak old man with no stomach for fighting. How wrong I was.
"I will not be there to remind you. Son…I…I'm dying." He whispered this last sentence with a look on his face that was pleading for peace between us. It is a look that will haunt me for the rest of my days.
I didn't know how to react, or even what I felt. I was too confused by the fact that the man I had grown up with, and grown up to resent, was not going to be around anymore. I just couldn't bring myself to tell him that I was sorry for everything that had happened between us, and that I would miss him. We had never been that close before, and I physically couldn't force those words out.
What I most regret, however, is that I was still angry. I felt that succeeding him was my birthright, a right that nobody could take from me. I was blind to my folly. This conversation only made me more determined to prove my father wrong. Perhaps if I had listened to him, things would have turned out very differently.
My final test was to lead the army of my father's kingdom in battle. Although he had always prided himself on his peacekeeping, the situation around the borders of the land was becoming dire. Parties of raiders had been holding several towns siege, and their numbers were swelling. Eventually, my father saw that military action was the only solution, and he reluctantly ordered the dispatch of a large force. I was to be its commander.
This was supposed to be a test of my cunning and strategy, as well as my leadership abilities. My prowess on the battlefield never came under question.
My men did emerge victorious, but more by luck than by judgement. The enemies quickly broke rank under pressure from the superior numbers of my army, and their leaders were soon captured. I knew that my father would not be impressed by this, he wanted to see that I could do more than fight, and I had not been able to prove that. It was with a heavy heart that I returned home, only to find that my father had passed away in my absence.
It was this twist of fate that would eventually doom an entire kingdom.
I was crowned the day after my father's funeral, and from that day on, the entire land of Centra was plunged into turmoil.
I was not blessed with the tact and guile that was the strongpoint of my father, and soon, all diplomatic relations between the Centran nations soon ceased, and the precarious ceasefire that had taken many years to forge was destroyed within a few tumultuous years. The outbreak of war caused a struggle in each nation to develop better, and more effective weapons for use against the enemy. It was not long before we all had the capacity to destroy each other. Yes,I was one of the main players in the catastrophic war, which single-handedly wiped out all civilisation in Centra, a once great continent.
It was only upon my death that I finally realised the futility of it all. The human race, is, in essence, weak. Only a few, exceptional individuals can manage to rise above this mediocrity. My father was one of them.
In life, I was most certainly not.
I was fortunate enough, however to obtain a second chance, an opportunity for redemption. I will not make the same mistakes now that I did in life. That is why I hide here, where people very rarely tread. I do not trust humans with the kind of power that I could give them. That is why these humans must be tested. If they truly are the Children of Fate, as Odin believes, then they will pass.
I however, have less faith in the human race than Odin does. I have a better concept of their inherent weakness than most.
Still, there is a chance that they truly are the Children of Fate, and if that is the case, then now is the time that I must once again fight alongside humans.
It also means that the time for my ascension is almost upon me.
The guardians will soon need a new leader.
I will not fail twice.