Subversion of Destiny

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Subversion of Destiny
Topic Started: Nov 14 2008, 11:18 PM (79 Views)
Nicholas Kraska	Nov 14 2008, 11:18 PM Post #1
Newbie Posts: 0 Group: Members Member #24 Joined: November 14, 2008	(Just a little short story I wrote a little while back). "Young master Nathan, I must remind you once again just how irresponsible your actions of late have been." My eyes automatically start to glaze over upon hearing those words, and I let my mind begin wandering. And why shouldn't I? I've heard this same tired lecture at least a dozen times in the last year, and I know almost by heart exactly what the old man is going to say. As I walk beside him through the courtyard, I will periodically nod or grunt to "acknowledge" that I'm listening to what he is saying, and he will continue his incessant ramblings, attempting to persuade me concerning just how critically important it is that I get the point. “Don’t you understand just how critically important it is that you understand what I--what we’ve all been trying to tell you?” Of course, therein lies the inherent problem, and the reason we continually keep having these one-sided conversations: I understand precisely what they’re all trying to tell me. Perhaps I understand it a little too well. I am no longer a child who buys completely into every single word told him by his elders; I am nearing adulthood, and with that, I gain the insight that comes with age. Of course, if I ever said this aloud, I would merely be told that I am still young and whatever “insight” I believe I have, it is yet to be tempered by the realities of this world and therefore of no value. “You are vitally important to this kingdom, and these reckless acts that you keep engaging in can only lead to ill tidings.” I find myself wishing for the hundredth time that life could be at least a little more like some of the stories, wherein the hero rises up from the common people, having been gifted with a mystical and awesome power from some ancient source by which he saves the day. But no, magic is an art form, and like all art forms, it is the house of royalty which has the time and resources to perfect it, creating an impassible gulf between themselves and the common people. Really, I can’t help but to feel sorry for them, trapped as they are with little hope to rise up to a better station. Then again, I’m trapped also in a very real way, and some days I think I would trade places with one of them in a heartbeat. “I know it can be difficult, but you must understand that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” Some days, I’m honestly not certain whether he’s referencing the people that I “recklessly” help, or myself. No, I’m sure he must be talking about the former. After all, I’m not really a person to him and his kind; I’m a weapon, the perfect weapon, the product of breeding the most powerful mages throughout the generations to become myself by far the most powerful mage that ever lived. I’m the “destined hero,” the one who will some day end this war, who will wipe out the armies of the enemy and bring peace to our land. And so, of course, I can neither live my own life, nor place myself in the slightest danger for the sake of others. After all, what happens if their “hero” dies trying to save a handful of peasants before that he can save the kingdom? “What do you think will happen if you die before that you can stop the war? Everything’s riding on your eventual success, prince.” Oh, I know the history well enough. I know how evil and wicked they are, how they are constantly aggressing against our lands, how many good men of ours have died at their greedy hands. But I’m no fool. I know full well that their leaders are telling them the same thing about us, and that their soldiers are fighting just as valiantly as ours to protect their country from us…at least, supposedly. Granted, there may have been a time in the distant past when one country or the other was indeed being wickedly greedy, but I believe that such a time is long past. Now? Now I believe that the war is simply being fueled by long-time hatred and animosity, and perpetrated by the same types of hypocritical royalty I see all around me every day. Yes, I understand. “How many more good men do you think will die if you fail because of your own selfishness and short-sightedness?” And, of course, I am supposed to one day stand up and destroy countless of the same type of good, honest men simply because they are fighting on the other side of the conflict, fighting with the same bravery for their country that our men fight for theirs. But no, I know deep in my heart of hearts that I could never do it, that such is too great a price to pay for the sake of peace. There is another way, there must be another way; I do not believe that with all this power that I have, I cannot find another way to end this war without destroying a whole army of men. I will seek peace without the bloodshed of people whose only crime is being willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for those they love. “This war must be won if there is ever to be peace for our people, and you are the one who will win it. You know all of this, you’ve been told it since a child. So why do you always persist in these foolish acts of yours?” It comes in a flash of the purest understanding, of the greatest clarity that pierces all of the darkness and all of the lies and all of the deception. I understand everything, and I realize that, yes, I am the hero that will save this country…and the other country, as well. I will save them both from the self-serving royalty which commands them, the royalty which is ultimately responsible for refusing to establish peace, that is too proud or too greedy to compromise for the sake of their people, the people whom they send to their deaths. It is they who are truly the evil and wicked ones in this war, and it is they who…who… “Nathan, are you even listening to what I’m saying?” Who I am morally justified in killing. Nay, who I am morally obligated to kill, if that is what is necessary to stop them. If they will not accept peace, if they insist upon waging war, then it is upon them that the hand of war must be visited, not upon the soldiers of either country. So, yes, I accept this mantle that was set upon me generations before my birth, but I do not accept it in the way that they have always expected, always demanded. I accept the responsibility that comes with being a hero, I accept all the blood that will be upon my hands, but I accept all of it under terms of righteousness. I am not a weapon. I am a man. “Look at me, young man, when am I talking to you. I am still your…” I don’t even hear what he’s saying anymore, fading out into a sea of unimportance. I can only hear, can only feel, can only see everything falling into place in this single, blinding moment of truth. Suddenly, it’s as if my body is moving on its own, yet at the same time not, as a massive power surges through me, the power that I have been predestined to achieve coming in a mighty rush as I step across this threshold and take my destiny firmly into my own hands. I not only know what I will do, but now I have every tool that I need to do it. And the old man is the next person to realize this, pierced through the heart by my own hand as I move with a blinding speed, cutting through all of his defenses and magical barriers as if a knife through soft butter. “…Father…” That last, gasping word is the last thing which the king ever speaks, a look of the greatest shock and surprise frozen eternally upon his face as he leaves this mortal coil. It is a terrible atrocity which I have committed, I know, but somehow I do not feel guilt or shame, rather only a holy vindication. Perhaps I should have given him an opportunity to repent of this war first, of all the people which he has sent to their deaths, but once more I know in my heart of hearts, in this moment of ultimate clarity, that he never would have, and that I would have lost any opportunity to make things right had I given him that chance. Things will be difficult from here on out, but the path of a hero is never easy. I know precisely what I must do, and I am willing to make whatever sacrifice I must to carry it out. For the sake of every man, woman, and child in both of our lands, I will achieve peace for all of us. I will end this senseless fighting, I will bring an end to this war. Whether I am hailed or scorned, whether I am accepted or rejected, I will see that every self-serving politician who refuses the ending of this war experience first-hand the truth of war, the truth of death. This is my destiny, the destiny that I have made for myself.



The Rock	Nov 14 2008, 11:53 PM Post #2
Doo Wop. Posts: 363 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: February 8, 2008	See, Nich, this is why I love you in a totally heterosexual way, dude. This is amazing.
	Name: Alyx Akeby HP: 50 Level-Up System: Divinity System -DP: 0 -Profile- --- Quote: If I was someone else, would this all fall apart?


Gunstar Ikari	Nov 15 2008, 03:26 AM Post #3
Newbie Posts: 0 Group: Members Member #12 Joined: June 2, 2008	Wow... I seriously don't know what else to say, other than to second Rock's statement. This is amazing.
	"THIS ONE'S A REAL ROCK!" explodes -Nameless Neo Zeon Grunt


MAX300	Nov 15 2008, 06:36 AM Post #4
Newbie Posts: 0 Group: Members Member #23 Joined: October 16, 2008	Win. =)
	aka Lavos


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