The Godly Gifts

Prologue

         "If you are reading this inscription, then I have failed."

     Selah wrote the words slowly and carefully, trying to keep her hand from shaking. The pen in her fingers glowed with a soft light, cutting deeply into the stone. This message should last for several centuries deep in this hallowed and sacred place, carved into stone and protected from the elements. And if she was right... It would need to last.

         "I wish I had more time. I wish I had seen the signs. I wish we had been there for him when he needed us-"

     She stopped, tears stinging her eyes, her hands violently shaking. Dropping the pen on the stone, she brought her hands to her face, fighting the sobs. Gritting her teeth, she tried desperately to banish them and stay strong. They barely had time to come here. She barely had time to write this message. She didn't have time for tears.

     If this was her final message, she wanted it to be very clear. She didn't like thinking of this as her final message, but three hundred years had taught her that it was better to prepare for the worst.

     But she wanted to capture a part of herself in writing. Because she knew that this would be her last day alive. Even if she survived the hours to come, she knew that she would no longer be living after the work she would complete today. If... She gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and continued writing.

         "My brother is about to make a terrible choice. One that will affect not only the people of our world, but others as well. I think he believes it's for the best. And he won't listen. We tried to change our world. And I think we did. We were able to save our home from itself. For three hundred years, we've maintained peace, bridging the nations that had been waring for millennia.

         "But Barick wants to take it farther. We tried to reason with him, but he refused to listen. It's those people he's associating with. That woman! It wasn't until her that he started... He even threatened... I- I don't know my brother anymore."

     Suddenly, words poured out, emotions churning within her. She wrote about the past. She wrote about her fears, her hopes, her guilt. She wrote about Barick and Fabien, the two wonderful men who had become her brothers. What the three of them had become for this world. She even wrote about the very beginning. Maybe she was rambling, but she had to say something.

         "I don't know why I'm writing this. Maybe I'm trying to make excuses for myself. Maybe I'm trying to explain. But- this has moved beyond the three of us. We're not the ones that matter anymore.

         "And we have to stop Barick. Now... Whatever the cost."

     A soft knock sounded from the doorway behind her.

         "Selah," Fabien's voice was quiet but urgent. "It's time to go."

     She turned slowly, seeing him standing backlit in the stone doorway. His shining bow was already in hand, the cuff on his wrist glowing with a soft yellow light. His face was grave, serious, and determined.

     Selah reached up and grasped the golden medallion that hung from her neck. An unconscious gesture that had saved her life hundreds of times.

     Closing her eyes, she focused her breath, trying to keep herself together when it seemed like the whole world was falling apart. 'We're out of time. Just say what you need to say.' She lifted the pen one last time.

         "If you're reading this message, then we have failed.

         "And I need YOU to take up our fight. Don't let our mistakes cost the freedom and happiness of innocent people. You have our power now. Take up our battle, learn from our mistakes, and save the lives we couldn't."

         "Please."