The Shield Bearer

Chapter 11

With the Arrival of The Mistress, a new age of enlightenment will bless the denizens of the realm. Her shield will defend the weak. Her truth will defy the liars. Her faith will restore the broken. Her justice will cleanse the realm. Rejoice in her death. For from that death, she will arise to strike down Astra's enemies.

The story of The Mistress, has been found throughout the generations, on scrolls, in books and on the lips of bards. There is no actual proof that this mystical matron has ever existed, yet her stories continue to inspire. Every once in awhile, a woman warrior rises to prominence and stirs the longing for such a divine being to save the people from some perceived threat.

Many have claimed to be The Mistress, only to fall and not return. It seems that the people like to forget that part. They can't wrap their minds around the fact that it might just be up to them, to save themselves.

Others have had the title thrust upon them, by those desperately seeking a spot of hope, in dark times. And again, they have fallen, never to return from the grave. Yet the people still demand that The Mistress must be coming back, one day, to save them all. It has been truly tragic for those young women who have tried to carry the mantle of a mythical hero. So many have fallen, thinking that they would rise again, miraculously from the grave, just as the stories say.

This is the position that Rene has found herself in. While she did not believe herself to be The Mistress. A fanatical religious man, did. Jensen believed with all of his heart, that by killing Rene, he would facilitate the beginning of a new age and the turning of the tide of darkness that was threatening the known world.

Who am I? You ask. I am one of the few that know the truth of the story of The Mistress. I am one of the few that are glad that Rene is not The Mistress. You see, the history of man, is written by the victors. The history of man, is rarely the true history of events.

The Mistress is not a figure that mankind should be looking to for salvation. She is a threat to the very existence of life on the realm. Her sway is what has brought about the horde of green ones and demons that are threatening to overtake the civilized world.

Sadly, the people will not believe those of us, that warn of the threat of The Mistress. This false story has become intertwined with the very religions of the races. And they believe it as strongly as they believe in the gods, themselves.

We, my fellow peers and I, have decided that it is time for us to act. If the people need a hero to remind them of how to save themselves, then we will grant them a hero.

Cold...there was so much cold that she didn't even hurt anymore. It was just like the dream, the nightmare that had haunted her. There was such intense pain, then it was overcome by unimaginable cold. She couldn't see. She couldn't move. She couldn't feel anything but cold.

Rene wanted to scream. She had fended off the attacks of so many enemies, that her reputation had spread beyond Karos. She had expected to fall on the battlefield, a hero. Instead, she had fallen at the hands of a delusional ally.

Jensen had mentioned The Mistress rising from the grave. He said it, like he believed that Rene would miraculously defy death's embrace. But she wasn't The Mistress. She knew this. She had known it, since the first time that it was implied, the day before she set out for this cold place.

Rene believed in miracles. She had to, after all that she had experienced. But she also, understood the way of the weave, the place from which both miracles and magic came. Adam had taught her, quite thoroughly. The miracle of resurrection, is a myth. Once a body is dead and the spirit has left it, mortals haven't the capacity to make it return.