Peacebringer

Chapter Thirty Two - Tana Explains the Prophecy

Asha was definitely tired after training with Tana all afternoon, but she had insisted herself on training the following morning before her scheduled departure. She wanted to get as much experience as possible before having to use it on an actual mission. She could sense that this was going to be dangerous, even though she would have Valda to help guide her.

She leapt out of bed the next morning, eager to continue learning. They had been working on control and small movements, since that was more of what they would need inside the palace. The goal was to use fire in such a way that she wasn't drawing any attention to herself. They had been focusing on using the very hot, but small, blue flames. Asha was now able to make thin beams of blue that she could use to cut through materials for quick exits. Not the best idea to leave evidence, but good in case the exit they were planning on using had been blocked or caved in.

She arrived quickly at the training field, slightly out of breath because she had practically run there. To her surprise, Tana was actually sitting on the ground waiting for her.

"Good morning! What are we working on today?" Asha asked with spring in her step.

"I actually need you to sit down for a moment, Asha. I want to talk to you about something." Tana sounded very serious. Asha sat quickly, crossing her legs and leaning forward so that she would be able to hear better.

"I wanted to speak to you about the prophecy in the stone," Tana said. Asha looked down.

Is she going to get mad again? She thought.

"Obviously that prophecy is of great importance. That's why I was rather harsh with Finn about delivering it. I do have some concerns about it as well. I assume you and your friends figured out how to unlock it?"

Asha nodded, unsure of what Tana was going to say.

"It was lost by our informant a few days ago. Finn was supposed to pick it up directly, but his contact dropped it on the way to the transfer location. We were very lucky that you found it. The prophecy needs three spinners to be unlocked, and one of them needs to be a fire spinner. Did you feel somehow called to pick up the stone?"

Asha nodded again, glad that she hadn't been completely crazy at hearing that voice.

"That prophecy was written by the last Celestial, from the last war in Karda. It is known as the peacebringer prophecy. Do you know what Celestials are?"

"Yes, I've read about them."

"Good, then you know how important they are. They come in times of great need, and I fear that Karda may be in another one of those times."

"Does that mean that the Celestials will come back?"

"I'm not sure, that doesn't seem to be what the prophecy is saying. I also assume that you and your friends came to the conclusion that the prophecy might concern you?"

Asha nodded again.

"Rone and I have the same feeling. This is partially why I want you to go with Valda to the palace on the special mission. I want to see if you can find a way to not only free the prisoners, but to remove the King from power."

"Remove...as in kill?" Asha's voice wavered.

"If that is what is necessary, yes." Tana's eyes were wide. "We need him off the throne if Karda is ever going to be at peace again. You are the one who will bring peace to our world."

Asha took a deep breath, processing what Tana was saying.

"The King has been looking for all the remaining copies of the prophecy," Tana continued. "He has one in his palace, and one was taken by the fire spinners when they left. This one was in the hands of our friend in Stone Creek for many years. He had no answers for us because there hadn't been a fire spinner in Karda since the death of the queen." Tana gave a small smile. "You are the answer we've been looking for all these years."

"That's a lot of pressure..." Asha said, barely above a whisper.

"I know. We will do everything in our power to help you be successful. The resistance's new mission is continuing the prophecy. After we free the remaining prisoners, we are going to try to end this senseless war. Magical and non magical people will live in harmony again, and it will all be because of you. We need to drive out the evil that the king has brought into our land and replace it with peace and cooperation."

Asha nodded in agreement. It didn't seem quite so scary if the resistance was helping her. And the prophecy didn't really say she had to do anything by herself, it was more that everything would come to pass once she was in the picture.

One part didn't quite make sense though. It wasn't just the evil of the king that was mentioned, it said something about dark creatures. Asha's only conclusion was that the prophecy must be talking about the rangers. They were certainly not human, not with those tentacle things.

She decided to trust Tana's judgement. After all, she had been communicating with this unnamed person in Stone Creek who had been analyzing it for years.

Tana smiled again, sensing Asha's deep thoughts. "I know it's a lot to take in, but I think you really are capable of accomplishing great things. Look at how quickly you've learned to master fire spinning? What you have accomplished in only a few days would take most people years to learn. You have come so far, and you have great capabilities, both as a spinner and as a leader. Your natural instinct to take over the mission to the prison was astounding, and you put yourself at risk for the greater good of the group and the mission."

Asha blushed at the praise. She decided not to inform Tana that she didn't know spinning that much and that powerfully was dangerous.

Now she could see why Tana had been upset at Finn. She needed to send someone who could get it with a disguise because the King was looking for it. She hadn't told him because it would be dangerous for him to have that information. Her anger and frustration had been out of concern, not disappointment.

Asha could see that she would not have to do this alone, and that she had the resources, people, and abilities to be successful. She really could bring peace to Karda with the help of the resistance and Tana's training.

Asha looked up again and smiled. "I think I need a bit more training then. I want to do this mission right." Tana smiled back, and they both got up to begin training again.