Heart of a Berserker: Faith (School of Dragons)

Chapter 17

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Chapter 17

Viggo and I set up our game in the newly built Great Hall. Heather, Eret, and Skulder watched us as we played for what seemed like hours. Finally, it all came down to one move. I made my play and then looked up at Viggo expectantly.

My mentor smiled at me with pride. "Congratulations, Brennda. You have won. You are ready."

A huge grin spread across my face. "Thank you!"

"Wow," Heather said. "I can't believe you beat Viggo Grimborn at Maces and Talons."

"Well, she beat me while I was using Harald's strategy," Viggo said. "If I played myself, the outcome would be different."

"But this is all I needed," I said. "Now I can beat Harald for real."

"But what does Maces and Talons have to do with real life?" Skulder said in confusion.

Viggo smirked. "Everything."

I nodded. "Harald's a game player. Everything he does is well-thought out and part of a intricate plan. I am finally going to put an end to it. Will all of you help me think out loud?"

Eret smiled. "We're here for you, mate."

My gaze returned o the game board. It was time to plan. "I have uncovered a contradiction in Harald's thinking. According to all of you, he believes I am safer if he stays away from me. However, he has on numerous occasions protected me from physical harm. If he is so bad for me, wouldn't it be better if he had not intervened?"

"He might say those are exceptions to the rule," Heather said. "He may believe the bad outweighs the good."

"Yes, but if that's true, he's still saying it would be better if the good didn't happen at all. He can't have it both ways. Either it is better for him to stay away from me and not protect me, or it is better if he stays with me to protect me but risks causing me harm."

"Forcing him to choose may work as a goal," Viggo said, "but you need to get him to the point where he's willing to choose honestly instead of use wordplay and make excuses."

"I've already made it clear to him what we're doing can't continue. It's tearing me apart."

"I think he's almost to that point as well," Eret said. "When we talked on Scuttleclaw Island, he seemed pretty beat. He even admitted he needs a new plan."

"So, he's weak," I said. "This is my chance to strike. I need a winning strategy." I moved the Maces and Talons pieces around as I thought. "I will beat him with... truth."

"Truth?" Skulder said incredulously. "You want to defeat a liar with the truth?"

"Of course. How else do you overcome lies, with more lies?"

"But he doesn't care about the truth!"

"Wrong again. I'd say he cares more than most people. He's just... given up fighting for it." I picked up a game piece and twirled it with my fingers absentmindedly. "He has no faith in anything, least of all himself. He needs a reason to believe."

"And you think you can give him one," Heather said.

"I'm betting everything that I can." I dropped the game piece and turned to look at my friends. "Harald's main strategy is manipulation. This often means lying, but he's also quite skilled at using partial truths to his advantage. Either way, his goal is to use control everything to get what he wants. He doesn't have faith in anything, so he must use control, which is achieved through certainty. It's a powerful strategy, but it does have its weaknesses."