May 14
Sitting with her knees drawn up, her feet planted on the ground, her arms wrapped around her knees as if hugging them, and her forehead rested on her knees, Emma reflects on the events of the past few months. How often her grandmother’s voice echoed in her head telling her the stories of her grandfather, a man, a Rider, who had died before her birth. Most often though reminding her of her grandfather’s saying. “Those who see must act or the enemy will triumph.”
Known as a protector, her grandfather lived by that saying. Acting to protect those who did not see. He had been on his way home for leave when he had given his life to protect a caravan of travelers. Could someone she never knew impact her path in life? Was there something of fate in it?
She had acted, had found a way to escape Dunland. She had acted when they went to rescue the farmers from bandits and run in recklessly to save the girl. She had acted, recklessly again, when the bounty hunters came for Kae.
But then she began to recoil as she heard more and more stories and they faced more dangers. What did she know? What skills did she have? What would qualify her to act? Nothing. Yet somewhere deep inside her was the echo. “Those who see must act.”
She thought perhaps she could act, be a protector by being a part of the team. Maybe she did not need to fight to act. Of course, she would have to learn enough that she would not become a liability if she ended up in a fight. She had already started to practice with a bow and arrows, but she remained loath to use them. Fighting within herself. Logic telling her all the reasons that she could not follow this path. Yet, a pull from something deep inside her kept reminding her. “Those who see must act.”
A loss that left her with broken ribs. That moment when it was so clear that the enemy had been toying with them, and while they all walked away alive, they had not won anything. They had however seen a demonstration of the power of the enemy. “Those who see must act.”
But how? What could she do against such an enemy?
She had been practicing for months with a rabbit bow. Her determination and efforts strengthened each time she had seen or learned more of the dangers facing them, facing the world. She had talked with Ryheric about weapons and their purpose. Weapons were for taking life. It was that simple. They were tools, not for defense, not to be taken lightly.
Ryheric had returned from Bree and he called a clan meeting. At that meeting he gave her the new bow he had made for her. It was so much more than a bow. It was his trust, his indication that she was ready. As she accepted that bow, she was accepting a weapon, and responsibility for using it. She knew it was time to stop fighting within herself and fully accept the path. Still feeling like she knew very little, she took the next step. She took the bow.
The goblins were a threat to her, to her clan, to her people. Ryheric had brought them to fight the goblins and she had fought. For the first time in a battle she had been one of those dealing death. Her arrows killing the goblins while Winnie held them back with her shield. She had missed some. She had been shaking so badly she had dropped arrows. It had taken more than an hour for her to stop shaking when it was all over.
She had chosen her path when she accepted that bow. It would not be an easy path, but it was the right path for her. It made no sense, not logically. Yet somehow Emma knew with all of her being that her grandfather was right. “Those who see must act or the enemy will triumph.”
