I felt the need to write to you to best articulate my thoughts. It really is much easier than trying to sign a conversation, which is what I must do with your blasted brother. He’s going to fight me, but that’s not the point of this letter. You and I must clear the air. We’ll talk about Kian first.
He loved you. I’m sure everyone has told you, but let me make it very clear. From nearly the very beginning, he and Senri looked at you and saw a daughter they were never blessed to have. They opened their hearts to you and you accepted them, even before you realized. Kian was always a wild man who made bold, brash decisions. He enjoyed roaming, but his greatest regret was knowing his son died on the battlefield, and he hadn’t been there to stop it. Please, accept that he went happily into the afterlife, knowing you were taken care of. He could finally right the regrets of his past, and he loved you. He loved you so much.
I would know, and how I know leads to the second part of this letter. It’s rather complicated. I’m certain no one has ever told you about Andinna like me. Very rarely, an Andinna is chosen by one of our goddesses to become an Avatar of their power on the mortal plane. When I tried to give everything to stay with Nevyn, Amonora chose me to be her Avatar. So, when I say that I knew Kian loved you, I don’t just believe he did. I truly knew.
Mave took several harsh breaths, her eyes wide.
An Avatar? What?
You thought we would think you were crazy for dreaming of Kristanya. You aren’t. I dream of Amonora, and I have for centuries, even thousands of years. She is my guiding light, my patron goddess, and I’m her Avatar, her mortal representative, holder of a small portion of her power. Ah, that was much easier than I thought it would be. Now you know my secret. I have great abilities given to me by my goddess, but sadly, none of them are for war.
You, on the other hand, have the opportunity to do something no one else has ever done. I’ve heard many tales of our gods over my lifetime. I keep an ear open for them. But never in all my time have I ever heard of a warrior being given tatua and training from the goddess Kristanya. Until you. What I am going to ask of you is dangerous. You could, and most likely will, die.
I want you to go to a place many Andinna call the Mountain, and I want you to climb it. It’s the tallest mountain in Anden and the home of a grand temple, dedicated to all of our dragon gods. Thousands have attempted the climb over the ages, and only a handful have come back down. It’s said if one wants to meet the gods, one must climb, but those who reached the summit and came back have never left a written account of it.
I hope you climb it and you meet them. I hope you look Kristanya in the eye and confront the goddess you have danced with for centuries and convince her to make you her Avatar.
What I ask has never been done before. There has never been an Avatar of Kristanya, but I think if there will ever be one, it will be you. She took a special interest in you centuries ago. How she has impacted your life since you were young is something you must ask her. I know some things, but not all of them, nor the truth of her reasons, for I speak to Amonora, not Kristanya. The sisters don’t share everything. You understand how siblings can be, I’m sure. Your brother is a nightmare to deal with some days.
Destiny is not a belief of the Andinna. We have paths to walk, and sometimes, we can see them clearly, while others are shadowed in darkness. There are branching paths as well, ways we can change our course and the events of our future. These are the most important decisions we will ever make. I believe you have been set on this path for longer than you and I have known each other, but it is a dark one, unseeable to those afraid to look for it. You are at a crossroads in a sense. You have the choice to hunt down this path or continue