know where you stand.”
A host of grim faces turned to Ethan in anticipation. He cast his eyes around the table. Some softened their expressions as he looked into their eyes, but others turned colder. He had no idea what to say. These people were debating the future of an entire race. And everything hinged on him. For a moment he felt dizzy from the weight of it all and needed to grip the arms of his chair to steady himself. After taking a deep cleansing breath, he rose slowly to his feet.
“First, I want to thank you,” he said. His voice trembled slightly, but he managed to keep his composure. “Birger saved my life. And after he brought me here, instead of killing us, you allowed me and my friends to stay. Without your kindness, I don’t know where we’d be right now. Probably dead.”
He cleared his throat. “As you know, I’ve only recently arrived in this world, so all of this is very strange to me. I don’t know anything about magic or dragons, and there are no dwarves or elves where I come from. But I do know about evil. And in my world we fight it to the end. Even when it looks like it can’t be defeated.
“You say you want to know what I think. But I can’t really tell you. This is all too big for me. I can’t decide what the best thing to do is. Stuff like that should be left to generals…and kings. What I can tell you though, is how I feel in my heart.”
His gaze fell directly at Halvar and his nervousness melted away. “On Earth, my people were faced with a great evil. His name was Hitler. He didn’t have magical powers like Shinzan, but his armies were said to be unstoppable. And for a while it looked like they were. But you know what? The freedom loving people of Earth joined together…and we bloody stopped him. We took the beaches at Normandy and we pushed that bastard back.
“A lot has happened to me since I arrived on Lumnia. I’ve seen things I could never have imagined in a million years. And to tell you the truth, most of it scares the hell out of me. But that’s all right. I’ve been scared before. Fear didn’t kill me in France, and it won’t kill me here. You all want to know what I plan to do. Well, I’ve been wondering that myself, and I’ve come to realize something. No matter how I look at it, I only have three choices.”
He raised a finger. “First off, I can hide - though it doesn’t look like there’s anywhere I can go where Shinzan won’t find me.” A second finger rose. “Second choice is to run. Well, I’ve already tried that, and I can’t seem to run fast enough to get away. Anyhow, you can’t run forever. Eventually the road ends.”
The two fingers dropped beside the others to make a fist. “The third option is to fight.”
He straightened his back and held his head high. “Your Highness, I’m an Airborne Ranger. That may not mean anything to you, but it means a whole lot to me. It means running and hiding is not an option. I keep thinking about the Airborne motto – rendezvous with destiny. I used to think I knew what that meant: that whatever is supposed to happen, will happen. That our destiny is unavoidable and we should accept it with honor. But the more I see, the more I think I was wrong. What it really means is that our destiny is out there waiting for us. We can choose to avoid it. Or we can have the courage to meet it head on…even if it means dying.”
He looked at each member of the assembly again. The cold stares were now fewer in number. “Whatever you decide here today, I will understand. I know that you have families and friends you want to protect. This can’t be an easy choice. But know that if you want to fight, I’ll fight with you. If not…then I guess I’ll fight alone.”
He sat down, folded his hands on the table, and allowed his gaze to settle on Halvar.
The king’s jaw clenched. “Thank you. Unless someone has a question for…Lord Dragonvein, we still have much to discuss.”
Ethan stood and bowed. “Your Highness, I would like to see Jonas, if that’s all right.”
Halvar waved his hand. “Very well, go. Birger can take you.