the Elves or the Iumenta. He would be an Elf, but the choice would be his to make. Now this man would do many great and terrible things if he chose, but in the end he would restore order.”
When Keither first started to hear about a ‘prophecy’ he scoffed at the idea, but this was not so much a prophecy but rather a probability. The Mahann used logic to figure things out, and this dragon used the Mahann to tell of these things, so there was logic here. It had to be a probability, but he didn’t see it yet.
“That ‘hero’, as he was called, would be known as the Everser Vald, meaning, in the Elven tongue, ‘the destroyer of great power’. This meant that if he chose the Iumenta side the Elves would fall, but if he chose the Elven side…”
“The Iumenta would lose control of the land,” Sara said, beaming at Legon.
Legon interrupted them all. “Wait, wait. That doesn’t mean that it’s me. You said that there had been others in my situation before. There have to be signs or something to say who it is.”
“Yes, Legon, there have been others. But let me finish. The prophecy spoke of signs that would appear, of course, and I will get to those, but there is more. This hero, this Everser Vald, would be greatly influenced by another.”
Sara said incredulously, “An influencer? I have never heard of an influencer in this story.”
“No, you haven’t. Only a select few have heard the prophecy in its entirety. This was done as a protection, not only to the possible hero, but to that influencer as well. This person would be the deciding factor in what side the Everser Vald would choose, and that meant that we had to step lightly when a potential person fit the signs.”
“But I haven’t had an influencer,” Legon blurted. But he had. Keither saw it, saw her for the first time. Pieces fell into place now. It never made any sense at all to keep one like Legon so deep in the empire but now it fit, she fit! Who else could have had an impact on someone as headstrong as Legon? The same person who had impacted all of them over the past few months. The name came out without thinking.
“Sasha.”
Sasha looked at him, the little color left in her face draining away. But it was her. She had taught him empathy with her episodes, made him a better person. She was his drive for doing everything; he would attack the Queen herself if it would save Sasha from suffering. Keither had truly never seen anyone love another person the way Legon loved Sasha. And it fit. How could he not choose the right side?
“So this whole thing was a setup?” Keither said.
“How do you mean?” Sara said, sounding agitated.
“Sasha is the influencer, so he was put with her to make him the Everser Vald, wasn’t he? And moreover, you said that Legon has been using magic with Sasha during her episodes his entire life. If he wasn’t around her then he may not have turned, correct?”
Arkin looked uncomfortable. Keither knew that he was right and that angered him. All of them had been through hell for this and it was just a setup.
“No, Keither, this is not what you think. Edis and Laura didn’t know anything about what Legon was or who he would become. But yes, he was allowed to stay with them on account of Sasha. Even at a young age it was apparent that she was an unusually good person. If he was taken back to the resistance we don’t know what would have happened. Even being raised on our side wouldn’t guarantee that he was going to turn Elf or-”
“That I wouldn’t become a tool for the Iumenta. I don’t fault you for what you did. I don’t want to think of life without Sasha. Please, tell me of my father,” Legon interjected.
Part of Keither’s mind told him what Legon had said was probably right, and though this made his life harder, perhaps it was better for the world as a whole.
* * * * *
Legon wasn’t affected by the news that Arkin just shared. Somehow he knew it all. He wasn’t sure when he had figured it out but he thought it was when he had been transfigured. The White Dragon had shared a message with him, but he couldn’t remember it. He wanted to know about his father and his