The Last Battle
Avan walked in front of the last the
of the Warriors of Light, with a grace and a hope that most of us had lost long
ago. She stood in front of us and looked over the
crowd with her steely blue eyes. The
growing storm behind her was about ready to break. The clouds were churning twisting into dark
ominous shapes. Miles away all that was
and may be was being washed away by the mass of rain pounding the ground. Storms
had been frequent for a long time. They
helped to wash all the blood stains from the ground, but the water never seemed
pure enough to wash it from the hands of the people who fought for
freedom. Now, it was a necessity. No one had the heart to think if there might
be a later, once this was all over.
One of Avan’s arms hung useless
against her side. She had almost lost it
in the last battle. Something had gone
wrong when the medic tried to sew it up, something to do with nerve
damage. The medic said it would never
move again. But still Avan took up the
sword and fought for what she believed to be right, what we all believed to be
right. She was our commander. She was our guiding light. Like a candle in a dark tunnel; leading us to
the end to see the real light.
“Today we are here to win a great victory for
all! We are here to set an example for future generations. Today we fight the
good fight!” Her call washed over us and
set a burning sensation in our veins. All
eyes were on her as she looked over the crowd.
Her straight black hair blew in
the wind. She seemed to be able to see
through every one. To see the fear in
our hearts, our doubts in our minds. She
was here to dispel the fear, to replace it with truth and determination. She was here to give us strength.
“Today we will rid the world of great
evil. An evil that has oppressed the
earth for far too long. This darkness is
determined to take the earth; to call it its own. We will not let it. We are all that stands in its way. Today the world depends on us. Today the world stands on your shoulders. It is a heavy burden and no one man can
hold. We will stand together. We will stand strong. This darkness is known to most of you as Abaddon. He is not a man but a demon sent from the
darkest reaches of the universe to tempt us, to take us, to control us. All others have fallen to his power. The people, your brothers, sisters, fathers,
mothers, have fallen to his enticing ideals and bewitching beauty. To save them we must defeat this great evil
to set all right. Look around you. You are all that is left. You must be brave. Remember
all those who have fallen and fight for them, so it may not be in vain!” Her
face set with grim determination.
The War had taken everything from us;
our homes, our families, our peace. We
had all lost someone we love, Avan among us.
Only the few hundred of the last of the warriors of light were
left. looked around me and saw the men
and women I had fought with, and loved.
Anyone of them could fall to the darkness; anyone of them could die
today. There was little Kara, onle the
tender age of eleven. She was killed by
a stray arrow. Gelbad was only fourteen
when he died in batte. Jeru died leaving
his pregnant wife behind. Keli and hie
family starved to death. Malko and Hevil
Died in each others arm, never knowing the fullness of their young love. It was their wedding day. So many others I bear not to count lie among
the dead. Even my dear, sweet
Rebeki. Beautiful Rebeki, my one and
only love. She would not die in vain. Looking back up at the commander, even I
wiped a stray tear from my eye.
“If you are
strong we will win. We cannot afford to
fail. If we do, all is lost. We have lost many battles and many good men
have fallen, but today the end of the war will be decided. Whether we triumph or fall to his power is up
to you all. Do you have the strength, the faith? I believe
in you and together we will win, we will triumph, we will prevail.
“We are
soldiers of light. We fight for the
light. The darkness will fall to our
swords. And even though some of you may
die, you will die in the light. You will
die in honor. You will die with
glory. And we salute you! May the light
be present in your heart today! May we
burn like a thousand suns! May we shine
like the brightest light! If the Light
is with us, we will win!”
On her last
statement she raised her hand and all the soldiers followed in suite. We would not, could not fail today. This is the last battle, the final ending. As we lifted our voices in a battle cry, the
wind blew hard, sending Avan’s hair in a whirl wind around her face.
“The Light is with you all, in you all! We will win!” the wind carried her words
straight into our hearts, into our souls and started a fire that no matter how
hard the darkness tried could never be put out.
Never. Today was the day that
the Darkness fell! It might not fall to our swords but it would fall to our
faith, our courage, our hope, our love, our Light! No matter how dark the night is, when the
time is right the sun will rise! Today it would rise!
