MUKUNDA Chapter 7–The Morning the Wind Spoke and I Learned What It Means to Be Free

The morning came with a sky that was clean like a shining stone, the kind of sky that comes after a storm, when the clouds have been washed away and the light that falls on the land is clear and sharp and seems to touch everything with a new kind of attention. But the wind that was moving across the hills and the valleys and the fields that had been tended by generations of hands was not the wind that had been moving through this land since before the first people came, was not the wind that had carried the scent of the wild sage and the rain that was coming and the earth that was waiting to be turned. This wind was playing with a sound that was different from the way it had blown before, as if the wind itself had a heart, as if it was speaking in a language that I could almost understand, as if it was carrying something that had been waiting to be carried, something that had been waiting to be said, something that had been waiting to be heard by the one who had been chosen to hear it.

I stood at the edge of the valley, looking at the mountains that were far away, the mountains that had been watching this land since before the first people came, the mountains that had seen the things that the people of this land had done, the things that they had carried, the things that they had passed down to the ones who came after. My whole body was filled with a feeling that I had not felt before, a feeling that was not the fire that had been burning in my chest, was not the water that had been moving through my blood, was not the stone that had been placed under my skin. It was something else, something that had been growing in me since the three spirits had joined with me, since the night when the fire spoke and the water rose and the stone was given, since the moment when I stood at the River of Stones and the spirit of the stone asked me if I was the one who could carry the courage of the stones and I told it that my blood was not afraid of death because the love that I was carrying was the thing that would carry it, would hold it, would be the blood that was spilled or the blood that was saved, the blood that was the offering or the blood that was the thing that lived.

The three spirits that had joined with me, the fire that had been given to me by Nyamunhu, the water that had joined when I stood with Taru on the hill where the sky falls, the stone that had been placed under my skin at the River of Stones, were still listening to me, were still moving through me, were still the thing that was making me into something that I had not been before, something that the kingdom had not expected, something that the prophecy had been waiting for since before I was born. But there was no peace in me, no rest, no stillness, because I could feel that the spirit of the wind was waiting, was calling, was sending the fire and the water and the stone to the final embrace, was preparing to be the thing that would make the joining complete or the thing that would leave it broken, was the last spirit that had to be joined, the last thing that had to be given, the last weight that had to be carried before the prophecy was fulfilled and the land was saved or destroyed.

Taru was standing beside me, the way that she had been standing beside me since we were children, the way that she had been standing beside me since the fire spoke and the prophecy was told and she knelt in the court and told my father that she would be my keeper, that she would stand beside me, that her blood would be the offering if the prophecy failed. She was quiet, the way that she was quiet when she was waiting, when she was watching, when she was holding the thing that she was carrying and waiting for the time when she would be asked to give it. But her eyes, her eyes were showing the thing that she had been carrying since we were children, the thing that had been growing in her since the first time we sat by the river and let the wind carry away the things that were too heavy to hold, the thing that had been the reason that she stood beside me, that she promised to protect me, that she said that her blood would be the offering if the prophecy failed. Her eyes were showing the uncertainty, the fear that the love that she had been carrying, the love that had been the thing that made her stand, the love that had been the thing that made her promise, was about to be tested to its limit, was about to be asked to give more than it had ever given, was about to be the thing that would be the fire that saved or the fire that burned, the water that rose or the water that drowned, the stone that held or the stone that crushed, the wind that carried or the wind that destroyed.

Leaving the palace, we walked through the great plains that were covered with mist, the mist that comes when the earth is breathing, when the spirits are close, when the things that have been hidden are about to be revealed. The wind was blowing against us, moving the mist, moving the grass, moving the dust that was on the ground, moving everything that was in the place where we were walking, so that sometimes I felt like I was walking in the spirit alone, like the ground beneath my feet was not there, like the thing that was holding me was not the earth that had been given to me to protect but the wind that was moving, the wind that was calling, the wind that was waiting for me to come, the wind that was the last spirit, the one that would make the joining complete or the one that would leave it broken.

In the middle of the wind, in the place where the mist was thickest, in the place where the sound that the wind was making was the loudest, I heard a voice, a voice that was soft but deep, a voice that was not like any voice I had heard before, a voice that was the wind speaking, the wind asking, the wind waiting for the answer that I had to give, the answer that would decide whether I was ready to receive what it had been waiting to give, whether I was the one who had been chosen, whether I was the one who could carry what had been waiting since before I was born.

"Who raises their heart to the wind when they are caught by the love of the land, when the thing that they have been carrying, the thing that they have been holding, the thing that they have been protecting since they were old enough to know what it means to protect something, is the thing that the wind is asking them to let go of, to release, to give to the spirit that has been waiting for this moment, for this time, for the thing that is happening?"

I stopped, my heart beating hard, the way that my heart beat when the fire spoke, when the water rose, when the stone was given, when the thing that I had been waiting for was finally here, was finally in front of me, was finally asking me to be the thing that I had been chosen to be. I answered softly, the way that a person answers when they are standing in front of something that is larger than they are, something that has been waiting for a very long time, something that is asking them to give more than they have ever given, to be more than they have ever been, to become something that they are not sure they know how to be. I told the wind that I was the one who wanted to know the truth of the wind, not the one who wanted to rule it, not the one who wanted to control it, not the one who wanted to be the thing that held it and told it where to go and what to do and how to be. I told the wind that I was the one who wanted to know what it was, to feel what it felt, to be the thing that carried it without holding it, to be the thing that was the fire and the water and the stone and the wind, to be the one who had been chosen, to be the one who had been waiting, to be the one who would be the thing that saved the land or the thing that destroyed it, depending on whether I was strong enough, whether I was brave enough, whether I was the daughter that the ancestors had been waiting for since the fire was lit and the prophecy was spoken and the daughter who would carry the fire was born.

The voice laughed, the laugh that was soft, the laugh that was the wind moving through the trees, the wind moving through the grass, the wind moving through the mist that was covering the plains, the wind moving through everything that was in the place where I was standing, and it told me that the truth is not answered, that the truth is not given, that the truth is not something that can be told to someone who is asking for it, that the truth is breathed, is carried, is the thing that moves through you when you are still enough, when you are quiet enough, when you are ready enough to receive it, when you are not trying to hold it, not trying to keep it, not trying to be the thing that owns it, but are letting it move through you, letting it be the thing that carries you, letting it be the thing that makes you into something that you have not been before.

In that moment, the wind rose, the kind of wind that I had not felt before, the kind of wind that was not the wind that had been moving through this land since before the first people came, the kind of wind that was the spirit itself, the spirit that had been waiting, the spirit that was the last one, the spirit that would make the joining complete or the one that would leave it broken. The wind lifted me, lifted me off the ground, lifted me to the place where the great stone was sitting in the middle of the valley, the stone that had been there since before the first people came, the stone that had been watching the land, the stone that had been waiting for this moment, for this time, for the thing that was happening, for the wind to come, for the fire and the water and the stone to be joined with the thing that would make them complete, the thing that would make them the light that would show the people where to go or the fire that would burn the things that should not be burned.

Taru ran to follow me, the way that she had been following me since we were children, the way that she had been following me since the fire spoke and the prophecy was told and she knelt in the court and told my father that she would be my keeper, that she would stand beside me, that her blood would be the offering if the prophecy failed. But the wind would not let her come close, would not let her reach me, would not let her be the one who stood beside me when the last spirit was joining, when the last thing was being given, when the last weight was being carried. She called out my name, the name that she had been calling since we were children, the name that she had been calling when the darkness was too dark and I was not sure which way to go, the name that she had been calling when the fire was burning and the path was dark and she was the light that showed me where to go, but her voice disappeared in the wind, disappeared the way that things disappear when they are too small, when the thing that is carrying them is too large, when the spirit that is moving is too strong, disappeared like it was swallowed by the waves of the sun, by the light that was coming from the sky, by the thing that was happening, by the spirit that was joining, by the wind that was the last one, the one that would make the joining complete or the one that would leave it broken.

I knelt on the stone, the stone that had been there since before the first people came, the stone that had been watching the land, the stone that had been waiting for this moment, for this time, for the thing that was happening, and I looked up at the sky, at the sky that had been watching this land since before the first people came, at the sky that had seen the things that the people of this land had done, the things that they had carried, the things that they had passed down to the ones who came after. And from the sky, from the place where the light was coming, from the place where the sun was sitting, from the place where the wind was waiting, a light came, a light that was like a piece of lightning, a light that was not the light of the sun, not the light of the fire, not the light of the water, not the light of the stone, but the light of the wind, the light of the spirit that had been waiting, the light that would make the joining complete or the one that would leave it broken.

The light wrapped itself around my body, around the place where the fire was burning, around the place where the water was moving, around the place where the stone was placed under my skin, and my skin began to shine, began to be the thing that was not just the skin that had been given to me by my mother, by my father, by the ancestors who had come before, but the thing that was the writing that was writing a new chapter of the land, the thing that was the story that was being told, the thing that was the prophecy that was being fulfilled, the thing that was the light that would show the people where to go or the fire that would burn the things that should not be burned, the thing that would be the daughter who was born when the kingdom was waiting for a son and who had become the thing that the kingdom did not know it needed, the one who carried the fire, the one who had joined with the water and the stone and the wind, the one who would be the light that showed them where to go when the darkness was coming and the enemy was at the border and the land that had been given to them to protect was waiting to be saved or to be destroyed.

The spirit showed itself, the spirit that was the wind, the spirit that had been waiting, the spirit that was the last one, the one that would make the joining complete or the one that would leave it broken. It did not have a shape, did not have the shape that the fire had, did not have the shape that the water had, did not have the shape that the stone had, did not have the shape that the things that we see with our eyes have, but it was holding the shape of a woman, a woman whose eyes were shining with the light of the cold, the light that comes when the wind is blowing, when the winter is coming, when the thing that has been waiting is finally here, when the thing that has been carried for so long is finally being seen, finally being known, finally being the thing that the prophecy has been waiting for since before we were born.

It spoke with a voice that was like the stones that are falling, the stones that fall when the mountain is shaking, when the earth is moving, when the thing that has been holding the stones is letting them go, is releasing them, is giving them to the place where they will be the thing that is the foundation of something new or the thing that is the destruction of something old. It told me that it was the Spirit of the Wind, the messenger of the truth and the companion of freedom, that my love had been long, had been carried, had been held, had been the thing that had kept me standing when the fire was burning and the path was dark and I was not sure that I could carry the weight that had been given to me, but that my love did not have freedom, did not have the thing that the wind had, did not have the thing that the spirit was asking me to give, to release, to let go of so that it could be the thing that it was meant to be, so that it could be the wind that carries, the wind that moves, the wind that is the thing that makes the fire and the water and the stone into the thing that they were meant to be, the thing that would save the land or the thing that would destroy it.

I was quiet for a moment, the kind of quiet that comes when the thing that is being asked is the thing that you have been carrying for so long that you are not sure who you would be without it, when the thing that has been the light when the darkness was too dark and you were not sure which way to go is the thing that the spirit is asking you to let go of, to release, to give to the wind so that it can be free, so that it can be the thing that it was meant to be, so that it can be the love that saves the land or the love that destroys it, the love that is the light that shows the people where to go or the love that is the fire that burns the things that should not be burned. I felt my heart, the heart that had been burning with the fire, the heart that had been moving with the water, the heart that had been holding with the stone, the heart that had been waiting for this moment, for this time, for the thing that was happening, and I felt the place where the love that I had been carrying was sitting, was waiting, was holding, was the thing that had been the reason that I stood when the fire spoke, when the prophecy was told, when the people looked at me and saw the one who had been chosen, when the keeper knelt beside me and promised to give her blood if the prophecy failed, when the love that had been growing between us since we were children had become the thing that would save the land or the thing that would destroy it.

I spoke softly, the way that a person speaks when they are saying something that they have been holding for a long time, something that they are not sure they should say, something that they are saying because the time has come to say it, because the wind is asking, because the spirit is waiting, because the love that has been carried for so long is about to be released, is about to be given, is about to be the thing that it was meant to be, the thing that will save or the thing that will destroy, the thing that will be the light or the thing that will be the fire, the thing that will be the wind that carries the land or the wind that tears it apart. I told the spirit that if my love was not free, then it was not love, it was fear, it was the thing that had been holding me, that had been keeping me from being the thing that I was meant to be, that had been the thing that was the weight that I was carrying, not the thing that was the light that was showing me where to go. But if I let it go, if I released it, if I gave it to the wind, I was losing the thing that gave me strength, the thing that had been the reason that I stood when the fire spoke, when the prophecy was told, when the people looked at me and saw the one who had been chosen, when the keeper knelt beside me and promised to give her blood if the prophecy failed, when the love that had been growing between us since we were children had become the thing that would save the land or the thing that would destroy it.

The spirit looked at me, the way that a spirit looks at someone when they have said the thing that the spirit has been waiting to hear, when they have spoken the words that the spirit has been waiting to be spoken, when they have stood in the place where the wind is asking and they have given the answer that the wind has been waiting to receive. It smiled a little, the smile that is the wind moving through the trees, the wind moving through the grass, the wind moving through the mist that is covering the plains, the wind moving through everything that is in the place where I was standing, and it told me that this was the teaching of the wind, that the strength that the wind carries is not the strength of having something, is not the strength of holding something, is not the strength of keeping something, but the strength of letting it go, of releasing it, of giving it to the thing that will carry it to the place where it needs to go, to the place where it will be the thing that saves or the thing that destroys, to the place where it will be the light that shows the people where to go or the fire that burns the things that should not be burned, to the place where the love that has been carried for so long will finally be free, will finally be the thing that it was meant to be, will finally be the wind that carries the land or the wind that tears it apart.

In that moment, the wind rose with a fury that I had not felt before, the kind of fury that comes when something that has been waiting for a very long time is finally happening, when the thing that has been held is finally being released, when the love that has been carried is finally being given, when the spirit that has been waiting is finally receiving the thing that it has been waiting to receive. The wind wrapped itself around me, around the place where the fire was burning, around the place where the water was moving, around the place where the stone was placed under my skin, around the place where the love that I had been carrying was sitting, was waiting, was holding, was the thing that had been the reason that I stood when the fire spoke, when the prophecy was told, when the people looked at me and saw the one who had been chosen, when the keeper knelt beside me and promised to give her blood if the prophecy failed, when the love that had been growing between us since we were children had become the thing that would save the land or the thing that would destroy it. My spear, the spear that had been given to me by my father, the spear that had been carried by his father and his father's father, the spear that had been the thing that protected the land when the enemies came and the borders were threatened and the people who had been given this land to protect were called to stand and fight for what had been given to them, was torn from my hands, was broken into three pieces, was the thing that was being taken, was the thing that was being given, was the thing that was being released, was the thing that was becoming the wind, was the thing that was becoming the spirit, was the thing that was becoming the love that would save the land or the love that would destroy it, the love that would be the light that showed the people where to go or the love that would be the fire that burned the things that should not be burned.

Taru was crying from the place where she was standing, the place where the wind would not let her come, the place where she was watching me be lifted by the wind, be broken by the wind, be released by the wind, be the thing that the wind was taking, be the thing that the wind was making, be the thing that the wind was turning into something that she did not recognize, something that she was not sure she would get back, something that she was not sure would be the person that she had loved since we were children, since the first time we sat by the river and let the wind carry away the things that were too heavy to hold. She called out to me, calling my name, the name that she had been calling since we were children, the name that she had been calling when the darkness was too dark and I was not sure which way to go, the name that she had been calling when the fire was burning and the path was dark and she was the light that showed me where to go, and she told me not to let go of my heart, not to let the wind take the thing that had been the reason that she stood beside me, that she promised to protect me, that she said that her blood would be the offering if the prophecy failed, that she was the keeper who kept the promise, the one who stood beside the fire and did not let it burn the things that should not be burned.

But I closed my eyes, the way that a person closes their eyes when they are letting go, when they are releasing, when they are giving the thing that they have been carrying for so long to the thing that has been waiting to receive it. I breathed in the wind, the wind that was the spirit, the wind that was the last one, the wind that would make the joining complete or the one that would leave it broken, and I let everything that was inside me, the fire that had been burning, the water that had been moving, the stone that had been placed under my skin, the love that had been the reason that I stood when the fire spoke, when the prophecy was told, when the people looked at me and saw the one who had been chosen, when the keeper knelt beside me and promised to give her blood if the prophecy failed, pass through the wind, be carried by the wind, be the thing that the wind was taking, be the thing that the wind was making, be the thing that the wind was turning into something that I did not know, something that I was not sure I would recognize when it came back, something that I was not sure would be the thing that I had been carrying since I was old enough to know what it meant to carry something.

I felt the pain that was deep, the pain that comes when something that has been held for a very long time is taken, when something that has been the thing that you are, the thing that you have become, the thing that you have been carrying since you were old enough to know what it means to carry something, is released, is given, is taken, is made into something that you do not know, something that you are not sure you will get back, something that you are not sure will be the thing that you were, the thing that you are, the thing that you will become. But in the middle of the pain, in the place where the wind was taking, in the place where the love was being released, in the place where the thing that I had been carrying was being given, there came a peace, the peace of a heart that was free, the peace of a heart that had let go, the peace of a heart that had released the thing that it had been holding and had become the thing that it was meant to be, the thing that was not holding, not keeping, not being the thing that was carrying, but the thing that was being carried, the thing that was the wind, the thing that was the love that would save the land or the love that would destroy it, the love that would be the light that showed the people where to go or the love that would be the fire that burned the things that should not be burned.

The wind began to calm, slowly, the way that the wind calms when the thing that it was carrying has been given, when the thing that it was taking has been received, when the thing that it was making has been made, when the spirit that had been waiting has received what it was waiting to receive, when the joining has been made complete, when the last spirit has been joined, when the fire and the water and the stone and the wind have become the thing that they were meant to be, the thing that would save the land or the thing that would destroy it, the thing that would be the light that showed the people where to go or the thing that would be the fire that burned the things that should not be burned. And from the wind, from the place where the spirit was, from the place where the love had been given, from the place where the thing that I had been carrying had been released, the woman of the wind spoke again, her voice the voice of the wind that was moving, the wind that was carrying, the wind that was the thing that made the land live, the land breathe, the land be the thing that it was meant to be.

"The one who breathes with pure love is the one who gives birth to new life, to new land, to new people, to new things, to the thing that the prophecy has been waiting for since before you were born, since the fire was lit, since the water rose, since the stone was placed, since the wind was waiting to receive the love that would make it complete, that would make it the thing that would save the land or the thing that would destroy it, that would make it the light that showed the people where to go or the fire that burned the things that should not be burned. Your strength is not in the law, is not in the rules that have been written, is not in the things that have been passed down from the ones who came before, is not in the things that the counselors and the elders and the kings have said must be done, must be held, must be kept. Your strength is in the heart, is in the love that has been released, is in the thing that has been given, is in the thing that has become the wind, is in the thing that is the fire and the water and the stone and the wind, is in the thing that is the light that shows the people where to go, is in the thing that is the daughter who was born when the kingdom was waiting for a son and who has become the thing that the kingdom did not know it needed, the one who carries the fire, the one who has joined with the water and the stone and the wind, the one who will be the light that shows them where to go when the darkness is coming and the enemy is at the border and the land that has been given to them to protect is waiting to be saved or to be destroyed. Hold your land the way you hold the wind, not with your hands, but with your spirit, not with the thing that holds, but with the thing that releases, not with the thing that keeps, but with the thing that gives, not with the thing that is the law, but with the thing that is the love that has been freed, that has been released, that has been given, that has become the wind that carries the land, that breathes the land, that makes the land live, that makes the land the thing that it was meant to be."

I opened my eyes, the way that a person opens their eyes when they have been given something, when they have received something, when they have become something, when they are not the same as they were before, when they have been changed by the thing that has happened, by the wind that has moved through them, by the love that has been released, by the spirit that has joined, by the thing that has been given, by the thing that has been received. The wind had stopped, the way that the wind stops when the thing that it was carrying has been given, when the thing that it was taking has been received, when the thing that it was making has been made, when the spirit that had been waiting has received what it was waiting to receive, when the joining has been made complete, when the last spirit has been joined, when the fire and the water and the stone and the wind have become the thing that they were meant to be, the thing that would save the land or the thing that would destroy it, the thing that would be the light that showed the people where to go or the thing that would be the fire that burned the things that should not be burned. And the whole place was filled with the silence of the truth, the truth that had been given, the truth that had been received, the truth that had been breathed, the truth that was the thing that the prophecy had been waiting for since before I was born, since the fire was lit, since the water rose, since the stone was placed, since the wind was waiting to receive the love that would make it complete, that would make it the thing that would save the land or the thing that would destroy it, that would make it the light that showed the people where to go or the fire that burned the things that should not be burned.

Taru ran to me, the way that she had been running to me since we were children, the way that she had been running to me when the darkness was too dark and I was not sure which way to go, the way that she had been running to me when the fire was burning and the path was dark and she was the light that showed me where to go, the way that she had been running to me when the wind was taking and the love was being released and the thing that I had been carrying was being given, the way that she had been running to me because she was the keeper, because she had promised, because her blood would be the offering if the prophecy failed, because the love that she had been carrying, the love that had been growing in her since we were children, was the thing that would not let her stand still, would not let her watch, would not let her be the one who did not come when the thing that she loved was being taken, was being given, was being released, was becoming something that she did not know, something that she was not sure she would recognize when it came back, something that she was not sure would be the person that she had loved since we were children, since the first time we sat by the river and let the wind carry away the things that were too heavy to hold.

She held me, the way that she had held me when we were children, the way that she had held me when the darkness was too dark and I was not sure which way to go, the way that she had held me when the fire was burning and the path was dark and she was the light that showed me where to go, the way that she had held me when the wind was taking and the love was being released and the thing that I had been carrying was being given, and she was crying, crying with the joy that comes when something that has been lost is found, when something that has been taken is given back, when something that has been released comes back in a new form, in a new way, in a new thing that is not the same as it was before but is something that is more, something that is deeper, something that is the thing that has been made by the wind, by the spirit, by the love that has been released, by the thing that has been given, by the thing that has been received, by the thing that has become the fire and the water and the stone and the wind, the thing that is the light that shows the people where to go, the thing that is the daughter who was born when the kingdom was waiting for a son and who has become the thing that the kingdom did not know it needed, the one who carries the fire, the one who has joined with the water and the stone and the wind, the one who will be the light that shows them where to go when the darkness is coming and the enemy is at the border and the land that has been given to them to protect is waiting to be saved or to be destroyed.

"You came back," she said, her voice carrying the thing that she had been holding, the thing that she had been carrying, the thing that had been the reason that she stood beside me, that she promised to protect me, that she said that her blood would be the offering if the prophecy failed, that she was the keeper who kept the promise, the one who stood beside the fire and did not let it burn the things that should not be burned. "But where were you? Where did the wind take you? Where did the love go? Where did the thing that you were carrying go? Where did you go when the wind lifted you and the light wrapped around you and the spear was broken and you closed your eyes and I could not reach you, I could not hold you, I could not be the keeper that I promised to be, I could not stand beside you when the last spirit was joining, when the last thing was being given, when the last weight was being carried?"

I looked at her, the way that a person looks at someone when they have been given something, when they have received something, when they have become something, when they are not the same as they were before, when they have been changed by the thing that has happened, by the wind that has moved through them, by the love that has been released, by the spirit that has joined, by the thing that has been given, by the thing that has been received. I smiled, the way that a person smiles when they have found something that they did not know they were looking for, when they have become something that they did not know they could become, when they have been given something that they did not know they needed, when they have received the thing that the prophecy has been waiting for since before they were born, since the fire was lit, since the water rose, since the stone was placed, since the wind was waiting to receive the love that would make it complete, that would make it the thing that would save the land or the thing that would destroy it, that would make it the light that showed the people where to go or the fire that burned the things that should not be burned.

"I was in the wind, and I have come back as a part of it, as the thing that has been joined, as the thing that has been given, as the thing that has been received, as the thing that is the fire and the water and the stone and the wind, as the thing that is the light that shows the people where to go, as the thing that is the daughter who was born when the kingdom was waiting for a son and who has become the thing that the kingdom did not know it needed, the one who carries the fire, the one who has joined with the water and the stone and the wind, the one who will be the light that shows them where to go when the darkness is coming and the enemy is at the border and the land that has been given to them to protect is waiting to be saved or to be destroyed."

When we came back to Magodo, the wind was playing softly over the villages, the wind that had been the spirit, the wind that had joined, the wind that was the last one, the wind that had made the joining complete, the wind that had made the fire and the water and the stone into the thing that they were meant to be, the thing that would save the land or the thing that would destroy it, the thing that would be the light that showed the people where to go or the thing that would be the fire that burned the things that should not be burned. The wind was carrying the smell of new flowers, the flowers that were blooming in the fields, the flowers that had been waiting for this moment, for this time, for the thing that was happening, for the joining to be complete, for the prophecy to be fulfilled, for the land to be saved, for the daughter who was born when the kingdom was waiting for a son to become the thing that the kingdom did not know it needed, the one who carried the fire, the one who had joined with the water and the stone and the wind, the one who would be the light that showed them where to go when the darkness was coming and the enemy was at the border and the land that had been given to them to protect was waiting to be saved or to be destroyed.

The people came out of their homes, the people who had been watching, who had been waiting, who had been hoping that the prophecy would be something