20 11.5: Orphans, Gods, and Heroes

Long ago there was a nameless orphan girl who lived in Ascalon. Like so many others she went day to day not knowing when her next meal would be. She scavenged, she stole, she did whatever she needed to do to survive. She had no family, no friends, and lived her life alone and isolated.

One day, while she was trying to steal food, she was caught. The man grabbed a knife and chased her through the streets. She ducked under carts and her small body allowed her to weave through people but the man skill chased her. Usually the people who chased her would give up when it became too much of a hassle, but this man was abnormally persistent. He chased her out of the city and into the woods, only giving up when she disappeared into the underbrush.

She was exhausted, crying and scared, her stomach rumbled and she thought that today would be another day without food. Then she saw a feast unlike any she had ever seen before.

A bunch of men and women were walking by, all wearing thin white robes. These robes were unlike most others as they did not cover the entire body. Many of them only hung from one shoulder or were wrapped around the neck. They were often wrapped in a way to reveal stomach, legs, and in the case of women, the curves of their chest and hips. They were carrying several silver platters containing various types of food.

One tray had several slices of steaming hot meat, one contained a neatly arranged assortment of breads and cheeses, another had many types of fruit. The girl's mouth began to water and she followed the men and women as they marched through the forest.

One at a time, they each went up to an altar near a pool of water. They kneeled presenting the silver trays. "We praise you, our goddess, and hope you will accept this humble offering. They all gave the same praise and left the trays on the ground on the soft grass next to the altar. Then they all gave a reverent bow and left.

Once the girl was certain they had left, she ran out of hiding towards the feast.

She had never seen this much food in her life. She ignored the silverware, she had no idea how to use it anyway, and began to grab handfuls of food and stuff it into her mouth. At first she grabbed the meat but it was hot and got her hands all slimy. Then she went for the fruit. She had never had fresh fruit before and she wondered what it tasted like.

When she took the first bite of a berry it was like nothing she had ever experienced before. The juice exploded in her mouth and a sweet and tart flavor spread inside. Her eyes spread wide, she ignored the meat and bread and began scooping up handfuls of the sliced fruit and berries and shoving them into her mouth until the juices ran down her face and arms. She was enjoying the fruit so fervently that she didn't even notice when someone walked up next to her.

A sweet voice addressed her, "What are you doing here little one, did you not know that this is an offering for a goddess."

The girl froze for a moment before replying, "So? I'm hungry. A goddess has never really been hungry. If I can go without food for two days then a goddess should be fine if just a bit of her food is missing."

"What's your name, little girl?"

"Don't have one."

"Where are your parents?"

"Don't have those either."

The girl looked up at the woman addressing her. She saw someone dressed similarly to the ones that brought the food here but she was much different. She was beautiful, so beautiful that it almost hurt her eyes to look at her. Her body seemed to radiate with a soft light and the girl finally swallowed the mash of fruit in her mouth.

"Is this your food?"

"Yes."

"Are you angry?"

"I don't get angry."

"Oh…"

The goddess sat down on the grass next to the homeless girl, "You do remind me of my daughter when she was young. She always did have an appetite even before she…"

"You have a daughter?"

"And a son. We don't talk anymore though."

"Why not?"

"We got into a fight once, my children and I. They hurt me deeply, and I accidentally hurt them in return. Now they hate me, they probably are even afraid of me."

"Doesn't that make you sad?"

"I don't get sad."

The goddess grabbed a cloth and began to wipe the juice off the child's face. "Are you crying? Are you hurt?"

The girl sniffled and wiped her eyes, "No."

"Are you crying for me?"

"It's not fair. I never had a mother, I always wanted one. If I did have one, I would never hurt her or hate her. Why are you not sad or angry?"

"I don't know. I love my children even if they hate and fear me, I love them even if I will never speak to them again. It is who I am."

"It's sad though."

She smiled and patted the girl on the head. "I've never had someone be sad for me before. I may be saying something inappropriate, but would you like to be my child?'

The girl looked up surprised, "But I'm dirty and I don't even have a name."

"We can wash you up here and name you." She grabbed the girl's hand and walked her over to the pool.

"But I'm ugly, the way I live is ugly."

"You are beautiful," she brushed back the girl's tangled hair. "I can see the beauty hiding beneath the dirt, and beneath that I see the beauty inside of you that not even you know of. I will even make that your name, would you like that?"

The girl silently nodded.

"Do you know the word for beauty in the old language of this land?"

The girl shook her head, "No."

"Aille, that will be your name from now on."

******************************

Thane woke from his dream and looked over at the dying campfire. He rubbed his eyes and reached over to toss some more wood on the fire. He missed normal dreams. It felt like his sleep was being invaded by some powers beyond his control. What really disturbed him was the fact that both times, he was viewing the world from the perspective of some little girl. He wasn't sure if the fact that the second one was likely his mother as a child made the vision better or worse. He didn't doubt the vision, not after last time. It also felt too real, he could almost still taste the fruit in his mouth.

He sighed and looked around the campsite. Did Amara know about his mother? Is that why she was so certain that he would be blessed for the duel? Some inherited favoritism earned by his mother? He wondered what else she knew, it was certainly far more than she was telling. He would get answers from her eventually.

The rest of the group was sleeping, he looked over to Stone, who was sleeping sitting up while leaning against a tree. It was a sight Thane was used to seeing. His legs and arms were crossed and his head was bowed down. He was even still shirtless despite the chilly autumn air. The only difference from his usual sleeping appearance was that Amara was sleeping in his lap, curled up like a kitten. She had her sword back, and was clinging to it as she slept like she was the first time he saw the image of her in the scrying glass.

Stone seemed to notice his gaze and looked up. "Trouble sleeping, boy?"

"Trouble dreaming." Thane replied, getting a confused glance from Stone. "I hope she's not causing you too much trouble." he said, pointing at the cat-like girl on the giant's lap.

"No, she is...I think she hasn't slept this deeply in awhile. She seems like someone who hasn't felt safe in many years."

"She feels safe around you huh? It is rather reassuring to have you with us."

"It's not me who she feels safe around."

Thane sighed and sat up straight, poking at the fire, "I don't think it's really me either, more like her image of me. Her mother knew my parents, and told her stories about them, things that I didn't even know. My parents were strong, unusually strong. My father and his friends were called heroes, but I am not my father. She doesn't realize that."

"You know, just a few weeks ago things were simple. I would hunt, and train. Every once in a while I would trade news with the merchants and sell some meat and pelts, then hunt again. Now my life involves getting caught up in assassination plots, orc invasions and witch hunts. I'm not the hero she wants, I am just some guy who is barely keeping up with everything happening around me."

"And yet…from the moment she met me she was so confident in me. She insisted that the entire plan be focused on me and everyone agreed. She knew I could do it, knew that I could take on that man easily, but she was wrong. It was a struggle, even when he was toying with me I could barely keep up. When I finally went all out, I barely managed to beat him before I collapsed. It was an ordeal from start to finish."

"You still won."

"Yeah, but she is still trying to place me on a pedestal that I can't even reach."

"Thane, a hero isn't someone who can handle everything with ease, a hero is someone who perseveres through his challenges no matter how difficult they are."

"I'm not a hero and...did you just call me Thane?"

"That is your name, is it not?"

"But you usually call me 'boy' or 'young one', this is the first time you've called me by my name."

"This is the first time you've spoken where you didn't sound like a boy pretending to be a man."

"You…" Thane gave up before he started, laid back down on the ground and covered himself up. "I'm going back to sleep. We should arrive at Verda tomorrow then we can be in an actual bed again."