Storm Bringer, Bringer of Dawn

YouTube: "To Glory", Two Steps From Hell

"I need time," she told the Old Man as she struggled to stand up.

The rain continued to pour.  'It is unnatural,' she thought. It never rained when they took on each other to train.

Her teacher flicked a finger, and she was thrown back again, her body already battered from his attacks.

"Tell me, Young One," he said, "Will time wait for you?"

She felt her hands shake as she tried to push herself up again.

"You ask for time, you ask for understanding.  It is almost as if you are asking for mercy."  The tone was grating.

"I am not asking for mercy!" She fought back her tears.  The Old Man laughed. "I am NOT asking for mercy!"  She repeated as she crawled on fours.

"Then what do you want, Wa-Su-Nah?  What are you crying for?"

The tears fell as the rain fell.

She heard a distant song from home.

'Storm Bringer, Bringer of Dawn, carry the torch, carry on.  Storm Bringer, Bringer of Dawn, sing your song, carry on.  Sing the song in your heart, sing it long.  Storm Bringer, Bringer of Dawn.'

"You knew," she said.  "You knew it was going to happen!   Why only now?  Why just now when it's too late to save Her?"

"Is it too late?"

She took a handful of earth and tried to clear her mind.  Rage can be confusing.  Rage can be an enemy. "Is it not?" She shouted through the rain.

"Because all things must come to pass as they should pass, and because we - you and I - have the power to make our own choices," he answered.  "And because they have made their choices too."

"So we have to suffer because of them?  Our families have to die because of them?  We lose the Motherland because of them?"

"Every action will merit a consequence."

"Their actions will kill the Goddess."

She saw the quick narrowing of his eyes, and before she could take another breath, she was thrown into the air again.  'This is it,' her mind wandered.  'The end of this all.'  She felt her back hit something hard.  She was too weak to cry now.  All she has ever done was cry.  She wanted to stop crying.

"The Goddess retreats because She will bring forward the ills in this world.  To give birth, She must honor Her womb.  She must rest.  She must gather Her strength.  And while She rests, He must act.  He must do what He can to prepare for Her coming again."  He glided across the field and stood where she could clearly see his weathered face.  "You, of all people, know this."

"I..." She failed to find the words.

"She will not allow Her children to live among those who prey on Her goodness.  She will not allow Her children to suffer, and so will He.  There must always be balance, a time of reckoning," he said. "Did I not tell you this?"

"Purification," she whispered as she saw a lightning flash across the sky just above the two of them.

"Those who will not heed will know Her wrath."  He looked beyond the shores of Rapa Nui.  "She will take into account what She has lost, and what must be saved."

She closed her eyes.  "And no one can stop Her."

"Time will not wait for you, Young One," he said, his eyes still far away.  "Do not ask for it."

The rain suddenly stopped.

She blinked.  'Yes, of course,' she thought almost foolishly. 'He can control the elements, can alter the weather.'

"Stand up, Wa-Su-Nah."  The Old Man's voice was firm.  "Remember that you carry hope for Her."

She wiped her eyes, and anchored herself on the rock she fell on.  She stood up with shaking legs and took a deep breath.

"Stand up and fight for Her."

She moved her arms, a clockwise motion, then vacuumed the energy around her.

"Heal yourself."  He called out as he distanced himself from her, preparing for her attack.

A silver light burst out from her body as she anchored herself to the Earth and reached out to the Heavens.

"She heals as you heal," he continued.  "But you must fight when the time comes, because She will need you to defend Her and Her children."  

'Carry the torch, carry on.  Sing the song in your heart, sing it long.  Storm Bringer, Bringer of Dawn.'

"I am not alone!" she cried out.

"You are not."  He echoed.

She looked up and raised her arms to the sky.  There was no need for any incantation now.  She knew she just had to believe in it.

'Storm Bringer...'

A lightning flashed followed by a reverberating thunder that shook the entire island.  The rain fell again, sudden and heavier and angrier.  It was her this time.  It was her turn to control the elements, to let the Old Man know she understood her power.

She looked at her teacher.  She knew he was tired, and she knew he did not have much time left with her.

"Anger is good, let it fuel you."  He spoke to her in her thoughts.  "But do not let it destroy you."

She moved her arms again, counter-clockwise this time, then aimed at the Old Man.

He did not even move nor blink an eye, she saw.  He just gave her a sad smile.

A lightning struck the ground near her and split it open.  He nodded.

"Know She is always with you," he said.  "Then, Now, and in the next lifetimes."

A blinding light enveloped the small island, and all fell into a deep and deafening silence.

'...Bringer of Dawn.'