As I stood in the biting rain, watching the sun rise
sharply over the horizon, I considered my newest task. I spent my entire life
training for this moment—the moment when our neighboring kingdom finally gained
the strength to fight back. My job was to keep them from accomplishing their
goal at all costs—alone.
I watched the army as they approached, making sure to
track the movement of every soldier. I don’t know how I got into this position.
The masters only told me that I was given to them as a sickly babe and trained
to fulfill the prophecy of the land. I never heard the prophecy with my own
ears—for if I had, the prophecy couldn’t come true. Pushing the skepticism from
my mind, I drew a line with my sword on the narrow bridge connecting the
kingdoms—half out of nerves and half as a threat to my enemy.
The sound of the approaching army echoed in the valley
that surrounded my home. I took a long look at the land in which the masters
had trained me, before turning to face my foes. As the neighboring army reached
the bridge, they burst forward, yelling. The fate of the kingdom rested on my
shoulders. As soon as the first of the enemy reached me, I closed my mind and
began a murderous dance with my blade. I swung the blade with unmatched
precision and grace, just as I, alone, had been taught.
As quickly as my blade slashed through the air, the
soldiers fell at my feet and off the bridge. On and on I blindly slashed with
choreographed moves as the sun’s daggers stretched overhead. New lines of men
approached just as soon as their comrades fell. I had not been trained to fight
such a large army. I could feel my limbs weaken as my sword failed to swing for
the first time.
I was sure at that moment I was not the defender of my
kingdom. I was not the fulfiller of the masters’ prophecy. As those distressing
thoughts crept in, the opposing blades did as well. I fought for breath and
replaced my dance of invincibility with throws of desperation. Minor scratches
grew into massive slashes upon my body. I fought hard, but they fought harder.
Using my lifelong training, I blocked out the pain and
the human impulse to scream. With my blade I found the soldier’s mark,
extinguishing one life after another. Before long, the sun had completely
slashed its way through the sky and the rain began, again. The last of the
enemy had been defeated. I knew not how many men I had crushed, but I recognized
the weight would bear heavy on my soul forever. They were people I had never
met.
I reminded myself that they were the enemy as I watched
the rain mix with blood and run crimson streams across my body. I was just as
torn as the men before me—yet I still stood on the bridge, alone, while the
others were left to rot.
I’d saved my home and defended the kingdom proudly.
Perhaps I had fulfilled the prophecy. The masters would be happy with the old
order restored. As I limped toward the kingdom, I fought to accept the grotesque
scene behind me. Those soldiers died together, but I will die alone.
