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Authors: Timothy Woods
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his arms, which rested on the surface of the desk.
" Unless you propose we storm the very walls of Gratton, there is nothing we can do for Michael at present," Micah said pointedly.
" I know, I know," Merric said with another sigh. "I am merely worried about the boy. Mortow is powerful and devious. Suppose he convinces Michael to join him."
" I wouldn’t worry about that particular problem. I know Michael’s mind. He would sooner take his own life than join with the man responsible for the death of his wife. You, of all people, know how that feels."
" Aye, but Michael is young and inexperienced," Merric replied.
" So were we all at one time. The lessons of life are what shape us. The failures are as important as the successes, sometimes more so."
" Your words, wise as they are, do not ease my fear," Merric said mildly irritated.
Micah finally smiled. "They are not meant to."
Merric threw his hands up in the air. "Then what purpose do they serve?"
" Merric, you are Headmaster. You were elected Headmaster for a reason. Use your head for something other than a battering ram. Think. You can do nothing for Michael. Mieka is lost. Forget the both of them for now. You are a leader in this war. Lead."
" Easy for you to say. You are used to this kind of thing. I have only fought in one war, and I was not a leader," Merric said in exasperation.
" That is not true. You have fought in two wars. Just because the second one was fought here and wasn’t on the scale of the first, does not diminish it."
" Bah! The Purging was no war. It was a brawl, a deadly brawl to be sure, but nothing more."
" Anytime ideals are defended, it is a war. It matters not how many are involved nor the locale. You, and those like you, defended freedom against a would-be tyrant."
" A lot of good it did us. All those lives lost and that would-be tyrant is now what he wanted to be. He is Headmaster of his own school with his own students."
" Aye, he is now what he set out to be, but he is not unopposed. You and your students still exist to fight him. As long as you all live, he can never truly be victorious."
" Small consolation to a world sliding into madness," Merric said sadly.
" Not so small as you think, Merric. Was it not you who brought the dwarves into the alliance? Was it not you who convinced the elves to leave their sanctuary and join us?"
" Not all of the elves joined us. In fact, very few did," Merric said dejectedly.
" Aye, their numbers are few, but those few are the ones we need. The forest Guard, to a man, joined. The future ruler of their nation and his wife stand with us, as well as a number of druids. For the elves that refused to see reason, we are better off without them," Micah replied calmly.
" That future ruler is an exile now. The elves would never accept him back let alone allow him to take up his father’s place. His life is ruined now as are the lives of all those who follow him."
" And you blame yourself for this as well." It was a statement of fact not a question. "See, you are a leader. You shoulder the mantle of responsibility for the lives of those under you. In this case, it is a burden you should not bear. Ataum knew the consequences of his actions. He could have made the easy choice and remained loyal to the Council of Elders and to his father, but he saw what they refused to see. He chose to defy their orders and aid the other races of this land against Mortow. You are not responsible for his choices, Merric. You did only what a good leader should. You gave him the information he needed to make his own decision. He chose correctly."
" Did he? Oh, don’t get me wrong. I am heartened by his decision to join us, but it has cost him everything. He would have been an excellent leader for his people."
" Aye, his life is now on a different path than the one he started out on; but for a warrior like Ataum, it is
" Unless you propose we storm the very walls of Gratton, there is nothing we can do for Michael at present," Micah said pointedly.
" I know, I know," Merric said with another sigh. "I am merely worried about the boy. Mortow is powerful and devious. Suppose he convinces Michael to join him."
" I wouldn’t worry about that particular problem. I know Michael’s mind. He would sooner take his own life than join with the man responsible for the death of his wife. You, of all people, know how that feels."
" Aye, but Michael is young and inexperienced," Merric replied.
" So were we all at one time. The lessons of life are what shape us. The failures are as important as the successes, sometimes more so."
" Your words, wise as they are, do not ease my fear," Merric said mildly irritated.
Micah finally smiled. "They are not meant to."
Merric threw his hands up in the air. "Then what purpose do they serve?"
" Merric, you are Headmaster. You were elected Headmaster for a reason. Use your head for something other than a battering ram. Think. You can do nothing for Michael. Mieka is lost. Forget the both of them for now. You are a leader in this war. Lead."
" Easy for you to say. You are used to this kind of thing. I have only fought in one war, and I was not a leader," Merric said in exasperation.
" That is not true. You have fought in two wars. Just because the second one was fought here and wasn’t on the scale of the first, does not diminish it."
" Bah! The Purging was no war. It was a brawl, a deadly brawl to be sure, but nothing more."
" Anytime ideals are defended, it is a war. It matters not how many are involved nor the locale. You, and those like you, defended freedom against a would-be tyrant."
" A lot of good it did us. All those lives lost and that would-be tyrant is now what he wanted to be. He is Headmaster of his own school with his own students."
" Aye, he is now what he set out to be, but he is not unopposed. You and your students still exist to fight him. As long as you all live, he can never truly be victorious."
" Small consolation to a world sliding into madness," Merric said sadly.
" Not so small as you think, Merric. Was it not you who brought the dwarves into the alliance? Was it not you who convinced the elves to leave their sanctuary and join us?"
" Not all of the elves joined us. In fact, very few did," Merric said dejectedly.
" Aye, their numbers are few, but those few are the ones we need. The forest Guard, to a man, joined. The future ruler of their nation and his wife stand with us, as well as a number of druids. For the elves that refused to see reason, we are better off without them," Micah replied calmly.
" That future ruler is an exile now. The elves would never accept him back let alone allow him to take up his father’s place. His life is ruined now as are the lives of all those who follow him."
" And you blame yourself for this as well." It was a statement of fact not a question. "See, you are a leader. You shoulder the mantle of responsibility for the lives of those under you. In this case, it is a burden you should not bear. Ataum knew the consequences of his actions. He could have made the easy choice and remained loyal to the Council of Elders and to his father, but he saw what they refused to see. He chose to defy their orders and aid the other races of this land against Mortow. You are not responsible for his choices, Merric. You did only what a good leader should. You gave him the information he needed to make his own decision. He chose correctly."
" Did he? Oh, don’t get me wrong. I am heartened by his decision to join us, but it has cost him everything. He would have been an excellent leader for his people."
" Aye, his life is now on a different path than the one he started out on; but for a warrior like Ataum, it is
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