The Iron Badger

Chapter 19

I stood in utter silence, afraid to speak, but only shook my head up and down.

"My name is Maleena, and what is your purpose?"

"Tell her that Lillian--"

I rose my hand at the darkness of the trees to quiet Moonbeam. "My name is Tara, daughter of Rye. Lillian gave me a blue crystal. She told me she would grant me weapons in order to find my father. Lillian killed my mother and aunt. My father has been missing for a while. I was told to place the crystal in the moon's glow and weapons will appear. Are you able to help me?"

Maleena came out from a brilliant white light. It shocked me to see flesh, flesh like a mortal. "My child. You have spoken to me many times in your life without notice. Think back. Think all the way back as far as your memories can take you. What do you see?"

I did not understand at first. Until it happened. Clarity. Absolute clarity! Was it Maleena or perhaps a spirt of the departed I do not know? There were memories I had forgotten. Truly joyous memories as I watched the moon out of my window. There were times I swore I had seen someone looking back at me as I watched the moon. They were truly wonderful memories. "I remember when I was much smaller. I remember wishing as I stared upon the moon when I was in bed. I was supposed to me sleeping, but I could not sleep."

"Do you remember what you wished for, Tara?"

"Aye, I do. I wanted to be like my father. I wanted to be a warrior and to fight beside him. Did I make that wish with you?"

"You have Tara. I had also spoken to someone that may be of great help. I used the stars and the planets and told him of a war. Come with me, my child, and let me show you. The moon and the stars shine not only in the night sky, but we also see all that is below us. Come and let me show you all that I had shown Adhavox.

And show me she did. I walked with Maleena and the world that I was in had vanished. I stood alone with her in darkness until I was told to gaze my eyes upward. Above me were stars. Then the stars moved, then they aligned themselves in an order of importance. The red star (Mars) fought a bigger star named Jupiter. Behind Jupiter were little stars behind it. They aided Jupiter. My eyes turned to Meleena. "What does all this mean?"

"A war is coming. And you are to fight in it. Lillian knows of this prophecy but understands not. If she understood, she would not have given you the crystal to summon me. The weapons that I will give onto you are weapons made from the moon itself. I am the one that governs the stars and the planets. The weapons are made from the light of the stars. By using you, Tara, she feels she can possess weapons of light. Darkness has forever tried to overcome the light with darkness. If you use what I am about to give you, you will defeat Lillian. The little stars that you saw are warriors from other tribes. Your journey is long. It will take time for you to get there. And your father is well taken care of. You will see him again, but not as the man you once knew him. The sands of time stop for no mortal. And you will not be the same girl that your father once knew. And with that--it is time for you to decide on the weapons for your journeys. I will leave it for you.

There were few to choose from when I faced choosing the weapon that was right for me. There were swords, shields, bows, and arrows. The dagger, which I already owned, had come from my father. The weapons glowed with the same white glow that Meleena glowed with. "All the weapons are made from metals from meteors." I must have had a look of confusion, for she continued to explain plainly to me. "Have you ever seen a fast streak of light go across the night sky? That streak of light is a rock. A rock far from this world that traveled across the heavens only to burn and fall onto a planet. I take these special rocks and turn them into weapons. The metals from the heavens are much stronger than the metals here on your planet. And there are also blessed by magic that I possess. Each sword or shield is light as a feather. It is much easier to handle than the ones your father wields. Try it and feel the balance of each sword. Feel the power of the bow--"