The Hybrid Champion

Adelaide POV “The one about the champion! Tell the one about the champion!” One of the boys from the group called out to Colette, as she settled in to entertain them with one of her famous tales. “Again, little lord?” She asked with a smile on her face. “Yes again!” ... “Again!” ... “Please!” the group of children chanted with enthusiasm. “Okay, okay, settle down children.” She shushed them, and then she began to tell the tale that all the children of the rebellion had grown up hearing more than a thousand times, but would always love hearing again. “Once there was a wonderful and great kingdom. This kingdom was not your normal kingdom, no, it was special. This kingdom was so special because it had been blessed by the Moon Goddess and The Twin Earth Gods. You see, werewolves and witches had been sworn enemies for millennia because of the strained relationship between the Moon Goddess and her brothers, the Twin Earth Gods. Long before this kingdom was born, the sibling gods all had a feud that caused a severance between our two kinds. Each of the gods was extremely competitive and longed for their parents' approval and praise more than anything else in the whole universe. In turn, they decided to have a competition to see who could win their parents' praise and approval above all others. Their parents had created the humans and the world that they lived in, but they had paid so much attention to the humans and praised their creations so much that their children became starved of attention and felt as if they were not loved. Therefore, in this competition, they would both create their own being, a powerful being, and they would compare their creations to see which was more powerful, and ultimately gain their parents' attention and love by making them proud. The Earth Gods were the first to complete the task. The Twin Gods had created the witches, who were magical beings that could wield great power by drawing on the earth’s strength. The Moon Goddess took a little longer trying to perfect her creations, but eventually the Goddess created the werewolves. Werewolves were phenomenal creatures who were impossibly strong and fast and could shift into the form of the wolf by drawing on the power of the moon. The wolves were demimortals, which meant they have a longer life span than that of the humans that the moon Goddess and Twin God’s parents had created, while the witches were able to use their magic to become immortal. The siblings met on the earth that their parents had created to present their creations and be judged in front of their parents. The Moon knew that her creations were the strongest and the quickest, so they could easily overpower the creations of her brothers. The Twin Gods knew that they had created their witches to be the wittiest and most resourceful, so they could easily outsmart and trick the creations of their sister. The Gods and Goddess were so completely obsessed with the attention of their parents, that they did not stop to think that maybe their creations were both powerful, but in separate ways. Much like themselves. The Goddess ended up winning the approval and praise of her father and was overjoyed. She gloated to her brothers of her accomplishment. However, the Twin Gods won the approval and praise of their mother and, in turn, gloated to their sister of their great feat. The score was an even split, both had gained the approval and praise that they were searching for. But their competition still lacked a clear winner, creating a divide between the siblings that spanned millenniums. The siblings would constantly pit their creations against one another, still trying to prove that their own creation was the strongest and they should have won the competition. They were always searching for ways to destroy one another’s creations. The Twin Gods gave the witches the power to grow a plant from the earth called Wolf's Bane, which was the only thing that could instantly kill a werewolf. The Moon goddess gave the wolves claws of pure onyx, which could easily end the life of a witch with a single scratch to the heart. Over the centuries, the creatures warred with each other and there was a great deal of bloodshed. The parents of the Goddess and Twin gods eventually became fed up with their children's constant squabbling and demanded they make amends before they lay ruin to the world their parents had created for the humans. The siblings heeded the demands of their parents and rekindled their bond. However, it was too late for their creations. Generations of bad blood had poisoned the creatures against each other and there was no way to rebuild the bridge they had burned so many years ago. In an effort to stop the war and unite the species of creations, the Goddess and the Twin Gods made the choice to mate the king of the wolves with the high priestess of the witches. They believed that uniting the leaders would lead to unity between all of the creations. Unfortunately, there were some werewolves who were extremists and so deeply rooted in their ways that they could not be helped. They believed that the witches were lesser beings, pests, who needed to be exterminated. They formed an army of extremist rebels who fought against the monarchy for years until they eventually wiped out both royal lines and took the kingdom for themselves, forcing the witches into hiding. Or so they thought. In the year prior, the king and queen knew that the numbers of those loyal to them were growing thin and they would soon be overcome. The queen's heart broke, for she had just discovered that she was pregnant with their only child and heir. She wept for days on end, begging the Moon Goddess to help stop the wolves and for the Twin Gods to give them the power to survive. On the fifth day that she wept, her husband, the king, could take it no more and was desperate to help his queen and their heir. He prayed to the Gods and Goddess that even if they were not to survive, he asked that they please spare their heir, for they were innocent in all of this and did not deserve the life they were to be born into. That night, the Sibling Gods came to the king in a dream and explained their plan. The queen was tucked away and hidden from all the people of the kingdom, who were told that she was gravely ill. Only a select few knew the truth, and the precious secret that they were hiding. The queen carried the baby for the full five months of a werewolf pregnancy. Under the cover of night, she had the child in secret and entrusted the secret to only her most loyal advisor. Her advisor and dearest friend was not able to have children of her own, and loved the queen as family, so she had no problem with the task that was set before her. The advisor had been instructed to steal away in the night with a few of those loyal to the king and queen and pass off the child as her own. She was the raise the hybrid child until a time came when she was powerful enough and had raised enough forces to retake the kingdom and unite the wolves with the witches. The king and queen kissed their beautiful baby farewell with tear-filled eyes and gave the woman a gift for the child that she was to receive when she came of age. The sobs of the royal family could be heard all round the kingdom as the woman disappeared into the darkness, and with her, the one who would save all of us. The numbers of the witches dwindled over the years and the ones who were left lived lives in hiding and alone because they feared if there was any form of assembly they would be found and killed. It has now been 200 years and 12 generations of wolves have sat on the throne. The rumor is that somewhere out there, the true heir to the throne has been training in secret and gathering both witches and wolves who are still loyal to the Telfer line. Both the heir and the forces have grown strong enough and a new rebellion has been formed. The heir is ready to retake the kingdom and restore order to it so both witches and wolves can live peacefully and prosper under new rule. It is only a matter of time now before we are called to arms in support of the great kingdom that once was. It is said that there will be many trials and the heir will have to make a decision that will change the fate of the kingdom. The heir will be faced with a choice between following their need for vengeance for their parents' deaths, or following their heart. The only difficulty is that the heir will not know which path will save the kingdom and which path will lead to ruin. The heir will have to rely on the support and guidance of not only the Sibling Gods, but those who love and care for them.” I saw the shimmer of a single tear fall down her cheek. Her eyes had been locked with mine as she concluded her tale and spoke the last words directly to me. I had not even noticed the tears that were streaming down my own cheeks. I was a flurry of emotions as I listened in, hanging on to every word that she spoke. I, too, had grown up hearing the story time and time again. I must have heard it for the millionth time today, but it struck my heart the same as it always had. I felt devastated for the loss of the king and queen. I felt heartbreak for the loss of so many of their subjects. I felt grateful that the heir had survived. I felt thankful to the queen's advisor for raising the champion that would regain the kingdom and return it to its former glory. I felt pity for those who had to live in hiding, alone and afraid. I felt love for all of those still loyal to the rightful royal family. But most of all, I felt hopeful. Hopeful that the story was not just a tall tale passed on through generations of rebels and loyalists. Hopeful that the champion would be able to live up to all of the glory that was spoken of them, and finally, hopeful for the future that would indeed be brighter than the past, as long as the right choice was made. The weight of the world rested on the champion’s shoulders. But if the story was true and the champion heeded the words of the Sibling Gods, and their loved ones, they would create a better world for all. Witches and Werewolves would once again live in harmony, united under the hybrid heir of the true king and queen, and that promise alone was what kept me going. It was what kept us all going. As the patch of grass cleared out and the children scrambled to get back to their homes before dark. I grabbed my torch and headed over to Colette to escort her back home. I would never be able to thank her enough for all she has done for me, but I would spend the rest of my life caring for her as she had cared for me for so many years. She was the only mother I had ever truly known, with mine being long gone and almost forgotten. Just as the kingdom had been long-forgotten. It seemed almost as if it were just a fairy tale that the parents of the rebellion would tell their children. Just a beacon of hope to keep the soldiers ready and hopeful of the champion's return. But I knew it was real, it was as real as me, and as real as Colette. It was as real as the people of this village of rebels and its army. I knew it was real because I am Adelaide Telfer. I am the champion. I am the heir to the throne of the great kingdom, and I am ready.