by Jeff Inlo
#
“It’s very early, still dark outside,” Enin professed as he looked up at the night sky. As he looked into the blackness above him, hundreds of snowflakes seemed to materialize out of nothingness.
“I know,” Ryson said as he waited on the grass in front of Enin’s home which was now dusted with a thin layer of cotton soft snow, “but it’s snowing and I wanted to take the dogs out to play and for a run before it gets to deep—or muddy if it warms up and melts. I didn’t think you’d want a house full of muddy dogs.”
“I don’t mind that much. Actually, I’m very glad you’re here. I would like a moment to talk to you. It won’t take long and then you can be on your way with the dogs.” The wizard looked back behind him at the four tail-wagging canines that waited at the front door. “They won’t mind as long as I don’t keep you too long. Please come into my study. Holli’s already there and I would like her to hear this as well.”
This piqued the delver’s curiosity and that was all it took to get him inside. He followed the wizard down the hall and into a large room where Holli waited near a window. Ryson nodded and the elf returned the greeting.
Enin began immediately, not even waiting to sit down.
“Ryson,” he began, “I want to make sure you understand something. I see in you someone that cares very much of what happens to others. You involve yourself because I believe you think it’s your responsibility. I admire that and I wish more people would have even a slight degree of your willingness to help and contribute.”
The wizard let that statement stand for a moment and then continued what he believed was an obvious truth. “I’m sure you’re thinking right now that you wish I was more willing to contribute, and that is what I want you to understand. We have talked often and at great lengths about things like choices and balance and interference. I never try to read your thoughts, but I do believe I can sense your reactions now and then. In the past few days you have helped in Pinesway, and gone out of your way to make sure a friend did not stray into danger. At the same time, I did nothing to stop Sazar in Pinesway and I make no attempt to stop Tabris from assisting this monster now. You must wonder why I do not do more. Am I right?”
Ryson simply nodded.
“You have always gone well beyond what is expected of you,” Enin continued. “You do so much for so many. When I see what you can accomplish, I am envious and I really wish I could do more. Unfortunately, I must be very careful.” Enin stopped and sighed. “There I go again. I am not saying what needs to be said, going in circles, saying the same thing over and over again. Let me try this again with as much clarity as possible.”
Enin rubbed his hands together and focused his thoughts clearly on what he wanted to say. “When I talk about balance, I am often referring to the equal weights of all things, especially good and evil. I have done my best to remain on the proper side of events. I have strived not to use my power for selfish desires, or out of anger, and especially not out of arrogance or pride. That being said, I think it’s time you understand there is another being that exists that does not have that same outlook. I believe he is malevolent in spirit and would certainly act without the care I have tried to exercise. In many ways, he is to evil what I hope I am to good. It is a way that the balance can be maintained throughout the land. I believe this creature exists to keep me in check, to remind me that if I start to interfere in the choices of humans, elves, dwarves, and so on, it would then give this creature the opportunity to intervene in his way. Holli has now seen this creature and I believe she can verify some of what I’m saying.”
Enin turned to the elf and raised an eyebrow. “Well, not clearly seen him, but has been in his presence. He is not a figment of my imagination, yes?”
“He is real,” the elf responded simply.
“And what do you think of him?”
“I believe he can and would do great harm.”
Enin turned back to the delver.
“You see? I never was making excuses. For whatever reason, there must be balance and if I break the balance by interfering there will be consequences. In fact, it is actually very simple. Whatever good I do, it will assuredly be offset immediately somewhere else by something very bad. There are times I can act, and there are times I don’t believe I should, otherwise I might invite disastrous results elsewhere. This part is hard to explain, in truth because I don’t really understand it myself, but if I do something like say interfere with Sazar and Tabris, it opens the door for this other being to interfere elsewhere. As long as I am responsible with my actions, it keeps the balance.”
“But there are times you acted before,” Ryson pointed out. “You stopped the dwarves from destroying Burbon, you destroyed Yave, you warned us about Sazar attacking Pinesway, and there are countless smaller things you do daily to keep us all safe. Isn’t that interfering?”
“I don’t think so, then again perhaps it is,” Enin answered in his usual and somewhat confusing fashion. “It all depends on how you look at it, and it all depends on the results. With the dwarves, they attacked us, they made a choice. I responded to that choice and to their actions. I never took away their ability to attack before they chose to do so. It was also not a struggle between right and wrong or good and evil. The dwarves that attacked did so because they felt threatened. The people of this town and the elves that fought with them did so to defend themselves. I ended that battled but I did not intervene in the struggle between good and evil.”
“That’s where you’re going to lose me,” Ryson proclaimed. “I didn’t see anything good about the dwarves' attack.”
“That’s because you’re not a dwarf,” Enin replied. “Anyway, let us not get sidetracked from what it is I want to say. I want you to understand that there is evil out there and if I act out of haste simply to do what I think is right, I believe that evil will be given an opportunity to gain strength. I can not let that happen. You may not understand that fully, but perhaps it is enough. What do you think?”
“Well, the fact that you’re telling me there’s something out there as powerful as you that is evil isn’t going to make me sleep any better,” Ryson admitted, “but at least it gives me an idea of why you’re as careful as you are.”
“I am very happy to hear that,” Enin reflected with a smile and then thought of a way to reward the delver. “I also want to share something with you I know that is important to you. I will give you the answer to a question that has plagued you for some time now. You have wondered why Dzeb and the other cliff behemoths came to your aid in the tunnels of Dunop. You even asked him why he came to help and he ignored your question. You tried to push it aside, but you are a delver and such a task is not truly possible.
“The truth of the matter is that Dzeb and the other cliff behemoths were vehemently opposed to intruding in the affairs of other races. It was not their place and they knew it. They have faith, and in their faith they believe that it is Godson’s will that will determine the fates of other beings. Even with their grand power, they would not dare to impose what they thought is right or wrong on other beings. In the end, however, they did intercede, and the question is why?
“They did so because of you, my friend. Not because of your pleas or your arguments, but simply because they see something in you, something that I see as well. You, whether your like it or not, are a person of destiny. Do not feel embarrassed by this or even be surprised by it. It is rare, though it is not completely unheard of, to say the least. There have always been and always will be a handful of individuals in this land that always seem to be in the thick of important events. Of course there are individuals that only have one moment of historical significance and then fade in to the background. Then again, there are others that make important contributions over and over again, and they never tend to fade away. They keep reappearing. Some say that they do so because they insist on thrusting themselves into important events even when they do not belong. They live for fame and power. Sadly, this is true for
many such people.
“There are others, however, that do not seek such a position, but neither can they escape it. They are continuously pressed into service whether they like it or not. They are people of destiny, and you are such a person.
“Remember, the cliff behemoths always remained true to their faith. They entered Dunop to stop the sand giants, but ultimately it was you that saved the city from the shadow trees and stopped the war. Thus, the cliff behemoths did not truly intervene in the actions or choices of other creatures. They simply gave you the opportunity to do what you were destined to do and nothing else.
“I won’t ask you if you understand and I don’t wish to try and debate the details. The only thing I want you to know is that the cliff behemoths entered Dunop to give you a chance to do what you had to do. Whether you failed or succeeded in the challenges you faced then, or for that matter in the challenges you still must face, that always remains up to you.”
Enin looked deeply into the delver and though he still sensed a great deal of confusion in Ryson, he did not wish to explain any further. “Now, do me a favor and take the dogs out to play, they are getting impatient.”