Miranda blushedand Granddad said ‘That’s a bit harsh.’
‘Come on it’s true and you all know it.’ said Quab.
‘Miranda was thrown at Aquitain as a spy for the Lady so thatshe has control over him. That’s what the tattoo is all about.She’s his reward if he does what the Lady wants.’
Everyone lookedat Miranda in absolute silence.
‘Quab’s correct. Aquitain and I have already come to the sameconclusion but he loves me anyway and I love him. None of you knowAquitain like I do. He loves me and Tigerlilly more than anythingbut he also loves all of you. He doesn’t care about the Gods. Hedoes things because he believes they are right. He never believedhe was an Agent of Chaos but he is. He was told that there are norules when you are an Agent of Chaos so he makes his own. He saidhe is just a simple merchant and the Gods will have to pay a heavyprice for what they want us to do and I believe him.’
‘When I met him on a beach outside of Twin Towers a few monthsback he or perhaps his avatar father gave me a mere glimpse of thepotential power within him. I was afraid for all of us. I wanted torun away and hide from him. I wanted to tell Quab and Featherdownso that they could stop him. He lay down and went to sleep in frontof me so that I could flee but I couldn’t. He has the power tocreate or destroy. My mother showed me how power can be misused. Idecided that I had to help him to use his power for creation notdestruction and he has and he will.’
‘Everywhere Aquitain goes he makes powerful allies. In days hegained the trust of the air and water elementals of Mudrun.Aquitain was proclaimed the Greatest Hero of the Little People. Hesuffered greatly when he chose to swap Alpha, a part of his ownmind for his cousin Zephira but he did it because he said peopleare more important than prophesies. He said the future belongs tous not the Gods.’
‘He opened his heart to Llanlorian, the feared gatekeeper ofAstaria. She asked him to help her and she made him a gatekeeper.He destroyed Schlum a great evil on Moonmist and he was made thefirst Warden of Moonmist in a thousand years by the world itself.Moonmist put its trust in him. He freed the Elendari from thetyranny of the Mentarin. Now he’s trying to free Astaria of itsghosts.’
‘We know now that he’s an unnatural monster. He believes thathe was created for a purpose that he doesn’t know but it doesn’tworry him. He knows that he’s a monster but he still cares for allof us. I know he’s a monster but I still love him. The Lady knowshe’s a monster and is using him and he knows it but he’s stilldoing what he thinks is right for us.’
‘How do I know he loves me. Because he knows something thatyou don’t and I refused to accept. I was born on Moonmist and I amnot what you think I am. I am a monster too and he knows it and itdoesn’t worry him in the least. We were made for eachother.
‘Before I became a druid I was a sorcerer and a Storm Caller.I could create a storm that would last for days and I did it withglee. The Lady in her wisdom hid this from me using a magic tattoothat nobody was able to remove. Aquitain removed it and I haverediscovered my past. I am a Llanllean and I am now a much morepowerful sorcerer. I am a Tempest. I can not only create massivestorms I can be the storms.
The Lady knewthis when she took away my mother’s druid powers and made me a morepowerful druid. A druid is about balance and a Tempest is aboutchaos. Why didn’t the Lady take away my druid powers? It’s becauseshe has a plan involving both Aquitain and me.
I see on yourfaces some of you find it hard to believe.’ so Miranda rose, walkedaway from the table closed her eyes, turned into a Llanllean with abody the size of a bull covered in thick reddish hair like an apewith six black crystal eyes, massive fangs and hairy legs thatstretched the width of the room. A nightmare in most Newmaneyes.
‘By all the Powers in Creation!’ said Granddad afraid for thefirst time in memory. The others froze in their chairs even thoughthey had seen Aquitain in his small Llanllean form. The fear of aspider Miranda’s size and power was beyond belief.
Miranda changedback to her Newman form and sat down.
‘From this moment, I am no longer Miranda, the Newman butMiranlla, the Llanllean Tempest.’
‘What sort of a person do you think would love me?’
I am no longerashamed of what I am but proud of it. Aquitain could see it allalong but chose to say nothing. He accepts me as I am and I accepthim as he is. That is the measure of our love.’
There wassilence once more.
‘Good. Now all the surprises are out on the table.’ saidMiranlla.
‘We might get down to working out some sort of a plan for thefuture. I think Chantalot was on the right track. The Lady,Lithgala and Borse are involved from the Yith empire. What do youthink about the Panmagican gods Granddad?’
There was amomentary pause while Granddad gathered his thoughts.
‘I would agree with you Miranlla, Yith and Lithgala areinvolved and I would guess Findas, the God of Commerce and some ofhis flunkies who control Panmagica.’
‘So we are to fight a least four gods and their minions.’ saidQuab.
‘No.’ said Miranlla. ‘We don’t fight any gods. What we do isto not give them any reasons to fight among themselves. I’ve cometo the conclusion that they don’t do things themselves. They dothem through us. While none of us are fighting no one will die andwe will all stay alive.’
‘We must set the example. We must convince our druids whopreach the love of the Lady to be more flexible. They should notset out to vilify
