"He is a child blessed by the light. The threat is growing stronger every year and soon it will not matter what we sacrifice, it will be all be too late. The Gods have given us a way to save our kingdom. It is what he was born to do." This was not the first time that Zura had snuck onto the balcony above the entrance overlooking his parents throne room while they were holding court with their advisors. Normally, the conversations focus around what city is doing this or what lord is doing that, however as soon as he heard those first five words, he knew this conversation required his full attention. One of the King's advisors spoke, he knew the voice to belong to the one who commanded the kingdom's military, his uncle, the general, as he kept himself flat on the floor on the balcony. He slowly crawled to the railing in order to take a look as he continued to listen. "We swore that we would never again allow ourselves to sacrifice lives to that beast. Now, instead of some young virgins, you actually seek to throw my son to his death!" *Pow* The King struck the arm rest of his throne with his balled up fist as two of the three advisors at the bottom of the steps leading to the thrones shrank back. 'Good job, Father', Zura thought to himself as he lowered his chin onto his cupped hands and began to think. 'Though, I am curious about this darkness. No matter how I search for enlightenment, it seems that the only ones who are privy to that information are the people currently in-' *Sigh* Zura's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a heavy sigh from a very familiar voice. He raised his eyes forward to look down below to see the King dropping back into his chair bringing his right hand to his face as he rubbed his forehead. He saw his mother, the Queen seated to the King's left, reach over and take his father's hand from his head, as she clenched it between hers, and only then did he notice the tears that were coating his mother's cheeks. 'How did I not notice that immediately? Right, I was too focused on the words and not enough on the actions, otherwise I would have noticed not only the defeated looks on the faces of the advisors, but most importantly the look of resignation on the face of my mother. This is not good.' Zura ascertained the nature of the situation and he knew that his fate was currently being decided. His father and mother were looking into each other's eyes. 'They truly look as though they have given up'. Then, his father pulled his mother into his chest and held her tightly and all Zura could do was place his head on the cold floor as he listened to the cries of his mother. No one dared to speak a word. The advisors had already said their piece, most of which he surmised before his arrival. 'Then, it is done.' Zura raised his head off the floor, took a deep breath, and then stood. "Well, I take it we need to have a conversation," Zura was 10 at the time.