Prodigy

Some time ago, in the Forest of Light, a very special baby was born. They named her Prodigy, because it was foretold that a wondrous child would be bestowed upon the couple--who bravely fought and destroyed the evil Abaddon. The entire village witnessed the birth of Prodigy. The villagers gasped in unison when they beheld the new born elfin child.



Her forehead was adorned with the mark of Aladra--the ancient bringer of life and suppressor of damnation. The red mark was a diamond with each of the elements of life sprouting from the top half and each of the elements of evil being driven down to hell from the bottom portion.



The village of Anaticca was built by a group of wanderers 175 years ago. The settlers had escaped from a tyrannical ruler that enslaved them, forcing them to do hard labor 18 hours a day. Many of them were dying--too many. They plotted and executed their escape, killing many of Abihdad's guardsmen in the process.



Two generations later, Anaticca, and all it's residents, were humbled by the gift that the ancient Aladra had delivered to them. The parents, Fedlimid and Niamh, felt beholden to her.



Prodigy brought merriment to all elves in the village. It wasn't uncommon to see an Anaticcan dancing across the courtyard, or to hear them humming joyful tunes as they did their work. It had been three months since the beautiful, awe-inspiring child was born.



One day, without warning, the village bell chimed twenty times. Confusion and rumors ran ramped in the village. "Calm down, my dear Anaticcans." the High Elf spoke into the leaf, shaped like a loud-horn. "It seems there has been an unexpected development with our dear Prodigy. High Council please join me in the High Chambers for an emergency meeting. I am ordering every elf to return to your homes until further notice."



The villagers did as they were told. The High Council met and came to order.



"It seems that our dear Prodigy is developing quite different than we expected; quite different indeed. Upon waking this morning, Fedlimid and his wife discovered their Prodigy had outgrown her cradle and, in fact, had broken it to pieces during the night. By half-day the child had to be moved outside the home because she was too large to fit in a room. So, you see, dear High Counsel, we have discovered the unique and wondrous gift that Aladra has given to our Prodigy." summarized the High Elf.



"But, what does it mean, High Elf?" as chatter came from the counsel members.



"It means that Prodigy is growing like a human child." the High Elf said as he motioned his hands depicting grandness and growth. "It means that we must decide what to do, how to do it, and try to determine how Prodigy's human form is supposed to help bring about creation and suppress damnation. First things first, of course. I need a member to visit all of the homes in the village to delicately explain what has happened and answer any questions. I need another member to draw up plans to expand our village, allowing for a dwelling for our dear Prodigy and her parents. I need another member to work with Prodigy and her parents as she grows, to ensure that the child is aware of the dangers that her size presents to us. Is there anything else you can think of?"



Every member of the counsel shook their heads and began talking amongst themselves. They separated into work teams to achieve each of the three immediate goals--assigning a leader to each team.



Years went by and everything was well for sixteen year old Prodigy, her family, and the villagers. Prodigy had learned to be very careful around the village. Her father taught her carpentry so she could build furniture and miscellaneous things to entertain herself; her mother taught her how to hunt and to cook so she could have enough to eat; and she helped every villager out in ways they never could have imagined would be so useful and productive.



Prodigy had explored the Forest of Light countless times and it was her playground. She danced, she sang, and she imagined there were other people as big as she was. Her favorite activity, though, was to talk to and commune with the beautiful animals of the forest.



Prodigy was returning from one of her many adventures in the woods, one day, when she heard an unusual ruckess. As big as Prodigy was, she could barely hear the villagers unless she held them right up to her ear. But she was trained to listen very intuitively to enable her to hear more than the average human could.



As she approached the wall of the village, she peered down into the courtyard and saw her father get stabbed by an elf she'd never seen before. She quickly glanced over the entire village and saw many men she didn't know, attacking her people. Her mother yelled, "Prodigy!" And, Prodigy turned in time to see two men taking her mother away.



Prodigy screamed at the sight of her mother being dragged away and her father bleeding to death on the ground.



Her scream stopped the men in their tracks. They hadn't even known she was there. Angry and confused, Prodigy began picking up the strange men and throwing them as hard and as far as she could. Though she didn't intend to cause deadly harm to anyone, the fall killed each one of those men.



Her mother ran, sobbing, to her dying husband. Prodigy began to weep, shedding tears, that fell like giant buckets of water onto the elves below.



"You saved us from becoming slaves of Abihdad, Prodigy. You saved us from damnation." cried her mother as she wept and closed her dead husband's eyes.