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In the final hour, I made a discovery.  Legends of Windemere: Warlord of the Forgotten Age was going to be the end and I had to close things up.  This included some tidbits that I didn’t realize I had added in earlier books.  Clues and hints that there was a bigger mystery that the champions were ignorant of.  It shouldn’t be too surprising since the prophecy had been around for thousands of years and Gabriel has made tweaks where he could.  The man wasn’t even the one who started this prophecy since it was made by his predecessor.  So, what is the secret?

Unfortunately, I can’t tell, which makes this an awkward post.  Thankfully, I locked the doors to stop people from walking away . . . Probably shouldn’t have kept Timoran’s axe in the room though.  Anyway, a lot of this stems from me sensing that something was rather off about the prophecy in general.  To sum up, the champions are supposed to awaken their power centers, which will help them gain enough power to stand up to Baron Kernaghan.  Once ready, they travel to Shayd and get to his prison where they battle him for the fate of Windemere.  Seems simply, but changes were coming with characters speaking about where the Baron would appear.  Preparations were made, which means something is already expected to go wrong.  Is this a destined error?  Can’t say, but the champions begin to realize that some pieces have been left out and their final challenge has a curve to it.

Again, sorry about the vagueness, but it had to be done.  What I can talk about is the idea of heroes being in the dark about their own future actions.  This isn’t the same as the fact that we don’t know what is coming and have to act in the moment.  I’m talking about when a character is prepared for one path and discovers that there are some parts they weren’t told about.  Imagine being given directions to a new restaurant where you were going to get a free meal.  Sounds great and you do whatever you need to be accepted into the fancy establishment.  On the way there, you come across a bridge that wasn’t on the map and then a fork you weren’t warned about.  Unknown to you, both roads meet up again later though.  Again, a mystery that is sprung on you when you thought you had all of the information.  Things get even worse when you discover that while the meal is free, you have to mix your own drink.  A slight annoyance to some and a major disaster to others.

This brings up the thoughts on how a hero would react to such things.  Confidence and clarity of mind are essential to a stable hero, especially in the finale.  With the champions, they start off rather shaken and this hits them again.  Do they continue thinking they are fighting for what the originally believed in?  Do they feel used and manipulated?  It’s not an easy truth to learn when you think you had all the answers.  Even worse when you aren’t given any time between the revelation and battling for you life against a malevolent immortal.

Plenty of heroes run into stuff like this too.  That last minute twist that can stop them from achieving victory.  At the very least, it creates enough doubt that they are fighting at partial strength until they recover.  I’ve actually tried many times to put myself in their shoes and consider how often this happens to normal people too.  All of us can probably think of having plans that are changed at the last minute without our knowledge.  Then again, that could just be me.  Either way, we can relate to the frustration that comes from being kept in the dark.  I really like that way of thinking for this too.  It really is like the champions were traveling in the dark and have been abruptly brought into the light when it comes to the prophecy.

Wow, it really is hard doing this without mentioning the actual twist.  Maybe I should stop before I say too much.  Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.