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| | ''Fine Spartan indeed. By the blood of Hercules, you hardly make a good sparing partner. You'll be dead soon enough.'' He didn't even think about what the trainer could want with him as the left the field. | | ''Fine Spartan indeed. By the blood of Hercules, you hardly make a good sparing partner. You'll be dead soon enough.'' He didn't even think about what the trainer could want with him as the left the field. |
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| − | =='''Tamaa'''==
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| − | ''Africa''
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| − | ''A long time ago''
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| − | What was left of my tribe huddled together at the base of the cliffs. The sun was falling low in the sky, and when the daylight faded, doom would arrive. The monsters always attacked at night – our warriors had fought bravely, but they were no match for these creatures. Now, we had no warriors left – women and young boys and old men carried spears, but they stood even less chance. If they wanted too, the monsters could have taken us all at once, but they didn’t. Instead, they took a few of us every night – it seemed as though the fear and despair those remaining felt.
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| − | I hated seeing everyone feel that way. I had to do something. I jumped onto a rock and spoke to the rest of the tribe.
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| − | “Everyone, we traveled many nights to reach this place, didn’t we? They say the spirits live here! Surely, they will protect us!”
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| − | But the rest of the tribe no longer believed the spirits would save them. They simply waited for the night to fall, and the monsters to come again, and take more of us. Mother dragged me away from the rock, to my screams of protest. Well, if nobody else was going to try to contact the spirits, then it was up to me. I closed my eyes, and began my prayer.
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| − | When I opened them again, I was looking straight at a cave that I hadn’t seen before. I remember the elders telling the children that we should avoid strange caves, for they may be gates to the spirit world. But wasn’t that exactly what I needed, now? I started into the cave.
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| − | As I walked deeper in, an odd feeling came over me – it was as if the fear and sorrow I had felt since the monsters first came were being gently lifted away from me. I saw strange shapes on the walls, and odd lights sparkled like stars around me, eventually cascading into the shape of a man.
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| − | “Who are you, child? Why are you here?” I should have been afraid – the elders say that the spirits can do terrible things if angered. Maybe I was just so desperate to save my tribe that it didn’t matter to me.
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| − | “My name is Nika. I beg of you, spirit, please save my tribe! The monsters will come again at nightfall, and the whole tribe has lost hope that they will be saved.”
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| − | “Not the whole tribe, Nika. You have not lost hope. What strength you have, child.”
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| − | “So you will save my tribe?”
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| − | “No, Nika. You are the one who shall save them.” The strange shapes on the walls began to glow, and then, one after another, I understood what they meant, and how to make them. “Nika, I bestow upon you the title of Tamaa, Hope. With that power, you shall save your tribe, and others.”
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| − | Suddenly, I found myself outside, with my tribe again. The last rays of sunlight were fading, and my tribe huddled in terror as the monsters’ shadowy shapes became visible.
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| − | But they would take no more of my people.
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| − | I traced a pattern in the air, and a circle of glowing light appeared around the tribe. Once again, I leaped onto the rock I had stood on before.
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| − | “Do not despair!” I cried, light glowing from my body, forcing the monsters to back away. “The Spirit of Creation has answered! I promise, these creatures will take no more of us!”
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| − | I traced a different symbol in the air, and the monsters froze where they were standing. Yet another, and they were consumed by that brilliant light.
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| − | ''Thank you, Spirit of Creation,'' I prayed silently. ''From now on, I, and my descendants, will walk in places where there is no hope, and the people are defenseless. And in those places, with your aid, I will protect the people who are helpless, and light once again the flame of hope. My name is Tamaa-Nika, and this I swear.''
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