Syncopated Winning Entry

�Jadyn?�

�What is it, lad?�

�What�s it going to be like out there?�

The gruff looking Jinx opened one eye, smiling down at the Tarinooki standing awkwardly at his side, anxiety written plainly upon his features. He chuckled, a low rumbling sound deep in his throat, the easy manner of a seasoned veteran coming through in the sound.

�Why do you worry yourself over it, Kevri? What will be will be.�

�Easy for you to say, Jadyn. This isn�t your first battle.�

�Therein lies the problem, I suppose,� the Jinx sighed, a tint of sadness lingering in his tone. He stood, stretching his legs out and catching his small companion with his horn, currently made harmless by a leather sheath looped over it, and tossing him expertly onto his back. He paced from the tent they shared and out into the moonlight, the only source of true illumination in the almost unnatural inky darkness of this night.

Small tents littered the ground around them, creating eerie silhouettes in the darkness. Across from them, positioned defiantly within sight of their own camp on the other side of the barren field before them, lay the enemy, only the tiny pinpricks of firelight playing testament to their presence.

�What do you see, Kevri?� the old Jinx asked, staring out over the land that would become a battlefield in mere hours.

�What do you mean? All I see are enemy tents.�

�What makes them the enemy?�

�They�re not us.�

�Aren�t they?�

�What are getting at?� Kevri questioned quietly, his gaze lying firmly on the encampment before them.

�Remember tomorrow, son, that many of those you fight are the same terrified young creatures that you are.� Jadyn replied, glancing up at the Tarinooki on his back.

�Then why do we fight them?�

The Jinx sighed. �Sometimes, Kevri, we have to fight for something better than what we have. Just remember that we�re fighting for our freedom, not because we feel the need to destroy them. We�ve been left no choice. This is what we have been reduced to.�

�They�re stronger than we are, Jadyn. How can we win?�

�We may be outmatched, but we have one thing that they don�t, child.�

�What is it?�

�Passion for our cause.�

�Should I be afraid, Jadyn?�

The Jinx lifted his companion once more, slowly lowering him to the ground and nudging him back into the tent.

�No child. Never be afraid to fight for what you believe in.�

The following evening the news ran to every corner of Mistica. They had done it. Their tiny ragtag army had bested a force many times greater than their own. One word rang throughout Mistica from upraised voices and cheering crowds: Freedom.