A faint smile touched his face, though it did not carry amusement.
"He was an arrogant man. And foolishly courageous. What he believed to be bravery, others called stupidity. He spoke against things that no one dared question. He refused to accept what the world told him he was."
"My father believed that yes, everyone is born with a destiny," he said at last. "But he also believed that destiny was not singular. That it existed in levels."
His fingers hovered over the piles.
"Some were born with weak destiny. Some with strong. Some with very strong. And a rare few were born carrying what people called ultimate destiny."
His gaze hardened slightly.
"But my father believed that even someone born with weak destiny could reach ultimate destiny. He believed that the levels that separated them were not absolute. That they were barriers. And that barriers could be broken."
The grass stirred gently around them, though there was no wind.
