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No Chosen Ones

I don't much care for Chosen Ones.

Not because destiny is uninteresting. Quite the opposite. I find the idea fascinating... and deeply dangerous.

The problem is what the Chosen One story can imply: that some people matter more because destiny says they do. That greatness is something bestowed rather than earned. That the rest of us are spectators, waiting for the special person to save the world.

I don't believe that.

In the Kingdoms, I want heroism to be a choice.

I want ordinary people to stand up because they decide something is worth defending. I want courage to belong to anyone. I want knowledge, kindness, stubbornness, loyalty, and sheer bloody-minded determination to matter more than prophecy.

Because if there is one thing I believe about stories, and about people, it is this:

Nobody needs to be chosen to choose.


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