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Part 34

I roll over in bed and stare up at the dark ceiling, my mind not allowing sleep to come to me. I turn my head and look at Shadow lying next to me snoring softly in his sleep. Some nights I can't help but envy how easy it is for him to fall asleep. We can be laying in bed talking about the day and as soon as we say our final goodnights he is snoring, almost like he just flips a switch. Must be a benefit of youth, plus he doesn't have centuries of regrets to deal with either.

Letting out a sigh I look around the room. The open windows letting in a cool breeze also allow a soft silver glow from the moon to very dimly light up the area. As the thin curtains flutter in the breeze my eyes fall on the leather bound book sitting on my desk and I realize it is the journal I began writing in the day Aduro reentered my life.

Carefully I extract myself from the covers and move to the desk and open the journal. After angling it so that the pages catch the most light possible I look to see what the last entry is. I knew it had been a while since I last wrote in it but I was surprised to see that the last entry was the first I was well enough to write following Aduro's betrayal. The venom that I could read in the words my own hand wrote both surprised and disturbed me. Not for how severe they were but for how little it told of how I really felt.

As quietly as possible I rummage for a pen and matches to light the small candle nearby intending to update my journal till I get tired enough to sleep. After a while of writing the candle has nearly burned itself out when a sigh sounds from my right.

I turn my head expecting to see Shadow standing there sleep in his eyes. Instead I'm surprised to see a human female dressed in blue and gold robes, her dark hair tied back in a long braid. She lets out another soft sigh as she reads what I have written over my shoulder. With perhaps a touch of irritation I close my journal as I ask, "Can I help you Master Nerine?"

She turns her head and looks at me with a sad look in her eyes saying, "I just find it sad that the love you once had for Aduro has turned so sour. Not that I can blame you seeing what he has done. But it is still sad."

With a huff of irritation I stand up and move towards the window as the flame of the candle flickers weakly. For a moment I just glare out the window before choosing my words, "As far as I am concerned my brother died over three thousand years ago. I have no living blood kin left in this world."

I feel her gaze on me before she speaks, "That may not be true."

Unable to suppress my curiosity I turn and look at her with a raised eyebrow. She quickly interprets my look and continues, "I only meant that considering your mother was not a native born Atlantian some members of her families blood line could have survived through the ages. Granted by now they would be so far removed that to call them kin would be like calling a lion a tabby cat."

I can't stop a snort at the comparison causing Nerine to let out a small chuckle, "Ok maybe that doesn't quite cover it but you get my point."

Nodding I turn my back to the window and lean against the sill before replying, "I know that my mother's family could have survived but I was never told anything about them. That was the one subject she would never talk to anyone about. All she ever said is they didn't acknowledge her so she wouldn't acknowledge them."

She leans against my desk as she crosses her arms, "Your mother was a very unique person. I never met a more inquisitive student before her."

I tilt my head to the side a bit as I ask, "She wasn't a guardian, how was she your student?"

Nerine shakes her head slightly, "I taught more than just water guardians my boy. I also taught history classes to anyone who wanted to learn and your mother sure wanted to learn. In no time at all she was as well versed in Atlantian history as any of the masters, more than some even."

I look down at my hind paws and study them for a moment reflecting on some childhood memories about my mother. They are bitter sweet because some of my feelings about Aduro filter over onto many of them. After a time I say, "Guess that's why she was always so good at telling us stories as a kid. She drew from her knowledge of history."

Nerine smiles, "That she did. She was always looking for the next story to hear. That may have been what caused her fascination with the more obscure legends now that I think about it."

She drifts off a bit as she stares into the distance remembering. When the silence has begun to grow she shakes her head, "Who knows, maybe if some of her research into the origins of the guardians had uncovered something to prove the existence of the legendary lost classes of light and dark then perhaps things would have been different."

I raise an eyebrow, "She found something about them?"

With a sigh Nerine steps up beside me and looks out the window. After a moment of silence she says, "Not exactly, she found a few bits of information here and there not really proof of their being real but enough to give her a theory. She became more and more convinced that the light and dark classes weren't really classes but rather two individuals. Her theory was that the guardians for those two classes were the only ones of their respective classes to exist at any one time."

I let out a small humorless laugh, "So the most powerful guardians in legend weren't an army, but just two guys?"

She nods, "That's what your mother came to believe. She founded her theory on a small part of a poem she came across in her stories."

I can't help but feel curios about that fact as I ask, "What poem was that Nerine?"

She pauses for a moment with a pensive look on her face before she responds, "I don't remember the exact wording since it was written in one of the oldest Atlantian dialects we had record of. But the closest translation is this:

'When the evil came like a flood six stood up to hold it at bay,

One used fire to burn his path,

One commanded water to have his say,

Another made the earth tremble with his touch,

A fourth moved the air with ease,

But the last two were stronger than the rest,

With light by his side he moved as he pleased,

As his brothers opposite the last used darkness to be his best.

Together the six did fight till all that remained were the opposite brothers,

Their strength born from the others combined was all that remained,

Being the only ones of their kind when one fell there would not be another.

In the end darkness fell to the evil leaving light alone,

In his grief the light released all his fury to seal the evil away,

His last act was something for which he could never atone,

From then on light and dark would slumber until the evil once again held sway.'"

Nerine finished reciting the poem before looking back at me, "And that's it. Your mother never found anything more than that but it seemed to be enough for her."

I reflect on the words of the poem for a moment before saying, "It almost sounds like the light guardian did something terrible to stop the evil after his brother was killed by the evil, and that it wasn't a permanent solution just temporary. If that was the case then in theory the two guardians would return if and when the evil returned."

She nods, "That's how your mother viewed it as well. Only a great evil did return and it destroyed Atlantis and there was no sign of the light or dark guardians. Which leads me to believe that it was just a poem written by someone who saw the fight and used some poetic license to make a good story."

I let out a sad sigh, "I agree, if they were real one would think that they would have returned then when we needed them most. Or would be here now when that same evil has grown in power again."

I look out the window at the valley veiled in the dark of night as the stars twinkle over head. For a moment silence spread between us before I look back at Nerine, "Well legends and myths won't be enough to help us today. We only have each other and that will have to be enough. Either we will win or we won't. Only time will tell."

She gives a somber smile before fading away as four knocks echo in the room.

..........

I awake with a start picking my head up off my desk. I try blinking the sleep from my eyes as I look around the room trying to figure out what woke me up.

Knock Knock Knock

I groan as I hear the knocking from the door. Glancing at the window I see it is just before dawn. Stretching I look over at Shadow who has rolled over in his side and covered his head with a pillow muttering sleep induced nonsense under it.

Stretching I stand up and grab a pair of shorts before heading to the door. As I am struggling to put them on and walk at the same time the knocking starts up again. Grumbling I call out in a loud whisper, "I'm coming, I'm coming. Don't get your fur in a twist."

Opening the door open a few inches I look out into the dark hall. Standing there her fur a bit tussled and dressed in a simple robe is Eve. Confused I open the door a bit more and step out closing it behind me softly before I address her, "Eve, what's wrong?"

She looks up at me with an apologetic look in her eyes, "Seeker I'm sorry to wake you up so early but I really need to talk to you. It's important."

I place a paw in front of my muzzle trying to smother a yawn before answering, "It's ok we can talk. Just let me get some more clothes on and ill meet you in the kitchen ok?"

She nods saying, "Thanks Alpha." With a swish of her robe she turns and heads down stairs. Yawning again I turn and go back into my room looking for some pants and a shirt.

After getting dressed I make my way to the kitchen shaking off the last bit of sleep. When I push open the door I find Eve pacing a hole in the floor. I gesture at a stool as I move to the sink grabbing a pair of mugs along the way, "Have a seat before you make a ditch in the floor and I'll make us some tea."

Deciding to bypass a tea pot I put water in the mugs then focus on them making the water rapidly heat to near boiling. Once they are steaming I drop a tea bag into each mug and hand one to Eve as I sit on a stool across from her. She rapidly dunks her tea bag in and out of her mug with a bit more edge to her movements than I'm used to seeing.

As I let my own tea sit for a moment I ask, "What has you so rattled this morning Eve?"

She swallows hard before setting her tea down only to pick it right back up before saying, "You remember when Tabatha and I first arrived we told you we had been exiled from or original pack because of our love for each other."

I nod giving her my full attention, "Yeah I do, that was about four or five years ago now that you arrived right?"

A small grin flits across her face, "Five years next week actually. But that wasn't the only reason we were exiled...." she trails off as she takes a sip of tea. I just wait patiently for her to finish her story.

The silence grows before she continues, "The other reason we were exiled is because of me."

I raise a puzzled eyebrow, "What did you do that warranted exile?"

She lets out a humorless snort of laughter, "It wasn't so much what I did but what I was seen as being able to do. Ever since I was a little pup I would sometimes get these really bad vibes before something bad happens. Not every time, but often enough that the pack began to think that I was causing the events to happen in some way. Well eventually fear took hold of them and they figured getting rid of me would get rid of their troubles. So that's why we left and eventually ended up here."

I sip my tea softly as she finishes up her confession. As the silence lengthens between us I study Eve. She is still on edge and nervous but now a bit of apprehension has begun to show on her face. I take one more sip before setting my tea down and asking, "When you got these vibes had other troubling events taken place prior?"

She blinks a couple times. This obviously wasn't the question she expected but she recovers quickly enough, "Mostly but sometimes it was before the first event. That's what lead to people think I was a bad omen."

Nodding I look at her and say, "It could be that you have some rudimentary precognition abilities." she looks at me with a confused look so I explain, "Basically you are slightly tuned emotionally to future events that trigger large amounts of negative emotions. Not all events trigger it obviously so I would wager a guess that there would be other factors at play as well."

A spark of hope flickers in her eyes at my explanation as she asks, "So you have encountered others that could do this? Can you help me control or get rid of it?"

I open my mouth to speak but pause a moment before answering knowing that I am going to disappoint my friend, "No I have not had any direct experience with it. The last people that I know for sure with the abilities to see the future were the oracles of Delphi and they have been gone for centuries."

Eve gets a look like a hurt pup as I tell her this. She sniffs as she takes a sip of tea before saying, "So I'm stuck with this and with no hope of controlling it."

I place a gentle paw on her shoulder, "Eve there is always hope. I'm sure that there is someone out there who knows something about it and when things are settled here we will help you find them."

She looks up at me with a tear falling from her right eye, "That's just it though Seeker. The reason I came to you is because I got one of those feelings tonight. It was the worst I ever felt by far. I could almost see what was causing it. Like shadows moving in the dark."

I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as she speaks and a feeling of dread seems to fill the room as she continues, "I could feel heat like flames on my skin, smell smoke and blood, and just when I woke up I thought for a brief moment that...."

She trails off fear stopping her voice. I give her shoulder a gentle squeeze saying, "It's ok Eve, go on. What did you feel?"

In a quiet voice shaking with fear she says, "I thought.... for some reason.... that we were all..... dead."

I look into her fear filled eyes for a moment before pulling her into a hug which she quickly accepts and clings to with all her might. Gently patting her back I say softly, "Hey now it's ok. We are all fine. It sounds like you may have just had a really bad dream that fed off your bad feelings. And considering everything we have gone through lately it's no wonder. What with the attack on the village, me nearly being killed, the betrayal of my..... Well it's no surprise you would have a nightmare."

She pulls back a small smile on her face as she wipes tears from her eyes asking, "Do you really think that it's that simple?"

I smile back, "Yeah I do. Now why don't you finish off your tea then head back to bed. I'm sure Tabatha will worry if you're not there when she wakes."

She chuckles softly as she finishes her drink before getting up to leave. At the door she pauses and turns back to me saying, "Thanks Seeker I feel better. You always know what to say."

I nod towards her, "Your welcome Eve."

She waves goodbye and heads out of the kitchen the door swinging shut behind her. As it closes I let my smile vanish only to be replaced with concern laced with fear. I pick up my mug and sip the tea before mumbling to myself, "If only it was that easy to make things better. I'm afraid Eve that your nightmare was more vision than dream. If it was then we have something much much worse ahead of us. Something that I fear is going to cost us dearly if we are not very lucky."

I place my empty mug in the sink and look out the window at the red dawn growing in the east as I say, "Bad things come in threes after all and the worst is yet to come."

With a swish of my tail I turn to head back up stairs to my own bed. Perhaps some alone time with Shadow will make me feel better. We need all the happiness we can get while we can get it.