The Warden of Time - A CoS story

🩸Chapter 7🩸

The Boreal Warden lay in a cave adorned with moss and twigs. Next to his large head was an egg, bearing the colours purple, yellow and cream. The two others, Verdant Warden and Ardor Warden stood outside the cave, watching Boreal intently.

"Do you really think that this egg will hold our fourth warden?" Verdant asked Ardor, a concerned look on her face as she continued to watch the sleeping Boreal. "Maybe. It depends on the creature." The Valentines Warden replied. Verdant crossed her arms and scowled. "Well, it's not like it'll hatch into a creature we've never seen."

Ardor gazed at the egg. "You never know. It's certainly possible." He sighed, he felt as if he knew how Verdant was feeling without looking at her face. "Boreal told us he came from a random egg." The Easter Warden looked at Ardor for a second. "That's true. But it's unlikely that's going to happen here."

"We'll just see when the egg hatches." Ardor replied, turning his gaze to the rabbit like warden. Verdant turned to Ardor, and they both walked off.

Boreal shifted in his sleep, before waking up suddenly. "Weird dream. Was flying in the air." He mumbled to himself before checking on the egg. "Good." He smiled down at the mysterious egg. "You're still there, fourth warden." The egg shook in response.

The Winter Warden yawned and then crawled out of the cave. He couldn't fit in it standing up. He was only going to get food, there was no way a Kendyll would suddenly appear and devour the egg. While the biggest creature in Sonaria had gone to graze on some berries, the egg shook, trembled, and then a crack appeared in the shell.

The egg rolled around, feeling as though it couldn't keep still. The crack in the shell grew bigger, and bigger, before a tiny creature tumbled out of the shell. At this point, Boreal was now returning to the cave, when he noticed. "Oh my! You're out!" He rushed over , crawled in the cave, and then smiled down at the newborn hatchling. He picked up the creature gently. "Aw, a baby girl. I'll call her Hellion."

I woke up with a start. What in the heck was that dream? About me hatching? I shook my head, remembering the events of yesterday. The meteors, the ash, the burning wounds...

And Boreal saving my pitiful life.

Yet, I did nothing. I didn't save Sonaria, like I was supposed to.

I sigh, holding back any tears that would dare come to my eyes. I inspected my back, my tail, the prime target of the meteors unleashed by the volcano. There were scars and some burn marks, it seemed I still had a lot to heal.

I wondered if Boreal was okay. He's a strong warden, he should've made it out alive. But the state he was in when he saved me... I remembered Boreal bleeding while the eruption was happening, and there was a weird ring of ice swirling around him. Is that a warden ability? Who knows at this point.

My lungs, which were so clogged with ash yesterday, seemed to have cleared up now. I also just realised, I never had a look at the outside world. Even though it pains me to do it, I'll have to eventually. I sigh, and then I slowly turned around to face the exit to the cave.

Ash was scattered everywhere, along with rocks from the landscape. The grass was singed, and it seemed to be turning red. It was now cold, incomparable to the heat when the eruption was ripping up the land. Even if Sonaria DOES recover, there is always the threat of another eruption happening again.

I shuddered, and then stepped outside. The air was cold, not as cold as winter, but almost as cold. Flake, what about Flake? I suddenly realised. Was my Gyroudus friend okay? I needed to go and check on him, wherever he was. And Nimbus? The glimmer Aereis that I had met while I was still a teen I also grew quite fond of. I wanted to know what happened to them both.

Why was it cold outside? Wasn't it just summer? "Famine..." I mumbled under my breath. Turns out I actually consider this a season, and I had just named it 'Famine'. I know, original name. I started to search for the other Wardens, and Flake, and possibly Nimbus. I sniffed the air, but I couldn't smell anything, not even food. 

I cried out, but nobody returned the call.

The wind howled around me. Did nobody survive? Am I all alone in Sonaria?