Guardian (Part I): Last Winter

Chapter 1: Eris

I searched the entire battlefield for Finn, following his radiant aura. I sensed that he was in danger that he wouldn't be able to get out of by himself, and warped as close to him as I could. It must have been across the entire damn country, because I ended up on the western coast of Chardan. Finn's aura led me away from the coast, though, further inland across the snowy landscape. After more searching, I found him. I recognized him instantly by his ashen-white hair, and rushed to him as fast as I could. He was lying in the snow, unconscious, with blood staining the side of his face. It was his blood, but his body seems to have already healed itself from whatever injuries he sustained. I sighed with relief. All he needed was rest. I dug my hands into the snow under Finn, then picked him up and warped back to my house. Once I carried him inside, I set him down on his bed.

"Finn," I whispered, shaking him by his shoulder. He jumped awake, forming an aura blade in the shape of a broadsword.

"Finn, it's me!" I shouted.

"Oh," Finn sighed, fading his sword. "Sorry, Mom."

"Just calm yourself," I advised. Finn began to look around, and a look of confusion came across his face.

"What am I doing here?" he asked.

"You were unconscious in the middle of a battlefield," I reminded. "I wasn't about to leave you out there."

"Well, thank you for bringing me back here," said Finn. "I don't even remember what happened."

"What's the last thing you do remember?" I questioned.

"I was escorting a caravan on its way to Valedon," Finn began. "Then a few of the trucks were suddenly destroyed, and that was it."

"That's all?" I asked. "Did you sense anything?"

"Actually, I did," Finn recalled. "I don't know what it was, but it was very powerful. I couldn't tell exactly what it was, though." It was hardly unusual for someone as young as Finn not to be able to immediately recognize a monster he had never fought before. He was only twelve, born well after the war ended fifteen years ago. I was grateful that he wasn't born until it ended, but he was still young, inexperienced, and somewhat reckless.

"Well, if you're alive after fighting it, you must have given it a serious pounding," I complimented.

"I am," Finn sighed. "But everyone in that caravan was killed, on my watch." I began to sense a feeling of guilt from him. He blamed himself for the deaths of the people in the caravan, didn't he? I saw a tear run down his face, and I gently wiped it off with my thumb.

"Finn, if you had no idea what was going on, how could you have known what to do?" I asked. "This is something you've never seen before."

"I'm a Guardian," Finn reminded. "I should've been able to handle it."

"Don't do that to yourself," I whispered. The idea of my son feeling this guilt over something he had no control over couldn't have been more devastating to me. Before I could talk to him anymore, though, I began to sense a darkness in the woods outside. The ground suddenly trembled, and then there was a knock at my door.

"Mom, that's..."

"Shh!" I hushed. "What class of Guardian are you?"

"Ranger."

"Cloak yourself," I hissed. "And stay quiet."

"Alright," Finn whispered, and he pulled his aura cloak over himself to disappear. Whoever was at my door knocked again, harder, and then a child's voice came from the other side.