Guardian (Part I): Last Winter

Chapter 37: Ruth

I could see Soareus Peak from the canopy of my transport's cockpit. I couldn't sense Finn's powerful aura yet, but I began to when my aircraft drew closer to the mountain. I never thought I would be happier to sense him. He was alive! I couldn't tell exactly where he was, but he must have been near the summit. There was a second aura, though. One of immense darkness, more powerful than anything I had ever felt before. I instructed my pilot to circle around the mountain at a low altitude in order for me to be able to spot him and avoid whatever was giving off this second aura. I looked out the side windows of the dropship as it flew closer, but I couldn't see him.

"Can you fly a little closer?" I asked, to the pilot.

"I don't know if I should," the pilot warned.

"Just get close enough for me to land," I ordered. We flew a little closer, until an explosion suddenly struck the aircraft. The pilot was killed instantly, and the large vehicle began to fall from the sky, towards the slopes of Soareus Peak. I rushed to a seat in the cabin and lowered a large safety handle to brace myself for the impact of the coming crash. I closed my eyes, in time to feel the entire aircraft shake, before it suddenly stopped. I had been on board plenty of airborne transports that have been shot down. This was nothing new. I tried to lift the bar keeping me in my seat, but it wouldn't budge. The impact of the crash must have damaged its release mechanism. I warped out of the seat instead.

"Damn it," I cursed. I looked out the rear door of the dropship, and saw a long trail dug out in the snow that stretched all the way to a cliff in the mountainside. The aircraft must have slid on the ground before being stopped by the trees in the forest. I still sensed Finn's aura, but there were two others, similar to his, all quickly coming towards me. Following it, I rushed out of the dropship's cabin following it and looked around. Finn came out from behind the wreckage of my aircraft. A smile came across my face as he began to rush to me with his arms open. It had been a year since the last time I saw him, and I began to feel tears in my eyes as I threw my arms around him, and there was nothing I missed more than seeing his white hair, and having his arms wrapped around me. He was safe, despite all of the threats against him.

"How long has it been?" I asked, as I released my grip on him.

"I think a year," Finn guessed. "I had my doubts that I would see you or Connor again. Where is he, anyway?"

"Valedon," I answered. "He sustained an injury that keeps him from fighting until it heals."

"Really?" Finn sighed. "What happened?"

"We fought a Tuatha, and she hit him with a black hammer," I enlightened. "He's okay. He just has cracked ribs."

"Good," said Finn. "What about you? What are you doing here, of all places?"

"Making sure you're safe," I answered. "There are people in Camnora who want you dead."

"I know," said Finn. "I was already attacked in Dormanine. I'm just waiting for something else to happen."

"A Shadow named 'Belroth' may be coming for you," I warned. "He's probably the one who shot me down."

"No," Finn denied. "We know exactly who shot you down."

"'We'?" I asked.

"Oh," Finn gasped. "My mother and brother. You should meet them!" He grabbed me by my wrist and began to drag me through the forest, towards the other two radiant auras. Neither of them were as strong as Finn's, but they were both still much more powerful than I was.

"I didn't know you had a brother," I said.

"Neither did I."

He led me through the forest, until I could see a little, green-haired boy with a golden-ended staff that fit his height, and a tall, dark-haired woman that wore a sleeveless cuirass made from leather. Commander Jonas and many of the Guardians' higher-ups have always suspected that one of Finn's parents was some sort of being of immense power, and they knew that he was the son of another Guardian, whose name was Hilles. The aura that was given off by Finn's mother was that of an Ilentia. A goddess!