My last real memory of the time before was of her eyes. Glistening with tears that she refused to shed, their image was seared into my mind as I was led away. I remember nothing of the binding ceremony, other than a brief, searing pain and a blinding light. And then... I dreamt.
How long I lay bound, dreaming, I do not know. Several centuries, I believe, but I have yet to reckon the actual passage of time. She was gone by then, of course. She exists only in my memory—a memory I could not forget, would not let myself forget. It was my pleasure, my pain, my punishment for a love that had been given and not returned. I had caused young Maria so much pain, it was only fitting that I suffer, too.
I lay in a deathless dream state for many, many lifetimes. I dreamed of many things, some of which perhaps were real. I dreamed of my dear friend, Ventuswill, the Divine Wind as she was called while I lived, and perhaps those were not dreams at all. Perhaps some of her thoughts reached me, lost though I was to her. I had doubted that I would ever see my friends or family again, but I had been willing nonetheless to make my sacrifice to protect the God, as was my duty as a Dragon Priest as well as my desire as her friend.
Therefore, I was taken by surprise when I found myself waking from my long dream. At first, I was aware only of a brilliant, diffuse light, confusing my eyes, unaccustomed as they were to use. Then I felt a tugging sensation and realized I was being drawn. Turning towards the source of the pull, I saw a large portal. Bewildered and unsure what was happening, I looked around. That was when I first lay eyes on her.
Kneeling only a few paces away was a young maiden. She seemed to have only finished a battle, as she leaned heavily on a mighty sword. A shield lay at her feet, as though she had just dropped it there but a moment before. I had never seen anyone quite like her: long, flowing hair the color of the pale green sweet melons of my childhood, eyes the color of sea-green beryl, and pale golden skin like the lightest honey. She knelt there panting, blood seeping from a score of wounds, scorch marks marring her skin and clothing, her armor dented and long skirt tattered. Tears sparkled in her eyes like dewdrops in the morning sun as she looked at me. She smiled, and it was like the sun breaking free from the clouds and casting a glorious ray upon me, though the smile itself was bittersweet. "Tell them..." she said in voice that was musical despite expressing exhaustion bordering on collapse. "Tell Venti what happened here, please. And also, tell her thanks for being my friend—it was fun."
I barely had time to process that this slip of a girl was not only a warrior but my apparent rescuer when I was pulled into the portal, exclaiming "You..." before it closed and she vanished from sight.
I was transported to the courtyard of a stone castle, stumbling to the ground as the portal vanished behind me. The courtyard was full of strange people, a crowd gathered as for some event. A collective gasp went up as I appeared, and when the portal vanished, the people around me cried out in confusion and dismay. Someone helped me to my feet, and I looked around, leaning heavily on the man who assisted me. My body was as yet weak from years of disuse, and even standing was not yet easy.
As I tried to get my bearings, the man supporting me turned and looked me straight in the eyes, his expression fierce and his eyes desperate. "Where is Avani? Tell me what happened to her!" he cried, gripping my shoulders tightly with his powerful hands.
A handsome, aristocratic young man stepped forward, and exclaimed in a reproving voice as he placed a hand on his arm, "Dylas! Calm yourself. I know you must be concerned, but your impatience will not help her." The golden-haired man turned to me, saying, "Pardon me, stranger. Are you Leon, lately of the tower of Leon Karnak?"
Surprised that this stranger would know my name, I nodded, saying, "Yes. I am Leon. Where am I, or more to the point, when am I? Who might you be, and how do you know my name?"
He smiled as he explained, "You are in the city of Selphia, in the kingdom of Norad. I'm afraid our calendar would be meaningless to you, as it is believed to have changed several times since your time. However, I believe that you have lain asleep in the tower of Leon Karnak for at least half a millennia, quite likely more. That can wait until later. I am Prince Arthur of Norad, and I know of you from the Lady Ventuswill, who sent our finest warrior to rescue you from the tower." His face became anxious then, as he asked, "But tell me, Leon, what of the Lady Avani? Clearly she succeeded in her quest, as you stand here before us, yet she failed to return with you as promised."
"Venti... is that Lady Ventuswill? Is she really still alive?" I asked, hope rising in my chest that we had succeeded after all, that my sacrifice had not been in vain. "I'm afraid I can't tell you much. I dreamed... for how long I cannot tell. Then I suddenly found myself awakening. There was bright light, and I found myself being drawn into a portal. A little ways from me was a girl with green hair and eyes. She appeared to be wounded and beyond exhausted, and her eyes were full of sorrow. She asked me to tell Venti what had happened, but to be honest, I don't really know what transpired there."
"Yes," Arthur said, "I think you had better come to see the Lady Ventuswill now. Hang in there, Dylas. Perhaps there is still hope," he said to the distraught man supporting me.
I turned to face him, and as I looked at him, I realized that he had some unusual features. His hair was blue, and it flowed not like a man's hair, but more like a mane, with the sensitive, pricked ears of horse on either side of his face. His brooding eyes were hazel, and he wore black clothing with blue and mauve accents, and numerous straps and buckles that reminded me somewhat of equine tack. As we walked, I felt something brush the back of my leg, and looking back, I was surprised to see a blue horse's tail swishing back and forth in agitation.
Then I noticed another tail... and a moment later, I realized it was mine. A thick, full tail, like a bushy fox's tail, only the fur was a pale silvery-blue. That was when I became aware of a peculiar sensation on my head, and reaching a hand up, I realized that I had large, pointy, fox-like ears instead of human ears. I stumbled with surprise at this realization, and Dylas grabbed my elbow to keep me steady. He noticed my look of surprise as I gingerly felt around my ears, and said, "Yeah, man. Looks like you got it, too."
"Got what exactly?" I asked, and he gave me a small half-smile.
"We former Guardians seem to have retained some... traces of our monster forms. My hair and eyes changed color, and I've got the tail and ears and this mark on my face. Dolce doesn't seem to have acquired anything so obvious, but she woke up skilled with sewing and knitting—things that involve strings, that is. Her monster was kind of a puppet or a marionette. And Amber has butterfly wings and antennae. You've got the ears and tail and those marks on your face, at least, and you might find some other things have changed, too." I opened my mouth to ask him more questions, but he shook his head, saying, "Save it for later. We're here." And with that, he opened a large, heavy door, and we stepped through.
The great hall of the castle was large and open to the sky above. Perched on a central dais was Venti, her green and gold scales sparkling in the morning light shining through the open roof and her colorfully feathered wings stretched out in the sun. "Leon!" she exclaimed as I entered her chamber, propelled forward by Dylas. "It's been many, many years, my dear old friend. I'm very happy you have returned."
"Venti," I replied with a smile. "Indeed it has, or so I am told. It's good to see you. You've grown quite a bit since last I saw you."
"Well, I was still quite a young dragon in your day, you know. I'm so grateful that Avani was able to rescue you. Speaking of whom, where is she? Was she wounded? Is she being tended at the clinic?"
Dylas pushed past me, saying, "Venti, Avani didn't return! When the portal opened, only Leon came through. We don't know what became of her. She must be trapped in the Forest of Beginnings—you have to let me go find her!"
"The Forest of Beginnings? Didn't come back? What is going on?" Ventuswill cried.
"My lady," Arthur said as he stepped forward from behind us. "An imbalance in the runes contained within Leon Karnak created a rift of some sort, causing the interior of the tower to somehow merge with and engulf the Forest of Beginnings, like some sort of portal perhaps. To reach Leon, Avani had to enter into and traverse the Forest. She would not have been able to return via normal means. However, the Alvarnan scholar, Barrett, was able to provide her with an artifact that should have allowed both her and Leon to safely return by creating a portal to the town. But for some reason, she did not accompany him home."
Venti reared up in distress. "You allowed Avani, a human, to enter the Forest of Beginnings?" she roared. "Do you have any idea what that can do to her? She must be found, and swiftly, if she still lives! Leon! Did you see her? Was she alive? Can you shed any light on this incident?"
I shook my head, saying, "I'm sorry, Venti. I did see her there, or I assume it was her—a waif with green hair and eyes and with a sword that looked much too large for her to lift. She appeared wounded, but I could not guess how gravely. I saw her only briefly. Before I was pulled into the portal, she asked me to tell you what happened there at the tower, but truthfully, I don't know. She also said to say these words to you: 'Thanks for being my friend—it was fun.'"
At that, Venti keened loudly, then lashing her tail in agitation, firmly reprimanded me. "Show a modicum of respect, Leon, even if that isn't your forte. That 'waif' rescued you single-handedly, and she had to have defeated both your guard foxes as well as your Guardian form to do so, not to mention whatever other monsters she encountered along the way. She is far, far stronger than she appears, both inside and out."
Then she was quiet for a moment, her head swaying from side to side and her eyes half-closed in concentration. "Yes," she said after a few minutes. "I sense her, or at least I sense the charm I gave to her. I will go and bring her back... if I am able. No, Dylas, you will stay here. This is something that you cannot do—that no human can do. Avani has done much for me; now the time has come for me to return the favor." With that she rose up on her hind legs and, with a powerful thrust of her wings, soared up and out of the chamber.
Watching Venti vanish from sight, I suddenly felt weak and light-headed, and swaying, nearly fell against Arthur where he stood next to me. "Oh, Leon," he exclaimed, steadying me. "I am sorry. You must be exhausted. Let's get you to the clinic so the doctor can have a look at you, then we'll get you some food and get you settled. This has been quite a day for you." I nodded, smiling at the understatement.
Arthur helped me to the clinic, and leaving me in the care of the physician, Jones, he went to arrange lodging for me. The doctor was a friendly, kind man, and he soon pronounced me fit—just in need of some rest, he said. He seemed unfazed by my unusual features, but if there were others like me, he'd be accustomed to odd appearances by now.
He allowed me to borrow the large mirror in his lodgings above the clinic, and I gazed in fascination at the changes wrought by my lengthy fusion. Large silvery-blue fox ears replaced my own, even retaining the small, jeweled ear-ring I had worn near the top of my left ear before. A bushy tail of the same pale fur swished behind me. I could feel them and use them, though they still felt strange to me. My hair had also changed from the ebony it had been before my transformation to the same silvery-blue shade as my fox fur. Tattoo-like markings adorned my face, all of a brilliant turquoise color except for a red dot in the center of the mark on my forehead. My skin was still the same bronzed shade as before, my eyes were still the same piercing shade of turquoise blue, and I wore the same clothing that I had worn to the sealing ceremony, even still carrying the ceremonial peacock feather fan that I had held. My appearance had definitely changed—and I found that I liked it.
Arthur arranged for me to stay at the inn, which was run by an attractive woman named Lin Fa and her petite daughter, Xiao Pai. I thanked them and promised to repay their kindness when I was able, though they both brushed off my concerns. Soon after I was settled in my room at the inn, Dylas, despite his palpable anxiety, delivered the food that Arthur had ordered for me from the nearby restaurant. I thanked him and intended to ask him in, hoping to discuss his earlier comments about other Guardians, but he darted away without a word as soon as he'd handed the package over to me.
I was curious about this strange young girl whom everyone seemed so agitated about—I could hear the tension in everyone's voices, feel it in the small groups of villagers I had passed, huddled together talking on the streets as I passed them on my way to the inn. But for now, I needed to eat and sleep, and so I did.