It's been a while... Well, my life has been even more chaotic than usual so... that's why...
CH 25 Summary: Aerobolt makes it home. Not much to be said that won't spoil.
And Chapter 26 is filled with many big pieces of information... the secrets of Aerobolt's and Arcane's pasts are revealed at last...
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The Guardians of Life: Justice (Book I)
Chapter Twenty-Six-
The Arcane Past

Shade stood there for a minute in an eerie, awkward silence, muzzle gaping in absolute shock. “H-how long have you known?” she breathed at long last.
“Since we were in Uron,” Aerobolt answered, trying to keep his own voice calm.
“How!? How is it that you know!?” Shade was not trying to keep her voice calm.
“I was not sure at first. I got the idea when I first realized how important I was to you more than even the Guardians. Your reactions when something concerns me directly are much stronger than that of even close friends, and could only be described as feelings for family. I wasn’t too sure. Some things did not add up, like our ages and when you came to look for me in Hydyraen. But it all fell into place when I dreamed that night in Uron. Iridescence came to me in a dream and showed me flashbacks from both of our lives. She showed me more flashbacks from your life than in mine. I saw my birth; I saw how Arcane snatched me away, and your desperation to find me. But Shade, mother, I must ask you… why did you hide all this crucial information from me all this time? Why couldn’t you tell me the truth like any good mother would?”
Shade’s muzzle remained open. It seemed like she couldn’t speak. She was too shocked to say a word. “I-I…” she stammered.
“Shade. If you truly love me, you’d tell me the truth, no matter what it is. I’d do the same for you.”
Shade finally spoke. “If you knew everything else, you’d hate me for sure. If you knew the truth, you’d… you’d wish my death…” she said incredibly bitterly.
Aerobolt was suddenly afraid. But Shade went on.
“The truth… is by far the most powerful weapon in existence. Only to be rivaled by love. If wielded improperly it can completely wreck someone’s entire life. Somoene’s… like mine… and yours…”
“Wh-what are you talking about?” Aerobolt whispered, frightened.
“Aerobolt… Have you wondered why Arcane always showed interest into you? Why he always seemed to seek you out in Hydyraen? Do you know why the both of you share the same power in your veins? Have you wondered what kind of bonds you and Arcane share? Bonds that bind you so close together you could be…” Shade choked; she could not go on. She didn’t have to.
A bomb of dread exploded in Aerobolt’s stomach. Somehow he knew exactly what Shade was implying. He desperately wished it weren’t true! It could not be true! “No! It can’t be! It cannot be! Arcane and I--!” he faltered this time. All this time… all these secrets and lies… they can’t even come close to the magnitude of power of which the truth holds! Is Arcane really-!? No! Aerobolt refused to believe it!
“I’m sorry, Aerobolt. It is true. Arcane is also my son. You two are brothers…” Shade said with so much pain in her voice it made Aerobolt’s mind whirl in fear. That revelation… it made it all explode. His worst fear was confirmed. Aerobolt could not say a word. He sunk to his knees in sheer disbelief. This is why she hid the truth. The greatest threat Nyethra has seen in generations… was of his family!
Shade’s voice was ominously soft. “I don’t blame you for hating me. I never meant to have that monster come into the world.”
“I-I bet you never wanted to have me either,” Aerobolt choked.
“I never wanted another cub like Arcane running around. I thought for sure the next one I may have had would have turned into another Arcane… and then what would I have done…? But I was wrong! Thirteen years after Arcane was born you were! I love you so much, more than anything!”
Aerobolt’s fist slammed the floor soundlessly. “Then why did you hide the truth from me, damn it!? I had said that if you truly loved me you would be trusting and trustworthy! You obviously didn’t love me enough to tell me sooner! The question is not whether I hate you, Shade! It’s why do you hate me!?” he wailed.
“P-please! Don’t think that way! I hid the truth to protect you! I knew if I told you, you would be filled with more anguish than you have in your entire life! More than even right now! I never wanted to put you through any of it!” Shade cried, equally upset.
“Protect me!? It kept me from truly knowing who I am! It kept me in the dark to torment me for so long! Not knowing who I was or my purpose in life… Which is worse, Shade…? Pain all at once… or perpetual never ending misery?”
“I-I! Aerobolt! I never knew!” Shade gasped.
Aerobolt was insulted. “Oh sure! Whenever Storm over here feels like he’s the butt end of a situation, you notice right away! You can’t recognize the feelings of your own son!? How could you bear to say you love me!?”
“But I do! I do love you Aerobolt!”
“You liar!” Aerobolt snarled wretchedly, flinging his head up to face Shade. Her eyes were brimming with pained tears. He could feel his own trying to drown his eyes. Yet he refused to let a single drop fall.
Shade sighed. “I’ve made so many mistakes. I’ve made so much trouble for all around me. I am what Storm thinks he is. A screw up. Always doing the wrong things without intention. But the one thing I did right, Aerobolt, was bringing you into this world! All I ask of you, my son, is forgiveness… Forgiveness for everything I did to make you feel this way! Please! Aerobolt!” she sounded so desperate! Could she really mean everything she said!?
“I just! I just don’t know what to do anymore!” Aerobolt cried without intending to make it sound so high-pitched. He can’t forgive her. Not for this. He understands why she did this. She seems to understand how much she hurt him, but forgiveness is something Aerobolt can’t bring to give.
“No one ever does. The path one must follow never reveals itself until the right time. What you must do right now, my son, is trust us to help you open your path,” Shade said quietly.
Aerobolt sniffed as he stood up, legs wobbling. “Alright… I-I did promise myself I’d stay strong no matter what to the very end. I can’t break a promise. Especially one I made to myself. So. I am wondering,” he began shakily. “Wh-who is my father…?”
“S-Salamander…” Shade said, her voice trying to calm.
“Salamander…” Aerobolt laughed ruefully. “What are the odds?”
“I-is that bad?” Shade queried with nervousness flaring up in her voice again.
“What? Oh! No! Not at all! I am glad he at least was-er-is a Guardian. But what about my brother? Don’t tell me we share the same father?” He snarled out the word “brother” like it was a curse.
“Arcane’s father is dead. He told me before he killed himself to never tell anyone he was that monster’s father,” Shade replied.
Aerobolt smiled a little. “Arcane was that bad, huh? …What is Arcane’s real name anyway? I am assuming you know after all,” he wondered.
Shade shook her head regretfully. “I never gave him a name. He was too wretched to deserve one.”
Aerobolt knew that was not true. As soon as he asked, he knew. Yet. It did not faze him for an odd reason. “No Shade. His real name is Aerobolt too, isn’t it?”
Shade looked at him, gasping. “Y-yes. I-I gave that wretch your name,” she said ominously calm.
“No. I was given his name. But don’t worry… I don’t care. All I want is for him to be dead,” Aerobolt said. “So… what happened to him?”
“The only thing I could do. I abandoned him. I did not care if he was my son or not. I knew he’d be a scourge to the Guardians and even Nyethra if he lived any longer. I never thought he’d find us again. When you were born, he tried and succeeded in taking you away from me. He also attempted to steal the Commander of Life, but he, thank Goddess, failed. But he took my greatest possession: you. He went straight to Hydyraen, and despite all the Guardians chasing him on the way there, he evaded us completely. He wanted you to be raised in Hydyraen, so that he may use you against us someday. After that, though, where he went is a mystery to me. If I had to venture a guess he went to Koboldar to form a friendship with the Kobold Bandits there. Six years later, I was told that Arcane had kept you alive, and left you in Hydyraen. So I left Castla nu Craara for Hydyraen. Going back to my birthplace scarred my heart even more. When I did get back there, no one would help me find you. Any information I was given was misleading. As you can tell, I failed for ten years to find you. Then Arcane took over. At that point I had given up hope and requested help from Castla nu Craara to get me out. Without you. I had thought that you had become corrupted being raised into a life like that. I thought you would never become our savior at that point. Two days before my rescue, however…” and she trailed off in a choke. But she found her voice after a few seconds. “Oh Aerobolt! My sweet son! I’ve missed you so much!” She suddenly wrapped her arms around Aerobolt in a hug.
“Shade… It-it’s okay. I’m here now. We are all here now. And I forgive you,” Aerobolt whispered.
“You have no idea how much that means to me, even though I don’t deserve it,” Shade whispered back.
Aerobolt looked past Shade when he saw movement and saw many Guardians standing in a large archway out of Crossroads, staring at them sympathetically. “Shade? Behind you…”
Shade broke the hug and turned around. She flushed instantly. “My fellow Guardians,” she began awkwardly. “How much of that did you hear?” No one answered. They just filed out into the Spire entrances that were dotted throughout the Crossroads. “Mistress Fielra? I am really sorry this happened,” Shade said, thoroughly embarrassed.
Fielra shook her head solemnly. “Don’t worry. I am just glad these family matters are resolved. But I do think you should have told him the truth a long time ago, Shade,” she said.
Aerobolt looked down. “I understand why she did it, but I agree that she should have told me from the start” He looked at Fielra, “These family matters aren’t settled yet. What are we going to do about Arcane?”
Shade nodded. “That’s right. That’s what really matters right now. If he really is on his way here, that does not give us a lot of time to plan anything.”
“For now we must train our Guardian apprentices as much as possible. You, the other Arch Guardians, Aerobolt, and I shall discuss everything tomorrow night. But for right now, I bet you are all exhausted,” Fielra said.
Aerobolt’s body was heavy with it. Shade yawned. “Yes. I shall show Aerobolt up to my quarters, even though…” she trailed off, looking at Fielra expectantly.
“Aerobolt is not your apprentice, but… like I said, you two need catching up…” Fielra said not looking at them.
Shade nodded, satisfied. Shade looked at Storm. “He Storm. This is the first night you are to sleep alone. You have no mentor anymore. How do you feel about this?”
“Oh, I’ll be alright,” he said.
“I trust you will have a nice long, restful and peaceful night?” Fielra asked. When the foxes nodded she continued, “I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Good night,” Fielra turned and walked to a spire entrance that was decorated with green gems around it.
Shade whispered to Aerobolt. “Gnome Spire. Her Dominant Force is Earth. Remember that. Storm? I guess this is good night then?” she added to the cub.
Storm yawned. “Good night Aerobolt, Shade,” he mumbled as he started slowly towards one that was studded in bright yellow crystals.
Shade turned to Aerobolt. “Come. Our quarters are right here.” She indicated the black jewels around the nearest entrance. Aerobolt saw a short corridor with stairs at the end that led up and down, and even a path that went deeper inside. This place was a labyrinth! “Don’t worry about scaling all these stairs; most of them go up or down only a little ways. Using the Force of Earth we can lift these slabs of stone under us to carry us up where we need to go. It is really fun and convenient, don’t you think?”
Aerobolt thought of Storm. “What if your Bane is Earth?” he asked.
“Their rooms are on the ground floor. You really think we’d abuse our Guardians like that?” Shade prompted.
“O-of course not!” Aerobolt exclaimed.
Shade didn’t say a word, but she stood on a very large and heavy looking stone slab inside the Spire. Aerobolt followed her uneasily. “Has anyone fallen off of these things?” he asked fretfully.
“You really are a worrywart. Guardians only fall off if they are screwing around recklessly with these things. You are not that foolish are you?” she asked. Aerobolt shook his head. Shade continued, “Of course you aren’t. Now all you have to do is will the slab to go up. Don’t worry though; this type of stone is remarkably light.”
With their combined powers, Aerobolt was surprised to find out she was right. The stone was so light, that it seemed to want to go skyward bound. Aerobolt watched as many hallways passed by. There were so many of them. Shade was right about the stairs; soon there wasn’t any. The number of hallways decreased too. By the time they were practically at the top of the Spire, Aerobolt was looking into a long dark hallway.
Shade stepped off. “Here. This way…” she took Aerobolt’s paw and let the stone slab fall slowly back to the ground. There were objects on the walls, but it was too dark for Aerobolt to see what they were. He followed Shade through it until they reached a handsome door with a large black gem encrusted in its center. “Here. This is where I live. The other room is usually meant for an apprentice or… or cub, but it is now yours, okay?” Without warning, Shade was intensely melancholic. “I-it has been ten years since I last slept here,” she croaked. “It has been even longer for you though.” She slowly opened the creaking door and let Aerobolt inside. The first thing Aerobolt saw was the large window that overlooked the other six Spires and a large portion of the rest of Castla nu Craara. Behind the grand stronghold, was a would-be gorgeous view of Myunae nu Eira, if it weren’t so dark outside. To Aerobolt’s left, was a large portrait of a younger version of Shade. In her arms there was a tiny bundle of fur. “Is that…?” Aerobolt started quietly.
Shade sighed. “That was painted just two days before Arcane stole you away. You were just the most adorable little thing. Those eyes… those paws! Those tiny little paws… Aerobolt, I’m sorry I was never able to protect you. I’m probably the worst mother…” she said sadly.
“Th-that is not true! You were a wonderful mother! You tried to protect me, and isn’t that all that really matters!? I never knew someone could care so much about me…” Aerobolt said.
“I just made… so many mistakes in my life that… I just felt like I made the worst one yet when Arcane knocked me away.”
“Shade? How do you feel about Storm?” Aerobolt asked, still staring at the portrait.
“Storm?”
“Yeah. And how he blames himself for every mishap that happens around him. How does it make you feel when he does that?” Aerobolt asked quietly.
“It… it sends me back in time to every mistake I made. It reminds me of everything I did wrong,” Shade said shakily.
“Well, let me tell you something. The influence you wield is only limited. Even though you may find yourself the deciding factor in life or death, it is always up to the paws of fate to decide what happens,” Aerobolt said. “Whatever fate decides for you, make the best of it and keep moving forward.”
Shade smiled. “I don’t know if I could ever move forward knowing everything I did wrong. But… One thing I do know is that I will never be happy again until my worst mistake is purged. He has plagued this family long enough,” Shade growled.
“Yeah. Even here, even now, I can still feel his presence weighing me down and keeping me from feeling truly happy,” Aerobolt whispered.
“Someday soon, you will be the one to lift that weight of everyone’s shoulders. We have to plan out everything first. We have a busy day tomorrow, I’m afraid, so we must turn in now. Your room is that one to your right. And don’t worry. Arcane will pay for his very existence. For now, good night, my sons,” Shade said.
Aerobolt had opened the door to the room Shade had indicated. It was a relatively small room with a medium sized bed under a small window, and to his surprise, a crib. His crib. He smiled. “I’m home,” he said to himself. He tucked himself into the bed and instantly felt safe and secure. More than he ever did in his entire life. As he fell asleep he stared at his crimson paw pads in the darkness. He was a Guardian at last. At long last, he was finally where he belonged.
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Wanna start from the beginning? Here is Chapter One! http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11187661/
Here is my series' index! http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5340298/