CH 1 Summary: The defeated Shadow Vulpines trek back home as one of them begins to thirst for revenge on Aerobolt for killing her son as well as Arcane. She needs to become leader of Hydyraen, but...
In Chapter 2, we are introduced to the main protagonist this time, Eira.
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The Guardians of Life: Eternity (Book II)
Chapter Two-
Eira

Eira Farus Tharo woke up to a loud noise. Her eyes flitted open to dawn’s light and sighed. The other older cubs were being rambunctiously loud again. She’d tell them off for the umpeenth time, but she remembered today was the last day she’d sleep in here. Today was the day she becomes an apprentice at last. But she wasn’t excited. She wasn’t even looking forward to it. Eira has an unusual power that few Guardians know about. This strange power falls in neither of the Seven Forces of Life. Many of the other cubs had always ridiculed her for being different. Many other cubs also revered her for her strange power and always followed her. Eira was growing wary of it all in no time at all. Now the entire citadel is going to know her difference.
Eira’s strange power included being able to freeze objects and other foxes in place, generate invisible force fields, and even slow and speed up the movements of other foxes. Eira had figured she was able to manipulate time, but what kind of power is time? It’s not one of the Seven Forces, nor has she ever heard of any creature being able to distort time. What could it mean? Now that it was her inauguration day, she thought maybe today she would get her answers. Maybe.
Eira muttered something about two cubs named Cloud and Iris before sitting up, stretching and yawning. Every morning it seems two particular cubs named Cloud and Iris wake her up. The two siblings are close friends of her brother, Storm, but not her. But it was mostly because their usual morning scuffle wakes her far too early than she’d like. They slept in the dormitory designed for older cubs ages 10 to 14 to help them “learn to live more independently from their parents”. It was the first door to the right in the Commons. Many cubs that turn ten eagerly move here, desperate for their own independence, while others… come in kicking and screaming. Such a mixed bag that Eira could barely understand. She was among the ones who just stayed quiet, showing no preference to either life.
Today, she realized, would be the last time she would wake up in here. Tonight she would sleep in he new mentor’s room, whoever it may be. Although she still hasn’t forgotten when Thor spoke to her before the final battle with Arcane. She remembered him telling her that Aerobolt was to mentor her. Eira had no idea why and she still doesn’t, but she has to admit, having Aerobolt as a mentor will make the other cubs and apprentices so jealous… She shook the thought from her head. No. Today was serious. No time for joking around. As she stood up, the two siblings crashed into the wall opposite of hers that made her gasp. She thought they were going to break through the wall. She thought briefly and said to herself. “If this is my last day here, then I may as well give them one piece of my mind!” she growled.
She strutted out of the room, slightly clumsy from residual exhaustion, and marched towards where Cloud and Iris were sleeping. Newborn sunlight was streaming into the dormitory. The light was too young. Too young for Eira. She wanted it to be older. But thanks to Cloud and Iris…
She knocked on their door loudly and yelled, “Oy! You two! Would cut out your ridiculous racket and let the other cubs sleep for a change!? Jeez, Iridescence! I would think she’d do something about you two by now!”
Silence followed her voice. She could tell Cloud and Iris had stopped whatever they were doing in there, but did not say any word otherwise to acknowledge that they knew Eira was there.
Eira, feeling satisfied, left the dormitory into the commons, and met face to face with a tall yellow vulpine, waiting just outside in the Commons. She yelped.
“I was wondering when you going to set those two straight. Judging by what your brother has told me, they sound like quite a hassle,” Thor said. “I must commend you for your patience, Miss Eira.” He smiled at her.
“I-Iridescence you scared me! I didn’t think you’d be right there!” Eira exclaimed first. Then she shook her head. “I honestly don’t know why it took me so long either. And I also wonder why the other cubs didn’t say anything themselves before.”
“Perhaps they were the same way?” Thor suggested humorously.
“Oh Goddess, no!” Eira’s eyes widened at the possibility. “I am glad not! Otherwise, I‘d totally be an insomniac by now!”
Thor chuckled. “Yes, well. They are cubs after all. You can’t be young forever I’m afraid. All I can say is, enjoy it while you can,” he leaned down to whisper in Eira’s ear. “Because, being an old coot like me is not fun.” Eira giggled.
“You are not an old coot,” she said, laughing.
“But I am still old, no?” Thor said.
“You are not that old. Old would probably be someone like Shade,” Eira added with a smile.
“Oh yeah, she’s ancient!” Thor whispered to her in a humorous agreement. Eira laughed harder. Thor laughed along with her. “But in all seriousness. You don’t think I am that old, do you?” he asked.
“Of course not. I still see a cub in you even though I never knew you as one. You are as young as your heart feels you are. That’s what I think,” Eira said kindly.
Thor chuckled again. “Ah how Cesia and Farus must be proud to have the two smartest cubs this citadel has seen in years,” he praised.
Eira blushed a little, “Oh stop it. I am not that smart, am I?” she said.
“Of course you are, Miss Eira. You will make a truly fantastic Guardian. Especially with that special power of yours,” he added.
“I just want to know what it truly is, and how to really use it,” Eira said, looking at her handpaws. “I never wanted to be special. I want to be normal.”
Thor sighed. “A lot of “normal” cubs want to be special. A lot of “special” cubs want to be normal. I’m afraid life is never going to work in your favor, and thus you must deal with it,” he said, suddenly melancholic.
Eira shook her head. “A-as long as it doesn’t…” she trailed off, not entirely certain what to say.
“It doesn’t… what…?” Thor pressed.
“As long as it doesn’t draw too much attention. I mean, not too many Guardians know I am that different. I made them swear not to tell anyone else. What will happen once everyone knows. I hope they will still continue to treat me normally, even with this power, even with Aerobolt as my mentor,” Eira explained. For the most part, what she said was true. What she left out was the desire to let this power be overall insignificant, to never be truly needed or responsible for anything, so she’d never have to use it.
“Aerobolt… I wonder if he’s gotten better yet,” Thor spoke thoughtfully. “That battle really took a toll on him. I heard he nearly died. He is a truly strong and gifted reynard,” he added with admiration in his voice. “He’s accepted who he is. Why won’t you accept who you are, Eira?” he asked uncertainly.
Eira shook her head. “Well for starters, I do not know who I really am yet,” she started. She wanted to go on, but faltered. She had already spoken her mind on that matter, why say it again?
Thor thought for a moment. “I see. Well maybe under the tutelage of the great Aerobolt, you will know soon enough. Shall we go visit him?”
Eira nodded. “Sure. Why not?”
Aerobolt Nova Arrabalta was still in the Medical Wing, as Thor had said. Aerobolt was a complex vulpine to say the least. Aerobolt was a Shadow Vulpine first born here in Castla nu Craara, but was stolen away by Arcane at the age of just one week. Arcane carried him halfway across Nyethra to Hydyraen, Hellgates, to train as a Shadow Vulpine would, under corruption, hatred, and revenge. Arcane’s plan backfired when Aerobolt’s pure heart failed to be forced into corruption, and realizing that, he took matters into his own paws. When Skymae, his predecessor, died, Arcane took over Hydyraen easily, and tried to infiltrate Aerobolt’s mind that way. It spiraled even more out of control for the tyrant when Aerobolt met up with his mother, Shade, who had come to rescue him, and planned an escape. Arcane finally realized his plane had completely failed, and let him go. Willingly. He wanted Aerobolt, Shade, and the Guardians all to be in one place for him to launch one last attack on them. For revenge. He wanted revenge on them for denying his beliefs, his values, and his presence. They all praised Aerobolt for being this wonderful savior that would save them all. Arcane felt that he should have been that savior, and jealousy, hatred, and thirst for revenge drove him to borderline torture his family via separation. Arcane had destroyed Justice, for he thought he was victimized. He thought that Justice was only a concept that never truly existed. He tried to enforce that belief by attempting to drown Nyethra in iniquitous ruin. Of course, he failed, when Aerobolt revived Justice by combining the light of the Iridescent Waters with his own power, Arrabalta nu Craara, and used it to purge him once and for all. The power Aerobolt had summoned, however, had taken a harsh toll on him, and now he was still recovering in the Medical Wing. It has been a week since he managed to win that battle; surely he’d be okay by now?
She and Thor crossed Commons towards where the Medical Wing was located, in the middle of the left side of it. Hard to miss; it was the second biggest station in the Commons, next to the dining hall. In the semi-early morning hours, there were not a terribly large number of Guardians out and about. And many that were, were likely in the dining hall getting breakfast. It was a chilly yet crisp and refreshing morning, like it had just rained the previous night. The scent of autumn in the mountains was in the air. Soon the weather would turn even worse, Eira realized. Like many Guardians, she prayed this coming winter wouldn’t be disastrous.
“Who’s there?” said the Guardian guarding the Medical Wing. It was a relatively scrawny reynard with relatively messy fur.
“Thor Cerus Xerro. And Eira Farus Tharo,” Thor said evenly. They had to guard the Medical Wing all the time. Mostly because dactylons, large predatory bird like creatures, liked to swoop from above and prey on the ill and injured.
The scrawny reynard didn’t hesitate. “Oh! Master Thor! I should have recognized you! Please, go right ahead!” he moved out of their way. Thor nodded to him and Eira looked at his skinny physique and wondered if he was eating enough.
The Medical Wing was crowded. It appears many of the Guardians injured in the fight against Arcane’s army were still injured. This made Eira both glad and guilty. Glad because not nearly as many Guardians will attend her inauguration, but guilty because she was glad many Guardians were too hurt to move.
It didn’t take long for them to spot Aerobolt’s bed. His was the one with the most gifts and tributes placed next to. He was sitting up, reading what looked like a history book on the Guardians. He looked up when he saw Eira and Thor approaching him.
“Greetings, Thor. Eira,” he said kindly.
“Greetings, Master Aerobolt. How are you this fine morning?” Thor asked, bowing.
Aerobolt paused when Thor bowed, but eventually responded. “I am doing fine this morning. Fielra said I should be fit to go, just in time for Eira’s inauguration.”
“Really? Well that is swell news, indeed,” Thor said happily. “Isn’t it, Miss Eira?”
Eira nodded. She had only one thing on her mind at this point. “Are you going to be my mentor, Aerooblt?” she asked rather stiffly. Part of her didn’t want to get the question out.
Aerobolt’s face flooded with uncertainty. “I do not know. I heard Thor talking to you about it two nights before Arcane came, but I was not sure what to think. I am still not sure what to think,” he said uncomfortably.
Thor butted in. “I want you to be Eira’s apprentice. I want to see if someone as great and powerful as you can awaken and reveal what Eira’s true power is,” he said stubbornly.
Aerobolt looked at Eira. “I remember you saying she had this strange power that no one really knew about, but never elaborated on it…” he started slowly.
Eira was nervous. What if he thought she was a freak or something when she told him? What if he refused to help her just because of whom she was? And why did she want his help anyway, she suddenly realized what she was thinking and cleared her head. Taking a deep breath, Eira explained what she was capable of doing. There was silence that followed her last word. Aerobolt stared back at Eira with an unreadable expression. Or was that expression confusion? Eira couldn’t tell as she waited for Aerobolt to christen her a freak of nature.
But he didn’t. He finally sighed and said. “I don’t know what this means either, but believe me when I say that if I do become your mentor, I swear I will do what I can to help you discover what this strange power means,” he said quietly.
Eira felt relieved. He didn’t think she was a freak like all the other cubs did. One saving grace of waking up that early was that she was able to escape their scornful jeers. That much she had to thank Cloud and Iris for. Suddenly, she felt the urge to find them, and apologize. She wanted to thank him, but the wrong words came out, “I just want to be normal,” she mumbled.
“Hey,” Aerobolt said. “Normality is a concept. It does not truly exist. I hate to say it, but I feel just like Arcane with Justice on this one. No one can be truly normal. It is not possible,” he said.
“A-Aerobolt,” Eira said, unable to say a word.
Aerobolt sat up and faced her eye to eye. “Come now, Eira. Don’t you think that this power is a gift to you from Iridescence? Don’t you think Iridescence thinks highly of you right now up there?” he said.
Eira was stuttering. “I-I… I don’t want to be thought of highly like that. I want to be praised for my hard work, not my stupid powers,” she said, more confident at the end.
“And you will be, trust me,” Aerobolt said. “My hard work was getting rid of Arcane. Surviving his terror for so long. And now your hard work now, Eira, is learning how to control your powers and use them for the sake of Guardianship.”
Eira did not respond. She just looked down at her paws wondering how different life would be if she was normal. She felt a handpaw touch her shoulder. She looked over and saw Aerobolt smiling at her.
“Don’t worry. It will all be okay. One day you will grow to like this power. You just have to trust us. But before you can do that. You must trust yourself.” Aerobolt patted her shoulder. “It’s just about time for your inauguration. Shall we be off?”
Eira stared at him for a moment. She wasn’t sure what to say to the Savior. She just nodded slowly and let herself be lead out of the Medical Wing by Aerobolt’s and Thor’s arms.
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Wanna start from the beginning? Here is chapter one! https://www.furaffinity.net/view/12848456/
Missed the first book? http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11187661/
Here is my series' index! http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5340298/