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Part 15

After finishing breakfast Shadow and I go our separate ways for a while. He goes to track down some members of his former pack that he feels can be, at the very least, trusted with keeping our fragile peace we currently have and to try and find out if anyone has seen his sword which has been missing since the fight. I make my way through the house and head for the library, the only room right now that isn't serving as a bedroom or infirmary. Rosalie probably kept it off limits because of all the fragile books I have stored there.

I move around the library looking at the books lining the walls but not really seeing them as images of the past two days flow through my mind. Training my pack in front of the house, Aaron appearing at the door injured, nearly dying at the hands of Harandoom, watching Shadow take the blow that was meant for me, saving Shadow's life by making him a fire guardian. So much has happened in such a short amount of time that it is pushing even my ability to cope. I don't know how all the others have managed to keep going as strong as they have.

Eventually I find myself looking out a window that is behind a desk I use when I am preparing magic lessons for Shadow and Luna. Looking out over the yard I see where Harandoom and his circle of followers have been imprisoned in a makeshift paddock where they are tied to trees. Surrounding them are wolves and villagers who are not injured and able to perform guard duty.

I look closer at the prisoners and notice that some still seem to be struggling against their bonds while others seem to have accepted their fate, then my eyes fall on Harandoom. He is tied to a rather large tree and his broken limbs have been placed in splints. His injuries though are not what catch my eye, it is the way he is holding himself. He is limp in his bindings letting the ropes and tree hold his weight.

Yesterday when I fought him he gave off an aura of power, strength, vitality, and he radiated evil. Today though all that seems to have changed. Now all the strength and power seems to have been taken from him, something within him has broken. He is still an imposing wolf, but it looks as though he has died on the inside and is simply waiting for his body to stop working. I would be very surprised if he would be able to harm anyone in his current state. But that is not a chance I am willing to take after what he has done so he will be staying where he is till we have a trial to determine his fate.

Turning my back to the window I sit down at the desk and pull out a pen and paper and begin writing down a list of things that need to be done around the house and in the village to get everything back to something resembling normal. Before long the list has filled the page prompting me to put the pen down and rub my temples at the daunting tasks ahead of all of us to get things back in order. I won't know for sure how long it will take to get the village back to normal until we go back to see how much damage was done.

While sitting there rubbing my temples with my eyes closed a soft knocking comes from the door to the library. With a sigh I lower my hands and open my eyes before speaking up, "Come on in, the doors open." The door opens a few inches and Aaron sticks his head in. "Seeker, there you are. Can I come in?" I smile at him and wave at a nearby chair, "Of course Aaron, take a seat. You're always welcome here."

Aaron walks into the library and makes his way to a chair near the desk. I look him over as he approaches and I am happy to see that most of the scratches he got from his run through the forest have nearly healed leaving just the one on his arm that is still bandaged. He sits down and starts twisting his hands in his lap but sits in silence. I wait for him to start talking but when he doesn't I decided to start the conversation.

"Aaron, is there something on your mind?" I asked. He keeps staring at his hands as he twists them before finally speaking barely above a whisper, "Well, Seeker, I was wondering... if you're not busy that is... would you mind... uhm... teaching me to fight?" His request catches me a bit by surprise causing me to widen my eyes and lean back in my chair and study him a bit more.

"You want me to teach you how to fight?" He nods, keeping his eyes focused on his hands. "I see." I take a deep breath and let it out slowly before asking, "What, may I ask, has brought on this desire?" He swallows and looks up at me for the first time since sitting down. "Well after what happened yesterday I just felt helpless not being able to do something more to help out. I don't want to feel like that again. I want to be able to hold my own if something like that happens again."

I scratch my chin as I study my young ward in a new light. "Aaron, you did the most important job anyone in my pack or in the village did yesterday. You were able to get to us in time so that we were able to get help to the village in time. Many in the village owe their lives to you even though they do not know it yet." He swallows hard and remains silent. "But if you want to learn to fight I suppose we can talk it over with Rosalie and if she agrees you can start training here a few days a week."

A wide grin breaks out over his face as excitement begins to bubble to the surface. Before he can get to excited I hold up a hand, "But there will be conditions. You will have to do everything you are told to do. I won't be your only teacher, in fact most of your lessons will be taught to you by one of the others in my pack until you get the basics down." His grin falters a bit but remains. "That's not because I don't want to teach you, but because they need the experience teaching to hone their own skills. Once you have learned the basics then I will take a more active role in your training."

He nods enthusiastically and begins to rise. "But you will still need to continue going to school, and in addition to what you learn there you will also be spending at least one hour of each of your visits here in the library learning about various topics from me to give you a more advanced education." This latest statement serves to dampen his mood a bit and makes him stop to think about what he is wanting.

After a few minutes he asks, "So in order to learn to fight I will have to keep doing good in school and have more studies with you as well." I nod, "That's right. I won't be training just your body to fight but your mind as well. The best weapon a person can ever have is a strong mind, and everyone who trains with me has a strong mind."

He sits up straighter in his chair and gets a determined look on his face, "I will make you proud of me Seeker. I will do everything you ask and more." I give him a small grin, "That's the attitude Aaron. Keep that up and you will do great. First though I think you should go and make sure that Rosalie is ok with you training here." His grin breaks into a smile as he gets up and heads for the door.

As soon as he out of the door and out of ear shot I speak out loud to myself and the empty room, "You are already turning into a fine young man. If you keep on this path you will make me one proud wolf indeed." I turn back to the list on my desk and continue with making plans on what to do to get the villagers back in their homes as soon as possible.

Not two minutes pass before there is another knock on the door and Shadows head pokes in the door. "There you are love. I've been looking all over for you." I look up and smile at my mate as he walks in. "Love, what have you been up to?" He shrugs as he walks over to a chair by the desk. He has a disappointed look to him as he speaks, "Been trying to track down my sword, see if anyone might have picked it up yesterday after the fight. But I haven't had any luck."

I look at him with some sorrow at his loss as I speak, "I know the sword meant a lot to you love, and we will do everything we can to make sure you get it back." He looks up and smiles softly at me as I continue, "But at the risk of sounding a bit selfish, if losing that sword is all that it will cost us to stay together, then I will gladly buy a thousand more just like it." He lets out a soft laugh, "You don't have to buy a single one, I won't leave you for anything." He leans forward over the desk and plants a soft kiss on my lips.

A that moment there is another knock on the door and a grey and white wolf that I haven't met yet sticks his head in the door. "I was looking for Alpha Seeker and Shadow?" Shadow and I separate from our kiss and stand up as I speak up, "You found us. Can I help you?" He steps in the door so we can take in his full form.

He stands at six foot two inches tall and is around twenty-eight years old. He is wearing a tattered vest with equally warn pants and has a bundle of cloth under his arm. Overall not a bad looking wolf if it wasn't for the collection of scars on his chest, arms, and face. None of the scars are really disfiguring nor were they caused by life threatening injuries. They do however tell of many fights over the years. I can't help but wonder at just how many of them came at the hands of Harandoom's circle of cronies.

I stand up and move around the desk to greet the new wolf as Shadow speaks up with a smile spreading across his face, "Wolfie Steel you old hound, how are you doing?" The wolf's face breaks into a wide grin, "Shadow, it's good to see you." Shadow crosses the room in an instant and takes Wolfie in a friendly hug. After a moment I clear my throat with a soft cough causing them both to turn and look at me. "Care to introduce your friend Shadow?"

Shadow grins as he guides Wolfie across the room, "Seeker, this is Wolfie Steel. Wolfie this is Seeker, my mate. Wolfie here is an old friend of mine from my old pack." I extend a paw to him which he grasps firmly in a shake. For a split second while we shake I see a very faint white aura around him that fades quickly. That makes the third time that I have seen an aura around someone and it is beginning to concern me a bit, but I just push my concern to the back of my mind till later.

"Welcome Wolfie, any friend of Shadow is a friend of mine." He lets go of my paw and we all settle down in some nearby chairs. Wolfie sets the bundle he is carrying down on the floor beside his chair as he starts talking, "Thank you for the welcome Alpha Seeker, I'm only sorry it was under such... trying circumstances." I nod at his apology, "It's not your fault that we were put in this position. You can just call me Seeker while we are in here. I'm not fond of being called Alpha in private company."

Wolfie visibly relaxes at that, "Thank you Seeker, I'm not all that used to being around an Alpha as approachable as you are. Course with someone like Harandoom as your Alpha you tend to do your best to stay out of his way." I let out a sigh as I think back on how Shadow was when he first arrived here. "I can't even imagine what you and your pack must have gone through under his tyranny. Shadow has told me a few stories, but judging from the scars you have collected I can't help but think that it was only a small bit of what went on."

He rubs at a particularly fierce looking scar on his left arm while Shadow looks down at his hands. "It was a dark time for us indeed, but thanks to you we are able to finally see a glimmer of sunshine in our future. If not for you defeating him yesterday, I don't know if many of our pack would have seen the end of the summer, myself included." Wolfie turns and addresses Shadow, "Since you left he only got worse, the first month after you were gone he killed four wolves, two were from his inner circle. It only got worse from there and none of us knew why."

Shadow pales a little under his fur, "I had no idea, if I had known that he would go crazy like that I would have let him kill me if it would have saved the pack suffering." I reach for Shadows hand just as Wolfie holds up one of his, "Sacrificing yourself would have done nothing Shadow. He really thought you were dead until he ordered this attack. He just went even crazier than he already was."

We all sit in silence for a moment I think about what kind of damage Harandoom would have done to the world had he not been stopped and I can only guess that Wolfie and Shadow were both thinking about past atrocities committed by the monster. Eventually Wolfie forces a smile on his face as he speaks, "But I wasn't seeking you out to bring up old memories Seeker. Instead I wanted to ask some questions if I may."

I lean back in my chair and put on my own smile. "Of course, ask any questions you want and I will try to answer as best I can." Wolfie lets out a sigh and leans back in his chair as he thinks about his first question. "Well first off I guess I need to know what you plan to do with those of us who were only involved in the attack because we were forced to be. Will our fates be the same as Harandoom and his circle, or will you find another punishment for us?"

I can't help but find myself liking this wolf, so far he has been honest, gets straight to the point, and cares about the other wolves in his pack before himself. All in all he seems to have the potential to become a good Alpha one day.

I take a moment to consider my options and to weigh my words before giving him my answer, "Personally I won't be seeking to punish you or any of your pack that did not injure or kill a villager. Those that did will of course have to be tried by a tribunal and their punishment will be decided then. Ultimately however, the fates of any found guilty will be up to the villagers themselves as they were the ones most harmed by the attack. My pack escaped with relatively minor injuries, with the exception of Shadow and myself of course."

Wolfie nods slowly, "That is only fair and more than I hoped for to be honest. I half expected you to call for the heads of everyone involved." I let out a sigh, "Some still may, but I give you my word I will do my best to make sure that doesn't happen. As long as you make it clear though that you only fought out of fear for your own lives and the lives of your families I'm sure most of the villagers will be at least a little understanding."

Next Shadow speaks up, "What is going to be done with my father and his followers though? We can't just keep them tied to trees for the rest of their lives." I get up and pace to the window and look down at where the said wolves are currently confined. The ones who were struggling with their bonds earlier have finally given into their confinement. Harandoom doesn't seem to have even moved even an inch, he is still just as slumped and defeated as before.

"Honestly Shadow, I don't believe your father will live to see the end of the week. Either he will be tried and executed or he will just die from no longer having the will to live. That or he is just putting on one hell of a good show till he thinks he can escape." I move back to my chair and sit down. "As for the others, they will all stand trial and will be punished accordingly. I am not a fan of executing people, but if there is one thing that being alive for so long has taught me it's that people like that almost never change their ways."

Shadow lowers his gaze, "I see. I never really felt love for him as a son should for his father, but he is still my father. I guess on some level I always held out hope that maybe one day he would change." I put a paw on his shoulder and give it a gentle squeeze, "I can't imagine what having him for a father was like, but I do know what it is like to lose one. It never gets easy and the hole will never be filled again. I am sorry you have to live with that love."

He puts a paw on mine and holds it, "I think that in my heart the hole has been there for a very long time. I just never wanted to face it, or needed to." Another moment of silence stretches between the three of us.

Wolfie speaks up again, "Well that answered my next question about what was going to happen to them." He nods towards the window. "I guess my next question would be about the future of what's left of our pack. After you defeated Harandoom yesterday you said that any of us who wanted to stay here with your pack would be welcome. I just want to make sure that that offer is still valid."

I nod, "Yes Wolfie, that offer is still valid. Were you looking to take me up on it?" He shakes his head with a smile, "No, I wasn't. But I just wanted to make sure that I could tell the others that it was in case they wanted to join you. Now I just have one last question for now." I relax in my seat, "What would that be?"

He swallows before continuing, "Well our home land is a long way from here, we were forced to march nonstop for over a week before the attack. I was wondering if it would be possible for what is left of our pack to reform our selves and build a new home near here. Maybe even on the other side of the valley. We would be willing to help your pack protect this place and rebuild the village to gain their trust."

His request catches me a bit off guard. It takes me a moment to form a response, "Well you would have to talk with the villagers first of course. Then there would be the small matter of finding you a place to build a home. Of course the added help in protecting the village and valley would be well received. But why wouldn't you want to go back to your home?"

At my question Wolfie looks down at the floor and I notice a single tear run from his eye. "It's because we don't have a home to go back to. The painful memories alone would make going back hard enough, but as we were leaving Harandoom had his circle set fire to our homes and burned everything that we weren't carrying to the ground. He said we were going to make this place as our new home." He lets out a soft humorless chuckle, "Looks like he may have been right about that after all, though not in the way he thought."

I am stunned by what he has just said. As I look over at Shadow I see the same stunned look on his face that I am sure is on mine. For him it must be a lot worse, he just learned that his childhood home has been erased from the world for ever. That is one pain that I can truly share with him, at least he still has childhood friends though. Perhaps having some of those friends nearby would be a good thing for him, let him reconnect to his past. Looking at this from the point of view as the valleys protector having some extra wolves around would help a lot. Especially if there are more individuals like Harandoom out there just biding their time.

Eventually I find my voice again, "Wolfie, I am terribly sorry about your loss and the loss of the rest of your pack, I know all too well the pain of losing your home. If the village agrees to let you stay you are more than welcome to stay here with us until you get a place of your own built."

Both Shadow and Wolfie look at me with smiles in their eyes. "Of course you do realize that it will likely be years at least before you gain the trust of the villagers. Even my own pack is going to have to regain the trust we have fought long and hard to build. I know that what you did was not by choice, but the villagers will only remember seeing wolves burning down their homes and killing their friends and neighbors. Even if the only ones that caused that to happen are currently tied up outside and will be facing trial soon."

Wolfie's face breaks into a grin, "Thank you so much Seeker. That will mean a lot to the rest of my pack. Now all we need to do is figure out who is going to be our new Alpha, and get back on our feet. I promise that we will repay you for the kindness you have shown us." I return his smile, "Well like I said, it's going to be a hard road for you. But I think the Alpha situation will sort itself out sooner than you may think." He and Shadow both get a confused look on their faces.

When I remain silent I can see the wheels turning in Shadows mind. Then as though someone turned on a light bulb understanding washes over his face and wide smile spreads across his muzzle as he asks me, "Do you really think he would be a good Alpha?" I Shrug, "Well he already cares a great deal about the others and is only wanting what is best for them." Shadow thinks for a moment then asks, "Are you sure he's ready?" I let out a sigh, "When I first became an Alpha I had no idea what I was doing and that was after centuries in this world. You never know when you are ready until you find yourself in that position."

During our exchange Wolfie is looking back forth between Shadow and I with confusion on his face. "Who are you two talking about....." Now it is his turn to have a moment of understanding. "Oh no, you can't be talking about me. Surely there are others who would do better than me." I look at Wolfie, "I think you would do great as an Alpha. First you are actively trying to make sure that your pack will have the best possible future. Second you are putting their welfare ahead of your own. Third you came to me to make sure that would happen. Fourth you are not actively seeking the role, the great leaders never do, and last you just referred to them as 'my pack'. Plus Alpha Steel has a nice ring to it don't you think?"

He slumps back in his chair with a bit of a stunned look on his face, "I never thought... I mean who would have..." He looks up at me, "Do you think they would want me as their Alpha?" I shrug, "I can't speak for your pack, but if you keep on the path your on now I wouldn't be surprised if they already see you as their new Alpha and are just waiting for the nudge to make it official."

Wolfie just sits there as his mind processes what Shadow and I both realize. He is the new Alpha of his pack even if it's not official yet. I can't help but wonder what kind of a leader he will become, what greatness he will lead his pack to in the future. Of one thing I am absolutely certain, he will make a great leader and Alpha. All he needs is that nudge in the right direction, that nudge that I am more than happily giving him now. That's when something clicks in my own mind and I understand the reason for the auras I have been seeing today.

Before I can follow that thought to far though Wolfie speaks up and pushes it to the side. "Well I have to admit, that is not something I expected to hear when I came in here today. All I wanted was to ask a couple questions and see about getting us a place to live. I never thought I would be considered Alpha material." Grinning I reply, "Those of us who find ourselves placed in a position of leadership against our wishes never do." I look over at Shadow as I continue, "But I can assure you that being the top wolf comes with a lot of benefits, but also a lot of responsibility."

He lets out a humorless snort, "You're telling me, I don't think there is anyone left in our pack that remembers what life was like under any Alpha other than Harandoom." He looks up at me with a tiny hint of fear and panic in his eyes. "I don't even know the first thing about being an Alpha. What if I mess up?" I just smile, "I will give you one piece of advice that was given to me a long time ago. Always be honest with your pack, always be fair with your pack, and above all else always be there for your pack when they need you. If you do that your pack will always be there for you."

The fear and panic in his eyes fades as my words sink in. Eventually he nods a little and says, "I can do that. I can be honest and fair." He looks up at me and locks eyes with me, "Is that all that I really need to do?" I shrug, "There are other things you will need to do obviously and no job is ever that simple. But I have found that if you follow those three basic guidelines you will do great." He nods softly, "I think I can handle that. I just have one favor to ask of you Seeker. If they do agree to make me Alpha, can I ask you for more advice?"

I can't help but laugh a little, "Of course you can Wolfie, I am always around here somewhere. But keep in mind that I won't let you use me as a crutch, there will come a time when there will be a problem that I won't be able to help you with that you will need to do on your own. Though I know you will do great as a leader and will do fine when that day comes."

He rubs the back of his neck as he lets out a sigh, "Well as long as that day doesn't come too soon." He gets up to leave, "Well you answered all the questions I have for now Seeker so I won't take up any more of your time. Thanks again for everything, and for the advice. I have a lot to think about now." He turns and heads for the door but I stop him before he gets too far, "Wolfie, aren't you forgetting something?"

He stops and looks at me a little confused, "I don't think so, why?" I point to the bundle of cloth he left laying beside his chair. In two steps he is back to the chair picking it up, "Oh right." He turns to Shadow, "This is why I was looking for you earlier. I picked this up after Seeker carried you from the fight yesterday, but I wasn't able to return it till now." He unwraps the cloth to reveal Shadow's missing sword, it is dirty, blood stained, and broken just above the hilt. "I am sorry that it was broken, it was a fine sword. I think it happened when you stepped in front of Harandoom to save Seekers life."

When Shadow sees that it broken disappointment just flows from his body as he carefully picks up the hilt and looks at the broken blade. We both just stand there staring at the broken blade that served my mate and possibly even saved his life long enough for me to find the power to heal him. He swallows hard and I see a tear fall from his eye as he looks at Wolfie, "Thank you for returning it to me. I can't thank you enough."

Wolfie sets the cloth and the remaining half of the sword down in a chair before speaking, "I'm sorry I wasn't able to get it fixed for you, maybe a master smith could do something for it." He stands there a bit awkwardly for a moment then turns for the door, "Well I need to go check on my pack and make sure they are all doing ok." With that he steps out of the library and closes the door behind him.

After Wolfie leaves Shadow and I just stand there looking down at the broken sword. I put an arm around his shoulders and pull him close and say, "I know how much you loved that sword love, and we can see if a smith can fix it. But I'm afraid that you won't be able to use it in a battle again. It's never going to be as strong as it once was." He nods, "I know, but it's the sword you gave me, the first thing you gave me. That's what made it special to me."

I lift his chin so he can look at me, "That sword wasn't the first thing I gave you. The first thing I gave you was my heart and my love." With that I give him a soft kiss on the lips that last for a few wonderful moments. When we separate he has a smile back on his face, "Well technically the first thing you gave me was lunch after my summoning attacked you."

He sets the hilt down on the chair next to the blade and sighs, "Looks like I'm going to need a new sword now though." I look at him with a raised eyebrow, "Have you forgotten what I told you about being a guardian already?" He tilts his head to the side in a confused look causing me to chuckle and shake my head. I grab his right hand and lift his right hand so that his wrist is facing him and I point at his new red sword tattoo.

His eyes light up when he realizes what I am telling him. "You mean I can summon a sword now? Like you do with your trident?" I nod, "Yes you can. Only you will summon it with fire instead of water." He looks at his tattoo for a moment then asks, "So how do I summon it?" That is a question I haven't been looking forward to all that much. "Uh... I'm not sure."

The look of disappointment on Shadows face makes me feel only a few inches tall. There is a chance to give him something to make his day, in this case a new sword, and I can't even tell him how to get it when it is literally in the palm of his hand. He looks down at his tattoo again and lowers his hand as he asks, "Well how do you summon your trident? Maybe that will give us an idea on where to start on summoning my sword."

I sigh and cross my arms, "Well now it is just second nature for me to summon it. But when I first became a guardian I remember that I had to focus on a certain emotion before summoning it. In my case, as is the case with most water guardians, I had to focus on a cool and calming emotion or experience. Perhaps something like that will work for you."

He lets out a grunt of annoyance, "Yeah, being cool and calm has never been all that easy for me. When I first found out I had magical abilities I nearly lit my room on fire." When he says that something clicks in my mind and I start pacing a little. "What if for you it's not a cool and calm emotion. After all what do you think of when you think of cool and calming?" He lets a small laugh, "That's easy, water."

I stop my pacing and look at Shadow, "Exactly, water. And with water being my natural element it only makes since that a cool and calm emotion would be my trigger. But your element isn't water is it, its fire. So maybe your trigger is something hot and fiery." I think for a moment then ask, "When you almost set your room on fire do you remember what you were thinking?"

He lowers his head a bit as he thinks back to his child hood, "I think that I was angry over something. Yeah, I was angry over one of my dad's goons attacking and beating one of our pack members for no reason at all. I was angry at the injustice of it and not being able to fight back. He just hit the poor wolf over and over again. Then when he was begging for his life on his knee the asshole kicked him in the head so hard it knocked him out. I was so far past angry at not being able to help that I lost it and fire just erupted from my hands."

While Shadow is telling his story I notice that his tattoo has begun to glow a bright red as his anger has begun to rise. It would seem that the trigger for his sword would be the same for his fire magic. Now to just get him to focus that into summoning his sword, "That's good, now I want you to focus that anger you are tapping into now and direct the energy to your hand." He looks down at his hand and before long a small flame has appeared in his hand.

"That's good. Now see it forming into a sword in your mind." He scrunches his face up as he tries forcing the flame to bend to his will but nothing happens. He eventually drops his hand and lets out a grunt of disgust extinguishing the flame, "This is hopeless. You make it sound so easy, but I can barely keep the flame from going out when I'm focusing that hard on it. How can I hope to summon my sword when I can't keep the flame lit long enough to make it a sword?"

I step in front of him, put my paws on his shoulder, and look him in the eyes. "You will get it. It's only hopeless if you give up. Now summon that flame exactly the same way as before and keep focusing." He lets out an irritated huff and goes back to focusing on creating a flame in his right hand. Once he has succeeded and is blocking out everything around him I step back a few feet and summon my trident behind my back, blocking most of it from his view.

"Keeping your focus is key to summoning your weapon. But you can't be so focused on it that you make your vulnerable to an... ATTACK!" With that I swing my trident up over my head and bring it down towards Shadow. I make sure to keep my attack slow enough so that I can move at the last second to avoid hitting him but fast enough to make him see it as a real threat and react accordingly. My tactic works perfectly.

In the split second that he looks up from his flame to my falling trident he stops focusing consciously on creating a weapon and instead reacts on instinct and reflex. He brings his arm in a defensive posture as though he is holding a sword and in that instant what I had hoped would happen happens. The flame in his hand erupts into a column of fire almost four feet long. Before my trident reaches it the flame solidifies into a silver blade with the etching of a flame running up its length. The hilt is made from the purest of gold with intricate carvings of fire along it. The handle is bound in the finest of silver thread while in the pommel is a perfectly round ruby held in place with three gold wires.

When my trident slams into the blade the clearest ring echoes around the room and Shadow is left there staring at his new sword in his hand. I lower my trident and look at my mate holding his sword in awe. At that moment another image comes to my mind. A memory of a dream where a figure clouded in smoke is mortally wounded in the chest only to rise up stronger than ever before as a guardian. I realize at that moment that the figure in the dream I had weeks before when Shadow and I were dozing in the forest, was in fact Shadow becoming the Guardian he is now.

Shadow holds his sword up in front of his face as he studies it in amazement, "It's so beautiful. It feels so natural in my hand, like it was always meant to be there." Then he lowers his sword and a slightly more pissed off look appears on his face as he turns his gaze on me. "YOU ATTACKED ME! WHY DID ATTACK ME?!"

I hold up my hands dissolving my trident in the process, "It's an old training trick that was to help teach new guardians to summon their weapon. You had to have a reason to summon it, not just the emotion. When you went from focusing on nothing but trying to summon the sword to just moving on instinct, it allowed your sword to come out for the first time." The anger in his eyes drains away as I explain what I did.

"So it was just a trick to get me to release my sword?" I nod. He lifts his sword back up and looks at it then back at me, "So you were never going to actually hit me?" I shake my head, "I would never hurt you love, but you had to react to the danger as though it was real. That's why I surprised you the way I did. It worked didn't it." He looks back at his sword and wide smile spreads across his face. "Yes it did. Does this mean I can summon it all the time now?" I think for a moment before answering, "Yes and no. You won't be able to summon it as easily as I can right away, that will only come with time and practice. But you will never go unarmed in a fight ever again."

He runs his left hand over the blade feeling it under his fingers. "It feels so perfect." I step up beside him as I admire the blade as well, "That's because it is, you won't find a shaper blade anywhere in the world. It will never break, never chip, and you can never lose it. If it gets knocked from your hand against your will it will just burst into flames and you can summon it again."

He spins the blade in his hand testing its balance. "So how do I put it away?" I just chuckle, "That's easy, just let go of it." He looks at me a bit skeptical then looks back at his sword and lets it fall from his hand. As soon as it leaves his grasp it bursts into a tongue of flame and vanishes in the air. His eyes go wide when it does, "That's just cool." I can't help but agree. It is very cool that there is a new guardian in the world, and I will never be alone again.