Erebor's Guardian

Chapter: 20

I saw the temple and landed at the closed door. It had been over a hundred years since I left for Erebor. The stone had crumbled, the sealed door had moss and weeds growing around it. I placed my hand on the stone door, it slowly faded into nothing. I looked at the dark halls of my people. I stepped inside and saw sunlight through the cracks in the wall. As I walked past the halls I came upon the open tombs of my kin.

I took a deep breath before stepping into the room. I walked down the centre of the room where opened tombs faced upward toward an opening in the roof and across the room a silver door. I looked at the bodies of my sisters and brothers, they were still flesh and had not changed since their deaths.

They looked as if they were merely sleeping.

I looked toward the door across from me and unfolded my wings. The door glowed and started to slowly open. The room was dark but only for a moment before the ground started to glow blue, past the door was a pool of water. In front of the water was a small set of stairs.

I opened my wings and dove into the water. The cold icy water pricked at my skin, my wings started to move slightly up and down. I closed my eyes, in an instant the battle of the first age was in front of me. I was fighting with my allies and friends. The started to fall one by one. I saw my body being brought to the temple, I was alive but wounded. Two guards brought me to the water and laid my body in the water. My body was floating in it. As the two guards walked out and closed the door A woman was standing over me. The sound of drums and orcs could be heard in the distance. I saw my past self-look up to the woman.

"Don't do this- I can still fight."

The woman placed her hand on the water that I was laid on.

"You must survive, you are the last of our kin."

The sound of the guards yelling and then silent.

Suddenly the woman held her hand over my chest.

"Be safe."

The orcs charged through the door and an arrow hit the woman in the chest. I gasped for breath as I broke from the water. I stepped out from the water and walked back into the tombs, white wisps started to float in the tombs above their bodies.

One of the wisps flew in front of me and then to a tomb. It was the same woman from the vision, however, she was different from the others.

She had no wings.

"Mother..."

Next to her was a man with no wings as well.

"Father..."

I saw the wisps in the other tombs fly around me creating a light shroud. I could hear the sound of my sister and brothers voices very faintly. I smiled as they flew closer to me.

"Forgive me, it has been too long."

I could only hear whispers from the wisps.

"I need your help, I must rid the dragon Smaug and I can not do it by myself more so, the Dark Lord has returned."

The wisps started to pass through my wings. I closed my eyes as the wisps wrapped around me. A bright light started to shine through the temple. A burst of light went through the opening in the roof causing everyone in Lake-town and Mirkwood to see. Thorin and the others saw it as well.

"Paephan."

I opened my eyes and looked at my wings, they were completely healed not only that but they were also bigger. I could feel the wisps power in me. I looked around to see the bodies of my kin were gone. Empty tombs and silence but sunlight cast through the room.