Dawn of Faith

Chapter 21

"A legacy, not a legend." I whispered quietly to myself, tracing the mossy lines on my way back to the beginning.

"What do ya mean?" Bunny asked, foot tapping softly against the ground. "This mural shows our entire history-"

"But only our history." Jack interrupted, meeting my eye.

"It shows only a glimmer of the future-a mere prediction-and no more. This battle...it could have already occurred, it may even be going on now. Or...it could be our future. I'm not entirely sure. A stand-off between the entity of fear and the entity of..." I paused, thought for a moment, and sighed. Tucking my wings tighter against my back, I huffed a sulky sigh. I still had no idea what my center could be.

"Did the Moon specify how much time we had? Before this...battle?" Tooth asked nervously.

"No, as much as I wish he had." A spike of panic shot through my blood; and I fought to keep the fear from showing on my face. I had hoped the mural would reveal something important, any clue that could help me identify who I was. But the sprawling imagery sparked no epiphanies. I was as lost as I had been since leaving the Twilight.

"I may be able to answer that question." Pitch said quietly from behind the group. He had been distant since our reunion with the Guardians. Rarely did he speak, as if his input was worth nothing in the face of the Guardians he had once fought so fiercely, albeit against his will. His thoughts were clouded, his feelings vague, as if absorbed in the ghosts of his past. "Look at us."

I glanced at him, peering at his dark cloak, seeing nothing. I shifted my gaze to North, and still nothing stood out or seemed amiss. Their strength remained. What could be wrong?

"Look at Jack. At his feet. What do you see?" Pitch urged, turning his gaze away from us.

I trained my eyes on Jack, trying to see anything out of the norm. I hadn't looked at Jack's feet enough to really recognize normal. But even I could not miss what we saw there. Green blades of soft grass shimmered on top of his foot. But the green was dulled, pale, whitish.

"Hey!" Jack recoiled as I brushed my hand across his foot. "What the-"

"Relax!" I cried, swiftly withdrawing, "I'm..." The realization hit me. No, it didn't hit me. It crippled me.

"You're fading," I said flatly, the words passing my lips of their own accord. If we were already fading...we had even less time than I thought. I could feel my consciousness dissociating from reality, until Pitch placed a hand gently at my shoulder.

"What? No way! You can't be serious. You're not serious...right?" Jack trailed off as I grimaced. He crouched down and ran a finger across his foot, brow knitting in dismay.

"We're fading," Tooth echoed emptily. "We'll soon be just-" she choked on a sob, barely finishing her thought, "a memory." My brain honed in on the word, turning it over and over like a new toy. Memory. Memory. Tooth was the Guardian of Memories. But...what was I?

"But we haven't faded yet," Bunny replied, ears perked. He stamped his foot once determinedly, nodding to the rest of us. "There's still time. We can't give up hope yet." Again, I found myself focusing intently on one word. Hope. The Guardian of Hope. What was I? The centers of each of the Guardians before me scrolled across my thoughts.

Wonder. Hope. Memories. Dreams. Fun.

I turned to Pitch, whose eyes were cast down towards his own feet. He, too, was fading. His face lifted and his golden eyes met mine, a mirror reflection of my concern evident behind his stoic features. I went up to him, taking his shoulders. His honey orbs widened with surprise, then settled into passive confusion. His head tilted slightly to the side, questioning.

"Who am I?" I asked, digging my fingers desperately into the fabric of his robe. "You were there. You remember. Who was I? Who have I become?" Seeing his jaw clench, I released his shoulders, painfully aware of the way his face fell. My questions were directed to a Pitch that had vanished, stolen away by the selfish actions of Fear. My voice softened into a sorrowful plea directed to nobody in particular. I looked towards the mural, hoping something, somehow, would click. Tooth tried to comfort me, but my mind had isolated itself, struggling to discover something hanging just out of reach. I turned from her, pacing, brain swirling with puzzle pieces that refused to fit together.

My eyes turned back to the second engraved panel, focusing on the image of the wolf, the huddled, terrified forms of the children. I stared at the little white figure standing amongst them, clutching a broken spear that had saved so many lives.

I was born of bravery, of sacrifice. I had believed with all my heart that we, Pitch and I, could save the children endangered by the wolves. And we did. We had sacrificed ourselves to keep the children safe. As a spirit, I was keeper of the sun, of warmth and love and belief that all was well in the world. And even when Pitch was lost I became a keeper of wishes, each a shining star in the vast expanse of space. Stars to which children could gaze at with wonder, putting their faith in the tiny lights that glimmered against the night sky.

Yet even now, as a Guardian, I had not found my center. I was as far away as it had always been. It seemed an impossible, daunting task. I gazed around at the Guardians surrounding me, finally allowing myself to truly see them. Supportive, caring, loyal. Their eyes held a belief in me that I never had in myself. Our collective fate rested in my hands, and they did not doubt me. I could not doubt myself. I searched every piece of my emotion-torn brain, desperately seeking a clue that would lead to a fateful, destined, life-saving discovery.

The Guardians were beginning to fade, and yet they were not growing weak. Could that be connected to me? How? What center could be strong enough to protect the strength of the Guardians, even as they faded away?

Suddenly, my mind grew still, quieting to allow one thought to bubble above the chaos. When the children lost their faith, the Guardians lost their power, their ability to fight. They grew weak. Helpless. They would fade, and would cease to exist entirely. Yet now, even as the last child had forgotten their faith, the Guardians remained strong. They were fading, but they retained the strength to fight; their will to go on. And then, it was there.

It had to do with me. I kept them strong, as if the children still held their belief. I was able to keep Pitch strong as well, even though he was not a Guardian. Pitch's words...

"And as I sit here beside you, I feel as if every child in the world knows the name of Pitch Black."

I knew. I finally knew. A wave of joy rushed over me, and a smile burst across my face. I took Pitch by the hands, spun him around, pulled him into a hug. I laughed freely, happiness overwhelming me. All that time I wasted, spent searching, hopelessly straining toward a truth that lay so clearly in front of me. I finally understood, had finally connected the pieces of the puzzle that had hung over my head for so long.

I had found my center.

I am the Guardian of Faith.