Guardian(Part IV): Revelation

Chapter 36: Penny

I was less angry with my father after knowing the truth of what I was from him, but I still had so many questions. As much as I wanted to ask him, though, I still had to get Nyxa to Cordinshire as fast as I could. She didn't seem as nervous as she was when I first found her, though. After she was in my head for a while, she was more assertive and confident in everything she said. I wondered why, but I would ask her when we were in the air. For now, we had to depart Dizrija. Bones offered to come with us, and I had no heart to refuse him. Dad was escorting us to a readied dropship at the palace's landing pad, and Bones hopped into its cabin.

"Take care of her," Dad pleaded.

"I will protect Penny to the best of my capabilities," Bones promised.

"Remember, Penny," said Dad. "Now that your power has awakened, Ithyrth knows of your existence, and that you are Dragonborn. Be careful."

"What if Ithyrth finds me?" I asked.

"Then you must be careful," Dad answered. "If you die, there will be nothing to stop him from destroying everything in his path."

"I... understand," I sighed. "Dad, what kind of things can I do, along with my Guardian powers?"

"The powers of a Dragonborn are relatively unknown to those who have not personally witnessed them," Bones informed. "Depending on which species of dragon is their parent, their power varies. Other than such findings, there is no other information."

"You will learn the extent of your power as Dragonborn over time," Dad promised. "Perhaps you will even find your mother, and she can teach you herself."

"The odds of finding Chandreath are approximately three billion to one," Bones estimated. "There are better chances that we will encounter another Dragonborn."

"Really?" I asked.

Suddenly, my holo device vibrated, and I answered it, seeing a recorded message of Morgan hovering above it.

"Penny, I know we're not supposed to have contact with each other, but I wouldn't be sending you this message if it wasn't important," she began. "We've found a possible lead on the Archdemon of Gluttony, Grimeus, and we're going after him. This is an Archdemon we're talking about, which is why I'm contacting Zephyr and John, as well. I miss all of you, but I'm bringing us together for a reason bigger than that. We're up against a true, and serious threat to Zenartha. I'm in Cordinshire if you're coming. I hope you do."

The message ended, and the hologram disappeared. It had been a whole year since I had heard from Morgan, and I knew her to always follow the rules when it came to our safety. To call all of us together again, she must have been serious about Grimeus. Also, I did want to see her, John, and Zephyr again.

"Who's that?" asked Dad.

"She was the Captain of my squad," I answered. "Morgan Faye. I have to go."

"I understand," Dad sighed. "I wish you luck, Penny, and a safe road ahead."

"Dad," I said, then I walked up to him, wrapping my arms around him. It wouldn't have done me any good to stay angry at him, despite everything. I could at least show him that I forgave him. I would be careful of Ithyrth, and whatever other threats I came across. I didn't know whether to be more scared of a dragon or an Archdemon, though. They both sounded equally terrifying. I released Dad, then climbed into the dropship with Nyxa and Bones. I signaled to the pilot that we were ready to take off, and the vehicle's engines ignited. I waved to Dad as we were taken into the air, and Dizrija eventually shrank behind us. I sat in one of the aircraft's cabin's seats and put my hands behind my head. Even by air, it would be a long trip to Chardan, and I would finally get at least a little bit of rest. Already, my eyelids were growing heavy.

"Penny," Nyxa suddenly blurted.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Before we arrive in Cordinshire, there is something I must tell you," said Nyxa. "Entering your mind must have given my own mind rehabilitation, because I remember... everything."

"You do?" I gasped. "All of your memory is back?"

"Yes," Nyxa answered. "But what I was seeing before we were taken to Aderas was no memory at all. I don't remember that ritual happening."

"What could it be?" I wondered.

"The only logical conclusion would be that what I saw, involving Xyhra and my sisters would be the future," Nyxa guessed. "It has not happened yet, but it will."

"You... saw the future?" I asked.

"Early religious texts depict each Sister of Light as being born with the ability to receive visions of the future," Bones enlightened. "Events that have yet to occur, but have not, yet."

"That's right," I recalled. "So, what was the ritual for?"

"The Restoration," Nyxa enlightened. "When the Last Winter thaws, and the darkness recedes from Zenartha."

My eyes widened with amazement. I didn't even think that would be possible. The end of the Last Winter. I couldn't imagine a world that looked like something other than what I was born in, what I lived in, and what I fought in. I had heard from people who remember of green grass as far as the eye could see. Colorful flowers dotting the landscape that added to its beauty. Butterflies that hovered through the air to give Zenartha the life that it had supported for so long. I would die to see that. Actual life, instead of the frozen, dying, and suffering world I had known my whole life. Morgan couldn't have known that. She would be hunting down more than Grimeus if she did. She had to know.

"How do we make that happen?" I wondered.

"The vision I saw showed me Xyhra, sacrificing her own immortality, through the power of me and my sisters," Nyxa informed. "My mother must have frozen us to keep us safe from the Seven so they can't find us. Either that, or they would be a threat to the restored world if we restored it without killing them. Either way, it means that as long as I am free, I am in danger. I cannot go to Cordinshire."

"Well, I have to, so what if you went into my mind again?" I offered. "You'd be safe there."

"That sounds like the most logical decision," Bones agreed. "However, Xyhra's whereabouts are currently unknown, as well as Ametrasa and Luna."

"If we begin the Restoration," Nyxa warned. "And the Seven are still a threat, they could undo it all. They could return Zenartha to the grasp of the Last Winter. More people will die, and the Desolation will grow more intense."

I understood what Nyxa was saying. I wanted to dig Ametrasa, Luna, and Xyhra out of whatever places they were hiding, but I had to put reason first. If we found them without killing the rest of the Seven, then all the fighting that everyone had already done will have been for nothing. The sacrifices of everyone who fought in the Third Great War, the Camnorish attacks three years ago, and the Guardians who died at Home Base in Illondas a single year ago, would all be for nothing. The world would still be destroyed, and there would be no hope of saving it.

"I know what we have to do," I acknowledged."

"Then you understand," Nyxa hoped. "For this world to survive, the Seven must die."