Alcuin

They came in the dark. Silent, as unnoticeable as a nighttime breeze, they swarmed between the Guardians’ sleeping forms. Their talons, sharpened to a razor’s edge, dug hungrily into the soft soil, making no sound, and their breath was like a quiet whisper, lulling the three hatchlings and their mother and father into an even deeper slumber. Next came a pause. A pause in which the silent assailants held their breaths while an energy akin to a buzz of electricity hummed in the air.

Alcuin remembered feeling the subtle shift in the atmosphere, how it woke him suddenly from sleep. He had blinked one eye open, curious as to what he had sensed. His eyes adjusted to the darkness of the night in time to see a male Mirror poised over his father, a look of pure bloodlust flashing in his eyes. The Mirror raised a razor-sharp talon to the heavens, and Alcuin could vividly recall how, for a brief moment, the stars above were reflected in that glistening claw. He was enraptured by the sight. It was, in a way, beautiful.

And then in a split second, beauty turned to horror. In one smooth, lightning-fast movement, the Mirror’s powerful talons descended from above and plunged deep into his father’s neck, as if attempting to shove the stars down his throat. Blood gushed, filling the air with its metallic odor. His father roared in pain as he awoke, choking on the crimson liquid that flowed freely from his fatal wound.

His roars of pain awoke Alcuin’s mother and three siblings, and their faces morphed from surprise to fear as they too took in the sight before them. Alcuin’s mother was quick to react, masking the pain of losing her mate, and instantly rising to her full height, baring her fangs at the ones responsible for his death. In one fluid movement, she swept her hatchlings underneath her with her long, muscular tail and planted her massive feet in the earth, prepared for a fight to the death. Alcuin witnessed the rest of the battle in flashes from between his mother’s legs.

There were many Mirrors that night, more that Alcuin could count. They seemed to pour out from the darkness endlessly as if they were made from the inky night itself. Alcuin could smell his siblings’ fear and panic, could smell his own terror mixing with it. The scent seemed to entice the Mirrors further, drawing them in. At some point, one of them managed to snatch Alcuin’s brother. In a flash of teeth and blood, he was gone. Next came his youngest sister, dragged from her mother’s protection by her tail, her front talons digging into the soil, a pleading look in her eyes. She too was torn apart in an instant. Alcuin stood back to back with his remaining sister, becoming numb to the violence, realizing that tonight would probably be his last.

Above him, Alcuin’s mother fought with her entire being. Each swipe of her claws sent Mirrors flying into the air, blood raining down on those below. A group of three Mirrors attempting to sneak up on her from behind were knocked back by her powerful tail. Their bodies smashed against the rocks, landed on the ground, and never moved again.

Alcuin couldn’t be sure how long the battle lasted. He never saw his remaining sister meet her end, but all of a sudden she was gone… and he was alone. Except that he wasn’t. His mother continued to stand her ground, shielding her last remaining hatchling with her body and tearing into their enemies with all she had left. Eventually, however, her countless injuries began to take their toll. Alcuin could see the pools of blood on the ground beneath her steadily growing, and as they grew, his mother’s strength began to dwindle.

Mustering up a last surge of energy, she scooped Alcuin up into her jaws, and with one powerful stroke of her massive wings, she rose into the sky, kicking off several Mirrors that had dug their claws into her haunches. She flew as fast as she could, knowing the murderous pack was following her closely. Ahead of her and directly in her path rose a gigantic cliff face, its lofty peak illuminated by the glow of the moon above. Clutching Alcuin more tightly to her chest, the courageous female sped toward the precipice, knowing the Mirrors would be unable to reach it with their more compact and less powerful wings.

She was only a few meters from the edge of the cliff when Alcuin felt his mother’s grip slacken. He clung to her with his sharp little talons, his heart hammering violently in his chest. But his mother would not give up now. She stretched her front legs out as far as they could go and dug her enormous claws into the cliff face, barely grasping its edge. Her muscles shook with the strain, but she held her massive form in place as she reached down, and, ever so gently, lifted Alcuin in her jaws and set him down on the other side of the precipice. He was safe.

Alcuin’s eyes had been shut tight in terror, but when he felt his mother’s jaws release him, they snapped open, searching for her presence. His eyes met hers one last time, unable to comprehend the complex mixture of sorrow, loss, and rage he saw there. Time seemed to slow as the light in his mother’s eyes began to flicker, then fade, then disappear completely. As if she had fallen asleep, her entire body relaxed and her vice-like grip on the cliff loosened until her talons held nothing but air. His mother fell backwards, slowly at first, then faster and faster, tumbling downwards towards the bloodthirsty swarm of Mirrors below...

Even now, as a full-grown Guardian himself, Alcuin could never escape the nightmare of his childhood. Since the day his mother had left him atop that lonely mountain, Alcuin had vowed that no dragon in his clan would ever suffer the same fate as he had. For years, Alcuin trained his body and mind for combat, honing his skills until he was by far the best clan guardian in the Viridian Labyrinth. Not once had a clan member been lost due to attack from outsiders.

Sometimes when he closed his eyes, Alcuin saw the face of his mother, contorted with the myriad of painful emotions she had endured that day. But Alcuin also saw the faces of his clan members, those he had risked his own life to protect, those that owed their lives to that protection. Alcuin had remained true to the vow he made as a hatchling on the night his mother died. He had fought for his clan as fiercely as she had fought for him on that fateful day so long ago, and in doing so, he had found peace in a life that had begun in violence.