The Last Guardian

There is no creature that walks amongst the magical realm more glorious and majestic as the Feather-Winged Snow Dragon. He boasts elegant angel-like wings that span nearly four hundred feet across. (For you mortals, that would be larger than the length of your esteemed football field.) His scales, a white pearl that shimmer in the sunlight revealing an iridescent snowflake pattern unique to each scale, hence the name Snow Dragon. His face is covered in icy blue tines, and two large light blue horns protrude from the top of his head. His eyes are like fire contrasting the cool colored details of his form. Staring into the eyes of the Snow Dragon feels somewhat hypnotic as if he were reaching into your soul, delicately touching all the soft spots.

There is only one Snow Dragon in all the vastness of the magical world. He is called Eri, a name bestowed him by the inhabitants of the Land Beyond, meaning “my guardian.” He was given this name because he is the guardian in the magical realm and the protector of the veil separating the mortal world from this mystical place that he’s called home for millenniums. Of all the creatures with the ability to harness power, the Snow Dragon is the most powerful.

It is lonely being the only one of his kind, but he knows that young Snow Dragons are a danger to the magical realm. For thousands of years, Eri has been mastering the control of his powers and abilities. He has no memory of when he came to be, where he came from, or of any other dragons quite like him. He holds only one distant memory of a wizard who left behind three Snow Dragon eggs with a warning to never use his breath of life to hatch these eggs. The wizard also spoke of a legendary creature with power far greater than even the Snow Dragon. No one in this realm had ever seen a Unicorn. They’d only ever been creatures of myths and legends. Unicorns had all the powers of the Snow Dragon but were believed to be the only immortal being to maintain an element of infinite love and joy, unlike the others who could only experience those emotions within the vicinity of the Snow Dragon. Eri knew that the Unicorn was no myth because he was the one with the ability to create this legendary creature. Only one drop of Eri’s supernatural blood could transform any mortal being into a Unicorn.

Creating a unicorn was Eri’s greatest power, and his biggest secret. He’d never used this power before. If the others knew he could create unicorns, he would be forced into creating a love companion for each of them until no one would rely on his power to receive their emotions of infinite love and joy. Immortals were grumpy most of the time, but the thought of them not needing to be close by to receive their mana was more frightening to Eri than the loneliness he already felt. They relied on his power to keep the magical realm from becoming a place of despair, and in return he relied on their need of his guardianship. A unicorn, however, would not need to rely on others to offer their infinite love and joy. Unicorns were an eternal source of love energy with no needs for themselves.

I think deep down Eri knew the veil would be at risk if he’d been left to guard it in utter isolation. He never knew a life without the constant need of providing a source of infinite love to the others. Having this purpose is what filled him up and gave him the power to keep the veil up and running.

The veil was an invisible force field that shielded the mortals from ever entering through the ether into the magical realm. This veil spanned through woods, prairies, and deserts for as far as the eye could see. On one side, the mystical world, and on the other, the human world. It acted as a one-way mirror into the human world. The Land Beyond creatures could watch into the human world at any point along the span. If humans were to stand at the shield and peer in, they’d see a mere reflection of their own world.

The energy needed to maintain the shield came directly from Eri’s being. He would radiate the magic into the shield as he occasionally walked the span of the veil. He had so much magic radiating from his being he could walk the span monthly and the veil would stay charged until his return the following month. Because the veil was an extension of Eri’s being, he could sense when it was time to recharge the shield. Kind of like the way a human can sense when it is hungry or thirsty.

The Land Beyond was a peaceful place. There were luscious gardens throughout the towns with sparkling brooks curving their ways through every garden. Berries the size of grapefruits strung like laundry lines from home to home. Vibrant flowers decorated the entire village, climbing onto every rooftop. These weren’t like earthly flowers either. These flowers were colored brightly with colors the human eye had never known. The villages were lit with fairy magic and fireflies that danced around to never-ending music that flowed directly from the brooks. The water carried the harmonic sounds throughout the realm reverberating peace and life onto the land.

It was a brisk dawn when Eri was heading out to recharge the veil. After a long night of laughing and playing games with fairies and gnomes, he was happy to be returning to his guard. He was a proud dragon and loved his purpose of guarding the veil. He smiled bright as his radiance energized the shield with each step along the way. Occasionally, he would pause, close his eyes, and allow himself a moment to just glow. He did just that, but when he opened his eyes again, he was startled to see something moving in the trees ahead of him, just on the inside of the veil.

Eri knew it couldn’t possibly be one of his mystical friends because they knew better to not come near the veil during recharge. This had always been a rule just in case there were sections of the shield that had become too fragile to hide them from the mortal realm. They would not want to be seen by anyone in the mortal world as this could cause catastrophic confusion or even danger to the humans. The magical beings held nothing but unconditional love for the humans, but knowledge of their existence could cause a dangerous fear for mortals.

Eri breathed in deep. The creature did not smell like anything he’d smelled before, but he smelled no sense of fear. He extended his massive wings and took flight, rapidly approaching the tiny moving object up ahead. The ground shook under him as he landed mere feet from the object. Now he could see clearly. It was a tiny human girl holding a strange thing of comfort in her arms. I believe they call them teddy bears in the human world.

For the first time in all of eternity, Eri had a sense of panic rush through him. How could this happen? How could a human child end up on this side of the veil? Where did she come from? Who did she belong to?

Eri’s eyes darted around to see if anyone else was close by or witnessed this human child in their realm. He was alone. He had no idea how he would explain this to the others if they had seen. He looked back down again, expecting to see the child shaking in fear, but instead saw her trying to climb up on his foot. Careful not to move and crush the child he spoke in whisper.

“What is your name child?” he spoke gently as not to scare her.

The child stood up and threw her hands to air as if reaching for the heavens.

“My name is Anamika. Are you my fairy Godmother? Grandma always tells me I have a fairy godmother, but I’ve never seen her.”

Surprised by her boldness, and trying not to chuckle Eri responded, “Not exactly. I’m Eri, a great guardian Snow Dragon, and well… I’m a boy and certainly not a fairy godmother. I have powers far greater than any dinky fairy.”

“Oh, I see. Great Snow Dragon, sir. Have you seen my fairy godmother? I came here looking for her.” she responded sounding unimpressed by his great majesty.

Anamika appeared to be about four years old in human years. She was a stout little girl with blonde curly locks and bright blue eyes. She was adorned in a rainbow tutu and a sparkling princess crown. She carried a raggedy and quite smelly teddy bear by the arm and wore a half open pack on her back with a pink blanket hanging out.

Eri examined the shield near to where he found the girl. There was, in fact, a weak spot in the veil. She must’ve fallen through this spot. How he hadn’t sensed her come through the force field was beyond him. No one had ever even come near to the veil without him being able to sense their nearness. He felt a pit of despair welling up inside his chest. He felt responsible for the fate of this child’s circumstances. He couldn’t just send her back into the mortal world after being here. No human had ever survived returning to the mortal world. She certainly couldn’t stay here either. Eventually she would die, exposing the entire mystical world of immortals to death, potentially ending existence everywhere. This was an incredible dilemma, but Eri knew he’d have to do something about it and quickly. The longer the sensation of despair welled up inside of him, the weaker the veil would become. Eri closed his eyes for only a moment, focusing on his radiance, bringing the shield back to life.

“Ummm… Mr. Dragon, sir. Are you going to help me find my fairy godmother or not?” Anamika hollered from down below.

Eri snapped out of his radiance and looked at her. He felt rather fond of this vulnerable child. It was a feeling he’d never experienced before. It was a feeling he’d only ever imagined, when he dreamed of not being the only snow dragon to exist. It was a strange, but familiar sensation. Like for the very first time in all his existence, he was looking at family. He honed his powers in, peering through her infinite futures and infinite pasts. All the paths forward led to a tragic end except for one. Even Eri’s powers were not strong enough to see the outcome of this path, but it was in that very moment Eri knew what he would have to do. Against every warning and every cautionary tale, he would have to transform her into a Unicorn.

You see, once a snow dragon transforms a mortal into a Unicorn, he will always be connected to her. He would be able to send her back into her world but with his power, he’d be able to see through her eyes, sense through her senses, and even be able to control her surroundings from the mystical realm. He’d be able to protect her and everything around her for a very large proximity of earthly space. She would never know that she was a Unicorn, the most powerful magical being in all existence, at least until she was grown and realized that she was immortal. When that time came, Eri could safely bring her home to the magical realm where she could shape shift into her true Unicorn form and spend the rest of her eternity shining her own radiance of infinite love and joy on all the land.

His voice boomed this time, “No, my child, I’m going to help you find your grandmother again. You do not belong here, at least not yet. I will call you back when you’re much older. You will not remember me until then, but I will always be with you.”

With a quick slash of his razor-sharp tail, he sliced open the tip of his wing. Before it could magically heal, a drop of his supernatural blood fell right onto the child’s cheek. Her hand reached and she swiped at her cheek. Her eyes flickered as a vibrant rainbow light burst outward from her being and magnified to a size much larger than Eri himself. The veil became dense with magic, and sparkles of golden light twinkled around them. A calm and loving knowing expression spread across her face as Eri bowed his head down close to hers. Their noses were almost touching. She put her tiny hand softly on his face.

“I can see you now Eri. I can see you with my soul. I love you forever.” She said smiling.

For the first time, in all of eternity, Eri was truly not alone. There was another one of him, but even more powerful. Beyond the incredible powers of the Snow Dragon, this unicorn also had the power to give and receive infinite love and joy to both mortals and immortals without tiring or becoming grumpy like the others. This little girl was the greatest creation in all of creations. Now, after this very brief, but immensely sweet moment in time, Eri would say goodbye and send her back into the mortal world. She would not remember him for a long time, but he would be with her, guiding her, shielding her, and providing for her every step of her way in this mortal world. She was a new creation.

Eri closed his eyes, envisioning the grandmother he’d seen in her visions, made an opening in the veil and sent Anamika back into the mortal realm. She’d awake near her grandmother, remembering nothing of Eri or the mystical realm.

There was no need for Eri to finish his monthly recharge of the veil as Anamika’s power fully charged the veil in one short burst. He turned and headed back to his den to rest.

On the flight back home, Eri spent some time looking into Anamika’s world. He found himself sitting at a round table set with fresh flowers and country living décor. Grandma was smiling as she pulled the most delicious smelling cinnamon rolls from an oven. He heard laughter and cheer as the plate was placed under his nose. He sensed her longing for a glass of orange juice to wash down the cinnamon rolls. Using his power, Eri activated a thought of pouring orange juice into grandma’s mind. In a way, it was a test to see if his magic would work through Anamika’s magic in her world. A successful test at that. He was pleased as grandma grabbed the juice from the icebox and began pouring a glass for the girl. It seemed Anamika’s trip back home went smoothly as could be. All was well in her world, especially with Eri being able to protect all that Anamika cherished.

As Eri made his way back to the Land Beyond, he noticed an upset amongst the people. Gnomes were racing around carelessly, and fairies were sending out warning fireworks. He could hear in the distance the Phoenix crying out.

“New snow dragons have arrived. New snow dragons have arrived.” She chirped.

In disbelief, Eri made haste to his den to check on his eggs. He entered through the opening in the cave and darted straight back to the secret chamber where he’d hidden the eggs so long ago. The giant stone that once lay blocking the secret chamber had been rolled away. Only broken shards of shells scattered about the floor of the cavern. The dragons had hatched and escaped into the Land Beyond. Somehow, Anamika’s rainbow burst of new creation power must’ve hatched these ancient stone eggs. If Eri didn’t find and tame the dragons soon, both worlds could be at risk. There was only one person who would know what to do. Eri would have to find that old wizard, Baldasarre.

Little did he know, Baldasarre was already making his way back to the Land Beyond to find Eri. The transformation of Anamika into a unicorn had set off a cataclysmic magic ripple felt by every elevated being in the Land Beyond. Baldasarre was a keen wizard with the ability to sense magic in the core of his being from any realm. Anamika’s magic was like a signal beacon vibrating ultrasonic waves through his body that every atom was dancing to. Unable to identify the alien magic, he knew it must be new creation magic and began his journey toward the only one capable of bringing this new power to life.