| The Five Guardians came into being when the original guardian, a single female dragon of immense age, decided that she was lonely, as well as weary guarding the world. However, she didn't want to leave it unprotected, so she called upon the High One, and asked for his help. After several days, she woke in her lair to discover five cream-colored eggs. They were a bit different than any eggs she had seen before, so she asked the High One what they would need. And for one of the few times in her millenia-long life, she received an immediate verbal answer. "They need nothing but your care, now and when they hatch. There are five, so they will not suffer the same loneliness that you have, and each represents a different aspect of the world. They will look identical at birth, so do not be surprised. Their colors and abilities will emerge as they age. With four of them, their elements and abilities will be easy to determine; the fifth represents a more abstract part of the world, and you may not be able to determine it's nature for a time. But it will become apparent eventually. They are not related, in the usual sense, so they would be allowed to interbreed. However, they may choose mates, or bonds, outside this world if they choose, as long as they return. Other than that, raise them as you see fit, as if they were your own." And as abruptly as it had begun, the voice was gone, and the Guardian looked down at her charges. The eggs were hard, within days of hatching. She brought the eggs to a warm sandpit, and went hunting. These eggs may be divine, but when they hatched, they would be hungry. She took to sleeping with the eggs, to keep them company, and to drive off her own loneliness. Since they were so close to hatching, she heard stray thoughts from them at times. She even thought she heard them talking to each other, but she couldn't be sure. Finally, the day came, and the eggs hatched. The guardian was rather surprised, since they hatched at the same time. She looked at the five hatchlings, all cream-colored, and was slightly dismayed. How would she be able to tell them apart? Deciding to worry about it later, she brought meat to the starving, but surprisingly silent babies. They wolfed down enough food to round their little bellies, and then all sat and stared at the older dragoness. Disconcerted, she looked back at each of them for a moment before she broke the increasingly awkward silence. "Have you all had enough to eat then?" She asked for lack of anything better to say. "I'm not sure what I do next; I've never cared for hatchlings before. Are you tired?" She was getting nervous; what if these dragons couldn't communicate? She really knew nothing about them. As she began to search through her vast memory, for any creature resembling these, one of the hatchlings stood and began to approach her. This caught her attention, and she noticed, with a bit of relief, that the five were not completely identical: each ones' eyes were different colors. The one approaching her had green eyes. When it was about the length of its own body away from her forepaws, it stopped and looked up at her. "I think you should name us," it, no, this one was a male, he announced clearly. Then he looked back at his fellow hatchlings, who all nodded in agreement. Taken aback by this simple idea, the guardian realized that she should have thought of that sooner. Of course the babies would need names! "Alright, but you will have to help me; I don't know yet how to tell which of you are male or female, at least until I hear your voices. You, though, I have a name for you already." She looked directly at the green-eyed male. "You will be Nibori; what do you think?" He tested the name, then nodded. "I like it." The next one she looked at was one with light blue eyes, that had no visible pupil. The hatchling looked back and giggled. "I'm a girl. What will you call me?" "Hmm, I think I'll call you Natsumi. How's that?" She hoped she was naming them properly; but the High One did tell her to raise them as she would her own. The next hatchling, one with darker blue eyes, jumped forward. "I'm next! Name me now! I'm a girl too!" She seemed excited by the prospect of a new name. "Okay, okay!" She thought for a moment; then decided. "How about Izumi?" "Oooh! I like it. It sounds pretty." The third hatchling sat back down to let the last two get their names. She came to the next hatchling, who was waiting patiently for it's turn. As she brought her full attention, it declared, "I'm a boy. What shall my name be?" "Well, you seem to be a calm fellow. Shall I call you Yasahiro?" This one had deep blue-green eyes, which, like the first female, appeared to have no pupil. "I think it will work. It sounds nice." The slightly somber hatchling smiled. The guardian turned to the final hatchling, only to discover there was no final hatchling. It had disappeared! She whipped her head around searching the room. "Where did the other one go? I know it was here." She began to panic; the High One had left these small ones in her care, and they had barely hatched and she had already misplaced one! She started to head for the cave entrance; maybe the baby had made it out. Then, sand sprayed her as a small form burst from the sand immediately to her left. "Gotcha!" The fifth hatchling laughed. "You looked really scared." It stopped laughing as it looked at the older dragon. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to really scare you; it was a joke. And I'm a girl." Now the little female sounded sheepish, and very truly sorry. "Oh, it's alright," the guardian replied, immensely relieved. "I'm not mad. It was a good joke. Now, would you like your name?" At the nodded response, she continued, "I think we'll call you Moriko. Is that okay?" The mischievous hatchling thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Yep! I like it!" She bounced back to the others, thrilled with her new name. The guardian watched as they played for a few minutes, then one by one drifted into sleep. She hoped she would be able to raise them well. |