Rena is happily married to her soul mate, Daniel. The two of them reside
in the beautiful mountain town of Newport, Tn. with their two
children Cody and Amber.
“I wish I could stay with you always, my dear. I do,” Arthur told her, dropping
his head. “One thing I must do, however, is explain some things to you. I have
never told you the history of our race. You know what the guardians are, and
that
the Ascension is held, but I think it is time you knew what it stands for, why it
happens.”
“I have wanted to know since I found out what I was. Living in the human
world for so long kept me in the dark about so much.” She smiled,
remembering
her life with her parents.
Catching her thoughts, Arthur smiled. “It is time you knew,” he told her as he
began. “The supernatural came into existence ages ago. Goddess Selena
created
the first supernatural being before humans ever walked the earth. Even today,
only she knows what all her creations are. Our race, however, is no mystery.
Seeing the creation of humans, the goddess immediately wanted to mold them
into something of her own. Thus, the first vampire was created. Knowing how
the humans fought to find enough food to keep them alive, the goddess chose
to
make the humans a source for us. Human blood keeps us alive. However, the
blood of a supernatural, the goddess’s creations, also makes us thrive. She
wanted us to flourish with or without the humans, simply because she had no
idea if they would survive or not.” He smiled as he looked down at his
granddaughter. “The same was true for the werewolves. Her love of nature, the
wolf, led her to combining a majestic wolf and a human. Once she saw how
strong, vibrant, loyal—perfect as she saw it—her creations were, she decided
to
take twelve from each race and make them her own personal protectors. They
would take from her essence, her blood, and become stronger, pure. Thus, the
guardians were born. For ages it went on, those same chosen ones protecting
her
from any harm as she lived her life with her love, the god, Silas.
“Silas could never understand Selena’s love of her supernatural creatures.
Often, she called them to her, wishing to hear of their days, their loves, their
dreams. As it often happens, Silas’s jealousy overtook him. He began lashing
out
at Selena by killing off the things she loved most. This is how the Nexxus was
created. The goddess made it, using all her powers, to be the ever after of her
beloved beings as well as the resting place of her guardians. Using her powers
left her defenseless against her lover. Heartbroken by his actions, Selena
called
upon the Ultimate Creator to help her. Hearing her pleas, Silas was banished to
a
dark void known as the Exodus, the home of darkness.”
“What happened to Selena?” Mileena asked.
By the look on her face, Arthur could see she was completely taken by thestory. “Powerless, she said good-bye to her creations and entered the Nexxus
herself. She dwells there, and the power of the races she created is the only
thing
keeping her in existence.” He finished with a shake of his head.
“And what does this have to do with what’s happening to you?” she asked,
looking at Sebastian, who dropped his head. “I know you told me we needed a
pure-blooded guardian to ascend, but why?”
“The Ascension, the rising of the guardians, is an important event. It gives the
goddess the power she needs. Our races thrive. The goddess gains strength
from
each guardian who ascends, however, the Ascension of a purebred guardian is
needed to keep the balance of each race. Without it, a race starts to weaken
and
die. Unfortunately, it has been quite a while since such a guardian has
ascended
from the vampire race. This has weakened us. As an elder vampire, it has
weakened me quite a bit. Without a proper Ascension, I will die and enter the
Nexxus.”
Seeing the fear cross Mileena’s face, Sebastian got to his feet. “The Atherton
family is the last pure-blooded guardian family we know still survives. As
Arthur said, there could be others who have gone into hiding. They could also
be
dead. We have no idea. The council stopped keeping track of the guardians
long
ago. The Athertons have not attended an Ascension in hundreds of years. They
want nothing to do with it,” he said, looking at Arthur. The sight of the man sent
chills down his spine. A mere month earlier, the man had been as young-
looking
as himself.
