Bennu (Shadowbreeze)

***"What happened to you?!"***

**The huntress grabbed his face and carefully ran her claws over the scales turned into pure white marble. Bennu had never seen his older sister this worried before. She was very carefree, sometimes even too much for her own sake.**

***"I'm alright Neith, don't worry! This was... an accident."***

**Neith's dark eyes met his, and the concern changed to that typical look old siblings give to the younger ones when they did something they shouldn't.**

***"Mother is worried sick! There was some... sudden shift in the Shadows or something, a few days ago and she sent me to find you. You know how busy she is, you shouldn't..."***

***"I know!"*, Bennu interrupted her. The huntress glared at him, making him flinch slightly. *"I didn't do it on purpose sis! Come, I'll tell you everything."***

**Bennu was returning home after visiting his siblings living in the Sunbeam Ruins.**

**He and his twin were nested and hatched in the Light territory during one of their parents official visits. His twin sister stayed with their older brother in his Light clan, while Bennu returned to the Tangled Wood with his parents. There he grew up and developed an interest in History, to the dismay of his older sister Neith who was hoping for a hunting companion. His interest in the past made the visits to his sibling's clan frequent.**

**Bennu decided to make camp for the night when he reached the border. He settled, nested between an ancient statue and a fallen pillar, and after a light meal he fell asleep.**

**He woke up in the middle of the night in intense agony. He felt like his bones were being broken piece by piece and his skin melting. The last thing he saw through the curtain of tears, before his conscience slipped away, was the light of his campfire reflected in the jeweled eyes of the marble statue above him.**

**The blessing of unconsciousness didn't last long. The pain reached his mind, his head being crushed between two opposing forces. Those forces, infinitely strong were getting closer and closer. He could feel them clearly, even through the pain: one, dark and cold. The other, bright and warm. They clashed inside his head, but the luminous force had reached his mind faster. The last thing Bennu remembers, before the warm light filled him with a painless relief was a frustrated roar as the dark force retreated.**

**He woke up, curled atop a smooth stone pillar. A being made of light was gently tapping the tip of her claw on his cheek.**

***"You were lucky, child! You almost turned into stone."* Her voice reminded Bennu of sunlight glittering on a lake surface, faceted with a myriad of echos. He tried to speak but couldn't find his voice.**

***"Shhh.... Listen closely. The statues in the border are animated by a fusion of Light and Shadow magic. Some were always statues, while others were once dragons that had both magics within them, like you. To save you, I made the Light within you so bright that it surpresses the Shadow magic. That way they can't merge and the spell doesn't have an effect on you."* The Lightweaver sounded pleased with herself. Finding it hard to talk, Bennu bowed his head in reverence.**

***"Now, I will return you to the border. I would like to ask you, my child, for you to keep guard of the statues. They are important, for all Sornieth's sake."* She smiled and caressed his forehead with a claw. *"Now... sleep..."***

***"And that's what happened."*, concluded Bennu, taking a bite out of the leg of the roasted sheep he was sharing with his sister. Neith's eyes were wide open, the piece of meat she was holding, forgotten, half way to her mouth.**

***"So... you almost died, got blessed by the Lightweaver and now you're some kind of guardian to these old hunks of stone?"***

**Bennu grinned: *"Yeah, more or less. But these statues are important. They come to life when undead are nearby. Don't forget about what roams the fields of the Light territory... We wouldn't want one of those walking through our home or the rest of the world, would we?"***

***"Pffff, let the old carcasses come! But yes... I guess you're right!"* Neith looked sad. *"Does that mean you're from the Light flight now?"***

**Bennu looked affectionately at the huntress and sat close to her. *"No dear sister. I'm not leaving our clan. But I'll live here at the border from now on. Hey, at least you have now a comfortable place to stay at whenever you're hunting on these parts!"***

**Neith's eyes illuminated with joy. *"That's true little brother! Leave dinner to me!"***