Chapter 9: The Awakening
"Littlefoot." A voice called out.
"Wake up little one." The voice echoed softly.
Littlefoot slowly opened his eyes. He could hear a familiar voice in the distance. He looked down to see his new form lying on the cracked dirt. He tried to stand but felt somewhat unbalanced.
"Easy now Littlefoot. You'll feel better soon." The voice said softly.
Littlefoot's eyes widened when he'd realized who's voice it was.
"Mother?" Littlefoot shouted.
"Up here, Littlefoot." The voice called from over a hill.
Littlefoot recognized the hill. It was the same one his mother had been killed on by the sharptooth many years before. Littlefoot rose to his feet and began to slowly walk. Once he'd gotten the feeling of it he began to jog towards the hill. After a short while his jog turned quickly into a run as he sprinted for the top of the hill where his mother's voice was calling from. Once he'd reached the top he could see something sticking out of the top of a sharptooth's skull. Littlefoot cautiously approached the object. As he grew closer he could tell that it was a sword.
"This isn't right. What's going on here?" Littlefoot asked himself.
"You must learn to lead now, Littlefoot. Your loved ones need you." His mother's voice called.
Her voice was calm and comforting to him.
"I haven't even started to walk on two legs yet? How am I going to learn to fight, let alone lead if I'm practically useless at this point?" Littlefoot asked in frustration.
"You are what's blocking you little one. Take hold of your weapon." His mother's voice instructed.
Littlefoot placed a firm hold on the handle of the sword.
"Raise it high above your head and soon all will be known."
Littlefoot pulled hard at first, but the sword wouldn't budge. He put one foot next to the blade and pulled hard. It finally dislodged itself causing Littlefoot to hold the blade skyward unintentionally. He held it high as the blade began to glow white. Engravings of vines and berries in the blade's metal began to fill with light like water running through rivers. Littlefoot's hands began to feel warm from the sword he was holding. His vision went completely white.
When it refocused he was looking over the Great Valley in the same place that he'd come in when he met his friends. A shadow soon began to make it's way towards him covering the entire valley slowly as it progressed. The once luscious and green land now turned to dust and dirt. Trees began to die and wither before him. Littlefoot stared in horror at what the Great Valley was becoming. Still holding the sword he wanted to attack the shadow and make it stop.
"Your home is in danger, Littlefoot. Your loved ones all face great peril." Littlefoot's mother whispered in his ear.
"What's happening? What happened to the trees? The grass?" Littlefoot asked.
"You must seek the answer yourself Littlefoot." His mother replied.
"How? What do I do?"
Littlefoot noticed a familiar Longneck shaped cloud in the sky. A beam of light pierced through the cloud causing it to dissipate. The light focused on a small path of grass to Littlefoot's left. Littlefoot turned and faced it as his mother began to materialize in front of him.
"I will guide you as I always have. I am closer to you than you think, Littlefoot. Even though you may not see me, I'm always there." His mother told him.
A tear rolled down Littlefoot's cheek. He looked at the sword in his hand which was still glowing with a white aura. "You will find that sword Littlefoot. Only then will you truly understand what you need to do. Come now, it's time to wake up." Littlefoot's mother said softly.
The sword vanished from Littlefoot's grasp as he approached the glowing figure of his mother standing in front of him. She craned her neck downward meet Littlefoot's eyes. Images of the Skyhallowed Keep began to flash in his mind. He could see the Longneck's statue still glowing with the light that shined when Falchion and Aeris claimed their weapons.
"You know what you need to do, Littlefoot. You always have. You'll find a way." His mother said softly to him.
Littlefoot hugged his mother's neck tightly. He could feel the warm aura around her against his skin. The last thing Littlefoot said before his vision faded out was "I love you..."
