Hey everyone! It's been a while, but I'm happy to release the chapter on time! I had a rough time this month because my wife and I were in a pretty serious car crash, but thankfully no one was injured. I'm excited because we finally get to meet another main character, so I hope you all enjoy the chapter! I plan on releasing the next chapter a month from now on April 4th, so until then, ciao!

Chapter 5

Shimmer lay quietly in her bed, trying to enjoy the last few minutes of sleep she had before her day began. As the sun crept up to her bed, she basked in its warmth as she opened her eyes. Groggily, she untangled herself from her blankets and and yawned, shaking her head to help chase the sleep away. She unfurled her wings and stretched, arching her back much like a cat. Although the sun was shining, she loathed getting out from her warm bed knowing that she would have to face the cold air outside. She shook her head and let go over her covers, sending a small shiver down her back.

Feeling a bit more awake, she slinked off of her cushion and walked out of her bedroom, grabbing a small bucket by the handle with her mouth before making her way outside to an old water pump. She set the bucket under the faucet and stood on her hind legs, wrapping her paws around the lever. It creaked as she pulled and pushed, slowly spilling out clean water. When the bucket was close to full she stopped and picked it up before heading back inside. She went into her small dining room and poured some of the water into a bowl. After this she made her way to her washroom and spent a few minutes preparing for the morning. After cleaning her teeth and checking over her wings, she finished her routine by emerging her head in cold water to clean her face and when she emerged she felt fresh and fully awake. Shimmer looked herself over in a small mirror and scrutinized her azure scales, lighter blue underbelly and two white horns that pointed backwards on her head. She grimaced when she saw the state she was in.

"I really need to find the time to properly clean my scales. All this work is wearing them down and that's not good for them. Maybe I can do that later this week, I should have some free time then."

Feeling somewhat ready for the day, she walked back into the small dining room next to her bedroom and grabbed a few small sticks of meat along with the bowl of water. She quickly ate her breakfast and placed a few more pieces of meat into a small metal container that had been sitting on the counter. She also filled a waterskin with the remaining water from her bucket and placed both items into a sling that she placed between the joints of her wings. It hung loosely around her side and chest, leaving her enough space to maneuver comfortably. She then grabbed a large green scarf that was on a hook by her door and wrapped it around her neck, relishing the soft and warm cotton. Humming to herself, she walked out of her house and locked the wooden door with a key that her parents kept hidden in a hollow block above the door.

"I wonder if Solstice will be in town today, we haven't spent much time together lately. I'll see what she's up to if I bump into her. Maybe I can convince her to get her scales polished with me, I'm sure she would love to do that."

As Shimmer made her way into town, she reflected over her life as it currently was. She lived with her parents in a small house near an outpost in the Whisperglade Forest. Her dad had made the house out of earth, using his magic to manipulate and strengthen the earth into a suitable shape. It was surprisingly warm and had a few glass windows along with wooden front and back doors and it even had a small fireplace that they would gather around to tell stories or spend time together. The outpost they lived by was named Silverbark and was a hub designed for gathering resources that fed the ongoing work being done in Warfang. A lot of progress had been made in Warfang since the war, but there were still sections of the city that were being refurbished. This particular outpost had a logging company as well as a hunter guild that made up a large portion of the population. Shimmer herself was a hand for hire, using her various skills to do whatever odd jobs she could get. It wasn't the most luxurious work, but she was saving up money to move into the city. Her goal was to move to the city for two reasons, the first being that there was an opportunity for her to find better work and the second was that she would be able to begin her journey towards joining the dragon guard. The dragon guard helped to keep law and order in the dragon realms and had been instrumental in the many skirmishes that occured after the great calamity.

Currently the dragon guard was being led by the guardians. Terrador, Cyril and Volteer were holding the position of Earth, Ice and Lightning guardian. Spyro was temporarily filling the role of the Fire guardian until a proper replacement could be found and Cynder was also considered a guardian, although she wasn't as popular as the others. She was recognized as the wind guardian, despite the fact that she was unique like Spryo and commanded several elements. Even though her past weighed heavily on the minds of many, she was the best candidate to fill the role and had worked solidify her character as a hero in the years after the war.

For Shimmer, the path to becoming a member in the guard would be very difficult. Those who were interested in the role would compete in yearly competitions in Warfang that would determine who had the potential to become a recruit. If you weren't one of the top finishers of the tournament but showed promise or talent, there was a chance that the guardians would take special interest in you and take you on as an apprentice. Although inexperienced in fighting, Shimmer was confident that she could prove that she was skilled enough with her ice and that she would gain the favor of Cyril or one of the guardians. The first step to that however would be moving and she was very close to having enough funds to buy a small property inside of the city..

Shimmer brimmed with excitement at the thought of learning under Cyril and dashed towards the center of town, weaving her way past the dragons, moles, cheetahs and a few apes that were already up and about. As she passed by an ape, she frowned to herself as she looked back at their history. At the end of the war, with Gaul dead and Malefor sealed away, the apes split into separate factions with different ideals and goals. Most of the groups still desired to wipe out the dragons and rule, but there were a few that had rebelled and sought peace with the other races. The factions that sided with Malefor did not last long without proper leadership and were routed by the Guardians and the combined armies of the moles and cheetahs. Any apes that were not killed in the skirmishes were banished to Dante's freezer, a cold and unforgiving landscape that existed across the ocean.

Once peace had settled into the land, Spyro and the Guardians had worked tirelessly to restore order to the Dragon Realms and constructed a new government that had a council with representatives from each race, although the guardians had the final say in any topic that was discussed. After this, Warfang was chosen as the central point for the reconstruction effort and from there wealth and prosperity began to stretch across the land. Eventually, the apes that had sought peace were welcomed into the council, although there were many who were uneasy with them. Despite the fact that there were some apes who had changed and were working towards a better future, Shimmer didn't trust them. Some of the apes committed atrocities during the war and those acts lingered on her mind, her father's missing wing was a shining example of this.

Although the thoughts of joining the guard were nice, Shimmer still had work to do and focussed on her destination, a large wooden building that towered over the rest of the town. A sloped set of stairs and a small granite monument sat in front of the building and on the monument were engravings of the races, each standing tall and proud, representing the forgotten people who had perished during the war. Shimmer hurried up the steps and made her way to the large double doors on the front of the building. As she approached she had to step out of the way when a door swung open and a large cheetah exited the building, not noticing her as he hurried to his next destination. Rolling her eyes and huffing, Shimmer stepped through the doors.

Once inside, she made her way over to a line that spanned the length of the building. Various traders, hunters, craftsmen and bankers were busy with their own business and Shimmer was here for a similar reason. She would be getting a request and fulfilling it for a sum of money. Generally, individuals or companies could request work that would then be given registered as accepted until it had been finished. Shimmer tended to get smaller jobs because she worked as an individual and the guilds would get the larger jobs due to the influence, resources and workers that they had. While working by herself, she was limited by what she could carry and usually stuck to gathering gems or doing odd jobs around town. While waiting for her turn in line, Shimmer began tapping her tail on the floor impatiently until the ape in front of her finally got his job and moved, allowing her to stepp up to the counter that had a small mole behind it. She gave him a quick smile.

"Good morning Vargas. Got anything cool for me?"

The old mole looked up, adjusting his glasses on his nose. He squinted and smiled, revealing his bucked teeth.

"Good morning Shimmer! I'd like to say that I do have a "cool" job for you, but when you arrive so late in the morning I can't save any of them for you. I can give you a choice between hunting or gem gathering though, if you'd like. It's all I have for you today."

Shimmer groaned and put her elbows up on the counter, using her paws to support her head.

"It's not my fault that some dingus decided to make it a normal thing to start the workday so early! Who thought that was a good idea?! We should make it a rule to get up after the sun, not before! Right Vargas?"

Shimmer did her best to give him a pleading look, but he stared back at her while gently re-adjusting his glasses.

"I'm sorry Shimmer, but if you want to do something else, you'll have to get up earlier like everybody else."

Shimmer let out a sigh.

"Alright fine, I'll try to work on getting up earlier. But if I'm up before the sun is out and I miss out on my beauty sleep, I'm blaming you when I turn into some kind of walking zombie."

Vargas smiled and nodded.

"Mhm, I think I can live with that. Now, what would you like to do today?"

Shimmer gave him a fake glare before responding.

"Right. Well, if I have to choose, I guess I'll take the gem gathering. I don't really feel like hunting today. What do I need to get?"

Vargas pulled up a small sheet of paper and stamped it before sliding it to Shimmer.

"The request is for three pounds of healing crystals. When you gather them, bring them back and I'll have your payment ready. If you're heading into the woods, remember to be careful. I've heard a few rumors that wolves are a bit more uppity than usual."

"Yeah yeah, I'll be careful. You don't need to worry about me. Enjoy your morning though!"

Shimmer grabbed the paper and put it into her sling. Giving Vargas a small wave, she made her way through the growing crowds of people and stepped outside. The sun was now shining brightly, making the city just a bit warmer than before, bringing with it a renewed sense of life. The streets were enveloped in the different smells of food as vendors were setting up their stands. Children were running around, playing all sorts of different games and a few guards walked about, keeping an eye out for any troublemakers that would threaten the peace that embraced the town.

Shimmer smiled softly, knowing that this is what many had dreamed of less than a decade ago. When she was young, there had been a constant mindset of fear and dread inside of every dragon. Malefor and his army had been hunting them down one by one and it seemed that it would be only a matter of time before he was able to complete his goal and wipe out the dragon race altogether. However, the two heroes, Spyro and Cynder, had worked together to defeat Malefor seven years ago, bringing a new age of peace to the dragon realms. When the world had been reconstructed, everything changed. Shimmer and other dragons were now able to live out their lives in relative safety instead of hiding, running, or hoping for a better future. Joining the guard would allow her to prevent anyone else from experiencing the same horrors that she had in her childhood.

With her goal for the day set, Shimmer walked to the outskirts of town, heading towards the Whisperglade Forest to the North. Gem hunting was a simple thing to do after Spyro had brought the fragments of the world back together. Fountains of magic had erupted from the earth, causing the natural growth of gems to occur more frequently. Although they were most commonly found in the mountains, one could also find plenty of crystals in other regions as well. In fact, there was a particular cave in the forest that Shimmer had found that had more than enough gems for a few small jobs. She was set as long as no one else had discovered them recently.

As the town thinned out it, she walked through the large front gate and fence that surrounded it and everything was replaced by thick, green trees that towered above Shimmer. Spreading her wings, she took to the air with powerful strokes, flying above the tree line engulfed the town and drifted to her right, heading north into the Whisperglade forest. The forest extended to the northeast for several miles, barely managing to reach the Canis Ocean on the northern part of the continent. In the middle of the woods was lake Qilin that had a small mountain range on the east shore that curved around it. The cave she would be heading to was west of the lake, near a small river that cut through the forest. She had accidentally stumbled upon the cave while doing a job that had her catching a certain type of fish in lake Qilin. Bad weather had struck on her return flight, forcing her to search for shelter and she had stumbled upon the cave because the glowing light of the gems inside had become much more visible with the darkened sky.

Although the air was cold, Shimmer enjoyed the clear skies and wind that blew across her face. Her breaths formed small clouds of mist that passed over her and drifted away into the sky. Settling herself into a glide, she kept herself at a steady pace as the forest passed below her. She fell into a rhythm, letting her thoughts and body relax as she focussed on the beauty surrounding her. The bright blue sky contrasted with the earthy greens and browns that spotted the world below. In the forest, she could see different creatures, some of which darted into the foliage as her shadow passed over them. The mountains to her east stood with an imposing figure, casting dark shadows onto the land and lake below. On the opposite side of lake Qilin, a large waterfall fell down from the mountains and created a fine mist that concealed the water below. Shimmer always appreciated the rainbows that would often form as the mist reflected the sunlight. With plenty to take in, Shimmer never grew bored on her flights into the forest.

After she had spent around thirty minutes flying, the river that cut through the forest drew closer. In the distance, she could hear the telltale sounds of water splashing against rocks as it flowed downstream. Shimmer angled herself down to slowly glide towards the ground and spent a few minutes searching the area before finding a large slab of stone that barely poked out of the trees. She made a few passes around the cave, checking to make sure nothing dangerous was in the area. Although the world was at peace, there was still natural fauna that could pose a threat to anyone who was travelling alone. Deciding it was safe, she gently flew down to the entrance of the cave and landed, folding her wings back onto her sides. She pulled out a small lantern from her sling and used a knob on the side of it to create a small spark that lit the wick inside. With a decent source of light, Shimmer held the lantern with her mouth and made her way into the cave. The opening was rather large but the cave itself grew smaller the deeper inside she went. It was dark and imposing, but Shimmer had never run into anything dangerous here. There wasn't anything remarkable about this particular cave, aside from the amount of crystals contained within. There must have been a source of magical energy nearby, feeding the growth of crystals and keeping animals away. The founts that sprouted had natural magical energy that few were able to harness. The energy was dangerous in its raw form, and the effects of it were not fully known. Supposedly mages were able to manipulate it for their purposes, but there were only a few that Shimmer had ever heard of. All of them were apes in Malefor's army who were now banished from the land, living out their lives in the desolate wastes.

Shimmer walked deeper into the cave, following along a path of claw marks that she had made when she had first been here. The cave was cool, with jagged rocks that sat on top of each other in thin layers. There was a damp, wet smell and dripping water that slowly dropped down from stalagmites on the roof of the cave. Along the walls were several spots that had hollow depressions with small crystals, showing where there had been large clusters of them. She left a small crystal in each spot to allow them to grow again, even though the process was slow. As she moved forward, she set her lantern down and squeezed herself through a particularly tight spot in the cave. As she squirmed out the other side, Shimmer could see the faint glow of red and green crystals ahead. Smiling to herself, she reached back through the tight spot with her tail and grabbed her lantern, bringing it forward and placing it back in her mouth. She then used her paw to wipe off some of the dirt had caked onto her scales when she squeezed through the gap. Moving forward, she walked beside a gentle curve that turned right, stopping for a moment to make some claw marks on the wall of the cave. As the curve ended, Shimmer was somewhat disappointed to see that the cave actually ended with a large rounded out section that housed what seemed to be the last of the crystals. With a sigh, she moved over to the closest group of red crystals.

"Well that sucks. I thought this cave would have enough for four or five more trips. Looks like there is only enough for one more though. I'll have to find a new stache somewhere while these regenerate."

Shimmer stepped up to the red crystals and set her lantern down before swiping at them with her claws and tail, breaking off pieces of the crystal in large chunks. They fell to the ground with light clinking sounds and it only took her a minute to completely break down the cluster in front of her. Making sure to leave a small piece, she gathered up the shards on the ground and put them into her sling before moving towards the next cluster further back on the wall. As she walked towards it, she noticed that the ground ahead of her was loose, with various rocks forming an unsteady floor.

"That doesn't seem too safe, maybe I should leave it alone. Then again, I'd have to go hunting to find more crystals if I don't get enough here and that would suck. I should be fine as long as I'm careful and don't touch the ground where it's weak, I only need a few more crystals anyway."

Taking extra care not to disrupt the earth, Shimmer tiptoed her way over to the crystal. The ground itself was steady enough, but she dislodged a few small rocks that cluttered as they made their way down further into the ground. Taking a quick steadying breath, she took her first swipe and dislodged a few shards. She sighed in irritation when some of the gems fell into the small cracks and settled between the rocks below her. Frowning, she reached down where some of them had fallen and tried to grasp them with her front paws, but to no avail. Turning around, she lowered her tail into the cracks and used the end of it to wrap around the shards, being careful not to dislodge anything with her tail spike. She then gently raised them up and placed them into her sling, before repeating the process again. She had a bit of trouble with a few of the shards that fell into the cracks and got stuck, but was able to finish the crystal with a little bit of effort.

Moving onto the last crystal she would need, Shimmer proceeded to smash the crystal again, bringing it down to a small piece like the one before. Shards had fallen all over the place and she began the tedious process of gathering them up. She spent over ten minutes wiggling her tail and paws into the tight spots, but was rewarded with enough crystals to satisfy the customer. She was picking up another small shard that was giving her more trouble when a glint of blue from below caught her eye. Perplexed, she moved her head around to see if she could get another glance of it again.

"Is there something down there? What could be making that blue glow?"

Shimmer's heart picked up a bit as she craned her neck further, now knowing for sure it was blue.

"Is it a blue crystal? I've never seen one of them before, those things are beyond rare! I bet I could get a huge amount of money for just a single shard!"

Shimmer twisted her head around and tried to get a better look. While doing so, her front paw slipped and fell into a crack, lodging itself between two or three rocks as the ground shifted beneath her. She tried to pull it back, only to realize that it was stuck.

"Well that's just wonderful. Why can't the ground actually work with me here? C'mon."

Keeping herself calm, Shimmer tried using her other paw to lift some rocks around her to put less pressure on the few that had her first paw pinned. She was able to move some, but that didn't seem to loosen the grip that the ground had on her. Once again she tried her best to wiggle free but couldn't.

"Ok, ok, stay calm. Everything is fine. I'm not alone and stuck in a spot that no one can find me in. I'll get out of here in no time, I just need to use my head."

Looking at the rocks once again, Shimmer came up with an idea. She took a deep breath and let out a chilling breath that froze and formed ice on the rocks around her paw. She then pulled as hard as she could, shattering the rocks and sending her flying backwards. As she landed on her back, she heard the rumbling and clattering of rocks under her. Before she could react, the ground below her gave way, sending her tumbling and falling into the dark. She screamed, trying to grab onto something or stop herself, but was taken along with the earth as it tossed her around like a small rock caught in an landslide. After a few moments, she came to a stop, landing roughly on her side and wing. The sounds of rocks falling slowly quieted, and she took a moment to gather herself. A few pebbles bounced off of her head and she wheezed as she caught her breath and waved dust away from her face.

"Ok… That… Sucked…"

Shimmer stood up on shaky legs and took a moment to stretch out each of her limbs. She was thankful to see that nothing felt broken and aside from a few bruises, she would be fine. Above her, the light from the lantern illuminated the space about fifteen feet above her. She sighed before turning to look behind and stopped when she saw the giant blue crystal that covered the alcove in a light blue glow, making her forget about her aching body. She stood, mouth open in amazement at the sight before her. Blue crystals were extremely rare, even with the increased crystal growth after the calamity. From what she understood, these crystals made the elemental power of whoever absorbed them stronger, which is why they were so valuable. To see one that was three to four times her size was crazy. She wasn't sure what would happen if she tried to harvest them, as the other types of crystals usually involved a voluntary draw of power, although that wasn't always how they worked. She had seen dragons who had been healed while unconscious, which meant it could be possible for the blue crystals to be absorbed by accident. But would that really be a bad thing? She wanted to join the guard and would need all the help she could get. Having stronger magic would definitely help her with that, although selling them would help her get to Warfang much faster. Standing up, Shimmer started to pace in a circle, swinging her tail back and forth indecisively.

"What should I do, what should I do? Ugh, I hate getting stuck with hard decisions. Maybe I could leave it and come back? No.. . what if someone else found it? Should I… use it then? Would it be ok for me to do that?"

With her thoughts and heart swirling, Shimmer failed to notice the dark purple crystals that sat in the black shadows of the alcove she was in. They were slowly pulsing with dark energy, occasionally sending out small flickers of light. As she struggled to make a decision, the dark crystals began to glow brighter, gleaming with a menacing purple hue. The energy that was flickering started to flash and condense in the air, near the blue crystal. Shimmer looked up from her internal argument, just as the formation of the swirl of dark energy erupted into a violent mess. She yelped as the walls around her began to shake and sparks of electricity began to shoot out of the mass in front of her. She crouched low, eyes wide and fangs bared as chunks of rock began to be blasted off of the walls by strikes of electricity. One bolt struck the blue crystal, shattering it into hundreds of pieces that landed all around Shimmer. A wind began howling, threatening to pick Shimmer up and toss her across the cave. A familiar feeling washed over her and an icy spear of fear pierced her heart.

It can't be..!?

Terrified, Shimmer backed away, memories of the war and devastation from years ago assailing her mind like the waves of dark energy around her. Unable to think, her mind filled with flashes of memories, she began running through the alcove, back to where she had fallen from. As she ran, the chunks of blue crystal that had been shattered stirred, their energy flowing out of them and into Shimmer as she ran. She barely registered the internal surge of energy as she scrambled to get back up to her lantern. Fighting against the wind, she had to claw and scrape her way back up the rough cave wall. Using her wings, she propelled herself forwards, and managed to pull herself over the edge of the hole. Without hesitation, she grabbed her lantern in her mouth and bolted back towards the entrance of the cave. She tossed her lantern through the tight spot and slithered through, just as a massively bright light illuminated the entire space behind her, accompanied with a deafening boom. She didn't bother to look back and dashed away, barely dodging stalagmites that began to fall from above. She looked up and shot out a small blast of ice that hit the ceiling and exploded, freezing several earthy spikes to the roof of the cave before they could fall. Not wasting any time, she took flight as soon as she reached the entrance of the cave. Once she felt that there was enough distance between her and the cave, she braved a look back.

Behind her, there were several trees that had been uprooted or knocked over, probably by the force of whatever had made the ear splitting sound. The cave itself had sunken noticeably, and was much deeper into the ground than it had been before. The malice that she had felt from before was now gone, replaced by a still and eerie silence. Shimmer placed a paw onto her chest and breathed, calming herself down. Whatever had happened back there was now over. She didn't have any reason to be afraid.

"It's ok. It's ok. That wasn't what you thought it was. It was an earthquake… or some kind of cave-in. You're safe."

Shimmer closed her eyes and forced herself to relax. She focussed on the cool wind that blew across her face and the beating of her heart. She grabbed onto her scarf, finding comfort in the soft and warm material. Although she was able to calm her body, Shimmer's mind still raced with thoughts of what she had seen. Thoughts of dragons fighting apes in a bloody brawl, her running away as others around her fell to the ground, the tension she felt as shadows from dreadwings and their riders flew up above, these thoughts burst forth like an open dam. The presence she had felt in the cave reminded her of one specific dragon. Shimmer spat his name out like poison.

"Malefor."

Although he had died in the war, fragments of his reign had remained in Avalar. Shimmer was shocked to discover that dark crystals —crystals that could steal the elemental magic from a dragon —were still hidden away in concealed corners of the world. Whatever had happened in the cave had to have been caused by those cursed crystals. Maybe it was a trap that had been set up to kill any dragon that wandered into the cave? Were there apes that had been able to sneak back onto the mainland? Whatever it could have been, Shimmer was determined never to go back to that cave. It would be better to forget she had ever seen it.

Remembering her sling, Shimmer took a quick glance at the crystals inside. Despite the ordeal, she still had everything she needed for her job. She decided that she would focus on finishing that and then spend some time reflecting on what had happened. The thoughts from before were slowing down, but they were still bubbling just beneath the surface, threatening to cascade through her mind once again. She held back a few tears that were threatening to fall and raced back to her home.


Kiran had no sense of direction as he felt his entire body being torn apart. The pulling sensation that he had felt before the flash of light had only grown, stretching and pulling him in all directions. His insides felt like they were on fire as some type of foreign energy surged through his chakra coils. He tried to scream, but he was drowned out by the roaring sound of clashing energy, crackling and booming with untamed power. He was stuck in this intense agony for an unknown amount of time, fading in and out of consciousness, when it all suddenly came to a stop.

The first thing Kiran felt was the hard impact of something solid against his back. What remained of his breath was forced out of his lungs and he struggled to fill them with air. Then, he became aware of his sense of weight, realizing he was no longer falling. Or was he floating before? He couldn't tell. He lay motionless, slowly regaining his sense of being as the loud ringing in his ears faded away. His entire body was numb, similar to the feeling one would get when hitting their elbow against a corner. Ignoring his screaming insides, Kiran rolled over to his side and tried to open his eyes. All he could see was black and he froze.

I can't see… What's going on...? What happened...?

Kiran rolled onto his stomach and lifted himself to his hands and knees, noting his ragged and coarse breathing. Immediately, his head fell forwards and he puked, his stomach not being able to handle the strain of moving. Coughing and shaking as he cleared the last bits of vomit away from his mouth, he stayed still, trying to ignore the disgusting taste of iron that was assaulting his tongue. He spit a few times and weakly wiped away some of the mess away from his lips with the back of his hand. With a silent desperation, Kiran lifted up his hand in front of him, attempting to gather some chakra. Pain shot up his arm, causing him to fall as he grabbed it in pain.

I'm all out of chakra and my coils are messed up... What else could possibly go wrong?!

Alone, hurt and afraid of what was happening to him, Kiran began to cry. Clutching his arm tightly, he lay still, hoping, praying, wishing for something to go right. His leg that was impaled earlier also hurt and he wasn't sure if he would be able to muster the energy to do something about the blood that was dripping down his leg. This was not what he had envisioned when he had been given this escort mission. Nothing could have prepared him for this and all he wanted to do was go home. He thought about what had gone wrong and the steps that had led to the situation he was in. A short, grinning, blond haired man came to his mind.

Tarko. This is all his fault! If he had just listened to me in the first place, none of this would have happened! I KNEW there was something wrong and he ignored me! He was too infatuated with what was there to look at the danger that was literally staring him in the face!

Mulling over the past few moments before the portal sucked him in, Kiran understood that he would be stuck not knowing what had happened to Tarko and Kouta. Sarnaes was gone though and nothing would bring him back.

I wasn't even able to keep my promise, I failed. What kind of ninja am I? What would my mom think of me…?

Gritting his teeth, Kiran beat his fist into the ground, trying to release some of the pent up frustration inside of him. His pounding managed to dislodge some of the dirt on the ground, but not much else. Although his hand hurt, he felt a small sense of relief from the outburst. Hoping something had changed, Kiran once again opened his eyes and tried to look around. All around him was pitch black, filling Kiran's heart with despair. He began to cry again, not being able to hold back the deep sobs that escaped his throat. Kiran's head became heavy and he laid down, hoping to find some kind of solace as he curled into a ball. Slowly, he cried himself to sleep, giving his tired body a chance to rest.

The sound of a rock falling woke Kiran with a start. Kiran sat up quickly, only to fall back as a wave of nausea hit him. He lay still for a moment, recovering from the blood that had rushed to his head. When it cleared, he remained silent and listened. Not too far from him, Kiran heard wind blowing, causing some type of vegetation to rustle.

Are those… trees? Am I not in the desert anymore?

Kiran rolled over and sat up with unsteady limbs. He leg burned, but he couldn't feel any blood flowing from it anymore. Taking a moment to think, he thought about the last place he had been before, well… here. He had been in a cave underground, so maybe he was still there and that was why it was so dark? If he could hear trees, perhaps the portal had taken him closer to the surface. Determined to get out of here, Kiran began crawling and moved towards the sounds as quickly as he could. He had gotten a few feet closer to the noise when he touched a damp wall that was slick with some kind of moisture. Prodding it with his hands, he tried to feel for any kind of hold or weakness. He was rewarded with a stone that was loose and he pulled on it, hoping for something to happen. Unfortunately, as he pulled the stone, other rocks came with it, spilling forth and falling onto him and the ground below. Kiran put his forearms above his head as they fell, smashing into him from above. He felt a rather large stone impact his left arm, leaving a small gash in it as he fell to his side. Then, the rocks stopped and Kiran lay still, taking in deep breaths. Although he was covered in dirt and mud, the sound was much louder now. Wiping away the dirt from his eyes, he opened them, now seeing a small hole with a bright light directly in front of him.

Wait… I can see… I must be close to the surface!

Shocked, he lurched forward and began digging as fast as he could, slowly making the hole bigger and revealing more light. Dirt and mud flew by him and soon he was able to clearly see what was on the other side. Trees, tall and strong, surrounded the hole that he was in. The blue sky shone above and a cool breeze blew past him, chilling his body and causing him to shiver. Looking back behind him, Kiran now saw that he was in some type of cave, which would explain why he couldn't see before. Along with the cave, he noticed that there were charred craters on the wall and floor of the cave. Hope filled his heart and he fell flat on the ground, relief and exhaustion overcoming him. He was cold and in a lot of pain, but he wasn't blind like he had originally feared. A beaming smile was plastered on his face as he ran a hand through his bloodied and dirt covered hair.

He rested there for a minute, basking in relief and trying to think of a plan. He nestled into the dirt, trying to get away from the cool breeze that sucked the heat away from his body. As he was doing this, something warm touched his hand and he recoiled for a moment. Sitting up, he moved the dirt away and found a bright red crystal. Confused, he picked it up and held it in his hand. Warmth emanated from the crystal and before he could react heat shot up his arm and into his body. Some of the aching that he had felt faded away, and the wound on his thigh burned with warmth. Dropping the crystal with a jolt, Kiran looked at his leg. The wound had begun to close and was not as deep as it was before. Kiran glanced down at the crystal which had now lost its red hue and picked it up again. A much smaller feeling of warmth travelled through him before it stopped, the crystal's vibrant color fading into a dull grey.

What in the world is this? I know you can heal with chakra, but I've never heard of any kind of healing jutsu being stored inside of a crystal before. Maybe they have something to do with the jutsu the apes were using?

Kiran dug around in the dirt, hoping to find more red crystals. After a few moments, he managed to collect two more and used them to heal his wounds. Feeling a bit refreshed, Kiran tried moulding his chakra again. He found that although he was extremely low, he could at least mold it without hurting himself.

That's good. I guess I'm not in as bad of a spot as I thought. I'm glad I stumbled onto these things though, I would be in some real trouble without them. I need to focus on figuring out where I am. Before that, I should probably find a source of water. Food would also be a good thing. Shelter would be great. You know what? Being home would be fantastic, if I'm just listing off things that I need.

Kiran rolled his eyes at himself. That clearly wouldn't be happening anytime soon. With a heave, Kiran lifted himself off of the ground and stood up, frustrated by the weakness that he still felt in his body. His leg still hurt and he would need to be careful not to disturb the wound. Looking at the hole, he reached up to the top of it and pulled himself out, lifting up one leg at a time to go over the edge. He kneeled, standing on top of dirt in the middle of what seemed to be a large forest. His breath caught briefly as he admired the beauty of the trees around him.

It's been such a long time since I've seen trees… Which means I must be in one of the other major nations. Maybe somewhere north? Even if I am, it shouldn't be this cold in the middle of summer…

Kiran looked around for the tallest tree that he could find. To his left, a thick tree that had bristles on its branches looked like a good candidate. Mustering his strength, he jumped up, grabbing the first large limb that he could get to. A jolt of pain shot up his leg but he ignored it and repeated the slow process. He used the largest branches he could find to support his weight and eventually made his way above the treeline. What he saw amazed him.

All around him, as far as he could see, was forest. Despite the cold, there was still a lot of green that permeated the land. Behind him, there was some kind of mountain range, along with a massive waterfall that filled the air with a beautiful mist. Wherever he was, it was much more appealing than the land of wind. As he looked over the forest, far off in the distance Kiran spotted multiple trails of smoke.

Fire. There must be a small village nearby. If I can make it there then I can get some help and hopefully head home. Maybe I can be dispatched with Yvaine to go back and take care of the apes that attacked us. If we don't, who knows what kind of trouble they'll cause other explorers.

A small pang of guilt rang through his chest. Revenge would also be something he would seek because as far as he knew Tarko, Kouta and Gaius were dead. Making a tight fist, Kiran set on a course of action. He took a quick stock of his equipment, noting that his tanto and weights were gone and he was down to only two kunai. Everything else that he had was either used or left behind. He would have to be careful going forward, as he may have ended up in a country that wasn't too fond of visitors. With a groan, Kiran made his way back down the tree to begin his cold trek towards the smoke in the distance.