A/N: I wasn't happy with how the chapter turned out, so I did a do-over.
Callum dreamt of a time when his family was whole. Back when he is little, Ezran was an infant, and their mother is still alive.
"Alright, who's up for a bedtime story?" Harrow asked in a jovial tone after his family settled down in his and Sarai's bedroom. "The last one is about how it was the unicorns who helped humans with their magic when the elves and dragons refused. How about a story about Hoole, the first Guardian"
"That would be wonderful, dear." Sarai said.
Harrow nodded in agreement and turned to Callum and Ezran. "Would you boys like to hear the story?"
Callum nodded in a nervous-eager way, while Ezran giggled happily.
"Alright, then. A story about Hoole it is." Harrow said, before coming next to Sarai. Once he has settled, Harrow began.
"Once upon a time, when Xadia was one land, the six elven races and six dragon species stood divided. Fighting and warring against each other and the dreaded birds known as hagsfiends. The only hope for peace is a prophecy by a Startouch elf that tells of a coming of a hero born of the Star Primal who will unit the elves and dragons. Being creatures from a time before the six Primal sources were defined as they are now, the hagsfiends, not wanting any further change, sought out the hero. Once they find them, they will killed them so the prophecy will never come true. Eventually the hideous creatures' search led them to the lair of a pair of Star dragons named H'rath and Siv with an egg due to hatch. When the hagsfiends attacked, H'rath fought bravely against them. But in the process, he sacrificed his life to ensure his mate and their egg can escape."
"Devastated by the death of her mate, Siv vowed vengeance on the hagsfiends. However, she also knows that the safety of her unborn dragonet comes. So, after flying for many days and many nights, she sought refuge in the home of her old friend, a Sun dragon named Grank, who became the first collier. Siv told Grank about the attack on her home and the death of H'rath by the hagsfiends and he, in return, told her about the prophecy of the hero born of the Star Primal and their coming and that the hagsfiends didn't want it to come true, which is they attack H'rath and Siv's home. Deciding to make the prophecy came true, Siv entrusted her egg to Grank in the hopes her dragonet might be the prophesied hero. Grank took the egg to a remote island, where it hatched on the night of a new Moon. Grank named the young male dragonet 'Hoole', after spotting the constellation of an owl in the sky on the night of his birth."
"For years, Hoole lived with his adoptive uncle Grank on the island of his birth. He only knew of Xadia and the creatures that lives in it from stories Grank, yet he earned to explore it, to know more about it beyond what his uncle has told him, always asking himself "What is Xadia really like?". Then, one day, curiosity led to finally fly away from his island home and into Xadia for the first time. There, he saw a land soaked in blood and tears, and ravaged by years of war, shattering his once naive view of the world. Yet, hope for something better was never completely lost when Hoole met his mother who told him the story of his father's death and her hope he is the hero born of the Stars destined to unite the elven and dragon tribes. And together, mother and son, and Grank, found elves and dragons who wants the years of fighting and war to end. Over time, Hoole and his new friends formed a band of noble warriors who swore an oath to make strong the weak, mend the broken, and vanquish evil, the Guardians of Xadia. With their courage and determination, they put an end to years of fighting and war and finally unite the elves and dragons and Xadia become a peaceful land."
"It all came to a head when the hagsfiends learn of Hoole and the order he has created and vowed to destroy them. So, Hoole led the Guardians to meet the hagsfiends in a great and final battle. The battle was fierce. Many elves and dragons lost their lives to defeat the dragonlike birds, but in the end, the hagfiends were defeated and tried to flee from the Guardians. Yet, their attempts to hide and plot their revenge were ultimately futile as the elves and dragons killed them until they were no more."
"Should I stop?" Harrow asked jokily.
"W-what!? No, please! Don't stop!" Callum protested. "You were just getting to the next part!"
"Now, now, Callum. You know full well what happens next." Sarai said, trying to calm her eldest son.
"Yeah, but Ezran doesn't. He doesn't know about how the Guardians formed the different chaws, how new Guardians are trained, and how Hoole wanted to help humans before he died."
"It's alright, Callum." Harrow said. "I'll finish the story another time. For now, you and Ezran should some sleep."
With that, Callum and Ezran were tucked right into bed, although the older boy is still a little upset.
Upon awakening, Callum found tears in his eyes. Carefully, he got out of bed without waking up Zym and quickly found a picture he drew of his family, and brought it over to the bed. There, he looked at the drawing, remembering the times they have with each other before his mother died nine years ago.
"I miss you, guys." Callum said quietly, a single tear landing on the picture.
"Father?"
Callum turned to see Zym at his side, wide awake and yawning.
"What are those people in the picture?"
"My family."
"Your family?"
"Yeah. There's my mom, Sarai, my stepdad, Harrow, and my little brother, Ezran. Mom died when I was little and Ezran was just a baby. When I first heard of her death, I was so deep in denial that I ran away from home one time. Harrow and Ezran are all I have now and they probably missed me, just as much as I missed them."
Zym looked at the picture for a few moments, and then he said something Callum didn't expect.
"Father, I want a mother too."
"But, you have a mother and she doesn't know you're alive yet."
"I know that. It just, I want someone to be my mother like you're my father."
Callum had told Zym of his real parents, especially his real father. The young dragonet didn't like what Avizandum and as far as he's concerned, Callum is his father, his da.
"If that is what you wish, then I need to find the right one."
What Callum didn't know is that the one who'll be Zym's adoptive mother will come sooner than expected.