Disclaimer: All original characters, places, items and ideas are not mine. They belong to Sega and Sonic Team.
Author's note: Hey guys! Well, this is Ceaira's story, so yeah, hopefully it will clear things up for ya! Hate to break it to you, but this story will be much shorter then the two before it and the one after it! Hey, sorry! So yeah! Hope you enjoy this one!
Chapter One: The Beginning
The clouds rolled, pitch black; thunder roared and lightning flash. A scream could be heard over the roar of the wind. "Hang in there" Someone yelled. Another scream ripped through the stormy night. "One more," A baby's cry followed the next scream. "You did it!"
The mother held the child, smiling weakly. She stroked the babes head. The father leaned back, grinning brightly. He looked proudly at his baby and her mother. "What shall we name her?" He asked.
"I don't know, Alix," the mother whispered.
Alix sighed. "We must name her soon, Emily." Emily nodded. She knew that the tradition says the child must be named within the hour of birth.
"Will they accept her as the Keeper? Alix shrugged. "Females weren't supposed to be the Keeper."
"You must let her be the Keeper. It must stay in our family, Alix." He nodded.
"I will do my best to get her the position. But they'll never accept her if she isn't named before the hour is up."
I don't know what to name her. She's so beautiful. No name seems to fit her, Emily said, looking fondly at the child. She suddenly gasped. "Its time, Alix."
"We must name the child! You can't go unless the child is named!"
Emily fell back, breathing horribly fast. Suddenly, the breathing stopped. Emily Alix yelled. Her breathing started up, just enough to whisper one word. With her dying breath she whispered, "Ceaira.".
"A female has never been the Keeper."
"Please, sir, you forget my mother." Alix was standing in front of a council. He was holding the child, Ceaira, in his hands, stroking her hunter green fur.
"We could never forget your mother; The Beast destroyed her!" The man retorted. "It doesn't want females to be its Keeper"
"Please, this was Emily's dying wish, to have her daughter hold the tradition of the Keeper in our family! My mother wasn't trained properly to be the Keeper. If Ceaira is trained properly, the Beast won't be able to protest! It should be happy we train our Tribe for it!" Alix yelled.
"Would you like to be its lunch tomorrow, Alix? I bet you don't, so don't say that again about the Beast!"
"Why? We live in fear of that monster. Why haven't we killed it yet?"
The Red One will come to destroy it. We have waited for a red child, but it's not going to happen. All we did is made it as happy as we can until the Red One comes to destroy the Beast."
Alix growled. "We don't have to wait for the Red One But enough about destroying the Beast, my daughter must keep it. She must be the Keeper."
The man sighed, rubbing his head. "Fine, I will give her the proper training, but if the Beast is angered by the presence of the female then it will be your head to pay."
Alix nodded. "Very well, I am prepared for the payment of the anger of the Beast if I must."
"Jessie, you will be the care taker of the child. She starts her training in 10 years. Alix, you may visit her once a month. Now, leave me!" Alix bowed and handed Ceaira to Jessie. She nodded and took the child gently. She promised to keep her happily and to keep her safe. She then left the Hall. That was the last Alix ever saw of his child.
Ten years later
"Ceaira, come, your training starts today," Jessie called. The young hunter green creature awoke with a start.
"I'm coming," she called. The house they lived in was quite small. Jessie had no family of her own, so Ceaira was all the blue creature had.
Now, you may be asking what these creatures are. Technically, they have no species, for they are the decedents of the echidna race. They are now omnivores, though and follow none of the echidna law and rule. In normal state, these creatures resembled a hedgehog mixed with an echidna. They had delicate dread locks that were slightly longer then the echidnas, and they had long hedgehog spikes that came down more like hair then regular spikes. They had silky, soft fur all over there body. It was short and fine and highly water repellent. These highly strange creatures weren't known to exist by anyone but the remaining echidnas. They lived in the far outer stretches of the Ruins and live peacefully with their echidna neighbors, for the time being.
Ceaira ran downstairs of the small three room home. "Hi, Jess," she said with a smiled. Jessie smiled.
"We are having eggs for breakfast, Ceaira. I hope you enjoy training. You need to go with a full stomach," Jessie said, placing a heaping plate of scrambled eggs in front of the child.
Ceaira still didn't understand what being the Keeper meant, but she knew that it was very important. "Jess, who will be teaching me," she asked through large bites of her eggs.
"Marret," Jessie answered.
Marret was an elder of the Tribe of the Wind. He was black with green dread locks and white spikes. He was not the council leader, though he had been asked many times to take the position. He was also the only non-Keeper to be able to morph and approach the Beast without fear. He had been training Keepers for 50 years and only one of his students failed. Ceaira's grandmother, Alix's mother, was the only failed student and the only other female Keeper. Only Marret knew what had happened.
Ceaira carefully walked into his hut. "Sir," She asked. Jessie didn't follow the young creature to the small hut. It was located outside the city of these creatures. It was one room with a cot for Marret and a cot for his student, who happened to be Ceaira. For seven years, the young creature would go threw intense training. When she was seventeen, she was meant to live alone with the Beast. When she was 27, then she was to be married and have a child as soon as possible. Seventeen years after the child's birth, Ceaira would give up her duty as the Keeper to the child and she had the choice of exile, execution or to be a normal citizen. To many of the creatures' surprise, ninety percent of the Keepers choose execution.
"Why?" Ceaira asked when Marret finished telling her.
He smiled. "Because, dear child, they are forbidden to see the Beast after the child takes over. Most choose not to live without the monster. It's a relationship most don't ever want to give up, and when it is time to give it up, they do." Ceaira found that she loved his voice so much. It was raspy, but soft at the same time. IT was very friendly and inviting.
"I see," Ceaira said, but she did not understand it completely.
"Don't worry, child, it will all become clear when you begin your training," Marret said,
Ceaira smiled. She was a very pleasant child. No one saw what she was destined for, not even Marret, who was meant to foresee the shortcomings of the Keepers.
Exactly what went wrong with Ceaira is a mystery, but it might have had something to do with…. Never mind. This story will fold in on itself, but to truly understand Ceaira, you have to understand her grandmother. So, let's skip ahead a few years to when she was ready to hear this story.
Training: Year Two
"Ceaira, it is time for you to learn what happened with your grandmother."
For the past two years, Marret and Ceaira had taken time to get to know each other. Ceaira was expected to do many chores in and around the hut. Marret had a beautiful garden and it was Ceaira's job to keep it alive. If one plant were to die, then she had to sleep on the floor. Unlike their Echidna cousins, these creatures did not use stone, they used brinks,
Ceaira looked at Marret. "Ok, I'm ready."
Marret sighed. "Your grandmother started out as most of my students. She was eager to learn, but maybe a bit too eager. If you were to get a report from the Council, then you will find that all it says is that she tried to rise to power. She attempted to use the Beast for her own purpose, and I don't care what they tell you, out Guardian is not evil. When she attempted this, she was devoured. The Beast is not one to be told what it shall do in its life. Basically, your grandmother's head got too big. She attempted to destroy the tribe."
Ceaira frowned. "Where did she go wrong?"
Marret shrugged. "Well, she attempted it too early in her relationship with the Beast, Your training ends when you are seventeen, as did your grandmother's. She tried this when she was eighteen. The Beast must know you before you can convince it of anything."
Ceaira nodded. "I will not follow my grandmother," she whispered, smiling.
Marret nodded. "I know, child, I know."
Author's note: If you have not read the first Knuckles Adventure, please, go back and read them. I promise, this story will make a lot more sense if you do! Thank you!