A/N: This story is set in a timeframe AFTER Kal had revived Janner with Water From the First Well (we are going to assume that happened, okay?)
Janner coughed as a cloud of dust coating the top of an old bookshelf rained down on him. He had been tasked to cleaning out the Castle Rysen Library. It was his favorite room in the whole palace.
It was massive, with huge bookshelves crouching against the walls, with volumes thicker than Janner's head resting in the shelves. There were two levels of the huge library.
When Nia had first showed him, Kal wouldn't stop teasing him about the squeal that escaped Janner's lips.
But alas, the mammoth, echoing cavern of stories had been collecting dust for over a decade ever since it was abandoned. So Janner was tasked in dusting the entire thing. and cleaning it out.
It was a daunting task, but Nia had promised that Oskar was to arrive soon to help him. Janner started anyway.
He pulled put a huge book from a shelf, slightly terrified that the weight of the book would make him unbalance from the ladder he had climbed up to reach the top shelves. But he took the risk to gaze upon the cover in awe.
He brushed away the dust, and gold imprinted words stared up at him.
The Most Trustworthy and Credible Book Regarding Flabbits, Volume One by Dewleck Pappel
Janner smiled. Oskar would be bouncing with excitement. Janner blew off more dust, then used his towel to clean the cover. He set it back, and reached for a new book. This one was even bigger, and it read,
The Mysteries of Sea Dragons, Discovered and Undiscovered (Excitement!) by Terry Willfellow
Janner made a mental note to read that one later. It seemed very interesting. Then another cover caught his eye as he cleaning that book and set it back. It was curiously brighter than the others.
Janner leaned over the ladder precariously, and quickly snatched it off the shelf. It was much, much thinner than the other books. He could wrap his palm over the bind easily. He turned it over to look at the cover, and immediately gasped and wobbled on his ladder, almost dropping the book.
His eyes widened and his breath quickened as he stared at the cover. It had a title, but a picture on it too. And...the picture was a boy holding a pitchfork with a determined look set in the his teal eyes. A cloud shaped like a sea dragon roared in the background, and his beloved Glipwood Town sat on a hill behind the boy.
And the boy... it was Janner. On the side it read, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness.
Janner stared at the book. What was this? Why was he on a book? His mind swirled with questions. He scrambled down the ladder, his breath getting caught in his throat and his body shaking.
When he reached the bottom, he sank to the floor with the book in his hand. He was almost not brave enough to open the book. But his wonder won over his shock, and he took his shaking hand and wrapped it around the cover. He cracked it open, turning to the first page.
Immediately, blinding white lights shot out of the pages, a beacon reaching into the ceiling. Janner yelped and scrambled back, as the pages flipped and flipped, an unseen wind turning them back and forth. But he could see no words, the white light blocking out everything in it.
Suddenly, the dusty old library was shifting. It was being replaced by a new, blurry scenery.
Janner found himself in a strange place. Soft, carpeted floors cushioned his feet, and he saw a mother and two children in strange clothing reading from the exact same book with Janner on the cover.
"All eyes turned to Podo as Leeli scooted to him. Moaning, on his back just inside the doorway, Podo was on the verge of losing consciousness. More Fangs were coming, and with them, heat and the smell of smoke. And, that's the end of that chapter for tonight," the mother said in an echoing, muffled voice.
"Aw, just one more chapter? Pleeeeease?" the children begged. The mother smiled.
"Tomorrow we can find out what happens to the Iggiby's. Now off to bed!"
"I wanna be just like Leeli girl when I grow up," yawned the small girl as she slipped off the couch. "Kind and caring, and sweet..."
The boy grinned. "I wanna be like Kalmar, super fast and really brave!"
Janner found himself smiling as the scene changed. An older boy lay on his bed, reading a different book. But this one had Kalmar on the cover, looking sulky. Dugtown loomed in the background. And the cover read, North! Or be Eaten. A strange machine blinking numbers that said, 11:26pm.
"Time for bed," A father said, entering the room. The boy sighed and reluctantly closed the book. "It was getting to the good part! I love Wingfeather Saga. I want to be just like them. They are brave, and so awesome!" he swished around a pretend sword. The father chuckled, and turned off the lights.
Janner tried to run over to the boy to look inside the book, but the scene changed and he stumbled into a room that an older, teenage girl sat in a chair. She was reading a book with Leeli on the cover. Her face was illuminated by flames, and the Green Hollows snowy valley's dipped behind her. Dogs stood at her attention, waiting for her next command. The cover read, The Monster in the Hollows.
The girl's eyes were intently fixated on the pages, and Janner sat down, no longer trying to see what it read. He knew it wouldn't work. The girl gasped and covered her mouth, eyes sparkling.
Janner smiled at the memories.
"Wow..." she breathed, then closed the book and hugged it tightly to her chest, closing her eyes. "The real monster in the hollows..."
The scene changed again, and this time, Janner was in a bedroom, watching a girl about his age curled up against her bed, on the last pages of the last book titled The Warden and the Wolf King.
But this time, an unexpected reaction came from the girl. Tears gathered in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Janner suddenly knew that she was reading about...his death. The girl covered her mouth as tears poured over her cheeks. Janner felt the overwhelming sadness coming off of her in waves. The girl closed the book after flipping to the last page.
Janner blinked back tears of his own. She was so sad...about his story.
"Janner sacrificed himself for his family," the girl whispered, and Janner scootched closer to her to catch her words. "He was so brave. And he loved his brother that much. He was a Throne Warden, of course."
Just then, the door cracked open and a six year old boy jumped in.
"Hey, sissy! Can you play with me? Why are you crying?" The girl wiped her eyes and sniffed.
She reached out and wrapped her little brother in a hug. "I love you, Wilfred."
The little boy squirmed in her embrace. "Eee! Sissy, why are you hugging me? You usually yell at me to get out of your room!"
Janner sniffed. The girl did too. She glanced at the book, and smiled. "Well...now I didn't! Say, do you want to read a story...?"
Janner felt the scene shift for the last time. He knew in his soul that this magic was coming to an end.
This last time, he was in a small office. Or, he assumed so. A man with glasses and a golden beard sat in a rolling chair, pictures and sketches and music sheets scattered around the room and desk. A strange glowing screen with bizzare pictures on it confused Janner.
But then the man turned in his chair, facing Janner. And unlike the other people, this man looked surprised. Janner looked behind himself, making sure the man's surprise was directed at him and not someone or something behind him.
"Janner?" the man asked. Janner sucked in a breath.
"You...know my name? You can see me?" Janner gasped, his eyes widening.
The man laughed, his gaze twinkling. "Of course. I am so glad to meet you. But...I suppose we have spent many times together."
Janner blinked, very confused. "W-What? How do you know me?"
The man smiled. "You could say...I have read you're book. I am honored that the magic has brought you here. I want to tell you I'm very proud of you. Your story has inspired many others. And it will continue to do so as it spreads."
Janner was in a haze. The man got up and reached out his hand to Janner. Janner took it and shook it. "I'm Janner Wingfeather...but I guess you already know that."
The smiled again. "And my name is Andrew. Andrew Peterson."
Janner closed his eyes.
Janner felt a deep ache in his gut, like he was home again. And when he opened his eyes, he was. He was standing in the dusty old library, the book with himself on the cover closed and resting peacefully on the ground as if nothing at all had happened.
Janner understood now. His story- His family's story- had inspired many across the world. Or even farther than his own world. It was the Maker's will. Janner picked up the book and climbed the ladder calmly once more. He shelved the book in a comfortable nook, knowing it wouldn't be found ever again.