The trek through the Barrens had only been his first trial. And it had been exactly that: a significant trial that pushed Keirin's body to the limit of his endurance. He'd never put very much effort into training his body and mind for the hardships that plagued their world beyond Homewood. He was physically weaker than many nouls and even lacked much of the consideration that some could put forward into their decision-making... It had been so foolish of him to assume that of all the things he should test himself with first, a journey into the Barrens would be what he settled on.
He'd complained to his mother the very first night he'd made it back to his den, whined about his pitiful display of endurance and his uselessness as compared to the others. Keirin could have easily been the slowest and weakest among them, the one that held them back from a much faster-paced and rewarding journey...
His blessed mother was upbeat and reassuring, though, reminding Keirin that voyages such as these didn't always need to be about achieving a result. Sometimes the knowledge gained along the way was worth it on its own.
And he'd been lucky to learn so much about himself while having the protection of an ascended nearby. Now that he knew his limits, he could push to expand them. Now that he'd felt the bite of uselessness, he had motivation to hone his abilities. Now that he knew where he stood in comparison to his peers, he could set the goal of matching them. "Keep going, Keirin," she'd encouraged brightly, giving him an affectionate nuzzle as she did. "There is no time limit on bettering oneself, so don't be discouraged, my sweet."
Yet he was discouraged. So many were so much younger and so much more capable than him... It was hard to know where to begin.
Maybe it was no coincidence then, when scarcely a few days later, a message from a Lifebringer reached them. An ascended doe intended to revive the remains of an unknown creature that had been brought back to Homewood. It was no foreign concept that some of the more experienced Vivify-users could bring back certain fauna that had perished before their time, but new creatures were not especially common. And Keirin had never personally witnessed a revival before.
Before he'd earned his gift, it almost hadn't seemed like his business, that to give life back to their planet was something sacred and private that should be kept between the noul performing the resurrection and the creature receiving it. But Keirin wanted to learn and sometimes that could only be done by seeing. If he was sent away, he wouldn't press.
But it seemed unwise to pass up an opportunity so neatly presented to him.
After a few carefully posed questions about where he could find Brightheart and the remains she intended to revive, Keirin made his way toward her.
Brightheart was a magnificent doe. She held more confidence in a single wing feather than Keirin imagined he had in his entire body. Her message had said that she was seeking guardians for whatever was to come of these remains, but that she didn't know what exactly that would be. He was nervous at the prospect of the unknown, but Keirin trusted those who had decided this creature could be brought back. And if braving the unknown for even a moment meant that he could watch an ascended work her magic, surely he could do that much.
The does stood over the creature. Her horn took on a soft glow as she begun to call upon her magic, a glow that grew brighter and brighter as her concentration and resulting power increased. She dipped her head, bringing her shining horn in contact with a yellowed bone, and then- a sound like snapping.
Keirin started at the unexpected sound, body jolting an alarm as the magic twisted and reconnected fragments of bone that had long since separated. Joints reformed, bone was popped back into place and covered with sinew, a dragging groan tore free of a newly mended jaw as skin sloughed up the sides of the creature to settle over it like a blanket. Keirin was mortified by the sight, by the sound. He would never have expected life bringing to look so gruesome, but-
That was his mistake, he supposed. To drag something from the clutches of death, to imbue with life something that had lost it, of course it could be draining and... traumatic.
But Brightheart's wings fluttered in relief at what she'd made, and Keirin took that to mean that her magic had done its duty. She beckoned for him to step forward, indicating with a ruffle of her feathers and a gentle, if not tired, smile that he could accept the familiar that had been risen. It wasn't a creature familiar to him, though they'd all known it wouldn't be, and he found himself hesitant to approach it after witnessing what it had endured to be revived...
It showed no signs of that trauma, though, and regarded him through inquisitive eyes. So, not wanting to appear ungrateful to Brightheart, he stepped in and ushered the creature to his side before, dipping his head in gratitude to the ascended for allowing him to watch her work and moving away so that others may approach her for the same experience.
Keirin was still trembling as he left. There was some fear and uncertainty there, yes... But the exhilaration of it all... Could he one day share in that power?
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