The portal was only open for a moment, but it was long enough for something to pass through. A small bundle of fabric with a tiny, squirming creature wrapped up nice and warm. After a few minutes of silence, a second portal opened up, and the injured body of a Lanex crawled through. This portal snapped shut much more violently, the being who created it struggling to keep its focus.
The Lanex, utterly exhausted, coddled the little creature, before passing out.
Time passed. The Lanex wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but something had found them and taken them to shelter. A very grand shelter, filled with warmth and displays of past victories. The Lanex rose from the bed he had been laid in, glad to find that his little friend was safe and sound in a cot next to him. He though was not as lucky.
“What are you doing here, Lanex, and what are you doing with that kid?”
The voice was a stern, harsh voice,colder than the howling winds outside. The Lanex looked up to the source of the voice, then regretted it.
Standing at the end of the bed was a strange, tall, menacing creature. Blue, silver and black, heavily armoured, with long, sleek, bendy claws, sharp fangs hanging out of its jaw and two pairs of dark blue eyes. In one hand it held a staff decorated in gems and teeth made of crystal. In its other hand, it held a rather basic little gun.
“I am saving it. Protecting it. Tahnahos ton Avran, it has been a while. What year is it?”
Tahnahos blinked, then sneered angrily. “You have no idea? YOU HAVE NO IDEA?” His raised voice did little to bother the sleeping child. “Who does that baby Rethan belong to? Tell me, or you will find yourself in Stasis’s embrace before you know it.”
The Lanex began to panic. “They were all going to die! I couldn’t save all of them! Didn’t have enough time! The Anexartans set the whole city ablaze, burnt it all down in one fell swoop. I didn’t have time to react and protect everyone, so I grabbed the kid and tried to get away. The explosion though… I only meant to push myself forward a few weeks, to when the fires would eventually stop burning, but the energy from the explosion interfered with my push and… I don’t know. Please, do not hurt me, Tahnahos!”
Tahnahos threw the gun away. It smashed against the ground, then crumbled to dust. “Which city?”
“Palaestra.”
“What year.”
“Year 2966, Post-Deitic War.”
Tahnahos’s eyes dropped. He knew exactly what the Lanex was talking about. “The Burning of Palaestra. The day… the day Elksia died. That was a very, very long time ago…”
“How long ago, Kronospast?”
“About five million years ago!” Tahnahos snapped. “You brought that little kid here… To this hellhole of a time! Do you have any idea what you have done?”
The Lanex cowered in his bed. He clearly didn’t know, apart from the fact that he’d jumped far too far into the future. His friends, his family, they were all probably dust now. Tahnahos realised what he had done.
“I apologise. I did not think about how you might feel. It is a lonely fate, one I understand far too well. What is your name?”
“Mataras…” the Lanex muttered. “I…”
“It’s okay…” Tahanhos got closer, wrapping his spindly arms around the scared Lanex. “It will be alright. But we have a little kid who needs looking after. Rethans are not a common or powerful race any more.”
“About that…” Mataras hesitated. “Promise you won’t kill me when I tell you its name, please?”
Tahnahos hesitated. “I won’t hurt you. I may be angry or surprised, but I promise I won’t hurt you. Or the kid. Both of you are safe here.”
Mataras took a deep breath. “His… his name is Lorkan. He is the newly hatched child of Retvik Rethianos and Elksia Ksiou…”