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I awoke early, before anyone else. I stepped outside, enjoying the coolness in the air. I felt her come up next to me.

"You're nervous." She said, leaning slightly on my arm.

I glanced at her, a small smile playing at my lips. "It amazes me how well you read me."

She sighed. "I've always been able to, even though I'm younger." She paused. "But then, most of us are."

"Ancient Soul." I muttered.

She stepped away from me. "You are the eldest. The last surviving Great One." She turned back to me. "You are the Ancient Soul. The three centuries I have lived are nothing compared to how long you've lived."

I frowned at her. "And just how long have I lived?"

She turned to fully face me. "None of the rest of us know. But they say that you've been around for at least a millennium."

"He is much older than that." The wise woman said, coming from around the corner of the house. "Forgive, I was in the garden."

"There is nothing to forgive." I smiled. "But you're right. I am much older than that. I was reading through your people's history, and I found something."

Arainya stepped closer. "What? What did you find?"

"I fought in the Dark War." I answered. "That was more than a millennium and a half ago. Plus, I was already considered old, even then. Certainly not the eldest, or anything."

"To lose so much..." The wise woman answered. "But what happened that caused you to lose it all?"

I turned to her. "I was killed. Killed by the very vampire that now hunts for Dylan." The sky was just beginning to lighten. "Come, it is time."

Entering the building, I found Skye and Alex awake, their eyes wide. I smiled at them, then stooped and picked up the fevered wolf. Walking slowly, carefully, I made my way to a small hill that jutted up over the village, in perfect view of where the sun would rise. As the sky continued to lighten, I began calling my magic about me, causing the air to swirl. Speaking in an ancient tongue, I called out, "Just as all Life stems from the Currents that flow from the Creator, I call out now for Life to reenter this child. Child so fragile and broken, you are as beautiful as life itself. Touched by the power of Darkness, let Light chase it away."

The sun rose just as I finished. Light arched across the sky and enveloped Dylan. A black, shadowy aura clung about her, desperately trying to keep its hold. The Light pierced it through, dissipating it. I slumped to the ground, gasping for breath as the ritual ended. Soft arms caught me as I fell back, and I gazed up into Arainya's face. Dylan lay where the Light had let her down, gently.

Arainya wiped my forehead. "Xenolath?" She asked quietly.

"I'm fine...just...need...to rest..." I slipped into unconsciousness, my strength all but spent.