In my dreams, I know I have slept for centuries, waiting to wake alone.

I know not what awakens me, then- only that I do.  Eyes still closed, I breath deep, filling my lungs with the rich scent of the forest, earthy and in bloom. A soft breeze brushes across my face, and I know I should feel a slight chill.  Instead, I find I am surrounded by warmth. Stretching slightly, I run my fingers through silken strands of the blanket spread across my lap and the luxurious fur beneath my head.

A sound like a soft rumble of thunder catches my dreaming attention in such a way that I feel sure it has been there in my ear all along. Sighing, I finally open my eyes only to stare in wonder at the scene before me.

Across the sunlit glade, a snow-white doe nuzzles her tiny fawn forward from where he’s hidden by her side.  Near them, a great gryphon stretches his wings with an air of royalty.  His mate curls beside him, bright eyes studying me.  A flash of light draws my gaze to a firebird a-lighting on a branch above the sinewy form of a mighty kirin.

And sleeping softly, with her head pillowed in my lap, her mane strew across me, is my unicorn.  I sit up and move my hands to stroke the shining horn, sighing softly at the rush of magic that flows through me.

Another rumble sounds and I look over my shoulder toward it.  The massive tiger who’s served as my pillow regards me fondly, his purr the source of the thunder.

Guardian, he whispers, voice so familiar to my dreaming mind, it is time.