THE ELEMENT GUARDIANS

Chapter 8: The Meeting of the Guardians

After enduring various personal hardships during their journeys, all five Element Guardians met at the secret location selected by Master Ribbit. It would be the first time that they had all seen each other since being split up. They didn’t know, however, that this encounter would take place in another galaxy altogether.

Here is where we find our heroes. Where Quester and his new fairy girlfriend, Quincey, found themselves resting on the beaches of a new world, wondering where they were. Their immediate goal was to locate the other four Element Guardians, who had already settled on this planet. They first scanned the area to see if there were any signs of life. While walking on the beach, Quincey started to ask questions about the other four Guardians and what they were like. Quester started to tell her about his friends, beginning with Jason, the appointed leader of the Element Guardians. Quester told her how to spot Jason by his jet black hair, how he channeled his power from the fire domain, and that a dragon was his guardian animal. After Quester finished describing his leader, Quincey, being a good listener and wanting to obtain all information she could about her future legendary comrades, asked him to tell her more about his other Guardian friends.

Quester was fascinated by how fast she was able to absorb the information that was given to her about the Guardians. They were still walking then, and he was just about to start telling her about the Water Guardian when his sword began to glow with silver light. He took it out from its protective sheath and saw that it was pointing to what looked like a plateau.

“I think that my sword is telling us to head over there,” said Quester. “That might be where Master Ribbit is using his magic, where he can bring us to the designated location.”

They were just about to take another step when they heard a sound from above. They looked up at the sky to see a red dragon carrying a dark-haired man in a red suit. As Quester and Quincey watched rider and dragon fly towards them, the man in red jumped off the creature and landed in front of them.

“Hi, Jason,” said Quester with a grin. “We were just talking about you.”

“Quester,” Jason put out his hand to shake the Metal Guardian’s. “It’s great to see you. Seems like forever since we last saw one another.”

“I quite agree, old friend. How was your quest?”

“Don’t even get me started on that,” said Jason. “It was as long as my dragon’s tail.”

“Can’t be as bad as mine,” Quester challenged. “You wouldn’t believe the trouble I had to go through! Also, we’ve been waiting for you four tourists for quite some time.”

“Let’s not get into it right now,” said Jason. “Something tells me we’re all going to be retelling our quests when we get to the temple. And who’s this?” He looked to Quincey.

“This is my girlfriend, Quincey,” said Quester. “I’m just getting her up to speed. I was just about to tell her about our watery friend Sea Breeze.”

“Grand idea,” said Jason. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Quincey.”

“Likewise,” said Quincey. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Quester.”

Jason raised an eyebrow at his friend.

“She’s joining us for the battle,” Quester informed his leader. “Naturally, she wants to learn all she can.”

As they started walking, Jason took over and began to tell Quincey the saga of the second Guardian. He told her how Sea Breeze had power over the rivers, oceans, lakes, and seas. His temple was bigger than Poseidon’s palace. He could be identified by his shaved head, smooth and dark as a river stone. His sacred animal was the shark. When he’d finished telling her about the second guardian, she was even more amazed.

“So where are the other three Guardians?” Quincey asked, wondering if they were all as incredible as the two she had met.

As both Jason and Quester were pondering how to answer, out of the corner of Jason’s eye, he saw a huge wave beginning to form out at sea. Stopping to watch the development, they saw a man in blue surfing it. The wave crashed onto the beach, depositing the Water Guardian onto the sand.

“Well, Quincey, ask and you shall receive,” Jason said jokingly. The three watched as the man in blue came walking up to them.

“Quester, my friend, it feels like ages since I last saw you. I’ve almost forgotten what you look like,” Sea Breeze said. “Although I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this red flaming beauty by your side. Who might you be, lass?”

Quincey’s eyes turned a deep violet-blue, and the sky flickered a darker shade of the same color. She reached behind her and pulled out the red ruby from Quester’s pocket. With a little bit of her magic, she activated the bright jewel and aimed it at Sea Breeze, watching coolly as the flames pushed him back. She even added a little lightning to the mix.

“I’M NOBODY’S LASS, FISH BOY!” she screamed. The two Guardians behind her stepped back, for they could see that something was going to go down, and they did not want to get in her way.

Sea Breeze rose from where he’d landed, unhurt save for his clothes, which were smoking from the combined lightning attack. Now that’s something I’ve never seen before, he thought to himself.

Jason turned to the Metal Guardian and posed the question, “Does she do that often?”

“Nope. Guess we shouldn’t piss her off,” Quester answered.

Jason turned back to the action, observing the excellent fighting technique that Quincey demonstrated as she fought Sea Breeze. He was, however, pleased to note that the powers of an Element Guardian were just too much of an advantage over a young person, male or female. After a minute, Sea Breeze had Quincey in a position where she finally yielded to him. Even though she still had a fighting spark in her eyes, he helped her up and the two of them joined the other two Guardians.

“Well, that was fun, but can someone tell me where we are?” asked Quester. The answer didn’t come from Jason or Sea Breeze, but from behind him.

“We’ve been waiting for you so long that we started thinking you’d gotten lost,” said Dan, who had appeared behind Quester’s back without being noticed by the group. “Or married.”

“Careful, Dan, she may get upset.... very upset...” warned Sea Breeze.

“By the way, her name is Quincey,” said Quester. “Where have you been, Dan?”

“The truth is, it took me a while to figure out how to destroy my enemies during my awful journey. I also had to use a new means of travel that I’m not used to yet.” replied Dan. “I’m guessing that the others didn’t tell you my tale, did they?”

“No, they did not.”

“Don’t worry I can catch you up,” responded Dan, launching into the story of his mission. He told Quincey about his domain, his powers over earth, rocks, mountains, deserts, and animals. He told her about his beautiful wife and his daughters, trained by Master Topaz to become powerful warriors. He even told her of his passion for herbs and meditation. But he did not tell in its entirety the story of his friend Lilley.

After Dan had finished his tale, without asking any of the other Guardians how to get to Master Ribbit’s temple, Quester pulled out his still-glowing Element Sword and pointed straight ahead.

“Somewhere ahead, there is a plateau,” he voiced aloud.

“You are a genius, Quester” replied Jason, laughing. “We punctual Guardians, as we waited for you, recognized that plateau even in our dreams.”

“Getting up every morning at four and facing Master Ribbit for training wasn’t a pleasant task,” said Dan.

“We weren’t served breakfast by a beautiful woman, either,” concluded Jason.

“That isn’t true!” exclaimed Quincey. “I have never served him breakfast. He is a gentleman. Maybe it would have been better if we had never showed ourselves here among these crying little boys.”

“Easy, Quincey!” Quester intervened immediately. “They didn’t mean to offend. These men are the best of the best; the entire galaxy depends on them. They are joking around because they like us a lot. They are brothers to me.”

Quincey, for the first time in her life, felt a sense of guilt invading her mind and body. She realized now the difference between a fairy girl and an Element Guardian. The words that came out from her mouth next had the same pitch as those of a prayer.

“Please, forgive this ignorant fairy girl for her offensive behavior toward you glorious people who are willing to give your existences to save others. I’m sorry, Sea Breeze, I’m not even worthy to fight your sacred animal, never mind the Guardian of Water. You could have destroyed me if you wanted to. Thank you for understanding my stupidity. By all means, I should have been tossed into the water to be eaten by Sea Breeze’s shark.”

***

The four Guardians and Quincey walked along the plateau, animosities fading as they talked about Dave, the Wood Guardian, the only Element Guardian Quincey had yet to meet. She was particularly fascinated by the fact that he had carved his own temple from the wood of the tree trunks. He did not need any particular tools, just his power bracelet and his strong will. With a flick of his hand, the Wood Guardian could create any weapon for any kind of protection.

Quincey finally met Dave at Master Ribbit’s Temple. The meeting room had a round wooden table covered entirely in thick white marble. There was an extra chair at the table, as if they’d known she was coming.

Master Topaz asked the Guardians to place their swords on the table in front of them, looking very pleased indeed. Master Ribbit announced that dinner would be served after they had showered, rested, and exchanged their stories of their trips. He outlined the immediate details of their stay. They were expected to remain on this planet for as long as necessary before returning to their temples. This time was needed for them to comprehend the capability of their swords and the technical details of their usage. No previous training of this kind had ever been conducted by any intelligent being in any galaxy; there was no precedent for the training that the Element Guardians would complete here. All intergalactic transports from this planet to Element would be performed by Master Ribbit—they were sworn to the utmost secrecy. Besides Master Ribbit, this tech was known only to the Guardians, Master Topaz, and Lilley, for no other beings in the galaxy, good or evil, would ever have the capabilities to perform such a task.