Sojourney

Chapter 2 Part 2

“Ah, spirits. Spirits were once human but in the afterlife, they become animals. Some

more powerful than others. They roam places they feel the most at home and protect that land. For example, a wolf spirit would protect the mountain forests from anything that would cause harm to other humans or animals. Spirits that protect eventually consume other spirits of the same nature and become Guardians. They hide themselves in the deepest part of their territory, away from any sign of human existence. You cannot see them and they won’t reveal themselves for anyone or anything.” Lord Darius stood and walked to a shelf along the wall while she soaked in the information.

“Guardians,” she said trying to accept the existence of things other than what she knew.

“If they hide themselves away from everything, then how did I become this monster?” Her eyes

watered and swelled but she refused to let the tears fall. “How did I become hated by everyone

that they feel the need to kill me or those I love?” Lord Darius turned back to her with an old book in his hands. He set it down in front of

her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She felt something draw away the sadness and fill her with a comforting light. She looked at Lord Darius and saw the same sadness in his eyes.

“Child, you are many things but a monster is not one of them. Look here.” The book he

had placed in front of her was torn slightly at the edges and the binding had been worn away,

evidence of its many uses. On the cover was a woman adorned in ancient silver cloth with faded green as the background color of the entire book. She was wearing a traditional robe of faith and was surrounded by five symbols.

“Who is that?”

“Her name is Solaria. She was the only woman who was completely faithful to the five Gods centuries ago in the time of darkness. Evil ran rapid across the land. People died and forests were burned, creatures of old hid themselves away until they were thought to be extinct. Amid the chaos, Solaria prayed every day in her temple for two long years until finally her

prayers were answered. The gods sent her five gifts, one from each god along with a message.

She was told that if she wanted the light to consume the earth once more, she would need to make many sacrifices and become the mighty warrior they believed her to be.” Lord Darius opened the book to the center and there were five pictures of the gifts he had told her of. The more Gwen soaked in this new knowledge the more questions she had. She sat quietly and ran her fingers over the page. A pendant, a sword, a ring, a mirror and a dagger. What was so special about things as common as these?

“Aurora the Goddess of Sight, gave Solaria a small circular mirror. The mirror had been

made of silver and gold that designed the Great Eye, Aurora’s symbol. The mirror itself was

made of the purest quicksilver only found deep underneath the Synge desert. Selene the Goddess of Water, created a sapphire and pearl pendant which was cradled inside a clam shell from the Cerulean Sea.” He turned the page revealing a more detailed picture of the mirror and pendant. The parchment paper of the old book gave character and life to the images.

“Bolen the God of Air, created a ring of diamond surrounded by silver. Within the depths of the diamond a fierce thunderstorm swirled. Gladimar the God of Earth, gave Solaria a sword

made of steel folded one hundred times over. The blade was sharp and near the hilt was a symbol of the mighty Mt. Oyo, a triangle made of jade found deep within the mountain. Along the

sharpness of the blade was a coating of diamond dust allowing it to make its cut clean and swift.” Gwyn turned the page this time. A faded gray mountain with a snowy cap on one page, a mirrored lake on the other. Paragraphs of cursive writing flowed at the bottom of each page speaking of descriptions and explanations of each.

“Finally Solin, the God of Fire, gave Solaria a dagger forged in the deepest fires of the

largest volcano in the Volusia Isles. The blade itself was black as night and would leak ash when wielded. The handle was a plain earthy brown stone but with a glowing red stripe of garnet swirling around the handle and into the hilt. The stone inside glowed red constantly, an ever reminder of the fiery power within.”

“Lord Darius,” Gwyn interrupted. “what has this got to do with any of my questions? I

just want to understand what I am.” The history lesson was indeed fascinating, but it had nothing to do with her. Lord Darius placed a finger upon her lips to keep her silent.

“Everything about this has to do with you. Before I get to your point, you must first

understand why the Guardians did what they did to you. The despair that was centuries ago

became nothing by legend, but legends are nothing but truth.” He had only gently scolded her but he was right. If she wanted to know what she was then she needed to know everything. She nodded, accepting his point of view and waited for him to continue.

“When these items were gifted to Solaria, she knew what she had to do. She had to face

the evilest of evils and banish them from our world. Her journey to Mt. Eluvia stretched across the land. It took her thirty-seven days to make it to the entrance of the great mountain and once

she neared, she was forced to use the gifts that were given. Evil spirits and monsters came from

the shadows to stop her and she slayed them one by one. Solaria fought her way inside the

mountain and through many passageways. Deeper she went into Mt. Eluvia; darker did it seem to become with more shadows and monsters lurking within them. The tunnels within the mountain grew colder and longer and solaria started to lose hope of completing her mission until a sudden warmth surrounded her.”

“A small light illuminated within the darkness and started to form a shape. When the

shape finally formed, it was a Lynx from the Synge desert. Unknown to Solaria, the spirit had

been following her ever since she entered the mountain. The lynx stood taller than Solaria and

wrapped its great tail around her to give her comfort. When it communed with her, the Lynx had said ‘Do not lose hope within the darkness’ grasp. I will be here to help you along for you have shown more courage and bravery than any other human I have ever seen.’” Lord Darius flipped the page to another picture of a great long eared desert cat leaning its head forward to touch Solaria’s.

“The Lynx then did the one thing that was unheard of in our world. It merged with

Solaria’s soul, becoming one within her. She could feel her body changing, her hearing and sight enhancing, her sense of smell grew sharper. She became quicker in her fighting and could no longer be influenced by the fear of the darkness. She possessed special abilities from the lynx that allowed her to create sandstorms and move the earth of her own free will without the gods’ gifts. She fought the darkness for three continuous days and nights until finally she reached the heart of the mountain. Within the mountain’s heart she found the evilest of all evils. A great black dragon with the reddest of eyes and a scorpion’s stinger for a tail, its scales burned with dragon fire, its wings spread greatly. A green liquid glowed within the tip of its tail, the deadly poison waited to be injected into the bodies of its enemies. Solaria stood her ground and with the power of the gods and the courage of the spirit lynx with her, she fought and defeated the beast. But the story is not as happy as it might have been. Before the beast perished to its grave injuries, the tail injected her leg with its poison, paralyzing her body before she had the chance to reach for the healing waters within Selene’s pendant. She withered away to meet death’s welcoming arms within the darkest depths of that mountain. The gods pitied Solaria for they knew she would meet them in the heavens, and so they took her from the heart of the mountain to its entrance and buried her so she may forever watch for the evil to lurk to the surface once more. The gods then took her gifts and spread them throughout the land with protectors of their own.” He turned the page and there were pictures of a variety of creatures each holding one of the gifts.

“Each god created their own race of creatures to protect their gifts to the best of their ability. Solin created the Dragons who hid the dagger in the largest volcano in the Volusia Isles. Selene, the Mer-people and took the pendant deep into their coral and gem kingdom of the Sea. Aurora, the Elves took the mirror into the Synge desert deep underground. Bolen, the Sprites took the ring north to a frozen wasteland valley atop Mt. Cryst on a frozen lake of ice known as the Lake of the Forgotten, guaranteeing its safety from all who seek its power. Gladimar, the Dwarves took the sword into Mt. Oyo swearing to the gods themselves to protect its power deep within the mines that which were created.” Lord Darius closed the book and sat once more in his

chair across Gwyn.

“Guardians like the lynx in the legend came back to their territories once the evil was

slain and good restored to the world. It was balanced again until humans started fighting amongst themselves. Wars were created, thousands died and for what purpose? To gain more land for themselves? To rule the world? Guardians of other species heard what the lynx had done and thus did the same so that human kind could have protectors of their own even if it was from themselves. Over the years, the Guardians chose carefully who they merged with. They could sense the purity within humans and merged with the purest of heart.” Gwyn scrunched her nose.

“But I’m not pure. I fear I am corrupt. I want the death of those responsible for my mother’s death. I picture killing them in ways that would scare most. How does having the urge to kill, to take life, make me pure?” Lord Darius smiled and shook his head.

“Gwyn you are still a child. You may yearn for it now but in time you will forgive those

people.” A hysterical laugh burst from her lips.

“Forgive? What they have done was unforgiveable! I will not allow them to get away

with what they have done! Never!” Her anger washed away all calm within her like a tidal wave. Her breathing grew heavy.

“Calm yourself, I said in time. Until then you will find out on your own how it will be

dealt with.”

More questions filled Gwyn’s mind. His answers just lead to more questions and with

those questions her curiosity grew.

“So what spirit is within me? What Guardian took its place within my soul?”

“I am afraid I don’t know. The only other way to know for sure is to find another

Guardian.”

“Where can I find a Guardian?” She spat the questions one after another, hungry for

answers. The old man’s face turned grave. His eyes dimmed with sadness and his smile waned, deepening his wrinkles.

“You can’t. They will find you.”