The Legend of Tantus - Book 1

Chapter 3 - The guardians and the summoner

    The day was partly cloudy, with a very pleasant climate, but strong winds were beginning to blow, as well as two face-to-face guardians initiating a titanic battle that once made the world tremble, and fear. The dragons rose to the skies and curled violently, the impact of their claws on their powerful armors could be felt at a distance, and the trees trembled. Those who watched the battle had no words to describe it, only reported that it took time enough to witness the terrible force of the guardians. Luckily their extreme powers were not used and they remained only in physical combat, otherwise the entire forest could have been destroyed and everything would end here... Although Sumith, the silver dragon, seemed strange, uncontrolled, did not attack or defend himself with precision, while the green dragon was in much better conditions and already took advantage in the fight, they returned to the ground face to face, and the guardian of Meira, in a rapid movement, vertically injured the right eye of Sumith. His blood ran, and after the damage the silver dragon lost his balance, his left wing plucked a huge tree like a single flower, throwing it many meters away, the girl, who was in total panic, saw everything happen well before her eyes, then Sumith stumbled and in his fall the earth trembled. The girl would have been crushed had it not been for John, who, quick as an arrow, saved her from certain death. The next moment Thorgele and Enghon appear just behind the green dragon.

- Now Enghon!

    United in a great leap and concentrating various elements on Andriel, Thorgele cut through the air firing a powerful elemental blast precisely on the dragon's back. This might have bothered him, enough or not, but at least got his attention, and he got up and turned to them with an unfriendly gaze.

- Do not tell me that... – said Enghon.

- It worked and did not work. We are screwed! – said Thorgele.

- I said do not tell me!

    The sorcerer and the shinobi were in deep trouble, the idea of helping their friend was correct, but the price to pay would be no less than a guardian's attack. And it was at this moment more tense that another mysterious man appeared, also from the rear, in a speedy jump that seemed more like a flight touched the back of the green dragon, a bright and unknown light appeared there, the same light wrapped around the dragon again and he began to return to human form. Sumith fallen with the wounded face also returned to normal and remained unconscious, the second battle between guardians, was finished.

    Sumith woke up early in the evening. The wound on his face was healed, luckily it was only shallow and his eye was not compromised, but the scar remained as a reminder, beside Thorgele, John and Enghon were talking to the green guardian and the mysterious man around the campfire, Sumith recognized him immediately, it was Zeon, his former teacher and tutor. A man who looked about forty winters, he even remembered a little Arkan, had short silvery hair, and his blue eyes caught drew attention, he had no weapon at all. The green guardian was named Arturo Lekard, but he had a preference for the surname, he got up when he saw the young man awake, and went to apologize deeply for everything that happened. The young man looked at him for a few seconds, and without words he accepted the apology. Then he was invited to join the conversation:

- I... I have no idea what happened. Zeon, you suddenly disappeared, what happened? – Sumith asked confused.

- Unfortunately I had to take care of important obligations, but you are doing well, apparently. – Zeon replied with a cynical smile. – But we have other issues to clarify now.

    Zeon went into detail about something out of the records and rumors: the obscure part of the guardians separation. After the conflict of the same, by the influence of Kraven, all the guardians were manipulated by the sorcerer, and one of them in particular, this guardian was Lekard. Kraven ordered him to hunt down all possible summoners in order to prevent anyone from gaining command of the summons, which is why they have not found a master since then.

- I killed... countless people. I can still feel the blood of all those who died by my hands. – Lekard said head down. – Now I can only dedicate my life in penance.

- Rise up, Lekard. – said Zeon. – The nobility always belonged to you, but not remorse.

    Everything was cleared up in a long and interesting conversation. Thorgele asked how Zeon was able to undo Kraven's spell, since that was a lord's spell, and the old tutor replied that he used the "Door to Tomorrow". This was another millenarian (but not f*******n) magic developed by the lords, combined the elements of light, life and holy in complex, was able to undo any psychological effect that is not natural, and the only one capable of nullifying manipulation. This in turn, being a magic that violates the laws of nature, f*******n magic, was known only wholly by the evil ones who dared to develop it, was known that it unified, at least, darkness, status and fantasy. Lekard returned to normal and was free from Kraven's dominance after all.

- But Zeon, if the door to tomorrow is a magic lord, how do you...? – Sumith asked.

- I am not a lord, if that is what you think. Just keep that in mind.

    Lekard knew Zeon's secret, but would not reveal it at his own request. Enghon noticed that Sumith now possessed a mark on his face, like a flame, like a light tattoo near the left ear.

- This is the mark of the guardians. – said Zeon. – They all receive this same mark on some part of the body when the power manifests itself for the first time, and by the way it was I who gave this power to you.

- What?! That was the question I was going to ask, but how? – wondered Sumith.

- I will summarize the whole story. During the days of training, I understood that your talent is above average, like your father's, even with your empty head on certain subjects, but one day you were finally ready, and the power was yours.

- So you were the guardian? – asked John.

- No. The last silver guardian died when he was surprised by goblins when he tried, in his moghran form, to save several people from an attack. He left without passing on his power, so I was in charge of this task. One less guardian is an option that we can not have.

- But how have I never felt any of this to this day?

- So that you could not refuse.

- ...

- Because we need you, Sumith.

    Zeon also drew attention to the importance of the summons, after all, the group was not on a journey of that magnitude only in search of warlike power. He revealed about the seventh guardian, called the "guardian prime", the leader, his power is inferior to that of the lords, but superior to those of the other guardians. Only he, besides the lords, has the privilege of wandering the world and also by Plane, he who decides whether or not it is necessary for the action of the guardians, just as it is the one with the capacity to summon them. Only the lords and the guardians themselves knew his existence and identity, but it was already time for he to be revealed publicly. Sumith asked who he was and Zeon replied that he was called Anarky, and that they would eventually find him, this being of utmost importance.

    The lords had long anticipated the return of Zeijadel, and thus, two ways of exterminating him definitively arose. The first would be that the fifteen summons, united to the six guardians, reach a power very close to a lord, in this way, the seventh guardian would be "the grain of rice that balances the balance", with the addition of his power Zeijadel could finally be destroyed. Perhaps this was the great secret behind the creation of the two races, according to Kenobe's predictions, but this would also result in the loss of all guardians and summons. The second was that being the lords equated in power, one of them could face and destroy him, but this would also result in his death.

    The two options charged a high price, but the highest of them was undoubtedly the loss of two lords...

- Why has not the guardian prime located the others? – asked Enghon.

- Judgment is one of his responsibilities as well a quality appreciated by the lords. – replied the master of Sumith. – Probably he is waiting for the right moment.

- What if two or more lords unite and eliminate Zeijadel once and for all? – asked John.

- This is not acceptable. – replied Zeon.

- Why not?

- Because none of the lords is like Zeijadel. Honesty, so to speak, is the first step in guiding this world, so they have their own code of honor, which is just as important as their lives, and down to that level consequently leads to the path of anger and hatred, and this can be dangerous... Disgrace is part of his game, not of the lords.

- I understand.

    Immediately Sumith accepted his duty and fate as if he had accepted a bargain, as did Lekard, showing himself willing to do it without hesitation, as his father would have done. Obviously this was heavy news to understand and saddened the hearts of the fellows, to know that their friend was marked to die, and that the world depended on this death, in fact Sumith did not appear to have perfectly understood what it meant, or perhaps not really if he cared, he might have believed that he could change the fate, regardless of his master's words, so he was so quick to stop asking, but the same could not be said of Lekard, for he was a more mature man, clearly already accomplished everything in his mind, nothing could be said. After the conversation, Sumith was slightly frustrated, because of what happened to him, seeing his technique, which was practically a family heirloom, being neutralized so easily was embarrassing, he said he had trained hard to develop it, but Zeon exalted that Lekard was a powerful warrior, one of the strongest he had ever known, as well as experienced, and that was no small thing. In any case this should be an incentive for the young man to continue working on his improvement, so Sumith remembered the forest girl, and saw that she slept quietly nearby, he would like to talk to her, but everyone agreed that she had a full day and it would be best to wait until dawn, and so ended the night.

    Early in the morning, Thorgele and Enghon were training. They always began meditating as reclusive monks, seeking the inner tranquility that the shinobi mentioned, then jumped into physical training, which was also very important, and finally the elemental domain. John snored loudly, soon after Lekard woke up and soon after Sumith. Zeon had already left, according to the shinobi and the sorcerer, who engaged in hand-to-hand combat (training, of course). The young woman awoke during breakfast, Lekard had just left and she was invited to join the three, and during the meal they talked.

- Who are you? – asked Sumith.

- My name is Iris. – answered the young woman.

- Are you from any nearby city, how did you get here? – asked Sumith as he thought about her name.

- Well... – Iris was very afraid.

- You can tell us. – said John, who had just joined them. – If we welcome this hard-headed shinobi, we can certainly help you. – He said, laughing to Thorgele, who threw a piece of bread at him. In fact it was Thorgele who insisted to help Sumith in the fight, Enghon also did not hold back the laughter, the girl then realized that she could trust them.

    Iris was born in a small hovel on the northeast border of the forest. With only two old winters her parents were murdered by a man dressed in black and long hair, that was all she remembered, and was adopted by a tartar as she wandered aimlessly through the forest. The tartar named Sorsha housed and educated her properly, Iris grew beautiful and sweet, fair-skinned and golden-haired like the sun, and eyes as green as the forest, her beauty was angelic, but was not a tall woman, her short stature, even though she was still very young, made her look like a more frail and lovable girl, and even her voice was incredibly graceful. The tartar taught her everything she knew about the world, as well as mastering the element of life, helping her to develop a great level of healing spells. The two lived in a cave almost in the middle of the forest, Iris never ventured too far, except when they both needed to go to some nearby town or village, but at seventeen winters in a quiet life the flame of Sorsha's life was extinguished, and the girl was alone in the world. A few days later she decided to leave the boundaries of her home, and along the way found a tall man dressed in green who wore a brilliant earring, without saying a word he attacked and began to chase her, it was then that everyone met.

    With the subject clarified Iris had nowhere to go, and everyone suggested that she join them, which made her very happy, for her innocent heart still cried for the loss of her beloved stepmother. Sumith particularly was delighted by the girl and also reflected (still) on her name, but only Thorgele noticed this.

- We will not lie to you, much is yet to come, and we will face dangers, perhaps very great, but we promise to protect you with our lives. – said John, followed by everyone's approval.

- Then I accept. There is nothing left for me here, I have nowhere to go, and you have already saved me yesterday.

- So welcome. – And they all saluted her.

- Thank you. – She got to be quietly emotional.

    After revealing to her about the goal, making her slightly excited, they disarmed the camp and headed their way.

    The forest air was so pure that it was invigorating. After all day of quiet walk they found a large rock with ancient language runes. “For those who seek power, or perdition...” – read Sumith. They were close. The clues left by the ancient language purely facilitated the task, not being any kind of enigma or something, apart from all this, it meant absolutely nothing not to be or not to have a summoner nearby. The group proceeded according to the indications read, and after some more time of walking they found the temple of the forest, was modest, but well constructed, camouflaged and appeared to be very old. Iris had heard of him, but never ventured too far from her home, as said before.

- It's him! I feel a spell... It's Kenobe's power to let me get here. – said Enghon. – Time to really start.

- Go ahead, wizard. – Sumith said in a humorous tone, causing a sarcastic smile at Enghon.

- You come in. – said Thorgele. – John and I will stay here if there is any surprise. – Everyone agreed, and Iris also joined them.

    The three of them went on, and when they entered, they stared at what they saw inside. It was much larger than it looked on the outside, all built of such white stones that it was almost possible to see their reflection in them, extremely well worked, spectacular and unbelievable, and the magical force they felt was something impressive. The place had a natural light that needed no torches, and was very well lit, and except for the entrance, intriguing to look at all that space and not know precisely where it ended, exactly in the center were two great and magnificent statues, the one on the right was Galzon, the summon of air, a traditional eagle, with white feathers on the tail and head while the body was black, but immense and majestic, probably her open wings reached about twenty meters of wingspan. Legends said that the flapping of these wings was like hurricanes. The statue on the left was Kurgan, the holy summon, a lobime wearing white light armor, but only abdomen and chest, a king's crown, bracelets and warrior knee pads, carried a large and incredible ax, was very tall having an appearance extremely intimidating. Among them was an altar, and Enghon addressed it, low-spirited called for Sumith, saying that it was a shame that a sorcerer with the mystic mark did not master the ancient language, and that he should have studied it, but his parents died some time after discord of the power, in a cowardly attack by Kraven, which took away much of his former studies enthusiasm. Enghon really missed his parents, and rarely talked about it, but he thought about his personal goals every day, sometimes he thought he was selfish, sometimes unworthy of the friendships he had made. And raising his head, asked Sumith to read what was written:

“**の**の**は、あなたが**して***の**と**を、*が*に*うまで、または*に*を*るためにここに*ます！ あなたの*は*の**ですが、*の**なクルガン、**ガルソンになります!”

“Supreme representatives of the elements, I come here to summon you and prove my dignity and bravery, until the power finds me, or death take me! Becoming your lord is my destiny, to me holy Kurgan, Galzon from the air!” - An approximate translation.

    Reading was necessary, for it awakened the dormant power to the mystical mark present there. Sumith read perfectly, seconds later the statue of Kurgan was enveloped by the white power of his element, and from it arose the holy summon after a great flash, curiously Galzon did not manifest...

- Who awakens me from my sleep? – Kurgan asked, imposing, brilliant, and his voice echoed all over the place. The summon's power was felt filling the whole temple even more, showing how fragile they could be in front of that aura. Commanding that immense force, in fact could not be the ability of anyone. 

- It's me, Enghon Reizeu. I come to undergo your ordeal.

- Yes. Power will overtake you, or death will take you, Enghon Reizeu. But I feel a second mystic power present here.

    Sumith and Enghon looked at each other trying to understand, Lieben's young man had no mystical mark, he was not born to be a summoner, so it could only be Iris!

- Iris... do you happen to have a mark like this? – asked Enghon showing his right arm, while the summon remained majestic and incredible in front of him, but aroused no fear, only a pure and magnificent power.

- Yes. – replied the girl looking closely.

- And where is it?

- Right... here. – said Iris, touching the place, feeling rather embarrassed, it was in her right breast, and for obvious reasons was hidden underneath the clothes.

- You were born in the eclipse of the Moon, or the Sun.

- I Do not know. I could not tell. – But it was clear that the answer was yes.

- What hinders Enghon Reizeu? – Kurgan asked, looking so deeply into Enghon's eyes, that for several seconds he stared at him and seemed to shudder.

    At this moment the young sorcerer took perhaps his most important decision, wisely beyond his age: Iris should take his place. The death of his parents, his hatred for Kraven, the pain and confusion in his mind were so immense that it was not supposed to be him, or so he thought. Iris's arrival in the group could not be mere coincidence, the young woman was frightened, going to the altar with great reluctance, she was the one who should undergo the test.

- Whoever hesitates, loses. – said Kurgan for the last time, persuading Iris to accept.

    The young woman was immediately enveloped by the light, suspended in the air, this was the "Testimony of the Summons", no one knew what was going on between the summoner's mind and the summon's mind, and no one would ever know. All they knew was that if the summoner was accepted, he would return, otherwise he would lose his life... However Enghon was confident in his decision, the girl remained like that for several seconds, until it seemed hours, and in the end was returned to the altar.

- At your disposal, master. – said Kurgan, returning to be a statue next.

    Iris now possessed command of the holy summon, without spells, only with her mind, with the call of her will, and more and more old Arkan's conversations about fate and these things made more sense to them. The sorcerer breathed deeply and relieved, of course he feared for the young woman's life, she had a very pure heart, just watching her was enough to notice this, she would never deserve to run such a great and unnecessary danger, if she died there, for surrender her trust naively into the hands of complete strangers, he would never forgive himself.

    At the same time Thorgele and John were talking in front of the temple, curiously they both had a very similar physiognomy, Sumith and Enghon had already said this, and recently Iris also questioned this detail, asking if they were brothers, but it was not possible, they never saw each other in life before, should be just a coincidence... Without any unforeseen they decided to practice a little, in fact they were more joking than anything else. John was running toward Thorgele when he spotted behind him a huge eagle standing there, the young thief (yes, John called himself a thief, because he was a specialist in sneaky combat and evasion, in addition to snatching food from Arkan a few times) stumbled over a stone falling over the shinobi, and the two rolled down the stairs:

- That is not fair! – said Thorgele standing up.

- Look there! – said John with bulging eyes pointing toward the eagle.

    The great eagle was Galzon, the summon of air, and without words or any gesture spread his huge wings and took flight. The force of the gale even folded the branches of the trees, and the summon disappeared in the skies leaving the two without understanding anything. When Sumith, Enghon and Iris left the temple, the two men told of what had happened, and Enghon lamented:

- What does that mean? – asked Iris.

- It's terrible news. – replied the sorcerer. – That means that one of the summons has already been purchased by someone, and with that our whole mission goes downhill, we need all the summons, not fourteen or thirteen, we need the fifteen.

- Kraven? – asked Sumith.

- Very likely...

- What are we going to do now? – asked John.

- Let's move on, it's the least we can do, and pray for a miracle.

    The sense of failure demanded that Enghon leave that place immediately, but it was already darkening and Sumith convinced him to spend the night there, for it might be the safest place in the forest anyway, so they set up camp in front of the temple, in a climate of frustration. Thorgele spent most of the night meditating on the branch of a tree, and obviously slept little, in the morning woke everyone up very early and tried to cheer them up.

- Come on, we have a way ahead. – said the shinobi.

- What makes you so excited, Thorgele? – asked Iris.

- Because, young lady, and you, young master of the elements. – At this time pulling Enghon by the robe, he who was the most discouraged of all. – Kraven or not, I do not feel any evil essence in what happened here, on the contrary, I feel hope. Rise up, yellow head, we may find your miracle.

    Strangely, everyone felt the excitement reappearing, including Enghon, and Sumith nodded positively, Thorgele was indeed a mysterious man, and his entrance into the group was not at all regretful to anyone. They made the breakfast and traveled to the northeast, when leaving the forest they found a very good and used trail where they followed without problems.

- Goodbye dear stepmother. – said Iris, looking back, giving her last goodbye to Sorsha.

    Now she too should be on her way, with her new fellows. In an atmosphere of tranquility, however, the walk was pleasant, sometimes they crossed paths with other wanderers and conveyors, the whole trip lasted a day and a half, when they finally saw the great city of Hagen, and its very high Tower of Primadril South, one of the three largest towers in the world.