The Ten Guardians: The Mother Tree©

Chapter One

Myrum watched in horror as Lone Wolf plunged the spearpoint of his unique weapon toward her adopted father’s heart. Colson’s hidden guardian runes spiderwebbed over his body, coming to life to protect him, flaring instinctively against a threat. A normal weapon would have been deflected, even causing damage to the attacker. However, the runes on Lone Wolf’s weapon were designed to kill guardians. They took only a moment to breach Colson’s defenses.

Colson was an excellent swordsman, a mage, if handicapped in a way, and possessed the incredible knowledge and power of a guardian. Yet, he did nothing to defend himself. His face was resolute and possibly … loving, in a way, like a proud parent approving of their child’s action. He gasped as the spearpoint pierced his heart, gripping the handle of the weapon instinctively as he fell to his knees. Lone Wolf quickly pulled the weapon from the guardian’s grasp and threw it aside, rushing forward to catch Colson as he fell forward. He gently turned the man onto his back and placed him on the ground. Lone Wolf cradled Colson’s head in his left hand, and gripped Colson’s hand tightly with his right, regret plain upon his face. Lone Wolf showed Colson respect, looking into his eyes and giving him a face to focus on as he slipped away. No words were spoken, and in a moment, it was over.

Myrum howled in rage and launched herself at Lone Wolf, passing through the projected image of his body and beating the ground in her rage and fury, wanting to vent her anger on the perpetrator of her loss. Yet this was just a magical recreation of a past event, days old. Myrum looked over at a nearby mound of stones. Here, the party had come upon the pile of rocks reverently and respectfully created over the body of a fallen warrior. They had known it was a warrior’s grave because of a sword purposefully stuck into the ground as a grave marker. The uniqueness of the sword and the flask tied to its hilt led them to seek the recreation of events involving this particular grave. The sword was runed with the gift of providing water, and the flask held water with diamond particles.

Jaya lunged forward and caught her granddaughter as she dove towards the mound, intent on unearthing Colson’s body. There was a moment when the two struggled against each other, then Myrum collapsed into her grandmother’s arms in grief as if she was a little cub again.

“No one should have to lose three parents in one lifetime. I’m sorry, child,” Jaya said as she stroked her granddaughter’s fur on the back of her head and neck, pain evident in her voice.

Sparrow released the magic he had been using to cast his vision into the past, projecting it for the party to see. He could not see all events, such as conversations or minuscule details, but he could see strong events, such as death, especially a violent death, as an echo for some time. Someone as powerful as a guardian could have blocked the echo from forming if they wished, but it was clear that Colson wanted the moment to be observed. He expected them to find his body and sent them a message. Now they needed to figure out what that message was.

With the calculated mind of an ancient being, if a broken one, Sparrow looked around the nearby battlefield, although it wasn’t originally a field before the battle happened. The battle had been fought in a dense, ancient forest. The trees were hundreds of years old and as big around as a human is tall, yet now there was a clearing of destruction and decay. Broken and cut tree trunks and branches littered the ground, and several massive piles of sawdust lay where entire trees had been disintegrated by magic. Pools of water lay everywhere, a byproduct of Colson’s unique ability and stewardship. The battle was only a few days old, yet sections of the area held a sickly residue that had broken down the organic material of anything it touched, giving the illusion of great age.

The flow of the residue gave Sparrow the impression it was spewed from the mouth of a beast, trying to hit a moving target. Sparrow briefly considered Sterben, the Guardian of Death, as the source of the decay, but he dismissed this possibility, knowing she had been killed ages ago and her true form had left this world to find their people. Often, Sparrow would consider her journey. There had been more than enough time for Sterben to find their people and return. Centuries more than enough time, yet there was no sign of her. Essen, the leader of their people, could have sent hundreds to deal with the other guardians and rectify this situation, yet they were still alone in their struggle.

Sparrow’s gift of foresight held no answers for him. He weighed the reasons in his head, speculating as best he could. Was it because of the powerful nature of his people, causing them to be hidden from his stewardship? Was his stewardship singular to this world, meaning he could see nothing not currently within the world? Were his powers limited because of his separation from Ultaris? Sparrow would have accepted any of these possibilities as an answer, but another thought plagued his mind … they simply were not coming.

Sparrow was drawn back to his two kanidian companions. Jaya was heading towards him, giving her daughter space to grieve over her adopted father’s grave. The two moved far enough away that their conversation would not be overheard. Jaya broke the silence, speaking in a soft voice.

“Long before he had been born, during the war with the jackals, my father saved Colson’s grandparents in their youth. He was a merchant seeking trade in the outskirts of Aconda and came upon human raiders taking advantage of the war by looting farmhouses. Although my people are trained in combat from the time they can hold a knife, he was no match for their numbers. As luck would have it, though, he suffered from a skin disease that prevented hair from growing on much of his body, making him look like a jackal from afar because of their short, smooth fur. The raiders ran the moment they saw him,” Jaya said with a light chuckle.

“Our families remained close over the decades. I remember playing on their farm as a pup, scaring the animals with my scent, playing with their sheepdogs, and disgracing my parents by rolling in the mud with our unenlightened common ancestor. I brought my daughter, Latale, to play on their farm when Colson was born. I remember her holding him as a babe, even though she could barely stand on two legs. They were instantly great friends.

“When Colson manifested the gift of magic, his family sent him to me to be trained, not trusting the human school to treat him fairly because of his handicap. He was there when Myrum was born and cradled her in his arms as if she were his own. She might as well have been. Her father abandoned her with her mother’s death, acting upon a ridiculous tradition better left forgotten,” Jaya said bitterly, the last part in a spiteful whisper.

“You mean Myrum’s biological father is still alive?” Sparrow asked in surprise.

“No, not anymore…” Jaya said, replacing barriers she had inadvertently dropped in her grief and memorable ramblings over Colson’s death. She leaned heavily on her staff, her sorrow plain to see, before continuing. “You saw the same as I, Guardian? That Colson accepted the death blow without flinching and that Lone Wolf was pained to give it?” Jaya asked softly, not wanting to hear the answer yet knowing answers were needed.

Sparrow nodded once in reply as he stared into the taller kanidian’s face, feeling words were unnecessary.

“Then it was planned for some reason, for a purpose, and we must find out what that purpose is. What do you make of the battle? I have seen it’s like only once, and that battle was centuries old. Yet the deathly residue was the same, stopping all life from growing wherever it touched even after hundreds of years.” Jaya spoke quickly, shaking off her emotions and embracing the change of topic.

“The spray pattern is much like a member of my kinship spewing their natural element from their mouth, yet the only one who would have used decay as a weapon was the Guardian of Death, and she has long departed this world,” Sparrow said thoughtfully.

“There are some drakes who can project acid, though they are found exclusively in the desert, and I doubt such a simple beast could have bested the Jackal and a Guardian. Something else caused this death and destruction, something which led Colson and Lone Wolf to … the action they took,” Jaya said with difficulty.

At this point, Myrum spoke, her approach unnoticed by the other two. “Why were they going in this direction anyway? They were supposed to be heading towards the seaport to get to Jersal, yet they somehow cut in front of us on the path to Dule Van without our knowledge and fought … something,” she finished with a wave at the destruction around them.

Sparrow noticed Colson’s water flask was in her hand.

Her voice was surprisingly calm, lacking the grief and anger that should have accompanied it. Sparrow was doubly surprised by her calm demeanor because he assumed she would blame herself for what happened to Colson. It was Myrum that wanted someone she trusted to keep an eye on the newest member of their party, the jackal, and Colson knew Myrum wanted to spend more time with her grandmother after believing she was dead, so he arranged for Sparrow and Colson to swap parties to fulfill both needs.

“She’s in shock. Let her process in her own time. She’s grabbing for something else to focus on,” Jaya said silently in Sparrow’s mind. At the same time, she verbally said, “Can you use your gift to recreate the battle the same way you showed us the images?”

“Unfortunately, no. I would have to know what they were fighting to see anything, and then tangible memory, like what we saw before, would only be strong enough to view if a death occurred. Also, if their foe were powerful enough, like another guardian, it would have blocked memories from forming, like blocking your mind from unwanted messages or sources,” Sparrow replied, keeping an eye on Myrum to gauge her reaction to speaking so bluntly of death.

She made no reaction to the information and instead asked a question. “If I can pick up his trail, would you follow Lone Wolf? Or continue as planned to Dule Van?” she asked bluntly. Jaya and Sparrow exchanged looks, unsure how to respond yet knowing Myrum wanted an answer immediately.

“Both of you need to stop treating me like I’m broken,” Myrum said angrily, emotion and passion plain on her face. “If there is one thing I have learned from my experience with the Guardian of Life, it is that this life is not the end. Although our time together in the void was brief, my mother made that clear to me. She told me to seek Colson when all hope is lost. Well, his death is as hopeless as it gets, so I will seek him out. I’m going after Lone Wolf so I can find Colson’s soul, whether you come with me or not!”

Myrum held her head high, ignoring the moisture in her eyes, and glared defiantly back at her grandmother. She shared some of her glare with Sparrow, but most of it was for Jaya.

“That is a good point, Myrum. Colson does have a soul,” Sparrow said slowly, puzzling out the situation. “That soul is still empowered with the mantel of a guardian, but what could he do as a guardian in death that he could not do in life?”

“Enter the Well of Souls,” Jaya said firmly, pausing while they processed the information, letting the implication of her words sink in before she continued. “It may be that Colson went to stop Ultaris from using the well of souls. A guardian could hold his own against Ultaris, especially since his power is split with yours, Sparrow.”

“The real question is … what happened that made Colson feel the need to end his life so quickly, rather than traveling to the well on foot?” Sparrow asked.

“Or regroup and consult one another for an alternative solution before proceeding,” Myrum stated firmly, giving Jaya a meaningful look to indicate that she was not to be left out of the conversation.

Jaya smiled softly at Myrum and broadened her stance to fully include her granddaughter in the conversation. “Well said. We know Jonathan has traveled to this realm in the flesh, although he indicated it was a difficult and involved process, and he was immediately attacked upon arrival. Colson also knew this, so whatever happened here, he felt it needed an urgent response from a soul without a body.”

“The most logical reason would be that Ultaris has already reached the Well of Souls. The well will provide him with a new power source, replacing me, but he cannot recast the spell in his broken form. Especially while battling another guardian,” Sparrow said thoughtfully.

“He still needs the shell, Drock, to finish what he started, which means … we need to regroup as soon as possible,” Jaya said while quickly moving to pick up her pack and staff where she had left it.

“None of us know the way to the Stoon Dardwain’s kingdom, Grandmother, and we should be following Lone Wolf since he knows why … why … Colson had to die,” Myrum said haltingly while following after her, her stoic bravery faltering slightly before snapping back into place.

“I do not know the way to their underwater kingdom, but I know the direction Izreea was leading her party. We can cut across and intercept their path, then quickly catch up with them running on all fours. Also, if you look here, you can see that Lone Wolf deliberately left a trail to be followed, and it is going in the same direction I would go to catch up with Izreea’s party,” Jaya said patiently, knowing her granddaughter needed time to process, even if she was not willing to admit it.

Sparrow could see nothing except dirt, plants, and trees, where Jaya had indicated, but Myrum seemed to see the minor signs of a traveler Jaya was pointing out to her.

“Sparrow can move faster than any of us if he chooses to …” Jaya’s voice trailed off in the form of an unspoken question as she looked at Sparrow expectedly.

She knew he could cover the distance almost instantly if he wished to, speeding up his body, blinking across visible distances, or turning into his true form and simply flying to the other party with the kanidians clinging to his back. However, Sparrow had made it clear he wanted to limit his intervention in events, letting the future guardians of this world solve much of this problem on their own. Jaya did not agree with his perspective, feeling he was to blame for their current situation and should have a more active role in resolving it. She had voiced as much on their travel, but there was nothing she could do to change his mind.

The most frustrating aspect of Sparrow’s new position was even he did not know how extreme he should be with his stance of inaction. The purpose was to build the group’s trust in themselves and their abilities, weening them off their reliance on otherworldly demigods. Yet what if his inaction resulted in more death? All he knew was the potential timeline where he and his people left this world in the care of its inhabitants became brighter when the party defeated Donner and Regnan with minimal intervention on his part.

As Sparrow gazed into the future and thought of using his powers to help them quickly arrive with the rest of their group, the potential outcome he desired dimmed ever so slightly. He made his decision.

“I will match your pace, but I do not wish to alter the current possibilities in our timeline.” With Jaya’s disappointment and frustration plain on her face, he continued. “I know you do not agree with my position, Mother Seeker, but I ask you to trust me. I do not want my people to rule here indefinitely, repeating the risk of losing our memory again, lording over every aspect of life for human, kanidian, soonnen, and dardwain, including death and rebirth.”

Jaya and Myrum looked at him strangely, but he did not know what he said to cause their reaction, so he stared back in bewilderment.

“What is a … ‘soonnen’?” Myrum asked, a total lack of recognition plain on her face.

“Soonnen? They are the first of the four spiritual mortal groups. “They evolved from reptilian ancestors. They have enhanced intelligence and strength to compensate for a lack of magical abilities. I admit I have not seen one since I woke in the desert, but surely they are not all gone?” Sparrow asked with surprise.

“I do not know, but we can speculate about lost civilizations later. We need to move,” Jaya said, not hiding the frustration in her voice at Sparrow’s refusal to use his abilities.

They all returned to Colson’s grave to say their last farewell. They briefly discussed taking Colson’s powerful sword with them but ultimately decided to leave it with his body. Then they departed towards the northwest at a slant, following Lone Wolf’s trail, hoping it would lead them to the path of Jareth, Jonathan, Izreea, and Drock, then catching up with them on their journey to Izreea’s homeland.

Sparrow and Jaya did not notice Myrum wrapping the cord of Colson’s water bottle around her hand, the reinforced leather strap digging into her flesh painfully as she stared at Colson’s grave just before moving to join the others on their path.

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