The Ten Guardians: The Mother Tree©

Chapter Fifteen

Grey had successfully positioned herself above the staff Jonathan had dropped without alerting the Elder tree’s roots to her movement. The roots purposefully avoided the area Grey was in, thanks to their memory of the staff’s touch, and she felt safe for a moment. She closed her eyes and connected with the staff, asking permission to use its powers … there wasn’t a response right away, but after a moment, Grey felt the echo of the Guardian of Life giving her permission … then she was gone.

Grey bonded with the staff, linking her guardian powers with the runes, and realized she had two choices. She could drain the staff of its energy, restoring some of her own power, or use the power of Life through the staff. Just as Grey was about to adopt the mantel of the Guardian of Life and communicate with Mantorine, Sparrow’s needle pierced that exact point in time. The world froze momentarily as the contents of Sparrow’s spell poured into this timeline.

Grey was stunned and recognized that something greater than she could possibly piece together was happening. She was aware that time was frozen as she could think normally but could not move in any way. Then, Grey received her memories of the other timeline, racing into her faster than the speed of light. Her memories were so similar that she did not notice the minute differences until after this very moment.

Grey saw herself choosing to use the staff’s energy to speak to Mantorine and heard the conversation as if she had already lived through it. She remembered her death, feeling the spike slice through her body and her life force draining. She remembered the barest glimpse of Jonathan weeping over her as the last embers of life escaped her body, and seeing him begin to transform into a lich as her vision finally went out.

Grey looked down at the staff in her hand and realized time had resumed. Experiencing her death, including the pain and fear she felt as everything slipped away, was momentarily overpowering. Her hands trembled as she wiped the tears from her face, thankful for the gift she had been given of a second chance. She knew she still had a decision to make and chose to use the staff’s power to energize her runes since that was the choice she didn’t make before.

Energy surged into her from the staff, and it felt like water priming a dry well. Grey’s runes came alive along her body, weak at first but quickly flaring brightly from the surge of energy. Grey was surprised that this much energy was within the staff, then she set her surprise aside as logic set in. She had the enhanced intellect and mantel of a guardian, and that knowledge confirmed there was no way this much energy was held within this staff.

Grey turned around and found a portal had opened nearby. Within the portal was a beautiful, lush forest with a carpet of perfect grass, all set on rolling hills as a backdrop. There was no sun in the black sky of the beautiful landscape, but the world within the portal was lit as if it was midday. Standing just within the portal was Lebine, the Guardian of Life. She, too, had received her memories through the kiss she had given Sparrow in the alternate timeline and had known how events would unfold without her assistance. Green energy was pouring from her hand into the staff, which in turn was energizing Grey.

While energy was pouring from Lebine, a barrier around the portal was shimmering between them. Again, Grey’s guardian mantel helped her decipher that Lebine was strengthening her while also holding back a powerful entity from entering the void, mostly likely an echo from Ultaris’ soul.

Grey felt she couldn’t hold any more energy, but Lebine continued to pour energy into the staff. Grey was worried she would burst, but then a portion of the energy accumulated in a reservoir within her. To her surprise, the reservoir suddenly had an awareness, and it was then that Grey realized where Stein had gone. She was hidden within her. Helping with the time spell had drained her so much that she had taken refuge within the body of a depleted guardian, being able to get past Grey’s runes because they had been completely drained as well.

When Grey stopped looking inward and looked up at Lebine, a very weary-looking Guardian of Life was smiling at her. She had completely rejuvenated two elemental guardians while holding back an attack and still felt far stronger than Grey. As Grey returned her smile, the portal winked out of existence.

“Will you be joining the battle then?” Grey said vocally to Stein, knowing she could hear her.

Immediately the roots all around her turned and attacked the source of her voice. Dozens of roots slammed into Grey, disintegrating and burning when they touched the protective wall of electrical runes along her body. All the roots paused in the air as Mantorine realized the guardian’s power was restored. Then the roots retreated into the earth. The tree was now turning its focus to the other battle.

“I have an idea,” Stein responded to her mind as she presented an image of her idea to Grey’s mind.

“Oh, I like that idea,” Grey said with a smile, the memory of Mantorine killing her still fresh in her mind, even if it technically no longer was going to happen.

Grey started sprinting for the tree trunk at the top of the hill. As she ran, she started building up speed, creating a wave of energy behind her. Spikes erupted from the ground to impale her, bouncing off and burning as her runes protected her again. As she reached the tree, she saw that Mantorine had taken over Stein’s construct and was about to slam it into a massive drake’s face. An arc of lightning shot from Grey’s hands at the construct as she ran toward it. The blow was minor and did nothing to harm Stein’s body, but it achieved its purpose by pulling Mantorine’s attention toward her. Mantorine’s roots let go of the wounded drake, letting it fall heavily to the ground.

Jonathan transformed into his human body and was conscious enough to cast a spell, pushing the air down so he landed without harming himself. He tried to move away from the tree but was too exhausted and collapsed. Grey was moving too fast to see anything further as her charging body slammed into Stein’s construct. Although she bounced off the construct without harming it or herself, Stein’s soul continued into the construct with all of the energy that Grey had been accumulating. The Energy was sent streaming into the Elder tree along the roots Mantorine had attached to the construct, like electrifying a human’s brain through its blood vessels, and immediately the tree started to combust and burn from the inside out.

Stein severed the roots from her back as she dropped to the ground, landing next to Jonathan. She turned and opened her hands wide, her brown runes coming alive along her stone body. At first, nothing happened, but after a moment, the ground started to shake. All around them, the earth was rippling in huge waves. The waves were also herding Jareth and Izreea to Jonathan and Grey. Then they started to go around them when they were together.

 Tree roots began to be pushed up from the earth by massive boulders and slabs of rock from deep below the surface. The boulders ground together to sever the roots trying to cling to the earth, and slowly, the tree bent outward away from them. After a few more moments, the tree creaked and groaned, a noise eerily similar to the wail of a lich raising the dead, then it fell. The noise of such a massive tree falling to the earth was indescribable. The shock waves the fall caused were dissipated by Stein, who had been expecting them. When all was settled, the tree roots were no longer moving, and a massive obstacle was directly in their previous walking path. There was no sign of Mantorine in the tree’s roots, and Grey was finally no longer afraid she would die.

Izreea was pulling her scythes from Jonathan’s side as he sat up. It was apparent that he had also received memories from the other timeline, and his eyes, which had avoided damage thanks to Grey’s timely interference, locked onto Grey. He immediately rushed to her as fast as his freshly healed body could move. Grey’s runes parted for him like a blanket unwrapping around her and wrapping again around the two of them as they held each other fast.

Even though Izreea and Jareth had also received their memories, they were still unaware that Grey and Jonathan had connected before and had no memory of the first block of time that had been reset successfully without creating a paradox. They both stared in surprise at Grey and Jonathan, now kissing as if they would never see one other again.

“I am soooooo confused,” Jareth said as he put his arm around Izreea’s waist. He didn’t like not knowing what was going on but was also unable to help himself from being happy for his brother.

“Just hold me,” Izreea said with a sob as she buried her tear-covered face in his chest.

Izreea had also received her memories, including when she was forced to sacrifice the arcane energy needed for her unborn child. Jareth was unconscious for this event, so he had no memory of it taking place. He felt the gravity of her words and tears, though, and knew something was wrong. He said nothing as he held her close, stroking her hair, knowing there would be time for words later.

Stein watched the two couples passively. She saw the physical affection and tears of joy from one couple and the sorrow and agony of the other, and shook her head in confusion as she leaned against a massive boulder to wait for the mortals to finish their traditions. She did not know what Izreea had gone through, so she didn’t even try to understand their pain. She thought she understood why Grey and Jonathan were embracing since she had witnessed what happened to Grey in the other timeline and remembered it because she was a part of Grey at the time.

It was then that Stein realized that Grey didn’t know her soul was what had been endowed with the power of a guardian. Grey remembered experiencing death, but not the existence of her soul after it left her body. It was impossible to know what Grey had done in that small window of time between leaving her body and when the paradox had triggered. She decided to wait out the emotional display as she reached out with her soul to find this “Sparrow,” the others had told her about. She could feel what she recognized as Ultaris close by, moving quickly in their direction.

Stein had also received her memories from what had happened in the alternate timeline and understood better than anyone on that hill what had happened. Even with that added level of understanding, the unfolding events were difficult to follow. As far as she could tell, there had been continuous spawning of timelines, all branching off when Jonathan had tried to reverse time. She had thought his attempt had worked, but it had clearly failed as the main timeline had continued.

That story was what Stein was curious about. What happened in those missing days in the main timeline before they had corrected the paradox? Anything that had happened was essentially erased and never actually happened. What if she never left Grey’s guardian body after her death and was buried with her corpse until her energy could return? Would that technically make her a revenant if she returned to life in Grey’s body? Although the thought of being buried within the earth, something so much a part of her stone elemental powers, was comforting … Stein shuttered to think of herself momentarily trapped in a body experiencing decomposition.

Decomposition and the death and recycling of mortal energy were Sterben’s domain, or at least it had been before Lebine killed her in battle. Now that power was left to the mortal’s soul to figure out, occasionally with them returning to possess their own body with a lack of self-awareness and control. At least, that was what she had been told by the adventurers she had run into, and she had no reason to disbelieve them. Seeing such a creature would be an interesting experience, as there was no harm they could do to her body of stone or her immortal soul. Yet she was not eager to run off and embrace it.

Then, Jonathan and Grey finally stopped their embrace and stepped away from one another. As they turned and saw Stein regarding them casually, Grey’s face almost changed to match her red hair. Her old self would have glared or snapped at an observer gawking at her during such an intimate moment, but this entire experience had greatly changed her. She smiled sheepishly to Stein as she nodded to her.

To anyone else, it would have been a simple nod of gratitude or greeting, but it meant much more to the two guardians. Grey knew what Stein had done during the first resetting of time. She had infused her very soul with the spell to make it work, stopping Jonathan’s spell from failing and helping to save them all. Then afterward, she had been forced to hide within Grey’s body, much like Lebine had been forced to hide within a part of Ultaris when she was trapped in the void. This created a bond between them, similar to a pair of twins being born and raised together, knowing one another on a deeper level.

Stein smiled back and returned her nod.

Izreea finally pulled away from Jareth. She would never fully recover from remembering herself making that choice, but she knew the choice had been reversed, and her baby was safe. Jareth put his hands on her cheeks and his forehead on hers. No words were needed between the long-time married couple. She knew he was there for her in whatever capacity she needed, and at that moment, that capacity did not involve words. She grabbed his hands and pulled them down, then kissed his cheek and let go of him. She knew she had to push past this moment.

She turned around and found Jonathan standing five paces from her, staring at the green runes on the staff in his hands. He couldn’t meet her eyes and didn’t know what to say. He had been the reason for choosing to use her mathenetal, trying to change time to bring Grey back to life. He had been the reason for the paradox that had formed, even if he didn’t fully understand what that meant or that an entire world had been sacrificed to fix it. His choices had impacted her more than anyone else as she made the ultimate sacrifice to save him from that choice.

Jonathan looked up at her with absolute defeat in his eyes and spoke. “Izreea, I’m so sor-” he started to say, but she started walking quickly towards him, silencing his voice.

She reached him and pulled her arm back to slap him in the face. Out of instinct, Jonathan tried to lift his staff to block her arm, but mercifully the staff was frozen in place, and the slap landed squarely on his cheek. Jonathan let go of the staff and put his hand on his burning cheek, blinking tears from his eyes. The staff moved quickly to Grey’s hand, removing it from the situation and revealing who had wisely allowed the justifiable slap.

Jonathan met Izreea’s eyes, sorrow and sadness on his face as he faced emotions within a situation completely beyond his ability to correct. He didn’t know what to do or say. Izreea knew he had tried to stop the slap, and she pulled her hand back to slap him again. This time, Jonathan didn’t move as the blow landed. Izreea had new tears in her eyes, tears of anger and disappointment for a family member.

She saw him looking defeated and lost. She thought of slapping him again, but her anger had subsided, and she gained some semblance of closure for the moment she would have to remember forever, grateful that she wouldn’t have to live with the consequences of the memory. She was happy for him that, in the end, it had worked, and Grey was among the living once again. With fresh tears in both of their eyes for the mutual pain they would always have to live with, Izreea spread her arms wide, and the two embraced.

“I never want to talk about this again, Jon,” Izreea whispered to him. Jonathan said nothing in return but nodded vigorously into her shoulder.

After they pulled away from one another, Grey handed Jonathan’s staff back to him with an understanding smile. Izreea embraced Grey for a moment, both happy that she was alright, then shared a secret smile for the new romance Jonathan and Grey were cultivating.

“Are we finished … now?” Stein interrupted softly, truly wanting to respect their traditions but not fully understanding them or when it was acceptable to interrupt them.

“Yeah, we finished?” Jareth said, trying vainly to lighten the mood by emulating his brother’s sense of humor.

“You know, you brothers are starting to trade personalities a little bit. Are you sure you are ready to be a father?” Izreea said in jest.

“Now that’s how you poke with a joke,” Jonathan chimed in with an emotional voice, still wiping tears from his eyes.

“Do mortals always … cry this much?” Stein asked with genuine curiosity, causing the others to laugh.

“No, but this is a unique group with a unique situation,” Grey replied.

“Yes, it certainly is,” a new voice called from nearby.

The party turned and found that the voice belonged to Jaya. Next to her was Myrum, but there was no sign of Sparrow or Lone Wolf. The two kanidians were walking from the direction of the party’s campsite at the bottom of the hill, although they had to walk around a massive root and avoid large chunks of earth to reach them. Myrum held her axe, and Jaya held a flaming purple sword as if expecting a fight.

“We saw the tree topple during our approach, but were unsure if Mantorine had been defeated, so we came prepared. It appears we were overzealous. Well done,” Jaya said with a motherly sense of pride as her sword disappeared.

Stein recognized the two newcomers as kanidians and put them in place with the story of the adventure she had heard from the humans. She examined them with a calculated eye, weighing and contrasting their abilities and merits. Her ability to gauge other creatures this way was unique to her and not something the other guardians possessed, at least not at her level of expertise.

The younger one with grayer fur than her grandmother was a skilled fighter, but she did not possess mastery of the arcane arts. There was a surprisingly high level of potential for magic within her, and it wasn’t locked from her use, but she still felt unaware of her skill. There was a form of magic radiating from her chest which may have been the cause of the confusing situation, but it was unlike anything the ancient guardian had seen before. The magic felt old and was probably placed there when she was a child.

The older kanidian she assumed was Jaya, the Mother-Seeker of her people. She had a natural level of magic that felt on par with her granddaughter but boosted somehow, and there was also an enhancement to her abilities that looked unnatural. This enhancement compounded her abilities and made her significantly more powerful. She would have been a threat to a basic dragon guardian since they had lost their memories and much of their abilities over time. Stein did not feel she would be a threat to her restored form as a being of light.

Stein recognized part of the enhancement in Jaya as a form of holy necromancy, a blending of the powers of Lebine and Sterben, Life and Death. She was both impressed and disturbed by this insight, as this was something well beyond the abilities of mortals when guardians openly ruled the world. If she remembered correctly, this blending was considered taboo as it led mortals to seek their own demise and robbed the life cycle of energy to create new life when their life was restored in an altered body. It also had a byproduct of infertility, also interrupting the life cycle of the planet.

Stein could also see that Jaya was dying. The alteration to her body was masking it entirely, giving her the strength of youth, but without that enhancement, she would barely be able to stand from the frailty of old age. She had simply reached the end of her life cycle. Stein predicted that she would probably pass in her sleep within the next few months. She could also see that no one else knew this, at least no one in their present company.

Stein was watching the party members greet one another, many hugging and talking excitedly about the paradox and the battle with Mantorine, explaining what had happened to one another with their time apart. As she watched them, she was reminded of her earlier impressions of the humans and the Dardwain woman when she had first greeted them.

Looking at Grey now told Stein very little about her, as Guardians can naturally block such probes. However, before all of this farce with Mantorine and paradoxes, Grey had been a very unaware Guardian of Lightning. Stein had seen much about her then, including a lifelong struggle with other guardians. First, a parasite of some kind, stemming from the corruption of Ulatris’ divide, had possessed her and driven wedges between anyone close to her. Then the guardians hiding as warlocks had kept her as a pet, recognizing Ultaris’ touch upon her via the parasite and hoping to use it against him. When it was clear that they could not, they cursed her for sheer spite. Fortunately for Grey, it looks like she is having a second chance at life as a guardian.

Stein could see that the Bruno brothers were strong in magic and experienced in their fields. There was an old wound in Jonathan that had caused him pain for quite some time and was healing slowly now. She could also see the lich curse within him, like reading a book. It was sealed by Life, her seal upon it plain for anyone who knew how to look. This seal would limit creatures from activating the curse to only Jonathan and creatures as strong as Lebine, which was only Sterben and a restored Ultaris. If the passing of time had enhanced their skills, it was possible that the Guardians of Light and Dark, Sonelith and Aubent, could also activate it. Stein doubted Sparrow was strong enough to break the seal, although she would have to see him in person before making that determination.

Stein’s perspective of Jonathan was now muddled somewhat. Stein had been intimately bonded with Grey during her and Jonathan’s first embrace before time was reset, and the paradox had begun. She had felt what Grey had felt and experienced her emotions in the moment. She had also felt the trauma and fear of natural death, which was an odd sensation as she was immortal and possessed no such limitations. Looking at Jonathan was uncomfortable now.

Stein’s eyes took in Jareth next. She was impressed by the man. He was strong, mature, forward, and all-around a good person with others’ best interests at heart. She saw a history of brave acts and adventurous deeds, followed by a thirst for knowledge and fatherhood. She could also see how easily others could manipulate or use him, unaware that he was a pawn in their game. There was a mark of ownership on the man, a mark that Stein knew she should recognize, but it had been so long since she had seen such marks that she couldn’t place it in her mind. All she knew was it was probably from another guardian and whatever scheme they had laid out for Jareth Bruno.

Looking at Izreea was the most interesting experience of all. An intelligent Dardwain woman of royal blood, impressively strong in magic, as naturally strong as Jaya with all her added enhancements. She was experienced in many forms of physical and arcane combat. She was a wild hunter in her youth and a fierce force to be reckoned with when she did choose to fight. Her emotions ran high but were controlled, and her passion was tempered by experience and logic. She was the most natural leader of the party, although Jaya was seen more prominently in charge because of her wealth of experience and age.

Although dardwain were naturally magical creatures, much more magical than the other three dominant creations combined, there was something different about Izreea and the child in her womb. The child had been personally blessed by Lebine, which added layers of protection and abilities to the child. She would be the strongest mortal to wield magic ever born into this world, and Stein couldn’t help but see a purpose in this blessing. She didn’t know what Lebine was planning, but this was not the last time this child would be influenced by the mother of all living.

There was also a mark on Izreea, placed by Lebine. Yet, unlike Jareth’s mark, this mark was one that Stein recognized. It was a mark of fate, an unpredictable mark to place upon a mortal, especially in a world influenced by chaos. Strange things would happen around Izreea, things like accidentally creating an Elder tree with a staff, allowing an ancient creature like Mantorine to awaken and try to fight for control over a living spell. Stein was excited to see what would happen next.

Suddenly, Stein realized she was being introduced to Jaya and Myrum, being brought into the party with the others and exchanging pleasantries. Stein was still used to the feeling of superiority and was uncomfortable with the familiar way the others spoke of her. Yet, Stein recognized the bond she had formed with Grey from when she sheltered in her body. She knew there was a camaraderie involved with battling together among humans, and she had been included because of that.

“Thank you for your greeting, Jaya and Myrum. Although I am learning, I am unaccustomed to mortal traditions.” Stein ended awkwardly, although she sounded as if she would say something more. After a silent pause, she continued, “I sense Ultar-, I mean Sparrow, at the bottom of the hill. He is with the shell, ‘Drock,’ you call it? And the blended one you call Lone Wolf. I do not sense the Guardian of Water, though, where is the one called ‘Colson’?”

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