The Ten Guardians: The Mother Tree©

Chapter Seventeen

After the party had rested and dinner was prepared, there was a long discussion concerning how they had reached this point in their journey. Sparrow and his adventurers had gone over the details of Sonelith, the revenant Guardian of Light, and her battle with Colson and Lone Wolf. They talked at length about how Sonelith may have been killed in such a way to create a revenant from her soul, something only mortals had been known to become.

Eventually, they focused on the betrayal Sonelith had mentioned to Colson, and all theories led back to her missing mate, the Guardian of Dark. Sparrow remembered his true name was Aubent. He also remembered that Aubent had unique peculiarities, much like Stein and her ability to read what was hidden within people and her unwavering loyalty to the hierarchy of their party. Aubent loved deception as much as his mate, Sonelith, loved truth. They were an odd couple, one seeking chaos, the other seeking order. They were also perfect in a way, as they pulled one another from the extremes of their nature.

Sonelith and Aubent usually stayed in the sky near the sun and moon, the manifestation of their namesakes, to avoid the petty squabbles of those they considered their lessors. The two heavenly guardians enjoyed living among the mortals whenever they were not in the sky. It wasn’t that they liked the mortals or wanted to be close to them. It was the lure of being a god among insects. They often changed their appearance and social status from city to city, being commoners in one town in a pub and societal elites in another. They sowed discord intentionally, from bar fights to civil wars, for entertainment. Their hidden influences were documented in more than one record of mortal history, usually a tragedy of some kind.

It was apparent that the darkness on Sonelith’s body had a will of its own and was strong enough to suppress the soul of a guardian. The dragon revenant was a force to be reckoned with. They must find a way to defeat the darkness on Sonelith so they can free her from her corrupted body. All of their theories required finding Aubent so the true story of Sonelith’s death could be uncovered.

The travelers had broken into several smaller conversations, each discussing different aspects of the information involving Sonelith and Aubent. Eventually, Sparrow sought to refocus the discussion on other important concerns facing their group.

“Besides searching for Aubent, we need to discuss a few other concerns that Stein brought to my attention,” Sparrow said loudly, waiting a few moments until he had their attention. It took Jareth tapping Jonathan’s thigh to silence the final conversation, then Sparrow continued. “Stein has the ability to see hidden things within people, things they are not usually aware of. Through that ability, she has discovered that Lebine placed a mark on Izreea and a separate mark on her growing child.”

“A mark? What do you mean?” Izreea asked with alarm, her left hand reaching for one of her scythes while her right rested on her stomach.

“A mark is like a blessing or a curse. Think of it as a ward stone but with a grander purpose. The mark on the baby is a mark of health and strength, empowering her growth. Your baby will be magical, more so than any Dardwain in modern times, and live longer too.”

“Oh, I see,” Izreea said softly, but the look of concern on her face did not lessen. “Why?”

“Lebine is the mother of all life, the creator of all living things on this planet. New life … is her specialty and perhaps her weakness. Also, you and your scythes are responsible for freeing her from the darkness of the void and allowing her to begin cleansing it. I believe she was saying ‘thank you’ in her way.”

“What about the mark on me then?” Izreea asked

“She placed a mark of chance on your soul, and its name implies its purpose. Random things will happen around you like Jareth creating an elder tree possessed by a creature that Jonathan’s body had interacted with. Then you easily found the Stein through the new tree, right before Jonathan created a unique paradox, just as I grew enough strength to resolve it. Those were very unlikely events, especially chained together like that, yet they all happened.”

“So, we could expect more random encounters and odd situations?” Jonathan asked with an eager gleam in his eye.

“I wouldn’t be too excited about this mark. Although sometimes good things can come of chance, like Grey avoiding death and finding another guardian, bad things can come just as often. We could wake up in the center of a herd of revenants or stumble onto the den of a lich. We will have to stay vigilant.”

“There is also a guardian’s mark on Jareth, but we don’t know who put it there. All we know is it wasn’t Lebine’s doing, and it wasn’t me, Ultaris, or Stein. The mark feels old, as if it has been in place for years, so I assume someone placed it in Dule Van. Any insights, Jareth?”

Jareth looked perplexed. He shook his head slowly as he processed the information and finally shrugged as he responded, “It’s a tall order to think back over years of events and try to pinpoint a specific moment where a hidden guardian marked me without my knowledge. I’m sorry, but I have no idea.”

“Wait a minute …” Jaya interrupted, “… Izreea’s mark grants random chance, and her pup’s mark grants strength and protection. So, what does Jareth’s mark do?”

Sparrow didn’t know the answer, but Stein saw that he was about to admit that to the group and intervened.

“There was a time when guardians appointed certain mortals as ambassadors of their species. Some could argue it was diplomatic, but the reality was they were appointed to let the will of their masters be known to the leaders of their people. That was where the mark originated, but its purpose became corrupted over time, just like their masters. Eventually, the mortals began vying for the right to be a guardian’s ambassador, leading to deadly competition in some regions. Other groups turned the mark into a religious symbol of divinity, proclaiming themselves the chosen leader of their group. This led to insane and unholy practices.

“The byproduct of the mark is tracking. Whoever puts the mark on Jareth will know where he is at any time. They are most likely counting on this tracking to also tell them where Sparrow is located since the boy Sparrow was placed in Jareth’s care. Another aspect of the mark is control. If the guardian who gave you the mark wanted to disable or even kill you, they could do so with a thought.”

This proclamation led to another round of silence as everyone came to terms with this new information. Izreea wanted to ask many more questions but knew in her heart that Stein had told them everything she knew. They had to figure out who had placed the mark and their purpose. So instead, she summarized the information they had been presented with so far.

“So, we know there is at least one guardian in Dule Van, probably Aubent, since Sonelith suggested her betrayer was there. Regardless of who the guardian is, they will feel our approach when we return because of the mark they placed on Jareth. If we return without Jareth to mask our approach, they could kill Jareth out of spite if we do not find a way of removing the mark. And there is a revenant dragon that might be hunting Grey, which we can’t defeat without also … finding Aubent. So, everything is pointing to Dule Van then, right?”

“Well, actually … I know it feels like we should be heading to Dule Van right away, but we may need to go to the Well of Souls first,” Sparrow replied cautiously.

“So that we can help Colson’s soul?” Myrum asked with some hope in her voice.

“No, child,” Jaya answered from her seat, “he is worried about me, but he needn’t be. I’m fine.”

“Worried? Why?” Myrum asked her with concern.

Jaya gave Sparrow a withering glare, letting them know she had not been ready to discuss this with anyone, let alone her granddaughter. Then she let out a long sigh which seemed to stretch the moment. As she sighed, her body began to flicker and change as if she was exhaling energy. She became older and frailer, aging rapidly before their eyes, until a very aged Jaya sat near the fire. She could barely hold herself in her seated position, having to use her staff for support, and even then, her hands and arms shook from the effort.

She spoke in the shaky and crackly voice of someone with many years of experience behind them. “This is how I would look to you now if I wasn’t a seeker. I can barely sit up, let alone travel for miles a day and fight dragons and warlocks and whatever else we have to face.”

She breathed in deeply, reconnecting with her powers, restoring her body to its youthful form before continuing in a steady voice.

“Sparrow and Stein believe I am dying and need to deposit the souls I harvested into the Well of Souls so I do not become a lich when I die.”

“Isn’t that a wise course of action, Grandmother?” Myrum asked with a raised voice, emotions barely held in check.

“Myrum, dearest. I know this is hard for you, and you have lost so much already, but listen to my words. I am not going to abandon you now. I’m not going anywhere. The Guardian’s concerns are unfounded,” she said as she gave Sparrow a meaningful stare.

Sparrow nodded ever so slightly, letting her know that he understood the public discussion was over, so he changed the subject.

“Regardless of our choice of action, I feel that the dynamics of our recent experiences have changed my stance on assisting the group with my abilities. I feel that the more time it takes to reach our destinations, the more opportunities for Izreea’s mark of chance to throw obstacles in our way.”

“So NOW you will help us? After all of this?” Jaya asked angrily as she waved at the toppled Elder tree behind them.

Surprisingly enough, it was Jonathan that came to Sparrow’s defense, “keep in mind that Sparrow used the fulness of his abilities, sacrificing himself as well, to right the paradox which I created when I tried to save Grey.”

Grey took his hand in hers as he spoke of saving her while Izreea put a hand on her stomach and looked down at the ground, remembering the choice she had made that was thankfully no longer part of their history. She waited to see if her brother-in-law was stupid enough to talk in any detail about what had happened, although she didn’t know what she would do if he did. Jareth inconspicuously put his arm around her shoulders, holding her softly as Jonathan continued without noticing.

“He educates us on topics we don’t understand and is offering guidance on which direction to take our journey. He is also offering to help us now, and that counts for something.”

“You’re only saying that because he fixed your mistake,” Jareth said, teasing his brother.

Jonathan looked over and saw Jareth with his arm around Izreea. Her hand was on her stomach as she looked at the ground, her eyes wide and distant as she remembered how she felt in that moment that thankfully never happened. Jonathan realized that his words had reminded her of what had transpired, and the realization sobered him to the moment. He let his brother’s comment go as he turned back to the group.

“Maybe so, but he could have done nothing and chose to act instead. I say let him help where he feels comfortable, and don’t give him grief when he doesn’t.”

“You would be speaking differently if Grey had stayed dead,” Myrum said bluntly, comparing his experience with Colson’s death.

The party was silent again, reminded that one was missing from their party and that he sacrificed himself to buy them time to beat Ultaris. Jaya took control of the conversation again.

“Myrum, thank you for helping us focus on what is important but don’t hold others responsible for Colson’s death. He made a choice, and it would cheapen his sacrifice by blaming anyone but himself for his actions. I know you have forgiven Lone Wolf …” Myrum bared her teeth and looked away in embarrassment but said nothing as Jaya continued, “… do not blame another in his place.”

Myrum didn’t respond but nodded her head that she understood. There was silence for a moment, but Sparrow quickly picked back up the discussion.

“Thank you, everyone, for expressing your thoughts on the matter. I think the mark of chance on Izreea makes traveling the distance to Dule Van on foot too unpredictable. There are far too many of you to carry on my back in one trip, and it would take me several days to fly that distance twice, leaving half of you vulnerable to attack. We have made several enemies since this journey has begun, so I believe we should stay together if possible.”

Grey abandoned her immature whisperings to Jonathan and spoke, “If we aren’t flying or walking to Dule Van, and the void is still cut off to Jaya …” she trailed off with an open hand, letting Sparrow know he should fill in the blank.

“Traveling via the void is no longer an option, that’s true, but I know mortals can make portals between two places. Could any of you make a portal from here to Dual Van?”

All the mortals except for Myrum, who had no magical training, and Lone Wolf, who hadn’t said anything at all, began speaking at once. The chorus of voices was overwhelming, but each tried to explain all the problems with that idea and why it wouldn’t work. Sparrow was unsuccessfully trying to calm everyone down so he could hear what was being said, but no one was listening to one another.

The sound in their area was suddenly gone. Their mouths continued to move, the fire still moved, and birds flew nearby, but no sound reached anyone’s ears. Everyone noticed that the sound of their voices had been muted, and some continued to try and speak, but nothing happened. Some looked around, trying to find the source of what was happening, and some began looking at the soundless objects around them with curiosity.

“I do not know why you would all speak at once, as clearly, this is an intelligent and talented group of powerful mortals and a credit to your various races. Please exercise some level of decorum,” Stein said coldly before releasing the damper on vibrations she had been holding over the party.

The sound of the fire crackling and the birds singing nearby were almost overwhelming for a moment. Then the vibrations began to focus and return to their normal frame of reference. The party breathed a sigh of relief, and Jareth was the first to speak up.

“If I may?” he asked as he looked around, waiting a moment before continuing, “Portals are complicated enough that only the strongest magi can use them, and they take a lot of energy. Most can only cast portals that cover a short distance, typically less than a mile, and they can only cast them a few times before having to rest. Stronger magi can cover a day or two’s journey with a single portal, but the strain would be exhausting. Typically traveling via horse is faster since the required resting period from casting the portal outweighs the benefits of instant travel. With powerful magical artifacts, it is possible to portal from one city to another, but it is a rare and expensive way to travel.”

Jareth appeared to be finished, so Grey picked up the conversation, “If you have enough people, you can make a portal chain to get further. I was taught about it by the Warlocks. Imagine I made a portal traveling us to a certain point, then we all went through the portal. I keep the portal open as Jareth taps into the spell and makes the next gate, only using half the energy required since I already made the first gate. Then we all go through that gate, and Jareth keeps the second gate open as someone else taps into the gate chain, makes the next doorway, and so on until you get as far as you can or reach your destination.”

Jonathan didn’t bother waiting to see if someone else had something to contribute and plowed ahead, “Right, but each person would have to intimately know the next point on the chain, or it won’t work. We don’t know the random forest locations between here and Dule Van well enough to make something like that. I don’t think I could portal to our last campsite, let alone a place I walked past as we traveled.

“Also, Dule Van has portal defenses. Once inside Dule Van, you can portal within the city to a certain extent, but there is a barrier several miles out from the city walls. You also couldn’t portal to certain rooms within the castle if they are warded like the armory, the artifact vault, the records room, the council chamber … important things like that.”

“With those limitations in mind, I still believe it can be accomplished through another way, and Lone Wolf is the key,” Sparrow said while looking to the jackal, the only one who had said nothing the entire conversation.

All eyes turned to Lone Wolf, waiting for him to explain. He rose to his feet and looked around the group. Then he turned to Jaya and said, “I see you,” as he touched his forehead with his left hand and held it out to her in the air. Lone Wolf knew that most of the party would not understand the traditions of his people, which had branched off of kanidian culture, so he started with Jaya. If anyone understood, it would be her. Jaya did not stand as expected, but she did return the greeting in reverse, as was tradition. She stretched out her left hand towards him, then touched her forehead with her fingertips as he had done before replying with, “You are seen.”

Lone wolf went in a circle, saying the same greeting and hand gesture to each party member, waiting for them to return the greeting. The only alteration was that he touched his chest instead of his forehead with Myrum’s greeting. She barred her teeth in embarrassment but returned the greeting without hesitation.

When the last person had been greeted, Lone Wolf spoke.

“It is a tradition among my people that you are recognized before you speak to a council. The first time it is individually signed, but in future discussions with the same council, the greeting can be given all at once and returned in unison. Thank you for seeing me. Now, Timeguardian, are you referring to when you were an adolescent, and your portal was redirected to the meadow where I was waiting for you?”

Ignoring the description of appearing to be an adolescent scarcely a month ago, Sparrow replied, “Yes, Lone Wolf. I was hoping you could tell us how you accomplished such a feat; bypassing the school’s defenses and planting a location in my mind. Also, how did you know the exact moment I was casting a portal in order to plant the image?”

“You assume much of me, Timeguardian. I do not know how this was accomplished, only that I controlled the portal once it opened.”

It was then that Stein decided to take a closer look at Lone Wolf, the only jackal she had ever encountered. She was surprised she had not thought of looking within him before, but events had transpired so quickly it must have slipped her mind. As she unfolded the layers within his soul, she found herself trying to classify what she saw. It was difficult to describe and just as difficult to understand, but she immediately began to put a soft picture together in her mind.

Lone Wolf held the souls of two individual mortals, but he was certainly not a product of Ultaris’ original experiment, as that happened hundreds of years ago. He had been born with a mother and a father, so why was there a division of two souls within his soul? Stein could also see where each soul’s life had ceased to record memories and where Lone Wolf’s memories had begun to form. Why did those separate souls contain memories developed outside of the memories currently being created?

Then Stein saw a weakness in the dormant souls, and she looked harder at the souls themselves. Each of these souls had their own individual pair of souls as well. That would mean instead of two other souls, there were, in fact, four. As she looked deeper, she could see that there were more pairs of souls within those souls as well, continuing backward until she lost count of how many souls she was looking at. It was like she was stepping backward in Lone Wolf’s genealogy, looking at his grandparents instead of his parents. This was odd in and of itself, but on top of that there were twice as many souls along the genealogy line as there should have been.

Stein blinked rapidly as deadly runes on a shiny object floated in front of her vision, and her eyes focused until she saw she was looking down into Lone Wolfs face, only an arm’s length from him. His weapon was held between them, more a gesture to ward her away from him than an actual threat. The circle of individuals was silent as they watched the exchange, no one fully understanding what was going on. Stein quickly stepped back to where she had been standing before and spoke.

“I’m sorry. What were we discussing?”

“Lone Wolf was just saying that he didn’t know how the spell was altered and that it may have something to do with past memories manifesting through Ultaris’ mental connection. Does that sound related to something you saw?” Sparrow asked.

“Possibly … but I’m unsure if I should discuss something so intimate in this setting. Maybe I should speak to Lone Wolf first?”

Jaya snorted, “My inaccurate impending death wasn’t worth discussing in private first, but his multiple souls are?”

“The motherseeker is correct. Please, share what you saw. I do not mind. I am also curious,” Lone Wolf said respectfully as he put his weapon back on his back.

“Well … I can see that Lone Wolf is a product of two separate souls, but those souls are a product of two souls as well.”

“As if he had two male parents and two female parents instead of just one,” Izreea chimed in, using her medical background to extrapolate the information’s meaning.

“Yes, I suppose. Each of those souls also had two souls, and the pattern continued back, I’m assuming to the creation of the Jackals. From what I can tell, when jackals have a child, the child receives two souls. Additionally, they receive an echo of each parent’s soul, and I am assuming all of their memories.”

“And all of their abilities …” Jonathan said in awe, his voice almost a whisper. “Think about it!” he shouted in excitement. “If Ultaris can tap into all of the abilities of generations of souls, going back to when they first formed … that’s a lot of energy! Not only that, but he has their memories, all of the memories and arcane experiences as an ancient set of people. Who knows what he could learn or do from that well of … souls…” Jonathan trailed off as he heard himself name the souls within Lone Wolf and recognized its parallel.

“So, is that part of it?” Jareth asked. “Ultaris isn’t planning on only using the souls as energy. Is he using their memories and abilities as well? Those are usually reset when a soul is reformed as a new mortal life, and as Jonathan said … who knows what he could learn.”

“I don’t believe so,” Sparrow answered. “Ultaris is far too arrogant to believe he could gain anything from a collection of random mortal memories, and any magical ability a soul possessed would be converted to more raw energy for his spell to reset time. I believe he used the heritage of the jackals for strong spells only because he was imprisoned and could do little else. I don’t believe he has that same goal in mind with the actual Well of Souls guarded by the kanidians.

“I think it is safe to say that Ultaris used the strength of Lone Wolf’s compilation of souls to make a portal strong enough to reach Dule Van, and even cut through its defenses, and it didn’t appear to injure or even weaken Lone Wolf in any way. I believe that should be our goal; creating a portal to Dule Van via Lone Wolf’s hidden strength to deal with Aubent, then head to the Well of Souls so Jaya can deposit her collection.”

After a long silence, Stein turned to Sparrow and asked, “And how do we do that?” There was a hidden agenda in her outspoken question, but Sparrow ignored the secretive meaning of her words. The weight of a fully restored guardian asking another guardian that question was shocking. It had been assumed that between Stein and Sparrow, all of the answers would be laid bare for the mortal travelers. It had not occurred to them that there would be more unknowns.

It was all the more shocking when Sparrow replied, “I don’t know,” and somehow missed Stein’s warning look since he plowed ahead with, “I’ll have to speak privately with Lone Wolf and see if he remembered anything during that time that could help. Afterward, together, we will puzzle it out and see what we can come up with. Lone Wolf, would you mind accompanying me up the hill to discuss it?”

Lone Wolf gave him a firm nod, and they began walking up the hill in the twilight of the fading sun. This signaled the end of the discussion, and the party again broke off into small groups.

Myrum sat by her grandmother to discuss her shocking display of age and why she had hidden the fact from her. They could be heard softly arguing, both passionate in their positions.

Jareth and Izreea leaned on one another, still seeking comfort from the traumatizing experience they had to sort out, individually and as a couple. It would take time to heal from the memories and to resume a semblance of normal in their daily lives, but they were determined to do so together.

Grey and Jonathan whispered to one another, with a slightly immature excitement in their mannerisms commonly found in new relationships. Stein thought it was demeaning to one with the mantel of a guardian, but she had lived within the human woman for a time, and this had changed her perspective of mortals in general. They were a complicated and complex nuisance but still endearing, somehow.

Stein was frustrated at Sparrow’s display of weakness. Admitting to a group of mortals that he did not know something, anything, for that matter, was abhorrent to her. She knew she would have to wait to discuss the matter with him. When imprisoned in the Great Road, she had learned to put her mind in a thoughtless trance, and she adopted this mental state now. The light winked out in her eyes, and she looked like a simple statue as she put herself in a meditative state.

No one noticed the single red eye watching them from the woods, its owner expertly hidden in plain sight.

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