The Element Table

Prologue

The story was told of a magical table, deep in the forest, tucked away in the shadows of a cave. This table was said to hold the powers of all the elements. It was a tale told by the people of Luxia, only believed by the kingdom imbecile Merek. It was his account of meeting the Sun Queen that sparked the retelling of his experience as a bedtime story.

This tale turned into a reality when six young children stumbled upon that magical table. The Sun Queen herself, keeper of light and protector of the table, granted the children the power of six elements. These elements were water, fire, earth, wind, ice, and moon. They were given the duty to protect their kingdom with their new found powers.

Merek, now seen as the wisest man in the kingdom, became their mentor, teaching them all that the Queen had told him to. They were loved by the people and the King for their protection, and were soon given the name "The Guardians".

This began to change when King Richard, once the adviser of the past king, took the throne. His want for wealth and power overthrew those of the wellness of his kingdom, and soon, the villagers and townspeople rioted, and the Guardians were on their side...all except for Caine.

Caine was gifted the element of the moon, seen as the most controversial and powerful of all the elements. Like the moon, with a light and dark side, the element was able to bring forth both light and dark magic. It was up to the holder of the element to choose their path, one of light, or one of darkness. Caine had chosen that of darkness, abandoning his fellow Guardians, and taking the side of the Evil King.

War soon broke out between the King and the rest of the kingdom, but with the help of the moon Guardian and his increasing power, the King and his men were able to defeat the rioters over and over and again.

Hope was about to be lost when the King captured some of the rioters and imprisoned them, ready to make them his slaves. It was now or never for the Guardians, they needed a plan to save the captured, and hopefully get an upper hand on the king.

"This is ridiculous!" Geoffrey said, hitting the table with his fist "We are the guardians; it is our duty to protect the kingdom. How are we supposed to do that with this stupid plan of yours?"

The young guardians were in their new meeting place. Their mentor's shop was being monitored by the King's men, and they now found themselves in the cave where they first found the table, where it still stood. It was in the middle of the five, still as golden brown as it was before. Its thick leg stood perfectly center, with intricate designs carved into it. At the base were roots, going into the soil surface of the cave floor. Its top was a perfect sphere, the age lines very visible. The lines curved around colored gems that were tucked into its surface. Each gem represented an element.

Geoffrey was the guardian of fire and had the temper to match.

"You're right, we do need to protect the kingdom, I just don't think going through the gates is the way to go," Alistair said

Alistair was the water guardian, often viewed as the leader by others, but not the guardians, especially Geoffrey.

"Alistair is right," Zoricus said "Using the tunnels will give us a better chance of getting an advantage"

Zoricus was the guardian of the wind, and Alistair's best friend, who always took his side against the others.

"As much as I hate to say this, I'm on Geoffrey's side on this," said Ilda, getting a surprised look from Geoffrey and the others "We have magic, magic the King and his men don't have"

Ilda was the ice guardian, which was sometimes portrayed by her cold nature. Like ice and fire, Ilda and Geoffrey didn't get along so well, that's why it was a surprise that she sided with him.

"Are you forgetting that they have Caine on their side?" asked Zoricus

"But there's one of him and five of us!" Geoffrey stated

"But he's getting stronger" Alistair argued

"But not stronger than the five of us!" Ilda said

It was clear as day that the two groups were on a different page, and it was up to their last member to break the tie.

All eyes landed on Gawain, guardian of earth, as he watched the other guardians argue. He was usually the one that tipped the scale one way or kept it in balance. But that day there was already a tie, and he needed to break it.

They all had agreed on the element of surprise for the attack on the castle, but they had different priorities. Geoffrey's priority was defeating the king. He suggested they take out the guards around the gate one by one, at night, then sneak in to attack the others, the king, and then get the captured rioters. He believed that they were strong and powerful enough to do it. But Alistair priority was saving the captured rioters. He feared that they would be made before they even entered the gate and that the captured would get hurt before they even got to them. His plan involved using the fishermen's boats to enter the underground tunnels at the back end of the castle property and enter the dungeons. They can take out guards and release the captured at the same time and then, escape the way they came in. They would not be able to take out the king's whole army, but the people in the dungeon would be saved without them getting injured. Geoffrey believed that they could easily get captured themselves and be thrown in the dungeons right then and there.

Four pairs of eyes burned into Gawain, willing him to choose their way, but he had already made up his mind. The king and his men had killed his family, so at that moment, his priority was revenge.

"I'm with Geoffrey" he answered, eliciting a smirk from the fire guardian

Alistair wasn't happy with his choice, but they made a rule, everyone gets a vote and the majority wins.

But little did they know, that was the last time they would ever get to vote again.

An army of rioters was assembled and their attack on the castle began. Everything seemed to be going well until Alistair's prediction came true and they were made. A series of bad decisions on the guardians' parts and the King's magically enhanced weapons, caused the army to get the upper hand. Knowing that complete defeat was inevitable, the guardians retreated to the cave. They stood around the table, placed their hands on it, and said the magic words they never thought they would have to say. They returned their powers to the table, the only way they know to keep their powers safe from their friend turned enemy, Caine.

The powerless guardians and the rioters were captured. The King knew the guardians being together meant they still had a chance of defeating him, so he exiled Geoffrey, Ilda, Gawain, and some of the rioters to the forest that was said to be laced with dangerous creatures. Without their powers, they were sure to die. Caine cast a spell, placing a magical barrier between the kingdom and the forest and filling the waters around the island with creatures, preventing the people from ever interacting again, from land or sea. Alistair, Zoricus and the captured in the dungeons stayed in the kingdom par the King's request. He thought it would be nice to have a guardian or two around as slaves.

Soon, Caine's need for power grew more than the King's, and once he eliminated King Richard, he began his reign and tormented the kingdom. It was then that the Sun Queen Solaria made her final appearance and sacrificed herself to lock Caine away in the shadow realm. Her last word to him as he pledged to be back, was that the descendants of the guardians will be here to fight him when he does.

Before she was gone, Merek came to her side, willing to do whatever he could to save her. She assured him there was nothing he could do, and warned him of Caine's return in the future. But she gave him her pendant, promising him that a new Sun Queen will be born from his bloodline and that when the time is right, new guardians will arise.