The Ashen Keeper

Chapter 17

Just as they were all silent, everything stopped. Nobody blinked, the winds no longer move.

She could sense that time itself has come to a standstill.

"That was an interesting story.", said the voice of a woman as she came in a hood. She felt familiar with her. She wore orange monk like clothes. She looked at the woman before her.

"You are the guardian who let me in. For that, thou have mine sincerest gratitude."

"You can call me Ancient One. There is no need to thank me. I will not turn away a refugee in need of help.", she said in her aloof voice.

She must have been the guardian of this place for years judging by her name and the tone of her voice.

"So now what?", she asked as she looked straight into her.

"How will you continue to live? You are fading are you not?"

"I am indeed fading at the moment I will soon be gone. Though I believe the same can be said for thee as thou power is corrupting thee is it not?", she retorted.

"Yes, my power corrupts me but what about you, will you burn souls to keep yourself alive? Now that you told them of your origins, they can no longer ignore you.

Your arrival have permanently disrupted the time flow of my world. It was fine if you didn't tell them but now you have to go ahead and tell them.", she said as if she was disappointed.

The expression on the firekeeper didn't change, but anyone with a little experience could tell that she was now fully concentrated on the "threat" before her. She was ready to move the flames left within her body at a moment's notice.

"Don't worry, I'm not planning to banish you", she said as she once again made her tone relaxed. The Ancient One was a master at controlling her tone and expression. She looked easygoing yet stern.

"Thou art tired.", she said out of the blue.

"Pardon?", the Ancient One sounded confused at this. Of course, the key word was "sounded", she could not tell how this woman really felt as she has lived for such a long time. People tend to pick up things along the way as they lived.

"One who live for a long time is bound to be tired and I have had many chances to witness many beings who were tired of living.", she said with much more certainty. Now, she knew where the familiarity came from.

Her feelings of a long life may be near impossible to find on this realm, but this is what everyone who lived in her world felt. She felt the feeling of home in her longing for death. Perhaps she shall find peace and rest in the loving arms of Lady death.

"Ah! I reckon that my feelings are like an old friend for you who has live in a world of despair for so long. However, you are not wrong. I am indeed tired of living. Especially when I grow more corrupted day after day. But I still cannot die now. A few years later perhaps but not now. I will have to choose a successor."

The firekeeper kept her silence. She was in no ways qualified to tell people when to die or not. There is beauty in life but her people long for the beauty in death.

"You said that you will be dying soon, didn't you? I can help you with that as long as you help my successor in his path. I sense many difficulties ahead. My old enemies will swarm in here as long as they heard news of my death."

"And other guardians do not take their duty?", she asked.

"I sense another being as powerful as thee when I came here guarding this realm.

"You are speaking of Odin-the all father. But the all-father is also growing old. He may be called the king of the gods, but god is only a name.

He is merely a powerful being and will die soon too. It will be even more dangerous as Odin was a ruthless conqueror in his younger days. His enemies are even more numerous than mine."

"What of the powerful embryo in the center of this world?", she asked again.

"A newborn celestial" replied the ancient one.

"Celestials are what qualified as gods. They are unaffected by time and are truly immortal unless slayed. The only things preventing it from waking up are Odin and me. Our very presence suppresses the growth of the Celestial.

Once we are gone however, it will mature in only a span of less than a decade. The only reason other Celestials haven't come is because Odin drove them away. Odin's death will allow them to enter and exit the nine realms freely."

She seemed to have no reservation in giving her knowledge.

"Why share all these wisdoms?", she asked.

"I simply thought that you will need this knowledge when protecting this world."

"Thou art certain that I will protect it?"

"I am confident of it. After all, is this world not made with the embers of your old world? Your old profession was to take care of the fire. You will take care of its ashes now that it's no longer burning. Ash keeper? No, it's Ashen keeper. You seem to hold some affection for the one you call the Ashen One."

"I will not deny my feelings for the Ashen One, but I fail to see why it concerns thee."

"Help me guide the new protectors of this. They will surely grow to suppress us. But, so will their enemies. I sense many failures in the future. I do not know of the future with you but it should, no it will definitely change."

"Ancient Once, have thou not accepted the changes that will occur? Art thou not betraying thy natural order by trying to change the future?"

"I will accept betraying my natural order if it means that the future can be changed. But first, I will help you continue burning. Can you help me burn away my dark powers in return?"

The firekeeper took a moment to think about it. The ancient one will prolong her life while she will cleanse the pollution of her mind. It was a fair deal, and she was specialized and dealing with curses and corruption.

"Very well then, I will serve thee, and will do as thou bid'st. This will be our private affair. No one else may know of this. Stay true to thy words and I shall tend to the power which corrupts thou.

Until the day of thy grand betrayal."