The Ancient Guardians

The Ancient Guardians (Chapter 17)

THE ANCIENT GUARDIANS

Chapter 17

I awoke calmly after a dreamless night, immersed in drowsiness. Clint came by all our rooms to see if we were awake. If we weren't he'd wake us up like he did to William: a punch in the trunk and a 10-foot fall. I ate some fire and stretched a bit, readying myself for whatever Clint had in store for me. I greeted Will as we walked out. "Good morning." 

"Oh shut it." He replied. 

"What's wrong? Wake up on the wrong side of the tree?" I said. He was obviously cranky from meeting the ground a few minutes ago. 

"I don't feel like talking..." he answered. 

Marla looked at Will and scratched her left cheek. "You've got some dirt on your face." 

"Damnit." Will exclaimed while rubbing it off. 

She giggled a bit and climbed outside. 

Will didn't bother climbing. He bent his knees and with a thrust of his wings jumped outside and into the air. 

I thought it was a good idea and did the same, finishing with a front flip before landing outside. This could get useful in a volley-ball game. 

"Nicely done, Alex." Clint said. "I see you've gotten used to it already." He was waiting for us at the same place as yesterday, sitting in the same position. "Come closer so that we can talk." 

We went up to him and sat down like he was. 

"Is it about those books again?" Marla asked. 

"Indeed." Clint answered. "Last night I found a tome that told about the creation of the Ancient Guardians. Around 2100 years ago, Bob was starting to lay waste to the lands. It was soon obvious that mankind could not defeat him and that they would all perish in due time. So, as with all such crisis, the planet acted. The spirits of the elements; Earth, Fire, Wind and Water sought out the right type of people that would be able to control their power and made a pact with them. The four chosen persons became vessels for the spirits to have the power to beat Bob in exchange for eternal life, which didn't last long, though, because of their sacrifice." 

"That's interesting." William said. "But what's it to us?" 

Looks like he didn't understand the point of the story. It's basically our origins, what was waiting in the cave. 

"Well, William," Clint continued, "what it is to us is that it makes us understand what we are. In the caves, it was the spirits of the elements that were waiting for us, and are now within us." He put his hand on his chest while saying this. 

There was a moment of silence. Everyone contemplating the immensity of what it meant. After a little while, Clint started talking again. 

"Alright, Marla, William, since you two take so much time to summon your weapons, I'm going to go with Alex over there and tell him what to do while you do that. Don't forget; you have to familiarize with your weapon." He then walked with me a little further off and looked me in the red eyes. "I found something for you to do today, that I also found in the tomes yesterday. Your element is the one that leaves you the most free to move while surrounded by it. This is a technique used by the first Guardian of Fire to prevent enemies from touching him. What I want you to do is surround yourself with a small layer of fire, not to move with it yet though, just to get the feel of it and be able to control it. The faster you can make it appear the better." 

"Sounds interesting. I'll give it a try." I said. It seemed it might be hard to control, but useful in a close fight. 

"Good luck." Clint told me. "I'll go work with the slowpokes now." He went back to Marla and Will, who had just barely summoned their weapons.