Sentinels of the Starry Skies (DQ 9)

One

One

Alexia stood facing the horizon. The sky was a crisp, clear blue; the sun shone brightly. Her wild mess of jet black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but it still managed to swirl around her face in the breeze. Everything was completely silent — it was absolutely perfect. She loved the silence. It was a welcome break from the intenseness of her everyday life. The quiet allowed her to relax and forget about all the responsibilities that were about to be placed on her shoulders.

Taking a few steps back, Alexia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked out at the horizon again. A smile spread across her face as she took off running.

Then she flung herself into the nothingness.

With her eyes closed, Alexia let herself plummet through the air; her arms stretched out as if to slow herself down. But there was nothing that could slow her down as she fell. Except for one thing.

Alexia opened her eyes and unfurled her wings. They came open with a rather loud thwack, and she was yanked upward rather violently as they caught the wind. Ouch. Sometimes she forgot just how much opening her wings during a free fall could hurt. The rush that came from it was exhilerating — it was the feeling she imagined came with being in battle.

Being a Guardian's apprentice, Alexia had only ever been involved in minor skirmishes in the mortal realm. Her mentor — a Celestrian by the name of Aquila — was always with her. Aquila was well experienced in battle; there didn't seem to be a foe he couldn't face. His was the level to which Alexia longed to be on. But it didn't seem like she'd be achieving her goal anytime soon. Unless Aquila began stepping aside when they encountered monsters in the mortal realm, Alexia would never gain the experience she needed. It frustrated her. He had to step aside sooner or later and let her take the lead.

Alexia soared across the sky, her pure white wings catching the wind and propelling her forward. After a few moments, she looked at the clouds below her. It would be so easy for her to just dive down through the clouds and break into the mortal realm. It was risky — there was a chance she could lose her wings and halo by forcefully entering the Protectorate. Normally, when Celestrians descended to the mortal world, they used the portal in the center of the Observatory. However, Alexia couldn't use the portal unless Aquila was with her. It was yet another thing that frustrated her. Only Guardians were able to enter the Protectorate alone — or at all, for that matter. Regular Celestrians and apprentices weren't allowed to go to the human world unsupervised.

The mortal realm had always fascinated Alexia. The humans' lives were so fragile; many of them lived in fear of monsters and other more dangerous occurances. Yet there were others that sought out adventure and battle and glory. They didn't seem to acknowledge the fact that their lives could be snuffed out as easily as candle flames. It was those select humans that Alexia envied. Their sense of free will let them go wherever the wind decided to take them. The adventurers and thrill seekers didn't seem to have many rules to follow. In a way, it was almost as if they were truly free.

That kind of freedom wasn't something Alexia was able to have, being a Celestrian. Her days were planned for her; she had hardly a minute of time to herself. She didn't hate helping the mortals — she loved going to the Protectorate and watching them go about their daily lives. Defending them on their travels and helping them with their minor inconveniences earned their benevolessence. And it was that benevolessence that was offered up to the World Tree, in hopes that it would one days bear fruit. She had yet to personally offer benevolence to Yggdrasil, though. Aquila was always the one who went to the top of the Observatory and made the offering. While Alexia understood why Aquila was the one to go to the World Tree, Alexia longed to get close to Yggdrasil for herself. Her mentor told her that her time was coming soon, but soon seemed to be taking an eternity to arrive.