The Ancient Guardians

The Ancient Guardians (Clint's Prologue)

THE ANCIENT GUARDIAN OF EARTH

Clint's Prologue

My feet were getting heavy. My breathing was coarse. My legs were numb. My shoulders were slumped. For two days I had been running, with mine and my father’s blood on my vest and raiders at my heels. Running on and on, like…like…bloody hell I’ve been running for two damned days! You get the point. It couldn’t really be called running anymore though, it was more like clumsily limping at a fast pace (I’m happy no one was around to see this, since it wasn’t dignified at all). My city had been raided during the night. The raiders, who were unusually bright for raiders, snuck in and quietly killed more than half the guards before the alarm sounded. The alarm was like a signal to the raiders outside the walls, who used enormous amounts of gun-powder barrels to destroy the East wall and swarm in. With half the guards dead and the other half already busy fighting the raiders from inside, resistance didn’t last long. A group of ten raiders invaded my blacksmith shop and tried to kill me. I had killed five of them before I was backed off in a corner with a wound on my right arm, which was my sword arm, that had rendered the muscle useless. My father had suddenly burst in and killed the five raiders, saving my life. Unfortunately, he had been fatally wounded beforehand and died soon after. I ran away from the city, but some raiders had noticed me and after they were done pillaging the town they decided to move on in the direction I had taken. They were on horseback so they were gaining on me fast. I got to bring a little more distance during the night because they slept and I continued running. I could hear them between my heavy breaths… steadily getting closer to me with each passing hour. They’ll have reached me soon. During the now rare moments where I lifted my head up to see where I was going, I saw a cave in a cliff side ahead. I was at my limit; I’d have to go all or nothing. If I took shelter in there they might run past without a second thought, but on the off-chance that they’ll take a look in it, since it seems like an obvious hiding place, this cave is going to be my grave. I brought up the last of my energy and went in. The light dimmed as I went deeper into the cave. A few moments and it was already darker than night. As I steadily went on while keeping a hand on the wall for balance, I fortunately came upon a lit torch (why that torch was here I had no idea whatsoever). Now that the way was lit, I could see where I was walking. I looked on the ground before me and saw an orange-tinted crystal. I picked it up and kept it, since it seemed to have great value. Maybe this was an old mine and I’d find more; I did wonder why there weren’t any wooden supporters, so maybe it was a natural mine. It seemed like my guess was becoming truer after a while as I found a few more of the crystals. They were all just lying on the ground in my way. If only the raiders didn’t find me in here I’d become rich when I got back out. It felt like I had walked forward for an eternity; I now had seven crystals.  All of a sudden, the fire-light spread out wider than usual. I stepped into a giant circular room. This definitely wasn’t a mine. I went to the back of the room and the light from the torch revealed what seemed an ancient symbol that was carved in the stone. I had never seen anything like it before. It was very neatly carved, I wonder who did this. I brought my hand up to feel the craftsmanship and touched it. I felt a stream of energy run through my arm, rendering it numb like iron. The energy quickly spread giving the same effect to the rest of my body. I wanted to open my mouth to scream out in terror but it was already numb as well. I felt the energy rippling back and forth inside my bones. With one last pulse my vision turned white and my body seemed to shatter in a thousand pieces before I blacked out.

I woke up screaming and clutching my body, as if to see if it was still all there. It all seemed like a dream, although I felt…heavy. I still had my clothes and thankfully everything else, even the wound in my arm was completely healed. I looked around and noticed I was in some kind of hut made out of stone. I was on a straw bed on the floor. On the ground, going from beside me to the door, were traces of dragging; it seemed like I was dragged to this bed. I moved to get up, but it felt like I was lifting a boulder just by standing. The hut seemed very small; the ceiling was lower than I thought. I slowly got to the doorway and stepped outside. The sun was already high, so it must be midday. There was a black man sitting cross-legged on the grass.

He got to his feet and turned around to look at me. He was small compared to me, his face was aged and he had a small white beard with a bald head. “You are finally awake.” He said. “Sun already above. You been sleeping too long.”

“Who are you?” I asked. “And what happened to me?”

            He looked me sincerely in the eyes. “My name is Avry Jameson, and you became Ancient Guardian. Do not worry, I tell you all you need to know.”