Aetherian(Part 1): A War Begins

Oscar

 What many people don't know about the Guardians is that their power comes from their human soul, which is made up of both light and darkness. Oscar had learned to feel both the light and the darkness within him in the last few months, the way they both constantly fought each other, keeping him from falling into darkness. The idea of the Guardians' power was to expand the light that is already in them. Oscar found it a frightening process, trying to keep his own darkness from taking control of him, but he kept himself calm for most of the time. He could feel the light growing, and the darkness trying to extinguish it, but he fought back. He refused to embrace the darkness. Oscar calmed himself again, but he suddenly felt the darkness rise, and a pair of red eyes above a red grin formed. He saw dark smoke form around the face until darkness surrounded him.

Resist! he reminded himself. Don't fear the darkness. Soon, there was no light around him, and the red grin opened its mouth, claiming him with a single bite. Oscar closed his eyes and opened them to see that he was back in the icy sanctuary at Ice Spear. There was nothing more relieving than seeing the giant statue of Baldur, the god of light, surrounded by a frozen pond, and a blanket of snow all around him. Pointed conifers lined the short, stone walls of the sanctuary, all with snow and icicles hanging from their pointed leaves.

"Gods," Oscar cursed. It was the first time in three months that he hadn't run away from the darkness like that. He wasn't afraid anymore. Oscar took out his glass training sword and pulled its blade from the hilt. Every time he tried to turn it on, the blade wouldn't even spark. Hopefully, now that he's managed to resist the darkness, it would. When he tried to ignite the blade, he widened his eyes at what he saw. A faint spark in the blade generator ignited for only a second. Now he knew, when he meditated, the more he resisted the pull into darkness, the more powerful he would become. That's what the sanctuaries were for, tapping into the power of the soul and feeling the light and darkness inside it. Oscar wanted nothing more to lay down in the snow and fall asleep, as he had done once before, but the sun was just coming up. He needed to prepare for whatever Major Lawson had in store for him. In the barracks, he gathered his pistol and assault rifle and went to the northern shore, the edge of the world.

"Morning," Major Lawson greeted.

"Morning," said Oscar.

"So, how did the whole meditation thing go?" asked the Major.

"I got a spark in my blade, finally," Oscar answered.

"Oh? What color?"

"I couldn't tell," Oscar admitted. "Too small."

"Little progress is better than no progress at all," said Major Lawson, igniting his green lightsword. "It took me three months to get a spark in my blade, too." Oscar drew his glass blade before Major Lawson. He had improved his swordsmanship in the last few months and hadn't been knocked into the ground as much as his first few weeks at Ice Spear. Lawson lunged at him, and he dodged with a turn to the side and kicked him off his feet.

"Nice one," said Lawson, as Oscar pulled him to his feet. "It took a few months, but you have improved." Oscar was proud to know that he was better with his skills than when he first arrived at Ice Spear, but he would still never survive a real firefight as he was. He suddenly lunged at Major Lawson again, and his attack was blocked, then thrown back. Lawson began to push Oscar back as he clashed with his glass sword, before Oscar parried his last attack, then landed a kick on his chest, staggering the Major a few steps backward.

"You're a bit jumpy today, Oscar," the Major said. "That's unlike you."

"It is?" asked Oscar. "I guess I have been practicing with my friends at night."