The Defenders

Chapter 1 - Dmitri

CHAPTER 1

(DMITRI)

When the time came when men decided to draw lines to designate which territory belonged to

them and which ones to their friends and enemies, something changed within the universe. To this day no one is sure if it was the universe itself, a higher being, or just random chance that created this change, but, when the first line was drawn and the first country named a man woke up for the first time.

He was stronger than any other man alive and could not be killed by any weapon that was wielded against him. He was created for the sole purpose of personifying his country. As long as he was strong and healthy and kind his people and land would be prosperous and well. As the years went by and more and more countries were created, more and more "Personifications", or "Guardians" as we call them, woke up from a sleep they didn't know they had been in. As countries got bigger populations, however, it soon became clear that the humans could harm themselves even if the Guardians were healthy and kind to each other. War was imbedded in human nature with or without the Guardians' interference. It was after these flaws of humans became clear, that the universe, or whatever created the Guardians, decided they needed extra support. And, thus, we, the defenders, were born.

Each Guardians is in charge of one defender. Sort of like the hero and the sidekick, the Guardians the heroes, attempting to save humans from their own stupidity, and the defenders the sidekicks, protecting the humans from darker, corrupting forces. No one knows how or why they are chosen to become defenders. All we really know is that we wake up from death knowing that we are different. We know that our names have changed, and that perhaps our appearances have too, but we can't remember any names or faces from our past life.

We can only remember glimpses of our death and the age we were when we died. No defender was older than nineteen or younger than twelve when they died. We are each woken with a mutation, a gift or ability we gained in death. These mutations give us power over natural elements. Winds, health, fire, water, lava, ice, are just some of the mutations that we defenders have received. Each defender wakes up lacking a heart, except for Kaisa. Instead of a heart we have a core, the center of our mutation, which pumps our element through our veins when we use our mutations. Each defender is about as powerful as the next, each can only use their mutation as a steady high-energy stream. No one could use their mutation in short; high-power spurts and no defender would ever turn on another.

At least, no one until Resi. Resi was the exception to all the rules.