The Guardian and The Wolf - Roukan

When Roukan was a child, his mother used to tell stories about the beginning of the world. The three siblings, Nerezza, Apolaki, and Death, were gave, light, darkness, and time.

Together they created Eardyn. They separated the sky from the land, and sea. They planted seeds on barren lands and created colorful homes on the seafloor. The Hearts of the Forest were born. And these sacred trees roots dug deep into the earth and crawled across the field. In time, the tree bore seeds and the wind carried them, and more trees came about. Then they created the animals, bearing seeds from across the world.

Looking at Dernvale, he can’t tell if the Heart is still alive. Tall barren trees still stood but its wood had gone black, some had jelly mushrooms growing on its decaying trunk. The floor was covered in branches and brown leaves. Patches of mushrooms, nettles, and shrubs of berries were here and there, but scarce. Vultures flew above them, waiting for one of them to drop dead. The forest felt cold, unwelcoming and confusing.

Life begins and ends with the Heart. That has always been the lesson they were taught in the fishing village of Brimm. Knowing their great importance in humanity’s survival, wouldn’t everyone’s priority be to keep them safe?

Freeing it would mean saving Caeldig and its people. It was simple answer and yet, the presence of the Guardian’s friend, Ren, made things complicated. As if his safety was of greater importance than saving the world.

The Guardian was supposed to be neutral. But then again, she was also supposed to be the Champion of the Gods. Demons are supposed to stay in the Underworld and yet here they are. The world has changed.

He looked over his shoulder watching the once great warrior of Eardyn . Her face contorted as she struggled with the muddy road. Was he supposed to believe that this woman, who can’t get a proper footing, can save the world from succumbing into darkness?

His curiosity piqued. He wanted nothing more than to get to know her, but was getting nowhere close in cracking her walls with his relentless questions.

“Well?” he insisted when she didn’t answer her question.

“What?” Her blank stares and mindless nods and “mhm” answers were wearing his patience thin.

“I asked what happened to you,” he rolled his dark gray eyes. “The Guardian was once the most powerful being. You disappeared and now you don't have your powers.”

Her brow eyes briefly went to her companion Rahil, who kept his eyes forward.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “I don’t remember.”

“And how did you end up in Faeldic?” he asked as he easily took one step after another as if he was walking on a flat surface.

“I don’t know,” she mumbled, eyes cast on the ground, her focus is on her path.

“What do you know?” he said unable to hide his irritation this time.

“Nothing,” she answered. “I don’t have a memory of who I was before Faeldic.”

He then turned to Rahil. “And how do you know so much about the Guardian?”

Rahil’s left eyebrow twitched. “I think it’s best to keep quiet until we get to the Tree,” he said. “We don’t want to wake the forest with all this talk.”

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“Come now,” Roukan grinned. “If we’re to spend more time together, don’t you think we should know each other better?”

Rahil’s jaw clenched.

“Or just walk in silence,” Elswyth cut in.

Conri who was walking right next to her chuckled. “You know he’s not going to stop,” he whispered to them. “His relentless determination is one of his best and worst traits.”

Rahil sighed. “I was a scholar,” he answered Roukan. “I served in the temple of the gods, and I read accounts about the Guardian.”

Elswyth’s eyes widened, clearly hearing something interesting for the first time. Her chapped lips curled into a smile.

“And you?” This time it was Rahil who asked the question. “What are you doing so far out in the East?”

Roukan grinned at him. “You can tell I’m not from around here?”

“I’ve travelled far enough,” he said simply.

“Long enough too, I bet,” he grinned. Rahil did not deny nor admitted that he was the Ghost of Eardyn, the mysterious man that appears in conflicts to help the innocents. But he knew it was him. Though it was a long time ago he can still remember the day his village burned down like it was yesterday.

“I’m from a fishing village near the Bay of Sea Warriors called Brimm,” he said, trying to sound casual and joyful. “Cannagan’s from there too. Lived with his ma and his twin, Rika. We are sons of fishermen. Have you ever been there?”

He grinned at Rahil, who’s eyes darkened at his insinuation. He tried his best to ask nicely, but he knew, pushing people over the edge is the best way to know them.

"It's a shame. My home burned down when I was thirteen by a horde of Shadows. I watched my father get ripped apart by a shadow,” he said.

The hair on his arm stood as if he was taken back seventeen years ago. “Then this man, face hidden under his hooded cloak, he scooped me and my sister up in his arms. He was bleeding badly from the arrows on his back, but he still took us to safety.”

“I thought I was saved by the Guardian, but people told me that the champion has not been seen in decades. I figured, if I can be as strong as this man, then I can save others too. But in my journey to become a warrior. I’ve seen the true horrors of what the shadow army can bring.”

“For the past two years, I’ve been telling kings and lords all over the continent to take up arms against the enemy but none believed me. Except the queen of Oten,” he said his voice starts to sound wistful.

“It would be nice to know,” his voice shook as he tried to force a smile. “Why I have been doing your job while you hid away in that little village?”

“You,” she said slow and low. “Are choosing to ask me this, right now, while we are in the middle of this godless forest?”

“Now is as good as any,” he replied.

She held his gaze as she spoke. “Tell me the truth. Are we your prisoners?”

“I don’t take prisoners, Guardian” he said coldly.

“If not then, we can go.” He knew it wasn’t a question or a request.

“By all means,” he said with a sweet voice. “But it’ll be my honor to guide you.”

“Place your honor on someone else. We know the way.”

“Ah yes,” he said nodding. “But are you headed the right way?”

Her hands were clenched in a fist. “Don’t get the idea that you can tell me where to go and what to do.”

She stepped forward, closing the space between them. “Follow us or don’t, it makes no difference. But get this through your head, you’re just tagging along.”

Roukan mirrored her movement, stepping into her space. The air thickened with tension. He can smell the rain on her skin laced with the musk of day-old sweat. Tilting her chin, she locked his gaze. His dark, unflinching eyes bored into hers. His lips curled into a sinister smile.

“I like this,” he murmured. Sliding his hands into his pockets, he crouched closer, his lips brushing her ears. “Can you show the same tenacity against a shadow? Or gods help you, against a demon?”

He pulled back to meet her eyes again. “You’ve been gone a long time, Guardian,” he said. “You need me as much as I need you.”

Her hand reached for her dagger. “Maybe I should show you how much I need you.”

Before she could draw, Rahil's hand clamped around her wrist and yanked her back. He swiftly slipped between them and shoved Roukan.

“Enough,” Rahil snapped.

But Elswyth’s eyes never left Roukan’s. Nor did he. Only did she notice that his party around them have their weapons half-drawn, like wolves baring their fangs.

Roukan broke the heavy tension with a chuckle.

“Stand down,” he told them. “We’re only getting to know each other.”

None of them moved. Even Conri, who was friendly to her minutes ago, had his hands on his dual sword. His brown eyes glaring.

“You’re right,” Roukan turned to Ylva who was standing next to her, and pushed her sword back to its sheath with a finger. He gave her a tap on the shoulder. “That is enough,” he repeated Rahil’s words as he sat underneath a dead tree.