Order dies, Hope survives

Hello young traveler, I’ve heard much about you from Governor Macmael and Shotglass. I am Arjun, leader of the Order of Guardians. Well, what’s left of the Order anyway. I would imagine that, by now, you’re only too aware of the Order’s destruction. Even now, it seems unreal, impossible. And yet, it happened anyway.

I suppose the best place to begin would be with the founding of the Order. The Order was established by the Avatars, a race of incredible beings who travel the stars as easily as you or I would walk upon a road. Back then the Five Races, Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Beastmen and Imps, were little more than desperate tribes of scavengers. After a great catastrophe, the exact nature of which has yet to be discovered, the knowledge of the Old Era was lost and, seemingly, all hope of survival was lost with it. The Avatars, however, saw our plight and decided to aid us as they had, apparently, done for countless others across the vastness of creation.

To the Humans, they gave swordsmanship, adaptability and an insatiable hunger for knowledge. To the Elves, they gave telepathy, magic and great longevity. To the Dwarves, they gave great strength, the skills of mining and the knowledge of craftsmanship. To the Beastmen, they gave the ferocity of their animal halves, the intellect of their Human halves and the powers of transformation. And, to the Imps, they gave the power of flight, the skills of engineering and the secrets of navigation. Finally, they created the Order of Guardians, a cadre of powerful wizards to act as peacekeepers and mediators amongst the Five Races and selected its first members, including myself. That was thirty thousand years ago.

As you’ve doubtless guessed, that is one of the marks of a Guardian: Immortality. You look as if envy stirs within you at this knowledge. Consider this: you have arthritis for twelve thousand years and THEN tell me how great Immortality is. Ha, ha, ha! Ah, but you’re not here to listen to my poor attempts at humor. Yes, back to the Order. The Order of Guardians had three Sects: the Guardians, the Aura Knights and the Sages.

The Guardians, like myself, are, or rather were, Immortal wizards possessed of great power and wisdom. The Guardians themselves served many purposes. During times of peace, we were Humanitarians. We would use our power to help those in need, those that couldn’t help themselves, with such things as spells to cure diseases or to cleanse fields of blight or to arrest the surge of a flood or to weaken the strength of wind storms. In times of tension or strife, we would acts as peacekeepers and mediators to prevent tension from becoming bloodshed. The Guardians act for, and are made up of, all Five Races so we do not side with one Race against another. Because of this, Guardians have rarely openly fought in wars. The last time such an event took place, a decision we did not make lightly, was some fifty years ago, when we allied with the Five Races against the Dark Elves. Now, I suppose, such a time is upon us again.

The Aura Knights were, essentially, the warriors of the Order. Aura Knights were warriors, Mortals unlike the Guardians, who had mastered both the art of swordsmanship and magic, which is exceptionally rare even today. During the fight against the Dark Elves, the Aura Knights fought alongside the Guardians. Of all the things I remember about the Aura Knights, two things stand out. One is their strong sense of justice, they react swiftly to acts of oppression or brutality. Swiftly and viciously. Another thing is their incredible swords, the Falchions. A Falchion had a number of powers, none of which are dependent on magical principles, which an Aura Knight could harness through his bond with his blade. An Aura Knight could will his Falchion to disguise itself as a simple long sword to deceive enemies, or cast it at foes and manipulate its flight, or summon it to his hand from wherever it may be, or have it spin before him at great speeds to deflect projectile attacks.

Finally, there were the Sages. The Sages were the guiding hand of the Order, neither warriors nor wizards but teachers and philosophers. Over the Order’s history, its libraries have been filled with books written by the Sages. Some on history, some on politics, some on ethics, some on morality, some on religion and others still on art and music and singing and dancing. The Sages, though Mortal, seemed to always possess clarity of mind and a sense certainty that I myself have rarely known. More than once did I turn to a Sage for advice on a difficult decision, and never has a Sage disappointed me.

As I have said, traveler, the Order’s ancient Charter forbids us from siding with one Race over another in times of war. That is why the Order didn’t take sides in the war between the Dwarves of New Uruk and the Imps of Manasha nearly fifty years ago. When we sided with the peoples of Ghea against the Dark Elves decades ago, it came about only after much debate. After these two wars ended, Ghea knew a long peace during which, I’ll admit, the Order became complacent. Our Humanitarian and diplomatic aid became less and less necessary and the Order sequestered itself at our headquarters, the Tower of Wisdom in Soryak, in endless study and meditation.

When Emperor Jaghra of Veles Vasad launched the invasion of the Northern Continent, the first move in their conquest of Ghea, the Order was near paralyzed with internal strife. It was only too obvious what crimes Veles Vasad was committing against the Free Peoples of Ghea and, I’m embarrassed to say, our own Charter held us in check. I was quite aware of the Charter forbidding us from taking sides in conflict between the Races, I had helped draft the Charter itself. Myself and many of the other Guardians were in favor of approaching the situation with diplomacy. The Aura Knights and the Sages, however, were of a different mindset. The Aura Knights believed that we had to bring the full might of the Order to bear against Veles Vasad. The Guardians, of course, pointed out that it would be a grand violation of our Charter and, more than once, one of the Aura Knights would reply “To Hell with the Charter! We shouldn’t let murderers run free over a piece of old parchment!”

I cannot begin to describe the ripple of shock that passed through the room when we heard that. And, that shock only grew when the Sages concurred, saying that the Charter simply was not designed to be applied to a situation like this and, conversely, that our Charter was not designed to allow evil to run roughshod over the good. I wish I had listened to them, if I had then they, along with countless others, would still be alive. As it was, the Order remained paralyzed by argument and debate while the armies of Veles Vasad moved on toward the Eastern and Western Continents.

And, it didn’t help matters that the accounts we’d heard seemed to grow more and more absurd by the day. The siege of Razorthorn on the Northern Continent, for example, reached our ears. And, we had trouble believing it. The army of Veles Vasad maintained their siege until everyone inside Razorthorn had starved to death. And, stranger still, the accounts claimed that the knights of Veles Vasad took neither food, nor water, nor even sleep during this dark vigil. Somehow, some spell had relieved the Dominion troops of their need for rest and sustenance so that the siege could not be waited out. And, this made us all the more worried. No wizard, or Guardian, could command such power. But, obviously, someone had learned that power and it made Veles Vasad, which would soon dub itself as the Dominion, all the more dangerous.

I have often been quoted as saying “I know everything. It’s my job.” Well, I disproved that, thoroughly, during the time the Dominion swept toward the Southern Continent to finalize their conquest. Gradually, I came to agree with the Aura Knights on a vital point: the Dominion could not be negotiated with. And yet, that left open the problem of how I could rectify the situation without violating the laws of the Order, laws I’d lived by for thirty thousand years and helped to draft myself. I poured over every book in the Tower of Wisdom twice and reread our Charter until I could’ve recited it backwards. I searched the words and the tomes, ancient and new, for a way to satisfy both duty and law. And yet, no answer came to me.

The Sages and Aura Knights, I feared, were right: our Order simply wasn’t designed to address a threat such as this. We’d been formed to negotiate territorial disputes, to give aid to the helpless, to mediate instead of fight. Now, we faced a threat that could not, would not, be solved through diplomacy. And the only way to stop it was break from what we’d been founded as and what we’d been for millennia.

I was not the only one to reach this grim conclusion. Lucifer, who was my closest friend and second-in-command, also realized the need for change. However, it was the change itself that we disagreed on. Lucifer, during the long months when the Order was paralyzed with internal bickering, had changed a great deal. As the weeks passed, he became ever harsher about the Order’s inability to come to an agreement about what needed to be done. I didn’t think much of it at the time, half the Order felt that way after all. But, as time passed, I saw changes that were very disturbing. During another, less-than-productive, meeting he cursed the Order as being ‘pitiful’ and ‘failures’ and this was followed by a long outburst containing every swear word I’ve ever even heard of. Another day a student, a small girl, went to speak with him in the Library. I was reading at the time, so I listened with half an ear. The girl was worried, scared, I remember the quaver in her voice. I dropped my book and whirled in their direction when I heard a small outcry. I looked upon the scene dumbfounded: Lucifer had struck the girl!

I cannot describe how stunned I was at this. Lucifer had a temper, to be sure, but I’d never known him to be an overtly violent man. Not long after, I requested to speak with Lucifer privately in the Council Chamber to see if I could discern what had caused him to become so abrasive. It was, very nearly, the last mistake I ever made.

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Arjun noiselessly lowered himself into one of the tall chairs in the Council Chamber, high atop the Tower of Wisdom. Today, he felt every hour of his thirty thousand plus years. More and more disturbing reports found their way to his ears, both from the outside world and from within the Tower itself. The Dominion had, months before, overran the Southern Continent and defeated the last pockets of opposition. And, the victors showed no mercy to the conquered. And, Arjun was still at a loss as to what to do.

Innumerable times, whenever he felt the need to meditate on an issue in solitude, he would go to either the Tower’s Library or the Council Chamber. Those two rooms, more than any others, had been Arjun’s home for all these millennia. Every book, scroll, softly curving chair and ancient table had been tuned by his presence, his magic and his gentle wisdom. To enter these chambers was to inhale serenity and draw in clarity. Only today, it wasn’t working. The evidence that the Dominion could not be negotiated with was, by now, simply too pronounced to ignore or deny. But, this revelation didn’t solve the original problem. Veles Vasad, the heart of the Dominion, represented nearly three quarters of Ghea’s Human population. Taking a stance against them would be little different from the Order declaring war against the Human Race, an unthinkable violation of the Order’s Charter.

Then, to complicate matters, the ranks of the Order had become mutinous. The Aura Knights wanted to fight the Dominion, saying that ignoring the Dominion’s crimes over a ‘piece of old parchment’ was unconscionable. The Sages were all but in agreement, saying that the Charter wasn’t designed for a situation like this. Then, to top it all off, Lucifer had struck a frightened student. More than making the students jittery, this action made Arjun worried that this action would cause the ties binding the Order together would fray even further.

Lucifer, having been summoned, soon arrived. Like Arjun, he glided over to the chair opposite Arjun and lowered himself into it without a creak or a scrape to decry his passage. Arjun studied Lucifer through blue eyes, their color dulled by time and care but brimming over with wisdom. Lucifer, his eyes also blue but sharpened with creativity and initiative, regarded Arjun in turn. For centuries beyond counting, Arjun and Lucifer had been practically of one mind. And yet, Arjun could sense something strange, some elusive hint that something was amiss. Was it in how Lucifer’s eyes seemed brighter than he remembered? Or that scar across his cheek, which he didn’t recall seeing before? Arjun wasn’t sure, and yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Very wrong.

“I trust you know why I asked you here?” Arjun asked.

Lucifer regarded Arjun with a low chuckle.

“Because the Order can’t continue like this?” Lucifer asked, an edge to his voice.

Arjun’s eyes narrowed, and that feeling that something was amiss became stronger.

“That’s correct,” Arjun replied. “The Dominion’s actions have given us more than enough to worry about. We don’t need splits in the ranks. What got into you this morning? Why did you hit that girl?”

Lucifer, his slight mirth fading, regarded Arjun with a glare.

“That girl confirmed a few things for me, as it were,” Lucifer replied. “She is a perfect symbol for the Order today, wielding awesome power and yet terrified of using it. She was worried that, if the Aura Knights were right, then she’d have to kill Humans. I saw no point in lying, I told that it was likely and she began bawling.”

“You did WHAT?!” Arjun snapped. “She was a little girl, how could she not be scared of having to fight? Have you lost your senses?!”

Lucifer didn’t seem to hear Arjun, for he continued to speak as if he hadn’t been interrupted.

“Think about it Arjun,” Lucifer continued, a broad grin slicing across his features. “The Order is too tangled up in rules and traditions to be of any use anymore. In fact, how much use was it in the first place? What have had thirty thousand years of history and what have we done with it?”

Arjun regarded Lucifer in mute astonishment. This was not the Lucifer that Arjun had worked with, trusted and alongside whom he’d beaten back the Dark Elf invasion, it was as if the thickening air or indirection and helplessness had breathed poison into Lucifer’s spirit.

“What have we done with it?” Arjun repeated, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice. “How many border wars have we averted? How many famines have we ended? How many deaths have we prevented? We are the guiding hand of the Five Races!”

Arjun had more, a lot more, to say but Lucifer cut him off with a mirthless laugh.

“And, what have we guided them to?” Lucifer barked, his mirth suddenly dissolving. “What are the Five Races today? A handful of cities that’ve cut themselves off from the rest of the world. A gaggle of beings weak in resolve, mind and loyalty who would kill those who aren’t their enemies over a stretch of road or a few scraps of gold. The Five Races have languished. They are scattered, divided and leaderless because we coddled them and solved their problems for them instead of teaching them how to survive! And, the Order in turn was afflicted by this. We’ve spent decades meditating and reading old books while the whole of Ghea sank deeper and deeper. It is time for it to end, it is time for a new power to rise.”

***************************

For a long moment, I just stared at him slack jawed. His face, as familiar to me as my own, suddenly seemed as alien as the creatures from the deepest parts of the ocean. Then, a terrible realization came to me: the new power he had referred to was one I already knew of, one that had already arisen and one that had held the world we’d long served in an iron fist.

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“The Dominion,” Arjun murmured helplessly. “My God, Lucifer what have you DONE?!”

Suddenly, it all made sense to Arjun. This was how the Dominion had achieved its rapid, impossible victories, how it had escaped the walls of the Iceni Volcano Crater in which Veles Vasad was built in the first place. Lucifer had helped them. And, Arjun now knew the disturbance he’d sensed when Lucifer had entered the Council Chamber. When Lucifer came in, the broader currents of magic which surrounded them had changed. They’d darkened with an unseen, unanticipated and incomparable malice. Lucifer’s malice. And, they grew darker still.

“What I’ve done,” Lucifer snarled, rising out of his chair, “is bring about the end. An end to all the quarrels and corruption and infighting and strife that we should have ended long ago!”

“What you’ve ended is countless lives!” Arjun barked, vaulting to his feet. “Do you even have the faintest idea how many people have died because of the aid you’ve given the Dominion?!”

Lucifer flicked a dismissive wave in Arjun’s direction.

“Chaff and wheat,” Lucifer replied simply.

If anything could be said about Arjun, it was that he knew when enough was enough. With a chant, he summoned his gem tipped staff to his hand and assumed the traditional combat stance of a wizard. Lucifer, unimpressed, regarded Arjun with a smirk.

“You wish to fight me?” Lucifer asked. “I…wouldn’t advise that.”

Then, without a chant or a gesture, a pair of matched, glowing Swords found their way to Lucifer’s hands. And, around the two Guardians, the currents of magic darkened until Arjun felt half blind. It was as if a dark sea of hatred had engulfed the room to drown the Order.

“You know,” Lucifer quipped, “this room is too small. Let us find a larger space for a proper contest.”

Before Arjun could reply, though he was hardly in a talking mood, his vision became absorbed by an overpowering white light. When he’d blinked away enough lingering stars to see, he found that he was standing in the Library of the Tower. Lucifer, still armed with those strange Swords, stood before him. Undaunted, Arjun chanted the words for a fire spell. A ball of scalding flame sparked to life atop his staff and, with a swing, he sent it rocketing toward Lucifer. Lucifer, chuckling almost inaudibly, readied one Sword. Arjun, astonished, watched as Lucifer slapped at the fire ball with one Sword and sent it flying off in a smoking ricochet.

Startled, Arjun chanted the words for a lightning spell. His staff crackled with power and a streaking bolt erupted from the tip and bore at his foe. Lucifer, however, did not move to even block the spell. The lightning shot across the distance between the two Guardians until, a hairsbreadth from Lucifer’s chest, the bolt suddenly jerked to a stop. Then, like an Ouroborus devouring its own tail, the lighting turned back upon itself. And, it struck Arjun with a force that sent him flying.

Laughing, Lucifer advanced upon the fallen Arjun. Arjun, his bones aching, heaved himself to his feet and looked upon the scene with disbelief. Lucifer was advancing upon him, passing between the tall bookshelves and, at his passage, the shelves…disassembled themselves. Splinter by splinter, the shelves pulled themselves apart dumping their contents to the floor. The splinters, like arrowheads and daggers, flew toward Lucifer to array themselves above and around him. Then, to compound one surprise with another, a great crack rent the air, coming from one of the massive pillars supporting the ceiling.

Arjun had made ready to dodge, expecting Lucifer to tear loose a piece of the pillar and hurl it his way. He did not, however, expect Lucifer to hurl the ENTIRE pillar at him. The pillar tore free of its resting place and, swinging like a gigantic hammer, smashed down upon the spot where Arjun was. ‘Was’ being the operative word, for Arjun had desperately dashed to one side and avoided the blow. He did not, however, avoid the flying splinters whose flight had torn a wound across his arm and scalp as well as several holes in his flowing cloak. Before Arjun could even register this damage, the pillar swung down again.

***************************

That, traveler, had to be one of the worst battles I’ve ever fought. It eclipsed even the duel against the Dark Elf Lord Astaral back when…back when Lucifer and I were still friends. What really surprised me, however, even more than Lucifer’s betrayal, was the way he fought, the way he cast his spells. He did so with neither chant nor implement. No wand, no gemstone, no staff, no scroll, no tome, no amulet, no runes, no sigils, no incantations, no hand gestures, no nothing. It was as if he could pierce the Heavens and harness the power with only his thoughts. It was unheard-of, no wizard on the face of Ghea had that sort of power nor were there any tomes for learning such magical techniques. And, even worse, Lucifer’s inexplicable skill allowed him to harness this power better than any wizard. Better than any Guardian. Powerful as I was, I wasn’t a match for him. But, worse surprises were yet to come.

***************************

“What are you doing?!” a small voice rang out.

Arjun and Lucifer turned toward the stairway leading out of the Library. Racing down it, towards the warring Guardians, was a student. A small girl. It was, in fact, the same girl who’d Lucifer had struck earlier that day. Seeing her, Arjun’s face paled with dread. If he, the most powerful Guardian in the Order, was no match for Lucifer then the traitorous Guardian would tear the girl to pieces.

“Run!” Arjun shouted. “Lucifer has gone mad! Warn the others!”

The girl nodded her understanding and bolted for the stairs. She was halfway up, her arms pumping for speed, and reaching for the door…and then her body jerked to a halt. Arjun regarded this with a brief flash of confusion. And, confusion became terror when Arjun noticed that Lucifer was, also, looking in the girl’s direction. The girl’s powerless form, limbs going slack, was pulled into the air, spun around and then glided slowly toward Lucifer. Her young eyes were round with terror as her gaze met Lucifer’s.

“I suppose I should be thanking you,” he told the terrified girl. “Our…chat this morning helped me come to realize what I needed to do. Now, now, what’s happening here is hardly a fault of yours. Still, I owe you a little something so I’ll make this quick and painless.”

Arjun, hearing this, somehow managed to vault to his feet, but a horizontal smash from the floating pillar knocked him down again. In perfect sync with the blow from the pillar, Lucifer’s glowing Swords swept through a blow of their own. The girl’s scream shook the chamber to its foundations.

Arjun, after willing his eyes to focus, turned in the direction of the scream and spied the crumpled form of the girl. Her face was frozen in a look of terror, her sightless eyes wide with fear and the currents of magic had recoiled from her body. Arjun regarded the phenomenon with horror. The currents of magic leaving someone’s body signified one thing and one thing only: the life force had fled the body. The girl, a student Guardian but an Immortal wizard nonetheless, was dead. An IMMORTAL had been killed!

Arjun’s mind burned in confusion. What he’d seen was impossible, it couldn’t be, it had to be some horrible dream from which, he prayed, he’d soon awaken! And yet, if that were true, the bruises and cuts he’d taken wouldn’t be stabbing at him with such blades of agony. This was no nightmare. Or, rather, it WAS a nightmare. A nightmare that had escaped into reality, and there was no waking up.

Lucifer turned from the dead girl to face Arjun and, like a dark colossus, he strode over to the prone form of his former friend. And, all about them, the currents of magic became darker and darker until Arjun felt he was drowning in a roaring sea of hatred. And, it dawned on him. The currents of magic weren’t darkening in response to Lucifer’s presence, Lucifer was MAKING them darken. Like an event horizon, he drained light from the Library. And the Tower. And the Continent. And the world. Lucifer had remade himself, reinvented himself. He was no mere wizard, no rogue sorcerer, no fallen Guardian. He was something new, something never seen before, something terrible. He was a Dark Mage.

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Yes traveler, you heard me right. You now know the Order’s shameful secret: the Dark Mage is, or rather was, a Guardian. Lucifer, like myself, had long ago pledged himself to eternal service to the Peoples of Ghea in the ranks of the Order of Guardians. During that time, he was my confidant, my second-in-command, my best friend and, practically, my brother. Then, so quickly, he changed utterly. Or, perhaps, it wasn’t quickly at all and I simply failed to notice. Either way, Lucifer commanded power beyond my darkest dreams and, with it, the ability to kill Immortal Guardians. Why he spared me, I have no idea.

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“Arjun,” Lucifer addressed, almost sounding like his former self, “I’ll give you a chance. For old time’s sake. Walk away.”

Arjun didn’t move, one would have trouble telling if he’d even heard his foe speak. Arjun had, after realizing the girl’s inexplicable death, fallen to his knees and lowered his gaze. He did not move, he did not speak, he didn’t even seem to be breathing. It was as if the realization of the girl’s demise, that Lucifer now had the power and will to wipe the Order from the face of Ghea, had shattered him. Lucifer, seeming to sense this, walked up to his former friend and drew back one Sword for a killing stroke. But, the blow never fell.

“No,” Lucifer murmured. “Not like this. We will settle this another time.”

With that, Lucifer ascended the stairway and opened the door that the girl had died trying to escape through. As the door opened, he paused and turned to face Arjun.

“Goodbye, old friend,” Lucifer called. “I will treasure the time we spent together. But, I should be going. Emperor Jaghra is expecting me.”

With that, Lucifer, the Dark Mage, left the room. The grave silence that pervaded the Library ended, swiftly, when Lucifer found other opponents. Though the sounds, of Guardians casting futile spells and Aura Knights fighting desperately and Sages shouting warnings to their comrades, were far away the echoes carried them to Arjun’s ears. Carried along with them were the clashing swords, the crackle of dueling spells, the pleading for mercy, the curses upon Lucifer’s name for his treachery and, finally, the screams of the dying. The Tower resonated with the sound as if playing a requiem. A requiem for the Order of Guardians as thirty thousand years of history was wiped from existence in one day. In a matter of minutes.

The strength to stay upright deserted him and Arjun fell backwards. Sprawled across the floor, staring sightlessly at the ceiling, Arjun was alone in the darkness. Alone with his despair. How long he lay there, he’d never know. For Immortals, time was all but meaningless. It might’ve been hours, it might have been years, he didn’t know.

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For the longest time traveler, I wished that Lucifer had killed me. Each and every one of the Guardians, from the Founders to that girl Lucifer had killed, I knew and selected. I swore to their families that they’d be well taken care of and that they’d live happily in service to the Order and its principles. And, those dreams and promises had turned to ashes before my eyes.

What got me back on my feet, you ask? Well, it was actually a few things. It started with…well, have you ever heard that old saying? ‘You will find that if you just sit down and clear your mind then the solution will present itself.’ Well, that saying came true right in that moment.

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A piece of parchment, floating in the air from Lucifer’s rampage, had drifted to land on Arjun’s face. Rising to a sitting position, Arjun removed the paper and glanced at it disinterestedly. When he read the first few lines, he vaulted to his feet. His eyes were wide and his jaw had dropped.

“The Prophecy of The Nine!” he exclaimed to himself.

One of the original Sages, an Elf called Tal Belenthrond, had been something of a Seer and had made numerous prophecies, including the Prophecy of The Nine. Arjun studied the parchment with the same sort of deliberate care he’d take when examining a seriously ill child, who could be killed by any act of carelessness as easily as by illness. He studied the words, his mind churning back to life.

When darkness envelops the world,
When oppression shackles all Races,
When the Bastion of Light is destroyed by treason,
The Nine will appear.

They will be Mortal, from all corners of the world,
They will be of all Races.
They will bring new skills and new tactics,
Which may drive back the darkness.

The first, an Aura Knight unknown,
Driven by loss and anger, he wanders and fights.

The second, an Elf sorceress with violet eyes,
Who wields spells of magic and love in tandem.

The third, an Elf archer from the Forest of Twilight,
Seeking her missing love who already fights the darkness,

The fourth, a second Elf archer from the Forest of Twilight,
Seeking to honor her vow to a dead King of her people.

The fifth, a Human woman of the Warrior City,
Whose brilliant mind clashes with uncontrollable rage.

The Sixth, a Human thief from the deserts,
Who fights to save his countrymen and the Faith of the Savior.

The Seventh, a Beastman of the Wolfman Tribe,
Shunned by his people for defying his bloodthirsty King.

The Eighth, a Dwarf from the Python Mountains,
Who wields spear and song with righteous heart.

The Ninth, an Imp of the Sky City,
Who sails the sky and knows all paths of the world.

Those who outlive the Bastion of Light, old and young, will guide them.
Like a blade in the forge,
Fellowship shall be forged by enduring flames of strife and blows from enemies.
And these bonds will be shared, forever.

Duty shall drive them to fight,
Need shall drive them to one another.
When the Fortress City of the West burns at the traitor’s hand,
The Nine will reveal themselves.

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You say the destruction of Zednanreh was the sign that The Nine would soon reveal themselves? I applaud your deductive skills, traveler. The Nine are, in fact, the adventurers you’ve heard so much about: The Knight Alexander, the Elfin Sorceress Laura, the Elf archers Eliz and Cat, the fiery tactician Carla, the honorable thief Rock, the Wolfman Steadfast, the Dwarf warrior Carl and the high flying Imp Dantharo. The Bastion of Light was, doubtless, the Tower of Wisdom and the treason destroying it being Lucifer’s.

But, there was more that helped me find the strength to carry on. While I lay there, I had feared that I was the sole survivor of the Order. I was wrong. The last part of the Prophecy said that those who outlived the Bastion of Light, old and young, would guide The Nine. It was soon fulfilled.

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“What happened here?” a voice was heard from somewhere far off.

Arjun startled by the sudden sound, jumped a foot in the air.

“Caitlin,” an older, steadier voice began, “you take Isis, Emily and Raogoa and head for the Council Chamber. Zalor, you take Francisco, Gregory and Nebtuu and head for the Mediation Chambers. Psamtik, you take Lemnos and head for the Healing Shrine. Gregory and I will head for the Library. Look for survivors and meet back here in one hour.”

Arjun knew that voice: it was Gatspy, one of the senior students. As Arjun’s memory came back to him, he remembered that Gatspy had left with a troop of students on a training excursion along with several Sages. They must’ve just now returned. And, with this knowledge, the flame of life in Arjun blazed with sudden power.

“Gatspy!” he called out. “Is that you?”

“Master?” Gatspy’s voice replied. “Yes. My troop and I are back, we’re in the Entry Hall.”

“Stay there,” Arjun instructed. “I’m on my way.”

With speed that surprised even himself, Arjun raced to the Entry Hall. As he ran, he willed himself not to look at the trail of corpses that, seemingly, led to his destination. He knew, beyond any doubt, that there were an infinity of familiar faces amongst them. And, he feared, to behold them would remind him of what had been lost this day and sap his strength. Eventually, he skidded to a stop at the Entry Hall. All about him, were the dead. Guardians, Aura Knights and Sages had, perhaps, made a stand here and had been cut down by Lucifer. By the Dark Mage. Standing before the door, questions plainly written in their unblinking eyes, was Gatspy and his troop.

Arjun, regarded them. Gatspy, though well trained and brave, was young. Brought into the Order as a small boy, he was now sixteen. The others in his troop, Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Beastmen and Imps, were even younger. A collection of teenagers and small children who, now, would have to grow up and grow into who they were born to be quickly. The alternative, if it could be called that, was death on the Dark Mage’s blades.

Arjun regarded them. A handful of young students, a few Sages and himself. That was, very likely, all that was left of the Order. It was enough. I would have to be.

“Master,” Gatspy began again, “what happened?”

Arjun didn’t answer, not directly at least. Instead, he regarded Gatspy with a penetrating look which bespoke of urgency and the need for truth and action.

“Gatpsy,” Arjun began, “why are we here?”

For a long moment, Gatspy looked as if he was unsure why he’d been asked. Then, ultimately, he answered.

“Because we are Guardians,” he answered, in a steady voice. “Because we have all sworn an oath to protect the Peoples of Ghea.”

“And,” Arjun began again, “are you prepared to honor that oath?”

There was a brief silence as Gatspy’s eyes roamed the Entry Hall. His young, emerald eyes scanned the heaps of dead. Gatspy was taking stock of a situation that was, in many ways, overwhelming. Whatever, whoever, had done this wielded awesome power, power enough to undo the Order itself. Coolly, Gatspy weighed the risk of facing this threat and seeing the last remnants of the Order fade. He weighed that risk against the risk of letting the villain behind this tragedy go unpunished. And, because he was a Guardian, it was no contest. Gatspy took a stride forward and spun his staff over his head. In a quick jerk, he brought the staff down at his side and clapped an open hand over his heart in the Order’s customary salute.

“I will honor my oath Master,” Gatspy replied, “from this moment unto the ending of the world.”

His fellow students and their Sage instructors, emboldened by his courage, matched his salute. The Order was battered, it was diminished, but it was unbroken.

“Then, come with me,” Arjun told them. “We have a great deal to do.”

***************************

I told them of Lucifer’s treachery and of the Prophecy, traveler. We agreed that The Nine represented our best hope. Though I was loath to divide what little strength we had, I split us up. Gatpsy and his fellows traveled about, disguised, in small groups to seek clues about the identity of The Nine. The Sages returned to the Tower to empty the Library and hide the books and scrolls in the Basement Vaults so that the history and lore of the Order would not be lost. Finally, I kept an eye on Zednanreh knowing that its destruction would signal the first step toward the fulfillment of the Prophecy. The rest of the story, you’ve learned from Governor Macmael and Shotglass.

Since The Nine have met and begun their journey, we’ve been keeping busy. Mostly we’ve been training those with magical skills so that we’ll be able to confront the Dominion with both warriors and wizards. I was also able to teach Alexander the skills of an Aura Knight. Yes traveler, as the son of a peerless swordsman and a powerful sorceress, Alexander is an Aura Knight. He is, perhaps, the most powerful Aura Knight I’ve yet seen. From what I can tell, one of his ancestors was an Aura Knight of some renown and the Falchion he wielded remained in the family. Since it was disguised as a simple long sword, and since no other in the family was an Aura Knight, it was handed from father to son with none realizing its true power and purpose. Until now.

As for The Nine, they now fight the Dominion and seek allies on the Eastern and Southern Continents. I drop in on them, from time to time, to check up on them and offer counsel. Perhaps the next time I do so, if you’re interested, I’ll take you with me and you can meet them. You’d like that? Good. For now, however, you should rest. I’ve taken residence in a house in Soryak, not far from the Tower. You are welcome to stay there as long as you wish.

You’ll enjoy meeting The Nine face-to-face and they’ll enjoy meeting you. What makes me so sure, you ask? Traveler, allow me to remind you of something: I know everything. It’s my job. Ha, ha, ha! How I’ve missed saying that. But come, I’ll show you to the house. Tomorrow, we shall speak of happier things.