This is my chapter 1 early draft for a story that’s in the same world as the Guardians of the Elements, but at least 1000 years in the future from the part about the Guardians themselves that I’m trying to turn into a finished book. There are a few spoilers accordingly. Though this piece is in a state where I’m happy to share it, be aware this is still a WIP draft. The quality will vary between (and within) chapters, and there may end up being lore inconsistencies.
~ Chapter 1 ~
…Legends tell of how, long ago, the Guardians of the Elements appeared to oversee and protect the world. Some say they were once powerful mages, granted immortality and exceptional power and given the task of guarding the land. Others say they always existed since the very beginning of time. Either way, they were known throughout the land as godlike beings whose magic could shape the very fabric of reality. For many years, they ruled the world in peace and harmony, led by Mareneth, the Prime Guardian of Air, and the other three Prime Guardians who stood alongside him.
But the peace was shattered when the Prime Fire Guardian, Kyndara, grew jealous and discontent, desiring to be the sole ruler of their order in place of Mareneth. When she eventually realized the others would never allow her to achieve this goal, she abandoned her seat at their citadel altogether, and retreated to a solitary tower in the far north. There, she experimented with previously unknown dark powers, seeking a way to overthrow them if she could not be their leader. By the time the other Guardians discovered this, it was already too late; she had grown too strong for even the combined power of all three remaining Prime Guardians to defeat, and she began to wreak havoc across the land, even destroying the Guardians’ first citadel.
It wasn’t until many years of bitter and desperate war had passed that the rest of the Guardians managed to come together to launch a definitive counter-attack, and put an end to her reign of terror. But though it took much bloodshed to achieve, peace was finally restored, and the Guardians could begin to repair the damage done to the world. That peace has now endured for many generations, and will continue to do so as long as the Guardians remain in power to ensure that neither Kyndara, nor any other dark forces, can ever threaten the world again.
Or so the legends claim.
But the legends don’t tell everything.
The legends would have you believe that the Guardians are an incorruptible force of good that has vanquished evil forever.
They would have you believe that it was solely the darkness from days of old which brought trouble to these lands, that nothing else could possibly disrupt their perfect world, in both the past and the present.
But you know that’s not true.
…Don’t you, Naeryn?
…
I abruptly woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air. I glanced around in a momentary panic, before realizing I was just in my house, in my bed. It was just a dream, I told myself. I’m just imagining things, that’s all. Just ignore it and go back to sleep. I turned over and closed my eyes again. But that strange voice and its unnerving words kept echoing in my head. It’s not exactly wrong, though, I thought. The legends made everything sound perfect. Sometimes I felt like it sounded too perfect. I’d wondered occasionally if there was something the Guardians hadn’t told us, but it was always just a nagging doubt at the back of my mind, one I’d dismissed without much consideration.
This, on the other hand, couldn’t be dismissed so easily. I’d heard stories of gifted mages whose dreams can reveal pieces of the future, or forgotten truths that could otherwise never be discovered. What if this had been one such prophetic dream? What if this was no mere illusion or coincidence, but a revelation of something still hidden from the rest of the world? What if, somehow, I had been chosen, by fate if not any living being, to bring to light what had been concealed for so long?
I quietly scoffed and shook my head at the thought. Me, “chosen” to uncover some ancient secret? The notion was ridiculous, if you actually thought about it. I wasn’t one of those powerful warriors from days of old. I wasn’t an adventurer. I was an apprentice mage, a talented one for sure, but not the kind who goes on dangerous quests, certainly not for the sake of weird dreams. I sighed and turned over again, and finally fell back asleep, this time undisturbed by any further visions.
~ ◊ ~
“There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere,” Ashari’s voice called from across the room. I closed the book on my desk and looked over my shoulder to see her standing behind me, arms crossed. “No one’s seen you all day. Are you doing alright?”
“Didn’t sleep well, that’s all,” I replied.
She raised a doubtful eyebrow. “If you say so. But you’d better get over it soon; the new kid’s here early and master Tethirion is still busy, so I’ve been sent to tell you to show him around.”
“I’m busy too. Do it yourself.” I turned back to the pile of old tomes on the desk, and tried to return to my reading. Ashari leaned over to see, then a few seconds later suddenly reached out and swiped the book from in front of me. “Hey! What- give that back!” I cried.
She started walking across the room, book in hand, as she examined the page it was open to. “Records of battles in the old war? Really? I thought you hated these kinds of long, dull history books. Is something going on I should know about?”
“I was curious about some certain details, that’s all.” I got up to follow her and tried to grab the book back.
“This isn’t to impress some girl, is it?” She teased as she dodged my attempt.
“You wish. Seriously, give that back!”
Instead, she smirked and turned to walk out of the room. “Sure thing, as soon as you deal with the new kid like I said. I’ve got other things I was planning to do too, you know.”
I sighed. “Fine. But next time something like this happens, you handle it.”
She led me out of the library, down the stairs to the grand entry hall. A young elf, barely old enough to no longer be considered a child, was standing near the door, glancing around nervously. Ashari looked at me and gestured toward him, then left down another hallway. I took a deep breath and started to walk over.
“Hello there. You must be the new apprentice,” I said as I approached him.
He looked over to me and gave me an awkward smile. “Hello. Yes. My name’s Selas. I’m here to see Loremaster Tethirion, though I was told he’s unavailable.”
“He is preoccupied at the moment, though I’m sure he’ll join us as soon as he can. In the meantime, I’m here to show you around the place. I’m Naeryn, and I’m also one of the Loremasters’ apprentices. I’ve been here a long time, so if you have any questions I expect I’ll know the answer, and if not, I’ll know someone who would.”
Selas nodded, and followed me out of the room as I began the tour. I did my best to remain cheerful and supportive for the newcomer, but in truth I was still frustrated at having been interrupted from my research for such a trivial task, and growing more so by the minute. My mind kept lingering on the histories and legends I’d been reading, and the tantalizing possibility that, as unlikely as it seemed, maybe there was something to that strange dream after all. I longed to go back to the library and continue my search for some clue that might suggest where to look for a long-forgotten secret, if one did exist. It didn’t help that after the first few minutes, Selas had overcome his initial shyness and started peppering me with questions about everything from the daily life of a full-fledged Loremaster to which herbs were best for treating a persistent headache. I didn’t know the answer to the latter, but was starting to think I would have look into it for myself if this went on much longer.
Finally we came to the martial training grounds, where three figures were gathered, sparring with wooden swords. I recognized one of them as Lianora, another apprentice, and her brother Lindis, but not the third, a tall man with dark red hair. They saw us approach, and came over to meet us. I saw a possible opportunity to finally get away from my unwanted task.
Lianora stepped forward. “Naeryn? Quite the unexpected visitor; whatever brings you down here?” She paused as she saw my young companion. “Ah, and this must be the new apprentice I’ve heard about.”
I nodded. “Indeed. Selas, allow me to introduce you to Lianora, one of your fellow apprentices.”
“Selas. Good to meet you.” She held out her hand, and Selas shook it. “This here is my brother, Lindis, and his friend Rahiros. We meet up to train together periodically.” The other two each also offered a handshake as they were introduced.
“Do many of the apprentices here practice swordplay or archery?” Selas asked, looking around the arena at the training weapons neatly lined up against one wall. “I’d have thought the Loremasters didn’t need to train for combat, especially since the old war is long behind us.”
“Sure, we don’t need to,” Lianora replied, “but it’s fun, and we can’t be expected to study every waking hour of the day.” She looked directly at me as she said the last part.
“True, but those of us who actually take our studies seriously don’t spend the majority of their day fencing,” I said, looking directly back at her.
An awkward silence threatened to set in, but Selas broke it with another question. “So what kinds of things do you study? Do you do a lot of magic?”
“We all study some of everything,” Lianora replied, “But if it’s magic you’re really interested in, Naeryn’s the one you want to talk to. People say he’s one of the most talented mages here, even as an apprentice. His specialty isn’t a specific kind of magic, but the nature of magic itself. How it works, how it can be wielded by those with a lesser or no innate connection to it, the limits of different forms of magic, and just how firm those limits really are.”
Selas looked to me, clearly impressed. Any other day I’d have appreciated a compliment and an excuse to talk about my studies, but now I worried my escape plan was going to fail thanks to Lianora’s comment. Thankfully, the new apprentice was thinking something different. “What about combining magic and physical combat? I’ve heard people used to make magic weapons during the war, but most of them have been lost now, or are kept as relics for display rather than further use. I don’t suppose you know about those?”
“I do, as a matter of fact,” Lianora replied, “There are even a couple kept here, though not on public display. I could show you some time, if you like.”
“Yes, I very much would!” Selas exclaimed, and immediately began to inquire about the specifics of the few magic weapons in the Loremasters’ vault.
I started to edge away from the conversation, hoping the others wouldn’t pay too much attention. Lianora seemed perfectly happy to answer Selas’s stream of questions regarding one of the few topics she possessed significant knowledge about, and meanwhile Rahiros and Lindis had gone back to sparring. As soon as I got to the door, I slipped around the corner and quickly returned to the library.
The book I’d been reading before was, of course, still missing, but all the others I’d set aside were still on the desk. For a few minutes I looked over the remaining books, a variety of historical records and collections of legends, trying to think of what to try next. I’d been trying to piece things together from comparing the various accounts of events, but hadn’t made any progress all day. Maybe I needed to try a different approach. What I really wanted was a history of the legends themselves, of how they’d changed over time, but that didn’t exist. Any telling of the legends in the library would surely be consistent with the familiar version of the story that we’d all heard. But maybe there was somewhere else I could go, somewhere that might contain evidence directly from the old days, if only I knew where that would be.
Suddenly, a thought hit me. I ran over to the maps section and pulled out the oldest looking papers and scrolls I could find, plus a few of the most recent maps, and spread them all out over a large table. It took several hours of scrutinizing the faded writing on the old pages and cross-referencing the history volumes, but I finally found what I was looking for. The oldest maps had a marker for a city that didn’t appear on the newer ones, even the new ones that were supposed to represent the old days. Most of the history books had no mention of it, but I found one brief reference in one of the older volumes: Almalas: once a flourishing city in the kingdom of Estavond, before it was overtaken by the forces of darkness.
It wasn’t much to go on, but with the maps, possibly enough. Going by its location, fairly close to the northern mountains, it must’ve been taken comparatively early in the war; going by the size of the marker compared to other towns on the old maps, it must’ve once been a fairly major city. Perhaps people had simply forgotten about it. Or perhaps someone had wanted them to.
You know, people do make mistakes, a logical thought argued. And if it was completely ruined so long ago, it’s not unreasonable that they might’ve just skipped it on the more recent maps. After all this time, there’s probably nothing left anyway, if anything had remained after Kyndara’s forces destroyed it. Like you said last night, you’re not an adventurer. Dangerous quests aren’t your thing, certainly not just because of weird dreams.
Only, I’d just spent all day reading history books, which I normally hated, because of a weird dream. I’d deliberately avoided talking about my theories about magic, which I normally enjoyed, because of a weird dream. And besides, another thought argued back, it’s not like there are any forces of darkness left out there, so it’s not really that dangerous anyway. And if there were, that would only prove my suspicion correct that much more quickly. I stared at the maps on the table for a few minutes, and tried to talk myself out of the course of action I was considering. It didn’t work.
I grabbed one of the old maps and the history book with the mention of Almalas, and took them with me as I returned home. I gathered my gear for the road, and carefully packed the book and map. I got up early the next morning and hastily wrote a note saying I was going on a trip out to the mostly empty eastern lands for some field-tests of my latest new spells, and left the note on a table in the library where the others could find it easily. Then I hurried to the stables to find my horse, finally ready to get started on my… investigation. Not a quest, I told myself, this isn’t a quest, it’s just an investigation.
As I was about to ride away, I suddenly heard a voice calling my name. Ashari came sprinting down the road, red-faced and out of breath. “Hey, wait up! Just where do you think you’re going?” She called as she caught up to me.
“I’m heading out to test some new spells where there won’t be any danger to anyone if they go wrong,” I replied. “I left a note explaining everything.”
She scoffed. “I saw your note. Please, I’m not that gullible. Where are you really going? And what’s with all the old maps you left lying around the library last night? You never came to find me for your book, and I heard from Lianora that you left the new apprentice with her instead of finishing the tour or at least keeping an eye on him until master Tethirion could take over. We’ve both studied here for years; I know you well enough to know when something’s bothering you. Tell me what it is, the truth this time.”
I hesitated for a moment. “You’ll probably think I’m crazy. But if you really want to know, I’ll tell you, just promise you won’t tell anyone else until I have a decent answer to the issue I’m looking into.”
“I promise. Whatever this is stays between us.”
“So, the night before last, I had this strange, vivid dream…” I went on to tell her everything that had happened over the last day, including my discovery of Almalas and decision to go see if I could find anything there myself. To my relief, she looked more curious than skeptical.
“Honestly, I’m not sure whether or not there’s anything credible to any of that. My first instinct is that it’s probably nothing, but between the dream, the inconsistent maps, and, I’ll admit, the oddly perfect ending to all the old legends, it’s just enough to make me wonder. And I suppose as future Loremasters, part of our job is to learn and preserve the truth of the past. But for this, I think I should come along too.”
I blinked in surprise. “Really? Why?”
“Even if there aren’t any actual monsters out there, the wilderness isn’t entirely safe on its own. I grew up as part of a caravan of travelling merchants before settling in the town here; I have a lot more experience living out away from civilization than you do. It’s always safer to not go alone, and you’ll be a lot better off with my help.”
“Alright then, if you’re sure. I’ll wait at the stables while you gather your gear. I packed enough for a week. If I’m reading the maps right, Almalas should be about two days’ ride from here, plus two days back, and I figure it’s smart to give ourselves a couple days for exploring, if we do find anything.”
“Sounds good. Don’t run off while I’m gone, or I’ll tell Selas he can use your private study until you’re back.”
I laughed. “I’ll be here, don’t worry. Just don’t take too long.”
Ashari returned in just under an hour, carrying a large pack. She saddled up her own horse, and at last we started our ride out of town.
“To be honest, I never thought of you as the adventurous type,” she remarked. “but I guess I was wrong. This is pretty cool, you know. Going to find and explore ancient ruins in the hopes of solving a mystery of the old legends, or at least of those old maps? It’s almost like one of those quests in the stories we’d read when we were young.”
I shook my head. “Come on, this is an investigation for academic purposes, hardly an epic tale of heroes and villains.”
“The heroes in those tales usually didn’t start out thinking they were on ‘quests’ or part of ‘epic tales’ either,” she pointed out. “You never know what might happen. Probably not stumbling into a dragon’s lair in our case, though.”
I laughed again. “Well, you’re not wrong.”
As we continued along the road, I kept thinking about Ashari’s words, and another thought gradually came into my head: what defines a ‘quest’ anyway? A journey with some important objective, facing the unknown, searching for knowledge, possibly involving some kind of unusual magic? Isn’t that exactly what we’re doing? What if, maybe, just maybe, this is a quest, or at least the start of one?
I caught myself smiling slightly at the idea. Me, on a quest. Who would’ve thought? But here I am. And maybe that’s not such a ridiculous idea after all.
To be continued…
