Guardian: Protectors of Light

by Melanie Houtman

III

  Into the Void

  Dragons

  Sunrise. Time for the Bond of Light to pack their stuff and cross the ravine to the Land of Void.

  “Are you sure about this?” Bella said. “I mean- who knows what kind of dangers lie up ahead. Shouldn’t we wait just a little more?”

  “Don’t worry, Bella,” James said. “You’re not the only one who’s afraid. We all are.”

  He shortly looked at his friends, and then stared at the invisible land that lay behind the invisible barrier, waiting for them to enter.

  “But I’m afraid we have no choice.”

  “He’s right,” Samira said. “We’ve got to do this. It’s the only way to save this world.”

  “I like that attitude,” Timothy said. “You’re by far the most impressive Bond of Light I’ve ever seen – not that I’ve seen that many of the eight, at least not as a whole – especially considering your age.” He smiled. “You guys are incredibly brave. You’re already acting like true heroes.”

  The Bond nodded at him. And for the first time ever since they’d arrived in Lunaria, James wondered about the previous Generations before them. How old had they been? Adults? Children? Rikki was thirteen-and-a-half. She’d been the youngest ever, right? So everyone had been over fourteen years of age. Had they also been over 20? Thirty? Forty? He remembered what Queen Eloine had told them.

  “Age doesn’t matter, as long as their belief in Magic is strong enough.”

  Did adults believe in Magic, too? Perhaps they did. It was possible, after all.

  “I do need to warn you, though,” Timothy said. “None of us know what’s ahead. And...” He waited a few seconds, perhaps unsure whether or not it was truly a good idea to say what he was about to say. “Once you’ve entered the Land of Void, you can’t go back... alive.”

  James swallowed. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take,” he said. “It’s all for the greater good, after all.”

  Thomas nodded. “That’s the spirit,” he said. “Shall we go, then?”

  They nodded at each other. One by one, they set foot on the bridge.

  When they got halfway across the bridge, the entire landscape changed instantly. The grey sky coloured pitch black and black fog filled the suddenly chilly air. The Dark Magic surrounded them could be felt very strongly. When James looked behind him, the Edge had disappeared.

  “This place looks very unfriendly,” Samira whispered. “I understand why nobody comes here.”

  “It’s not necessarily that they don’t want to go here,” Timothy said. “Well- they don’t, but they also can’t.”

  They carefully got off the bridge on the other side.

  “Any magical creature would die out here,” Timothy continued. “The corruptcy and Dark Magic feeds off their Good Magic. After the magical energy’s been drained, it’s the turn for their life energy to get drained. And once you run out of that energy, you die – but I’m assuming that that’s no surprise to anyone.”

  After seeing a couple of shocked expressions staring at him, he said: “Luckily, we’re not affected by the draining effect, since we’re human beings.” His eyes flashed toward James. “But I’d have to advise you to be careful with your abilities. You too, Samira and Thomas.”

  James and Samira nodded. Using Magic here would cost twice as much of their energy than it’d do in Lunaria... The non-corrupted part, at least.

  That made using Magic riskier than usual, but it was a risk they’d have to take when it came to it. If someone got injured, it was necessary for Samira to heal them. As for James... The Ritual. But, of course, that would be a shared burden with his friends.

  The only way to drive out the Dark Magic from the Land of Void, destroying the source of the Master’s power. There was no way out of that, which was probably the only thing that was for sure.

  Yeah, sure, they could try to kill him instead. But even if they’d even manage to only get anywhere near him to be able to do so – let alone manage to kill him – the Land of Void’s corruptcy and Dark Magic would be strong enough to revive him. He’d be weaker than before his death, but he’d easily rebuild that strength within a couple years.

  James looked around. This realm (or whatever it used to be) had gone even more corrupt by the Master’s influence.

  What once might have been mighty trees, colourful flowers and green bushes, were now nothing more than crumbling, dead remains. The grass (or whatever was left of it, at least), had gone as dry as straw; they could hear it crisp beneath their feet as they walked across it.

  Thick, black fog hung in the chilly air, limiting their vision, along with something that seemed to cause a permanent feeling of fear.

  “Timothy?” James asked. “What did this place look like when it was still inhabited by the Spirits? What used to be here before this Realm went corrupt?”

  “Ah,” Timothy said. “Good question, James.” He took a few moments to look at the others, to make sure he’d gained their full, undivided attention. “You might want to hear this,” he said. “It’s quite an interesting story.” He waited again, this time clearing his throat. “There are legends about this realm,” he said. “Before it went corrupt by the Master’s hand. This legend speaks of this realm as the Realm of the Spirits. They watched over the Lunariae, inviting those who they wanted to reward for their good deeds. That was, until the Master used the Realm’s pureness to corrupt it and lock the Spirits away by using their own powers against them – but then in a corrupted way.

  He lowered his eyes for a split second, but then looked at the five teenagers in front of him stridently. “And that’s probably exactly what’s going to do to you when he finds us.”

  “All right, I guess, seems fair,” Thomas said. “And there’s no way we can stop him from doing so?”

  Timothy shook his head. “Well, if you’re fearless, he can’t harm you with the Curse of Fear, but...”

  “Don’t worry,” Thomas said, while patting his sword’s handle. “I’m not afraid of the dark.”

  Timothy shook his head again; his blond hair swayed along with the movements his head made. “It doesn’t work that way, sadly,” he said. “It’s not just about regular phobias, but what’s hidden deep down below, inside your heart. Your deepest, darkest fears are what he’s going for... There’s no way to hide those fears from him. He’ll just dig ‘em up and find them...” He shivered. “Anyway, we must go on now. A moving target is harder to find and harder to hit.”

  “Yet more fun to hunt,” Antonio grumbled. “But you’re right; we’ve got to go.”

  With that being said, the Bond of Light officially began their dangerous journey through the Land of Void. Their final quest.

  But they’d barely even walked away from their starting point, or they ran into another problem.

  They’d encountered a river. But the water wasn’t clear at all; it looked like a green and brownish muddy substance. Aside from that, the river wasn’t even the problem; it was bridged by a grey-and-black stone bridge.

  The problem were the bridge’s guards.

  Dragons.

  “Uh-oh,” Bella said. “This doesn’t look good at all.”

  “Well seen, Bella,” Timothy said. “It’s not.”

  Meanwhile, the dragons seemed to have sensed the Bond of Light’s presence. They rose to their feet, snorting loudly. Smoke poured out of their nostrils.

  They clearly weren’t keen on receiving visitors. After all, nobody had ever crossed their path for a thousand years... And they probably intended on keeping it that way.

  “And what are we going to do now?” Samira asked.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Thomas said, while getting his sword ready. “Prepare for battle, of course!”

  As if the dragons understood his every word, one of them rose to its full height and opened its muzzle, unleashing a mighty roar.

  “Oh well, at least we tried,” Antonio whimpered. He wanted to walk away, but Bella pushed him back. “We’re fighting
these things, whether you like it or not, Tonio,” she said. “So you better shape up!”

  Bella’s hand reached for one of the daggers she’d been carrying the entire adventure, but only had used once, while Antonio was getting himself together.

  “You’re right, Bella,” he said. “We’ve got to fight these things if we want to get past.”

  “I don’t know what kind of damage these pathetic things could possibly inflict on a dragon, but all right,” Bella mumbled, shedding a disappointing look on the daggers she was holding. “I guess.”

  While Bella was gathering the courage to fight, the roaring dragon had prepared itself for its first attack.

  “What is it going to do?” Samira shouted.

  “You better go hide somewhere, Sam,” James breathed. “He’s going to spew fire!”

  And that was exactly what the dragon was planning to do. It opened its muzzle once more, this time to spew out a ray of blazing fire toward Samira.

  James jumped in front of her, blocking the fire’s path with his word. A rather heroic action. He was barely able to take on the fire’s strength, but he managed to stay on his feet.

  The dragon closed its muzzle, breathing heavily, more smoke coming from its nostrils.

  As the six teenagers were completely focused on the fire-breathing dragon attacking them, they allowed the other one to leave their sight.

  “Where did that other one go!?” Antonio shouted. It wasn’t too long before his question was answered; the dragon had taken flight, flying through the sky, and was now homing for Bella. The teenager noticed it too late and let out a yell as she was grabbed by a massive, scaly claw, lifting her into the air.

  Bella could hear her friends yell out her name from below, which seemed to gain her more courage. The courage to do something stupid, yet necessary if she wanted to stay alive and not become a dragon’s breakfast.

  “Oh no you don’t!” Bella grunted while gritting her teeth, remembering the dagger he’d been holding all the time. She gripped it tightly with both hands, stabbing the claw that was holding her hostage with it.

  The dragon roared out in pain, unleashing its grip on Bella. She fell down to the ground, rolling over her head and standing up surprisingly agile.

  “You see,” she said to Antonio, wearing a triumphant smirk, “I can take care of myself.”

  “I know,” Antonio smirked. “You just need a bit of encouragement... Whether it is from me or from a giant dragon.”

  Bella chuckled. “My vest is destroyed though,” she said, turning around, to show Antonio how the dragon had torn apart the leather vest with its claws.

  Antonio shrugged. “What can you do?” he said.

  From a distance, he could hear the others yell at each other while trying to defeat the other dragon.

  “This is not going to work,” James gasped. “We can’t block or dodge them forever; one of us is going to get hurt at some point.”

  “He’s right,” Timothy breathed. “There’s got to be another way. It can’t go on like this.”

  And luckily for them, there was another way. Suddenly, they heard a loud roar coming from above. It was a dragon. It’d come to save them.

  A fairly small, silver-coloured female dragon landed in front of the Bond of Light, roaring loudly, taking a hostile position toward the dragons. And, even though she was smaller than them, they seemed to... respect her in some sort of way.

  They did growl at her, they did claw at her. But one breath of fire was sufficient: The dragons stepped aside and sat down by each side of the bridge; their tall necks and heads high in the sky, as if they were statues.

  “Glimmer has enforced their respect,” Timothy gasped happily. “We’re allowed to pass now!”

  “...Glimmer?” James asked. Timothy nodded.

  “Madeleine’s... pet dragon,” he said. “She found and helped her when she was just a lost little baby, and from that point Glimmer followed her around pretty much everywhere.”

  But before they moved on, everyone was way too happy to see Glimmer first. They all cheered as they approached the small dragon to hug and pet her.

  “Glimmer! We’re so glad that you saved us,” Samira said, while stroking and patting Glimmer’s muzzle gently. “Who sent you here? How did you know where to find us?”

  Glimmer raised one big paw at her, which a letter had been tied to. The seal was a big “K,” with some sort of star in the background.

  “It’s the Keepers’ Seal,” Timothy said. “It’s from Madeleine.”

  Samira took the letter; it was hard to read in the dark, but Timothy’s glowing katanas were suffice to light up the page enough for Samira to be able to read the curly handwriting.

  “Dear Bond of Light and Timothy,

  I hope your journey has progressed well. I heard from our mutual “friend” Sabrina that you have managed to reach the Land of Void. My congratulations.

  At the river, you’ll encounter dragons only Glimmer can control. Her species stands above theirs; dragon logic. Don’t ask. That’s why I’ve hereby sent her to you, to accompany you through the Land of Void. Her protection might come in handy. An extra pair of eyes and a brave warrior who knows how to handle fire.

  And I’m sure she’ll be happy to carry you when you tire out or get injured.

  However, it also has come to my attention that Sabrina has made serious threats toward you. As Keepers, it is our duty to keep you safe until the Ritual has been completed, and that’s why you shall no longer see any of Sabrina. We’re taking her on.

  Timothy shall stay with you for the rest of your journey. It’s better that way.

  Guardians, I wish you all best of luck. We’ll meet at the Castle of the Spirits once the Ritual has been completed. I’m looking forward to that moment.

  Goodbye for now,

  Madeleine”

  “So that means that Madeleine, Rikki and Gabriel are fighting for us now?” James said. “I- I don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of us. We should hurry up.”

  “It’s no big deal, James,” Timothy said. “We’re already dead; there’s no way we can leave Lunaria anymore. So if we die, it only means our souls are finally set free to rest. Don’t worry.”

  James nodded. “I know that,” he said. “But death – real or not - is a painful experience, which I don’t wish upon anyone. Except for... Well, you know who.”

  Timothy smiled. “Glad I’m not alone,” he said.

  Without saying anything else, the seven crossed the bridge. Six teenagers; five Guardians, one Keeper and one dragon. Seven heroes.

  Off to do what heroes do best; saving the world from devastation.

  War Preparations

  “We need to keep moving, guys. Come on.”

  “But we don’t even know whether it’s night or day right now.”

  “That doesn’t matter in the Land of Void; what does matter, is that we keep going.”

  The Bond of Light had been walking as fast as they could for the past – however long it’d been; it seemed as if they’d lost all conscience of time. While everyone understood the reason why they had better hurry and the consequences if they got caught in the open wide, the question to stop and rest had come up various times. Especially from James’s side, whose energy levels seemed to be dropping rather rapidly.

  Timothy and the others thought of it as nothing at first, (and to be honest, so did James himself) but they didn’t realize the consequences about ignoring the fatigue James was feeling.

  Of course Timothy had warned them before, about magical beings and humans with magical abilities being more vulnerable in the Land of Void, but nobody could’ve seen this coming.

  Apparently, James was more vulnerable to the Land of Void’s energy than Samira, which was rather logical since James had more abilities than she did, but Timothy didn’t know that James was even vulnerable when he wasn’t using Magic...

  ...Like the magical creatures living in Lunaria.

  “Guys, can w
e please stop for a moment? I’m not feeling okay,” James huffed. The circles under his eyes had become deep purple in a very short amount of time, and his face looked awfully pale in the eerie light.

  “James, I’ve explained to you for a million times why we need to keep moving,” Samira said, but as she turned around, laying an eye on her little brother, her opinion changed in a flash.

  “Maybe you’re right,” she said. “You do look like you need to rest.”

  “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” James replied with a small chuckle, as Samira supported him while walking toward Glimmer.

  “Come on, James, sit down on her back,” Samira said. “I’m sure she won’t mind.”

  Glimmer shook her head and stopped walking, allowing James to step on; he needed a little help from his sister in order to do so, however.

  “Are you sitting comfortably?” Samira asked. “Think you can sit up on your own?”

  James nodded. “Sure,” he said. “I’ll be back on my feet soon, Sammy. Don’t worry.”

  Samira smiled at her brother, before walking over to Timothy. “Timothy?” she asked in a low whisper. “Is this a part of James being vulnerable to the Land of Void’s corruptcy, or not?”

  Timothy shook his head. “I don’t know,” he whispered back. “It probably is. Maybe. I don’t know... I’ve never guided a Generation here who still had their Guardian of Innocence alive and kicking, or at least present... And Sabrina was gone long before we even got here, as I told you before.

  So, to be honest with you, I have no idea.”

  Samira nodded. “I see,” she said. “I hope his situation doesn’t get worse.” She turned her head toward James, who was leaning forward on his arms, trying hard to stay awake. “We can’t have it if he breaks down here right now. That’ll make him too much of a risk.”

  Timothy nodded. “I understand what you mean,” he said. “If the Master appears out here while he’s in this condition – or perhaps even worse... That would only lead to a capture. If we fail to protect him, that is, of course.”

  “Well,” Samira said, “then that means we mustn’t fail him.”

  That, of course, was much easier said than done.

  As they got further into the Land of Void, James’s condition worsened. His breathing became feeble and short after a while, before he finally fell asleep on Glimmer’s scaled back.

  Thomas and Samira stayed close to him the whole time, checking whether he was still breathing regularly.

  At first, it seemed as if James was going to be fine after all, but that idea was soon put to an abrupt end.

  James woke up in shock, screaming and yelling. His limbs jerked about so much, that he failed to stay on Glimmer’s back, and fell off.

  Thomas ran around the dragon, approaching James, pressing a hand on his mouth, trying to get him to shut up; he wrestled with the boy that kicked all around him uncontrollably.

  Eventually, the jerking at his limbs stopped and James went quiet. He stared at Thomas, completely in shock.

  “Knock it off!” Thomas hissed. “What were you thinking? You’re going to get every Warlock Spirit and Shadow Walker on our back if you do that again!”

  James gasped. “Thomas,” he whispered, “behind you...”

  Thomas turned around with a jerk while getting to his feet, hand reaching for his sword; but there was nothing there.

  “James, what are you talking about?” Thomas yelled at the boy, who was still lying on the ground in front of him. “There’s nothing there!”

  James stared at the nineteen-year-old as if he’d gone mad. “Don’t- don’t you see it?” he said, while getting up. “It’s right there!” He had gone from speaking to yelling rather quickly.

  James reached for his sword, ran past Thomas, and lashed out at the air. Thomas quickly disarmed him, putting him back on the ground.

  “As I said earlier; knock it off!” he shouted. “Timothy, what the heck’s wrong with him?”

  Timothy ran over to the duo, followed by Samira, Antonio and Bella. James had started to scream and kick again, so Antonio threw himself on top of him, muffling the screaming sounds.

  “This has to be caused by the Land of Void,” Timothy said. “There’s no other explanation.”

  Thomas grunted. “So you’re saying that this place is making him go berserk?”

  Timothy nodded. “But it isn’t James himself who is going berserk,” he said. “His imagination is. It mixes with his fears, making them come to life in front of his eyes. He probably saw a Shadow Creature ready to attack you, or something like that.”

  Thomas grunted even louder. “And what are we supposed to do about this?”

  “Make him calm down,” Timothy said. “Put him to sleep. Keep him away from actual Warlock Spirits and other Shadow Creatures; that might cause him confusion and memory loss... He might forget who the true enemy is.”

  Thomas swallowed. “All right,” he said. “Guys, put him back on Glimmer’s back, and make sure he falls asleep.”

  “No problem; he’s already passed out,” Antonio said. “He must be really tired, because after struggling with him for about a minute, he just collapsed.”

  Thomas sighed. “Here we go again,” he said. “As if we haven’t had enough to worry about related to him in the past few weeks.”