by Jarod Meyer
“If you are referring to your behavior in the Synod chamber, I thought it humorous. On the record you have been lectured and reprimanded for your actions, but that will be the end of it,” the commander said, his voice rising in volume and authority.
William’s heart lifted. This was the last reaction he expected. Despite his urge to speak, to thank Achilles, he remained silent. It was not long before the commander continued.
“I have, however, also called you here to discuss the threat of Dichonia, and to brief you on the Synod’s delegations,” Achilles articulated, now walking back to his desk and sitting on the corner. “What is your assessment of our current situation?” he asked.
William had contemplated this during much of his free time recently. “Archonia is under threat. Meredox’s brother will return. Everyone is living in fear. We must retaliate,” William growled without hesitation.
Achilles head snapped towards William. His eyes were alight with excitement. It was perhaps the first time he’d seen emotion on the man’s face. “And what would you do, young William?” Achilles asked.
“What would I do? Or, what am I prepared to do?” William asked in return.
Achilles stared back, studying him for a moment. The tension was incredible. He felt like he was in an interrogation. Minutes ago he thought that he would be exiled from the Guardian Corps, and now… The silence was maddening.
“I have already seen what you are prepared to do, as did all of Archonia, when you came to our aid at mount Olympus. I am merely curious as to what your plan of attack is,” Achilles explained.
William let out his breath, and forced himself to relax. Then he looked around the room. It was rather small for Archonian standards. Strange looking weapons adorned the walls. One, an old looking wooden scythe, made William immediately think of the Grimm Reaper.
“During the battle, Meredox’s brother Luxor asked me if I would join him. Change sides,” William said, lowering his head in shame.
The commander picked up on this, because he shrugged and said, “You declined, and in turn you were nearly beaten to death,”
“I’m not ashamed of my actions, sir. I’m ashamed that he even offered.”
“Many of my brothers fell to evil ways in years of old. Please continue,” Achilles prompted.
“Well, sir. I think that the best plan of attack would be exactly that. That I switch sides.”
CHAPTER THREE
A NEW MENTOR
William soared across the darkening sky. What a day, he thought. First, he interrupted a Synod meeting, and then he learned that more tainted souls will be passing into this world, finally, the meeting with Achilles. However, his longing to see Angelica kept the fatigue at bay.
The plan that he discussed with the Guardian lord meant that he may not have much more time to see Angelica. This thought made him increase speed, allowing him to arrive much faster than anticipated.
William descended amongst the flowering trees and green plants, his feet touching down softly in the supple, green grass. The Garden of Medina, with all of its familiar noises and aromas, greeted him like an old friend. This oasis, full of trees and plants of every shape and size, had quickly become William’s favorite place. It was a place where he could be away from the rigors of the military, and the prying eyes of the public.
The garden was a place that William and Angelica shared much time together. It only took him moments to find her. She stood in silence, with her eyes closed, as if in a trance. The glow of the enormous cosmic bodies floating in the sky lit the small meadow around her.
William approached quietly behind her. He took a moment to simply enjoy her slender figure. Energy fell from her fingertips at her sides. It flowed like thick syrup down to the ground, where it slowly pooled. It was milky white and surged with life.
A plant sprouted amidst the puddle of energy. It seemed to be made from crystal. It was far too geometrical to be a real flower, but then William thought, what is real in this world?
The crystal flower suddenly shattered, jagged pieces of glass falling back into the pool of energy, disappearing. Where the crystal was, now stood the same flower, now soft and round. Different hues and shades radiated in greens, reds, yellows, and blues, making the most dazzling flower he’d ever seen. Fragrant scents, like coconut wafted over him, bringing a smile to his face.
“Almost as beautiful as you are,” William said, placing his hands gently on Angelica’s hips, and whispering in her ear. She pushed back against him, her warmth making him forget everything that happened that day.
“You are such a charmer,” Angelica replied, teasing.
“And I’m also better at making plants,” William snickered, tickling her sides. She jumped forward and turned.
“Are not!” she exclaimed.
William smirked, and extended his hand forth. A beam of gray light shot out, and the ground rumbled. Dirt burst forth, a massive tree spiraling out of the ground. It rose a hundred feet in the air, with branches uncurling out in all directions. Long, dangling vines unrolled from sprouts, taking the place of leaves, and glowed with a radiant, green light.
This was one of William’s hobbies, and one of the ways he was able to stay sane through all the chaos in his life. He had been imagining this very tree all day long. To make a truly realistic life form like this one was not as easy as it sounded. You had to imagine how it would feel. How dense the matter was. How it smelled. The proportions, and even its cellular structure. There was an innumerable combination of properties to think about. Otherwise it might turn out to be a tree made from plastic or metal, and end up nothing but decoration.
William crossed his arms in satisfaction, not breaking eye contact with Angelica. She rolled her eyes, and said, “Men.”
He laughed loudly, and wrapped her up in a bear hug again. He twirled her in the starlit meadow, and they danced for a time.
“Take me flying,” Angelica said, jumping on William’s back.
“Where do you want to go?” “The city!” she said excitedly. William had to admit the city was beautiful at night.
“You’d better hang on tight,” William said, floating off the ground slowly. He felt her legs and arms clamp down around him.
With a rush of air, he took off into the night. The capitol city was soon below them, and what a sight to behold. Shimmering lights of all colors sprinkled like glitter, blanketing the sea of buildings. They descended low into the streets where the night crowd was continuing the never-ending celebration of immortal life.
They spotted a show and stopped to watch. A group of acrobats twisted and turned through the air. One jumped upon large floating bubbles like he was lighter than air. A group of people played peculiar looking brass instruments which hummed an enticing melody.
That evening, William and Angelica adventured through the city, enjoying the little things in life. They visited street vendors, sampling their different and fantastic foods. They tried cakes and pastries, as well as savory fried food. It felt like a fair William had been to when he was younger. He remembered it because it was one of the best memories from his childhood.
As William flew Angelica back to her home, they saw a group of children waving at them, so William opened his palm, and projected. Whizzing sparks, like fireworks, shot out of his hand, and the children cheered. But this joy was not to last. As he saw the sparks a memory flashed through his mind. It was the fire that he endured on the peak of mount Olympus.
William peeled off into the night, and drifted slowly down to the balcony of Angelica’s apartment. She hopped down off of his back, and grabbed his arm.
“William, what’s wrong?” she asked, her brow furrowed.
William rubbed his forehead. “Long day, I need to meditate,” he grunted.
Angelica ran her long, delicate fingers through the locks of his hair. It felt magical, but he pulled away. His gut wrenched at the thought of his new task and the unbidden memory.
He turned to Angelica, her eyes w
elling up with tears. William had never recoiled from her touch before.
“Angelica, I have been assigned a new mission,” he said softly.
She put a hand to her mouth, and wrapped the other around her waist protectively.
“And what is this mission?” she asked, looking him in the eyes.
“I have been tasked with traveling to Dichonia,” William sighed.
“Dichonia! What? Do you know what that is, William? Hell? No. No. No!” Angelica sputtered with a frenzied look. “They must find someone else to go. Why you?”
William held up his hands to stop her.
“I’m the only one they will believe has fallen to darkness. It must be me,” he said softly. “I am so sorry, Angelica.”
Tears streamed down her face, and she grabbed William, begging him. “Please. Please. Please don’t go,” she pleaded.
He embraced her gently, feeling her wet tears upon his skin. He started to get a little choked up as well. This was definitely not an overreaction. It would be no small task traveling to Dichonia, let alone coming back.
“Listen. Listen,” he said, cupping her face in his hands. “I’m not going anywhere yet. Achilles will not send me until I am fully prepared. I promise you that by the time I am ready you will have nothing to worry about,” he promised, looking into her brown eyes. “Do you believe me?”
She nodded, and sunk her head into his chest.
They lay together for a few hours before each drifted into a meditative state.
* * *
William snapped to, as if he had an internal alarm clock. Achilles gave him a new schedule to accommodate his updated training regimen. Not only did he now have captain’s duties, but he was also being thrown into special training. This coupled with his Guardian drills was going to make for exhausting days.
He left, Angelica hoping that she would be okay, and soon arrived on the training field. He decided to work on fighting without armor, so he wore training leathers instead. They were durable and easier to move in, consisting of a chest piece with no sleeves, and cut short to allowing bending at the waist. Full-length leather pants, sturdy leather boots, and thick gloves that covered his forearms. The leather was made from an Archonian animal called a herbalow, whose thick, stone-hard skin made them strong enough to withstand the intense combat.
William stared at his new recruits. He still had mixed feelings about training these men. For one, he’d never been a strong leader. His charisma at Mt. Olympus had been a fluke in his eyes. Someone saw fit to let him command however, and for now he would fit the part and follow orders. He’d broken enough military protocol already; he didn’t want to break any more.
After Katrina’s display of authority with the new recruits, William requested that she be transferred to his unit to help with drill. Katrina was ecstatic when she heard the news, and was standing next to William in the crisp morning breeze, eagerly awaiting his orders. She reported that all of his new recruits failed to move the stone to the stack. Their minds had become so strained that they were forced to retire, and meditate.
“Katrina tells me that none of you were able to stack your stones. Is this true?” William asked.
The recruits looked to one another out of the corner of their eyes, unwilling to turn their heads as they stood at attention. There was no response, but William knew the answer anyway.
“Rhetorical question, I know that none of you succeeded. Well, guess what. We get to try again today,” he said, clapping his hands together.
The recruits didn’t move, the stones sitting behind them, casting shadows over them in the morning light.
“Now!” Katrina barked, and the men almost fell over backward as she bellowed. For the next few hours William studied his men carefully. Each of them was muscular, more so even than him, and yet they grunted and strained, none able to so much as budge the stone.
“This is not working,” William declared. “They will never become Guardians at this rate,” he added, biting his lower lip in frustration.
“Be patient, William. It took many of us weeks to accomplish this task,” Katrina replied.
William kept reminding himself of that fact. But the looming threat against the realm weighed heavily on him. He was afraid the next attack would come before he had these soldiers combat ready.
William was assured by many Adjudicators that an attack so soon after would be unlikely. The military’s guard was still on high alert. Tactically it would make more sense for an attack to come when the guard was down, and Archonia had been lulled into a false sense of security once again. This argument didn’t reassure him.
“Men! Fall in!” he shouted.
The recruits rushed over, and fomed into a single line for inspection. He could see change in them already. They exhibited more discipline and patience, refusing to talk when it was least appropriate. Silently, he thanked the professors for their seminars on protocol.
“There are ten stones, and ten of you. Your goal is to get those ten stones over to that pile, and stack them. The manner in which this task is accomplished was never discussed. Suffice it to say that it must be done without tools. However, one of the most important weapons in any military is teamwork. That is to have the ability to trust the man at your side, and to get the job done together,” William stated slowly.
He gave this pronouncement a couple seconds to sink in.
“Your new task will be to get at least one stone onto that stack by nightfall, or you will be cut from the path of the Guardian,” he said.
Katrina’s head snapped around, concern written on her face. William simply nodded, indicating that this was his final decision.
Katrina’s face hardened, and she shouted, “Do not just stand there. The captain gave an order. If one of you princesses cannot move one stone, then maybe ten of you can.”
The rest of the week was far more successful. By the end of the night the ten men together mustered the strength to complete their task. William took great pride in their newfound determination. The next day he made them move two stones with five men each, and the day after, four stones with three. By the end of the week each man was able to stack his own stone before the next dawn. There were some stragglers, but every man on the team stayed through their meditation time to assure the completion of the task. William beamed as he watched his group of rag tag misfits come together.
There was still discipline needed, however. His men were still rather self-absorbed, and possessed a high sense of entitlement. William tried to find ways to stifle this, or make them change, but each one would have to make the choice on their own. Several of the men started skipping their academic studies, forcing William to take away liberties and even drill them on the day of rest.
* * *
After the initiates drill, the recruits went off to their studies, and William proceeded to his own drills.
When he arrived at the other side of the field every conjurer in the Guardian Corps was there, creating beasts of all shapes and sizes to throw at him and the other Guardians. They were called conjurers because they, like William, created life forms with their projections. However, these men and women were far more skilled at it than he could hope to be. Though his plants were lifelike, the creatures these men and women created were nearly perfect, and very dangerous.
“Hold!” shouted Aeros, an Adjudicator, as the enemy charged at them.
It was a stampede of six legged creatures, armored with thick leathery skin, and plates of bone. Horns protruded from their heads, making them appear similar to rhinoceros. These looked far more deadly.
There were easily one hundred of the creatures, and only ten Guardians. William stood at the head of the spearhead formation. William held up Gungnir with both hands.
The creatures shook the ground around the group, but the soldier’s formation forced the rhinos to split around them. Spears thrust outward, cracking the beast’s armor. Blood and sinew flew everywhere. After the creatures were felled they burst into light, and
disappeared.
Throngs of the beasts fell, and the formation held strong. The beating of wings filled the air and William looked up to find a cloud blotting out the sun. Reptilian creatures, not unlike winged anacondas, descended from above. William’s keen, Archonian eyes made out an intricate array of thick scales, and mouths filled with long, needle-like teeth.
The Adjudicator shouted, “Defensive Barrage formation!”
Their grouping quickly transformed. The pointed formation turned into a circle of eight back to back, with two in the middle. The two men in the middle dropped their weapons and looked skyward, raising their arms in the air with open palms. White energy engulfed their bodies, and balls of light peppered the enemies in the air. The snake creatures fell from the cloud like rain, explosions ripping them apart.
William remained busy with the rhinos. His spear shimmered, as if it was made from water. He thrust the weapon again and again, felling one after the other, stopping the charge of the massive creatures as if he was a stone wall.
The Guardian to his left backed up as he became overwhelmed. William let loose a blast of energy from his off hand to momentarily stem the charge at his sector. Then, with his strong hand he formed Gungnir into a mighty hammer, and slammed the ground to his left. The ground rippled and the dirt kicked up into a wave, engulfing the attacking creatures.
A roar issued through the cloud of dust, and the group turned. Walking through the fray, shaking the ground with every step, was a creature at least one hundred feet tall. It stood on four hands, like a gorilla. Its fur was white, and its head was round and relatively small for its size. It had no eyes, and a large, gaping mouth, filled with yellowed, gnarled teeth.
William’s eyes narrowed, and he smiled. He shot into the sky.
“Do not break formation!” the adjudicator cried behind him, but William ignored him.
He could handle this beast. William blasted through the sky like a bullet, breaking the sound barrier in an instant. The beast hurled a massive stone at him, but he dodged it easily.
