Dark Wood: Legends of the Guardians

by Unknown

  He remained lying down. His size was so vast that he took up a great part of the platform that sat before the cave’s opening. A massive long snake like tail flicked as it wrapped around him. “Are you all right?” he inquired. “You’ve traveled a long, difficult road to get here.” She could tell he was eyeing the cuts on her face from the tree limbs.

  “I’ll heal.” Kneeling down, she sat to her knees. “What is your name? They would not tell me your name.” Her hands rest upon her knees for support.

  “Most would call me Dragon,” he spoke in a droll voice.

  “But Dragon is what you are, not who you are. That would be like you calling me Human.”

  “Perhaps I shall, Human.” He seemed amused by this idea.

  “I no more wish to be called Human than you wish to be called Dragon. Like you, I have a name.”

  “Perhaps I will just call you Emissary.” Aryaunna said nothing in response. “They did not tell you my name because they did not know it. In your tongue, I am called Reign. And you, what do your people call you, Emissary?” His head sunk down so he could look at her squarely as she’d sat down.

  “Aryaunna. My sister often calls me Ary,” Aryaunna’s voice was a timid whisper, making her seem almost childlike.

  “Aryaunna… A young witch, barely a woman yet, has become the Guardian’s hand.” Though he didn’t sound it as an accusation, Aryaunna’s brow furrowed as she rose up fluidly.

  “Do not doubt my dedication nor my ability based solely upon my youth, Reign. My body is able and my heart is willing.”

  Reign, too, rose up. His formidable body cast her into his shadow. “Are you prepared to battle? To fight your fellow man in great wars, to wear their blood on your hands like gloves, to be scarred and hunted like the very Guardians you have sworn your undying allegiance?!” His tattered wings like bone lace cast shadows upon the ground. They were heartbreakingly beautiful-heartbreaking for they were nothing more than a deformed cast of what they must have once been. This Dragon had been mutilated and more so cursed, cursed for wings as such could never give him flight. Yet they were magnificent. Ivory white bone glistened in the sun, twisting and turning to create intricate marvelous patterns.

  “I am prepared to face any enemy.” Aryaunna took a brazen step closer. “I am prepared to give justice to those who have been wronged and to those who have spread their disease of hate like a plague over our world.” Again she took another step. “No sword will find purchase to take me down. No blade will taste my life-blood.” Her hands had curled into tight fists. Her nostrils had flared as she fed off the anger of her past. An old pain that twisted deep inside of her brought a glisten to her eyes. With every word her mouth drew tighter as she stood right before him, desperate for him to see her determination.

  “The Emissary mustn’t only fight, young witch. The Emissary must lead,” Reign spoke vehemently. “Not only must you lead them to battle but you must lead them home. Your life will be forfeit over theirs. No mother’s love will contend with the love for your purpose, your people.”

  “My people?” Aryaunna cut him off, confused by his word choice.

  “No matter your blood, no matter your species, those who follow you are all that will matter. They are your people and you their Emissary. You live for them, you kill for them, and one day, you will die for them. In being the Guardian’s hand you become the very embodiment of their power and through that you become the only remaining beacon of hope for those that seek freedom from the tyranny that is the greed.” His body loomed over hers as he looked down upon her. Lowering his head, his long serpentine neck coiled so that he could look her in the eyes. “Are you prepared to give your very essence, witch?”

  Aryaunna’s eyes cast away from Reign’s. Her right hand swiftly drew the old blade from her belt. Pressing the sharp metal into the flesh of her left palm she pressed in and swiftly drug it across her open flesh. Blood wept from her wound as she looked back up to Reign. “To the very last drop.” Her words were empty of emotion, empty of the fire it held moments before.

  His head bowed in a deep nod. He saw the truth in her eyes, and though he saw her pain he found no fear. Sheathing her blade she looked up at him expectantly while clinching her left hand into a fist. Blood drizzled between her fingers, despite the cut being fairly shallow.

  A massive taloned Dragon’s hand rose slowly, and cupped under her left. The scales of his fingers brushed her skin tenderly as he urged her to open her hand. “Your life has been and ever shall be one of great sacrifice. This day you need not shed your blood.” Hot breath blew out over her open palm, tingling as it touched her. The stain of blood was no more than a smear when the sensation eased, and the cut itself was no more than a white line. “Come, witch. There is much to teach you yet.” Releasing her, his head motioned for her to enter the cave.

  Elizabeth woke before her eyes opened. Her dream lingered, suspending her between sleep and the waking world for a time. Dreams of simpler days with her mother and very young sister chimed to her. Bells of laughter became echoes as if distant calls beckoned her. The waking world was pulling her closer as sunlight filled the room and added warmth to her body through the mound of thick furred blankets. It was not the comfortable warmth that spread through her groggy body that called her to wake, but the presence of another that stirred her. As the realization became more real, Elizabeth started awake.

  She didn’t have to look around the room to eye him. Her Seer’s sight knew where to look before her eyes could even adjust. “Allos.” His head inclined towards her slightly in acknowledgment. “Where is-”

  “Aryaunna isn’t here. She asked that I watch over you, so that you were not left to wake alone.” Allos sat tensely in a wooden straight-back chair against the wall. His right arm rest upon a small oblong table against the wall. Aside from the nod of his head, and movement of his mouth, he hadn’t moved even a fraction of an inch since she’d woken. Elizabeth could feel his anxiety though he did well to hide it outwardly.

  “Where is my sister?” Elizabeth’s head felt heavy but she was determined to move into action. Her hands started to roll back her amass of blankets as her shoulders started to lift from the small bed.

  In an instant he was kneeling beside her. Large hands placed light onto her shoulders urging her to lie back. The spin of her head forced her to comply. “Rest, Elizabeth. I will tell you what you wish to know, but only if you agree to lie back.” Their gazes locked. A silent argument waged between them as she pressed up into his grip.

  When her body slumped in defeat, he rose up and reached past her. One hand which still rest upon her shoulder eased her up only enough to slide a large pillow behind her. Stepping back to the door he lifted a pitcher from the table and poured a wooden cup full. “It’s just water,” he assured her as he returned and held it out for her.

  Her gaze was weary, but she took the cup. “Drink,” he instructed as he pulled the chair up beside her bed and sat. Looking away from him she did so. Her gaze darted around the room, lit only by the sun through the nearby window. It was a simple room, but it was personal despite its scarcity. She wondered if it wasn’t Allos’ room. As the water passed her lips the realization of just how thirsty she was sunk in. It took but a moment for her to empty the cup.

  “More?” he asked, preparing to stand.

  “No, thank you.” With a nod, he took the cup and set it down on the floor beside him. “My sister,” she prompted.

  “Aryaunna has gone into the Dark Wood.” Allos was well prepared for Elizabeth to start at this news, and placed his hand onto her forearm when she grabbed the blanket to toss it aside. “She must do this, Elizabeth. She made this choice knowing full well what risk it brought. We prepared her the best that we could.”

  She couldn’t look at Allos. Elizabeth stared at her lap as dreadful worry skirted her thoughts. The corner of her eyes twitched with fear as his hand relaxed. “She made me swear to be here to protect you, and to tell you that she was safe. She made
me promise to keep you here. Elizabeth, I know it goes against everything in your nature, but you have to let her do this alone. I know how much you want to protect her, truly.”

  Her gaze shot up and locked with his. A dozen scenarios played in her mind on how she could get past him, out of the Hollow, and how she could find her sister. The longer she looked at him, the more impossible she realized that would be. He could see the defeat in Elizabeth’s eyes though she did not relax. “Why, what could possibly make her do this?” her voice was quiet but rough from so long a sleep without water or speaking.

  “She had to go find someone… If she is to-” he took pause to gather his thoughts. After a moment he sat back and looked at her squarely. “While you slept I wondered how I would explain this to you. The only way that I really can, though, is to be honest. To become the Emissary the person must swear not just their allegiance but offer their eternal life as forfeit. To gain the Guardian’s true power she has to find the last Dragon and prove her fealty without question.” The silence lingered between them. Though Elizabeth’s gaze held Allos’ it was clear she was far away, lost in the thought and worry for her sister. “She’s gone to Dia.”

  “Dia,” Elizabeth echoed as she looked out the window, as if she would see the mountain just beyond it.

  “You should know that all of my faith is with your sister Aryaunna.”

  Legends surrounded Mount Dia. The mountain looked otherworldly with its white edifice. It was said to be carved from Dragons. No one knew what the stone was.

  Elizabeth knew the stories simply because she’d grown up hearing about it from the locals of Kenan. Now her sister, her baby sister, had left the protection of the Hollow alone to tempt fate again. Aryaunna had a way of doing that, she always had. Never had she been one to deny a challenge. Aryaunna was a strong girl, bold, too brazen for her own good. Elizabeth, too, shared these characteristics but she’d learned early how to bury her freewill deep inside of her.

  A renegade tear escaped to run down her cheek. Turning her head she looked back out the window to hide it. “I would like to be alone, Allos,” she spoke low, but she knew he would hear her. In such a small room the sound traveled easily. She waited, expecting him to depart while she refused to meet his gaze. “Please. I wish to be left alone,” her tone grew vehement. He said nothing, and still yet she could feel his gaze upon her. Frustration forced her to give in and turn her chin just enough to look back at him.

  “I gave my word, Elizabeth. I’m sorry, that’s something I cannot do.” Allos looked a little less sorry than his words implied. His mouth twitched to suppress a smile when she scowled openly.

  “Do you honestly think I would run away?” she spat in frustration, as if the idea were just absurd.

  “Do you honestly take me for a fool?” He smiled to see her defeated frustration, but the moment ended nearly as quickly as it had begun. “I see the look in your eyes as you gaze out. I know what it’s like to feel powerless to help those you love most.”

  The way he said it took her off guard. It penetrated past her barriers to the raw fear and pain beneath. Her crystalline blue eyes dropped gaze to her wrenching hands. “She’s all I have. And now she has chosen a path that will surely see us taken from each other,” her voice cracked as she choked on the very idea, as if the words were lumps of dirt.

  Leaning forward, Allos hesitated before placing his hand over both of hers to stop them from fretting. When she didn’t look up, he inched closer and rose his other hand to place his knuckle under her chin. “There would be no sense to lie to you, and tell you that your sister will find no danger in the Dark Wood. So know that what I tell you to be the truest words I can find to give you…”

  He gave her a moment to consider that as his hand dropped to join the one covering her own. She looked on at him with shimmering blue eyes, keen with the knowledge of what she feared most. “There is no doubt in my heart that your sister has not just chosen to become the Emissary but that it is her fate. I cannot say how I know this to be true, I just do. The moment I saw her in the woods with you, I knew. Yes, her life will know pain and grief, but not like what you have both known for far too long. By coming here, by taking hold of her destiny, she-you, the both of you, will come to know joy as well.”

  This time she did not look away from him. Her hands ceased to twitch as she let his strength calm her. There was such assuredness in his eyes. He meant every word. “Thank you,” she whispered before pressing her lips together tightly. Squeezing lightly around her hands he gave a soft nod before releasing her and sitting back.

  They let the moment pass without instance. Elizabeth’s eyes dried, and as she’d come so accustomed to doing, she buried the nagging pain of worry deep in her belly. It was a wonder that she ever needed to eat at all for how often she’d done such.

  Before another word could be spoken, there was a soft tap on the door before it eased open. It was clear that Korena was surprised to see Allos so close to Elizabeth, and doubly surprised to see her sitting up. Her brow furrowed as she scorned them, “How long have you been awake? You should have come to tell us at once, Allos.”

  “He was just getting up to do so,” Elizabeth defended to the girl who was still in many ways a child. “I made him wait. I wanted to know where my sister was.”

  Korena softened at that and nodded to herself as she understood better. “Mayla will want to know you’re awake. I must go tell her.”

  “Wait,” Elizabeth called to her. “What is your name, girl?”

  Shyly, Korena hugged herself to the outside of the door, barely keeping her head in enough to be seen at all. Allos kept his chin turned to look back at her, waving the girl closer with his hand. Korena frowned before stepping into the room. She kept her hand on the open door. Allos looked at her expectantly. “Korena. My name is Korena.”

  Elizabeth smiled warmly, keeping her eyes on Korena’s so that the girl didn’t think her to be gawking. Elizabeth had never seen nor heard of a Drow with skin of snow before. Before Lena, Elizabeth had never seen a true Drow at all, though. “It’s nice to meet you, Korena. My name is-”

  “Elizabeth. I know who you are. I helped Mayla treat you yesterday.” Korena looked on at her curiously, though was cautious enough to stay behind Allos.

  Elizabeth’s brow furrowed. She vaguely remembered images of people around her but little more than that. She thought she remembered an older woman who treated her, but only the sound of her voice. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember.”

  “I have to go tell Mayla now. She’ll want to know you’re awake.” Without waiting for a reply, Korena stepped back and out of the room, closing the door as she did so.

  “Forgive her. She’s never met another human before you and your sister came.” Allos turned to look back at Elizabeth.

  “That’s all right. Before yesterday, I’d never known a Drow before either.” She eyed Allos curiously but said nothing. Because of Lena, she knew it was true that the Drow could disguise themselves and take on the appearance of others. She wanted to ask Allos why he didn’t let the magic shield drop. She wondered what he really looked like, and if his eyes would lose their warmth when they turned from hazel to silver.

  “The Drow are a strong, good people. They’ve made me feel like their own.”

  “You’re… not?” Elizabeth was hesitant to trust anyone. Not an unlikely trait for a woman who’d been forced to grow up all too quickly in a world of darkness and pain.

  “No, actually I am Druid by blood” Allos explained. “The Drow raised me.”

  The door opened, this time with no fore coming knock. “Ah, it’s so very good to see you awake, Elizabeth.” Mayla smiled warmly. “Korena will be along again shortly with some food and drink.” Rising, Allos moved back against the wall near the door, allowing Mayla to see to Elizabeth.

  Looking upon him, Mayla smiled proudly. A light touch of her hand brushed his arm as she passed and took seat beside Elizabeth. As she sat, Elizabeth looked over the wo
man closely. Her features were striking, but that wasn’t what captured Elizabeth’s attention. There was something strangely familiar about her, and it wasn’t recollection of Mayla tending to her. Her eyes were filled with purity of love. They were the eyes of a mother.

  The girl, Korena, looked so much like her that surely she must’ve been kin. The way she looked at Allos though, the way she looked at Elizabeth in fact, could only be described as the way a mother looks at her children. Love-it was love she saw in Mayla’s eyes. Love so powerful, so consuming, so cherishing that it had completely become her.

  It was almost bewildering for Elizabeth to behold.

  Mayla’s mouth parted just as the door burst open again. Aside from nearly startling Elizabeth out of her skin, Allos reacted by nearly attacking poor Korena. Korena’s eyes went wide as she skidded to a stop but didn’t manage to avoid barreling into Allos. The room itself wasn’t large, and Allos was already in the mindset of guard duty. She’d startled everyone but Mayla who looked only mildly concerned. Allos’ hands grabbed her forearms to keep the girl from falling back. Before anyone could ask, Korena blundered through to get to Mayla. “Ballos is hurt. He’s bleeding terribly. I’m afraid his leg is broken.” Korena had a hold of Mayla’s arm, pulling her from her seat and for the door.

  Worry settled into Mayla’s brow as she stood with an urgent nod. “Come, Allos, we’ll need your strength to bring him in.”

  Mayla hurried out the door past Allos with Korena. Pausing, he turned to look at Elizabeth. “I can only ask you not to break my promise to her.” He’d sworn to Aryaunna that he would protect Elizabeth. It was not a promise he was willing to see broken. Their eyes locked for only a moment before Mayla called for him to hurry.

  Reluctantly, Allos shut the door behind him, leaving Elizabeth alone. Sitting in the bed for only a moment she weighed her options. The window was capable of being opened. If she stood on the bed she could get out of it. But the chances of her getting by anyone in the village unseen was slim to none. Worse yet, it was the dead of winter and the only protection from the elements she would have would be if she took the blankets from the bed with her.