The Guardians of Rhea
Published by Jose Rodriguez Jr at Smashwords
Copyright 2010 Jose Rodriguez Jr
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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CHAPTER ONE
In the hands of expert warriors, two wooden staffs cracked properly can make a sound like distant thunder. When Sara and Arthur fought, it sounded like a bad storm. Each circled the other in a grassy arena surrounded by pillars, throwing torrents of strikes that would have stung if they had found their mark.
Arthur feinted, catching Sara off-guard and making her pay with a whack to the back of her leg.
Grunting in pain, Sara dropped to one knee, but quickly regained her composure.
Arthur held his staff in front of him. “This isn’t a game, Sara.” His gray hair and short, white beard told his age, but he was no slouch. He stood ready to attack or defend.
Sweat glistened on Sara’s peach skin as she circled around. Her raven hair didn’t get in the way much as it was straight and only went down to her neck.
“How do you expect to defeat the Rheans when you fight like that?” Arthur asked.
Both were in athletic condition and wore a similar formfitting uniform, basically a gray shirt, pants and a sash. Their boots as well as some small, lightweight padding on their arms and legs were a darker shade. From the amount of dirt on them, they obviously had been dueling for quite a while.
“I thought this was practice. I don’t want to hit you too hard,” Sara said.
“What’s the matter? Afraid you’ll anger me?”
“No, it’s your old bones I’m worried about.”
Arthur chuckled, twirling his staff in circles around his body. “If you think you can handle this, then come get it.”
Sara lunged forward and swung.
Arthur ducked just in time to hear and feel the whoosh sound over his head, and barely had enough time to counter the next attack that smashed against his staff. He scrambled for some distance, but even in his great condition he couldn't dodge like Sara. The only things he could count on were experience and muscle memory.
Sara knew that and it made her press on with everything she had, forcing Arthur back, deflecting anything he could throw at her.
Defending as best he could, Arthur slowly retreated from the arena and around several pillars.
Sara could tell he was getting desperate. With a quick strafing maneuver, she swung low and swept him off his feet.
Landing hard on his back, Arthur looked up in astonishment and let out a long groan. “I’m either getting too old or I’ve taught you too well.”
Sara held out her hand to help her teacher up. “Maybe it’s both?”
Arthur painfully straightened his back out and dusted himself off. “You’re a better fighter than most, Sara. I’ve often worried about letting you go too early, but I think you might be ready for your first assignment.”
“When, today?” Sara asked.
“Right after you’re knighted by the Consular. Let’s get cleaned up.”
Sara and Arthur stepped out of the garden and onto the streets of the city. It was crowded, but not to the point where they had to shove their way through. Several people greeted Sara as she passed by, especially the men.
“Where are we going?”
“I have to pick up Old Trusty,” Arthur said.
As they waited for several horse drawn carriages to pass, Arthur asked. “What did you have in mind for your first assignment?”
“What do you mean?” Sara responded curiously.
“I know there is an assignment you want more than the others. Every Guardian has one. Which one do you want?” Arthur asked, continuing down the street.
“I thought that was up to the Marshal.”
Arthur shook his head. “Don’t make me spell it out. The last thing I or any Marshal wants is to give you a first assignment you’re not comfortable with. So speak up.”
The thought of being able to pick her first assignment got Sara so excited that she accidentally bumped into someone. “Oh, sorry,” she said, then looking to Arthur. “Um, actually I had been hoping to be assigned here in New Haven, just to start out…”
“Don’t get carried away. It’s a courtesy – not a promise. Your assignment can be changed at any time and for any reason. Understand?”
“Yeah,” Sara said, worried that she may have asked for too much.
“Don't worry, though. Hardly anyone is moved these days, but if for some reason a situation arises you can expect to be reassigned every few days.”
“Arthur!” A blacksmith called. “It's done!”
Arthur walked over and shook hands.
“Here you go,” the blacksmith said, handing over the equinox. “All done!”
Arthur took the elaborately etched two-foot long wooden staff and pressed a hidden button to extend its two-foot long, razor sharp, doubled edged blades from both sides.
“Nice!” Sara said. “Can I get a custom equinox?”
“If you can afford it,” Arthur grinned.
They walked for a few moments, heading back to the Guardians' headquarters, the Citadel, minding the people and the animals until Sara spoke. “Arthur, I know you’re only allowed one student your first year as a Preceptor, but I know I’m not the only Guardian-in-training. So am I going to graduate by myself?”
“It looks that way. There are others, but they’re not ready yet,” Arthur answered. “I think you learned fast because you’ve been my only student. Next year I get a full class.”
“Still, I feel a little weird being by myself. Can’t I just wait and graduate with the others?”
“Normally you would, but because we’re a little short on recruits we have to put you in the field as soon as you’re ready. Be thankful for that! When I joined, they threw us into the field because of all the fighting and my assignment was once changed twice in one day.”
As they continued Sara tried to keep quiet until her curiosity began to stir. “I’ve always wanted to ask you something.”
“Go ahead.”
“I heard you once encountered a Vesuvian. What was it like?”
Arthur’s pace slowed. “When I joined the Guardians, I was about your age. At that time, the fighting was winding down. Like most new Guardians, I thought the inhabitants of this land were evil incarnate and it was my duty to stand against them. On my first day, I was assigned to a wealthy nobleman and his family needing an escort along the road between here and Genoa. Halfway through our journey, a Vesuvian came from out of nowhere…” Arthur stopped as he was suddenly hit with bad feelings and memories of that day.
“What happened?” Sara anxiously asked.
Arthur explained. “He did exactly the things you’ve read about, heard about. You think you’re prepared but when you’re face-to-face with it…It’s completely different. After knocking us around, slicing the nobleman’s head off and tearing my partner’s heart out, he came right at me. I was already on the ground with my equinox inches from my hand.”
Arthur rubbed his hand against his forehead in wonder. “I just grabbed Old Trusty and swung it around into his heart. And, right before my eyes, he burst into embers. Hell of a sight I tell you. Never forget your training, what you’ve learned. That’s the best advice I can give you.”
“It’s hard to imagine you scared,” Sara said. “What about a Fenrir? Seen any of those?”
Arthur shook his
head. “No, but I hear they’re worse than Vesuvians.”
“How? From what I’ve learned, it seems like they’re a lot easier to kill. With a Vesuvian, you never really know what you’re up against until the last second. You’re not being very encouraging.”
“Which is easier to kill is a matter of opinion. As for not being encouraging, I won’t make it sound as if you can fight these creatures with both hands tied behind your back, or even one. But, just to give you some assurance, they’re not impossible to beat, either. As long as you keep your wits about, you shouldn’t have much difficulty dealing with the Rheans.”
“I guess I have to wait till I run into one,” Sara said. “Arthur, a minute ago you said you thought the Rheans were evil. Do you really think that?”
Arthur thought for a moment. “If you ask me now, I think I would have to say they were here first.”
CHAPTER TWO
Arthur examined his equinox as he and Sara walked towards the Citadel. “Are you nervous?” he asked.
“Nervous? No,” Sara answered. “Just anxious to get this over with. I can’t believe this is happening.”
Arthur laughed. “Me neither!”
“Hey!” Sara said nudging him with her elbow.
“Sorry, but I can remember your first day of training as if it were yesterday,” Arthur said. “You were so bold and confident when you first stepped foot in that Citadel. By the end of the day you were bleeding and could barely walk.”
“You have to give me a little credit. I was half decent considering I was just a beginner and you had what…twenty years of experience. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I do believe that sparring on your first day of training is not required.”
Arthur shrugged. “What can I say? I had to do something about that attitude of yours. Within a few days you changed from an arrogant bull to a scared girl. And I must admit I would have bet good money that you would quit. Then one day it was as if something inside of you snapped. You were just different. You had a lot more respect for the rules, your peers, and your teacher.”
“I’ve always respected you!” Sara said, though she knew Arthur knew otherwise, and his wide-eyed look confirmed it. “Okay, maybe I didn’t at first, but I do now.”
Arthur slightly arched backward, holding his sides. “If that were true, you wouldn’t have been so rough with me this morning.”
“Hey, you told me…”
Arthur waved his hand. “I’m just pulling your leg.”
A little boy suddenly ran up by Sara’s side. “Hey, are you a Guardian? You have to be! When I grow up I want to be a Guardian, too!”
Sara stopped and smiled thinly at the boy. “What makes you think I’m a Guardian?”
“Well, you’re here, and you’re talking to Arthur. Hey, Arthur!”
“Hello, Robert,” Arthur said.
Robert looked shyly at Sara. “Can I ask you something?”
Confident she could answer any question, Sara said, “Sure.”
“What’s the difference between a Rhean and a Vesuvian?”
The answer was so easy Sara didn’t have to think about it. “Vesuvians are one of several races that live here in Rhea. When we speak of two or more of those races we call them Rheans.”
Embarrassed, Robert blushed and chuckled with his teeth clinched. “Oh…so they’re the same. Vesuvians, Fenrir, Khothu…they’re all Rheans.”
“Don’t forget the Hegirans,” Arthur added.
“Shouldn’t you be in school?” Sara asked.
“This is our field trip!” Robert said excitedly.
“You shouldn’t stray from your classmates. You might get lost or worse. Hurry up and go find them.”
“I’m not worried. I’m surrounded by Guardians,” Robert said. He darted off towards a group of kids playing around.
Arthur shook his head. “Sara, let me give you another good piece of advice. Don’t take being a Guardian so seriously. Lighten up a little.”
“What do you mean by that?” Sara asked.
“Being a Guardian isn't exactly a way of life, and at best we’re just a paramilitary organization, not some secret society.”
“Don't you think it’s necessary to protect what few secrets we have? I’ve studied our texts on the Rheans. We know very little of their abilities and fighting tactics, and even less of their culture or society.”
Arthur sighed. “Even so, we can’t close our doors to our own people. Granted, we have secrets, but it’s important for our people to see us and know that we’re here for them. If they can’t see that, we’ll begin to look like the Rheans.”
A glance at all of the people who had come to visit the Guardians told Sara that Arthur was right. “I guess I can’t argue with that,” she said. “Still, I’m worried about our security. Any one of these people could be a spy, or worse, they could be tortured to tell what they know. I mean…a field trip inside the Citadel.”
“I think you worry too much.”
Sara and Arthur reached the front, wide-open doors of the Citadel and continued inside.
“Then let me ask you this,” Sara began.
“I’m already trembling,” Arthur snickered.
“Have we ever tried to have an open dialog, or some kind of treaty with the Rheans?”
Arthur thought for several seconds. “You know what? Your sister was given that assignment! There have been a few exchanges here and there, but nothing significant.”
“And why is that?”
“I don't know. What’s your point?”
“We should try to learn as much as we can about them. Know your enemy, right?” Sara said, as she and Arthur stopped at one of the dormitory halls.
“Get dressed,” Arthur said, continuing down the hall.
Sara entered her dorm room. After bathing and dressing up in a clean uniform, she stepped back into the hall.
Arthur was several doors down heading toward her. “Ready?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“There’s one thing you should know before we move on,” Arthur said. “The Consular won’t be able to make it, so an Elite will knight you.”
Sara’s mouth and shoulders dropped like anchors.
“I’m sorry, but that’s the way it has to be.”
Sara’s head and arms reeled back. “No! It’s bad enough I don’t get a ceremony, and now I have to be knighted by an Elite.”
Arthur grabbed Sara by the shoulder. “What are you saying? You are getting a ceremony, and an Elite replaces the Consular if anything ever happens to him.”
Sara could no longer hold her head up. “I thought the reason I was graduating alone was because I did so well.”
“You have done well, very well,” Arthur assured her. “I’ve taught you everything I know and you’ve passed all the tests.”
Sara didn’t feel any better. Her ceremony seemed to be getting cheaper by the minute.
Arthur rubbed her back. “Sara, don’t worry, okay. Trust me. Just because you’re being knighted differently doesn’t make you any less of a Guardian.”
Sara grunted in anger.
“Alright?” Arthur asked, lightly pushing Sara on the shoulders.
“Alright.”
They left the hall through a stairwell and entered a much bigger hall. Two Guardians escorted them to a large set of double doors decorated with ebony and ivory trim.
Guardians called the next room the Chamber of Ascension.
Standing before Sara halfway through the room was an Elite, Thomas.
Elites were Guardians who only took orders from the Consular. Sara slowly approached Thomas and knelt before him. She could feel her heart pounding.
Arthur and the escorts stood to the side and watched.
Thomas pulled an odd-looking weapon, a halo, from his holster. It was similar to a chakram. This one was a foot in diameter. Most of the ring was sectioned off with razor-sharp blades. Only three sections between the blades were safe to hold. If an untrained person tried using this weapon, he wo
uld most likely end up hurting himself rather than his opponent.
Holding the halo above Sara’s head, Thomas spoke. “You’ve trained long and hard to reach this point. The road ahead is filled with great danger. But with your knowledge and your skills you can overcome them. Always remember that you are never alone. From here on, you are now part of a special order. Rise, and go forth as a Guardian Ranger.”
Sara stood, maintaining a stoic look as she watched Thomas turn and leave through a door at the back of the room.
Arthur approached behind her. “Now before you start complaining, that’s about as long as the regular ceremony. We like to keep it short and sweet.”
Sara stood motionless, now almost in shock, but managed to crack a smile. “That’s it?”
“Be proud, Sara. Not everyone makes it this far.”
Sara wished it were that easy. She had gone through hundreds of painful sparring sessions and long hours of studying to become a Guardian. There was a sense of accomplishment, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was just…cheap.
Arthur flicked his finger close to her ear to snap her back to reality. “We’ll see the Marshal today. He’ll give you your very first assignment. You have some time, so you can go ahead and tell all your friends.”
Sara looked at Arthur in disbelief. “Tell them what? That I graduated by myself in a ceremony that lasted ten seconds?”
Arthur shook his head. “You’re not the only person who’s ever graduated alone. Granted, there are very few who do, but I told you, being knighted differently makes you no less a Guardian.”
Sara let out a long sigh. “I guess so.”
CHAPTER THREE
New Haven had many spots where people liked to hang out. For Sara and her friends, Juli and Marian, it was a particular spot, a clearing, partially surrounded by trees.
Juli, a fair woman with fire-red hair, spun into the clearing. “I can’t believe William asked me to the ball.”
Marian teased. “Of course he did! There was no one else left for him to ask.” She and Sara laughed.
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