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Prologue

When the world was newly made, four beings appeared to protect it. Ston, Lord of the Earth; Sera, Lady of the Seas; Flame, Master of Fire; and Gale, Mistress of Air. All appeared as teens, despite their awesome powers, mostly because they considered it to be fun.

For five hundred years, the four Guardians protected the world, sheltering its inhabitants from the denizens of Necra, home to the foulest creatures one could imagine, and many more one could not.

However, on the first day of the five hundredth year, a gate opened. From it came Darath, King of Necra. In seconds, the Guardians converged to drive him back, but Darath simply brushed them aside as he began devastating the world. A black shadow formed in the sky, creeping across the land to cover it in everlasting darkness.

Wounded, humiliated, and discouraged, the four Guardians fled to their only shared temple, to heal and regain their lost power. After they had healed themselves, however, Ston spoke up. He claimed that there was no point in fighting, for even together they were not strong enough, and that he would go his own way.

As he neared the door, however, it opened, and a teenage boy garbed in white appeared. When asked of his name, he replied “I am Sol, King of Light. Your peril brought me into being, for I did not exist before. Will you follow me, together, and drive back the King of Necra?”

The four Guardians were silent for a moment. Sera finally asked that he demonstrate his powers to them. Sol nodded, held up his hands, and concentrated. Light pierced the shadowy veil, expanding so rapidly that it could not even be seen as it moved. And like that, the veil was gone.

“You have won my trust.” Sera announced. “I will follow you, Sol, though I do not know you.”

“Sera has long been a judge of all, and I trust her.” Gale said. “I, too, will follow you.”

“…Sure. The worst that could happen is we’ll fail, and I don’t think much will change if we do.” Flame said, smirking. The three Guardians who had spoken looked at Ston, who sighed and spoke.

“I see that I am overruled. My instinct tells me not to, but for the sake of the friendships I have with Sera, Gale, and Flame, I too will join you.” To his surprise, Sol slowly shook his head.

“If you join me for their sake, then do not join at all.” He said. “It is only by truly wishing to follow me for a little while, and thus save the whole world, that you should come.” Five days passed while Ston thought. The others waited patiently, allowing him all the time he would need. Finally, the Lord of the Earth raised his head and looked at Sol.

“I will follow you. For the sake of friends, for the sake of the world, and because I feel it is right.” He announced. Sol nodded. He brought fourth a chest, and carefully drew it open. Inside were four weapons.

Aeri, the Bow of Wind, was given to Gale.

Tsuna, the Staff of Water, was placed into Sera’s care.

Pyra, the Lance of Fire was the weapon for Flame.

And Gaiath, the Gauntlets of Earth, were given to Ston.

Sera asked “Where is your weapon, Friend Sol?” the King of Light looked at her, and smiled.

“I have none. I could and did create weapons for the four of you, but I cannot make my own. For me to have a weapon, you must work together to create something fitting for me. To do so will be a test for the four of you. The better you can cooperate, the stronger my weapon shall be. It is teamwork that shall win this battle for us, so we must see where we are at.”

The Guardians nodded, and Sol left so that they could work in peace.

For seven days and nights, the Guardians labored. At the end of that time, Gale opened the door, and let Sol return into the chamber. Lying on a cushion was a seraphic sword hilt, devoid of a blade. Sol picked it up, and a blade materialized from the hilt. Along one edge was a blade so sharp that even the strongest shield would be sliced as easily as one sliced mostly melted butter. The other side, decorated with angelic feathers, was delicately made so that it could cut through even the strongest of armor.

The tip of the sword was the greatest of all. Ston had retrieved a Starstone from deep inside his lands, and the Guardians had fashioned it to fit on the end. The other three had added their power especially to it, giving Sol’s weapon the capability to pierce anything he desired.

“Its name shall be… Luna, Blade of the Heavens.” Sol pronounced, smiling. He let the blade vanish, and hung the hilt inside of his cloak, where it would never get lost from. The four Guardians nodded, and put away their own weapons.

The four Guardians, along with Sol, approached the lands where Darath had made his throne. A massive wall of stones prevented any from walking in, and only Gale had the ability to fly. Knowing that she could not proceed alone, Gale pulled out Aeri and fired an arrow. As it hit, the arrow created a vortex of wind, piercing through the stone wall.

The next barrier they encountered was a ring of fire on the ground. These flames were the black flames of Necra, and not subject to Flame’s control. Sera knelt down and tapped the ground with Tsuna. A wave of water rose from the ground and smothered the flames. The group proceeded on.

The next obstacle was a huge forest, full of demon plants from Necra. Neither air, water, or earth would stop these plants, they would only help them. Smiling, Flame thrust Pyra into the forest. Fire burst from its tip, clearing a path for the group. And they continued on.

Three days later, they came upon a vortex of wind surrounding Darath’s castle. Ston punched the ground with both of the gloves called Gaiath, and a huge stone barrier erupted from the ground. The barrier diverted the wind, and the group passed through safely.

Finally, the final obstacle appeared. A sphere of pure darkness surrounded Darath’s castle. Sol smiled, and raised a hand His eyes glowed as illumination burst from his fingers, piercing the shadows. So great was his power that he did not even need to draw his weapon. The group approached the castle, and the Guardians told Sol of what Luna could do.

Gale spoke first. She had enchanted the blade with wind’s speed, so that no matter how fast an opponent swung, Luna would always be faster.

Flame, not unproudly, told Sol that he had given the blade the purity of flame, the fire that would eliminate all that was not pure. A side effect of this was that the blade could never harm an innocent being. Another side effect was that somebody unworthy could not even hold the hilt, much less convince Luna to let her blade appear.

Ston explained how he had given the blade strength and endurance, so that it would never lose its edge, nor break, nor so much as fracture as a result of battle.

Sera smiled secretively. She said that she would not explain the three gifts she had given to the blade, but that they were the greatest she could give. Sol nodded, knowing that he would find out if it were ever needed.

The group proceeded. Chained to the entryway, blocking it, was a girl appearing the same age as the Guardians and Sol. As they approached, the girl raised her head, and smiled weakly.

“To get further in, you will have to get past me.” She said, sounding sorry. “Darath has chained me in such a way that you will have to kill me and chop me to pieces before you may proceed. I know of your quest, so please, slay me and thus save the world.” She said, lifting her head to expose her neck.

Sol looked at the woman for a moment, then drew Luna and called forth her blade. Sera began to protest, but stopped when Ston laid a hand on her arm and shook his head.

“The girl is right. We must eliminate her to proceed. She understands and accepts this.” He explained. “I shall ask my brother to give her a place of honor in his court.” For Ston’s brother was Ruler of the Dead, a fair man who rewarded courage and punished deceit. Sera nodded. Unhesitatingly, Sol thrust his blade forward. It stopped, however, just as it touched the girl’s skin.

“…I cannot kill her.” Sol said softly. “I do not wish to, and Luna will not let me. She is a truly innocent girl.” He stepped backward, and looked in the direction of Darath’s throne room. “You would use one such as her to hide behind.” Sol said, anger creeping into his voice. “You would string up a truly innocent soul, and force us to destroy her to get to you. This… This absolutely cannot be forgiven.” He looked carefully at the girl, then swung his blade again.

Luna pierced the girl’s skin, and erupted out of the other side, slicing apart the chains binding her. The girl fell to the ground as Sol pulled his blade backwards, tears sliding down from his eyes. Sera smiled as the girl opened her eyes and looked down. There was no wound.

“How…” Sol began.

“The first of my gifts was the power of healing.” Sera said. “I knew that my blazing counterpart would make it so the blade could harm no innocent. I changed that, so that it could go through an innocent, and by touching heal those who are worthy. It is still a truly formidable weapon, though, and should be used mainly as such.” Her mouth twitched as Sol smiled gently at her.

“Thank you.” He said.

The group proceeded on, with the rescued girl following them. They entered the Throne Room, and gazed at Darath. The King of Necra laughed, and drew Crocomi, the Sword of Shadow.

“Well, well, if it is not the four brats. And a new brat, come to play with the King of Necra.” Darath said, chuckling. “This is indeed an amusing day. Did you like the Gatekeeper I left for you?”

Sol did not reply. He merely pointed Luna at Darath, gathering his power.

“The little children are eager to play today.” Darath said, amused. “Then I shall teach them the error of their ways.” His courtiers laughed as the Guardians drew their weapons. At a nod from Sol, they charged.

The battle fought between Darath and Sol was among the greatest ever to be fought. While they were powerful enough to lend support, the Guardians also watched in awe as the youngest God among them effortlessly parried Darath’s blows. On the sixth day of straight fighting, Darath swung his sword down in a massive cleaving motion, intending to end this immediately. He was tired of what he thought to be games.

To his shock, however, Luna sheared straight through Crocomi, leaving him with little more than an inch of blade. Sol did not bother to wait, but spun around and stabbed Darath’s heart, his only weak point. The King of Necra screamed as the combined power of Sol, Luna, and the four Guardians sealed him away.

The King of Necra’s body was transformed into a black crystal, which fell to the floor and lay there. Sol staggered backwards, quickly sitting against the wall, since he lacked the strength to stand.

“Sol!” Sera cried, hurrying over to him. “You took no hits, so why…”

“Do not weep for me.” Sol said, half-smiling. “My purpose was to defeat the King of Necra. I have done so.” He held up Luna, and looked at the unparalleled blade. “Thank you, my friend.” He whispered, closing his eyes for the last time. Luna glowed, and the body of Sol vanished. His spirit, however, was taken into the sword, that Sol might rest and lend his power to the world again if the King of Necra were ever freed.

The four Guardians knew this, and were silent for a long moment. Then, the girl they had rescued bent down and picked up Luna, whose blade had vanished with the need for it to be used.

“I have some small amount of power myself.” The girl said. “With your permission, Guardians, I shall place Luna in a shrine, and deliver it to the hand of a pure-hearted warrior should the need ever arise.”

“…We can do no less then what Sol did to save the world.” Flame said, holding up his spear. “I shall willingly tie my spirit to Pyra, and wait in my temple for a champion worthy of its flame to appear.” The other three nodded.

“I will do the same.” Sera said. “However… I believe that a mage would be right for me. One with both attack and healing spells, representing the dual abilities of my element.”

“I, too, will do as Flame does.” Gale said. “Aeri shall rest in my temple, awaiting an archer that may handle its power.” Ston laughed.

“Again, I am last to speak.” He said. “I will do as you, my friends, do. Gaiath, these special and sacred Gauntlets, shall rest in waiting for a new user. May the time for them to be needed never come.” The four Guardians nodded, and disappeared.

The girl smiled gently as she gazed at Luna. The hilt sparkled slightly, responding to her purity. She hurried away, wishing to get quickly to her destination, the central temple where the four Guardians had created the blade. Luna would feel at home there, and be content to rest, of that she was certain.

When she arrived, the girl quickly gained entrance to the deepest levels of the temple. She lay Luna down upon an altar that she conjured, weaving a special field around it so that only those truly pure, like herself, could reach through. Her task completed, the girl’s body vanished, and she drew her spirit into the massive statue of an unnamed Goddess, there to watch over the blade, hopefully for the rest of time.

An old man smiled and looked around the crowd. “Well, if any of you enjoyed my tale, would you perhaps care leave a little something? Especially money, even an old man like me needs to eat now and then.” he asked, indicating a large bucket. People laughed and threw in a few coins each, so that the old man amassed quite a bit of money.

“Sir, did that story really happen?” a young child asked. The old man laughed.

“Did it happen? Why, child, why not go to the temple on that hill and see for yourself? There is a bladeless hilt deep inside, that not even the priests can touch. And all who go in feel a sense of joy and peace.” the old man explained. “And in the distant land of Artok, there is a yearly competition in which the winner may approach Pyra, and see if he can lay hands upon the sacred lance. Why, maybe you will touch it someday!”

The children laughed and hurried off. None of them saw, in the distance, the black shadow that was slowly forming in the sky.

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Review! I’d like to know what people think of this so far!

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