Title: Guardian, or The Guardian
Author:
Chapter 1 - Premonition

Outside, the wind whipped through the trees leaving their leaves to fall in a whirlwind of flashing colors. It furiously attacked the windows of a lone two-story house, silver in the pallid gleam of the moonlight. Inside, Leon Hashtor quietly crept down the old wooden staircase, feeling his way along in the darkness. Years of experience led him to automatically sidestep certain patches of floor, a skill for which he was grateful - silence was important tonight. Once at the bottom of the staircase, he quietly navigated his way to the basement and reached for the doorknob, turning in slowly. In response, it creaked open in a groan of pain. Wincing at the sound, Leon paused to listen for signs of stirring from above. With a brief sigh of relief at the uninterrupted silence, he slipped into the darkness below, closing the unruly door behind him. As he descended into the pitch black depth of the staircase below, he suddenly noticed an eerie glow behind him. He spun around, heart pumping erratically, only to find - nothing. The glow was still behind him, a faint light in the almost tangible darkness of the old basement. Again and again he twisted toward the light but to no avail. Annoyance now replaced his earlier fear, and as he continued to turn with no success, he finally concluded that the glow was coming from his own back. The moment he came to this rather illogical explanation, the light behind him suddenly flickered and disappeared, submerging him in darkness once more. Deciding it best, he turned back up the stairs and headed towards the door.

He spun around, startled by a sudden noise in the darkness. Ignoring it he calmed himself down, and began reaching for the handle, only to be stopped as another sound came from below.

“Who’s there?” he said, as his throat became dry.

Silence ensued. His eyes danced about in their sockets as they tried in vain to find the source of the noise.

He let out a strangled gasp as a pair of red eyes appeared not five feet from where he stood. They began moving away from him down the stairs. And although his mind told him otherwise, he could not help but stay where he was and watch. The eyes before him began to change color as they looked about. They went from red to blue, and over to green then purple, but no sooner had they changed to white they disappeared. Brought back into reality, he began looking for the light switch. Without hesitation he flipped the switch. The light flickered for a moment and then buzzed to life, flooding the room in its glory. As he looked down at the bottom, he became petrified with fear. There was a cat, sitting with its tail waving behind it, licking its paws. But this cat was unlike any he had seen before. Its coat was of gold color, so pure it seemed unnatural. Sleek and shiny it became lighter or darker with the glare. Stopping for a moment, it gazed up at him then resumed grooming itself.

Leon took this pause to examine its eyes; they were the same ones that had appeared in the darkness just moments before. Unaware of what might happen if he touched it, he advanced on the cat, which had now moved onto its rear legs. He extended his hand to touch it, but as he did so, the cat got up and began walking away from him. Flinching from the unexpected movement, he drew his hand back to his side and watched it go.

I wonder how she got down here? he wondered as the cat proceeded to rub its back against the wall. Suddenly a tiny flame appeared on the tip of its tail. And going unnoticed it soon enveloped the whole tail. With a quaint shriek, he leapt up and ran to put out the now raging fire. He was but three feet away before the fire engulfed the whole cat, who took no notice to what was happening. The fire climbed higher with every passing second and soon grazed the ceiling. Abruptly he stopped as tears welled up in his eye; there was no hope now in saving the cat. At the base of the inferno, he saw the cats blacked body crumble, causing the tears to pour from his eyes. Slowly the fire began to die down.

As he wiped the remaining tears off his cheeks and eyes, he felt a slight breeze. As he looked up to where the fire was, he fell over backwards, startled by what was now in front of him. A young woman now stood in the dying flames of the fire. Her maroon robe flowing around her, made it look as though she was floating. Framed by dirty blonde hair, her face was smooth and showed no emotion. A circlet of extraordinary craftsmanship, wrought with silver and gold, rested on her head.

As she stepped towards him, he felt a similar breeze like before. But only this time it was cooler, and carried a flowery scent. In a trance, he stayed where he was and watched her. She stopped a foot away, her beauty resonating. Staring down at him, her piercing gaze seemed to slice right through his soul. He shuddered as a gleam passed over her eyes, changing the silver pupils turn to gold.

And with outstretched hands she spoke, her tone warm and receiving. “Why do you cower in fear, little one? Please, grab my hands so you may stand again.”

Unsure of what to do, he sat up, and using her hands like she had told him to do, stood up and brushed himself off.

“There, that’s better,” she said smiling. “Now if I’m not mistaken, you are Leon. Am I right?”

“Yes…Who are you?” Leon replied hoarsely, cursing himself silently as his voice cracked. She noticed this, and a smile played around her lips, failing to reach his scared, frightened state of mind.

“You are still afraid,” the woman whispered, eyes dancing with concern. “You will learn to relax with proper training” she continued as she brushed her hair out of her eyes. He released the tension in his muscles, putting his body in a more comfortable state. “That’s better,” she said placing her hand back at her side. “My name is Eíslaneu; I am an angel that has been sent to talk to you. I presume you are wondering why there was a cat before me, well as an angel; I have certain abilities bestowed upon me. And one of them is the art of shape-shifting.”

With new found confidence, he spoke. “So, why of all things were you a cat?”

“Well of all things, rarely do angels come directly in contact with a human, let alone a youth---“

“I’m not young! I am 15 years old!” He exclaimed, cutting her off.

“By angel and human standards you are,” she growled. “Now let me continue.” Nodding solemnly, she began. “I had to be a cat, for many different reasons. First of all, my trip here was not only supposed to be for a brief talk, but also to educate and protect.”

Without thinking, he interrupted again. “You’re my guardian angel?” She remained silent; slowly he could feel tension in the air. “Oh. I’m sorry. You know that I’m excited with all of this, you can understand right? I won’t do it again, I promise…” His voice trailing off as he dropped his head and stared at his feet.

He felt the cool touch of her hands against his face as she raised his head. He met her eyes, still a glassy gold, as they scrutinized his face.

“Are you sure?” She said in a soft voice. She let her hands slide off and slide on top of each other as they fell in front of her.

Nearly choking on tears, he managed to utter a simple “Yes.”

“I understand how anxious you are and how much you want to know, but you must realize that the things I need to tell you are far more important.” She took a moment to consider what to say. “No I am not your guardian angel; I am just a simple messenger angel sent on a task. As I said before, I choose a cat for a variety of reasons. I have told you the first and here are the others.” She took a breath and proceeded. “I had to be a cat, because if I was noticed by anyone other than you, there could have been serious consequences that couldn’t have ended well. And besides, cats have extraordinary night vision that can only compare to the ultrasonic hearing of bats. Third, as a cat, my magical aura isn’t as ambient as when I’m like this.” And with a brief sigh, she slumped to the ground as her wings materialized behind her in a flurry of white.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he too sat on the ground in front of her.

“Nothing…It’s just what I need to tell you.” Sadness entered her voice. “What I have to tell you is putting everyone and everything at mercy. So I’ll come clean, and hope that it all works out.” Gathering her wits about her, she went on. “That light you witnessed on your back was no phenomenon; it was a beacon. Not an ordinary one, but a powerful one that emitted energies that you can’t feel --- for at least now ---- that summoned an ancient force that hasn’t been felt for eons. Unknown to you, but your aura could be felt by every angel, even those in parallel worlds. How ever great this was, along with it came a disastrous entity: Gårûsh. He is a demon by every aspect, but his powers exceed and are greater than an archangels’. ”

Sitting across from her, he sat with his mouth was open, and speechless.

“Although it may not seem like easier terms to understand, but you are the chosen Guardian of Light. That concept may seem alien to you right now, but it will come with time that you’ll understand it. I’m sorry my dear, but I wish to tell you now, that you carry a heavy burden on your shoulders. Now, you are to come with me to Kåndærpolis to begin your training. This is just as important because just like me, I found you, now anyone --- even Gårûsh --- may seek and find you. So it is pertinent we leave immediately ---, “suddenly she began gasping for air.

Alarmed, he stood up. “What’s wrong?” his voice loud and commanding.

Without warning she burst into flames, just like before when she was a cat. This time out of the flames a horned beast emerged, it had wings that flapped vigorously behind it. Approaching him, its teeth gleaming as it gnawed the space before it. Oddly enough, the hideous beast, wore armor, that was blacker than night and was glided with ruby. “I have found you…” the monster said as its eyes maliciously looked at him.

Quickly he tried to run upstairs, but he found himself frozen. Clenching his teeth tight as well as his eyes he felt the searing hotness of the fire coming closer to him. Biting his tongue he opened his eyes to find the mouth of his assailant ready to consume his head. Screaming in terror, he found that it was somehow quiet. Opening his eyes he found himself sitting upright in his bed. He was covered in sweat, as well as his pillow and blanket. He glanced over at the clock, it blinked two o’clock. Sighing, he lay back down and closed his eyes once more. It was only a nightmare. He said to himself. Though odd enough as it was, his back felt like it was burning, yet at the same time had a strange tingling sensation. Muttering to himself he rolled over, stuffing his face into his pillow and fell back asleep.