The Guardian

A Literature Prompt

“Ten thousand marched, and yet one remains. Long have your people trampled upon the roots of my kin. And so, I ask again: Why do you seek to drink from this sacred spring? What will you do with life eternal?”

The lone survivor raised his weary head in response. His arms trembling as he pushed himself onto his knees. He was still in the same spot where he collapsed. His eyes adjusted to the dim light of the jungle canopy.

Before him, a dozen paces or so, the labyrinth of vines and tree limbs rescinded like the going out of a tide, revealing a glade. The glow of the spring at the centre of a clearing radiated a blue hue on the surrounding vegetation. Moss and ferns carpeted the ground, creating a soft, spongy layer that rivalled the King’s bed.

A colossal figure emerged from the shadows, blocking the opening. It was a being made of the very fabric of the jungle, its body an amalgamation of trees, vines, and leaves intertwined to form a towering figure that stood at a staggering eight feet tall. Bronze-coloured armour adorned its form, polished to a shine that glinted in the sunlight that could penetrate through the dense jungle. Its helm was adorned with glowing yellow eyes that seemed to pierce through the veil of reality and into the depths of one's soul. The breastplate was embellished with intricate patterns of leaves and flowers, each one perfectly placed to form a tapestry depicting life. The cape that draped from its broad shoulders was a single giant leaf, woven in a way that only the most skilled of craftsmen could achieve.

Ask again?

“I have never set foot upon these lands until this day. Please, I beg. I will die without water!” The lone survivor said through parched coughs.

The sentential was unmoved. The silence was only broken by the trickling of the spring. Salvation a few steps away.

“Do you have a name friend?” The survivor said as he staggered to his feet.

“I am the Guardian”.

The survivor removed his helm, tossing it aside. Sweat and exhaustion covered his face. Eyeing the Guardian up and down, the survivor let out a sigh. “of course you are”.

"Why should I allow you to drink from this spring?" the Guardian asked in a booming voice.

“I have marched for weeks in these arid lands on a fool’s quest to find this cursed place. I need water to survive.”

The coruscating yellow eyes narrowed.

“Because I will die without it!” The survivor yelled in desperation.

The Guardian remained in place. Only the cool breeze ruffled the leaves protruding from the armour.

“And what would you do with life eternal?”

“I would get my revenge. Revenge for my fallen brothers. I would strike down the King for his greed.” The survivor proclaimed in desperation. “I know revenge isn't the answer, but what else can I do? My brothers are dead, and their blood is on the hands of the King. I can't just let him get away with it.”

"And what of the other leaders who would seek to claim this spring?"

“I would strike them all down!” The survivor hung his head in defeat, tears streaming down his face. "Please," he whispered. "I beg of you. I have nothing left."

“You are unworthy.”

The survivor stepped back in disbelief as if a crushing blow had struck his soul. Despair gave way to anger, anger grew to rage.

“Unworthy? Unworthy? I am the last soldier of the mightiest army that the world has ever seen! You say I'm unworthy, but how can you judge me? You don't know me, or what I've been through. How can you say I'm not deserving of this chance at life?" The survivor unsheathed his arsenical bronze sword. “I deem you unworthy, Guardian!”

The survivor let out a war cry as he raced forward to attack. The Guardian extended his right hand to reveal an acorn. The acorn shone with a yellow glow as it grew into a beautifully carved wooden hilt. With a burst of exploding luminescent pollen, a thin blade of wood emerged from the hilt in time to parry the survivor’s attack.

“I will pluck you like a common weed Guardian!” vowed the survivor. Pivoting to the side, he attacked again. Managing to slip past the wooden giant’s guard and struck the Guardian where the lack of armour exposed his midsection. The bronze blade sliced into a thicket of vines and leaves before being impeded in a thick branch.

In one motion the Guardian swiped away the survivor’s sword as he repositioned into a stance. A latticework of vines sealed the wound.  

The Guardian's movements were too fluid, too natural, and his swordsmanship was unlike anything the survivor had ever seen. The survivor tried to feint and disengage, but the Guardian’s superior footwork prevented his escape. Quickly realized that he was outmatched. With a swift strike, the Guardian cut through the survivor’s leather bracers, sending his hand flying. The survivor fell to his knees, staring blanking where his hand was moments ago.

“Perhaps, next time you will be worthy” The Guardian reflected as he drove the tip of his wooden sword into the ground.

“Why are you doing this?” The survivor’s knuckles turned white as he bundled all his strength into one last attack.

“Like the spring, I have always been,” the Guardian continued. “Long before your people came to this land, I stood watch over it and will continue to do so long after you are gone.”

The vines that had been creeping up in the shadows of the oasis now surged forth and wrapped themselves around the survivor, dragging him towards the ground. The survivor struggled against them, but it was no use.

“I return you to the essence of life.”

The vines pulled the screaming survivor down into the earth, and his body thrashed as it was absorbed by the jungle. The Guardian watched as the vines slowly disappeared into the foliage, taking the last remnants of the survivor with them.

“Twenty marched, yet five remain. Long have your people trampled upon the roots of my kin. And so, I ask again: Why do you seek to drink from this sacred spring? What will you do with life eternal?”

One stepped forward, placing the freshly cleaned spectacles on the bridge of his nose. The source of the booming voice came into focus. The blue glow of the spring produced an ethereal silhouette that dominated the path.

“My God, we found it,” The short, stocky man said to his escorts. His hands trembled as he rummaged through his leather satchel. He took out a small notebook and furiously searched for the required entry.

“I should hope so Professor,” replied a tall, wiry man. His field-grey uniform was covered in dust and grime. The Ahnenerbe insignia adorned his lapels. “we’ve incurred considerable cost just to get this far”.

The Sachbearbeiter snatched the notebook from the professor, quickly examined the hand-written notes, and then hit the professor in the chest with it.

“Why do you seek to drink from this sacred spring?”

“Guardian. We dare not believe ourselves worthy to taste the fountain of creation. But we would return to our Führer with the sacred water so that he will bring peace to the world under his leadership.”

The Guardian remained steadfast. The Professor fumbled with his notebook, looking for answers. The Sachbearbeiter signalled for his troops to take up a firing position.

“The blood of those you deem less than soak the earth and drown my kin. Blood spilt by your hand. Your false nobility casts your cult unworthy”. The Guardian extended his right hand. The acorn in his palm cast the surrounding area in a pulsing green glow.

“I grow tired of these games. Fire!” the Sachbearbeiter ordered.

The hailstorm of bullets ricocheted off the bronze armour. The Guardian marched forward unopposed. The Guardian swung his impossibly long wooden sword, cutting short the screams of the soldiers. In one swift, graceful stroke, the Guardian's sword sliced through all five soldiers with ease.

“Your poison will not taint this earth” the Guardian vowed as vines collected the remains and deposited them far outside the jungle.

“Three marched, and three remain. Long since your people have trampled upon the roots of my kin. And so, I ask again: Why do you seek to drink from this sacred spring? What will you do with life eternal?”

The three ignored the Guardian’s questions as they moved equipment into place. Three large metal crates hover above the jungle floor, deftly maneuvered into place.

The woman with short, raven-coloured hair and a golden-hued complexion spoke up. "This must be the source," she said, her tone casual. "What do you think that is? A synthiod?"

Next to her, metallic crates levitated in the air, waiting to be opened. With a flick of her wrist, she retrieved a handheld device and tapped on the neon screen several times. Once satisfied, she handed it over to her older colleague.

The stocky man with a grey beard touched the inside of the silver wrapping on his left forearm. Like worms rising from the dirt on a rainy day, two lengths of vibrant metal merged with the handheld device. The man could feel the data flood his neural-link as the device become an extension of himself.

The leader of the expedition stared at the Guardian. His enhanced eyes could not process the jungle’s environment, so he reluctantly defaulted them to their natural state.

“Eternal life huh? How long is that?” He said with a smirk.

“Shorter than you think” replied the Guardian.

The smirk fell away as he turned slightly to the woman while keeping the Guardian in view.

“Don’t know. Could be a hybrid. But they don’t make them that big. Astrid, could hand me the other scanner, and re-establish contact with the command ship.”

“Here, Intendant Cassius” Astrid passed the scanner to the Intendant before opening another crate. Inside were various components all interlinked. Each one displaying a multitude of neon lights. Astrid started to adjust different settings.

“What’s it been now? Three-quarters of a cycle? Just Cassius is fine, Astrid.” Cassius linked himself with the scanner.

“An eighth of quarter, Intendant”

“Huh, can’t imagine why it felt longer. On second thoughts, don’t establish comms just yet. Let’s just see what we have here first”.

“The Vizier himself commanded us to establish a link with his ship immediately upon landing” The older man protested. “The word of the-”

“Yes, Kairos” Cassius interrupted. “The word of the Vizier is that of the High Throne. And I, am but a lowly Intendant.”

Kairos’ face flushed with anger and fear. “If this planet is the one, then it would legitimise the High Chancellor’s claim!”

“It would,” Cassius said “If word got to him. Kairos, why do you think the Vizier himself would attend this peregrination at the last moment?”

Kairos scrunched his brow in contemplation. The possibilities troubled him. The worst of them bubbled to the surface. He would claim it for his own.

Kairos and Astrid exchanged horrified looks. A cool breeze sent a chill through Cassius. The ripples of the bubbling spring echoed through the jungle canopy. Astrid jumped at the sudden beeping emanating from the crate in front of her.   

“The Command ship is requesting that you connect Intendant,” Astrid said in a low tone, shoulders slumped. The red flashing light pulsed with intent.

“I’ll say this just once while we’re isolated. I know you two are devout, but I’ve seen too many be manipulated and die in the name of duty,” Cassius composed himself, “If this planet is the origin of humanity, then whatever happens next, the blood is not on my hands” Cassius touched the neon green circle located on the silver wrapping armpiece. Static washed over the jungle.

“…hear me?... Intendant Cassius?”

“We can hear you, Captain,” Cassius responded, recognising the voice. “There’s a lot of interference.”

“Be that as it may Intendant, I have a very flustered Vizier hailing me every two minutes threatening to denounce everyone and their Chapters.” The captain said. “What have you found?”

“I believe we found the source of the anomaly, which seems to be protected by an unknown variation of synthiod. Possible hybrid,” Cassius aimed the scanner at the Guardian. “that’s odd. The data coming through is too dense for the scanners to process. Astrid, open the data-relay channel to the command ship. Captain, are you able to process the feed?”

“Connecting with the quantum core now. The armour is made of an unknown alloy. The body is a combination of plant matter, branches, sticks, vines, and the like. No central nervous system, and no electric stimuli to imply brain function. No circuity or power source.”

Cassius shook his head. “The damn thing spoke to us.”

“Sure”

Cassius could hear the chuckles of the bridge crew in the background. “Kairos, focus your scan on that glowing puddle in the middle of the clearing. Picking anything up captain?”

The question hung in the air.

“Cassius, could you do a focused muon burst on that spring? Just need a second opinion”

The spring began to froth, and the water churned and bubbled with unbridled energy. The once placid surface of the water was now a chaotic display of foam and mist. The light emanating from the spring grew stronger, its warmth spreading outwards in radiant waves that enveloped everything around it.

“Intendant,” The Captain exclaimed “Those readings are making my science team agitated.”

Cassius could feel the weight of panic in the captain’s words.

“Can you clarify captain?”

“It scans as a dimensional folding inter-spatial singularity, with random quantum particles radiating out that is somehow entangled in a closed time-like curve.”

“How is that possible? What…what are they entangled with?”

“Everything!”

The spring started to overflow, spilling onto the glade. A chime cut into the transmission.

“Intendant Cassius! I demand to know what is happening!” the Vizier’s laboured screeching drilled into Cassius’ soul.

“Excuse my flippancy Vizier, but now’s not the time! Captain, what does your team recommend as a course of action?”

A multitude of voices flooded the communication channel. Only every second or third of the captain’s words cut through the Vizier’s promises of retribution.

“Say again, Captain? Are we in any immediate danger?” walking over to the crates, Cassius tossed the scanner inside in frustration. The tethers from his bracelet returned automatically. Leaning over the crates, shoulders slumped, he tried to isolate the captain’s voice via his neural processor.   

“You have defiled this sacred spring”. The Guardian proclaimed as he extended his right hand. An acorn slowly grew into a large broadsword.

It took Cassius a few moments to register that Astrid was screaming something at him. I didn’t hear what she said over the cacophony of voices, but the look of terror on her face said it all. He quickly snapped his head around to see the Guardian advancing on the party. Kairos was too focused on his duty scanning the spring to see the wooden sword pierce his heart. Vines from the undergrowth reached out to collect the body.

“The synthiod is attacking!” Cassius cried out.

Astrid grabbed two particle rifles from the third crate and tossed one to Cassius. They took up a position behind the crates as the weapons linked to their neural-link. The Guardian continued his advance.

“Light him up!” Cassius ordered. Rapid orange streaks of heavily charged particles bombarded the Guardian, deflecting off the bronze-coloured armour but igniting the plant material. The Guardian slowed to a stagger. Cassius ignored the orders from the captain and Vizier that still flooded the comms channel.

“Switch to continuous, aim for the sword!” Cassius said as he pressed his attack, focusing on the hand holding the sword. The constant stream of the particles forced the Guardian to a knee. Trails of smoke started to flow out from between the armour plating. The smell of burning kindling filled the air. The Guardian raised his left gauntlet and deflected one of the orange beams. Its arc effortlessly carved a swathe through the jungle.

“Don’t let up!”

A warning flashed in Cassius’ internal HUD. Weapon’s Power:10%

“Don’t hit the anomaly!” The captain’s words finally got through to Cassius.

“Hold your fire!”  

The Guardian was shrouded in a cloud of thick grey smoke. The crackling of burning twigs slowly faded. Astrid cautiously stepped around the crate. Her weapon raised, edging closer to the slumped silhouette.

“This peregrination is sacrosanct!” the Vizier yelled. “Fire the main weapon!”

Cassius looked up in horror to see a burst of crimson light, followed by thousands of pieces of debris burning up in the atmosphere. The ignition of different materials, munitions and power sources created a cascade of colours that spread across the sky.

Cassius dragged his attention to Astrid, standing in front of the pillar of smoke. He tried to speak, but nothing came out. Suddenly the Guardian burst forth from the smoke. Doubled in size, with a wooden shield in his left hand, and an oversized Morningstar in the right. Astrid fired her weapon. The Guardian blocked the beam with his shield. The wooden shield was regrowing faster than the orange beam could destroy it. Astrid’s body fragmented as the Morningstar stuck down with full force.

“Prepare to fire on the anomaly!”

The jungle glowed with an iridescent blood red as the Vizier’s ship charged its main particle weapon.

“Perhaps, next time you will be worthy,” The Guardian said as he marched towards Cassius.

“Fire!”

Cassius’ screams were muted by the universe folding in on itself.

“Ten thousand marched, and yet one remains. Long have your people trampled upon the roots of my kin. And so, I ask again: Why do you seek to drink from this sacred spring? What will you do with life eternal?”

The lone Survivor raised his weary head in response.

“I’d keep you company, old friend”.