The Keepers

Zarek

Acanthus stayed ahead of me, floating just a few feet away. We were only on a routine patrol through the forest but he remained tensed and ready to attack. His onyx eyes darted back and forth through the trees and he sniffed the air. You could always tell when one was coming because a ripe foul stench would fill the air. And then it was only a matter of seconds before it busted out of nowhere. But the air was filled with only the familiar scent of pine trees. Acanthus relaxed and lowered his guard.

Acanthus is the captain of the militia known as The Keepers. The militia was created to protect the city of Aranrhod from frequent monster attacks. My father, Audric Tavian, was the man who started the militia. He led the keepers for nearly twenty years. The entire city of Aranrhod respected him, even Acanthus, and especially me. But one day he had left on a solo surveillance mission and had never returned. I was sent to train under Acanthus so that I may one day take his place as the leader of The Keepers.

Acanthus has little patience for me. He thinks I’m too small and too weak to ever become a leader. But what he can’t stand the most s that I refuse to use my powers that were given to me by the Gods. My father always told me that I did not need magic to become a great soldier, that I could be powerful without it. But Acanthus says that my powers are a part of who I am and that it would be wasteful not to use them. I don’t disagree with Acanthus, but I still like to think that I can be powerful without them.

Suddenly, Acanthus stopped. “Listen,” he whispered. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate only on the sounds of the forest surrounding me. I could hear the light whistle of the wind and the familiar sound of a nearby river, nothing out of the ordinary. “What is it?” I asked in a hushed voice. “Listen!” he repeated harshly. That’s when I noticed it. The forest had become deathly silent. The chatter of birds of fox squirrels had completely vanished. Everything was still. And then I noticed the smell.

Acanthus and I drew our daggers; mine silver and his black. We crouched in our fighting stances and waited. I could never get used to the moments before an attack you knew was coming. The air hung with intense silence. The only sound you could hear was of your own heartbeat. Acanthus had done this hundreds of times but this would only be my tenth battle with a monster.

The next three minutes felt like an hour. Not knowing when you would suddenly be thrown into fierce battle was torture. You almost wished that the monster would kill you just to end the suspense. Acanthus grabbed my shaking arm. “Zarek, relax,” he said calmly. I nodded, envying his coolness.

And that’s when we heard the loud crash. We both snapped our necks upward to see that a troll had torn through the trees and was standing over us. Its six orange eyes stared down at us, filled with hunger and rage, its long teeth stuck out of its mouth in a crooked overbite.

Before either of us could react, the troll made a long swipe with its claw, sending us backwards into a tree and knocking the wind out of us. While Acanthus gasped and tried to regain himself, the troll charged us. I saw my chance to prove myself. I quickly ascended into the air, distracting the troll from Acanthus. The troll tried to grab me, but its claws were too massive and clumsy to catch me. I may be small but when I’m in the air I’m too quick to be caught. I began slashing at the troll’s eyes with my sword.

Acanthus watched me, making no attempt to help. He seemed impressed and I began to fill with pride. The troll took advantage of my distraction. He grabbed me out of midair with his huge claw. I was trapped in his grasp.

I struggled, but I could not free my arms. I saw Acanthus’s eyes widen with panic. “Your powers Zarek! Use them now!” he yelled. I was tempted but remembered my father’s words. Had to respect his wishes. I struggled as hard as I could and eventually freed my arms. I grabbed my dagger and clenched it as hard as I could. I raised it and sent it down into the troll’s wrist. It gave a bloodcurdling scream and released me from its grasp.

I prepared to strike again now that I was free. The troll was furious, its eyes blind with rage. It began slashing its claws wildly thought the air. I had to dodge as quickly as I could; zigging and zagging through the air. I got close enough to the trolls face and prepared to strike one of its eyes, when I felt a stabbing pain in my side. I looked down to see that one of the troll’s claws had gone straight through my side.

In shock and pain, I dropped my weapon. My hands flew to my wound, trying desperately to pull it out. I gave a howl of pain. Acanthus saw my distress and rolled his eyes. He flew over to help.

I managed to remove the claw from my side and fell to the ground. I was unable to move, much less fight. But I began to feel magic course through my body and the wound instantly began to heal.

Meanwhile, I saw Acanthus prepare to fight. He rose into the air, keeping his distance from the troll, but locking his eyes with its in a deadly stare. The troll met his challenge with a loud cry. Acanthus raised his arms into the air and I saw a familiar green light course to his fingertips. Soon, the ground began to shake and crack. I was not the only one who could use magic.

Instantly, roots shot from the ground at a tremendous speed. They wrapped around the troll’s neck and limbs, pulling it to the ground. The startled troll tried to fight back, snarling and thrashing, but the roots only wrapped themselves tighter around the troll. Acanthus’s green magic shone all around.

The struggle went on for a long time. To prevent the troll from trying to break free, Acanthus grew Clemson flowers, which released a noxious sleeping poison. The troll’s eyes closed and it ended its struggle. The roots clenched around the troll’s neck and drew the last breath from its body. When the troll had died, the roots unfurled themselves and went back into the earth. The cracks in the ground filled themselves.

I struggled to stand. Acanthus flew away from the dead troll and hovered over me. His eyes bore into me from above, filled with disgust and rage. I did not say anything, for I had once again failed. I was useless, an embarrassment to Acanthus. He simply stared at me frowning. He finally turned to the direction of Aranrhod and said, “Lets go home,” making no effort to help me up from the ground.

-

Later at home, I lay in bed, bandages wrapped around my wounds. Acanthus had not spoken to me since the battle. He avoided me and when I looked at him, he met my gaze with a hateful sneer. I closed my eyes and sighed. The light of the sunset came in through the window and bathed the room in an orange glow. I stared out at the city of Aranrhod, the houses bunched close together, the marketplace filled with tents and booths, and even the palace were visible from my window. It was the city I loved and wanted so desperately to protect, but could not. I was beginning to feel that I never would.

Acanthus entered my room, his arms crossed. He stared down at me. “There’s been another attack. I’m going,” he said. I began to reach for my sword but Acanthus stopped me. “No. You’re staying here,” he said. I was shocked. I opened my mouth to protest, but he interrupted me. “ I can’t have a Keeper following me around that refuses to give everything they’ve got,” he said. I could not protest. Before Acanthus left the room, he to look at me and sneered, “You’ve made your choice, now live with it.” I was left alone in the room, feeling more alone and helpless than ever.

-

Acanthus

This battle would be a lot different from the first. For starters, I was by myself. I wouldn’t have to rescue Zarek again like a babysitter. But the monster was also different this time. Not a troll, a slow stupid land creature. No. This was a Naga. Naga are treacherous for being clever and short-tempered. Plus they can fly. Not a good combination. I flew over the trees for about ten minutes before I spotted it. It’s black scales shone under the orange light of the sun. It hovered in midair, almost as if it was waiting for me. It seemed to be grinning at me with its sharp teeth, waiting for me to make my move. I smiled. Don’t mind if I do.

I felt the familiar magic course through my arms and to my fingertips. The ground rumbled and cracked and my roots shot upward towards the Naga. I controlled the roots like puppets, trying to wrap them around the creature’s neck. But this Naga was smart. It began to fly upward, higher than the roots could reach. “Very clever,” I thought. I would have to face the Naga head on.

I grasped my sword and charged the creature. I began slashing at its most vulnerable spot, its wings. If I could prevent the Naga, from flying I could easily defeat it. But it was too fast. It dodged my every blow. It saw its chance and grabbed my wrist in its claws. It squeezed and my wrist snapped. I gave a cry of pain and dropped my weapon, unable to hold it. I tried to remove my wrist from the creatures grasp with my other hand but it only squeezed harder. This was bad.

I saw that my only chance was to try and pull the Naga back to Earth so I could use my magic to finish it off. I began using all of my strength to pull the Naga. But it was too strong. It saw what I was doing. It opened its jaws and raised its neck, preparing to finish me off. I winced and looked away, waiting for my death when I heard a loud screech. I looked up. Zarek was on top of the Naga’s head; his sword buried deep within its flesh.

Zarek pushed the sword even harder, his blue eyes wild with determination. The Naga gave a final screech of pain and released my broken wrist. Zarek remove his blade. The Naga hung in the air for a few moments before dying and plummeting back to Earth. Zarek and I watched it fall.

I turned to him, clutching my wrist, stunned at what he had done. Zarek waited a moment before meeting my shocked gaze. His eyes were kind, not taunting. On his lips was a gentle smile. His silver hair shone under the sun. I had never noticed how much he looked like his father. Zarek approached me and offered me his hand. “Are you all right Acanthus?” I smiled, raising one eyebrow. I let him take my good arm. “Don’t get cocky,” I said as we made our way back to Aranrhod.