Forgotten Guardians

The road continued on for hours. The sun was warm in the late afternoon, but a cool breeze moved through the plains, bringing the smell of the coming fall. The only sounds were those of small creatures scurrying about the underbrush with no heed for the three companions. They walked for most of the day in complete silence. Josan never once looked over to Miranda, but she didn’t mind. She used the time to ponder how quickly her life had changed. She thought about all the surprises she had encountered in the last few hours; she thought of her father. The one person in the world she thought could never be beaten was now dead. Her granny was a warrior, Josan with his silver eyes, and now she was leaving her home to see the world with a man she barely knew. Her life was changed forever she knew, she was no longer a little farm girl; her innocence had burnt away with the fire.

Josan walked along with his own thoughts of the past day. How had he come to this point? He had just met this girl, and now she was traveling with him. Wolf, protesting that she come along. What else did his furry companion know that he wasn’t sharing? Josan always knew that there was something very peculiar about Wolf. If Wolf had a reason for Miranda to come along, why didn’t Josan see it? Josan was quite nervous about the whole idea. Would he have to be responsible for her, would he have to become accustomed to having her around? What unnerved him so much? Was it that she was a woman? He had no experience interacting with women. His tutor always said that women were almost a different species. Could he trust his new companion, or would she turn on him at the first instant? Josan almost laughed at this last thought. She came to him, even after she saw him without his hood. He had seen her fight with the soldiers and she handled herself quite well in a bar brawl. It was she who decided to come along, her fate would be her own. Still, he was uncomfortable with human contact, especially female contact.

They trekked through the warm summer sun in silence, each of them pondering the questions swimming through their minds. The sun was beginning to set and night was fast approaching when Josan lead them off the trail into a sparse patch of woods. They walked into a clearing, with a small ridge to one side. They silently made camp and started to cook their meal. Wolf ran off into the small woods to hunt for his dinner, leaving the two in complete silence. Miranda rolled out her bed roll and sat down cross legged. Josan sat across from her, just staring into the fire. Miranda sat there looking at the ground not knowing what to do. She took up her granny’s sword and started to clean it with a dirty rag from her pack.

“Try this,” came Josan’s voice.

Miranda looked up to see Josan kneeling down beside her handing her a pouch. She almost jumped back; she didn’t evenknow that he had moved. She held back a chuckle, knowing it was something that she was going to have to get used to. She took the pouch and poured out the contents. She found a steel brush, a sharpening stone and a deer skin cloth. She took up the brush and started to rub the sword timidly.

“Here, let me show you,” Josan said in a soft voice.

Josan showed Miranda how to polish and sharpen a sword; pointing out how to get the sharpest edge, and how to tell when it was sharp enough. Miranda listened to every word, taking it all in. She knew these were lessons she had to learn in order to survive in her new life. After Miranda polished and sharpened her sword, Josan stood up and said in a solid tone, “Now if you wish to travel with me, you must learn to use it.” Miranda got to her feet, somewhat perplexed at the sternness of his voice.

“First lesson, know your weapon. You must learn every weapon has its strengths and weaknesses. You must learn these of your weapon.” Josan said, as he pulled out a thong of leather from his pack. He took up her hand with the sword, and wrapped the two together. When he was done, she couldn’t even move her fingers. Miranda stood there completely confused about what to do.

“Your sword must become a part of your every movement; it must become a part of you. Do not think of it as an object, but as part of your own body. Now go out into the clearing and just move around and get a feel for your new limb.”

Miranda still very confused, but decided not argue. She moved out into the clearing and started walking around. The stars shined brightly overhead, giving the clearing a soft glow. She could still see Josan sitting by the fire, perparing their dinner. She shrugged, not knowing what this exercise was going to accomplish. She wandered around the clearing, taking in the cool crisp night. She started to whack at tall grass and weeds that were in her path, getting several nicks from the sword when it swung back at her. After almost half an hour had passed, she was starting to get frustrated with this little exercise. Every time she passed Josan, he wouldn’t even look up. He just sat there stirring the pot. She was furious now; was he just trying to keep her busy so she wouldn’t be in the way? Walking up to a sapling, she swung her sword arm with all her weight. At the last minute she saw her mistake, with so much power behind the swing she couldn’t stop it when it swung back at her. Instead of waiting for the blow to stike her, she quickly spun on her heels, slowing the momentum of the sword. The sword came to a stop in the exact place that she expected it. A large smile spread across her face, she was using her movement to control the sword. She started to do more maneuvers and becoming more accustomed to wielding the sword. After a awhile, she could tell where the sword would land even before she swung. All concept of time was lost as she tried more and more strikes. Then she turned out of spin to see Josan standing before her with a small grin. He approached her, untied her hand and gave a nod.

“That was quite good. You learn fast,” Josan said.

Miranda only smiled and nodded back. She knew this was the first lesson in a long line; it would take time to become a fine swordsman.

“Dinner is ready,” Josan said as he started walking back to the camp. Miranda rushed back, remembering suddenly she hadn’t eaten all day.

Miranda sat back down on her bedroll as Josan passed her a bowl of stew. She was so hungry she could eat a whole cow. Without hesistion she gratefully scooped in a mouthful of stew. The tastes assaulted her making her nearly gap. She had never tasted anything so bad in her entire life. She looked up to see Josan sitting across from her with a frown. Suddenly she felt very embarrassed and somewhat amused at the same time. Now she knew why Wolf hunted for his own food. As if Wolf had read her mind, he appeared in the camp, rushing over and tipping over her bowl. At the sight, Miranda burst into laughter. Even Josan let out a small chuckle.

“From now on I’ll do the cooking. Agreed?” Miranda said with laugh.

“Agreed. Never knew my cooking was that bad that someone would need to be saved from it,” Josan said with a smile.

Miranda grabbed her pack and rummaged through it, then pulled out a folded up cloth. She unwrapped it and inside was some dried meat, cheese and biscuits. She passed some food over to Josan and gave Wolf a couple of pieces dried meat. They sat and ate their meal in silence. Eventually, Wolf curled up next to fire and fell asleep. Then Miranda finally broke the quiet night air.

“So, who taught you the sword?”

Josan sat very quiet for a moment. Miranda thinking he wasn’t going to answer.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” she said as she looked at the ground.

“No, don’t be. It’s just been a long time since I spoke of him,” Josan said in a soft tone.

“If you don’t want to talk about it you don’t have to,” Miranda said sincerely.

“No, you have the right to know if you are going to travel with me.” Josan took a moment to compose himself before he continued. “His name was Bellfast, and he was one of the best swordsmen in the realm. After he retired he went to stay with the Polifas monks in the Tether Mountains, to try and find peace.”

“Who are they?” Miranda asked.

“They are monks who believe that knowledge brings peace. They dedicate their lives to studying every aspect of life,” Josan said.

“Didn’t you say that you were from the Tether Mountains?” Miranda asked.

“Yes, I was raised by the monks,” he said.

“What happened to your parents?” she blurted out without thinking.

Josan’s looked at the ground for many moments before he spoke, “I don’t know, they never told me who my parents were.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry again,” she said solemnly.

“It’s alright. I know why my parents abandoned me and I don’t blame them,” he said.

Miranda could almost hear a quiver in Josan’s voice as he spoke. At that moment Miranda wanted to rush over and comfort him, for she knew the stings of being an outcast. But she was lucky; her family had always been there for her. Josan had no one to turn to when people judged him due to his appearance.

Miranda decided to change the subject, “So, tell me more of Bellfast and the monks.”

Josan, happy to change the subject, and continued his story, “Bellfast taught me everything that I know about swordsmanship. No one could match him with a sword. Florene, my tutor, taught me about the world, they were like my adopted father and grandfather.”

“I would very much like to meet them someday,” Miranda said.

“You can’t, they’re dead. Killed by one of their own students,” he said.

“The man you are looking for?” Miranda asked, not knowing if she should pursue the conversation.

“His name is Vander. He was my childhood friend,” Josan said with venom as he thought of Vander.

Miranda looked at him totally lost.

“Vander also lived at the sanctuary. His parents were killed in a raid in the village nearby. The monks took him in and raised us together. We were the only two children there; he was my only friend. Vander was a couple of years older than me, so I looked up to him and followed him everywhere. We would run around and get into mischief all the time. For some reason he always got out of it, leaving me to take the blame. But Florene always knew Vander was part of it and stood up for me. Bellfast also taught Vander how to use a sword. He had few more years experience than I, but we always sparred together. I never won a single match against him. When he was older, the monks allowed him go to the village near by. After a while he began to accept the villager’s myths about superstintions. One night as I slept, he stuck a blade in my back. The monks came to my aid and spent many nights healing my wound. Vander tried to explain them that I was a demon, but they would not listen. Even Bellfast turned his back on him. Vander felt betrayed and vowed he would never let such evil live among good people. About ten years later, he returned with an army of angry peasants behind him. He claimed the monks were harboring a demon. The monks tried to reason with the peasants and persaude them to leave in peace. The peasants wouldn’t have it and stormed the sanctuary, but the monks were not without defenses. They unleashed powerful magic, and Bellfast swept through the enemy ranks like a wind, leaving only corpses behind. I fought along side Bellfast for almost the entire battle. During the choas of the battle Bellfast and Vander crossed swords. Even though Bellfast was the superior swordsman he couldn’t bring himself to kill his student. Vander seeing Bellfasts hestation acted and Bellfast fell and Vander took his swords. The twin set to mine. The monks drove off the army, but as always Vander slipped away. Many monks died, including Bellfast and Florene, the only people I considered my family.”

Miranda just sat there contemplating everything she had just heard. Now she thought she understood a little more about this strange man who had come into her life. Going through life, not having a real family, seeing the only people you cared about die before you. Miranda thought of her father and how she watched as he burned alive. She knew what Josan must have felt that day when Bellfast and Florene died.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” she said.

“No need to be sorry, it happened a long time ago,” he said calmly, knowing she was thinking of her father.

“Does the feeling of loss ever go away?” she asked nervously.

“I wish I could say yes, but it will always be there,” he said softly.

Miranda only nodded as she looked back to the ground.

“I think it’s time for bed,” Josan said as he leaned back on a rock.

“Doesn’t one of us need to stand watch or something?” Miranda asked concerned.

“Wolf will let us know if any danger is nearby,” Josan said as he pulled his hood lower over his face.

Miranda laid down hoping Josan was right, and fell fast asleep.

Josan knew he should have told Miranda about the other thing which haunted him, his darker half. The side of him which struggled for power over his being, wanted to consume and destroy him. He held back though, not knowing how she would react to him if he told her of the evil which brooded inside of him. He would tell her, but when the time was right. Josan closed his eyes, and waited for the nightmares to come.