"...Zan?" the other man threw back his hood to reveal a set of silver eyes exactly matching Zan's. His hair was the color of brown oak and his face was of a man in his early thirties. Despite the fierce voice which he had used with him before, he seemed quite delighted just now. "Zan! We thought you were dead!"
"It is not the first time and I fear it will not be the last. The life of a Guardian is anything but peaceful, as you know." Zan laughed. Vahan stowed his sword within his brown cloak, and the two men embraced.
"Why did you not come and join us in the Fellowship this year?" Vahan scolded.
"I have just now made it this far south. I thought about dropping in now, but figured all of you would have joined His Majesty and the army already." There was a slight accusation in Zan's voice, but it did not seem to bother the other Guardian.
"And we intended to, but then the rumors of more and more magical creatures coming down from the land of magic reached our ears. You know we could not just ignore it. When we found out an army of fairies and elves was coming, we knew that we must intervene." Vahan shot a wary glance at the powerful magical beings.
"They are with me." Zan could see the other Guardian's hesitance. He pointed to the mighty figure aboard the unicorn. "This is King Zoltan of the Elves…"
"Wait, you are kidding right?" Vahan chuckled as he was waiting for the joke to be revealed. When Zan remained serious, the brown-haired man's face blanched. "Wait, he's the one who…how in the world did you end up with him and his army? I mean I would have…"
Zan cut him off before Vahan got them both in hot water. "All is forgiven. And they are here to help. So are Bolemir and the fairies." The Councilman introduced the winged man. "And this as you may have guess is Valiant's illustrious leader."
"Empress Aurora!" Vahan realized now why the fiery-haired woman looked familiar. He dropped to one knee. "Forgive me, Your Majesty. You look different than I remember."
Aurora regarded the new Guardian with a stern expression. "That seems to be the general feeling. Why did no one say this when my eyes changed color?"
"It was more subtle, you must admit," Zan scratched his head as he tried to think of a better explanation. "I mean you were eye-catching before, but now you are truly radiant."
"Hm," the Empress let the matter pass even with the obvious pun. Instead, she looked toward the heavily wooded area. Aurora could sense the others' presence hidden among the trees, but could not see any sign of human life. "How many are with you?" she asked Vahan.
He looked out at the elves and fairies, still unconvinced that they would not turn on the humans in the end. "We are many, Your Majesty. Though the sum total of the Guardians is hidden even from us."
Hoping to add his count to the total of her allies, Aurora simply sighed. Vahan gave her more questions than answers. She had known Zan was not the only Guardian in Valiant, but seeing another made her mind race.
If Vahan was not willing to answer his ruler on simple questions, it seemed unlikely that he would delve into her deeper queries. It appeared that the two Guardians both would keep her in the dark.
Sensing her displeasure, Zan and Vahan moved off to one side and conferred quietly. They realized that both Brinn, Zoltan and Gandr could hear them even thought they whispered, and so they fell into a shorthand speech to keep them out of their conversation.
"That is only if Her Majesty agrees," Zan said finally. They returned to the group with serious expressions.
"To what am I going to agree?" Aurora was truly intrigued.
"We would like to take you to the Fellowship. But only you," Vahan answered. His face was quite stern. "There we can answer all your questions."
Zan followed up the man's offer with his own assurances. "It is perfectly safe. We will get you to our meeting place with the Emperor, just slightly delayed. A day at the most. The rest of the army can go ahead of us."
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"No!" Brinn objected. "You cannot take her away and make her disappear in come hidden place. You Guardians may not trust us, but we do not have reason to trust you either." The elf glared at them defiantly. Her green eyes flared with magic ready to be used.
"Do you trust me?" Zan asked. "I would never let anything happen to Her Majesty."
Knowing how long the man had taken care of her friend--since her birth--the elven princess calmed her anger. Aurora gave the elf a gentle nod of thanks for her friendship.
The Empress pressed her lips together as she weighed her options. "I have come to a decision. I will go with you." To Brinn she added, "I will try to catch up with all of you before you reach the others, but if not, please warn my husband of my hair. He has yet to say anything in our mirror messages about it."
Brinn chewed her lip. She wanted to argue, but instead she forces a smile. "I will," the elf assured her.
"Until I get back, Brinn will be leading in my stead," the Empress told the King and fairy. Neither disagreed.
It took a few minutes to make the right preparations. Then Aurora mounted Utku. She motioned for the Guardians to lead the way, but they hesitated.
"We can take you to the Fellowship under one condition." Vahan looked at his feet and sheepishly held out a clean, white cloth. "If we blindfold you…"
——————
When her blindfold was removed, Aurora squinted to survey the area. Contrary to her original belief, the Fellowship was not an event or gathering. It was the name of the place. The green light that filtered through the trees reminded her slightly of the area under Dew Mountain.
The trees formed a thick canopy overhead, and their trunks made a large protective barrier around the space. The space was massive. Aurora could not even see the far end. There was no way that the trees could reach overhead in their willowy bend and meet the other side without being impossibly long. Yet the branches met in clusters above her to block out the sun. An area like this could only be made my magic. The warm feeling from the Fate's chain around Aurora's neck confirmed her suspicion.
"As the number of Guardians grew, I thought it would be good for us to have a place to meet once a year and exchange information. The Fates made us a safe place where we would not be discovered," Vahan explained as he helped the Empress down from the unicorn.
"Is that why you disappear at the beginning of every winter for two weeks?" The Empress narrowed her eyes at Zan. "You said you were visiting family."
He shrugged and nodded. "And so I was. This is my family." He motioned to the other Guardians who had filtered into the protected place. Some were coming in and out of small thatched huts dug into the ground, disguised by leaves. Others were carrying on with what ever daily chore they had left behind in their sudden exodus.
The Guardians, at least the ones with their hoods down, were both male and female of all ages and appearances. Some looked like they were in their teens while others were grey-headed. It was no wonder that they could blend in so easily. There was no one "type" of Guardian.
"What makes someone a Guardian?" Aurora had only heard Zan's story. She was unsure if it was the norm or just a fluke.
"From what I can tell, a vial of glowing light and a tragic backstory," Vahan answered with a wry chuckle. "The Fates only choose those who are dying while trying to do something good. It is not a guarantee, but it is a qualification. If you are willing to die for something good, then surely you will be willing to live for it too."
"What were you doing when you...became a Guardian?" The beautiful woman realized that she might be asking too personal a question, but Vahan did not seem to mind.
"I was saving a little girl from a river when I drowned. Turns out I never learned to swim." He gave a self depreciating grin before moving on. "Anyway, once you are on death's door, a Fate may appear. If the Fate gives you the vial to drink, your body gets frozen in time and you become a Guardian."
"What if someone else drinks from the vial?" The Empress could not help but wonder aloud.
"There are messy consequences. But let us not think about that. You have come to meet us, and here we are!" Vahan led the trio over to an area where three stump-like stools had been placed in a row. With Aurora in the center, the three accepted the warm wishes of as many of the Guardians as were there. It was well over a hundred, and Aurora quickly realized why they were not countable.
Even with slightly different cloaks, the Guardians were difficult to differentiate with their hoods up. The voices all began to run together in her mind, and she was pretty sure that some of them came to greet her more than once just for sport.
"Everyone seems to respect you, Guardian Vahan. Were you the first to be chosen?" Aurora asked when the excitement of her arrival finally died down. Some food was brought to the trio and they circled their stools to eat in peace.
Vahan shook his head and his eyes became unfocused as he recalled a painful memory. "I was not the first. He died during the Magic Wars before the Fates put up the barrier. We sided with the humans and took the brunt of the magical fighting. It took a heavy toll on our numbers."
"I am sorry. I did not know." The Empress looked down at her stew with embarrassment.
"It is fine. I am glad young ones like you and Zan do not know that pain." The man's hazel eyes were back to their former contentment.
'How old must he be that Zan is a young one?' Aurora thought with wonder. "Do you talk with Hanna like Zan does?"
Vahan swallowed his mouthful of food and nodded. "I used to talk to all the Fates. They would roam around with us. Justum in particular was always in everyone's business. But after the war, they started to pull away. They protected us fiercely at first, but slowly we saw fewer and fewer Fates until only Hanna was left. I am not sure what happened."
"They lost sight of their purpose," Aurora answered. "I am glad you have not."
"I have the advantage that the Fates do not. I was once human...and still am mostly. I protect people because I understand them. Humanity is worth saving." Vahan did not see himself as a hero, heroic as his words may have sounded. He was just a man content to fulfill his purpose. It was why the rest of the Guardian's respected him.
Aurora had only one more question in her mind. "If you want to save humanity, why do you not want the elves and fairies to help us?"
"I fought against them once. I know their strength. I fear them turning on us again."
"If the elves or fairies had wanted to wipe me out, they could have done so a hundred times over by now. Whatever your qualms with their ancestors, these creatures are our allies." Aurora gave a summary of her adventures with the magical beings. Vahan listened with great interest, though it seemed that Zan had already told of her older adventures.
"Impressive. Both you and the tale. While I have my reservations, you are our leader, and I will respect your choice. I hope it is the right one."
"It is our only one if the Fates will not intervene." The Empress countered.
"As you said, the Fates have lost their purpose. I pity them for that." Vahan's voice became happier as he pulled himself from the gloom. "Thank goodness the rest of us have no such luck!"