To my surprise, we had begun to encounter more and more monsters. Before the swamp I had been suspicious of the lack of foes in a forest famous for its dangers. The swamp beast certainly rose to the standards she had been made to believe the Dark contains, but other wise it had been pretty smooth sailing on the whole. At first I thought that Kishi had simply scared off most other beasties, but now I think it was just luck.

Currently, Kishi and I were mid-fight, taking on a pack of dire wolves and one very large and very pissed off mosquito. It was our fifth large fight since leaving the swamp behind and even my god level of stamina was beginning to wane. Still, I had things to live for and I wasn't about to let a bug get the best of me.

I dashed past Kishi who had her fangs locked onto the neck of a large wolf that was still half her size, two others lay dead at her feet. I jumped as high as my legs would allow, soring up into the air at least twenty feet, my dagger flashing in what little light there was to be had in the Dark. Spinning, I brought the short blade down, puncturing the hard carapace of the bug, its translucent wings beating hard and causing leaves and branches to come crashing down around me, but I held tight, planting my feat on its back and twisting my blade.

The mosquito let out a high pitched wail and began to list to the side. Finally... this had been the third major wound I had applied to the monster and the damn thing would not bleed to death! It came to the ground with an awful mix of bug crunch and tree snapping, throwing me to the softer, mossy earth with an "oof!" before I rolled a few feet and jumped back to my feet, staggering a little.

"Lady Enna!" Called Kishi, worried for my safety. I watched as another wolf took advantage of her distraction and leapt onto her cream colored back, digging in red claws and sinking fangs around her spine, trying for a death blow.

"Kishi!" I screamed, afraid for my new friend. She was powerful, a great deal stronger than me. But if I was feeling exhausted, with the energy I could pull from my people and the world around me (Though that was much harder here in the Dark) then she must have been wiped. I may not have great strength, but I had the stamina of the energizer bunny.

Ignoring my bruised and battered limbs, I rushed forward, catching another wolf alight with fox fire as I passed, before lunging forward, blade in hand. The sharp tool of death sunk deep into the direwolf's eye socket, causing the beast to drop from Kishi's back and howl in agony.

Kishi shook out her now mattered fur and stood at my side. I was an even bigger mess than she was with minor wounds all over my body and blood trickling into my eye. I tried wiping the gore off my hands so that I could grip the blade better and hopefully not have it slip from my hands completely. panting I took the fighting stance that Nord had taught me and faced off with the last three wolves, Kishi at my side.

At the same time we both let out battle cries and charged the enemy, me with my short dagger gripped in both hands, and she, claws extended and fox fire wreathing her whole body.

"Ow..." I groaned about ten minutes later as Kishi and I tried getting the gore off in a rather nasty smelling stream. The battle had been but a few short feet away beyond a clump of thick trees but I could still see the corps of the mosquito between the branches.

"You fight well, little one." Kishi said in a gentle voice from where she stood in the middle of the stream. Her paws were in the water and her fur glistened with the wetness. I winced at the thought of having to wait for all that fur to dry. At least she was back to being cream colored rather than mostly red with blood.

"You are the amazing one, not me. But thanks all the same. I will be sure to tell my teachers of your compliment. Maybe I won't get yelled at as bad for being captured and dragged into a scary forest." yeah right!

The fox chuckled. "I have a millennium of experience behind my skills. So I think you have done praise worthy work."

A millennium hu? Dang, but that was long.

"I don't know if you need sleep or not." I said, eyeing the fox who did not LOOK tired, but she did sound it. "But I am bushed, sleep requirement or not. And even though I can't tell time in this damn place, I know we must have been at it for over a day now."

"I'd say it has been nearly two since we encountered one another." Agreed Kishi, eyeing the canopy even though there was no way we could see the sky through it. "You are right. I could use some rest."

"Alright, lets find a defensible location and call it a night then."

We journeyed just far enough to escape the stink of the battle before settling on a tree growing over a large boulder. the bolder at our backs would block our view, but it would also protect us from that side. The tree had thick and high branches, just low enough that I could jump up and reach them if the need arose. I stacked together some wood for a fire, more for comfort than warmth really. And then Kishi lit it with nothing more than a stray thought.

I settled next to the campfire and the Kishi lay down behind me, providing me with warmth and maybe a little wet dog smell too. But I appreciated the gesture all the same.

"Do you need sustenance?" The fox asked suddenly, lifting her pretty face up off her crossed paws. She had taken a meal from a dear like monster we had encountered earlier.

I shook my head. "No, I like to eat, but I do not require it. I'm fine."

"Very well."

I watched as the Guardian settled herself back down. I didn't really know anything about Guardians. I had started studying some of the monster species, of course. Especially during my time helping out in our burgeoning library, but it was a lot of information to take in. I did believe that I had heard the name before, however. I just couldn't remember where.

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And then there was Kishi herself. I knew nothing about her as a person besides the fact that she held one hell of a grudge against the Specter and had some serious fighting skills. Before now, we had been too new to one another, not to mention constantly under attack. But things were calm for the moment, so maybe I could ask her some personal questions?

"Kishi?" I said, a little nervously. One day I would not be so awkward with social interactions...

"Hmm?"

"I was just wondering... Why is it you live here, in the Dark, rather than with the other foxes?"

She did not bother to open her eyes or lift her head when she replied, just laying there, fur shimmering in the fire light. "I came here with a tribe of fennik some two thousand years ago..." She said softly. "It was a hard time for monsters. Humans had decided that they were the main cause of any bad thing and had taken to exterminating monsters the world over. There was no safe place to be."

That sounded like something humanity would do. Hell, if I had been dropped in a human village rather than next to a young foxkin boy when I arrived here, I may very well have viewed monsters as simple minded beast in need of extermination. I may have been a god but it wasn't like I was without prejudice after all. Real monster may not have existed on earth but every kid grew up knowing that they were bad all the same. Had I not of gotten to know the foxkin and their kindness, I may very well have been a very different person today.

"But then we heard tell that the great dragon, Aeros, had taken up the title of a land god somewhere in the center of the continent. Our elders decided that if were begged the dragon, he may take pity on us and offer us his protection." Now she sounded annoyed and disgusted, but she still just looked like she was enjoying a good nap. "The whole tribe traveled here. We lost many along the way, and met many other races of monsters heading for Aeros as well..."

"Was Aeros really that well loved amongst monsters?" I asked. He always struck me as a bit of an ass. I can't say he was my favorite person.

Kishi laughed, one red eye opening a crack to look at me for a moment before drifting shut once again. "I do not think that old lizard is capable of being loved." She said, her tone amused. "No. But we monsters prize power above all else. And Aeros is nothing if not powerful. In his youth he was seen as a natural disaster, destroying entire cities and country's merely on a whim. Nothing and no one could hope to defeat him. All dragons are absurdly strong, but Aeros? It was unnatural how strong he was. Maybe even the true gods would quake before his might."

Well, damn... Good thing he was dead when I met him. He may have eaten me other wise. I knew that he was strong, but I had not known just how prevalent or notorious the lizard had been.

"But, maybe from boredom... no one really knows. But he decided to settle down. And in true Aeros fashion he did so with overwhelming power."

"How do you mean?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"He came to the very center of the continent and decided that not only would his domain be dead center, but also the largest of them all. At least for that time anyway. I am not sure how the lands are divided now a days. He either killed or subjugated all other land gods in the area- including the land god of the Dark- and claimed all their lands his own."

"Ugh." I could seem him doing that.

"Most lands here were under populated with anything but monsters anyway, but he drove out all humans and demi-humans. They did not respect him as well as he liked so he decided they were not welcome. And we monsters flocked in."

"And he just accepted you all?"

Kishi opened her eyes then, looking contemplative. "Accepted? No. I rather thing he found all the begging and groveling amusing... But I doubt he really cared on way or the other. Especially for the fennik who were about as weak as a monster race could get. But, whether he was in a good mood that day or it was just an after thought, I do not know, but he agreed to evolve the fennik.

Most of my kin took on the shape of the foxkin, but I evolved differently. I do not know why, but I evolved into a foxspirit. They are a little stronger than the foxkin, but I was more animal minded than my brethren then. I did not fit in. So I came here."

"And Aeros evolved you again later?" I asked, rather encapsuled by her tale now.

At that Kishi actually snorted. "No. Foxspirit live a very long time. So long as they are not killed in battle. I lived here and time passed till, eventually, I gained enough experience and the will... I evolved myself. Most foxspirit never evolve. It takes a specific type of personality to take on the role of a guardian after all."

That was amazing. To think she went though all of that and managed to achieve evolution all on her own. Kishi was truly an amazing monster.

I settled back against her fur as her eyes drifted shut once again. "What is a guardian exactly? I think I read something about them before, but for some reason I don't think it had anything to do with the fennik evolutionary line..."

"Indeed. Guardians are one of the rare monsters that can evolve from many different spices, and they are very rare. It is our sole wish to live and die in the service of others, Lady Enna. In truth, I have been rather stagnant here, in the Dark. I take others under my protection from time to time, including the little ones that this Specter-" She said Specter with a growl in her voice. "Stole from me. But it is not the life a Guardian is meant for. yes, all life is worthy of protection... But the sole purpose of a guardian is to protect beings of great importance. To protect those who hold great influence over the lives and livelihoods of others. Many of my fellow guardians have taken on the roles of protecting great elven kings, heroes of old, or entire countries. I have to say that wandering around a cursed forest for eternity is not what I was meant for..."

She sounded wistful and sad. I could understand that: the feeling of being trapped in a rut, unable to move forward for one reason or another, and making excuses for yourself, never reaching your true potential...

"You know... I can't say that I am anything as grand as a wise king, nor as impressive as a great hero- but, if you find me acceptable that is- I currently have a guardian position open. I don't pay all that well, and the work is pretty tedious if Lagdon is to be believed. But I do have grand ambitions. Hopes for the future of not just this nation, but maybe even for monsters and the other races the world over. I've been told I am a bit too much of an idealist, in that regard, but I am pretty stubborn. Basically, it will be charity work on your part... but I can promise that for as long as we both live- and I am lead to believe that that will be a hell of a long time- I will forever be a loyal friend, if nothing else."

I was blushing. I knew that for a fact. Damn awkwardness! I peeked through my now rather messy silver hair at the fox. She had risen her head off her paws and was gawking at me openly. I would probably die of embarrassment now. What the hell had I been thinking? Who the heck goes up to someone and say " Hey, can we be besties?!" like that?

But then Kishi's gazed softened and she made a face that i could only describe as a fox smile. She was a beautiful creature and radiated warmth and kindness. "Lady Enna," She said, her tails wrapping around us both, her head lowering back onto her paws, eyes half open and smile still firmly in place. "I would be so very honored to be your personal Guardian. From now, till we both leave this world..."

I gasped as I literally felt something magical snap into place within me. It settled in like a tied ribbon around my soul and did not feal uncomfortable at all. I had a suspicion that, had I decided to visit my inner sanctuary right now, that there would be a new addition to my merry little fires and the pretty blooming apple trees that surround it.