'I haven't had iced tea for a long time.' The bearded man smiled politely as the silver tray and goblets of golden brew were set down in front of him. His green hood and cloak, draped over his shoulders, were reflected in the polished metal. Behind him was a window looking out over the First City, a place built of orange sandstone and covered with trees and bushes. The tower of the Guardian was high above. Seeing that his dark brown hair was untidy in the mirrored image, the man brushed it out of his face and behind his ears. His fringe was blown back into his eyes when a wind blew through the study, rattling books on their shelves and flapping paper on a desk in the corner.

The young boy, who entertained the older male, took up a goblet and handed it to his guest. He then sat. 'Then I am glad that I can be the first to serve you such a rarely enjoyed beverage.'

The man nodded in thanks. 'As am I, Emrick.'

'It has been a very long time since I have had guests, and coincidently, a very long time since I have had your company.' Emrick picked up the second goblet, making the item look larger than it actually was in his childish hands. He pressed the cup to his lips, tasting the tea. 'Mmm, very good.'

'It has been a long time, though you have not changed much.'

'Is that not how it has always been?' Emrick smiled and licked his lips. 'But you, you have changed. You went off into the world a boy, sixteen if I remember correctly.'

'You do.' The man replied.

'That would make you twenty-two now. How have the past six years treated you?'

'They have treated me well.' The man said as he placed his drink down on to the table. 'They have also treated me harshly.'

'Ah, but this is life!' Emrick leant back in his chair and kicked his feet back and forth underneath the table. 'The different experiences we have are what make us who we are, and you appear to be strong. Much stronger than the mucky youngster who once dirtied my halls.'

'Maybe...' The man rubbed his hands together. 'My hands are no longer dirty, but the filth has only been replaced by worse...'

Emrick looked at the sad eyes of the one who sat across from him. He attempted a comforting reply. 'We all have our issues, we should not dwell on them for long. How will we ever move on otherwise?'

'Should we not seek closure to our problems?' The man's dark eyes fixed on Emrick's own.

'Closure is important, if it can be obtained...' The young boy swallowed down a tense feeling in his throat. 'Otherwise we should not dwell, it is for the best.'

'I agree.' The man said as he broke his gaze.

Emrick sighed and brushed his hand through his blond hair. 'Good.' Pushing himself out from the table with a squeak of his chair, the young boy continued. 'You should relax, enjoy the city and enjoy my home as if it were your own.' He placed the goblets back on the tray and made to take them out of the study. 'You have only just arrived, so please, let us continue tomorrow. I would enjoy your presence for however long you may wish to stay with me, if you please?'

'Very well.' The man smiled.

'Good.' Emrick returned the smile and left the room.

The tower was warm this evening, the windows on the outside of the winding staircase allowed the sun to shine in and heat the sandstone during the day. Emrick soaked up the warmth through his feet. He rarely used footwear, preferring to feel the world against his soles. Additionally, he disliked heavy clothing, so he wore lightweight garments. Usually a white cotton tunic, which today was coloured peach in the reflected light of the building's brickwork.

Travelling down the tower's stairs, the small boy made his way to a wash room, where he would clean the tray and goblets. Once done, he returned to the study to find his guest leaning against the stone arch of the window, watching the streets below.

The man spoke as soon as Emrick entered, demonstrating his acute hearing. Even the soft steps of the child could not hide his small presence. 'It will soon be dark.'

'Indeed.' Replied Emrick. 'The time of the ritual is almost upon us.' The man was silent, maintaining his gaze out of the window. 'Would you like to join me?' Asked Emrick as he leant up against the table behind the bearded fellow. 'The ritual does not take much time. Afterwards we can eat and enjoy the fireplace in the lower hall.'

The man looked back into the room. 'I would be happy to. It has been a long time since seeing the old tradition.'

'Wonderful! I will gather the equipment, please wait for me here.' The boy quickly exited the study, leaving the man to stare outside again.

Later, the two stepped on to the flat circular top of the tower from the steps that lead from below. The sun was low, casting long shadows across the city. The sky was red and orange, blending with the sandstone buildings of the great First City.

Emrick held a small bird cage in his left hand, a white dove nestled within. In his right was a brown leather roll, bound with black cord. He walked to the centre of the flat roof, where a white circle of a two metre diameter was painted, stood at the centre and placed the cage at his feet. The older male stood near the edge of the tower top and watched while Emrick conducted his ritual.

The leather roll was unbound and spread flat. Contained within was a short bladed knife and a number of coloured chalks, as well as sharpening tools for the blade. Emrick opened the bird cage and took the dove by its neck, he then moved the cage outside of the painted shape. The bird did not struggle. From the roll came a green chalk, which was used to write Emrick's name within the circle. At this point the bird began to flutter in Emrick's hand, so he tightened his grip.

The chalk was placed back into the roll and the knife was drawn. It had a simple wooden handle with a single edged, two inch blade. Without hesitation, without word, Emrick lifted the bird and blade above his head and into the last of the sunlight. The knife was plunged into the breast of the bird, turning white feathers to crimson. Death came quickly as the life force was drained from the animal and allowed to drip to the floor inside the white circle. It coated the chalk written name, masking the cursive script. With his naked foot, the child wiped over the chalk, using the blood to clean away all evidence of it ever being there. Then the daily ritual was over.

Emrick dropped the bird, wiped his hands and the blade across a cloth produced from inside his white tunic, and then returned the knife to the leather case. Picking up the bird cage and the roll, he signalled to his companion to follow him back down into the tower. 'Come, the ritual is over. The carrion creatures will dispose of the carcass.'

The man with the beard followed, and spoke on the subject of the ritual as they descended. 'Do you know the origin or reason for the ritual?'

Emrick replied. 'I do not, this knowledge has been lost to us over time.' He could feel his bloody foot sticking as he stepped down the stone steps. 'It was never permitted to record the reasons for the tradition, which I can not understand. But this is the way it has been for thousands of years, and so it shall remain.'

'While I journeyed the lands, I met the tribesmen that exist beyond the territory of the Fourth City.' The man's voiced echoed down the stairway, being much deeper than the boy's. 'I discovered that they perform a similar ritual, although monthly rather than daily, and also on nights of a red moon, regardless of the date. Any white bird was used for the ritual, as the tribesmen did not have the means to breed doves. They had to catch what they could out in the wild.'

'I see.' Emrick responded while continuing down.

'The chief of the tribe would bleed the bird on to the name of his dead ancestor, some fallen warrior, and then wipe it clean with his foot. The tribesmen told me that it was a way to ward off evil, to protect the tribe. The ancestor spirit would fight off any being that attempted to cross over from the world of the dead.'

Emrick was intrigued. 'Interesting. It sounds as if there is a connection. We should talk about this more!'

'We will.' Replied the man.

The next morning, Emrick woke to the sound of birds and with the sun filtering through red drapes over his window, making the room bright and pink. He sat up with a creak from his four post bed and focused his sight on the bedroom door beyond the foot of the furniture. Outside he could hear footsteps and what sounded like heavy loads being shifted around.

He climbed out from his comfort and found a white gown to wear, wrapping his naked body in smooth silk. As usual, his feet were left bare, making hardly a sound while stepping softly toward the door.

Emrick crept out into the hallway, his bedroom was just across from the study, where he had conversed with his guest the previous evening. He quietly made his way to the other room and peeked inside from the open archway. Suspicion filled him, and then dread.

Browsing though Emrick's archive, his history books, science texts and magic tomes, was his supposedly deceased friend, Adam. The bookshelves had been emptied, their contents piled on top of the table.

Emrick gasped, causing the other to look up from his reading. The fright soon left him. 'Addison, you've shaven!'

'Yes, I needed the change. The beard was weighing me down I think, it was so thick.' Replied Addison.

'I... I was taken aback.' Emrick entered the room properly. 'You look so much like your father.'

Addison chuckled. 'Please, I am far more handsome than Adam.'

'Of course... Of course!' Emrick laughed at the jest, but then quickly turned his smiling face to one of question. 'What are you doing?'

'I am sorry, did I wake you?' The man stood up, embarrassed. 'I was only reading, studying. You said to make myself at home, I hope I am not crossing any boundaries.'

He was, but Emrick did not want to be harsh. 'No, it is fine.' He approached Addison and motioned for him to sit back down. 'What are you reading?'

'Everything.'

'Everything?' Emrick was shocked. 'But there is a lifetime of material here.'

'That is why I began reading just after you had retired to bed, yesterday.'

'You've been reading all night?'

Addison wiped his eyes and yawned. 'Yes.'

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'How much have you studied?'

'About a third of your collection.'

'A third?' The boy squealed. 'This can't be.'

'It is extraordinary what a military discipline will allow you to achieve.' Replied Addison. 'Also, I have read much of this material before, growing up under my father's tutelage.'

'I see.' Emrick sat opposite of Addison. 'Is there anything in particular that you wish to learn?'

'Yes.' Addison spoke while reading. 'I am quite interested in the night sky, the movement of the stars and moon. Perhaps you could teach me?'

'Perhaps I could.' Emrick rose from his seat. 'But first we should eat breakfast.' He moved to leave the room. 'I keep chickens on the lower levels of the tower with the doves, would you like boiled eggs, perhaps with cured ham?'

'I would like that greatly.' Addison looked up with a hungered gaze.

'Very good!' Emrick left the study while talking loudly down the hallway. 'You continue to read, I shall not be long at all!'

Emrick gathered the food from his stores and prepared it in one of the many kitchens some levels below the study, standing on stools to reach the various shelves and work tops, as he had no hired help to ease the struggles of his height. He lived alone, but never once thought of redesigning his living space.

While away from Addison, he used the time to contemplate his current situation. He had ended the life of his closest friend two years previous, and only now does the son and heir return. But rather than return to the Second City, to take up his position as Guardian, he has come to Emrick. This was troubling. Addison has a role to play in the protection of the Five Cities, but has left the Second in disarray, its people poor and sick. This was the price for removing the Guardian, so the Guardian must be replaced. No one knows what the long term affects of a city without a Guardian may be, none would wish to find out. Emrick would have to convince Addison to do his duty sooner rather than later.

A second issue that nagged at the back of Emrick's mind was whether Addison knew the circumstances of his father's death. There should be no reason for him to have this knowledge, as far as Emrick was concerned, but the possibility was a daunting thought.

Returning to the study, Emrick came with a tray. On it was a basket of boiled eggs, a plate of thickly sliced ham, and a serving of bread and cheese. It was a large amount for such a small boy to carry, which showed when he nearly dropped the tray trying to slide it up on to the table.

Addison assisted him. 'This looks wonderful, thank you!'

'It is not all for you!' Said Emrick playfully.

'Then you best eat your share soon, little Emrick, because I am famished.'

'I may be little, but I am your elder. Pay more respect!'

The two laughed while eating and talking, and their day went to study, as did the several days following.

A day came when Addison put away the books and began to relax more. He left the tower to experience the city during the day, and in the evening he sat and talked with Emrick. They spoke about the past and about the future, about their personal experiences over the past few years and more. The subject of the Guardians was finally reached.

'Will you return home, to take up the mantle that your father left so early on?' Emrick asked, the light of the sun through the study window glowing through his blond hair, exaggerating the innocent look of his childish form.

'I think I might.' Addison replied while biting at a crumbling biscuit, the two snacking at the time. Their moments together were enjoyed with food quite often. 'My time here has been enlightening... Though I think I would struggle to fill the void Adam has left.'

'How have you coped with Adam's death?'

'Well, I think.' Addison sighed. 'We have been apart for so long, that him no longer being there was normal for me. I do not consider him lost, I only consider that our reunion has been taken from me.' He looked up at Emrick and found his eyes. 'Do you understand?'

'Yes.' He did not.

'It may be that I have not yet come to terms with his death. How can I, when someone as intelligent and insightful as Adam dies in a simple accident, in a fire? It is a cruel fate that kills a good man in such a way.' Addison looked away from the table, choosing to gaze through the window. 'He may not have loved me, though I do not understand why, but he did care for me, and I loved him for it in return. I wish that I could have told him that, although I may not have deserved that opportunity, considering that I left him and his traditions for the war.' He turned back to Emrick. 'Was his death my punishment? Was that the price for abandoning my family, for choosing passion over duty?'

No! Thought Emrick, but was too scared and ashamed to say it aloud.

'Did Adam suffer in such a terrible way, alone and burning, because of me?'

No, my poor sweet boy, no! Emrick's eyes began to well with tears, forcing him to look away from Addison. He wanted to cry out. It was me, it was us! The other Guardians! We were selfish, scared and confused. We allowed jealousy to cause us to do a terrible thing, something that we could never suffer enough for. He wanted to scream it out, but he could only cry on the inside. Still too guilty and fearful of what would happen if he owned up to the evil deed he had done, feeling that his body would crumble to dust if he did, betraying his own thoughts

'It is nearly time for the ritual.' Said Addison.

When Emrick turned his sights back into the table, Addison had returned to looking out of the window. The sun was low and the clouds were on fire in the red sky.

'I have a request.' Addison sounded very serious. 'If I am to become Guardian of the Second City, then allow me to make a step on that path. Allow me to perform the ritual this evening.'

Emrick was quick to answer, wishing to set a stable path for the person he had hurt. 'Of course, it would be my honour to have you do so.'

Addison stood and gave a short bow to Emrick. 'Thank you, and thank you for your hospitality during my time here.'

'You are welcome Addison.' You are more welcome than you could ever know. Emrick sat with his legs shaking from guilt, but soon he stood from the chair and composed himself. 'I will gather what is needed, please make your way to the tower top.'

The city was massive, a small country in size. At its centre stood the Tower of the Guardian, the first of five. For miles around it could be seen high above the lower skyline, tall and strong. For thousands of years there had been only twelve people to perform the ritual at the top of this tower, eleven of those Guardians belonged in the distant past, before Emrick. Addison would become the thirteenth.

The young man stood within the white painted circle, at his feet there were no signs of previous rituals. Creatures of the night would clear the stone of blood and flesh after dark, leaving a clean canvas for the living paint to be splashed upon it afresh.

Emrick came from the steps with cage and tools at hand, his breathing laboured from climbing the great stairway of the tower. The sun would soon reach the horizon, so the boy quickly handed the cage to Addison and unrolled the leather case at the side of the man's feet. Addison took the dove from the cage and chose a white chalk to write with.

Emrick stood back to give Addison space. 'You know what to do?' He asked.

'I know exactly what must be done.' Addison replied as he knelt and began to write the name on the ground. A then D.

Emrick was pleased that the other understood the ritual. 'Very good.' He then went silent, allowing the tradition to take place peacefully, as was usual.

Addison completed the script and replaced the chalk, taking up the knife. He looked up into the sky, raised the sacrifice and the blade above his head, paused, and then cut open the bird. The blood dripped down and around the written name, it trickled on to Addison's arm and dripped from his elbow to his foot. The sandstone was darkened with the lifeblood of the dove, but Addison did not wipe it away with his foot. He stood silently and waited.

Emrick was confused, but dared not to speak during the ritual. What is wrong? Complete your task. Yet Addison remained unmoved. Come on boy, do it! Emrick could not understand why the other did not finish the ceremony. Stepping forward, he finally broke his silence. 'What is wrong Addison?'

The man looked down from the sky and locked his eyes on to Emrick's. His expression was unexplainable, but it made the child freeze.

The sun set below the horizon and night time came, but were the red sky should have vanished, it persisted. Emrick fought to break eye contact, and when he did, he was baffled by what he saw. The sky was not black as it should have been, but was the very same colour as the blood that flowed from the bird. Looking high above, Emrick found the reason why.

'The moon is... It is red!' He gasped, then looked at Addison who had maintained his vision on Emrick. The young boy broke his gaze again and focused on the inside of the circle, reading an unexpected name. Where the script should have read Addison, instead it said Adam. 'What is this, Addison?'

The man gave no reply. He swept his foot across the stone and blood, and erased his father's name from the floor. The reaction started immediately. Emrick's feet shivered, his legs went weak and struggled to hold his weight. 'What have you done?'

Addison dropped the bird and blade, letting them sound off against the stone. Then he walked out of the circle towards Emrick. 'The tribes beyond the Fourth City would perform their ritual during a red moon, not for protection, but as punishment for those who would hurt the tribe. Be that an enemy...' He stepped closer. 'Or a traitor.'

Emrick gasped and collapsed, his knees knocking together and then crashing into the hard stone surface. 'You know? How?'

'I know because my father cared enough to inform me. Time and distance were of no obstacle to him. I have thanks for that.' Addison replied. 'And thanks to you, reliable Emrick. Thanks to your tutelage and the access granted to your library, I was able to know when the red moon would come.'

'What have you done to me?' Emrick asked. He felt his stomach turn and his hands begin to numb.

'During my time here I have read and learned much, things that my father would never have been able to teach me now that he has passed on. But I have also learned of things that would not have been possible, I assume, if he had continued to live. The opportunity was in his death.' Addison knelt down to Emrick. 'You keep your personal journals amongst your library, and although they do not discuss your magic and alchemy in detail, they do reveal much.

'You are of an age lost even to yourself, lost in the monotonous routine of the Guardian. You have lived this routine for thousands of years, doing so as an eternal child. You reached this state through powerful magic and great sacrifice, although I have not discovered what this sacrifice may have been. Perhaps giving up an able adult body? Which explains this form you have taken for so long. What is clear to me, what you may have forgotten, is why you chose to find immortality. You dedicated your natural life to this goal for one reason, because you feared death.'

Emrick slumped to the ground, weakened by the magic Addison had cast. 'Please, do not do this, my boy.' Emrick began to plea, saying things out of fear that he would have otherwise never have said. 'It was not just me, the other Guardians, it was them. It was Kilian's plan, Drake's magic. Please, I did not want to do it-'

'But you did do it.' Addison growled. 'You took my father away from me, you betrayed your closest friend. The greatest companion you have ever had over millennia.

'I have done terrible things, abhorrent things. All of which I will pay the price for in due time.' Addison began to shout in anger. 'But you have done the gravest thing, you have taken the life of a true friend, someone who trusted you with their life. What a misplaced trust it was.'

Emrick cried, whimpered. The tears poured down his cheeks, but when they dripped from his chin to his body, he could not feel them to numbness. 'I am sorry...'

'Yes you are, and you will be forever.' Addison stood. 'You are immortal. Perhaps if I took your head, you may be no longer.'

Emrick cried out at the thought, but soon went mute.

'That is not the punishment you deserve, whether or not it is your greatest fear. And what a fear it is! To push a man to the edge of knowledge, to take life and death, and make them meaningless. But no, meeting your fear is not suitable.

'To you, Emrick, I give you something worse than death. I lock you away in your immortality. Unable to move, unable to feel. You will see and hear all, but you will have no means of expression, no voice. To anyone observing, you will appear dead. But at least you may conquer your fear, as I am sure that you will wish for death. Eventually.' Addison stood and walked to the staircase leading down into the tower. 'The carrion creatures will clean up this mess, they may even take you.'

Emrick was left alone, crying on the inside. His soul crushed, his body lifeless. The red moon stared down at him. He looked up at it. I am sorry! He prayed to it. I did not want to do it, but the balance was broken... He forced us... But I am sorry! The red moon did not answer. Addison, please return to me. Do not leave me like this, I am sorry. I will pay another way, I will make it up to you and Adam. Do not leave me! Do not leave...