"Let's go." Arin said walking right past me. I followed him closely. We made our way out of

the large recreational area and up the steps to the second floor. I looked down past the balcony onto the pool of water below.

"What's that pool for?" I asked curiously.

"That pool is used to create your Tempest Card." Arin's voice echoed throughout the upper

floor. "The card Zach was showing you earlier." We turned around to continue walking through the upper level. Two boards filled with fliers and papers were stuck on the walls. A gate was in the middle of them, and I assumed it was the second exit. There were a decent amount of people here too, inspecting the boards.

Many other adventurers were cautious of Arin as we walked by the two of them. He

showed me around the upper floors. I couldn't really tell the difference between the Guardians and the Blighted. They were all just people. Some of them had pointed elf ears and dark purple skin. Some of them were shorter and thicker, like dwarves or halflings.

"There are a lot of different kinds of humans here." I mentioned to Arin, pointing out the

Elvish looking man.

"Dark Elves." He corrected me. "Blighted Ones can resurrect in the form of Kumiho, Dark

Elves, Dwarves, or Humans." He made a very sharp left turn with this sentence and I followed him, almost tripping over myself at how quickly he turned.

"As of now, you are a very unique person." He looked down at me. Light flickered off of his

eyes and I could see them for just a moment through his mask. They were gray and dead.

"Your eyes." I pointed them out, ignoring the last sentence he said. "What do you look like

without your mask?" I asked curiously.

"It would be against the Guardian Order for me to remove my mask in front of a living

being. I took an oath." He said, looking forward and away from me. "Anyways, as I was saying. We are going up to visit the High Council. They will be in charge of binding us as Guardian and Blighted."

"Binding?" I asked curiously, shifting my gaze away from his mask and towards the

elevator we were getting on.

"Every blighted must be bound to a Guardian. It is required." Arin went on, pulling the lever

which moved the old style elevator up. It moved slowly so I didn't feel in any danger.

We arrived at the third floor and I was shocked to see that it was just as big as the second one. Just how big was this place?? The entire third floor must be completely sectioned off for the council. We got off the elevator and I noticed two staircases on each side of the elevator leading back down. The room opened up to a courtroom. The walls were made of the same teal that the rest of the building was made with. There were seven seats ascended above the floor and sitting in each of them were seven humans.

They had long white robes with golden accents. They wore hoods and I could not see their faces. The darkness around their faces was unreal. I should be able to see more. Their eyes each glowed a different color, representing different elements of nature.

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"Guardian Arin." The middle most of the council members had spoken. Arin bowed down, getting on one knee. His armor echoing throughout the large room as he moved. I quickly bowed down awkwardly on one knee as well in order to not be disrespectful.

"State your business with the council today." Another voice spoke. I felt quite nervous as an overwhelming amount of energy was being released from these guys.

"I have come to do the binding ritual. This was the blighted one I was assigned, and I have come to obtain her Tempest Card." Arin's voice was still unwavering. I was scared out of my mind but Arin didn't budge. Is this guy a robot?? I lost track of the conversation, but it didn't last more than three minutes. These seven council members had drove fear into my heart that I have never felt before, and they weren't even my enemy.

"Miss Anna." I was addressed by the leftmost council member. I looked up at her. "There is no need to be afraid. We are not your enemy." I couldn't shake it though, I could feel their energy hitting me like a wave.

"The binding ceremony will now begin. Please stand up and interlock your hands." The center one said again. Arin stood up immediately, and I followed after hesitating for a moment. Arin removed his glove and I could see his hands. They were worn and old. He grabbed my hand and I felt his skin. He was very rough and had callouses all over.

"Commence!" All seven of the council members said at once as a bright light appeared around them forcing my eyes to close. My hand started to shake and my legs followed soon after. I felt like I had just taken a shock of adrenaline. The pain started in my hand and traveled to my entire body. I winced and shouted stop. I opened my eyes. White.

I was in an abyss of white. I couldn't move my body. My hand was still outstretched in front of me. A young man around the same age as me stood across from me. He had medium length brown hair that swooped to the right, and he wore the same uniform as me, except it was red.

"Hello. Lady Anna." the voice spoke, and it was similar to Arin's. However this voice was filled with joy.

"A-Arin?" I managed to speak. The pain grew deeper.

"Does it hurt?" He asked.

"Yes it does!" I shouted, but couldn't do anything to stop it. Tears started to flow down my face.

"Good." He smiled joyfully still. "Pain makes you stronger." He said that as if he was happy I was hurting. "Not just emotionally stronger, but physically stronger as well. Don't forget that okay?" His voice trailed off as he fell backwards into a pool of white water. I shut my eyes, and when I opened them again I was back in the courtroom.

Arin dropped my hand as the council stated the binding was complete. I fell to my knees breathing hard.

"Miss Anna." The same council member who had addressed me before had spoken. "You are now bound to Arin. This means you can give him orders and he must follow them if it involves your life. However, he may also give you orders in order to save your life, and you must follow them." I wiped my face and looked up at the council member. His eyes were a cyan.

"Do you understand?" He asked me again as I regained my balance and got to my feet. So Arin can give me orders to save my life and I have to follow them? And vise versa? That seems fair.

"What happens if I refuse?" I asked, thinking about my track record of not listening to adults in school.

"If you refuse the order and your life is endangered you will be shocked by your brand until you follow the order." the same council member responded as I got to my feet. Arin was turned away from me.

"Arin will defend you. If he deems you should not be in a battle, you must leave." Another of the council stated.

"I understand." I stated, still trying to cope with what had just happened. I stood up, and Arin and I began to leave the councils presence. I calmed down quickly and my fear slowly turned away. I sort of stuck to Arin closely. Somehow I felt extremely dependant on him now. It was weird.

"What did I see?" I asked Arin about my vision. "Was that man you?" I pondered.

"The man you saw is dead." Arin said. "I took his place." He stopped for a moment. "I saw you and another." Arin tried to change the subject as we rode the elevator down. "You were with a boy, he was tall and had brown hair. He looked like he cared for you. His face was narrow, and his eyes were a true green." Arin turned to look at me. "Do you know who he was?"

"That was Jake!" I shouted. "That had to be! What did he say? Where is he? Is he okay?!" I shouted much louder than I should have as we got off the elevator, getting the attention of a few other people around us. Arin laughed for just a moment. One breath. I stopped.

"He said nothing to me." I could almost feel him smiling through his mask. "You said you wanted to go home." He took me over to the quest boards as we continued talking. My worry for Jake faded, as well as my hope that he had at least said he was okay. My concern for him turned to concern for Arin.