The last guardian

[Niko]

OCC: Well I guess we both are tired of constant action threads so I finally came up with a char that would probably get along with your lioness char. It will be more of an adventure.

Nations rise, and so they fall. The guardians once held a iron grip of power on Alelea. They vanished half a life time ago with the coming of imperial rule. Few things remain of the guardians former power and glory after the great genocide. But there existed a forgotten city now reclaimed by the jungle.... Ramas.

There a young boy of 14 crept through the ruins to honor his ancestors. Cautious he was. For even in a age ruled by science, logic, and reason. Those like him still clinging to the old ways were brutally squashed. The boy, Kdaj was the only surviver from the last guardian hold that was destroyed by airstrikes from the imperial air force. His survival was a blessing for the young guardian trainee. The dragon whom he was bonded two at birth through kinship and friendship rather then magic flew him away in the heat of the mess. Sadly his scaled brother died from his wounds.

Here, in the ruins of the forgotten city he seeked refuge to continue his training. Though it will never truly be completed. No elders remained to teach him the secret arts of there people. Or so he thought. There yet may be ancient creatures that knew of the guardians ways....

for now the human boy took a seat on a fallen marbel colum that once supported the roof of what was a training hall.

On the walls were painted murals of famous guardians. Mostly depicting them protecting the common folk. But there was one that stood out as different from the rest. He remember the tales of sir richard wyvernheart. For in fact he was the most famous of guardians. The faded painted mural showed the famous guardian fighting side by side with almost glowing white feline creature he had never seen in any mythical beastiary class. Kdaj heard something in the darkness and stood up to pull out his training sword. Nothing much but frail metal. But it was all he had for protection save the guardian armor forged to fit training youths.

"Come out then imperial lap dog" He said bravely. Though the shakeyness in his voice betrayed his fear. He suspected it was a imperial soldier. He knew there equipment was high tech. He even heard that they had goggles that allowed them to see in the dark.

"Stop sneaking around like a coward" he boldly said again. "Fight in the light if you have the metal" He started to back away now until he back was against the wall. A very dangerous sign to any wise of its meaning. For legends spoke greatly of Guardians being vicious fighters when cornered. Even younglings like him.

Reaching into a pouch on his hip the boy braught out a ancient flash stone from the old world and threw it to the ground with precision and speed. With a loud crack and flash light chased back the darkness.

[Mai]

Why must everyone be intent on blinding me?!

The annoyed growl echoed slightly in the ruins, as a white head of what could be considered a giant lion came out from behind a partially broken wall. Leiara was pawing gently at her eyes, as if it would help take away the white spots that were now scattered through her vision.

First Richard, then various assault teams and now a blundering boy! I would like to keep my eyesight good enough to hunt by for the next century or so, but no one ever quite understands that.

She blinked a couple times, as the white spots finally began to fade and she could see more clearly. Then she noticed the training sword and armour, and hr head tilted to the right in curiosity.

My, my, do we have a guardian? I've seen many come and go, but this was one thing I never expected. Come here little one. I won't hurt you. I fought alongside your kind during the genocide.

The great lioness settled, laying down on the ground. Her back still managed to be more than half his height. In fact, she still experienced growth spurts on occasion. She may have been old in normal standards, but, despite how she acted, she was quite young for her species.

[khamar]

Kdaj was amazed that the very same creatue watching him was the one depicted on the painted mural with richard. The guardian hero from 600 years ago.

The boy went forward and took a knee in typical guardin respect and set the point of his training sword on the ground and resting his forehead against the hilt.

"My appologys mistress" He said with honest concern. "My eyes are not so well as yours" He was scared from the whold situation of coming here and saddened with the death of his friend who's body was still in the jungle. It took all the boys strength not to cry.

It was shameful in guardian traditions to cry So he had been raised in youth not to. At least in the presence of others. A tough trial for someone that was still but just a child.. "I am so alone" He said with a shakey voice. "I am the last" He set the training sword flat on the ground in front of him and went to both knees and sat on his calfs.

"My name is Kdaj, Indigo wolf in training. what is yours?" There was a amulat around the boys neck. The guardians most prized treasure. It had no powers. But it did have important meaning. It was only given to guardian child prodigys. Boys or girls that showed great promise. Kdaj was a pyschic, though only just blooming. Lifting so much as a pebble with his mind took alot of effort. But with years of proper training. He could be great just like richard was when he was still alive.

Outside the ancient city in the jungle a helicopter flew away as it finished letting imperials soldiers fast rope from above the trees to the forest floor. The squad of 10 heavily armed men surrounded a dead corpse of a dragon.

"The guardian is close" the squad leader said in a muffled voice from behind his biohazard mask. "Search the area" There were protests from pretty much all of his men about killing a child. But the leader was firm. "Do it"

OCC: Dont worry they wont find our chars for awhile

[Lazy Mai]

She purred softly, hoping it would ease his pain, though she doubted it. It was hard when she had become the last of her kind. Time did, indeed, heal everything, as they say. Most just didn't live long enough for it to work it's magic.

I am Leiara, though I have had certain guardians in the past call me Lei. Well, one guardian, but it was very long ago.

Her tail tip flicked lazily behind her, though her ears showed how alert she truly was. Every sound caught her attention, at least enough that she could identify it as harmless. She wasn't on edge for herself, they could do little to her. Kdaj, however, was much less likely to survive an ambush, should one come, and she refused to let the guardians die out if she could help it.

They had changed so much from the time they had been started, being good, then evil, but in the end they had returned to good or perished. She had seen it, all of it, though she had not been physically there most the time. She had mourned when they turned, praised when they turned back. It came and went with the tide, and now the hopes rested on one guardian's shoulders. No, one boy's shoulders. She found herself cornered in her options, leaving her mind to contemplate leaving him to die or helping him. There was only one real choice.

[niko]

Kdaj liked her name. It sounded exotic. The boy closed his eyes and smiled quietly back. "Pretty name" he said innocently. "How old are you? How come I have never seen your kind in mythical creature classes? Why are you all alone here?" the questions went on and on. A good sign of intelligence in children. Finally his questions stopped with this. "Will you be my guardian?..... or leave me here" Though his mental powers were weak they were strong enough to pick up her thoughts, faintly. He did not know it yet. But Kdaj's life was in her hands, or rather paws. Without her, the child would die. Now the question was if Leiara would condemn him. Or take the boy as her own apprentice.

[Mai]

She emitted a noise between a laugh and a purr at all his questions.

I am nearly one thousand years old. We died out long ago, most of us. A few of my tribe survived longer, but they were old and died of such illnesses as the old get. I am the last left, as you are, though I have been for quite a few centuries. One gets used to being alone.

She paused for a second, in memories of her lost tribemates. They hadn't all been old when they died, but he didn't need to know that. She didn't trust anyone enough to tell them what happened, either. After all, it revealed the one main weakness of her kind. The only weakness that could kill them in the blink of an eye. She cleared her throat as she turned her mind away from the darkness.

It has been a long time since I have guarded anyone, and even when I have it hasn't usually ended well. Perhaps you will be different. Perhaps you will not. I make no promises, not anymore.

[khamar]

Kdaj lowered his head and went quiet. She was not very hopeful. He looked back up and decided to ignore his dead mentors advice of never going into someones head without permisions.

To her. It would feel like there was a foreign presence. Not painful, but a little uncomfortable. Kdaj did not do it for long. He was not sure. But he thought he sensed that she would leave him when trouble rose its head.

His head darted to the entrance of the room as kdaj sensed a foreign presence. standing up without warning the boy decided to ditch Leiara before she did it to him. Running through a door at the opposite end of the room the imperial soldiers entered and started firing just as kdaj left. The rounds barely missed the child and hit the wall sending down a cascade of pebbles.

"Command, target is on the move" the squad leader motioned for the rest of his men to leave back out of the room where they came so they could go around and pursue kdaj. He reamained behind.

The man was oldschool and set his assualt rifle neatly against the wall. He grabbed something with both his hands off his hips and flicked his wrists. With a loud pop two collapsable metal rod unpacked themselves and locked in place. Pressing a button on both of the rods in his hands crackling electricity started to dance over the metal devices. "Bring it!" he taughted. The man smiled cockily as gunfire was heard not far away. "You made a mitake protecting the boy. Now you will share his fate. By imperial law aiding and harboring a guardian is punishable by death

As a final demonstration of how dangerous he was the soldier smacked the rods together sending out a cascade of sparks to the ground.

Kdaj was quite the little scrapper and escaped the grip of a soldier by stopping on his boot. "OW!" the man cryed and let go. Kdaj took the opportunity and went running like a bat out of hell. Ducking and dodging as bullets hit the floor and walls around him.

[Mai]

The soft growl started, barely audible over the gunshots, but before long it easily covered them, as it turned into a roar if anger. If there was one thing she hated, it was electrical shocks, especially powerful ones that could kill a normal beast. She stood up, eyes narrowing. The man had just made one of his biggest mistakes.

And you, young one, have just made the mistake of challenging one of the Sairo Tribe. I was the one who held most promise, until your kind wiped out the others. But now I have nothing left to fear losing. I do, however, have something to fight for.

Before he would have a chance to know what hit him, she was behind him and holding him down on his own electrical rods with a set of three claws. She was currently incredibly glad she used her claws instead of her whole paw, though, since the claws dampened the electrical force.

After a few seconds of letting him fry, she decided it was enough and raked her claws down his back, a painful reminder if her lived and a warning to the others if he didn't. She turned and bounded off, following the sound of gun shots. Talking about the past, remembering her tribe, had sent her back into the feral kill or be killed state she'd been in when she had met and protected Richard, the singular success in her life after the death of her friends and family.

Magic sparked around her, deflecting most bullets. She ignored the stinging pain of the ones that hit as she swept up behind the boy, scooped him up in her jaws and held him there. Gentle though she was about it, he'd probably end up with at least a few scratches from her teeth. Then, she burst off, finally running her full speed. Even the bullets couldn't keep up, not now. Once out of sight, she slipped into one of the hidden tunnel entrances of her home. She slowed to a stop and placed the boy on the ground, panting for breath as she turned around to peek out, white fur stained with red.

[khamar]

After he was shocked the man yelled in pain as her claws cut cleanly through the armor of his back. Feeling the giant cat let her weight off and leave the man rolled over. "thats what I get for giving that thing a fair chance" This was one of those occasions where chivilry and sense of 'fair play' did not come in handy.

After his rescue Kdaj was quick to inspect the patches of red that dirtyied her once almost glowing fur. The wounds were superficial. But Kdaj decided to try and use telepethic healing. A ability that coaxed cells to multiply at a excelerated rate. Putting his hand over the various red patches there was a faint glow of blue and he pulled away to reveal the wounds healed.

"that is the best I can do" he said and plopped on his but unceromoniously. "I lack the training"

The man who was injured by Leiarai was with his men now. "Come here boy" he said to a young private. "Your up" A veteran shouldered his rifle and protested. "how cum the kid gets the cool title of experimental tech technition?"

The injured leader smiled. "Because he uses all the tech that has not yet been field tested and so unstable they could possibly kill him and the rest of us" The veteran shut up right then and there.

The private gulped hard and lowered some high speed looking goggles over his eyes. "Power me up" he said with a shaky fearful voice. The device on his back was turned on and with a hum the plasma pack came to life along with all the experimental gear the boy soldier had.

The young man typed at his wrist comp and pointed with a gloved hand. "The satalite finished its scan. I have two weak heat signatures from over there" The leader shrugged. "Well? Go get them"

The boy soldier went over to the wall where his goggles detected a structural weakness and started charging his plasma rifle. With a loud sizzling crack the wall was eaten away in a neat circle and the experimental tech soldier went walking through the smoke of the wall.

Seeing the heat signatures of the boy and his new guardian the young tech soldier swallowed hard. "Oh boy, outta the frying pan and into the fryer" His plasma pack clicked and steam hissed from its sides. The green light on his wrist comp flashed signalling the new weapon was cooled and ready to fire again.

Being hit by plasma, the very same substance from a supernova star will garante a instant death. The young experimental tech soldier started to move towards the two until the entrance he just blasted collapsed sealing him inside. He hesitated in his steps now.

[niko]

The tech soldier did something unexpected. "Run, as far as they will be concerned I killed you both. Now get out of here" he said

[Mai]

Leiara nodded, her gratefulness only shown in her eyes, as she turned her head to Kdaj.

Get on. I'll head down into the tunnels of my people. They will not fin us there, but it will be too dark for you to see, and they are easy to get lost in.[/b

She waited for him to climb on her back before she took a final glance at the soldier and shimmered a temporary magic over her and the guardian boy, so they would be invisible long enough to get to the tunnel, so the soldier, nor no one else, would know where they had gone. The tunnels would remain secret.

Once underground, the magic faded, and the pitch black consumed them. Lei knew the path only through the feel of the path beneath her feet and a vast knowledge of how far in between the turns.

Eventually, they entered a cavern lit with the gentle glow of a rare moss, though to have been lost years ago. In truth, it had died out everywhere except where man could get at it. There was plenty enough to make it easy to see, though not enough that the transition from dark to light would be hard on the eyes. A small pool of crystal clear water sat off to one side, constantly be filled by a small crack in the ceiling, where the water fell down. It was stopped from overflowing by a small path carved in the rock that lead off into another tunnel, which would lead to another cavern. The steady stream of water lead to each cavern in the tribe's tunnels, previously providing water for all, but now, only for one.

You may use the moss for bedding. And do try not to wander off. I know the tunnels well, but I don't plan on traversing miles to find you in them.

[niko]

Kdaj plopped on his butt on the cavern floor and wordlessly started to gather some of the illuminecent moss for bedding. His new caretaker was definently not to much of the social type he gathered. She never smiled, her voice tone was always blank. Kdaj actually wondered if she cared about anything,

it was not long until he was asleep. In the morning Kdaj was up and early. Sparring with an invisible apponent the boy practiced with his training sword with cuts and stabs up until the point he stepped on his sleeping 'surrogate' mothers tail. Covering his mouth with a hand Kdaj started to back away slowly.