A/N: I'm gonna keep it short. This is a preview, if you want me to keep going you're going to have to review and tell me so. I'm not going to write a story no one's reading. I've bumped up the ages and other such things, and I'll admit fight scenes aren't my strong suit. But this is fanfiction, so… it's not that deep. Without further ado, please enjoy.

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For as long as Dante could remember he wanted to be a Guardian. It was, after all, what all young Celestrians were trained for. From the moment they were born until they reached the age of ten years old—they are prepared for five years of hard, painful studying. They are prepared to lift up the steel of a blade and take their place as a Guardian of the Protectorate.

Some of them achieve that.

Most of them don't—they stay in the Observatory. Keeping records. Preparing meals.

Although he respected that, Dante couldn't live with that. At fourteen, against all foreseeable odds, he passed the physical and written exam that allowed him to even be a contender in the search for new Guardians of the Protectorate. Two years of even more vigorous study later, at sixteen, he met his mentor, who would take him under wing for exactly one year. Eventually, the youth would fulfill his duty as the Guardian of a little village known as Angel Falls.

The young Celestrian's master was named Aquila, and a year would come to pass much faster than either had expected.

"Are you ready, Dante?" The youth jumped, the sound of Aquila's voice drawing him out of a daze. He glanced at his mentor quickly, but the elder's eyes were elsewhere. Distant. It was evening in the Protectorate. The sky was a bright canvas of orange, purple and red. The people of the village were rushing about to finish the last of their errands. Aquila, as their Guardian, saw to it that they were safe from any impending danger. Dante hovered at his side, wings flapping as they watched over from the waterfall, ready to do as his master said.

"Yes, Master Aquila." He swallowed back a knot in his throat. He was nervous. He had done many things since Aquila had taken him under his wings—fight was not one of them. The village of Angel Falls was… uneventful, to say the least. The most action you could expect was a cow running loose and needing to be caught. However, that day could very well change that. Erinn, the innkeeper of Angel Falls' only inn, was returning from a two-day trip to the neighbouring town of Stornway. She was to be returning with her grandfather. It was evening, however, and the two were nowhere to be seen.

"I thought you'd say that." Aquila let out a sigh, lightly rubbing his temples. He smiled warmly at Dante, although the smile seemed to be mixed with something else, something that the student couldn't quite decipher. "I'm proud of you, Dante. You've come a long way."

Dante forced a smile—he wasn't wrong. On the first day of their mentorship, he had showed up wearing his casual clothing. Not the Celestial armour that all young Celestrians were meant to wear in the Protectorate. On the second day, he'd referred to Aquila by his name and not by the formal "Master". It took a few days to grow out of that, and months longer to truly get a feel for the work of a Guardian. "I appreciate your praise, Master Aquila."

At this, Aquila's attention was lost. His dark eyes instead pointed outside of the village, his body language on high alert. "Dante. Outside the village, behold."

Dante fixed his gaze on the winding road leading out of the valley—slowly, but steadily, a young girl with short, purple hair and an elderly man were walking towards the village. Hidden behind a boulder, about a yard ahead of them, were two monsters. Aquila unsheathed his blade, before glancing at Dante. "Are you ready, Dante?"

Eager to fight and quick to forget his duty, Dante drew his own bronze sword and took off. Wings flapping, and a grin on his face. He'd been waiting for this ever since the mentorship started—a chance to fight something, or someone, for real. He landed before the two monsters—two lumbering Cruelcumbers that hadn't even noticed his presence until Aquila landed behind him and cleared his throat.

The monsters, each gripping skimpy-looking spears, jumped in surprise.

Dante refused to miss a beat, and he sensed that his master was somewhat proud of him in that sense. His combat skills were similar to Aquila's when he was this age—and Aquila had been a prodigy. He swung his blade at the nearest Cruelcumber and sent it tumbling into the other one, both of which had fallen onto the ground in a state of panic.

"Good job, Dante." Aquila said, he turned his attention to the other Cruelcumber, which had pushed its partner off of it and was trying to run away. With a jump and a few flaps of his wings, Aquila had launched into the monster and brought his blade down on it.

Dante, mesmerized by his master's prowess in battle, forgot about the monster he'd been attacking. The beast tripped him with it's spear, and would have whacked him right in the face if Dante hadn't rolled over fast enough. Before he could bring himself to prepare another attack, the silver blade of Aquila's sword implanted itself in the Cruelcumber's chest.

The fight was short, but such was needed. Just as the monster fell over and evaporated into dust, Erinn, the purple-haired innkeeper, and her grandfather walked past the boulder they had been fighting behind. Dante turned to face the young woman and her grandfather.

Aquila took his place beside his student, his arms were crossed as he watched the young girl give her thanks to the Guardian.

"Thank you, benevolent Guardian, for protecting us on our journey home." The young girl bowed deeply, with her hands held over her heart. A bright light flashed, what was left was a blue flame, floating in the air. Erinn, however, would not see any of this. Instead, she turned away, carefully and slowly leading her grandfather into the confines of the village. The sky was beginning to darken quickly.

"Benevolessence." Dante said, glancing at Aquila from the corner of his eye to see if he was right.

"Indeed." Aquila walked towards it, grabbing the flame with both hands before bringing it to Dante. "The crystallization of mortal gratitude, and that which we offer unto Yggdrasil. Here. Take it."

Dante gingerly reached for the blue flame. Despite it's appearance, it didn't burn. Closing his eyes, it disappeared. He looked towards his teacher, who seemed deep in thought as he stood silently, with his arms crossed. "Will that be all for today, master Aquila?'

Aquila shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Dante. Something feels amiss in the air this night, for now, let us go make the last of our rounds in the village."

Dante nodded in agreement, and as the cool night air finally settled in, the two made their way back to the village. At this point, everyone was already inside their houses—probably curling up in bed or finishing any inside chores they had. The lone sound of someone chopping wood could be heard by the two as they made their way, slowly, towards the Guardian statue by Erinn's home.

Something caught Dante's eye, and he stopped. His gaze was fixed on what appeared to be a transparent, confused-looking man—a ghost.

"Ah, so I was correct." Aquila nodded towards the man, before turning his attention to his student. "As Guardians it is our duty to protect those of our flock—that also includes those who are no longer alive. Dante, what you see here is a soul that must be put to rest. Go to him, speak."

Although he was worried, he did as told. Dante approached the man—a lumbering giant, wearing a horned helmet and with a beard that seemed to be his only way of making up for the lack of hair on his head. The man looked at Dante in shock. "An' who might you be?"

Dante bowed, when he straightened, his voice was filled with confidence. "I am Dante, Guardian of Angel Falls."