"Angel Falls…it is a peaceful place. The mortals that dwell in this small community are hardworking, pious, and hospitable."
Two figures scanned a village surrounded by lush green countryside; their vision sharper than any human could ever hope to match. What really made them stand out were the pairs of wings they sported, keeping them both high in the air. Of course, how normal they looked were of no concern; humans could not see them. The elder of the two, a tall and stern-looking fellow, eventually drew his gaze to an equally stern brown-eyed lad.
"Very soon this humble town will be your assigned protectorate, Alexander. With Apus Major reassigning me, I will no longer be able to look over this town that I have grown fond of. I admit that when I first heard that you were to take over in my stead I reserved doubts your ability to handle the ascension to Guardian."
"I do not blame you Teacher Aquila," the youth said in a respectful tone, "I have much to learn and experience in order to succeed, but pledge to you that my protectorate shall be safe."
Aquila remained silent.
"Erinn! Erinn! Please slow down."
The two Guardians looked in the distance to the source of the plea, an old man struggling to catch up with a swift-walking young woman. She turned around, her bright orange bandana matching the radiance of her smile, "Sorry Grandfather! I would really like to reach home before sunset. I want to show you the rainbow under the falls!"
But she slowed her pace to match her grandfather's anyway.
"Ah, Erinn is a mortal whom I will miss," Aquila said without changing expression, "I would like you to keep particular attention to her, Alexander. When she first arrived to Angel Falls several years ago she was a rather pitiable child, very sickly. She was eventually nursed back to health with the town's and my assistance, but in the event she relapses make sure to be there."
Alexander stared at blue-haired woman, committing her image and Aquila's words to memory. As he did so however, the transcendent being's eyesight caught movement from behind pair of humans. Two blobs of azure goo and a vegetable-like creature wielding a sharpened stick slunk along the path, the latter of the bunch drooling at the mouth.
"Teacher, there are hostile monsters approaching Erinn and the old man. We must engage them to keep the members of my protectorate safe."
"I have already seen them. Quickly!"
The two Guardians whipped their wings and flew directly in front of the approaching monsters' path. Alexander drew an unpolished copper sword and Aquila unsheathed a steel gladius. The two blobs, which Alexander identified as Slimes, shrieked in intimidation and immediately bounced away. The green monster was less cowardly; it pointed its crude spear in a threatening fashion.
"Avoid its weapon!" Aquila warned, "What a Cruelcumber lacks in intellect it makes up for in aggressiveness."
The Cruelcumber was puzzled for a quick second, trying to decide which of the duo to attack, before choosing to just attack the smaller one. Using its sharpened stick like a lance, the monster charged. Being relatively experienced in combat, Alexander in a single move sidestepped, dropped to one knee, and swiped his sword. A leg hewed off of the Cruelcumber's body, causing it to stumble. In doing so, it fell forward onto the pointed end of its own weapon, impaling it through its torso. It harshly twitched, then lay still. Alexander winced.
"Good work Apprentice," Aquila said with indifference, "Now back to the mortals. I suspect that Erinn will leave us a gift."
"Oh thank the Almighty we're here! For a while I thought my old lungs would give out…"
"Don't be so melodramatic grandpa!" Erinn giggled, "Besides, even though Angel Falls is a bit on the small side we still have a Celestrian Guardian looking after us. Oh! That reminds me."
She bowed her head and folded her hands in prayer, "Benevolent Aquila, thank you for the safe passage to our home. I hope Angel Falls can rely on you in the future."
As she expressed her ritual of appreciation, a swirling blue energy manifested before her feet. Erinn and her grandfather passed through the gate into town, leaving behind the wispy object invisible to her eyes. Aquila picked it up and handed it to his apprentice. It was comfortably warm.
"Behold, Benevolessence. The crystallization of a mortal's gratitude. As you well know, it is our sacred duty to collect as much Benevolessence as possible and offer it to Yggrasil, the Great World Tree."
Alexander had observed other Guardians performing this task, carrying various amounts of the energy up the stairs to the World Tree. The Celestrians holding them were regarded with awe and pride.
"Teacher, may we ascend to the Observatory now? I have never executed our cardinal duty and am eager to do so."
Aquila frowned, "Normally I would keep my presence in Angel Falls to gather some more, though it is important that you learn this experience. Very well, lead the way."
Alexander leapt skyward with his wings, his teacher following close behind his, flying to a place above the clouds.
The Celestrian Observatory was the grandest structure in existence in Alexander's opinion. Unparalleled in sheer size, beauty, and (which was very important to him) structural integrity. He and his teacher flew in through the bottom entrance as was custom, landing in the main center of the Observatory.
Aquila turned to his pupil, "As you have never presented an offering to the World Tree before, you will need to see Apus Major and ask for clearance. While you do this, I have some errands to attend to down on the Protectorate. Excuse me."
He leapt back down the hole leading to the world below, leaving Alexander to walk up the various staircases to Apus Major's summons room.
"Jolly good to see you again Alex! I hope I am not mistaken in my guess that the apprentice of Aquila missed old Apus Major?"
The younger Celestrian gave a slight grin of amusement and bowed, "Greetings to you too, Elder. And you were not mistaken. In fact, I was just ruminating how I simply could not bear to face another day without seeing the wondrous beard of our leader once more."
Apus Major chortled jovially, stroking said facial hair. His lavish snow-white beard and mustache set was the point of many jokes throughout the Observatory for millennia.
"There is something I must consult you for, Apus. I have just returned from the Protectorate and I have brought with me a portion of Benevolessence."
The elder's eyes widened, "Oho! Really now? Then you are truly ready to make the ascension into Guardianship? Wonderful! Then you shall perform for the first time the ritual in where you offer your Benevolessence unto the Great World Tree Yggdrasil. Tell the keeper guarding the path to Her that you are to do so. The time when She finally blooms is almost upon us!"
The marble steps Alexander was climbing up were spotless despite the thousands and thousands of times Guardians had treaded upon them. Their gleaming surfaces served to frame the majestic Great World Tree behind them. In simplest terms, Yggdrasil was an enormous tree. No Celestrian had ever found a tree down on the Protectorate nearly as massive, nor even another of its species. Its roots webbed down the sides of the Observatory, visible even to those at the bottom entrance. The boughs alone could be considered trees unto themselves. Alexander had never seen the magnificent one-tree-forest up close before, being only very recently appointed as a Guardian. Up close, he couldn't help but feel awed at the ancient relic that the others idolized.
Kneeling down on both knees, Alexander offered the Benevolessence. The crystalline wisp levitated to the base of the trunk, sinking deep into the roots. Energy flowed like sap through Yggdrasil's vascular system, illuminating its leaves to a blindingly golden hue until fading back into bright green.
Apus Major was correct, She is nearly bursting with power! We are on the cusp of the blooming of Her and reaping the literal fruits of our labor. Now my task is to descend back to the Protectorate and contribute to all Celestriankind…alone.
Fun Author's Note:
This fic will be my attempt to add some symbolism to my stories, a very tricky literary device that is satisfying to avid literature analysts and interpreters who get a kick out of reading between the lines and making wild claims that you just can't help but considering. Well of course I'm one of those, silly reader :P
As the Dragon Quest IX game contains some parallels between itself and the religions of Catholicism and Christianity, I will attempt to do the same with my fic. Try and see what messages you can find! Just know that I have never read any religious texts and my knowledge of what is written in them is rudimentary, so expect references to be either fairly overt or very simplistic.
I wanted to give the main protagonists' names meaning, so naturally I Googlized "meanings of names", for which I found "Alexander—defender of man". Perfect, right?
To be honest, I greatly dislike FCs (oftentimes used interchangeably with OCs), so you may wonder why I'm violating my own preferences. Well…for one, how could I write a Dragon Quest fic without doing so, right? Doi. Another thing, they're not EXACTLY FCs per se. The four main protagonists are loosely based on the four figures on the cover of the game. I of course will take artistic licenses for them. I won't let out too much in advance about them, but I will tell you that they will comprise of two guys and gals. Speculate what you will, it'd probably be amusing to me :|
Fun factoid: "Aquila" means "eagle". How about that, huh?