I smile to myself as I slip a weighty bronze helmet onto my head, feeling grand. If only my mother could see me now, she'd be so proud! A Falador guard. Who would've thought it, eh? And I grew up in Port Sarim, the tinny little fishing docks.

I've always wanted to be a Falador guard. Ever since I was twelve, when Dad took me to visit the Clan Camp. I saw them standing there, and they were incredible. They held their heads high, and their polished iron armour gleamed in the sunlight. I was thrown by their bravery. Yeah, I'd seen Lumbridge guards before, and even Varrock guards. But they didn't influence me as much as those four men standing by the gate.

I didn't tell anyone then, because I knew people would laugh. "Stupid Spek," they'd have said. "Stupid Spek's got his head in the clouds again."

But here I am now. Here I am in an iron chainbody, which I'm now strong enough to wear. I spent two years at the guard training camp, doing agility courses and whacking training dummies right in the noggin. I've achieved my dream!

"Spek," says one of the other new recruits, a slight, nervous man called Sam. "Do you think we'll be attacked?"

I'm sort of hoping we will, for a chance to protect the city, but I don't want to frighten Sam. I shake my head. "Probably not," I say reassuringly. He doesn't look very reassured.

"Are you kidding?" This is Brutus, an excited, aggressive person who looks like he can't wait. "I bet we will! I bet we'll be plagued with goblins and highwaymen, perhaps even some stray trolls from Burthorpe!"

Sam gulps. I feel a bit sorry for him. He was pressured into joining the Guard. "Y-yeah," he says in a strained voice. "I bet."

We're in a small guardroom, hidden inside the wall. One thing I love about becoming a guard is that I get to find out all the secrets of Falador's architecture. There's about five of these guardrooms throughout the entire length of Falador's wall, each stocked with weapons and supplies in case of an emergency. Our guardhouse is right next to the front gate, as we're next for guard duty.

Our orders are to guard the city from all monsters, and to attack such things on sight. We've got to let civilians and other people in, but to stop and question any suspicious outsiders who we haven't seen here before. I'm terribly excited - all jittery. I feel like I've just had three mugs of Asgarnian ale.

Then we hear it - two sharp knocks on the outside of the wall behind us. The signal. Brutus' grin could scare a troll, I swear, he's really fired up. Sam's gritting his teeth, the poor guy ... I pat him on the back and encourage him down the ladder before he can think twice about it.

Underground, through a small passageway and up a trapdoor, and we're out! Sunlight strikes me right in the eye, and even I'm a bit shivery now. There are already two guards at the gate, each with a steel kiteshield and steel chainbody. They must be quite a high rank.

"So you're the newbies, eh?" One of them looks us up and down, and grunts, seemingly satisfied. "Alright. To your posts." We assemble into our patrolling positions, close enough to mutter to each other - but we're too nervous to chat! And it begins.

I'm seeing the world through the eyes of a guard now. It's exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. That dark area on the ground - what could it be? A malicious shade? The spell of a dark wizard? No.. it's just Brutus' shadow.

And then we see our first people. A great hulk of a man, clad in glowing green-blue armour that seems to have its own aura. I almost falter, then I remember who I am. But he passes through, he's clearly been here all his life. A short, pretty woman clad in dark robes with an orbed staff, but she sprints past without so much as a second glance at us.

And after that, I get used to it. I realise that these people are strong, but not evil. Brutus doesn't look so happy with the lack of monsters. He's weighing his blade up and down.

"AAAAAAGGGGH!"

It's Sam. I whip round, to see him squealing and backing away from nothing - wait, no it's a demon - no, it's an imp. An imp, barely at knee-height to him. Brutus crows in delight and jumps at it, swinging with his sword for all he's worth. He slices part of its tail off, and it hits back. He blocks with his shield, and hits again - but his sword hisses in smoke. The imp's gone and teleported off.

Brutus swears colourfully. I, meanwhile, stay concentrated. One of the old veterans told us that lots of guards were easily distracted, and that's why they were fired quickly. He said a lot of guards died like that, which spooked Sam right out, and gave me enough reason to remember to pay attention now.

"Oh." Sam's back to normal, albeit slightly embarrassed. I think he's more relieved, though.

There's a lodestone a few metres away from us, outside the city. As I watch, it begins to glow, and I look around, but the two guards who were here before don't bat an eyelid. A flash of white, and there's someone on the great stone; he hops off and dusts off his clothes. He's wearing multicoloured robes which are really quite a sight, especially the pointed hat. A mage. He has a bright blue cape too, and and as I look at it, I feel sort of peaceful.

He pushes through us without so much as a word - but then, I see Brutus turn around, looking murderous.

"What do you think you're doing?" Brutus faces the mage and thwacks him with his sword, hard. It's brave, I'll give him that. But by Saradomin, it's stupid.

Time slows down. The mage's staring at Brutus, kind of calmly. Sam's transfixed. I can almost read his mind - 'please leave us alone, please leave us alone, please leave us alone...'

I lick my lips nervously. By some miracle, the mage is backing away. Brutus is glaring. "Trying to pick my pocket..."

"Brutus," barks one of the two experienced guards. "Get back to duty."

He grudgingly turns around, and we all do the same. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the mage turn and jog off through the city. Sam lets out a loud breath.

And then it's back to normal. Brutus keeps muttering to himself, and I hear a few swearwords. People pass without fuss and the atmosphere becomes more relaxed. One of the guards nudges Sam and tells him a joke; Sam smiles weakly but appreciatively. He's trying, he really is.

You know, I could get used to this. With this armour on, I feel like a real hero, or a warrior.

Suddenly, I hear a twang and a hiss. I turn, and see the guard who told us our orders, spouting an arrow in his shoulder. He raises his sword and runs forward towards his attacker - a few paces away, an angry-looking archer with what looks like leather armour. It's a faded brown torso with little grooves in it and a pair of fresh-looking chaps. He fires again, and this time the bronze-tipped arrow bounces off the guard's chainmail harmlessly. I'm too shocked to move. Sam's cowering behind me. And Brutus - Brutus is right next to the archer, snarling and hacking at him with his battleaxe. It shines in the sunlight, and indeed, Brutus is a fearsome sight.

They're both attacking the archer, who draws a black-bladed scimitar and continues. Brutus gets slashed in the arm, but doesn't even flinch. He's attacking relentlessly. But the other guard's not looking too good. He has slash marks everywhere, and is bleeding. I swallow. If I helped, I'd only get in Brutus' way. I don't know what to do!

It all happens at once. The black scimitar comes down, and the guard collapses with a cry. I can't look away. The cry almost breaks my heart. And Brutus lets out an animal roar, and wrenches his battleaxe round. It catches the enemy right in the back, and he falls to the floor. I can tell he's dead.

Sam's crying. He can't believe his eyes. I'm pretty shaken up myself. I just saw two people die. The guard - only an hour ago, he was talking to me, giving me orders. And he's just gone. Who's going to break it to his family? He was as young as me. I try to imagine myself dying like that, without seeing the world. I can't.

Brutus is still growling. He's a bloody madman. Hair all over the place, his helmet cracked, blood dripping off his weapon. He kicks the corpse away.

The other guard, the one who hasn't spoken to us yet, walks up to the dead body of his friend. He looks grim, and there's a tear trickling out of the corner of his eye, but his face is hard. Like he's seen this sort of thing before.

The lodestone flashes white again. I'm wary. I'm warier than I've ever been. I glance down at my weapon; it looks so flimsy now. If we get attacked again, I know we're for it. Brutus is the only real fighter, and he's already wounded.

A man appears in the lodestone-aftermist, dressed in a monk's robe. He doesn't say anything, doesn't even look at us, but he silently walks over to the remains of the two corpses. He picks them up, puts them in his bag. I'm amazed how he fits them in - it must be a magical bag of sorts. Then he walks through.

"Who's he?" I whisper to the older guard.

"A kind soul. He's going to bury them," comes the reply. "He's putting their spirits to rest. It wins him favour with the gods."

I turn back, thinking on this, imagining what it would be like to have a god on your side in a fight - to be able to say the word and have Saradomin blast your enemy to pieces. Wow.

I move to step back into position, and suddenly I find I can't. I can't move. My legs are stuck in place. Some ... some sort of a magical force. I look up. Sam's staring at something in horror. I follow his gaze to see a man, dressed in dark purple robes. He has a staff with a brownish glowing orb at the end, and it emanates power. I'm under attack by a mage!

How do I fight back if I can't move? Some sort of magical force is holding me in place! I'm panicking. I strain to move, but to no avail. And as I watch, the mage brings his hands and staff together, and makes a gesture at me. And a chunk of earth is wrenched out of the ground - a bloody great clump of mud - and sent hurtling towards me.

Smash. The missile hits me and disintegrates. I stagger under the force of the blow. My armour is tingling, as if with electricity, and my shield arm aches from the strike.

And then Brutus is upon him, yelling maniacally and striking with his weapon. I realise that he's saving my life. He hits the mage on the arm, and draws a bit of blood. The mage turns away from me to face him. I feel like cheering. Brutus is a fierce fighter. He can do this.

At the same time, I feel the strength returning to my legs. I can move again! And this time, I have no doubts. I charge my attacker, adrenaline coursing through my veins and giving me energy. I hit him with a satisfying blow to the backside. He gasps shortly. I'd sort of been hoping he'd scream and run away from such an unfair fight.

But oh, how wrong I am.

For a moment, a blissful moment, he doesn't attack. He backs a couple of paces away and stows away his staff.

Brutus spits. "Coward!"

I glance quickly at Sam. He's with the other guard, and it looks like they're trying to question someone about to enter.

When I look back, the mage has drawn another weapon. A larger, heavier-looking staff. It's black-handled, and there is a strange purple symbol on the end. My eyes bulge. The symbol of Zaros! I've only ever seen that in history books. It strikes me with a sudden fear, but I crush it and advance on him, seeking to strike him down before he can cast any more of his magic.

Brutus has had the same idea. But then a horrible thing happens. Something vile, so evil that I can't believe it's happening. The mage raises his staff, and I feel a sharp tightening in my heart. I feel a wound open up in my neck, a tiny wound.

And then an arc of blood shoots out into the air, and gets absorbed into the staff.

I feel weak. Queasy. Through the corner of my eye, I see ... I see a corpse. Brutus is dead, already rotting away in a few drops of blood. I can see his bones. Somehow, we were both attacked at once.

I know I'm going to die now. And I do. My vision swimming, I see the staff raise up, and I feel the blood shoot out of me again, and with that blood is my life. My strength is sapped in an instant. I drop my shield and weapon and collapse, dead.

I'm looking down at my rotting body. I'm light, light as air, floating up and up. I see the mage kneel down and pick up mine and Brutus' remains. He digs a hole in the ground and buries them deep. I feel something tug at me, and now I feel distant. I'm vanishing.

I'm going... I'm going ...