A bright flash of lightning flashed across the sky and lighted the dim cobblestone street for a second before the street became dark again. The sound of hooves pounding on stone drew nearer and nearer until a black cloaked figure could be seen. The black horse bore its black clad rider with perfect composure as it cantered through the silent town.
The rider was casting quick glances behind every now and then. As the black horse vanished out of the town, the sound of more hoofbeats began to ring through the dark, sleeping town. The riders of these horses often held a conversation with their comrades, but their voices were too low to be heard by anyone else.
Once the black cloaked figure had left the town, he spurred his horse into a gallop. The horse eagerly obliged, and it sped silent quitely across the grassy fields. Time and time again the rider cast a look over his shoulder. "Where are they? I know they're there," he murmured.
There was a loud whinnie, and the cloaked figure turned his head. The group of riders gave a shout and urged their horses onwards while they readied their bow and arrows. "There he is! After him!!" shouted one of the men. The cloaked figure cursed under his breath and bent low over his horse's neck. "Go quickly Veil! Run!" he whispered urgently.
The sound of pounding hooves filled the cloaked figure's ears as his own horse raced across the dark fields. It won't be long before they start raining arrows on me, he thought. Just as the thought crossed his mind, a hail of arrows zipped past him; several of them pierced holes in his cloak. The hunted rider let out a grunt when the tip of one arrow cut his cheek; a thin trickle of blood trickled down his cheek.
Veil was slowly beginning to tire, and his pace began to slow. The hunters noticed and gave a shout of joy. "We've got you now! Don't bother trying to outrun us!!" one of them shouted. The cloaked figure shouted a curse and halted his horse. From underneath his cloak he drew a shining scythe. "If you want me, come and take me!" he challenged.
Challenge accepted, the hunters dropped their bows and quivers and drew their swords. The lone rider and the group of hunters rode to each other and clashed.
With one hand on the reins and one hand gripping his scythe, the cloaked figure parried every blow dealt to him, and all the blows he dealt were true. As he became the Grim Reaper, sounds of agonized screams filled the midnight air.
Once the last of the hunters fell to the cloaked rider's shining blade, the figure drew back the hood. His eyes were cobalt blue in color, and his brown hair was done in a braid that was hidden underneath his cloak. After cleaning his blade on a rag, he stowed the scythe away and looked towards the direction he had been heading. "The Council will have to be notified of these movements. But for now, we shall rest. Won't we Veil?"
The braided figure caressed his horse's face and unloaded its small load. In several minutes, both horse and rider were asleep.
Early the next morning, Duo rose from the ground and looked at the rising sun. "C'mon Veil. We've got to get going if we're to see the Council today," he said to his horse and he quickly restored the horse's load to its back. Veil turned his head and nuzzled his rider before giving a low whinny.
In one quick motion, Duo lifted himself into the saddle. "All right then, my friend! To Ethereal!" As soon as the name "Ethereal" escaped Duo's lips, Veil took off away from the rising sun.
Once the Council had heard what was happening in the lands of the East, they sent word out to all the neighboring kingdoms. These three kingdoms then sent representatives to Ethereal. It had been one week since Duo had come into Ethereal, and the representatives were coming in.
One of the first to come in through the beautiful gates of Ethereal was a young blond riding upon a white stallion from the southern realms, Senvar. He wore a flowing silver cape with an embroidered outfit underneath; his hands were protected by a pair of white leather gloves. A long saber was in its engraved sheathe that hung on the blond's belt. He had a look of gentleness about him, and yet at the same time, the look of one who could cause great damage.
The next representative to come in arrived from the northern regions, Leaos. He had a navy blue cloak on and heavy gloves; his boots were of the tall sort and appeared to have a warm interior lining. His emotionless face was partly hidden by a long bang that hung over half of his face. In one of his hands, he held his chesnut steed's reins while in the other he held a longbow. Attached to his saddle, a sheath concealed a long dagger.
The last rider to come in had slick black hair that was tied in a tight ponytail. This rider had come in from the western realms, Thades, and his black eyes surveyed the beautiful Ethereal scenery. A dark green cloak enveloped his entire body in its shapeless form. When he brushed away the cloak, he revealed his white tunic and blue pants; a saber rested at his side. When the guard gave him pass of the Ethereal gate, the rider nudged his bay horse into a smooth trot.
After the last representative had entered the gates, the tall white doors were shut once again. In times of peril such as these, the normally open gates would remain shut. The danger seemed so great that even the head officer of the Ethereal defence was there. His Prussian blue eyes caught every detail as his men worked to lock the gate. Once all of the locks were set in place, the head officer walked right in front of the gate and raised his hands to about shoulder height. After muttering silently, a bright flash appeared from his hands. Once the flash had vanished, the entire city of Ethereal was under guard of a magical wind forcefield.
"It must be very serious," Wufei thought aloud as he dismounted his horse and began to walk into the looming, white palace; it was not often that a magical forcefield was used to protect Ethereal. The palace was not the home of a king, but the home of the Council. The Council was a group of men and women who were elected by their people to join this Council. The Council was considered the highest law of the land, and their word was always final.
When Wufei entered the Chamber where the Council met, he noticed that three other people were already there. Several minutes later, the head defence officer appeared as well. Heero nodded solemnly to the representatives and walked up to the speaking platform. The round-shaped platform had a set of stairs leading up to its lofty position, and it was in a spot where all of the Council could see the speaker. "What news have you brought us, Heero Yuy?" came a loud booming voice from no specific location.
"Members of the Council, I have brought before you the three representatives and the messenger from the East," Heero said in a dull, flat tone. The four people bowed low. "From the South, we have Quatre Raberba Winner. Trowa Barton hails from the North, and Wufei Chang comes from the West. Duo Maxwell, you have already met him. All four of them have some of the strongest magic in the land."
"Welcome to you all," a female voice said. The Chamber had been made so that none of the Members could be seen, but their voices were easily amplified; the identities of the Members was to remain concealed once they had been elected. "I am the head woman of this Council. Moments ago, you had spoken to the head man. We are pleased to have you with us today. Please, take a seat."
As she spoke, five chairs were brought in by five white-clad men. The five young men sank into the comfortable chairs. "Make yourselves comfortable for this might take a while," said another male Member.
"Duo Maxwell, our brave messanger, rode out from the lands of the East to tell us something that we had never thought would happen: the Rising has begun. The "good" people of the East had all been shepherded into the palace, but it appears that even among those people there were evil ones. These evil-doers killed the entire population; all who remain are those that follow the Dark Sign. All except for Maxwell.
"Duo Maxwell escaped the clutches of the enemy and rode upon his steed to warn us. If the Rising is not stopped, there will be no one left on this planet. They're purpose in life, or death, is to conquer this fine planet and take it for their own."
The head female Member stopped talking. After several seconds of an uncomfortable silence, she spoke again. "I had come from the East. And to know that all of my homeland has been destroyed brings tears to my eyes. But, I am no longer of the East; I am of Ethereal. That is why you have been summoned here, you three representatives of your land. We asked for the strongest that your land had to offer, and you answered. We thank you for that. If you choose to accept, we wish to have you lead the war against the Rising."
Duo immediately rose and shouted, "I will aid Ethereal in her battle against the Rising." The braided-one took five steps toward the podium, but did not actually step onto the stairs. Heero was the next to rise, and he stood next to Duo. Next came Quatre who had his right hand over his heart. "I will fight as well." Soon after Trowa and Wufei stood next to the other three assembled before the Council.
The head male Member then said, "Very well then. We leave the fate of our planet in your hands. I now pronounce you as the Guardians! Guard us well! You are dismissed."
The five men bent down on one knee and said an oath of allegiance before exiting the large Chamber.
The three men from outside of Ethereal left one by one through the main gate. Quatre waved a farewell before trotting off in the southern direction. Trowa nodded and Wufei just stared at the others before departing. Once all three of the representatives had left, Heero closed the main gate and the forcefield was complete once more.
Something isn't right, thought Trowa as he neared the forest in which his home was located. As the man walked his horse further into the forest, Trowa could see why he found it so odd: the forcefield he had put into place around his home was gone. Trowa's green eyes opened wider for a second when he saw his home without any protection around it; he nudged his chesnut into a gallop to quickly end his journey home.
When he reached the gates, he noticed that the gates were also unlocked and unguarded. With great caution, Trowa and his horse moved into the interior of his home. Where is everyone? Nobody is here.
Suddenly, a loud voice shouted his name. "Trowa! Trowa! You are home!!" The man in question wheeled around and faced a rather fat man in his late fifties. Trowa breathed a sigh of relief at seeing the Head of Leaos well. Trowa dismounted and walked over to the kindly old man named Thaden.
"It is unusual to see you wandering around in the open!" Trowa exclaimed. Thaden shook his head sadly, and quickly looked about him. "Leaos has been taken by members of the Rising. I never realised it, but the head of our military was one of those confounded members!"
"They kicked me out of power, but I am lucky enough to still have people who oppose the Rising in Leaos. Please, Trowa, go for help. The forces here are strong, and without our military, we are unable to get rid of them!"
The sound of footsteps approaching made Thaden rush Trowa back onto his horse. "Go now! It's Slain, the leader of the Rising members here! Go!"
With those words, Thaden slapped the rump of the horse to get it running. The old man waved at Trowa until Slain appeared behind him. "Sending help are we, Thaden? That's a no-no. I thought you knew better!" he hissed as he drove his double-edged broadsword through the old man's back.
"Slain. You will be stopped!" Thaden whispered as his eyes glazed over in death. Slain leaned down towards Thaden's face and asked, "What did you say? I didn't hear you."
With that, Slain yanked his bloody sword out of Thaden's limp body. On the once shining blade was the blood of the former leader of Thaden. At the sight of the red fluid, Slain's eyes lit up. "Blood!" he exclaimed as wiped the blood off with his ungloved hand. When his hand was practically covered in the red ooze, he looked at it as if were the most beautiful thing in the world. Then with the greatest care, Slain began licking the blood off his hands.
White froth was coming from Trowa's stallion's, Lodaran, mouth as he galloped the last few meters to Ethereal. "Open the gates! Open the gates! It is I, Trowa Barton of Leaos!" Trowa hollared. A guard's face could be made out through the forcefield, and then the face vanished again. It was a mere second before the forcefield vanished just around the main gate, and the entrance was opened.
Trowa nudged his horse into a walk, and the two exhausted travelers entered the haven called Ethereal. "What is wrong?" Heero questioned once the gate was closed and the forcefield back in place. Trowa was still unable to say anything and simply shook his head.
After being allowed a short rest, Trowa told Heero everything that had happened at Leaos. "I can't believe it. Leaos has been taken by the rising? So now we have to fight in Leaos and in Kadean. We'll have to split our forces, and I'm not happy about that," Heero mumbled as he walked towards the white palace of the Council.
"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news," Trowa said as he walked over to the stable with his exhausted horse. Heero waved it off as he continued up to the Council's meeting place.
Quatre and Wufei arrived with their troops about a day after they had left Ethereal; they had traveled with all speed upon hearing the news of Leaos being taken down. As soon as they had entered the gates of Ethereal, Heero ushered them into the palace.
"They are here," Heero announced when Trowa, Duo, Quatre, and Wufei had taken a seat. The Council Chamber was silent for a moment before the head male Member spoke. "As you have all heard, the war against the Rising must now occur in both Kadean and Leaos. This is a most unfortunate occurence, but fate does have its twists and turns. Because of these most recent conditions, we have to split the forces up so we can fight a two front war."
"Since the war in Leaos shall be smaller than the war in Kadean, we shall send Heero and the Ethereal troops with Trowa to Leaos, and Duo, Quatre, and Wufei will fight in Kadean. If this mission fails, if we fail, then there is no hope for humanity," said the head female Member.
There was another moment of silence and then the entire Council spoke at once. "Farewell and good luck, Five Guardians!"
With the burden of saving humanity on their backs, the Guardians walked out of the Council Chamber to begin the greatest of greatest missions.
Heero took one last look at his home before trotting northward with Trowa. He had left the city in good hands with his most faithful soldier, so he had nothing to fear. Half of the Ethereal troops were following him to Leaos, and the other half would remain in Ethereal. Going westward, Quatre led half of the Senvar troops while Wufei led half of the Thades troops. Duo trotted alongside them at the front of the ranks. All the troops moving out of Ethereal was a awe-inspiring sight for these men were the hope of the world.