AN: Sorry for not updating sooner. The story picks up a little; we finally meet the guardians and the last member of the group. If you remember the legend from the prologue you'll remember all their missing is the druid. I hope you won't flame for this, but I'm gonna focus on Satura for the next one or two chapters, with small scenes with the rest of the group. Well, anyways enjoy the story!
The five friends woke to the sensation of being unable to move. They then noticed a dome of purple light all around them. "Master said to finish them off." A nasty sounding voice said. The next moment, a stallion's high challenging whinny suddenly broke the air. Bonfire came racing into the clearing, sword and bow strapped to her waist and back. She was forming a nasty looking ball of electricity in one hand. "Satura!" Miaka exclaimed. The mage briefly glanced at her then back to her foes. "Garret!" She shouted.
A flute song floated into the clearing, immediately all four enemies were clinging to their ears, screaming in agony. The spell of the song made it sound like their own idea of the worst noise in existence. Satura threw the crackling ball of lightning at the four villains. It split into four pieces at the last minute hitting all of them at the same time. All of them felt electricity running through every cell of their body. Combined with the song it was too much for them to take and soon all four were dead.
The flute song abruptly ended. "There's still more in the woods…" the mage trailed off as she sensed a strange magic. At that moment the dome shattered and the others could move once more. A low growl from their left drew their attention. A huge silver wolf stood looking at them. She gave what seemed to be a jerk of her head toward the other side. This next sight was even scarier- a large white tiger looked at them. To their backs was a magnificent black unicorn. In front was a large golden griffin. A bird's cry from above signaled the presence of a falcon.
The wolf was the first to move, she walked over to where Tasuki was and gave his hand a nudge. Her tail began wagging as she stood and looked at him. "Wha-What do you want?" he asked. A voice appeared in his mind, coming from the depths of his soul. I am Zyra, your Guardian. The voice said. He stared at the wolf. "Guardian?" he asked. "What are you talking about?" "Guardian?" the group echoed. Realization dawned on Satura. "A guardian, a bond for the six who dare to find a broken treasure, protector and friend forever faithful will they be! It's the guardians, the ones from the legend!" She exclaimed. Tasuki looked at Zyra. "Is that true?" he asked. Yes. Said the voice in his mind. "Who goes with who na no da?" Chichiri asked.
A pair of talons suddenly settled on his head. Startled, he jumped and fell over. A weight settled on his chest. He looked up to see a large falcon. The bird was nineteen inches tall. He was slim, and the wingspan reached a little over three and a half feet. The wings were angled and much to the monk's curiosity, silver in color. The rest of the body was a golden brown color. The eyes were bright intelligent amber. The beak and talons were razor sharp, giving an overall impression of a creature who fast and deadly and who could travel long distances. The falcon regarded him with interest form his perch from atop the monk's chest.
I am Aayden. The bird said. "Are you the one who's going to guard me?" I am. Said the bird. "Now that we've gotten that straightened out no da. Would you mind getting off of me?" Chichiri asked. The falcon fluttered to the ground. The monk sat up and Aayden flew up and settled on his shoulder. The monk gave the bird a slightly irritated look. "DAAAA! I'm going to start charging for animal transporting na no da." He said shaking his head. "That's all I seem to be good for lately."
He looked to see how the others were doing. Garret had backed up to a tree. The tiger slowly approached him. The cat stopped a few feet from him and looked straight at the bard. I am Kreesha. I will be your Guardian. Garret cautiously reached out and scratched the cat behind the ears. The cat rumbled in pleasure and rubbed her head against his hand. "Hey, your pretty nice." He said, surprised. What were you expecting me to do? Rip you apart? "Well…" the bard trailed off. Kreesha just shook her head much like a human did.
The unicorn had approached Miaka. The girl was patting his neck when he spoke. I am Shadow. The girl smiled and rubbed his nose. "I'm Miaka." Satura was eyeing the griffin before her. Pure gold in color, he was a few inches taller then Bonfire. "You are?" the mage asked. Sunfire. The woman looked at the others. "Well its nice to see everyone's getting along with their guardians." She remarked. "Hey Mi-chan what's the name of yours?" Tasuki asked. "Mi-chan?" Nuriko murmured to Hotohori. The two seishi had been watching everything in open amazement. They were busy trying to absorb everything all at once and considering everything that had been happened to them in the past six hours that was asking a lot.
Everyone had finished exchanging guardian names when Miaka came over and dragged the two of them forward. "I take it this is Nuriko and Emperor Hotohori?" Satura asked. Miaka smiled and nodded cheerfully. "And you are Garret and Satura?" Hotohori asked. "Yes." The couple answered. "And now that-" A chime filled the air cutting off Satura's words. Two rolled up scrolls fell into her hands. She paled as she looked at the seals on them. "Satura? What's wrong?" Miaka asked. "It's a message from the king and the Warrior-Mage Council." "What do they say?"
The mage opened the first scroll and skimmed through it. She then read through the second one. She relaxed a little bit. "Its okay." She said, looking up. "I just have to go to the capital and give my annual loyalty oath to the king." "Loyalty oath?" Tasuki asked, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't that a bit extreme?" "Not for our kingdom its not. Several hundred years ago, the nobles of the country didn't have to give an oath at all. Unfortunately, one idiotic noble decided to take the throne for himself. So he hired some mercenaries, stormed the King's palace and almost succeeded in usurping the throne except for one problem. "What was it?" Nuriko said, curious. "His robes were too long." Satura said, a mischievous glint in her eye. Garret had by this time been reduced to gales of laughter.
The expressions on the faces of the miko and seishi had been too much for him. While they had been thinking along the lines of an assassin or poison or another betrayer in the midst of the noble's group, never once had they been thinking that it was the length of a simlple garment that saved the kingdom. "His robes?!!" The Suzaku people exclaimed. "Yup. The hem of his robe got caught on a nail, it pulled him back, his head hit the wall, and, well, you can probably guess the rest." Satura said a slighty grim expression on her face.
Garret had finally calmed down, so he picked up where Satura had left off. "After that attempt. The King and his council got together and came up with the idea for the annual loyalty oath. If any noble is caught in the act of betraying it, it means instant death for him, since oaths and honor are taken very seriously in any kingdom in Delika." Garret explained. "Nasty system, but it works we haven't had any trouble with usurpers since then." He added.
The seishi and miko blinked. "Oh." "What does the second scroll say?" "I have to give my annual report to the Warrior-Mage council and undergo the Sharil ceremony. That's the ceremony all warrior-mages undergo when they've reached their tenth year in the order." She said, noticing the confused looks on faces of Miaka and her seishi. "Bad thing is, this means I'll have to leave you for awhile." This met with various cries of protest. "You can't leave us!" Miaka wailed. "What'll happen to us with you gone?!" Tasuki cried, not looking too happy. "We need your help!"
Garret and the other seishi weren't too eager to see her go, despite the fact that Nuriko and Hotohori had known her for only a short time. They had picked up the fact from the others that they depended on Satura for a lot of things. "It'll be a lot easier for me to travel alone and get the oath and ceremony over with if I travel alone!" Satura said, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Besides you'll still have Garret who knows just as much as me-if not more- about Delika." She added. The others reluctantly knodded their acceptance of the mage's plan." "Good. I'll leave in the morning." She walked back over to the clearing where she and Garret had set up camp. Garret started to follow her, but turned and said to the group, "Don't worry about her or yourselves. Everything will all right, you'll see." He disappeared into the shadows and left without a sound. The others looked at each other and decided that sleep was the best course of action. A few minutes later the group was in a deep slumber.
*****
Night gave way to dawn, as a group of subdued travelers said good-bye to Satura. "I should be back within a week, week and a half." She said. "We'll meet you in Clat's City." Garret said. The mage nodded. Clat's City was a good choice, it was large and the group wouldn't stand out. "Safe journey." The bard gave her a kiss on the cheek. Miaka then flung her arms around the woman. "I'll miss you." She said. "I'll miss you too, Miaka." Satura replied, hugging her back. She let go of the Miko to look at the seishi. Chichiri stepped forward taking his mask off, and took her hand in a friendly grip. "You've been a good friend to me, Satura-chan no da. So come back in on piece okay na no da?' he said, smiling at her. Satura tightened her grip for a moment and said, "I will."
She then looked at Tasuki, who was scuffing his boot in the dirt. Finally, he looked up. "All right, I'll $@#%*(% miss ya all right?! Just come back in one piece ya damn woman!" He shouted. "Not much for good-byes are you Tasuki?" The mage asked. "He just doesn't like being sentimental, it makes him lose that supposed 'Tough guy exterior' when everybody knows he's just an old softy underneath." Nuriko said giving the bandit an innocent smile. Tasuki swore under his breath. "OWWWWWWWW!!" He howled suddenly. He looked down to find Zyra's jaws clamped around his right calf. The group looked on in puzzlement as the seishi swore and the wolf still held on to his leg.
Finally, he said, "Will you please let go?" Zyra immediately let go. The wolf shook herself and explained her actions. I don't like it when people swear, least of all the one I'm supposed to guard. "So ya take a chunk out of their legs?" The bandit asked. Well… Zyra realized how ridiculous it was to bite someone simply because of a bad habit they couldn't help having. I won't do that again. The wolf said. "Well now that that's settled, I'm going." Satura announced. The group's good moods disappeared. "Good-bye, Satura." Garret, Miaka and the seishi (with the exception of Hotohori and Nuriko) chorused. The mage gripped their hands for a moment, then swung up to the saddle. She gave a friendly smile and nod to the Emperor and Nuriko.
Sunfire gave a cry and took off for the sky, his great wings beating the air and reflecting the sun off his golden body. Satura gave Bonfire a gentle kick and the stallion took off at a fast canter. The mage's voice rose to meet their ears a final time. "Safe journey, friends!" "Safe journey, my love." Garret whispered. Soon horse, mage, and griffin where out of sight. Sighing, thr bard turned back and started for his saddlebags to pack up and start the journey to Clat's City.
*****
Satura slowed Bonfire as she came to a crossroad. The road to the capital, Alsoria stretched in two directions. One was long and safe. The other was short and very dangerous. Which one should I take? She thought. I've only got a week and a half… Short route. She decided. She sent Bonfire to the left.
*****
The mage shifted in the saddle and slipped her leg out of the stirrup to stretch stiff leg muscles. She wore the standard outfit for a warrior mage- sleeveless deerskin jacket over a white silk blouse, breeches loose enough to allow movement to perform her martial arts moves. The only difference in her clothing from another warrior-mages was the choice of colors. Satura's jacket happened to be dark-blue her breeches were dyed a hunter green, a scarlet sash and black boots helped complete the outfit. Her hair was pulled back in a braid similar to the French braid.
She came out of her daydream to spot several bandits on the road harassing what appeared to be a Druid. A snow leopard snarled and leaped at the bandits, trying to get at them, but several ropes around her neck and held by some of the bandits kept her from her goal. "Filthy Druid!" one of the bandits growled. "Its your kind that prevents us from making a living! Because you have to protect that oh so precious forest of yours!" his voice ended on a mocking note. "We could make and honest living cutting that timber down." Another added. "Instead your kind prevents us from doing it! So we're reduced to thieving just to keep ourselves fed!" With that the lead bandit slapped the woman hard across the face. The leopard snarled and tried to leap at his throat, but the ropes around her neck prevented her from doing it.
An eagle's cry from above drew the attention of the attackers, Druid and mage alike. Sunfire had gone into a steep dive, claws out for the attack. The bandits had frozen in place, looks of awe on their faces. It soon became clear the griffin wasn't going to break the attack off, so the bandits turned coward and ran screaming leaving the leopard and Druid behind. Sunfire opened his wings, slowing his speed and came to a gentle landing on the ground next to the Druid.
Despite her injuries the woman managed a respectable bow. "Thank you, wing-brother." Her voice spoke of good education and good bloodlines. You are very welcome, forest-sister. The griffin replied. "Are you all right?" Satura's voice caused the three of them to focus on her. The Druid eyed her warily. "Who are you?" She asked. "Satura Mel'si, a warrior-mage." "Mel'si? You are a daughter of the Mel'si family?" The woman asked sharply. "Yes." "Then you are a Druid-friend." "As all people should be." The mage replied.
The woman smiled and gave a bow. "I am Keldar My'ava of the Dyra clan." "I am honored to meet you, Keldar My'ava. And who is the magnificent cat next to you?" The leopard, which had gotten free of the ropes, twitched her tail in appreciation at the description. "She is Leira, my Guardian." "Guardian?" Satura asked. "Yes, she is my Guardian. I am one of the six from the prophecy." Keldar said. "You have Nyasha's mark?"
Keldar lifted up her left sleeve. There glowing on her wrist much like the seishi's kanji was the blue mark of Nyasha. "I search for those who share my quest." She said. "Well look no further, you've already found one. I am the warrior-mage of the legend. The griffin is my Guardian." Keldar looked at Sunfire. This is true forest-sister. She is one of the six. "Praise Nyasha!" The Druid exclaimed. "I can't believe it!" She looked at Leira. "Only four more to go." She said smiling. Keldar looked back at Satura, who was hiding a grin behind her hand. "Well Keldar, I've already found the other four." "What?" The other woman exclaimed.
"Yup, but first let me see to your wounds." Satura swung down off of Bonfire and walked over to Keldar. She stretched out her healing magic to gauge the severity of the wounds. They were mostly bumps and bruises. The worst was a small gash on her leg. She healed all of them within a single breath. Keldar moved her leg then looked at the mage. "Thank you." She said. "Now for a really long story." Satura launched into the tale of what had been happening so far. "So you travel to the capital while the others travel to Clat's City? And two people who are not members of the six also travel with you?" The Druid asked when the mage was finished.
"Well, you already know why I travel alone, would you prefer to travel with the others?" Satura asked. "No, I will travel with you." Keldar put her fingers to her lips and whistled. A beautiful palomino mare trotted out of the bushes. "This is Windstar." Satura inclined her head. "Pleased to meet you." "That's Bonfire." She said, pointing at the stallion. Keldar gave the stallion an expert appraisal. "He is a fine example of Rosethorn breeding." She said, mounting Windstar. "Several generations worth." The mage replied, swinging up to the saddle. Once she and Keldar were settled, they urged their mounts forward, their Guardians following.