Someone knocked at the door.

"Come in!"

Marco opened the door and walked inside. Moon put the large book down stood up to greet him. "Marco, hello."

"Hey, Queen Butterfly. Sorry that took so long."

"No, not a problem. Come, sit." Moon took hold of his arm and led him to the chair next to hers. "I trust everything went well?"

"Yea, just a lot of measuring. The tailors, I think they were, fit me with some leather and straps for size. They said the sizing should be finished my midday tomorrow.

"Good, that should fit with your fighting style. 'Karate,' was it? You'll have to forgive my lack of insight on Earth topics."

"Yes, that's right. The style I practice is called Tang Soo Do, but there's a lot of different ones. The weight will be good too, not much heavier than my Gi."

"You'll have to tell me more when we find the time. I don't believe we have anything similar on Mewni. I'll need to tell the Guild about your armor before the night's end. My, there's a lot to be done."

"The Guild? The ones at the meeting in the robes? How are they involved?"

"That's a discussion for another day. To simplify, being an Elite Guardian, your armor and weapon are to be augmented. The guild provides that service."

"Ah, ok. I only really got the crash course on the Guardians from Star's dad. Still lost on most other stuff."

Mood latched onto the topic. "That reminds me why I wanted to talk to you. Most times, we would have a few weeks at the least to prepare you and Star for what this means and all the tiny details. We have less than two days before you need to leave. I'm sure you can see the issue here. There was the option of giving you books and records to study, but that's hardly a good solution. Studying won't do you any good. What you need is an example to latch onto."

"The story?"

"Yes, a specific story."

A young Moon and several other figures stood around a table. Moon was dressed in her black cape and dress, the same type she wore while mourning.

The man standing beside her was no less than six feet tall. He wore a royal blue cape and hood that covered most of his head. Moon's signature pink cheek diamond was stitched into the cape, visible for anyone to see. A bow was strapped over his left shoulder and a quiver of arrows hung from his hip.

He spoke softly into Moon's ear. "Would you come aside for a moment?"

"Hm? Of course."

The two walked out into the hallway, away from the commotion surrounding at the table.

"What is it Hydlin?"

His voice was eerily deep. "Just a status update. I scanned the area half an hour ago and all is accounted for. If we leave on schedule, there should be a straight shot to the rendezvous with minimal confrontation. Are we still set to move out in," Hydlin said. He checked his pocket watch. "twelve minutes?"

"Yep, everything is already ready."

"Good to hear, Arune.

Moon blushed at the name. "I told you to stop using that name, it's embarrassing!"

"Hey, at least I don't use it in front of anyone, so I'm gettin off free."

"Talk like that and I'll have to release you," Moon said. She spoke with a playful, authoritative tone.

"Now, you wouldn't do that to me, would you? I'm the best friend you have." Hydlin started to swing the chain of his watch around. "Not to mention your best fighter, eh?"

"You got me there. So, you ready to do your big speech?"

"How about it? It's always fun to watch the guards shake in their armor. Real show it is."

"Hey, you just get it done."

"Just fun on the side." Hydlin opened the door back in. "After you."

Moon lead back into the room with Hydlin following closely. Sighting their approach, the four soldiers took to their feet and held stiff. Hydlin walked up to the table and cracked his knuckles.

"At ease." The armor-clad guards breathed a collective sigh. "We depart in eleven minutes, here's the plan." He pointed at the four soldiers. "You four. Two of you in the front and two in the back ten steps in front of or behind the Queen with five steps between you two. If you follow, this is a rectangle with one of you at each corned and the Queen in the middle. Understood?" All four guards said yes. "Good. I'll be three steps behind Queen Mood and the scribe will be two behind me. Main objective here is transporting the Queen to the moot hall. The citizens here don't exactly like Butterfly royalty, so be sharp even if chance of attack is low. If there are no questions, go get ready to move." The guards and scribe left the room and went outside, moving into position. Hydlin sat in a chair and kicked his feet up on the table."

"So, Moon, what are you gonna do when we get back to the castle?"

"Me? Probably meeting with nobles or something like that; boring stuff. What about you?"

"Go down to a tavern and get an Eothonian whiskey. After that, probably lay low for a while until you need me again."

"Hydlin, you can't drink!"

"Those bartenders don't know the difference. I look older than most of them, so it all works out. I've gotten drunk off the same bar for a year now."

"Drunk?"

"Don't you worry, I always sober up before anything important happens."

"You're intolerable."

"I know, but you still keep me around," he said humorously. Moon shot Hydlin a glare. "Alright, alright, I'll hold back on the drinking some. But only because you want me to. What about your clothes? Looks like you're going to your own funeral."

"Just a precaution. The less attention I get, the better."

"Yea, I get it. Smart choice. Almost time to go, you ready to head out?"

"Yes, let's go."

Hydlin exited first and led Mood down the steps, into the lobby, and finally to the courtyard where the guards were in position, waiting. Moon and Hydlin got into their positions which had been discussed earlier. His bow still hung from his shoulder, but Hydlin had his hand on the grip and the other hovering over the quiver. Straight outside the gate was the town market. Normally it would be stuffed with a myriad of people, but most of the venders were out farming or fishing.

"Ok, forward."

Everyone moved forward while staying in their assigned spots. All was looking well. They started out the gate and down a small dirt road traveling to the base of the hill. Once at the bottom, people started to notice the entourage. Heads turned and whispering induced. Moon kept her head down, not wanting to catch anyone's eyes. The soldiers and Hydlin didn't flinch. They were two-thirds of the way to the Moot Hall with no problems.

A clearly drunk man stepped to the front of the group, one hand behind his back. Hydlin clandestinely looked at the man. Stumbling slightly, but regaining enough balance to stand up straight and observe.

Without warning, the drunk ran out of the crowd and unveiled a broken bottle.

Before the guards could unsheathe their swords or Moon to fire a blast from her wand, Hydlin gripped onto the bow and grabbed an arrow. He pulled back on the string and aimed at the adversary. He let go. The arrow hit its mark in the man's throat just above his collar bone. With the arrow lodged inside, the drunk gagged on his own blood and fell to the ground, wheezing for breath and coughing blood onto the dirt. Crimson ran freely down his chest. The man tried to yank the arrow out, but it stayed put. In the process, he dug it further in. He tried to yell out in pain, but the blood and arrow wouldn't allow anything except choking.

Ice crystals formed on the outside on the wound. His blood started to coagulate when his neck started to ice over, eventually spreading to his mouth and chest where any liquids began freezing inside. He took a final breath and fell unconscious

Everyone in the crowd took a collective step back after the display of force. Briefly stunned, the guards put away their swords when the level of threat lowered. Moon's escort moved forward again, but much faster than before. Moon arrived at the Hall and slouched again the outside wall to catch her breath. Hydlin stood next to her and waited.

"Hydlin," Moon said in between breaths. "Thank you."

"No problem. I don't like going to that, but my first goal is to protect you, no matter how much I don't like using this damned weapon." Hydlin gripped the shaft tight, observing his tool. He looked down at Moon, now stood up fully. "By the way,"

Moon looked Hydlin in the face.

"I told you I always sober up before anything important."

"Your Guardian wasn't River?"

"No. Hydlin was a childhood friend. He actually wasn't even a noble, just a normal commoner. We met and I granted access to the castle. We must have been… eight or so when we met. That story was when I was seventeen."

"I see."

"Marco, I tell you that story so it can be an example. Hydlin was a staunch protector, but we were able to talk like normal people instead of just a protector. As friends. Besides the drinking, take an example from him. Does that make sense?"

"Yea, I think so."

"Good. Also, this is for you." Moon outstretched her arm to Marco and passed a book. "It's a copy of all our information on Aldmist. It should help you." The book was unnaturally thin, hardly breaking a hundred pages.

"Uh, Queen? Is this the right? It seems kinda small."

"Yes. Unfortunately, that is the right book. We haven't been able to do much, so that's everything. Marco, it's getting late and you should head to bed if you are to be rested for tomorrow. I've already sent a courier to Earth to tell your mother and father about our 'situation.' I've decided to… omit some of the details, but they get the basic idea."

"Thanks."

"The guard outside will lead you to your room. Good night Marco."
"Night." Marco tucked the book under his arm. He planned to read it before the fitting tomorrow.

One-hundred twelve pages. The entire known history of Aldmist was expressed in mere one-hundred twelve pages.

Marco got up earlier than usual to get started. He hadn't looked at anything other than the cover the night before, so the actual contents were unknown until the morning. Most of it was either extremely ancient history that wouldn't help at all or geography. The only recent information was the approximate date Clan Drengild came to power. About nine-hundred years.

Pondering over it wouldn't help. Marco made his bed and grabbed to book. He left the guest room and went to the main dining hall. When he sat, he was approached by a short woman in an apron.

"Can I get you anything?" she said

"Are scrambled eggs a thing here?" She nodded. "That please." Normally Marco would have opted to cook his own food−he didn't like to trouble anyone−but couldn't even concentrate on his thoughts after the unhelpful readthrough of the book.

The eggs came faster than expected. The royal chefs really did work fast. Marco took his time eating and took to opportunity to take a better look at the book. He opened the inside flap; 'RESTRICTED SECTION' was stamped in ink on the inside cover. Upon closer inspection, tiny scribbles were strewn about the cover. Marco couldn't make anything out and retired fully to his food. He didn't know what type of eggs he was eating, but HE didn't care. They tasted good and that's all that mattered.

Someone tapped Marco's shoulder. Marco looked up to see a woman wearing the same blue robe of the guild members.

"Please come with me."

Marco got up and started to follow her. "I take it this is about my gear?"

"Yes." She led him through similar hallways and through an iron and wood door, down the steps that followed. They arrived at an antechamber. Atticus Lamwood, hood down and burn showing, was waiting in the center of the room.

"You're Atticus, from last night?"

"That would be me. Now, come. I have a busy day ahead."

Marco and Atticus moved to the room directly ahead. Straw dummies lined one wall. Racks of different weapons were placed at the wall opposite. Apart from the weapons, several wooden mannequins made for storing armor. Pieces of leather were strapped onto the first.

"This what you were expecting?" Atticus asked.

"I'm not sure what I was expecting." The Armor was broken into several main pieces. The chest piece was strapped onto the chest and the back piece the same. There were two pieces of leather for each arm and leg; one covering the upper arm and thigh, the other much smaller place covering the forearm and shin. The leather wasn't connected and left much space between the pieces. It was unlike any armor Marco had seen.

"To give you all possible mobility, we broke the leather up into many pieces. This effectively cuts down on weight and gives you full mobility. Given your fighting style, it was adjusted for as little armor covering your body as possible while still protecting you."

The guild leader was right. Marco thought it looked extremely low profile.

"Let's try it then," Atticus said. "Alright, we're ready." Two other guild members came into the room. They started unstrapping it from the mannequin any placing the pieces on Marco's body. Marco took off his hoodie to make it easier to adjust the chest and back pieces. He noted how flexible it was. Once they were finished, one of the people went behind Marco and strapped a navy-blue cape and hood around his neck. The back of the cape had a large pink heart in the middle. The other guild members left Atticus and Marco alone.

"It's custom that the Guardian wears a blue cape with the queen's symbol adorned on the back"

"Huh, nice," Marco said, examining the forearm protection. "And this will protect me with whatever is there?"

Instead of responding, Atticus swung a small hatched around, straight into Marco's chest. The blade bounced off and left the armor unshaved.

"What was that! You could have missed!"

"It's better for me to show you."

"I would have believed you if you said it would work!"

"Well, now you won't have to take my word for it." Marco grunted in response. "Oh, now that you have the armor on, you have this to try." Atticus went to the closest weapon rack and picked up a staff. "I took the liberty of researching karate last night. This is what you call a 'bo staff,' yes? Six feet long, the standard length for such a weapon." Atticus placed the staff in Marco's hands. "Very versatile weapon, that is."

"Yea, that's right. How did you find all that information so quickly?"

"We have scrolls, books, and several other methods of documentation. They have information on just about anything from all over the known universes. Well, the places we were able to document so far."

Marco frowned. "I don't suppose you have anything on Aldmist in the collection?"

"No. That's one of the few places to fall under 'undocumented.' So, how does the staff feel?"

"Very good. It feels perfectly balanced." Marco effortlessly spun it around his hands. "And smooth. It's easy to hold and use. I'm gonna try it out." Marco walked confidently to the combat dummies. He picked one and jabbed it in the abdomen.

The staff flew out of Marco's hands with a crack and knocked him on his back. His staff flew and hit the wall.

'What was−why did that happen? I thought these were supposed to work without nearly killing me!"

"I thought this might happen. What you just experienced is called 'magic overload.' It's what happens when the body uses too much magical energy it can handle. We didn't have any direct records, but it had been suspected that humans have very, very low magical tolerance. If humans could handle it better, your species could do real magic instead of illusion and sleight of hand. Real magic. Mewmans, on the other hand, have a much higher tolerance. Hence, we Guild members can do what we do. In the result of this happening, I had these made." Atticus took a pair of fingerless gloves from his back pocket and gave them to Marco. Each one had a pink heart on the palm.

"Gloves?"

"Gloves. They'll help you focus magical energy. Quite helpful. I don't expect you to be able to do it, but other magic techniques and rituals are possible with those."

"So, I just put them on and they work? I don't want to get smacked around anymore, if you understand."

"Put them on." Marco put on the gloves and adjusted the strap. "The gloves need a catalyst to work. A small supply of magic. Hold out your hands."

Marco held out the gloves palm side up. Atticus closed his eyes and started muttering in a language other than English. His voice transformed into tiny blue strands that were absorbed into the gloves. After a few sentences, Atticus stopped.

"I've lent you some energy to power it. It should last about an hour. Try again."

Marco picked up the staff again and approached the dummy. He struck it, again, in center mass. The hit blew straight through the wood and straw, leaving a gap large enough to see the wall behind.

"Looks like you were right. Thanks for the help."

"it's the least I could do for the newest Guardian. Was that everything you need?"

"Yes−" Marco started, but remembered a few bugging thoughts. "No, actually. Can you tell me about the Lizards and what happened to them? What you were going to say last night and stopped."

Atticus Lamwood raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Ok. From records we've collected, the other monsters took advantage of the Septarian's regenerative abilities. Sometimes they would cut out vital organs and observe the effects. After they grew back, they would do it again just for fun. Other times, they would cut them open and places things inside. A sharp rock, for example, would be put where a muscle would be. The muscle would regrow around it and they would force the Lizards to do all kind of tasks. They were already brutal, but the inserted foreign objects made it excruciating. They were truly despicable creatures. Poison them and watch the body keep them alive while the poison ravaged their brain and organs. When they finally had their fun, the Lizards would be strapped to a pole and burned until there was literally nothing left except ashes. They were burned down to the bones and then some for good measure. Was there anything else you wanted to know?"

"No, that's enough for now."f

"Ok. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you that. The King will be down to prepare you for tonight. You can use this time to practice if you wish.

Author's note

I wanted to bring the violence up this chapter. Hope you enjoyed.

I don't encourage underage drinking.