Years of Forget: Rewrite

Chapter 2

Crow blinked. Was he hearing that right? A guardian?

"Wh-what's a guardian?" He asked Turaco.

"Here, come sit down with me. I'll explain it all to you." He lead him to a bench with a couple of pillows on it.

Crow sat down next to him, and Dove joined them.

"Alright. I'll start from the beginning. When the world was created, there were gods. Life, Death, the Moon, and the Sun. There is a tale that says there was another god. One of darkness. The tale goes on to say that the god was jealous of Life's powers, and the fact that she was the most worshipped. The god cursed her to sleep for thousands of years at a time. This left her, with her powers stored in the tree, to be vulnerable to the forces of Corruption."

"Corruption?" Crow asked.

"Corruption. It is a force of unknown origins. It has the power to take over people's minds and bodies, stealing magic and securing its grasp on the world. Its most recognizable aspect is its bright pink hue that taints anything that touches it. Other things to note is that it changes attributes- gaining claws, height, sharper teeth- horns and tails are a rarer occurrence. This Corruption is a threat to the goddess and the powers she holds. Thousands of years ago, when she was awake for a brief amount of time, she trained immortal guardians. That is, me and the other three."

"You're immortal?" Crow gasped.

"Yes. Our primary duty is to protect the tree and our goddess from the Corruption, and any others that try to take its power. But, now I see we have the task of training another. You."

"M-me?" He stuttered.

"Yes, you. It seems the tree has deemed you worthy of this task. However, if you choose to accept its offer, you will be giving up your mortality, and your life in this time. You will train, you will fight, and you will defend the tree with everything you have. Do you accept?"

"I- I don't know. This is a lot to take in- I-I..."

"...Take your time. You have plenty." He reassured.

Dove placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling. Crow smiled back.

"Well, now that you know that... what do you plan to do now? Do you plan to stay here, or go home? You can always come back, at least, until you make your decision." Turo said.

"I think... I think I should stay here... at least for the night. It was a long walk here." Crow stated.

"I'll go find some clothes for you to change into, then! I can't imagine those would be comfortable to sleep in." Finch said.

Crow nodded, and Turaco helped set up an area for him to sleep at, on the second floor. He changed into a soft tunic and pants that were blue, with the tree's emblem on the hem. As the sun set, the guardians went up to their rooms, and Crow settled in his pile of blankets and pillows, falling asleep relatively fast.

It was a dreamless sleep, and he woke up the next morning right as the sun was rising. Dove was already sitting at the window, looking out. They had their legs crossed, and they turned around to smile at him.

Crow looked at the sunlight. "I've never woken up to the sunrise before. There's a huge wall and my city and my house is constantly in its shadow."

"Really? That's sad. Waking up with the sun is my favorite part of the day!" Dove said. "At least you get to experience that for a few days."

"Yeah. Although- what do I even do now? Usually I go to work right about now."

"Well- we could climb the tree! Or find something to eat. I'm sure there's a fruit tree here somewhere." Dove hopped out the window and started climbing down. "Follow me!"