The Three Guardians (Working Title)

Prologue: Zoë

On top of a mountain, located on an unknown island, there is a bamboo building. The building has many rooms, three floors, and two levels of basements that were dug deep into the mountain. On the top floor, there is a bedroom that has bamboo scrolls stored in shelves and scattered across the many tables. Among the scrolls lay clay tablets. On the balcony connected to the bedroom, sits a girl leaning on a snow leopard, curling around her as they watch the sun begin to peak out over the ocean that surrounds their island.

In the magical language that the girl named Dig-gir, the snow leopard recounts a story in a rumbling voice that echoes with magic and power, "It was a particularly windy morning - almost like today - when I first sensed you. The galleon you were on was far - days away - but your presence gleamed brightly amongst the clumps of dull light that were the presence of the others you traveled amongst.

Patiently, I waited and watched as your bright light grew closer and closer until - to my delight - the galleon you were on entered my waters."

"And so it began." The girl interrupted in the same language. Only instead of a rumbling sound, she sounded lyrical, like she was singing and talking at the same time. Speak-sing, as she likes to call it.

"And so it began." The snow leopard rumbled on, continuing the story after a slight pause, "The waters churned roughly as it dragged that galleon with you in it to me. Giant waves relentlessly pushed the galleon along, bringing you closer to me. The waters and waves cared not for the state of the galleon nor the people inside, and I worried if you would make it to me alive, Nin."

The girl smiled as the snow leopard called the girl sister in her native tongue. The snow leopard affectionately flicked her with his tail before continuing his story. "To my relief, you were among those who survived the waters after the galleon was destroyed and pulled apart. With them, you - albeit unknowingly - entered my trial to reach the top of the mountain.

I watched you and you alone as you went through the trails. Young as you were, I was surprised by your grit and will to survive. Many before you had given up and died because of it." The snow leopard paused for a second as the pair reminisced upon the arduous trials mentioned before his voice rumbled on. "With each trial you passed, my confidence in you being the right one grew."

"And then I survived." The girl said slowly, interrupting the story once more. Her unspoken 'when no one else did' went unsaid, but both thought it anyway.

"And then you survived." The snow leopard echoed, his rumbling voice quiet and solemn. They both sat quietly, remembering the bloodshed and the massacre that was the final trial before the snow leopard cleared his throat, drawing them both out of their memories. "And then you became the Guardian of Main Two."

There was a silence before the girl Speak-sings in Dig-gir, "Sometimes, I forget that you used to be the soul of this island, Sua."

The slightly snow leopard, Sua, gave a quiet rumbling chuckle as he remembered his time as the second main island of the five main mystical islands. "Zöe, do you remember your life before you ended up on my island?"

Zöe shook her head and murmured in Sing-speak, "Not much besides speaking and writing my first language. And that I was on the galleon to escape an arranged marriage."

The two watched the rest of the sunrise in silence, and once the sun was above the ocean, Zöe stood up and stretched. However, instead of returning inside, she stopped and stared. In the distance, there was a small dark speck against the bright blue of the ocean. It would be unseen to a normal person, but with the enhanced eyesight she had gained after becoming the Guardian of Main Two, she could make out that the speck was really a schooner.