Guardians: The Last Elder

Chapter 12: The Mountain of the Departed

"There are memories that time does not erase... Forever does not make loss forgettable, only bearable."
~ Cassandra Clare (City of Heavenly Fire) 

                                                                                  _________________

Tonight, we would go to the Dwarf City because apparently they are really grumpy in daylight, even if they live in underground, completely shielded from light. And to say I was nervous was an understatement. It felt like my very first official mission or something. Right now, I was sitting by the shore of the huge, glistening lake. A gentle breeze was blowing from it, calming my nerves. The sun was right overhead, bearing down in a blaze but it wasn't harsh. In fact, it was quite pleasant. Josh was sitting beside me, lounging against the palm tree that provided us with shade. His eyes were distant, absorbed in thought. I gazed at the water and spotted Kace and Vanessa sitting in the pontoon boat, gliding over the calm waters, along with another girl named Sam. I waved at them. They waved back.

We had just finished with today's training an hour or so ago. I could assure you, I was still nowhere close to mastering sword wielding. But at least, I had stood my position today and had not run away. I had successfully blocked a few attacks. Baby steps, you know. After we were released, the four of us had decided we should find a quiet place to discuss our plan for tonight. I was quick to suggest the lake shore. But, of course, we didn't need much brain-storming for our plan. It was quite simple: Go underground, mingle a little, talk and ask questions, come back.

So, Kace and Vanessa had decided to take a ride in one of the boats to pass the time when Sam, another student in the Fort came along and joined them. I, on the other hand, was still a mess of jumbled nerves to enjoy a boat ride. Josh's assurance hadn't helped either. Apparently, the dwarves are just a little short-tempered, grumpy and loud. Oh and only sometimes violent.

I pushed back those thoughts and instead tried to think of something else. I looked over at Josh who had abandoned his usual leather jacket and was instead wearing a simple light cotton shirt with his dark jeans. He was barefoot, like me.

"Josh?" I asked casually.

He blinked at me as if he had forgotten I was sitting right by his side and asked, "Yes?"

"So, I was reading one of these books Mr Blackwell had handed me last night. One of the sections was about Morlean administration and it listed the necessary requirements needed to become the Director."

"What about it?"

"Well, it said that it was necessary for the candidate to have Guardian blood to become the Director. But Mr Blackwell is a warlock, isn't he? How did he manage to become the Director?"

"Mr Blackwell has Guardian blood too. Although it must be faint for his warlock powers are more dominant. In fact, purebloods are very rare. Our blood and lineage is much too mixed up. The Guardians are an old race and the others even more so. It is nearly impossible to trace the roots of a particular person back to those early days, so there is no way to be really sure but I can assure you, almost all of us, have more than just Guardian blood running through us. For example, Kace is a half-elf, Vanessa has an aunt who is a fairy and one of my very distant uncles is a warlock. Oh, and my dear friend, Cady boy has a goblin for an uncle. I'm pretty sure that's where he gets his temper from. Mr Blackwell, from what I've heard, had a Guardian mother. So, yeah...he was basically fair game for Director. Not to mention he's all old and wise."

I nodded. That made sense. "How long has he been in charge? And since he's immortal, does that mean he will always remain Director?"

"I'm not quite sure how long he has been Director but it has been a while now. From what I've heard, he took the position during a turbulent time in Morlea to try and rein the chaos and wars. Anyways, just because he is immortal, doesn't mean he is invulnerable. He can very well die someday. Except he is an exceptional warrior and a clever genius with magical powers, so I think, he's going to stick around for a while. But that doesn't necessarily mean that he would remain Director. He can abdicate, if he wanted. Or maybe, say, he made a mistake, so then the Council would be able to vote and remove him from office. But I don't think that's going to happen. Again, it is quite possible that maybe someone more worthy of being Director might come along. If so, I'm certain, Mr Blackwell would quite readily give away his office to the deserving person. But I doubt there is anybody as deserving as him."