“I know what you are, too. I am Hioji Nano, the
Guardian of Dios. I was a friend of Ronez, and now of yours, if you want one.”
“Is that a Guardian version of ‘I come in peace’?
Because it needs some work.”
He laughed. “I can see the resemblance. Let’s go for
a walk.” He was walking away, deeper into the alley, before I could even give
an answer. I predicted a lot of that from him.
“How do you know Divina?” I asked, following.
“She is a friend of mine. Kiro introduced me to her
not long after they met… It wasn’t his idea, she sort of showed up. Anyway, she
told me that Ronez died and you are the new Guardian. It’s difficult to
believe. I used to visit Earth all the time, which is why I speak English.”
“Why did you come looking for me? How did you even
find me?”
“Are you hungry?” he asked. I nodded. “How about
lunch?” he asked without waiting for an answer. Again.
We emerged from the alley into another crowded
street, so I followed in silence. It was difficult not to speak in front of
these people; I wanted to ask questions, but I didn’t know if he would hide it
like Divina and Edward did.
The small shops were intriguing, and I really wanted
to check them out, but Nano seemed to be very hungry. At the end of the street
was a large stall offering platters of steaming meat kabobs, each with a
different sauce.
The cook was a thin man around my age in appearance
with dark blue hair and vivid copper eyes. From afar, it looked like a good dye
job, but his eyebrows matched. He had on a long-sleeved, cream shirt. There
were large grills behind the cook, and above those was a large glass pane. To
the far right on the counter was a small metal machine that looked like a cash
register.
The cook asked Nano something, who glanced at me
before ordering.
“Do you have a check card?”
After hearing Edward and
Divina’s voices in my head, I shouldn’t have been surprised to hear Nano’s, but
it was still weird.
I didn’t know what a check card was, but the first
thing that popped into my head was the restaurant card I got from Divina. I
pulled it out of the coin sack around my neck and handed it to him. He took it
and slid it through a slot on the register. The glass pane above the grills
became black with white Sudo symbols.
Nano handed me my card while the cook gathered
different kabobs into a small white box, which Nano took in exchange for
several silver coins. The cook gave him his change and they said their
farewells. We left and took a deserted little street with closed, shabby shops.
At the end of the street was a large lake, currently visited by several
families. Once we found a spot far enough away that we wouldn’t be overheard, we
sat down and Nano opened the box. He grabbed a kabob and took a bite while I
sat there, waiting.
“You like to talk, don’t you?”
“Very much. I plan to learn enough Sudo to have
Edward groaning in no time. Now… You didn’t find me on accident.”
“No, of course not. You are the new Guardian of
Earth. I wanted to meet you, especially since I heard so much about you.”
“From Divina?”
“Do you know why the gods use the books?”
Subject change much?
“No.”
“Do you know why signing the books gives you power?”
“No,” I said, feeling like the poor kid in class
who’s been missing for several days and got way behind.
He frowned. “How much do you know about the books and
their gods? How much do you understand?”
I shrugged. “Not much,” I admitted.
“That’s one of the reasons I wanted to meet you.” He
looked at me and sighed, letting me know it would be a long talk. “Do you know
what magic is?”
“Nominal energy.”
“There are many different terms for Guardians, magic,
nominal energy, etc… But do you know what nominal energy is?”
“Energy that isn’t physical energy, but it affects
physical energy.”
“Among other things. Nominal energy cannot directly
affect physical objects, but it can manipulate physical energy. It can,
however, change non-physical subjects of the universe, such as the spirit and
mind. Now, normal people have to learn to manipulate the energy, while
Guardians and, to a lesser degree, their descendants can manipulate it
naturally.”
“All right, so what does it have to do with the
books? Why do the Guardian’s need the books if they can just draw power from
the worlds?”
“The books
are
the power of the worlds. They
are almost a physical manifestation of the energy. People can draw power out of
the world, but by signing your name in the book, you have a much more potent
draw. Think of it as people sucking water through a filter. When you sign the
book, you’re poking a straw through the filter. You not only get the magic much
easier and faster, but it’s much more potent. But as you do, the power is also
using you. The universe is balanced, and not even the gods can overcome this
balance. I believe the phrase you are familiar with is, ‘For every action,
there is an equal and opposite reaction.’ This is true even in magic. And that
brings us to you.”
“Huh? What about me?”
“You’re very special, Dylan. Every Guardian was born
or created to protect the books. You were born a Guardian
because
of
your power. This is also why you have such foul luck; it is the universe’s
attempt to balance you. Now that you have bonded with Earth’s power, your luck
should improve with your development.”
“But what is so special about my power?”
“Let’s call it evolution. You are something the gods
did not intend on, and they don’t like it. You can be a great asset or a
terrible threat. Even more concerning to the gods is that several people across
the different worlds have predicted your powers, as well as entities outside
the worlds.”
I had to stop him at this point. “What the hell...
That is about the weirdest thing I have ever heard. I think this trumps everything
about the Guardians and gods and Duran... Shit. What the hell am I supposed to
do in these prophesies?”
“Different tales are told. They call you the servant
of power. The Guardians are created by power, but you were created
of
power. Some believe you will unite the powers of the worlds and create war
amongst the gods. Some believe you will unite the worlds themselves and command
the powers of the living and dead under rule of the gods. I have even heard
some say that you will join with Vretial and give him power. All that is common
with these stories is that you will have the power to do great or terrible
things... Whether you do great things, terrible things, or nothing at all is
left to be seen. It will be your choice.”
“How do you know it’s me?”
“Your father told me. He wanted all of the Guardians
to protect you, but the gods wouldn’t allow it.”
“You knew my father?”
“I did. He was very powerful. Your father knew you
were special, but he could not stay with you.”
“You must be pretty fricken popular on Facebook. Why
the hell didn’t Edward tell me this?”
“Who?” he asked.
I was about to explain that Edward was the Guardian
of Duran when it occurred to me that he didn’t realize I who I meant. “Kiro. He
has a new nickname now, like Divina’s. Please help me spread it around.”
“Sure. And as far as I know, he doesn’t know. I think
your father hid you from several of the Guardians.”
“How am I supposed to know what to do now?”
“You aren’t supposed to. That’s why you have friends.
We keep you in line, so choose your friends carefully. Trust your instincts.”
“You Guardians are way too into the Jedi Way.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Eat.”
I realized I hadn’t touched any food.
How am I
supposed to eat after hearing something like that?
I thought as I started
eating. The meat with the sticky brown sauce had a smoky taste with a bitter
aftertaste, but I tried the dark red one and it was sweet. The dark brown sauce
on the next one was similar to spicy, salty teriyaki.
Shinobu was watching me eat, so I broke off a piece
of meat and held it out to her. She opened her mouth wide and her little teeth
glittered, not-quite-harmlessly.
“I would be careful if I were you,” Nano warned.
I looked at him to tell him Shinobu wouldn’t hurt me
when her mouth clamped down around my outstretched fingers. I felt her
toothless gums and with shock, realized she had retractable teeth. Her tiny
sandpaper-like tongue harmlessly pulled the meat into her mouth. She hopped
into my lap and seemed to be rolling the meat around in her mouth.
“It’s not too hot, is it?” I asked. She continued to
roll it around for another minute before swallowing. She looked up at me with
sad eyes. “We’ll find you something you like. Have you ever had crow?”
“How long have you had her?” Nano asked.
I stroked her ears and she nudged her head against my
hand for more. “I met her just before you found me.” She curled into a ball in
my lap and flicked my wrist with her tail.
“Do you know what she is?”
“Not a clue. I found her, so I assume she’s an
incredibly dangerous creature, and she might possibly be rabid, but she seems
to like me, and that’s enough for me,” I said, trying more meat kabobs.
“Kiro will have something to say about that, but it’s
not my place. Do you believe what I’m telling you?” he asked.
I shrugged. “That you heard stories of someone doing
great or terrible things, sure. Earth’s had plenty of those. Do I believe
I
will do these things? That I will be a ruler of worlds? That I will be a threat
to the gods? Not a tiny bit. I’m too lazy to feed my damn cat, why would I
become that powerful?”
Shinobu looked up at me as if she understood my
comment and was worried for her own diet, whatever that consisted of.
“Don’t worry, if I’m too lazy to feed you, you can
eat me,” I told her. She accepted this and put her head back down. “I really
should stop talking too much.”
“You can decide what you will do with your power, but
only if you do not let it decide for you. I understand this may be hard for you
to hear and even harder to grasp, but you need to know what you’re capable of,
so you don’t make the wrong decisions in life.”
“I don’t deny it, I just don’t believe it. There’s a
difference. I don’t care about destiny; I care that I run my own life. There’s
nothing wrong with people trying to help me, it becomes a problem when people
try to manipulate me to their own values or profit. People can’t tell me what
I’m going to do with my life. Right now, I’m going to help Edward and Divina
destroy Vretial and then I’m going to be Edward’s apprentice. After that, no
one knows, because I haven’t decided yet. Do
you
understand?”
“I understand that either you are still very young,
or you have an optimistic view on life, much like Divina’s. I think you may
someday, with more experience, be wiser than us all. I hope you are so wise
before you choose how everyone else’s lives will play out. The more powerful
you are, the less others can control you, but the more control you have over
them. You can choose how your own life plays out, but remember that you will
affect others significantly.”
“I don’t want to affect others.”
“You don’t want to help others?”
“You don’t know where I was before I met Edward. I
was working at the worst job possible, trying to get a degree in a field that
didn’t have a great job market. I had a cat who made a worse roommate than a
river rat, an abusive mother who expected to move in with me when she got
older, and a girlfriend I was able to let go with a phone call goodbye. I don’t
even miss her, and I know I should. I wasn’t really that successful at my own
life, but at least it was my own. How in the world am I supposed to help other
people? What gives me the right to make choices for others?”
“If you see a man attacking a child, would you help
the child?”
“Of course. The child can’t defend himself. That’s
different.”
“What if you saw the man beating the child in an
alley, but the child was his son. What gives you the right to stop the man?
It’s his son; it has nothing to do with you.”
“I see your point, but I don’t agree it’s the same
thing. And this has nothing to do with destiny.”
“It has everything to do with destiny. Do you know
someone with an abusive father?” he asked me.
Now, my first instinct was to answer, but since I had
food in my mouth, I had to think instead. “How did you know about Mordon?”
“You have not seen the last of him. You will meet
many people in your life that will teach and guide you, and even more that will
need your help. His family is very influential and he will have some difficult
choices in the future that determine the fate of Duran,” he said. He closed the
box of bare sticks. “I’ll be going soon, but first, I would like you to sign my
book.”
“Why?” I asked, not bothering to hide my suspicion.
He laughed. “That’s not quite the usual reaction, but
I would expect nothing less from you. When a person signs a book, they bond
with it. Any magic they ever use is affected by the world the book belongs to.
When
you
sign a book, you bond with the world differently. The world
doesn’t affect your magic, it affects you. It’s almost like you are the
Guardian of all the books you sign.”
“Why would I want to sign more books then?”
“Because the more you bond with the universe, the
less you act against the balance. If you sign my book, I will feel when you’re
in trouble just as I can feel when Dios is, the magic of Dios can help you, and
you can also feel when Dios or I need you.”
“But I signed Edward’s book, and I don’t feel Duran
is in danger.”
“Duran isn’t in danger; Earth is. Duran is too
powerful to fall just yet. Earth’s Guardian was recently killed; she’s
vulnerable. Will you sign my book?”