Guardian's Farm 1

Anna adjusted the collar of her formal azure robe in an unsuccessful attempt to get comfortable, doing her best to ignore the blue, magical shimmer of the fabric, wishing that she could wear any other color; something that had been refused whenever she had brought up the idea.

As if they were afraid that people would forget that she was a water mage, but apparently, the council meetings deserved nothing but their best.

How people could say that when half of the meetings had devolved into childish squabbles, Anna could never understand, but she held her tongue.

As she glanced around the grand council chamber, she still couldn’t understand how she was a part of such an exalted group. She was one of the seven that had slain the great Dragon of Darkness, saving the world from a great carnage.

Even two years after their great victory.

She took her seat, ignoring the familiar murmur of voices and rustling parchment filled the air, instead looking out. High-arched windows let in beams of morning light that danced across the polished marble floor, the sun shining into the building despite the clouds that surrounded the city.

It was a courtesy of the great magical enchantment of the capital city. Not only did it protect it from the enemies — so much that even the Dragon of Darkness didn’t dare to attack at the height of its power — but also it ensured a great environment. Always sunny, never touched by the seasons or dirt.

As she waited for the meeting to start, ignoring the representatives from the various cities that talked with each other insincerely, trying to jockey the votes for whatever little self-serving objective they followed…

Her past self would never have imagined that she would miss the days they lived in the wilderness, fighting for their lives. Yet, despite all its dangers, those days were the best. The dinners they cobbled together from whatever they were able to hunt and forage, telling stories around a fire, not knowing what the next day would bring.

She lost herself in memories of where she fought with Elric, giggling around the fire with Seraphine, having a nonsensical argument with Magna, hunting together with Magna, assisting Magna’s night-time guard duties…

She suddenly blushed as the memories of their time got together, trying to convince herself that it was a coincidence that most of those good memories had him as the centerpiece, trying to convince herself that it was just a coincidence.

But, that would be a lie. For her, the party that saved the world had Magna at the center; the key that brought them to victory; but she also knew that she was in the minority to believe that. The world was filled with tales about the Seven, but Magna was never mentioned in these stories first, always shadowed by the others. Even herself, a latecomer, had a much bigger tale.

Admittedly, it was ironic that he was the one who was overshadowed by the others in the tales, as he was impossible to ignore when he was in the same room with all of them. Not just because he was a veritable giant of a human — six-four height and a muscular body — but because he had a calm, quiet charisma that forced everyone to pay attention to his words.

He was the one who had encouraged them to hold on during the darkest nights, and he was the one who stood at the front of their group, taking every threat himself to let them fight safely.

Their guardian. Their protector.

Her protector.

Magna had spent his life protecting them, which was why Anna hated his current predicament. She knew that anyone else from their party except him could be replaced, and they would have been victorious. Hell, she was the best evidence for that, joining late.

Which was why she hated what was going on for the last year. Two years had passed since their victory. With the gratitude from their victory fading, glory hounds were popping from the woodwork, challenging them again and again to prove themselves.

Glory hounds were nowhere to be seen when the hordes of Darkness invaded the Empire and held the citizens hostage. And, Magna was the one that got targeted the most, his style of fighting, along with his lack of prestige swamped him under challenges. That might be his age as well, since as of a month ago, he was officially in his forties, which was hardly prime age for a human fighter, probably encouraging the weaklings that dared to challenge him.

Not that he let something as trivial as age slow him down… Every challenger in the arena, he took down easily. Too bad he didn’t have the same success in the council chambers, usually ending up on the losing side whenever he was locked in with the council. She hoped it wouldn’t be the same today.

Speaking of which, she looked at the chair where he was supposed to be sitting, still empty. The meeting was about to begin. She felt a pang of unease. Magna was never late. Especially not when he had that important taxation bill.

“Hey, Seraphine,” she asked. “Where’s Magna? Don’t tell me that he has another challenge?”

“No,” Seraphine replied. “He’s probably tired from last night’s emergency meeting.”

“What emergency meeting?” Anna asked, suddenly having a sinking feeling.

“Not an important one,” Seraphine replied, doing her best to act calm as her silver hair danced, but Anna recognized her nerves. Anna kept her gaze up. “Just a boring meeting. Nothing more —”

“Don’t tell me it was about the taxation bill,” Anna said, suddenly feeling ill. She knew Seraphine well, and for her to avoid it, it must have been an important one.

Before Seraphine could answer, the doors of the council slammed shut, and Elric, the elven mage and the leader of their party — at least according to the public — who was also the nominal leader of the council, stepped at the center of the chamber, carrying the ceremonial staff.

Anna didn’t pay much attention as he delivered the ceremonial speech that indicated the start of the meeting. “Has anyone heard from Magna?” she asked, hoping someone had an answer, but the other five members of her party shook their heads.

Thorne, the archer from the North — though hard to recognize him wearing rich silk robes rather than his traditional leather, a change he made three months ago — shrugged. “He’s a grown man. Probably got caught up in something.”

Seraphine smirked. “Or maybe he’s finally taking a day off. He is getting on in years, after all.”

“Guys, his feelings are probably still hurt,” Berin replied, his tone even smugger than usual.

Anna frowned. Their indifference bothered her, particularly when tinged with other emotions that she didn’t want to identify. Magna was the backbone of their group, and his absence was nothing to gloat about.

“As the elder councilman, I’m declaring this session open,” Elric declared. “Councilman Davoi, you have the floor.”

“What,” Anna hissed in shock, which had disappeared under the claps of the other councilmen. She was shocked, because it was the last thing she expected. Davoi had been the biggest proponent of the tax bill that Magna had been trying to shoot down, one that would not only abolish the no-tax promise they had made the farmers recover from the wounds of the battle, but actually increase it by twenty percent.

Anna felt a chill. As the Elder Councilman, Elric had dozens of procedural tricks to keep him from speaking. Yet, not only did he not use any of them, but he actually gave him the opportunity to speak unprompted.

“Let us commence. Time is of the essence,” Davoi declared. “We have already discussed my declaration before, resuming our tax collection on the farming regions to fund the new border defense. This proposal will ensure our safety against future threats!” Davoi proclaimed. “Any additional levy on the farmers is a small price to pay.”

Anna turned to the closest people next to her, Seraphine and Thorne. “We have to stall this until Magna returns. This isn’t right. The farmers are already struggling after the blight. We can’t burden them further.”

“Nonsense, it’s just some hard work,” Berin declared. “No need to coddle them.”

“Seraphine, Thorne,” Anna said helplessly. “Magna is vehemently opposed to this. We can’t let it pass without him. We can filibuster it until he returns. Three of us should be enough to raise a motion to delay,” she said. She didn’t like to use the privileges of saving the world, but for Magna, she would.

Thorne gave her a condescending glance. “Anna, while your… compassion is noted, you must understand the realities of governance.”

Anna froze as a few snickers reached her ears. “Taking up Magna’s lowborn sensibilities, are we? What’s next, speaking on behalf of the orcs?” one of the councilmen muttered. Any other time, it would be enough to declare a duel, but for the moment, Anna had more important issues.

Like the clear betrayal occurring before her very eyes. She looked around, hoping for support, but her fellow party members avoided her gaze.

Before she could say anything, the doors to the chamber swung open. A royal messenger, clad in Empire colors, hurried in and bowed deeply. “Pardon the interruption, esteemed council members.”

Davoi looked panicky. “How dare you interrupt a council session in progress. No one can —” he tried to continue, but it was interrupted halfway when the royal messenger raised the letter. “Sir Magna had sent a letter, sir. It’s marked with the council seal.”

Anna’s heart skipped a beat as the messenger handed the letter to Elric. He could have opened the letter easily. “According to the procedures, the vote will go on first before the opening of the letter,” he declared.

Betrayal.

Anna collapsed on her seat, frozen as she watched the vote go, which had been approved in an overwhelming fashion. “Anyone against,” Elric asked.

Anna raised her hand despite Seraphine holding her wrist, wordlessly asking her to calm down. She was disgusted by what was going on.

“Sixty-four in favor, one against, and fourteen staying neutral,” Elric counted.

“Thank you, Elder councilman,” Davoi said as he walked back smugly. “Maybe we can hear what great Sir Magna had to say, important enough to be heard in his absence.” He was not gracious in his victory.

Elric broke the seal and unfolded the paper. His eyes scanned the page, and a look of disbelief crossed his face. “Well?” Thorne was promoted from his seat.

Elric cleared his throat, shocked, but in his shock, Anna could see a sense of elation. It wasn’t there for long, disappearing in an instant, but she was too familiar to miss it. “It appears that Sir Magna has tendered his resignation.”

“From the council,” Seraphine asked, shocked.

“No,” Elric declared. “Every single position he held.”

Thorne raised an eyebrow. “Is there any explanation?”

Elric shook his head. “No, just one line: ‘I resign.’”

The chamber erupted into chaos. Voices overlapped as representatives expressed shock, anger, and, to Anna’s dismay, opportunism above anything else.

“What about the Victory Eternal armor?” one of them exclaimed. “It’s a national treasure and should be returned to the Empire!”

“Agreed. It belongs to the Grand Guardian position,” another chimed in. “We cannot allow such a valuable asset to walk away.”

Anna was unable to find her voice. The temerity of declaring that the armor belonged to the position. Magna was the first person to hold that position, and the armor was made for him before the final battle by a dwarven blacksmith as a personal favor for his deeds. Anna knew, because she was there for the forging, assisting with her magic.

Davoi spoke immediately. “I request a regiment of knights be sent to apprehend him before we can make a decision. There’s no time to waste.”

The messenger stepped forward again. “If I may, Sir Magna has already returned the armor to the treasury, along with his seal. It was where I had received the letter.”

A palpable relief washed over several faces, quickly replaced by cunning smiles, one that immediately triggered an intense debate. A debate that, much to her shock, even involved other members of their party.

“In that case,” Seraphine purred, “perhaps it would be best utilized by someone who has the potential to join our ranks. One that can guard us mages properly.”

Thorne cracked his knuckles. “Nonsense. It should go to one of the active members. I could make good use of it on the front lines.”

Elric scoffed. “As if brute strength is all that armor requires. It should go to someone with finesse.”

Arguments broke out anew, each council member and even her own companions vying for possession of the armor, leaving Anna to wonder whether she was watching their camaraderie shatter.

Or if it shattered long ago, but she had been too naive to see it. Without saying anything, she turned and walked out of the chamber, leveraging the open doors to her benefit.

Wondering where Magna was…