CHAMPIONS (The Lost Chronicles of Eden, #1) [Published]

16: BECAUSE GUARDIANS KNOW HOW TO ROCK AND ROLL

16: BECAUSE GUARDIANS KNOW HOW TO ROCK AND ROLL

It was the coolest thing ever.

It shone, like the sun — no, it was more brilliant than the sun. It was more brilliant than a million sunrises, more precious than all the stones and gems every world had to offer.

The staff was long, almost a head taller than him if propped up on its full height. Instead of a sleek curve, the hook had three sharp points, forming an open-ended diamond. The fourth side of the hook was slightly bent outwards, like a small scythe. There was a blue stone nestled on the sleek neck of the staff, glimmering under the light of the sun. Gabriel traced the intricate carvings that ran down its entire length. The base was sharp, pointed, and it was only then that he realized that what he was holding was a weapon of war.

No matter. It was magnificent, anyway.

Gabriel held it with bated breath, running his hand over its length with reverence and awe.

The staff was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his entire life, and it was his.

He couldn’t believe he said yes to being a Champion, even after Samson reminded them before the anointing that they could say no. After everything they had been through the past two weeks, Gabriel doubted any of them had it in their minds to ever turn back.

They didn’t even fight the morning of the anointing. There was no brawl in the usually noisy kitchen, no one fighting over anybody not passing the salt and somebody eating more than his share again. There were no flying plates, no nasty words thrown back and forth, and no threats to decapitate each other in their sleep.

They went to their meditation and prayer spots quietly after breakfast. Gabriel took the time to really pray that morning, knowing that if there was anybody at all in that strange world who had his back, it was the God that Father Andres introduced to him when he was a boy.

He wasn’t very religious. Most of the time he just went to Mass because Father Andres said so, and because there were quite a few lovely girls dropping by to whisper a prayer or two. He didn’t really know how prayer worked, but Father Andres told him to just pray.

That morning, he did. He just prayed, and mouthed off random things to a God he couldn’t see but believed in. He told this God about the adventures he had since his arrival in Cielterra. He told him about being a Candidate, about being chosen to fight in a war that will determine the fate of humanity. He told him how he thought these things happened only in movies, but there he was, meditating, training for the battles that would come.

And maybe he also asked God why he was chosen, why he, a no- name boy from a no-name church raised by a common priest and a nun, was chosen to be a Champion.

There were no answers, of course. Just silence. So in the quiet of the morning, before the break of dawn, Gabriel just sat there, listening to the silence.

And then it was time to go back, and he found himself getting ready for the anointing. He wore the awesome Guardian uniform that Samson provided him with, and for a moment, he felt like a hero. Like he was going off to do something worthwhile. Like he was more than just the orphan boy that had no memories.

He had always wanted to be a hero, and now, here he was. A Champion.

I only wish I have enough heart to become one.

Because Sister Margaret once said that more than strength, what a true hero needed to have is heart. And he knew that if he had to save the world — sorry, Worlds— he had to have more than enough of it.