Whispers Of Peace And War

14

The old man raised an eyebrow towards Mythrd, before crouching down, examining the wood that had looked as though it would have made good firewood. Now, seeing the inside, he knew it would only cause the fire to sputter and spark, make clouds of cloying smoke rise from the dwindled flames.

"Are you saying that the stone circles are like that wood?" Taking a closer look, Mythrd could see grubs and larvae infesting the inside of the broken branch. "That they were separated from the Guardians and lost their strength? That's why they could become torn down?"

"Not the Guardians, boy, no. Think." Sighing, Kaninzir lifted a long, bony, arthritic finger, tapping Mythrd's forehead. "The Guardians, like the Patrons, are eternal. Their strength never dies, but what do Patrons crave and demand and the Guardians hope and ask for? You know the answer."

Mythrd frowned. It was easy enough for Kaninzir to say this, but Mythrd had only heard of the Guardians in tales of legend before meeting the old Priest. Before experiencing the Aura, seeing the protection that the stones gave and the revelation of the writing upon the stones, Mythrd didn't even know if the Guardians actually existed.

Only after meeting Kaninzir and experiencing the power of the stones had he come to accept the existence of the Guardians. Everything else had come after that. The Aura, the dream, Gythryn seeing the Aura herself and Agarang seeing the writing upon the stones. All of this came after they had arrived at Cythrûn Henge. Kaninzir's green eyes glittered as he waited for Mythrd to finish his thoughts.

"People. The strength comes from people!" It all seemed so clear, Mythrd couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it earlier. "The Patrons, they demand worship because our belief is their strength. But, the Guardians, they don't demand anything. They wait and hope!"

"As the people turned away from the Guardians, tempted by the aggressive, insinuating nature of the Patrons and their Priests, they left the stones behind. Forgot them." With a hand on Mythrd's shoulder, Kaninzir turned him back towards the henge. "The power of the stones is not infinite, nor is it unassailable. These stones still have power because I still have faith. When the other Priests, Protectors and Stewards grew old and died, the stones lost the last people that held faith in the Guardians."

"You say the power of the stones isn't unassailable? Does that mean the protection might fail?" Mythrd imagined hordes of Gaeradine falling upon the henge, slaughtering everyone within. It made his spine shiver. "Even now that Gythryn and I believe?"

Kaninzir leaned upon his staff, he looked older than ever. Ancient and tired. Mythrd had noticed, but thought nothing of it. The old man didn't seem to sleep often and he had gone off on his own several times, seeming to walk a great distance, before returning. He still had a spry energy to him, but the lines upon his face appeared deeper. His eyes, however, still burned with mischievous life.

"The protection can be overwhelmed or, with a little sneakiness, bypassed. I have tried to hold everything back, but it is a long time since I have exerted myself so and I am old. So old." The bushy eyebrows fell across the old man's eyes for a second, and his mouth moved with its chewing action, before Kaninzir stood upright, brightening. "But I'm not dead. Not yet! Oh, no!"

Looking down, Kaninzir kicked the shattered branch to the side with a sandalled foot. Looking back to the tree line, he squinted, staring at the undergrowth before letting out a loud 'aha!'. A few feet to the side of where he had found the rotten branch that had appeared solid, the old man pushed aside weeds and vines with his staff, before leaning down.

He pulled another log from the undergrowth, almost the same size as the previous one. Dropping it to the ground, Mythrd couldn't understand why the old man looked so happy about it. This log looked on the outside how the other log appeared on the inside. Damp and rotted. Worthless. With a little skip to his step, Kaninzir gave a laugh, raising his staff in both hands as he had done so before.