Guardians: Protectors of Light

Chapter 1

Picture of Guardian Headquarters

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Straight ahead of a grand staircase, stands the main door of headquarters. An irritable young woman, Valery, glared at it, head in her hands as she sat on the steps. That door won't open to her anytime soon if things don't change. She took a peek up and down the hall. Noise can be heard from the council room just around the corner. The whole council is there, voices raised yet unclear. She can't make out a single word being said. Not a single clue of what her future entailed.

She let out a groan that echoed on both sides of the hall. To the left, a barren hall of white walls of the medical ward, nothing but the occasional bench for visitors litters the area. Doors line the hall on both sides, all closed. And to the right, a hall full of large paintings depicting the Guardian's glorious history. A continuous symbol of what they dream to achieve again. This is not getting me anywhere.

Valery let out another groan and climbed to her feet. Looked back down the medical ward.

Olivia could be anywhere.

"OLIVIA! Olivia, I need you!"

"Restocking," Olivia called from the far end of the hall.

"Liana booted me again," Valery complained as she made her way towards Olivia.

"She's a busy woman," Olivia commented, her voice distracted.

Olivia is hunched over a table with some freshly gathered herbs on it from the garden, carefully inspecting the contents. Her dark brown hair is pulled into a tight bun.

"So are you, but you still work with me," Valery commented as she came to a stop in the stock room doorway. "Anything good?"

"It's been a hard year but they're salvageable," Olivia sighed, reaching above her head for vacuum-sealing bags. "Val, admit it. You are only here because you want to practice. Because you were hoping I could help you. No one sees the healer because they want to. No one WANTS to see me."

Valery sighed and leaned up against the doorframe with her arms crossed. "I do need to practice healing."

"It's been a slow day; something tells me it's the calm before the storm," Olivia commented, pausing to look out the window to her left, watching a blue jay flutter past.

"How can you tell?"

Olivia carefully picked a handful of leaves off the table. "Dedicate yourself to healing long enough and you'll see the patterns. Feverfew. Great for treating fevers."

"You've only been healing for five years," Valery pointed out. "I'd hardly say you were healing ALL THAT long."

"And spent seven with my mentor before that," she retorted, rolling her eyes behind Valery's back. She deposits the leaves into a bag. "You're twice blessed. You know as well as I do that your duty is to your people. And you can't do that if you aren't trained properly."

"True," Valery admitted reluctantly.

Olivia plopped the bag down and reached for another small pile. "So, do you want to learn about some of these plants or not?"

"Sure, it makes sense to lug a massive bag full of herbs around the wilderness JUST IN CASE, when I can touch someone and urge their body to heal itself. It's not like that space can be used for more useful things like more weapons. Or extra snack bars. Or you know, life-sustaining water."