Guardian

What broke the world? Depends on who you ask. Some people believe that it was planned all along by corrupt politicians. Others are convinced it was a failed government science experiment gone horribly wrong. Few say that it was a blessing, a much needed opportunity for the world and society to have a fresh start. What was known was that nothing would ever be the same.

Civilizations all over the world fell into chaos after magic explosively emerged from an unknown source. It wasn’t a localized event, cataclysmic eruptions occurred indiscriminately across the face of the earth, even in the antarctic. When the dust finally settled they couldn’t even take an accounting of the dead, there were so many. Energy infrastructures were compromised, communications disrupted, travel routes made impassable. Nothing was untouched, no one went uncorrupted or unchanged. The ordinary became extraordinary overnight, both objects and people. Greed and violence ran rampant until eventually some form of order prevailed.

In this delicate new regime, the rules were simple and without mercy. It wasn’t illegal to possess a magical item—anything from a floating paperclip to a gun loaded with acid bullets could be seen on any given day—it was what you did with one that labeled you a criminal, and the line was very thin. It created social stratification all over again, the haves and have-nots, as there will always be. There were the criminals and then the rest of us, those who were just trying their best to survive. Then there were individuals who were actually touched by the magic, who could do things that normal people couldn’t or shouldn’t be able to do. The punishment for the practitioning of magic was far more severe than the number of months or years abusing a simple trinket could get you locked up for.

It was during this time, the Age of Re-emergence as it would come to be called, that my brother and I were born. Orin was first and then I came a few years later. Father had already taught him to use a dagger by the time I was just learning to walk. We were poor, but that didn’t matter. We had each other, and that was enough. Everything was fine in our lives until the day that stole our parents from us. In one fell swoop it was like the world collapsed all over again, faster than you could blink. It was discovered that our mother was touched—what they called a magic user—and my father tried to protect her, so they were both killed and we were left to fend for ourselves. What little we had was sold off to pay debts and they left us with nothing, except for two small trinkets: my mother’s locket for me, and a decorative letter opener of father’s for Orin. A piece of broken jewelry and a relic from a time now past were the only remnants of our happy little life. And so we were plunged into a cruel and broken world, alone and afraid.

“We’ll be alright Ian, we have each other,” Orin always assured me. It was hard to believe him at first. We mourned the loss of our parents for weeks that turned into months. It felt like the sorrow would never end. At every turn it was, “I wish mother were here,” or “Father would have known what to do.”

We struggled and we suffered.

Slowly, things changed as we grew accustomed to our new life. It even began to seem like an adventure out of a storybook. Two young brothers against the world. In spite of the odds we survived and even learned to have a bit of fun again.

We eventually discovered that Orin’s inheritance was more than a simple letter opener. The small blade could enlarge in his hand and become a fierce weapon that we named the Dragon’s Tail. In a flash the sword would change from a blade to a wicked whip of razors, and then back again into a pocket sized trinket. It certainly helped when we needed to steal some food or break our way into a shelter for the night. For a time we felt unstoppable.

My mother’s locket, on the other hand, lay dormant against my chest every day, never changing. At times, when I longed just to hug her again, I could have sworn I felt a small disturbance in the necklace, just a momentary flutter. Orin would hold it in disbelief and then shrug it off when it lay still in his hand, a cold and lifeless metal heart. He ultimately told me to let it go, that mom was gone and I needed to move on.

Before long, the adventure became the mundane. Steal food for the day and run away again, hiding so we wouldn’t get caught. We knew all the easiest places to rob and the quickest routes of escape, even forged a few of our own. There were a few people who had pity on us and even helped us in a couple of tight spots, but they couldn’t do too much without getting themselves into trouble.

The monotony came to an abrupt end when I made a foolish choice.

“Mom! Look what I did!” I giggled, holding up a rock that had half-transformed into a baseball. Quietly and with a smile, she slipped the thing from my hands and hid it in her pocket.

“That’s incredible, honey, but it is dangerous.” Her smile shrank a little and she touched my cheek. “You must never allow your gift to be seen, never.” I wouldn’t understand until later how serious my hidden talent was.

Mother had secretly taught me in the ways of magic, though she never shared how she learned it herself. Never anything too flashy or extravagant, just a few useful little things. I could start a fire with a snap of my fingers, toss a rock just by pointing at it, or collect dew drops to quench my thirst. She taught me enough so that I could control it, keep it from manifesting on its own. Orin knew but I was too afraid at first to do even the smallest magic for fear of being discovered like our mother. I often felt like a burden to my brother, not having any useful skills like he had with his sword, none that I could share anyway. It seemed that all I was good for was squirming into tiny places that he was too big for, and this I did with some degree of pride, but it got old after a while.

With time I grew complacent with my mother’s warning. I was careless and someone saw me light a small fire in the rain, someone we thought we could trust. There was already something of a warrant for the two of us as Orin’s sword had drawn a fair bit of attention, but it was nothing compared to this. The “keepers of the peace”, the Balancers, were now on high alert and searching for us relentlessly. We had to leave behind what little comfort we’d made for ourselves and start over, again and again. There was no one we could trust anymore, no one but each other. Orin forbade me from using magic again and we lived on the run from then on. It was all up to brother and his Dragon’s Tail.

Eventually the Balancers caught up to us. These people claimed to maintain order by ensuring a balance of magic power, to keep the chaos contained. When magic items were abused, they sorted it out as though they were the policeman of old, only worse. The person would be imprisoned according to the severity of their crime, and the item was confiscated with a promise of no return. Everyone knew that the Balancers kept many of the more useful items for themselves, in turn abusing their stolen power against the common people.

You got off easy if you complied, but there was never forgiveness for making magic. We heard stories of people who disappeared in the middle of the night, never to be seen again. Once or twice we even watched a person get carted away by the Balancers in broad daylight, screaming that they were innocent, that it was a mistake. I could hardly sleep those nights, disturbed by dreams of large men in red suits ripping me away from my brother forever. My mother’s voice echoed in my memory.

Don’t be seen… Never be seen…

The Balancers had driven us into an abandoned granite quarry and they were closing in quickly. Orin hoisted me up to a ledge and then I reached down to grab his hand when a blast of energy shattered the stone between us.

“Run Ian!” he yelled, twisting around to meet his adversary. I was frozen. Surely he didn’t expect me to just abandon him! He was all I had left, I couldn’t leave him behind.

Orin readied himself, his right hand in his pocket where he hid the Dragon’s Tail. The Balancer before him, a large man with a curious looking gun, smiled and let out a mocking laugh.

“You know, you could get yourself out of this real easy kid. Just turn the boy in and you’d be free to go—”

Orin took advantage of the man’s momentary drop in defense. There was a bright flash and then the Balancer crumpled at the foot of his female comrade, a singed gash across his chest. He was barely breathing.

The woman’s lips curled over her teeth as she said, icily, “Well you just made this far more interesting.” She formed a palmful of fire in her gloved hand as more Balancers emerged from behind her, all raising weapons of varying size and shape. Orin reset his grip on his sword and crouched, readying himself for what he must have known would inevitably be his death.

My heart skipped a beat when the flame leapt from the woman’s hands. It arced through the air slowly, as though time were holding it back, drawing out the horrible moment before it collided with my brother.

“NOOOOO!” I screamed, reaching out toward Orin. My mother’s locket fell from my shirt as I slipped forward and began to fall. Light pulsed from the metal heart and completely enveloped me, forcing me to shield my face. Gasps sounded from the Balancers, and my eyes snapped open.

An enormous guardian had intercepted the fireball with a shield as large as a door. The being was made entirely of light, the same sapphire blue light that always accompanied my mother’s magic when she was teaching me. Tears filled my eyes as I felt her warmth strengthen me. The guardian lowered me to the ground, and with a breath I steadied myself before turning to Orin. He was dirty and bleeding, bruised all over. He’d always been so strong for me, always put himself second to take care of me. Now it was my turn.

“It’s ok brother, this time I’ll protect you.”