The Moon Guard

I stared down at the ring I was just handed. The small chunk of Moon radiated with a silver glow. I slipped the ring onto my left pointer finger, admiring its beauty as I moved my hand side to side. I’d always dreamed of this day, fully acquiring my cloud abilities.

I had to maintain my composure for the duration of the ceremony, as each of us was handed our ring. Every year this ceremony took place for all who have turned twenty-one and completed qualifying training. This year there are seven of us, and soon the celebration would start; which meant Cloud Clashing.

I was decent enough at Cloud Gliding, but what set me apart was my ability to maneuver quickly. Recollecting on my training instilled doubt in my mind, I wasn’t sure if my skillset would be enough to win. Our Speaker’s voice quickly shook my thoughts. I needed to pay attention, especially to her speech.

“Today not only marks our annual Cloud Clashing but twenty years since the invasion of the Lightning Heavers!”

A hush fell over the gathered crowd.

The Speaker raised her arms in a calming manner.

“That was indeed the darkest of our days, a shard of our precious Moon was taken from us. But…”

She paused for a moment.

“…were we not VICTORIOUS?”

The Speaker’s voice rose to a roar, and soon the crowd followed erupting in a wave of excited cries. My chest swelled with pride. I was only one when the Moon shard was taken, but I heard the stories countless times.

Led by our Speaker, an elite squadron of Cloud Gliders called the Moon Guard saved us. The Lightning Heavers leader, Val’Nyr, led an attack on our capital, slaughtering countless people in an attempt to use our Moon combined with his Lightning powers to destroy us all. The Speaker arrived in the nick of time with the Moon Guard, deflecting his Lightning with her ring back into his chest. The Lightning Heavers escaped with a small shard of the Moon, broken off and sung from the deflection.

“After the ceremonial Cloud Clashing, we will feast together in honor of our people!”

More cheering and applause erupted. I knew the event would start soon, and the realization made my heart race. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and a chill ran down my spine, as the Speaker motioned for us to line up at the start. We marched in unison to the intricately painted marker that was our starting position.

“As we all know, it is tradition that the victor of this year's Cloud Clashing earns a spot in the Moon Guard!” proclaimed the Speaker.

The crowd erupted even louder, screaming and cheering filled me with anticipation.

“Take positions!” the Speaker resumed.

“You may summon your clouds.”

I inhaled deeply, my eyes fluttering as I focused the energy flowing through me towards my Moon ring. Gently the silver haze around my ring stretched and grew, surrounding the bottom half of my body in familiar warmth. My Cloud glimmered throughout with an emerald pulsing energy, shifting through the silver and gently lifting me off of the ground.

We all hovered in place. I glanced around to see fellow nervous faces waiting for the countdown to begin.

“Three… Two… One…”

The Speaker trailed as she raised her arm, shooting off a spark of silvery magic into the air, illuminating the sky with an enormous crescent moon.

“Fly!”

...

As the crescent moon illuminated the sky I leaned forward with my knees slightly bent, propelling myself higher into the air. The first curve of the intricate course was approaching quickly, I dipped low to glide around the inside edge of the curve. Above me, one glider slammed into another. I didn’t bother with a look back; one mistake and the opportunity to be in the Moon Guard was gone. My hair began to whip my cheeks as I leaned further forward, increasing my speed steadily. Ahead were two enormous trees that were intertwined with each other, creating a small opening between them. I knew I could maneuver through, I was small, fast, and I could balance better than most gliders.

I glanced to my left and saw two gliders pulling in close, and to my right three more. I had a sinking feeling they knew I would go for the small opening in the trees. I weighed my options quickly and took a deep breath, as I exhaled I dispersed my cloud into an emerald mist, and began to free fall towards the ground. I focused all of my energy on my ring and as quickly as I dispersed my cloud it was back, surrounding me in comforting warmth. I leaned my body weight to the left and veered just around the outside left edge of the trees.

“Dammit!” I heard a frustrated voice, followed by a thump of flesh hitting the tree.

I knew one of the gliders was thrown by my move, but the tree would only slow them down for a few moments. It was clear now that the others saw me as the biggest threat. There were really no rules for Cloud Clashing, except not to kill each other. The goal was to win, and showcase your skills to the Moon Guard.

There was a stretch of free space curving around the Moon Temple, a goliath of a building made with white marble, stretching higher than the clouds. Now was my chance to pull far ahead. As I was picking up speed, I felt a chill down my spine, and all the hairs stood up on the back of my neck and arms.

Suddenly a bright light illuminated the sky, followed shortly by the crash of thunder. As my vision re-focused I checked my surroundings. My fellow gliders were paralyzed with fear, they had ceased their movement and simply floated in awe. There is no lightning here, we raised our city high into the sky to avoid civilization below, where the Lightning Heavers resided. Which meant they were here.

I shook my head attempting to banish my racing thoughts. I had to do something. I began to glide towards the source of the lightning, keeping my body positioned low with my cloud. It was then I saw our Speaker. She had summoned her purple shifting cloud and was already above me. We met each other’s gaze, and she raised her finger to her lips to signal silence. I swooped low, behind our Speaker, but I would not leave her alone. The Moon Guard, I knew, would follow soon.

Speaker and I noticed a break in the white fluffy clouds at the same time. There was a dark menacing cloud above, onyx in color and radiating wretched energy. Lightning Heavers did not possess the ability to Cloud Glide. My thoughts quickly came to the conclusion that they tapped into the power of the stolen Moon shard.

As if confirming my thoughts, the menacing onyx cloud lowered, and an older man with dark flowing hair came into view. Around his neck dangled a large medallion. At its center was a large piece of the Moon, but it seemed tainted by an eerie black glow. The man’s chest armor was a glistening dark leather, and near his heart was an erratic tear in the armor, making the putrid scar over his heart visible. It was him…it was Val’Nyr, the leader of the Lightning Heavers.

“VAL’NYR!” I heard our Speaker’s voice shaking with fury. “How dare you return here!” She defensively floated between the crowd far below and Val’Nyr.

“Speaker!” His voice was a poisonous hiss. “How lovely to see you again. It’s been what? Twenty years?” He laughed maniacally and hurled another lightning bolt at the scattering crowd.

The Speaker was impossibly fast, faster than any glider ever known, and in the blink of an eye, she was there. She raised her arms and deflected the lightning with a loud crack. The force of the lightning blew back her silver hood, revealing her pale eyes and white flowing hair.

Val’Nyr cackled with laughter again. “You seem unchanged, Speaker.”

In response she changed her body position to a defensive but aggressive pose, ready for battle. I mimicked her movements, increasing the size of my cloud for protection, and prepared for the worst.

“You will not escape with your life this time, Val’Nyr,” Speaker said firmly.

...

“Oh I don’t think so, Speaker,” replied Val’Nyr in a venomous growl.

Before the Speaker could reply, Val’Nyr lifted an intricate horn to his lips. The horn was the deep gray of a storm cloud and twisted unnaturally. The noise it made mimicked that of loud crackling thunder, seemingly shaking the air around us all.

Shortly after the thunder horn ceased, six menacing dark clouds descended from above, Lightning crackling throughout. Atop we’re six equally as menacing women, each with their own eerily dark glowing Moon shard pendant.

“Meet my Valkyrie!” Val’Nyr boomed. “They will be the end of you, Speaker!”

They all had their eyes locked on Val’Nyr and a proud look on their faces. Their glistening onyx armor was almost identical to Val’Nyr’s, only lacking a gnarly chest scar inflicted by the Speaker.

As if reading my worried mind, I saw the Moon Guard finally approaching in the distance. I knew it had only been a handful of moments, but those moments felt like an eternity faced with Val’Nyr and his Valkyrie. I felt we had a chance with the Moon Guard.

I was in awe of how graceful the Moon Guard was on their iridescent clouds. The shimmering radiance was a stark contrast from the dark stormy clouds of the Lightning Heavers. Without warning, Val’Nyr let loose a bolt of Lightning aimed at the Speaker. She blocked it effortlessly and descended upon him.

Lightning cracked the sky, thunder rumbling as the Speaker and Val’Nyr twisted around each other in a heated battle. It was as if they were dancing through the sky, almost beautiful. The Moon Guard made the first move against the Valkyrie, unsheathing their crescent moon-shaped swords, adorned with a Moon shard at the hilt. There were only five of them and six Valkyrie. It sunk in then, it was my job to balance the scales.

I had no weapon, only my gliding skills to aid me. One member of the Moon Guard, vastly taller than the rest of us, was taking on two of the Valkyrie. Each time they clashed the Moon swords sang against the crackling of the Lightning, creating a symphony of a storm. I hunkered low, summoned all of my courage, and pushed forward. I targeted one of the two Valkyrie, her back facing me. I readied my fist with my Moon ring, hoping to get a hit in while she was preoccupied. I focused all my energy and body weight into my fist, and when I glided close enough, I swung at the back of her head with all my might.

I made contact, and to my shock, my emerald cloud energy had emerged from my ring. I felt nothing of the impact, but the Valkyrie certainly did. A loud cry escaped her lips, her cloud dissipated and she began to free fall towards the ground, limbs flailing erratically. After a split second, the shock wore off of what I had just done, and I decided I didn’t want her to die. I had done this move before, so I felt confident in my skills. I let out a breath and let my cloud go and began to rapidly fall. I angled my body head first, and arms back in order to catch up to her. Once I was close enough, I put out my arms to cradle her body into my chest. I didn’t let how fast the ground was approaching phase me and inhaled deeply through my nose. On the exhale I summoned my cloud again. Floating maybe five hundred feet off the ground, I glanced down at the stranger in my arms. Her eyes were closed, breathing ragged, and I felt warmth on the back of her head; blood.

I floated to the ground and gently laid her body down, instructing nearby citizens to bind her and watch her. Before taking off back to the battle, I had an urge to take her Moon shard pendant placing it around my own neck. Once it made contact with my skin I felt a painful shock ripple through my body, glancing down I noticed the eerie dark shadow around the shard dissipate and replaced with the same emerald green that swam through my cloud. I didn’t have time to fully register what had just happened; my instincts pulled me back to the battle raging above.

I ascended as quickly as I could, and once in view, my eyes widened in horror. Val’Nyr had our Speaker by the collar of her silver cape in one hand, and his fist was reaching back and Lightning circled around his dark armored wrist up to his fist. With only seconds to think, in sheer panic, I clutched the new pendant around my neck with my left hand and jerked it free with one smooth motion. I called upon the energy of both Moon shards now in my possession, focusing it all at Val’Nyr, using my hatred for him as a catalyst.

The next few moments happened in slow motion, that familiar warmth surged throughout my body, emerald green energy taking the shape of Lightning flew from my body striking Val’Nyr in the chest. The force of it sent him spiraling backward. Somehow maintaining his storm cloud, he clutched his chest in agony.

“You little pest!” Val’nyr spat as blood poured from his mouth.

Before he could spit any more poison, the emerald green energy began to warp and spread throughout his body. His face contorted in pain, and his body began to swell abnormally large until it ruptured. Blood and guts rained all over the Speaker, soaking her silver cloak, but I could tell by her body language all she felt was a relief. I stared down at my hands in utter shock, unsure of how I managed to make Val’Nyr explode.

Sudden roars of agony and sadness pierced the air, shaking me from my thoughts. The Valkyrie all quickly retreated, disappearing almost as quickly as they had arrived.

...

The Speaker handed me a crescent moon blade, adorned with the Moon shard I had taken from the Valkyrie I saved. When my hands made contact, I felt a surge of energy as the hilt and blade illuminated emerald green.

“Congratulations! You saved me, you saved us all, and for that… Welcome to the Moon Guard!” the Speaker said as she raised her arms high, shooting one last crescent moon into the sky.

The crowd erupted in thunderous applause. My chest swelled with pride. I still wasn’t sure exactly how my abilities came to fruition, but what matters is I had achieved my dream. And most importantly my people were safe, for now.

...

Thank you so much for reading. What did you think of The Moon Guard? Let us know in the comments below!

-Clever & WTF