The Guardians' Legacy

Colth's eyes were filled with joy as he watched the scenery from the window of the train that was parked at the Capital's central station. The young man was enchanted by the sight of the beautiful buildings, the streets bustling with cars, and the high point of human development up until then. That was the most admired place in the entire world, and just being there for the first time made the young man proud.

He had just passed the pre-selection process at the Ministry of Defense to compete for a position as a security agent for the empire. Now, he was about to take the final exam, the one that would determine the course of his life.

The amount of people and buildings was much larger than what Colth was used to in Toesane, his hometown, and there were still those noisy cars that scared him. Coming from outside the Capital, the boy had never seen so many cars like that, on that street alone, there were more than in the whole of Toesane.

The cars powered by the energy of Sathsai's crystals were still inefficient and made a lot of noise when moving, but the new technology was really promising. The power drawn from Sathsai's crystals was, without a doubt, the greatest advance of humanity since the discovery of fire. Not only did the cars move with the power of a fuel derived from the crystal, but all the energy that powered the empire, and many other technological advances, were only possible after their discovery. But still, it was difficult for someone from the small town to get used to a horseless cart moving like that.

Colth tried to put this strangeness aside and, as he left the large central passenger train station, he came across the beautiful, busy streets of the Capital's center, which was what he had really expected from that city. The people were almost all well dressed, the large windows of the buildings reflected the shine of the asphalt that were decorated by beautiful flower beds along the entire length of the main avenue.

And there was the large blue building of the Ministry of Defense Academy. The boy regretted that his destination was so close, he would have liked to have the opportunity to see more of the city's central region, but he reached his destination after crossing a few streets. He was in front of the entrance to the place.

A complex of buildings that stood out for their beauty, even there, surrounded by other beautiful buildings. And it was in that complex of blue buildings, that the entrance exam for the Ministry of Defense would be held.

The movement at the academy gate was notable, even after the pre-selection, there were still many men and women competing for the few places to be trained and work as an agent defending the empire.

Impressed, Colth was lost in the midst of his anxiety that reached its peak the moment he crossed the gate amidst the crowd of competitors and became just one more.

The apprehensive young man followed the flow of the crowd to a secondary building where the gymnasium of the academy complex was located. It was like a large warehouse, where at the back of the large court, there was a small stage built for that occasion.

The candidates gathered in front of the platform and waited anxiously. Colth didn't recognize anyone there, which wasn't a bad thing, he supposed. After a few minutes, all the candidates entered the building and took their positions for what was to come. A loud, deep voice from above the stage caught everyone's attention.

— Attention!!! The senior officer, Colonel Helm, will speak!!! — A bald man in his forties shouted to be heard.

His dark red Royal Guard uniform had a few medals, but it was enough to draw even more attention besides his screams.

Another man, older, with a full beard and white hair, moved across the stage. His unemotional look demonstrated the great experience he had gained from many years working in defense and, if that were not enough, his white uniform with yellow details and the various medals on his chest made it very clear.

— Good afternoon, candidates! — greeted the Colonel, with complete seriousness.

— Good afternoon, sir! — everyone responded as if a single voice filled the entire sports building.

— You have been pre-selected to take the test that will determine the future occupants of the positions in the Ministry of Defense. — The man's imposing voice, manner of carrying himself, and attitude made everyone respect him. Even in a square full of people, not a single noise could be heard other than the man's own voice. — As everyone knows, the vacancies will be divided according to the departments of the Ministry of Defense. There are 42 vacancies for the police, 15 vacancies for the experimental anti-creature group, and 10 vacancies for initiation into the Royal Guard.

The imposing man's speech made Colth's eyes, and those of most of the candidates who filled the sports court, shine.

— The order of the test classification will be the order of the candidates for the selection of their positions — added the Colonel.

“In other words, to guarantee myself in the Royal Guard, I need to be among the top 10 candidates.” These were the thoughts and calculations that were going through the boy’s head. His speculations were cut short by yet another announcement from the Colonel:

—The test starts from now. — The man didn't change his serious and disciplined tone.

— What? Now? — The crowd asked in distress.

— On your registration form, the one you brought. — The Colonel continued with his explanation. — In the upper left corner of the sheet. There is a symbol.

Immediately, Colth pulled out of his jacket pocket the letter he had received after the pre-selection. Indeed, the typed paper had a symbol so generic that it went completely unnoticed by him. A bird on a branch. The drawing was minimalist and looked like it had been made with a stamp filled with black ink.

— There are three more symbols identical to yours, distributed among all the candidates. — The man under the stage continued with the instructions. — The first task is to identify these symbols among yourselves, so that you can come together to plan for the first test, which will begin after lunch. Be aware that there will be four different tests. Each group must choose a member to represent them in each of the tests. The group's classification will be determined by the sum of the results of all the tests. The first test begins at exactly 1:00 p.m., on the outdoor sports field, right next door. That's it. You are dismissed for now.

That was the scary old man's cue. Then he turned around and, as soon as he left the stage, everyone on the court began looking for the symbols that matched theirs on the registration form sheet.

Conversations, whistles and shouts turned the sports court into real chaos.

—Someone with a starfish!? — A man said as he passed Colth.

— A cloud! A dark cloud! — A girl dodged the boy in search of her pen pal.

— A dolphin. Or a fish!? — Another boy was lost in the crowd.

— A bird in a tree! Bird in a tree! — A high-pitched male voice caught Colth's attention.

— Birdie? — Colth whispered to himself.

Amidst the many words being thrown around, the boy managed to hear something matching the description of the symbol on his file. He walked quickly towards the source of that voice and, after some effort to slip through the crowd, he spotted a boy calling out for the bird symbol.

The young man had short, even hair, was shorter than most of the people there, including the women, and wore very sloppy clothes for such a situation.

— Hey, you. Your symbol? — Colth unceremoniously caught the attention of the tall man by showing him the paper with the symbol printed on it.

Immediately, the other understood. He moved his token towards Colth's token so as to compare them.

— They're identical. — The boy, in a friendly manner, raised his head with a smile on his face. — It's you. Without a doubt.

Colth immediately realized that he had been unlucky in choosing his first companion. The young man, who carried a small leather bag over his shoulders, did not seem very strong, and his lack of height could be a disadvantage in several categories of events.

While Colth was distracted by his speculative thoughts, the boy extended his right hand in greeting.

— My name is Aldren. I guess we're partners from now on. — The boy smiled once more.

“I’m Lasvin.” The handshake cemented them as partners, it wasn’t like there was any other option. Hoping to make someone recognize his last name, Colth made sure to repeat his family name—Colth Lasvin.

— Nice to meet you. Colth is a cool name — Aldren replied, without any curiosity while keeping a touching happiness on his face.

The attempt with the name didn't seem to work. Colth thought for a moment that his last name might have some relevance, but his family was no longer important. He forced himself to forget about it so as not to lose his attention from that moment on.

“Have you found anyone else with the bird symbol on their branch?” Colth asked, ignoring the boy’s compliment about his name and getting straight to the point without any further pleasantries.

— Oh? — It took Aldren a second to understand. — Oh, yes. There's the...

“Did you find one?” A girl said as she appeared behind them, coming from the middle of the crowd, she suddenly interrupted Aldren’s words.

— Yes. There’s a little bird on his file too — he replied intimately.

The girl then lifted the paper in her hands and exposed it.

—It is the same, yes—Colth confirmed when he saw the symbol stamped on the document.

The girl with the expressionless face was practically the same height as Aldren, at 1.60m, and of similar age. “Maybe a couple of years younger than me.” Colth thought, at just 20 years of age.

With a ponytail making up her light hair, and light clothes loose over her petite body, the girl held the paper tightly as she looked the stranger over from head to toe, making him uncomfortable.

— His name is Colth. — Aldren introduced his new colleague kindly.

— I think we got lucky. He should do the trick — the girl replied without showing any attachment to Aldren's friendly tone, much less attachment or courtesy towards the person she had just met.

— ... — Colth was silent and somewhat surprised by the girl's words. She was very direct and didn't care about any ceremony.

— Don't talk about him like that. He might get upset. — Aldren reprimanded her with a serious look, but in the next moment, he was smiling again. — You should be polite when you meet someone, have you forgotten?

“Why would he be upset?” she asked with sincere doubt in her eyes.

— You should introduce yourself, and not judge people like that — Colth said in a garbled tone showing his disgust.

The girl finally looked into his face, so that it was a minimally respectable exchange of glances, it was no longer just a look at an object or animal, as before. Then she sketched an attempt at a friendly smile accompanied by her introduction:

— My name is Celina. — Her smile was clearly forced and did not at all match the neutral tone of her words.

— Hmm? — Colth came back to himself after thinking how peculiar that girl was. — My name is Colth. — he concluded, lifting his chin.

As soon as he finished speaking, without any mention of his last name, he raised his hand to greet his newest colleague. At that moment, the girl simply ignored him and turned her attention back to the papers in her hands. Colth was surprised again, keeping his hand in the air until he realized that he had been completely ignored.

—Tsk. — He withdrew his hand and just took a deep breath patiently as he swallowed his disgust.

The crowd separated into several small groups as the minutes passed.

— What's up, Colth? Trying your luck for the Royal Guard? — The displaced question came from a more distant voice, the speaker approached and caught the attention of the newly formed trio.

— Hello, Goro. — Colth responded to the greeting, making a point of showing his disinterest to that figure he already knew well.

— What's with all this discouragement? For someone who's going to compete for a position, you should... no. Wait. Do you think you can't even get a simple position in the police force? Now I understand your discouragement — Goro mocked, in a tone that would make anyone's ears sick.

Colth immediately looked away in anger and found himself begging for peace in his thoughts. The police were the most basic position in the Ministry of Defense, they had their value, but they were far below the prestige of the Royal Guard, becoming a police officer, for him, would mean failing to achieve what he wanted, Goro knew this, after all, they had the same goal.

“What’s up, man? Are you guys friends?” Aldren interrupted Colth’s angry thoughts and not-so-subtly inserted himself into the conversation. Directing the question to the well-dressed, neatly-coiffed young man, he smiled.

— What? Me and Colth? — Goro widened his eyes sarcastically. — No, no, no. We're just... acquaintances of each other.

The manner and arrogant tone of his words alone made Colth roll his eyes, but what made his irritation with this situation even worse was knowing that he had once been his friend, a person like that.

— Oh, I see. By any chance, you don't have a bird on your leaf, do you? There's still one missing from our group. For now, it's just me, Colth, and Celina here. — Aldren finished his speech by pointing to each person in his group.

Colth took a deep breath, trying to maintain patience, and Celina continued to read and reread the documents in her hands.

— I’m sorry to disappoint you, but no. Mine is a beautiful sword being wielded and… wait a minute. — Goro’s eyes sharpened as he hummed his words. This was the foreshadowing, already known to Colth, of an insult or cruel comment that would soon follow. — You three? Look at you. Hahaha. The other person must have given up and run off to kill themselves, or something.

— What? — Aldren expressed his surprise, or perhaps just confusion at the arrogant man's lack of awareness.

Colth was not at all surprised by the behavior of that cocky man; he already knew the person well. Goro's family, unlike Colth's, remained relevant in Toesane. His mother was one of the city's councilors and her family had a historic rivalry with the Lasvins. A rivalry that was destined to end now that the empire ruled the city and the Lasvin family no longer had any ties to governance over Toesane. Even so, Goro did not hold back in his disdain.

— Anyway. I wish you luck. You're going to need it. — The snobbish boy turned and walked away, leaving the three in the group motionless without any reaction or response as he mingled with the crowd. — See you later.

— What a funny guy... — Aldren broke the silence that existed between them, the rest of the sports court continued to move in chaos.

“Idiot,” Colth whispered.

— Forget about him. There's still one missing, right?

— You're right. Let's look for the last bird. — Colth answered the question while trying to stay focused on the objective. Aldren, in turn, smiled and nodded positively.

The remaining candidates, who did not yet have a group, should have been in much smaller numbers by now. That way, it would be easier to find the missing member of the group, they thought. But even after the three members persistently continued searching for long minutes in the crowd, the last matching symbol was not found.

“Did the person we’re looking for give up?” Aldren asked, as they watched the sports court gradually empty out.

Now there were only a few people left who were talking to each other. None who were lonely and looking for a group.

—I guess we'll just have to deal with the lack of a member in our group. — Colth was content.

— And that one over there? — Celina, without any shyness, pointed with her index finger to a girl in one of the corners of the court. — She seems to be alone.

— Yes, but she doesn't seem to be looking for a group. — Aldren was right. Indeed, a woman lying on the floor, reading a book without a care in the world, didn't seem to be looking for her companions.

—Maybe she gave up looking. — Colth tried to find a justification for such reckless behavior.

“Well, I guess it doesn’t hurt to ask,” Aldren said, putting on his optimistic smile. He then began walking towards the woman without a care in the world. Colth and Celina followed close behind.

Long hair, a beautiful face accompanied by a pair of glasses, and unobtrusive clothes. “Everything is normal and acceptable about this woman, the only problem is her carefree attitude.” Colth thought, but soon turned his attention back to what was before his eyes.

— Hello. Excuse me? — Aldren tried to politely get her attention, but the woman insisted on not noticing the presence of the three members of the group standing next to her. Her focus was exclusively on the pages contained in the book she held over her eyes.

— Hello. I'm talking to you — Aldren said. Again, nothing. He then decided to give the girl a light and delicate kick on the boot. — Hey. You.

— Crow. — The woman's sudden, seemingly meaningless response came in a neutral and uninterested tone. She continued to stare at the book.

— What? — Aldren translated the facial expressions of everyone in the group into words.

— My symbol. A crow on a dry branch — he explained without moving.

— A crow? — Aldren turned his eyes back to his sign-up sheet.

— Can we see your symbol? — Colth was direct. He was starting to get impatient with such carelessness from a possible member of his group.

— Ah. — The woman sighed in a petulant tone and then, after giving the group a quick look, she began to get up from the floor and close her small green-covered book. — Here, take it.

Handing over the sign-up sheet, she began looking at the faces of each member of the group, especially Celina.

As Colth held the sheet of paper and looked at it, his doubts were dispelled. The symbol was indeed a bird on a branch, identical to the other three. He couldn’t help but let out a small sigh of discontent.

— What is it? Is it our symbol? — Aldren waited anxiously for the answer.

“Yes, it is,” Colth confirmed, his eyes fixed on the woman.

— Of course it is. — The newest member of the group showed no surprise, on the contrary, she seemed to have already come to terms with the situation. Her impartiality was so great that her eyes seemed dead behind the frames of her glasses.

— Oh? So... I'm Aldren, this is Colth, and this is Celina. — Again, the short, cheerful boy introduced everyone with a smile. — Welcome to the group.

— Great. My name is Garta.

— What a cool name. Is that a crow, then? — Aldren was once again amused by the image of the bird on his file.

The woman found herself the target of Celina's cold gaze, once again the girl analyzed the new member of the group from head to toe.

— What is she doing? — Garta asked, noticing what seemed to be some kind of ritual being performed by the younger girl.

— Don't mind...

“That doesn’t add up,” Celina whispered. Then she placed her right thumb over her own lips and forced Aldren to interrupt her.

— No, no, no. We don't need that right now. — The boy's disproportionate reaction, evidently trying to prevent the girl from continuing with what she had to say, left Colth and Garta at least a little confused. — She just liked your hair, that's all. By the way, I loved your leather coat.

Aldren's explanation, even before a question, was suspicious in anyone's eyes. He stood in front of the girl while smiling at the others.

—What's gotten into them? — Garta whispered only to Colth.

— I just met them too, don't ask me. — The boy shied away from any responsibility.

— What could this little guy's relationship with her be? — Garta let out her thoughts.

— Shorty? — Aldren heard only one word. It was enough. He showed his irritation by staring into the girl's eyes behind the lenses of his glasses. — How disrespectful to a colleague.

“I can see that this is going to be a lot of work,” she complained in a low voice.

— Don't you have any respect? We spent ages looking for you. — The boy continued with his irritated speech. — And you were having a good life, reading your... little book there.

— Why should I worry? You would have found me anyway — she replied, showing no attachment to what was being discussed.

— How ridiculous! You were lying down this whole time...

“Enough!” Colth shouted, stepping forward. “We have more important things to discuss.”

Everyone immediately fell silent. Aldren lowered his head in acknowledgement of his colleague’s firm words. Celina continued to stare at Garta in speculation, and the woman simply looked away.

Colth closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “With a group like that, it’s going to be hard to get a good ranking.” He thought as everyone calmed down.

After the truce, the quartet went to the cafeteria located in one of the buildings of the defense academy complex. The place was almost completely empty; one of the several tables there would be perfect for a strategic meeting of the newly formed group.

Sitting at the last table in the corner of the cafeteria, Aldren pulled four metal containers from the backpack he was carrying, stacked on top of his hands. His smiling face filled with pride.

— What is this? — Colth couldn't resist asking to satisfy his curiosity.

— Lunch. — The boy placed the containers in the center of the table. — There, Celina. You got it right. Isn’t it surprising?

— Not at all. It was obvious that the ministry would divide the participants into groups of four — the girl replied, convinced and calm.

— You knew that? — Colth was surprised.

— Yes. I based it on the exam records from previous years. I think they divide the candidates into groups to test our teamwork skills.

— I see. And what else do you know?

— I know that the tests will probably be focused on specific skills — Celina replied confidently, she was effectively one step ahead of everyone else there.

—That seems quite reasonable—Colth explained his thoughts. —So, we need to know what each person’s skills are, right? — He was listened to attentively by the other three at the table.

—But we don't even know what the tests will be — said Aldren, as he distributed the metal containers, one for each member of the group.

— That's why we should talk about our skills, that way, we'll have an idea of ​​who to choose when the content of the tests is revealed. — Colth followed his reasoning.

— I understand. That’s fine with me. — Aldren didn’t think to argue, then opened one of the containers. — You can eat. — He authorized everyone to collect their lunches.

— I can't accept...

— Yes, you can, Colth. Besides, if you don't eat it, the food will end up spoiling. — Aldren tried to gently convince the boy.

— No, you won’t. — Celina exalted her dry and impolite words as she opened another container and received a disapproving look from her friend. — What’s wrong? Food doesn’t spoil that quickly. And I would eat it before it spoiled.

— Don't mind her. Let's go. You too, Garta. They must be starving. I can't leave my group with low energy.

— Whatever. — Garta picked up one of the containers and opened it.

— I won’t deny that I’m very hungry. So, okay. Thank you. — Colth joined his colleagues and then opened the last remaining meal. He was impressed by how cautious Aldren was, after all, bringing food, not only for himself, but for the entire group, was worthy of praise.

— Very well. Then, I will tell you my aptitude. — Aldren continued with the previous subject. — I think... I think I can say, that I can run very well.

— You mean, fast? — Garta found the boy's choice of words strange.

—A little fast, too. — Aldren replied assertively.

— What do you mean by “also”? Running fast is the only way to run well. Other than that, it means nothing. It’s not a skill. — Garta was expressing exactly what Colth was thinking, but in the dry and direct way he said it, he would never do it.

— Is it? Then tell me yours, since it's so good.

— Okay, I'll talk. Aim. I have excellent aim.

— Mira? Hmm. — Aldren scoffed with his mouth full of food. — Big deal.

— No. Actually, that could be very good. Usually, there's always a test that involves aiming ability — said Celina, getting a little excited about that. The boy with his mouth full could only groan in contradiction.

— Seriously? Is this because of the test records? — Colth was impressed, but he was a little skeptical about the information coming from the girl.

— Exactly. Last year it was throwing uniform objects at targets. Two years ago, archery. Before that, darts — she explained in a serious and very convincing tone. She really seemed to know what she was talking about.

— Are you saying that one of the four tests must involve one of these?

— Not exactly one of those. But the probability of aim being a required skill is quite high.

—That’s fantastic. — Colth couldn’t contain his optimism.

“I think that makes things easier,” Garta said as he enjoyed the food.

— Hmm... — Colth looked surprised as he tasted the tasty piece of boiled potato with butter. — This is very good. Did you make it, Aldren?

— That's it. The chef's specialty here. — He pointed to himself. The boy's proud smile was as genuine as it could be.

— You really cook very well, I imagine you're a hit in your city. — Colth praised his colleague while still chewing.

“Cooking skills won’t help you here,” Garta said, hiding her enjoyment of the food’s taste. Aldren only looked a little irritated, but he didn’t care enough to respond. The woman shifted her attention to another member of the table. “What about you? Any skills, Colth?”

—That's right, Colth. And you? — Aldren's curiosity came together with the attentive looks and ears of everyone in the group.

—To tell you the truth, I don't really know — he replied shyly. Everyone suddenly fell silent.

— Not even an effort? — Garta showed a certain discouragement and disappointment with that answer.

— Hey! Watch how you talk to a teammate. — Aldren disdained the woman's behavior while Colth looked away.

— I didn't say anything wrong.

—But he had that grumpy face there.

— That's just my face.

—Of course it is... What do you think, Celina? Any other skills that are needed in the tests? — Aldren asked, advancing the subject in question.

— Well... — Celina broke free from her evaluative thoughts. — Usually, the other tests involve intelligence, agility, strength, endurance and balance. I suppose you, Colth, have the build for strength. Probably for endurance, and perhaps for balance.

— Colth could be our chameleon, then. — Aldren's words, which didn't seem to make much sense to the other two, were confirmed with a nod from Celina.

—What does that mean? — Colth interrupted.

— It's like a wild card.

— What Aldren said makes sense. It's possible that we can't predict all the tests. So, having a more balanced group member could give us an advantage. — Celina agreed with Aldren's words.

— Well, I would like to have a bigger role in the group, but if it will help, then that's fine. — Colth also accepted the proposal.

— Exactly. — Aldren said as he straightened the collar of his wrinkled jacket. — And that's why you can leave the intelligence test to me.

— No. — Celina's dry and direct denial, in response to Aldren's words, made Colth open a mocking smile without meaning to. The same was seen, for a split second, on Garta's face.

— I know, I know, Celina — he replied melancholy, resting his head on the table after the obvious discredit attributed to him. — It was just a joke.

— Aldren, you'll be doing the agility test. There's a good chance that it'll be among the tests. — Celina was getting back to the important topic.

— If you say so... — the boy nodded annoyed.

— And will you take the intelligence test? — Colth's question to Celina was practically rhetorical. After all the planning and knowledge demonstrated, no one would oppose the idea of ​​Celina being the candidate to take such a test.

— Exactly. I think that should give us some advantage over the other candidates.

— Okay. I guess that’s fine. — Colth was the one who gave the answer in words, but everyone at the table agreed with that.

— Amazing! We have the best group of all. — With exaggerated excitement, Aldren cut through the short silence.

— You've got to be kidding... — Garta whispered, disagreeing in a pessimistic tone.

—Anyway, it's decided—Colth ended the subject.

The four of them finished their meal and soon headed to the gym's outdoor sports field. Once again, the scene of the candidates facing the authorities was repeated, but this time, the participants were all in groups of four.

— Attention!!! The senior officer, Colonel Helm, will speak!!! — The firm shout for all candidates came from one end of the field. The bald man, in his dark red royal guard uniform, repeated the same words as before. And as in tradition, the other, older man, Colonel Helm, began to speak.

— The first test of the final selection for candidates for the posts of the Ministry of Defense will begin shortly. It will be target shooting with a Sathsai crystal musket at 50 meters from the target.

“That’s great.” Colth thought immediately. He remembered their conversation earlier, and couldn’t resist an optimistic smile toward Garta.