Chapter 4: You're a Guardian

What?
What did she say? Her home country? Land of no sin? Arkena?
Arkena…Did she mean Arkena Forest? Am I still in Arkena Forest? There has never been anything so confusing for me before, but I have to keep calm and try again.
Still distressed, I tried to clear my mind. “Let me get this straight: I’m no longer in Germany, but I am in Arkena- do you mean I’m still in Arkena forest?”
Her face didn’t express any emotion. “No, I mean you’re in my home country where I live.
As I stared at her, I became more confused. “OK, that brings me to more questions. Like, ‘How did I get here?’ ‘Where am I now?’ ‘Are there other people like me who are also trapped here?’”
She gently put her index finger on my lips. “Shush now, don’t push yourself. I’ll answer every question you have one by one.”
She clears her throat. “But before we start, let’s introduce ourselves: My name is Oka. It's a pleasure to meet you.”
She held out her branch, transforming into an arm, signaling to shake hands. I looked at it amazed for a while before shaking her wooden hand. "Hello, nice to meet you too. I’m Odette Miller.”
Before I asked, I looked down at her from head to bottom. The sun was finally up, brightening the clear blue sky. Oka looked young as she was in her late 20s. She has a soft and smooth body with a thin waist. Her skin was covered in wood carvings and her head stuck out from hundreds of branches. She almost looks like a goddess with her smile and gentle nature.
"Oka... If you wouldn’t mind, but can’t you please tell me what you are?” I asked. “And also, I want to apologize for running off and tasering you. Honestly, I have never seen a tree that turns into a woman before. Are there other tree people?”
She nodded. “I understand, all is forgiven. I am what you call a dryad. Dryads like me are also called Hamadryads when they are in groups. Our species are only spread by an acorn if planted in the right soil.”
“Wow, Dryad species exist in this world!?” I scream. “That’s amazing!”
Oka smiled widely. "But not as amazing as you are." She added. "I finally found you. YOU’RE FIT FOR THE CORE!”
I looked at her confused. “I’m sorry, what?”
She let out a cough. “Excuse me, what I meant to say was: I have been waiting for someone like you, Miller.”
She told me to sit on dry grass, she held up the glass staff. “In the beginning, Arkena was once a stranded island, found in the southern Pacific Ocean, and was home to demi-humans till humans discovered it. Humans made the people their slaves and planned to colonize the land as it had beautiful landscapes, pleasant weather conditions, and clear fresh water. Sadly, even humans from other countries were shipped here to become slaves.”
She continued. “But then one day, a demon named Ecoadro Noir eager for freedom had found a rare stone that attracts all elements.”
As she said that, she pointed to the yellow stone. I don’t know why but it made my stomach arch. “Ecoadro Noir has fought off the outsiders and frees his people to new heights as the new ruler of Arkena using this stone that he now calls "the core". He will pass down his sons from generation to generation with this core once they turn 20 as a tribute for them to rule over Arkena.”
Okay, so that's what Oka said: a country called Arkena is discovered by humans and invaded, but then a "demon" of the same kind fights them? It sounds crazy. How come people have never heard of the country? But I understand how sad it must have been when people tried to colonize.
“Humans once tried to invade your country and take away your rights,” I muttered. “I’m so sorry your country had to go through that.”
Oka and I elapse a moment of silence before I smile. “Ecoadro sounds like a hero straight out of a Shounen manga. He showed humans what he was capable of!”
She nodded, smiling. “But out of fear, Ecoadro Noir shields the land with a spell that prevents outsiders from coming to invade our country, and also trapping his people within.”
“What?! So people like me never knew this country existed?" I asked, stunned. “I would have learned about Arkena and its history by now. Oka, you and your people don’t need to shut yourselves out of fear anymore. Times have changed. Humans don’t colonize countries anymore.”
“As I believed,” she said, nodding. “But not to our newly appointed ruler: Adabbon Noir. He is the 13th ruler, a descendant of Ecoadro Noir. It had been long egged of him to wield the core's power. He wanted to change people’s ways of living and make his own rules for what he believed was economic development. Moreover, he desired to rule the seas and take over every country.”
Oka raised her wooden hand, pointing at me. “Those Ogres I mentioned earlier were the Lord's loyal troops. Your family must have encountered them and they were kidnapped by them as it states: Human beings are put in slavery in this country.”
She was startled by her words. “Lord Adabbon sees humans as UN-worthy beings. After the war between humans and demi-humans, he considered humans were better off as slaves for his people and plans to colonize every country as his own once he gets his hands on this staff.”
“WHAT?! HE SEES HUMANS AS SLAVES?" I screamed and stood up. “AND HE WAS AIMING TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD?"
“Calm yourself, Miller,” said Oka, putting both hands on my shoulder. “Your country hasn't been invaded as his staff is here.”
As she said that, I slowly sat down. “You said before that the staff was passed down from one ruler to the first son of the Noir family. Therefore, he is the next in line to inherit it. How did it come to you?”
“Lord Adabbon," Oka corrected me before her smile faded. "On the day of Adabbon Noir, the crown ruler of Arkena, the staff was missing: Someone stole the staff. The Lord ordered his troops to search all over the kingdom but no luck.”
As she pointed at the entrance I walked through, she pointed at me. “That was the entrance he walked through. The human who planted me, covered in bruises looked very tired holding the staff of the core.”
I looked at her and then at the staff knowing where this was heading. It was still unclear to me why he chose her rather than any of his family members to be the staff member.
She looked at the staff, tears running down her cheeks. “As the stone attracts all elements, he warned me not to reveal it to the new lord or anyone else. Only the hero who is worthy to inherit the staff, defeat the upcoming Lord and save both your country and mine.”
She then said she had promised the man to take care of the staff before he left, and she never saw him again. She said she had been waiting for 40 years for someone to wield the staff. If Lord Adabbon had a son, it would be the year his son would wield the staff. If this is the case, Adabbon will require his troops to search for the entire country- even if it means burning anything to the ground.
“But can the royal family rule the country without the core?" I asked. “Lord Adiboan controlled the country without it for decades. Why is it a must to rule it?"
She gasps. “This core was wielded by the ancestor of the royal family- Lord Ecoadro Noir! As a result of this core, my country was at peace when humans tried to colonize it. It is a must for lords to rule the land with it as it symbolizes: strength, faith, and victory!”
I was startled by her words, and I couldn’t stop myself from shaking when I apologized for my foolishness.
But as I recall, I still don’t know how I got here. She told me that her country was shielding humans from foreign invasions. How did I end up here?
When I think back to the other memories that I had: I was practicing my German on my laptop, my mom yelling at my dad, the tall man telling me to drive through the Arkena forest, I hit my forehead with the car wheel, I drove through the misty woods until I hit-.
Misty woods! That’s it! I must have been in another country when I was driving through the woods while it was full of fog. But how did fog have the power to transport people here? Then it hit me.
I swallowed a hard rock before asking her. “Did you summon me here with that stuff?”
Moments of silence grow between me and the tree woman.
“You said the ruler of Arkena cast a spell to shut out humans,” I add. “He uses that staff when he casts, right? If that is so, you must have summoned me and my family. You did, right?”
She didn’t respond.
“RIGHT?” I yelled, waiting for her response.
Oka looked at me then at the staff. “Yes, I did.”
What!? I'm stuck here because she summoned me and my family here! How could she? What was the reason for her to summon me and my family?
“Then if that’s so, you should open the fog again and help me get to German!” I said.
“Sadly, I can’t,” Oka said.
Irritated, I asked her why. She told me the core could only fulfill my wish if she knew the spell. The core can grant anything if it casts a specific word to grant a wish. In addition, she forgot the spell her formal mister told her, allowing the fog to linger for over 40 years. However, the spell was broken once I took out the staff.
“It wasn't just you I summoned; in the past, outsiders have traveled through the fog and eventually reached me. They screamed and ran away without speaking to me." She said.
“The human before you was here not long ago,” she added. “He was tall, wore a black suit, and had a tall hat.”
When she said that, my memory came back to me; the tall man she said was the man I talked to earlier. Did he lure me and my parents to our doom?
I ask, "What did he tell you?"
"He refuses my offer to wield the staff," she replies. “But he promised that he would find another wielder from his country. All I needed to do was wait and not show them my true identity till they are worthy to wield the staff.”
There's no doubt he picked a random person he saw on the street. No wonder I felt like he was hiding something.
“But overall,” She continued. “The land is still ruled by Lord Adabbon, and he will do anything to get his hands on this stone. When Adabbon discovered it, the countries of humans were at stake. The core slaughtered thousands of humans before and will certainly do it again.”
She then turned to me, her eyes brimming with passion and pride. “But you can stop him.”
“What? I'm stopping Lord Adi-Adabon?" I glanced at her, blurred. "Oka, why do you think I can stop him?”
“I know you can,” Oka said. “I have been watching you from afar when you came out of that strange vehicle. I saw you care for the fawn when you accidentally hit it. My vision of you was strong, but I wasn't sure: I reflected light with my core, hoping you would follow. Each vine wipe is curiously pulled around the staff after you find it. Even though you were tired and the vines were extremely difficult to pull, you never gave up and pulled every last vine out of the way. Later, you convinced me to force you to release your family after believing I had kidnapped them. But when I refused, you didn’t hold back and bravely tased me.”
With a smile, Oka kneels, offering me the glass staff. “You are what people need. You are considerate, nurturing, brave, and strong. You are meant to save your country and mine from the spread of evil: You’re a Guardian.”
I stood still, glancing at the colorless staff and the yellow stone. I am far from Germany. If Oka said it was true that I am from another country, I'm far from Germany. To start with, Noir sounded chaotic. And to think that he wanted to rule the country by changing the economic system and letting his citizens follow his own rules. As soon as he is able to wield this weapon, he plans to target each country. It's so demonic I hardly believe he's human.
In an emotionless tone, I mumble, "No.".
“What?” Oka asked. “What did you say, Miller?”
“I SAID NO!” I yelled at her back. “Why would I want to be a guardian? Did you think I would accept that offer?”
Before Oka could open her mouth, I dropped the staff and walked harshly around her.
“I can’t believe I am in another country,” I said stomping around Oka. “And-and I lost my parents to some-some green ogres but you want me to be a guardian?”
"Miller, you need to calm down," Oka said before patting my right shoulder, but I quickly slapped it.
“Don’t touch me!” I yelled. “I am not capable of fighting off someone like The Demon Lord!”
“Demon Lord?" Oka asked confused. “Do you mean Lord Adabbon?”
“Yes!” I yelled stopping me in my tracks. “Listen, Oka, I think you've got the wrong person for this job.”
"No, I'm not," Oka replied positively. “I am certain that you are perfectly suited for the staff. All you need to do is train and work hard to save your people and mine.”
“No, that’s impossible!" I said rolling my eyes. “You don’t know me. How could you believe I could fight someone like the demon Lord? I don’t know how to fight!”
“But did you say earlier that you had a black belt in…what was that word again?” Oka question.
“It's called Karate and I lied,” I confessed. "The only reason I said that is to scare you away from me. I have a brown belt but I stopped training because I lost interest and it’s only been for a year so I hardly remember the basics.”
“That’s OK,” Oka said confidently. “You can learn how to cast spells or curses. All you need to do is learn incantation magic from a witch or a wizard.”
Irritated, I slapped my forehead and said, "No, I don't want to learn incantation magic, Oka. I don’t even know what that is!”
"That's why you need a wizard or witch as a trainer." Oka calmly replied. “Or do you prefer to be trained by a mage?”
“No, Oka, you’re not listening to me!” I yelled back. “I’m weak!”
“I am listening and I know you’re weak,” Oka replied. “But I believe you can defeat our Lord if you just think positive and maybe you could learn from -."
Before she could finish her sentence, I couldn’t hold my anger much longer till I snapped. “ENOUGH! STOP TALKING! I DON'T WANT TO TRAIN, I’M NOT GETTING A TRAINER AND I’M NOT LEARNING MAGIC! I HAVE MY ISSUES AND THAT IS TO RESCUE MY FAMILY BUT IF YOU DON’T LIKE THAT, WHY CAN’T YOU DEFEAT THE DEMON LORD YOURSELF!?"
I open my eyes and then gasp at what I have done. Oka was stunned by my harsh words as she looked at me in pain and grief. She hardly spoke as she was too devastated. I felt deep regret for what I said, but my point still stands.
I meant all those harsh words. I can’t be the guardian. Other matters need my attention: I need to find my parents and get out of this country; I do not have the time to be a guardian, and even in my old karate classes I wasn't much of a fighter.
“I’m sorry,” I said, breaking the silence. “I just…why can’t anyone do it? Why is nobody stopping him?”
Oka paused. “I’m not so sure…maybe they fear him.”
I looked away from her, glancing at the staff. “And why am I no different? Your lord sounds bigger threat to me.”
She stares at me and finds words to explain why but she gives in and remains silent. As such, I took a deep breath and asked her if she knew anyone in the town or if she knew anybody in the area. She informed me that there was a small local village that was built recently only a few miles away from where I’m standing. She told me that she had no idea because she had never been there. However, she recalls hearing one of the hunters being asked the same question by foreigners the other day. They have to follow the fields of sunflowers.
I thanked her, told her to take care, and wished her the best of luck finding another guardian before walking away. In a forceful move, her brunch wiped around my right arm.
“OW!” I moan in pain, trying to pull away. “What are you doing?"
One of Oka's other brunches reached out to the glass staff and landed on my hand. “Please, Miller,’’ Oka begged. “You’re the only one I fully trust on the staff.”
Her brunch twisted around my arm feeling ants marching on my bear skin. “I didn’t tell you this before, but I'm about to run into a snag at the halfway point.”
Taking a closer look at her from top to bottom. “You mean you’re dying? But you look so young.”
“But not for my leaves.” As she said that, she purposely shook her crown resulting in a rain of dried-up brown leaves falling upon my eyes. “To fulfill my master's promise, I have been protecting the staff. It didn’t take me long to figure out he was long gone and I would soon be with him in the afterlife.”
Her wooden eyes filled with tears as she mumbled. "In recognition of your refusal, I accept the fact that you are not worthy of the core. But please, I beg you to take my place and find a guardian to wield the staff. Someone determined to free humans and demi-humans, save my country, and never let the staff get into the hands of my mainland’s dictator.”
I hesitated at Oka’s submission. It's risky and I don’t want to walk around with a deadly weapon. To say nothing of the demon lord, let alone the fact that a whole kingdom is searching for it.
I felt a sharp pain in my chest as I listened to Oka’s cry pierce through my heart. I can’t help but feel her sorrow. Despite knowing the consequences, she kept her promise to her dead loved one and hid it from the wicked lord. She is so considerate and bold I could almost shed a tear. She’ll be heartbroken if I refuse, but what can I do? What can I say? Am I brave enough to take on this responsibility?
“Why me?” I mumble. “After all, I have said and done, why do you trust only me?”
Oka gives me a small smile. “Because you are strong in your way. You have a motivation, and that is to save your parents. You’re brave enough to face the difficulties ahead of you. It is you who can change your destiny."
"It is up to you to change your destiny." That's what Grandma told me when Oka said that last line. Oka sounds like my grandma. I wonder if Grandma and Oka will meet one day.
Without a second thought, I found myself gripping the staff in my hand as a result of accepting Oka’s offer.
Oka’s brunch removes my arm as it turns into wooden arms covering Oka’s mouth. Oka’s facial expression shows a mixture of gladness, delight, and pride.
“I’m glad you accepted my offer,” said Oka, wiping her tears. “But before you go, I have something for you.”
Saying that Oka’s arm reached out at the top of her crown pulling out an acorn from its branch and transporting it to me.
“I want you to have this,” Oka said. “I want you to plant my last seed so it can grow somewhere beautiful, somewhere full of love and peace.”
I nodded my head and took the acorn, putting it in my right side pocket.
“Thank you, Odette,” She thanked. “Now I'll rest."
With that said Oka closed her eyes and reached out her arms, slowly turning into brunches as they stayed in that position. Oka’s body image transformed into a thick trunk. Her face gradually vanished to appear as part of a trunk, leaving the atmosphere silent.
I stood there for a while, looking at a crownless oak tree and then at the glass staff. First, I'll travel to the nearby village and ask the locals for assistance. According to Mom's messages, she, Dad, and Aiden were separated, which means they could be anywhere. At least one person is willing to help me locate them. Secondly, I’ll find a guardian who can fight the evil Lord while searching for my family. Lastly, when I finally find my parents and Aiden, we’ll find a way to leave this place and never look back.
My heart was pounding 1000 times per minute, my thoughts were filled with doubts and ‘what ifs’. After spending vacation and heading to college, my entire family was kidnapped. Now I'm in a foreign country controlled by an evil ruler and I have a powerful weapon the lord wants.
I exhale and then turn around, clinching the staff as hard. I need to focus. This is crazy, but there’s nothing else I can do. I have to remember what Grandma and Oka said.
"I must challenge myself at the difficulties I will face." I thought. “I have the power to change my destiny.”
I began walking to my RV with confidence. I know it will be a bumpy ride, but I am not giving up.
Before I took another step, I gazed back at the oak tree one last time. Oka is still in tree form, not bothering to say goodbye. She was a fool. In her mind, the man she met earlier was bringing me here to serve as this country's chosen guardian. Now, I am stuck in this country and have a purpose, all thanks to that tall bastard. But why would I be mad at her? Sure, she was cheated, but she has a heart of gold. It makes me wonder if I will come back here again with my entire family. But then again, did Oka say she was close to a snag?
Will she be dead then?
I shrug it off and walk to my RV. I know she’ll be fine, but she needs to hang on for a bit longer.
“You’re welcome, Oka," I said. “Now rest."

Chapter end