Broken Angel Chapter 11

    Tenno sat quietly, staring speechless at Masaru. "B-but..." Tenno stammered, "I-I can't be...I'm not strong or powerful..." He paused as he trailed off in thought, remembering what Xander and the spider had said about him. 'The one' and 'prophecy' flash through his mind, until Masaru broke his train of thought. "Correct. You are not strong, and you are not powerful...yet..." Masaru explained inaccurately. Tenno blinked up at him in confusion. "What?" Masaru glanced at him through the shadow of his hood. "Would you like to know exactly who I am, Tenno?" Tenno hesitated for a moment, but gave a simple nod in reply.
    Holding to his staff, Masaru stood up and beckoned for Tenno to follow him. Tenno jumped off the stool he sat upon and hurried along behind him. They came upon a wall with many square shelves that aligned it, and Masaru reached up to a slot and took out a scroll. A table appeared infront of them, making Tenno jump slightly. Masaru set the scroll on the table and unrolled it, then looked over to see Tenno stuggling to jump up to read it. He picked the small angel up by the armpits and set him on the table. Kneeling, Tenno scanned the scoll, but blinked blankly and looked up at Masaru for an answer.
    Masaru glanced at Tenno in confusion. "...What?" he finally asked the angel, who blankly stared at him. "...What does it say?" Tenno asked, finally looking back down at the scroll. Masaru raised an eyebrow under his cloak at the young angel. "...You can't read?" Masaru asked in a surprised tone. Tenno looked back up at him and shook his head, then looked away in embarrasement. Masaru smiled sympathetically at him and ruffled the boy's messy, dark brown hair. "Right... Appologies..."
    "Well, I'll explain to you what it says," Masaru began, "The world of Celsuron has three guardians, powerful beings who keep balance and order to the land. However...since Fuzen gained his power, the world began to turn dark, and the guardians attempted to replace this darkness with peace, but Fuzen had become too powerful, and two of the three guardians were destroyed... Only one escaped, and his goal is to help the Chosen One succeed in defeating the Dark One, Fuzen." Masaru paused for a moment as he closed the scroll, causing Tenno to look up at him. Masaru sighed and finished, "I am the last guardian..." He put the scroll back into its place, then came back over to Tenno, who was now on the ground, staring up at him in awe.
    Masaru crouched down on one knee to get at Tenno's level, but found that Tenno was still looking up to see him. He smiled at the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Tenno," he said calmly, "You won't be alone in this. I am your guardian now, and my power is on your side." Tenno smiled softly up at him, feeling reassured. "I also have something to give you," Masaru added as he stood back up at walked across the room once more. Tenno followed behind until Masaru stepped to the side, revealing a small, wooden chest. Masaru bent over and handed Tenno a small key. Tenno took the key, which made it seem bigger, and unlocked the chest and opened it. Inside layed a stack of neatly folded clothes.
    Tenno picked up a metal woven long-sleeved armor shirt first, then looked up at Masaru, who gave him a smile and a nod. Tenno looked at the shirt again, then slipped it on, feeling the cold metal against his bare skin. Next he took out a pair of deep olive green pants. He blinked then switched his pants quickly and moved around to get used to the full legged pants, unlike his old ones. After the pants, he took out an extremely light tan, nearly white t-shirt with fancy stitching along the sides and around the v-neck. After slipping it on, he pulled out a pair of tall, double x-tie boots and pulled them on.
   He observed himself and smiled half-heartedly, knowing he would miss his old clothes; the ones Victoria had given him. Masaru felt his sadness and smiled, saying, "Don't wory about that either, Tenno. Your original clothes will stay here with me, safe from harm, until your task is complete." Tenno looked up abruptly at him. "...Task?" "Come with me," Masaru beckoned for him to follow once more. They stopped at a wall with a single shelf on it. Masaru gave him a belt with a long sheath that dragged on the ground from Tenno's shortness. After securing it on himself, Tenno looked up at the shelf, curious as to what laid ontop of it.
    Seconds later, Masaru took a long, silver bladed sword down from the shelf and knelt down to hand it to Tenno. Tenno blinked at it for a moment, then asked, "...Um...isn't that heavy?" Masaru smiled and chuckled, "Barely, my friend. Here, see for yourself." He held the sword so the handle faced Tenno. Tenno grabbed the handle, then braced himself for the sword's heavy impact as Masaru let it go. To his surprise, Tenno held the long sword with ease.
    He stared at it in awe, looking at his reflection in the blade. He smiled up at Masaru as he put it back in its sheath by his left hip. "Um...thank you...but...can you tell me what my task is now?" Masaru nodded, "Unfortunately, this requires you to go alone... You must cross to the mountains. There you will find an ancient stone that's power is of the ancie-" "B-but I can't go alone!" Tenno interrupted, "What about my friends? They'd never let me go alone anyways..." Masaru blinked in shock, then smiled. "Relax, my boy," Masaru assured, "Knowledge and cunning skills shall reach you eventually... This task does not require you to rush."
    Tenno sighed and nodded, "...Alright...but when I am alone and heading to the mountains...what should I do?" "Listen well," Masaru began, "Once passing over the hills you will reach a point where you must choose between a steep, freezing climb over the mountains, a treacherous journey through dark woods, or a ride down the Kyugia River...one of the most dangerous rivers in the land. Now, you must first go down the river until you see a great boulder to your left. There is marsh you can grab onto and you will be able to walk along side the river, avoiding the dangerous part of the waters. When you come to a waterfall cliff, turn left and walk until you see lights of a city ahead of you. There in the city, go to the inn, and you will meet a cave explorer by the name of Degerous who will escort you to the entrance of the cave of the ancient stone."
    Tenno blinked and nodded, but then suddenly asked, "...Can't I fly there?" Masaru chuckled lightly, "Only if you want to be seen by demon spies and shot out of the sky, then yes..." Tenno's eyes widen and groaned with a sigh, "Oh..." Masaru chuckled again and replied, "Well, you can fly low to the ground, but be careful when you do...you will be heard from your wings flapping. Once the knowledge and cunning skills come to you, you will know when to fly on your task, Tenno. But once you receive the ancient stone, return to your friends, then return to my spring and bring me the stone. It shall be kept safe here, for there are others who plan to take it."
    After showing Tenno his normal clothes that Victoria gave him, along with his hat, and that they were kept safe in the chest, he sent Tenno back to the spring where he woke up floating on the surface in his new clothes. He swam to the shore and checked to see if his normal clothes were there, but was satisfied when he saw they weren't there, and knew they were safe with Masaru. He took in a deep breath of the healing spring's mist and headed back towards where he had left Derrot and Demi, who were still sound asleep. He layed down again, and fell back into a peaceful sleep.