Eternal Knights of Eden: Volume 1: Guardians Read online

  ETERNAL KNIGHTS OF EDEN

  GUARDIANS

  By Alexander Guinn

  Alexander Guinn ©2019

  Editing provided by FIRST EDITING © 2019

  This work is protected by international copyright law, and is not authorized to be reproduced or otherwise used by anyone without the express written consent of Alexander Guinn. All Rights Reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  PROLOGUE

  In an alternate universe where the laws of nature are different than those we have come to know is a world known today as Eden. Before it was named Eden, however, it was a nameless world full of life nourished by the spiritual energy given off by the planet’s unique living core. The planet has a single known inhabited supercontinent, but due to the planet’s small diameter of only 3,700 miles, the various nations of the world have long been intertwined. Five nations once populated the land, though each has its own unique races and cultures.

  The nation of the east is known as Erita, the land of the elven empire. Erita is ruled by the Elmeri, a species easily identified by their ears, which protrude straight out from the sides of their heads and end in pointed tips. The Elmeri are the longest-lived of the races of Eden, with the eldest being many thousands of years old. They possess strong spiritual cores, and they are the most magically inclined of all the races. Almost every Elmeri, regardless of their chosen profession, spends their life constantly advancing their knowledge. The Elmeri are a proud and elegant people, and this is reflected in their culture, especially their grand architecture. The architecture of their great cities is considered the most beautiful in the world.

  Over the millennia, many Elmeri have had romantic involvements with their human neighbors to the west. This has resulted in a subspecies of their race known as the Drameri. Elmeri culture has not been kind to these mixed elves, easily identified by their pointed ears that lie along the sides of their heads rather than point outward. Elmeri nobles discriminate heavily against these “impure” Drameri, and almost none hold any position of power or significance.

  The westernmost country is the jungle nation of Pandora. The mysterious catlike Nekomata rule this land, and they tend to have few dealings with the outside world. What little is known about the Nekomata is that they are unmatched in agility and their rangers are among the deadliest to be found in Eden. While they tend to be shorter than the average human or Elmeri, they make up for this in strength and tenacity. Their appearance is a curiosity among scholars, who debate whether they evolved from cats or a humanoid race. Their bodies are covered in a thin layer of fur that appears in many patterns, leaving only their chest, belly, and nether regions exposed. They appear to be very similar to humans and elves in their bipedal stance, and even their faces are remarkably similar. The main differences are the pointed ears atop their heads, their catlike eyes, and their tails. Their culture is a near total mystery, as even those who choose to leave their jungle homes never speak of their homeland in detail.

  Pandora is also home to a modest population of Drameri who fled the persecution of their homeland and formed their own community. These Drameri are known as Junmeri, and they live alongside the Nekomata, following their reclusive ways.

  On the northern stretch of the continent lie the nearly impassable Dorim Mountains, where the curious Termer make their homes. The Termer, also known derogatorily as the dwarves, are a short, stocky people with next to no magic capability but unmatched prowess as smiths and inventors. The Termer are tribal by nature, but all the tribes operate under a loose central government known as the Termer collective. The Termers’ talent as inventors led to the creation of technology known as magicore. The Termer could not wield magic themselves, so they invented artificially manufactured magic, and now magicore technology can be found in all corners of Eden. In addition to their technological prowess, Termer-made armor and weapons are considered some of the best in the land, and all races consider owning true Termer equipment to be a status symbol.

  In the heart of the continent of Eden is the human nation of Alastair. The humans have had a tumultuous history, having been involved in more wars than all the other races combined. Violent by nature, they spent millennia warring among themselves and the other races, with Alastair being the site of many grand conflicts. The humans are more diverse than the other races, with many showing magical prowess, talent for physical combat, and innovation not unlike the Termer. These combined traits nearly destroyed the land of Alastair many times.

  The humans changed with the arrival of the celestial entity Eden. He used his great power to unify the people of Alastair, and eventually the world, before making his home in the human capital of Corallina. Now the humans are one people, mostly standing together for the sake of their nation.

  To the south is the final nation of Temenos, home of the great Mitera people. Temenos is a vast land of varying climates and terrains, but the land is not what makes Temenos so remarkable. The Mitera people, while nearly identical to humans in appearance, are far superior to their short-lived brethren. While humans may live for 150 years at best, the Mitera have a nearly infinite lifespan, like the elves. It is not uncommon for a Mitera to reach the age of three thousand years or more. They are also known as the world’s best fighters, with superior technology, magic prowess, and experienced soldiers providing them with advantages no other race can boast. Because of their experience, many once considered themselves superior to their human brethren, and this has been the cause of much tension throughout history.

  Ten thousand years ago, the world was on the brink of a massive world war. The Termer felt like they were being taken advantage of by the other races, and they were planning retaliation for what they perceived as the theft of their technology when the humans and elves began manufacturing their own magicore. The humans sought to expand their borders and continually encroached on Pandora, Erita, and Dorim lands, despite frequent warnings to remain in their own borders. The Elmeri, meanwhile, viewed themselves as superior to the humans and dwarves and were plotting to take over and rule their western and northern neighbors. Things looked very dire.

  One day, a celestial entity fell from the sky and landed in Alastair. This was Eden. He was an alien being of immeasurable power, viewed by the humans, and eventually the world, as a god. Eden saw what was about to become of this beautiful land and decided to intervene.

  Eden reached out to the races of the world, imploring them to cease their fighting. When they failed to listen, he made a show of overwhelming force, threatening to end them all if they continued their pointless wars. The people of the world listened, and Eden gathered the leaders of all factions on an isolated island, forcing them to make a resolution to work together for the future. This place is known today as the Isle of Heaven.

  When the leaders of all warring factions came to an agreement, Eden rewarded the people of the world with his power of life and creation. He rejuvenated the planet’s resources, ensuring that the people of the world would never need to go to war for survival again. This created a period of peace and prosperity that would continue uninterrupted for thousands of years. All nations agreed to hail Eden as their new guardian deity and created a temple for him to live in the capital city of Corallina. In time, the continent, and eventually the world itself, came to be named after him, labeling him as the world’s god and protector.

  Three thousand years ago, everything changed. A second celestial b
eing fell from the sky, landing by the Temenos capital of Zion. This was Belial, the celestial of corruption.

  When he first arrived, the people of Temenos rejoiced. They felt that they could learn so much from this new celestial, so they offered to make Zion his home. They were naïve.

  In short order, Belial spread his corrupting miasma through the city. Everyone in the capital fell to the corruption, but they did not die. Instead, something far worse occurred. They became mutated, twisted shadows of their former selves, enthralled to Belial as his servants, all trace of who they once were gone forever. When the capital fell, all chance of Temenos’s survival fell with it.

  With the capital under Belial’s control, he spread his miasma out from Zion and began the process of making the nation of Temenos his own. Not only did the people fall, but the animals and native beasts of Temenos fell to the corruption as well, becoming twisted and violent mockeries of their former selves.

  The people of Temenos tried to launch a resistance against Belial’s forces, but their efforts were in vain. Only those who were able to flee north escaped Belial’s conquest. Those who were south of the capital were eventually backed into the mountains or ocean, and they were unable to escape.

  The resistance cried out to Alastair and Erita for assistance, but for reasons unknown to this day, Eden would not allow them to intervene. Despite being forced to stand alone, the resistance in time organized into a formidable fighting force, and they managed to hold Belial’s army and air fleet to the south for several years. They were absolutely determined not to let the corruption spread north even if their neighbors refused to help. Their numbers were limited, however, and they were fighting a losing battle. As time passed, Temenos’s numbers steadily fell, while Belial’s army grew. They could not survive alone.

  Ten years after the invasion of Temenos began, the surviving Mitera forces were pushed back to the Alastair border. The humans finally realized they could not afford to ignore the threat any longer, and against Eden’s advice, they mounted a massive counter-response. The entirety of the Alastair Royal Army and Royal Navy headed south, ready to hit Belial’s forces with everything they had.

  The humans quickly discovered that their decision to remain uninvolved was a tremendous and costly mistake. When they flew south, they found dozens of miles of land had already been lost inside the Alastair border, and the enemy forces had grown far more powerful than they could have ever fathomed. The humans were pushed back rapidly, unable to stem the tide of Belial’s army.

  When the fighting reached the border of Erita, the other nations decided they had had enough of Eden’s inaction, and sent everything they had to aid their neighbors and push back the invading forces.

  The elven fleet was the first to arrive. The entirety of the Erita Royal Military launched an overwhelming counterattack on the approaching army, joining with Alastair’s scattered air fleet and drastically slowing Belial’s advance.

  Soon the Termer Collective sent in their combined fleets and soldiers, joining with the human and Elmeri forces. With the three great powers standing together, the advance of Belial’s army was slowed to a crawl.

  In the end, even the forces of Pandora arrived, and droves of Nekomata and Junmeri riding on sleipnir-back joined the battle on the ground, and Belial’s forces could advance no further, bringing the battle to a stalemate. Belial’s army was stopped scant miles from the capital of Corallina.

  With all of the people of Eden unified and the war in a stalemate, Eden was able to remain neutral no longer. He decreed the formation of the Ceraph Order; an organization of warriors from all nations who leave their homeland in order to serve his will. Eden touched these warriors with his power, granting many of them enhanced abilities, and he awakened his children of the planet, the Angels, to fight alongside Ceraphs of their choosing.

  With the Ceraph Order now leading the charge, Belial’s army began to lose ground rapidly. The allied forces were relentless and drove the enemy back, recovering miles of land each day. Eventually, fifteen years after the war began, the allied forces drove Belial’s army back to the border of Temenos.

  Belial would not have this catastrophic failure and proved to be a sore loser. Rather than allowing the allied forces to reclaim Temenos, he launched a kamikaze, scorched-earth attack on the allied forces. With a chain of explosions far exceeding the power of the nuclear weapons of Earth, Belial destroyed everything along the border and poured his pure concentrated miasma into the land itself, corrupting Temenos beyond saving and killing the several million brave allied soldiers who were caught in the attack.

  The corruption was absolute. The land itself began radiating the miasma, making it impassable to any mortal being. All who attempted to pass through would either die or fall under its corrupting influence. The corruption was so great that magicore engines would cease to function when crossing the border, making airborne reconnaissance of Temenos impossible. Temenos was declared the Deadlands by all other nations, and exploration was prohibited from then on.

  Fifteen years after the war began, it was over.

  Nevertheless, life went on. The surviving armies returned home to their daily lives. The Elmeri erected a monument in their capital to honor the fallen soldiers and the lost people of Temenos. The Termer began furiously rebuilding their lost ships and weapons, using work to distract themselves from their grief. The Nekomata returned to their forests and in time returned to their reclusive ways. The humans and surviving Mitera began to live alongside one another, eventually becoming one people in Alastair.

  All four remaining nations pitched in and constructed the Citadel, a great fortress city that would serve as the home of the Ceraph Order from that day forward. Despite Belial being presumed to have perished in his final attack, vestiges of corruption remained across the land, and even without his influence, the world was a very dangerous place, with dragons, behemoths, and all manner of dangerous native beasts dotting the land. The Ceraph Order would become the symbol of hope for the world, their public purpose being the eradication of these corrupted beasts.

  Corrupted beasts would stray north more often than one would expect, and the Ceraph Order would frequently go out and hunt these creatures to protect the local populations. It did not go unnoticed that as the years went on, the number of corrupted beasts and incursions seemed to slowly increase. Many expeditions were mounted, but no source could ever be determined. The Ceraph Order resolved to spend their days holding back the tide until a solution could be found.

  Eden was different after the war. He seemed to be less powerful, as if the awakening of the Angels and the empowering of the Ceraphs had weakened him. He made one final prophecy before vanishing into the Temple of Eden in the capital of Alastair, never to venture out again. The Ceraphs have made it their life’s secret mission to fulfill this prophecy.

  When the three Archangels, named Archi, Telos, and Gaia, are awakened and have gathered at the temple of Eden’s first son, the Eternal Knight shall awaken from his infinite slumber and purge all that opposes life from the world. When Bahamut awakens, the darkness shall fade, and peace shall reign eternal.

  The Angels were not new to the Ceraphs. Many Ceraphs had found companionship with the children of the planet. When an appropriate person proved their worth, these lesser celestials would allow themselves to be summoned and would aid the worthy in their struggle against the darkness.

  The Archangels are the exception. For three thousand years, the Ceraphs sought the Archangels but were unable to find any except for Archi. Even had they been able to gather them, the Temple of Eden’s Son remained unreachable, lost in the great war. Soon, however, everything would change…

  CHAPTER 1

  THE PROMISE

  An Elmeri mother watches out the window of her estate in Erita with a smile on her face as two children play in the garden below her. Her daughter has always had difficulty making friends, and it warms her heart to see her getting along so well with someone.

 
Her daughter is a pure-blooded Elmeri only ten years of age. She has long, silky hair that is a vivid pink, rare even among the Elmeri, and like all of her race, her long, pointed ears stick straight out from the sides of her head, poking through the curtain of pink hair. The irises of her eyes are also an unusual pink color, leading many of the children in her school to be cruel and to call her unpleasant names. Her prodigal talent with magic, her short temper, and her unusual appearance has earned her the nickname Daemon, and she spends most of her time alone because of it.

  The child she is playing with is a human boy the family is watching as a favor for his parents. Their two families are close friends, and when his parents went away on a dangerous and lengthy mission, they asked Aria and her husband to look after him.