Not All Monsters Wear Masks

Things seldom go as you expect. Case in point, I had zero expectation of stumbling into a group of human... Squatters? Lumberjacks? Camp counselors? I wasn't exactly sure why they were there. Certainly, I hadn't expected to find them when I started investigating the forest's peculiarity.

One needs to adapt to such unforeseen incidents. I felt I did a fairly decent job, all things considered. That being said, foreseen or not, I was not equipped to handle this random encounter event. But seeing as I was about to end up a blood smear at the end of this guy's comically large ax, you probably already knew that. However, things seldom go as you expect.

Just before the enraged hilljack brought the ax down, there was a flashing streak of light right about where his neck would be, and his angry growl was replaced by a blank and dumbfounded expression. Personally, I just stare, kind of annoyed that this execution was being dragged out. That was until the guy's head slid off his shoulders. It took me a few moments to process this, but luckily, my participation was no longer required.

In my stupor, I couldn't help but notice a white figure dashing across the clearing. It was moving so fast, that I couldn't make out any details, other than it was notably smaller than the humans, and that it was one-shotting all of my attackers, who at this point had completely forgotten about me and were focused on dealing with this new threat, and also... The Forest Guardian!? He was there as well! And he was mauling the innards out of everyone! He was so big, that one swipe of his claws easily cut one guy into four pieces, and another who found himself locked in his jaws was hurled into a tree like a velociraptor into a dinosaur skeleton. After the initial carnage, the survivors tried to flee, but the Forest Guardian wasn't having it. That is to say, they didn't make it. By the time I had collected myself, it was over.

Now that the white blur had stopped moving, I could see it was one of us; she was one of us. I had the distinct impression that I had seen her, but couldn't place her, which was odd because I was sure I was acquainted with nearly everyone in the village at this point. She had to be one of my fellow tribesmen. Well, probably anyway, the fact that she seemed familiar, lent additional credibility to this claim.

She walked over to the Forest Guardian, who had returned from his cleanup operation. It looked like they exchanged some communication, and then the Forest Guardian scampered away—you would never have guessed that he had just massacred a group of people. And it was a massacre, it looked like something out of a horror movie, with bodies lying in various degrees of destroyed, pools of blood and guts. The kills by the Forest Guardian were particularly grizzly.

If they had not just tried to kill me, I probably would have found this scene quite the travesty. But they had tried to kill me, with no provocation I might add. And perhaps I should have been sick just from the gory display, but my father was a hunter, and I had seen plenty of blood and guts—eaten it too. There wasn't anything on display here that I had not seen before, though admittedly, I'd never seen it in human form.

No, what really terrified me was the white figure that approached me, and that was when I remembered where I had seen her. I had caught glimpses of her from time to time, but the one instance I had really gotten a good look at her was when the human merchant came to the village. She was scary then, but now she absolutely terrified me. Not only because, in tandem with the Forest Guardian, she had wiped an entire encampment of its human presence, but also because she was angry, and her stare made it obvious to whom she was incensed.

"You shouldn't be out here, Indigo." She was still holding a sword in her hand. She knew my name, and I wasn't sure if that made it more or less terrifying.

I shrank back, placing my hand in front of me for protection, because, you know, that would protect me. "I'm sorry... It's just that the forest looked strange... I just wanted to investigate."

She had somehow managed to avoid getting any blood on her. Though the red leaf embroidery sweeping across a section of her white clothes might have led you to believe otherwise. The mask she wore, which must have come from the same supplier as Jason's, didn't soften her presence either. I heard her sigh, and the anger abated as she sheathed her blade. "The rules are in place for a reason. They should not be taken lightly." Well, I was in no position to dispute that. I nodded in response.

This seemed to be acceptable. She withdrew her attention from me and strolled over to the rods, pulling one out of the ground and destroying the others. I was able to get a good look at it now, and I could see that it had strange symbols carved into the side of it, and the crystal on top was the same as those crystals we traded with that merchant.

"Come, I will take you back home." I wasn't about to disobey, and returning home was the only thing on my mind now anyway. I certainly didn't want to stay here.

And so I was spared a manly death, and given a rather unmanly rescue.

Although she had somehow managed to remain unsoiled by blood, her appearance, combined with what I had just seen, gave me the distinct impression that I was traveling with a creature from a horror movie. Even though I was nearly certain that she wasn't going to harm me, I was still uneasy, almost as if Leatherface was giving me an escort through the forest.

As the adrenaline subsided, perhaps more slowly due to my apprehension with my attendant, the pain from where that crossbow bolt had grazed me began to flare up. Instinctively, I grabbed at the wound and put pressure on it. It was then that I noticed there was a noteworthy amount of blood on my pant leg.

The woman in white took notice of my pain response and stopped. "You're injured." I wanted to say something cool like, "It's just a flesh wound," but in truth, I had no idea. "Let me see." She pulled the hem of my pant leg up to mid-thigh where the bolt had made contact. "It's only a flesh wound; it has already closed up." She stole my line! "Have the Healers look at it." She released my pant leg and turned to continue leading through the forest, but after a few paces, my lack of response made her turn back. "That's not a suggestion." Her hard stare demanded an acknowledgment.

"Yes..." I wanted to use her name, but it finally occurred to me that I didn't know it. I looked down, chagrined. "...I'm sorry, I don't know your name..."

Her gaze softened. "Moonlight Guardian." Guardian... That's a name I had not heard yet.

We turned back to our return trip. But now, it was different. Between her concern over my injury and learning her name, the apprehension around her evaporated. I was in no danger here, and while my frontal cortex was well aware of this, my limbic system was now on board too.

With my brain no longer processing my demise, I felt brazen enough to start badgering my rescuer. "Where did you learn to fight like that? It was incredible!"

She didn't break stride. "No, those were not warriors," she brushed off the compliment without shifting her gaze.

Her lack of reaction was a little off-putting. I tapped the tips of my index finger together. "Even still..." Between her and the Forest Guardian, they must have killed at least a score of burly men. "I've never seen anyone move like that."

"That is the skill set of a Guardian."

"Is that where you learned all that?"

"Yes... From another Guardian, my master."

"Your master must be an incredible person."

"Yes... But he is gone now." Though she otherwise maintained her demeanor, her break in thought cadence made me think this could be a sensitive spot for her.

"Oh, sorry..." I apologized, feeling like I may have overstepped into her personal space. But she didn't seem upset with me bringing it up. Maybe I misjudged?

We trudged on in silence for a while; I got the feeling that, though she didn't express it, she didn't like questions. This was probably due to her curt answers. However, there had been at least one final question I wanted to ask, but this one especially gave me pause.

Moonlight Guardian must have sensed it, and she must have sensed that it was grand enough to warrant stopping. She turned her head to face me. "What is it, Indigo?"

"H-Huh?" I wasn't prepared for this abrupt stop. "I didn't say anything..."

"But there is something clearly weighing on your mind."

"You can tell!?"

"Your breath rate is elevated and you keep trying to hide your glances at me." She can hear my breathing? And how did she see me stealing glances? She was in front of me!

"Mmm..." There was indeed something I wanted to ask, but I was more than a little hesitant.

"It's okay, Indigo. If it's something important, no good can come from being quiet."

"Well..." I swallowed down my anxiety. "Could you teach me to fight like that!?" I shouted out quickly for fear that it might get stuck otherwise. My body tightened instinctively fearing some kind of rebuke. But it never came.

Instead, Moonlight Guardian completely turned her body to face me, crossing one arm and bringing the hand of her other to her chin in an appraising gesture, and looked upon me intently. "You wish to become my apprentice?" There it was again. It seemed you really couldn't study anything under somebody without becoming their apprentice. But this was just a knee-jerk thought. Thinking about it, in this case, it seemed appropriate.

Feeling that there was actually a possibility of her accepting my request, I answered as resolutely as I could, "Yes! If that is what it takes!" I straightened myself out like a soldier at attention and would continue to do so as she contemplated my response.

"I would think a genius such as you would have no end of offers for apprenticeship." It was true, I had received at least several formal offers. "I believe even the Elder has expressed an interest."

That caught me off guard. "Really? The Elder?" I knew the guy was a bum, but it was still good to be recognized as having potential as one of the village's future overlords. However, if I did ever hold that position, I would be sure to pull my own weight and refrain from being a slumlord.

"But wait. How do you know so much about me?" I was willing to accept that she knew of me through word of mouth—I was quite popular—but I hadn't even heard of this.

"Well, he did ask me to keep an eye on you. Said you might be playing fast and loose with the rules." Wait, did he know? And did he take proactive steps to protect me? Maybe he deserved more credit than I gave him.

"So I have him to thank in part for my rescue?"

"Indeed."

"Well, in that case, I am grateful to him, but I still have no interest in that kind of work." And it was true, I am not a fan of bureaucracy.

"I see. And why do you want to be a Guardian?"

I didn't in particular, or maybe it would be better to say, I hadn't given it any thought, but by agreeing to be her apprentice, I was agreeing to becoming a Guardian. Also, I didn't think she would accept, "Because you looked like a total badass," as a valid reason, so I would have to come up with something more legitimate..

I metaphorically cleared my throat. "They say ‘might makes right’."

"...They do?" Moonlight Guardian replied. Whoops... I forgot that I wasn't in Kansas anymore. Of course, she would be unfamiliar with this idea.

"Um... Yes, yes they do." I wasn't sure if she bought it.

"So being mighty would make you a righteous person?" Moonlight Guardian’s confusion only deepened as her head grew increasingly off-kilter.

"No, what I mean is having power gives you the ability to exercise control over others." She tucked her chin.

"So you want to control others, Indigo?" The thought came out as somewhat of a growl. I was feeling that same anxiety I had felt back at the clearing.

"Sorry, I'm probably not structuring my thoughts well. I'm trying to build my case in a logical progression. Please wait until the end before you cast judgment." She crossed her arms, but her disgust was replaced by cynicism as she waited for me to continue. "I'm not saying this is moral, just that it is true. If someone has great power, they can exert dominance, right, wrong, or otherwise. The idea, ‘might makes right’, means that the one with the greatest power will control the world, and the validity of your morality will have no bearing."

Moonlight Guardian seemed a little confused, but her disgust and cynicism had been displaced by a subtle intrigue. She nodded for me to continue. "I find controlling others deplorable, but the principle remains, ‘might makes right.’ So what is there to do? The only thing is that the righteous must be mighty themselves! You can't fight the principle, so you must fight, wielding the principle!"

I was finished and she reflected on what I had just said. "So you are looking for self-preservation?" She looked me in the eyes but then looked away. "No, never mind."

After an inordinately long pause, "Very well, I'll accept you as an apprentice." She looked at the wound on my leg. "How is your leg doing?"

"It's doing great!" High from the unexpected acceptance, I would probably be incapable of saying anything negative for the foreseeable future. At this point, I just wanted to be as reassuring as possible that she had made the right call. "I'll have the Healers look at it. It's just a flesh wound!" I was perhaps a little more emphatic than I usually would be; I didn't want her recanting her offer.

"Okay, we will start your apprenticeship tomorrow." Moonlight Guardian turned around and we continued the rest of the trip back in silence. Yet I felt a fire in my belly that kept me giddy the entire way.