PARTNER

After retracing his path from the garden, Fennel returned to the common room used by all the guardian support teams, as well as some other researchers. This place was a regular meeting spot, but most importantly, it was the room where all of their belongings were stored during the day, in large personal lockers. Until now, it was the first time he had stayed in the palace late enough to see the sun begin to set, making traces of bright orange light extend across the upper section of the room like blades from the windows, and being reflected all over the white walls of the room, producing a relaxing ambience colored all the way from the bright yellowish color of the sun, down to a pale red and dark purple in the darkest areas.

There were just a handful of researchers left, either absorbed by their work inside small cubicles, or settled over the large bubble-like cushions that filled the rest area, probably studying. Among them, was Inai, Fennel’s team partner, writing on a notepad while leisurely settled at one of the bubble cushions. If it wasn’t for her platinum-blonde hair tied up high contrasting with her lightly tanned skin, and her electric pink eyes reservedly hiding behind her white glasses, she would have been the last person Fennel would have noticed for her unpretentious attitude. However, her team partners appearance was anything but subtle.

As Inai finished writing an idea, her view widened and noticed Fennel grabbing his crossbody satchel bag and his hoverboard.

"You’re still around here Fennel?" Whispered Inai with slight surprise.

"Hello Inai." Greeted Fennel in a similar volume, as he arranged his ideas of how to handle the upcoming conversation "Yes, I was taking a walk in the rooftop pathways."

"I see. Were you curious about the terrace of the palace?" Asked Inai "Now that I think of it, we still haven’t given you a proper tour."

"Curious?" asked Fennel thinking to himself. "Not really. I guess I was just lost in thought and landed up there as I was strolling. It was a nice surprise though. There’s a huge, colorful garden above the eastern tower."

"Above the eastern… you went to the Haven?" asked Inai seriously.

"I guess I did. Is that bad?"

"It’s a meditation area reserved for the guardians. I wouldn’t call it bad, as much as it is risky." clarified Inai. "It’s probably our fault for not explaining it sooner."

"Oh… I’m sorry."

"Don’t worry Fennel, as long as nobody saw you up there, you should be safe." Said Inai "Rarely anyone walks around those paths, other than Lady Akais and Lady Aelia. I guess Lord Amaer could visit when he’s in the palace, but that would be a rare sight; and Lord Aras is still too young to meditate alone."

"It did seem mostly abandoned." Said Fennel "And what about Lord Ataoro?"

"It is said he doesn’t need meditation at this point. He’s in full control of his minds." Stated Inai "That is quite remarkable, even for a guardian."

Fennel was impressed by Inai’s statement, since Lord Ataoro didn’t seem to be at peace with his mind at all. If he had such a high level of self-control, it probably meant that Lord Ataoro chose deliberately to put on a facade, acting in an aggressive and impulsive manner in order to command respect. It was really hard to tell just by looking though.

Meditation was indeed one of the hardest, and most important activities in the daily routine of a guardian. In contrast with the common citizens, guardians were born with the extremely uncommon capacity of developing multiple parallel lines of thought, and projecting them to control very specific objects from a distance, such as training orbs. This meant that if left unattended, their minds could easily spiral into chaos, as overthinking or strong emotions were amplified by their inner conversations and diverging thought processes. In some rare cases, when feeling overwhelmed, their minds might even completely disconnect from their bodies.

It is said that a guardian can be born anywhere inside the kingdom, and all newborns are tested to check if they have this quirk. Once it’s confirmed, they are immediately transferred to the royal palace, so that researchers and highly experienced guardians can take care of raising and studying them. This is both to protect them from going insane, by teaching them to stay in control of their minds; as well as training them to develop additional lines of thought, which can become a powerful strategic and military tool, used to protect the kingdom.

A new guardian is born every seven to eight years in average, so saying they are scarce would be an understatement. For this reason, they are treasured, and many resources are destined to raise them, and provide them with military tools they can use once they become strong enough to wield them, such as vigilants.

Fennel had never seen a vigilant himself, nor did he know exactly what they were. But he knew Inai was one of the few experts in the subject, and that she was assigned to Aelia’s team for that expertise.

Inai lowered her note pad, and stood up, wondering about what was in Fennel’s mind, as he had suddenly blanked out into his thoughts.

"Hey Fennel? I might have an idea." Said Inai, grounding Fennel back to reality. "A while ago, Lord Ataoro came to request a special activity for Aelia down in the depths. It’s meant to be a guardian thing, so we’re not invited."

Fennel looked at Inai with curiosity.

"The depths?" Asked Fennel - "Isn't that where the vigilants are kept?"

"Oh! are you interested?" Asked Inai with excitement. "I was thinking about giving you a tour of the upper palace tomorrow morning. But if you want me to, I could give you access to the depths and show you around too! If we’re lucky, you might even see a vigilant in action." She continued. "A few years ago, the palace used to have some prototypes up here in the top floors. But they were all moved down to the depths for security reasons. So, you won’t be seeing any vigilants here in the heights."

"That would be great!" Replied Fennel "I’ve never seen one, and vaguely know anything about them."

"Well... if you want to learn about vigilants, I guess you’re with the right person!" Said Inai with pride "Let’s meet right here tomorrow morning and I'll show you everything I can!"