A Sentinel's Saga: Chapter 1

I heard he was a knight in shining armor! Oh yeah, well my pa told me no one was stronger and mightier! You guys are both wrong, he was a lovable rogue who saved all the world with his dashing smile and fierce personality! Which one is it granny? Yeah tell us who’s right! Well to be honest you are all right. He was all those things and much more. But he wasn’t always like that, and like all legends they never start off very happy. 

Our story begins with an ordinary child, who will grow to do many extraordinary things not unlike those you may have already heard. The scene opens on an older haggard gentleman carrying this very same child through the forest. He is bloodied in his coat tails and almost crippled if not for adrenaline. The only thing louder than his breath is the crunch of snow beneath his boots. The gentleman is struggling with one thing in mind: getting the child to safety. 

Through the swaddling cloth he is the image of his father; olive skinned with tufts of jet black. An unknown monstrosity is pursuing them, looming just out of their frame. The blizzard makes it difficult to escape while trudging through the snow in the air and on the ground. Each flake beats down on his brow like a hammer on an anvil. Dragging each foot is proving an almost impossible task. A red heat closes in and the child’s mundane cries turn hysterical. Frost bites his face and pelts his eyes like cool embers and yet he does not turn nor blink. The evil draws nearer, singing the back of his neck. The gentleman considers the unthinkable, and will make the hardest decision of his still young life. His only choice is to give up and abandon his newborn son. Difficult as it is, he knows that it will ensure at least its life spared from this entity. This way the child cannot become a victim of the savage fiend. As he ponders it more the harder it becomes, so he directs his attention to the nearest tree with a hollow crack. The hole is small enough to avert prying eyes and just large enough to fit a baby. The child’s eyes haven’t even opened yet and he is being cast out to be judged by the elements. Curiously enough, the child’s cries have dissipated when the gentleman strokes his sweet head for the last time. He reaches at his side to reveal a spark in the storm around them, a glimmering knife no doubt polished by battle and strife. He carves his son’s name inside the cavern of the tree and firmly plants it so it could draw blood from any curious hands. The fearsome gale then blankets his face as the father fades into darkness dissolving from the child’s life forever. But the danger had not yet passed; the whistle of the storm seems to break. The ominous shadow of a wide figure protrudes over the trees opening. The monstrosities silence and reach is interrupted by the taunting of an outside force. Thereafter, its attention is shifted to pursue in that direction slowly disappearing after many minutes. 

While the child is now safe from the monster, there are a host of other dangers it could now fall prey to. We pan to a land not far from the ground but on a different scope than we are normally used to. It has no definitive size nor exactness of science. No, instead the natural spirits that cultivate here fill it with magic and wonders that transcend our human imagination. The main hall of these animal spirits is crowded tonight as something most peculiar has happened. The foundations of the grand hall are bustling with the allegations and rebuttals of its thousands of delegates. Earth is home to many animal species of unique shapes and sizes, but there are twelve in particular who stand above the rest, an inner circle at the center of their court. They alone were chosen to represent the freedoms and rights of the animal kingdom. At this time the circles undisputed leader, the spirit of the Tiger, gathers its voice in a deep echoing bellow to calm its peers. Their discussion began with why the child has been abandoned with no one to call family or spirit. 

Normally, when a child is initially born a compatible spirit is chosen to inhabit its body, mind, and soul. The spirit is with the person their entire life, continually enforcing its ideals and all that it may represent. The animal can be anything from a starfish to a wolf. The relationship between them is deep and the spirit acts as a guide and not a deity for they are human in personality. Those who devote their lives to improving the status of these spirits do so by encouraging conservation and protection. The spirit is then able to reward its faithful disciples with gifts that can be physical, like speed or less tangible like good luck. The spirits are sentient but not all powerful that all conform to the inner circle a group elected upon by their chosen traits. Spirits are measured in power based upon their status in the wild. When a species goes extinct, the spirit loses immortality and life. If it thrives, so too does the spirit in power. How the spirit is chosen is up to them through means such as trickery, competition, or by vote. Some are even passed down through generations often to be worshiped by the family line. 

While there are those unfortunate enough to not know the warmth of a spirit, this childs case is indeed strange because of his well known glorious parentage and his suspicious descent as prey to the wild. The circle seems baffled that not one animal stands to welcome the child into their domain. The Tiger lowers its head knowing the grim future ahead of this whelp. When pleaded with to accept him the entire kingdom sneers as if he was the plague, all but one. One who would be willing to take on a lost cause. One who does not cower in the face of the unknown. Sitting among titans and giants the spirit of the Stoat stands and looks upon the council with distinguished pride softly replying “I will”. Why any creature would latch on to such a burden is puzzling to them all. The entire kingdom is bewildered, everyone knows how strange the Stoat is, but this is truly surprising! But the Stoat was discerning and knew how to spot potential; this is a great opportunity for the world and the wilds. This lonely child has a greatness within him that must be unleashed. While the room is still stricken with silence, the little weasel shuffled its form off to Earth. What it found was far more than anticipated. This was a human child, expected to fend for itself in the beastly wilderness of many fangs and thorns. The Stoat knows that cruelty is no stranger to humanity but they are not known for surrendering their hopes and wills to nature. The long narrow body of the Stoat allowed it to gracefully slither into the crack. That which only started as strictly a business venture quickly turned to the sentimental. The child awoke to find bright black eyes staring back at him and accepted the tender moment as ceremony to his new parent, embracing the scruff of the spirits neck. The Stoat rallied in its own way of silent delight. Without delay the Stoat vowed to devote all its time and energy into raising a son. But the child still needs a name! 

“How about Jack? A fine name for the man you will become. It’s appropriate considering what has been lodged in this tree. I don’t know too much what human infants prefer to eat but these berries should suit you just fine. The child doesn’t seem to like the idea of eating cold bitter fruit before and would prefer warm milk. So just like any parent, its instincts kick in spotting this very necessity. Powerful or not, the Stoat does not reside on this plane and so it cannot provide for its son. It calls out to the wild and a shrieking chitter echoes throughout the forest engaging all who may hear it. 

With his resounding voice he proclaims “COME TO ME THOSE WHO BEAR THE MARK OF BIRTH.” 

And then just like that, a mother canine complies. Straight from utter nothingness she delivers with her the calm of the storm. The she-wolf suckles little Jack till he burps and cries then retreats with a momentary gaze towards the stoat, as if signifying a deal had been struck. The stoat knew he owed a debt to their Spirit, for the little kit will not go hungry this day.