Guardian of the Graveyard

The night has always been something that humans were afraid of. Why this is the case, I do not know. Were they afraid of the darkness their lights cannot quite peirce? The idea that they were at their most vulnerable at night? Or were they afraid of what the darkness hid from them?

I have never been afraid of the night. I find solace in the darkness, because at night, I have a purpose. Long ago, when I still had a name, I was born with one eye missing. The villagers, seeing that as a sign of bad luck, buried me alive to become the guardian spirit of this graveyard. I know I had barely seen twelve full seasons when I had died, though I do not know how many have passed between now and then.

I have seen my village prosper and grow, seen smiling faces plump with joy. I have seen it then fall to plague, I have seen the funeral pires waft smoke as dark as the gravestones around me, I have seen bodies twisted in agony even in their deaths. I have seen my village fall to ruin and fade away from memory.

Now, only the barest remains of my former home stands. The gravestones around me have crumbled and fallen to moss and time and I still stand guard. I protect the bodies here from the monsters in the night. As long as I do my job, I can keep their souls safe wherever they are now. That is my purpose.

And so, I stand, day after day, night after night, fighting horrors and watching time move on. Sometimes, I let myself remember my life. My mother’s smiling face, my father’s rough hands, remembering that helps the time go by. But it makes me sad, thinking of what I lost.

Or did I really lose it at all? Sometimes I think that I’ve never lived at all, that I was always here, standing watch and fighting the monsters that come.

I was lost in my memories again, I realized. I did that sometimes, it was easier to pass the time when you could look back. Though, I did not want to only spend my time in my memories. Why would I, when I wasn't even sure if they were memories at all?

Slowly, like waking from a dream, I refocused on the outside world.

The sun shone down on me, its bright rays cutting through the early-morning fog like a knife through flesh. A soft call of birdsong was heard distantly from the thick forest of jade-green trees nearby, though I saw no birds. The night before was uneventful, nothing had come to try and disrupt the dead in their peace.

I sat against the only thing in the graveyard still standing, a statue of an angel the villagers had put in as the plague first hit. I thought that it was to try and give them mercy, though if they got any, I hadn’t seen it. The angel’s stone must have been cold and wet from the dew, but it had been so long since I had felt any sensation at all I wished I could feel it. The shadows of my black cloak lay around me, pooling like spilled ink on the overgrown grass.

I pushed the hood back from my head and titled my head to the sun, wishing I felt its warm rays. Were the sun’s rays even warm? Or was that simply another thing I had imagined?

“Gods, angels, and ancestors above!” the loud moan had me jerking my head towards the shadowed forest in shock.

That cry hadn’t sounded like an animal, and it definitely hadn’t sounded like the grunts and roars of a monster. It had sounded like a human. I had not seen a human in so long, I had almost forgotten what they looked like beyond a silhouette. Perhaps they would stay nearby and I would see humans again.

A spark of hope in my chest lit, and then swiftly flickered and died. It did me no good to hope like that. After all, what would humans want with a forgotten graveyard and a cursed village? Perhaps it wasn’t a human at all but a demon in human form. I had never encountered one before, but I still remembered(imagined?) the stories my mother had told me about demons.

Those stories had almost made me fear the dark.

“Seriously, Rayn,” the voice continued. Now I could tell that it was a male one, a boy, not quite fully grown. “How much farther are we going to have to trek through this gods-forsaken forest?”

“I don’t know, Solis,” another male voice replied. It had been years(decades? Centuries?) since I had heard a voice besides my own, but I could still tell that the owner was annoyed. “We’re charting Forgotten Territory here, it's not like we have a map.”

“Ugh, just because the Guildmaster was too cheap to go himself, he sent us!” the first voice replied. By now I could hear their footsteps, loud and sharp in the silence of the morning.

I stood up from the angel statue, and grabbed my scythe. My scythe and cloak had been gifts from the gods when I became this graveyard’s guardian, they were my only weapons against the monsters. When the demons came to steal the bodies of the fallen villagers, I would fight. I had a lot of practice fighting.

“Sol, I swear to Conrin if you don’t stop complaining-” Two figures came out of the woods, shadows giving way to light on their features. They were indeed males. They must have been on the cusp of adulthood because they were too tall for boys but too slender for men. The one talking was wearing a cloak a deeper blue than the sky. I imagined it must have been what the ocean looked like in a storm, though I had never laid eyes on the ocean myself. It was a blue so vast and deep it would suck you in and never let you surface. His hair was brown as bark, falling into his eyes as he walked.

His companion was wearing a cloak the color of blood, the same color I had seen pour out of the skin of the plague victims. His hair was shiny and yellow, looking like it was spun out of gold instead of hair. His skin was bronzed while the boy wearing the ocean had warm brown skin, like cocoa.

“-I am going to rip out your tongue, and use it in a ritual to summon Sitet!” the boy in the ocean-cloak finished forcefully.

“That sounds like overkill,” said the boy wrapped in blood, he looked like he was pouting. But wasn’t he too old for things like that? My mother had said that I was, and they must have been older than me.

They must have been demons, I decided as I watched. I did not know of any humans who wore cloaks as beautiful and vibrant as that, or boots as fine looking. I had never even seen a bird or animal or plant that had colors as glorious. It had to be the work of something outside of the natural world. If they were demons, then they wanted the souls of the beings under my care. I would not let that happen. I swung up my scythe and prepared to fight them the moment they stepped foot onto the soil of the dead.

The boy in the ocean-cloak turned back to the front and caught sight of me. He stopped in his tracks, looking like he had seen a monster. “What the hells?” he murmured as he stared.

The boy in the blood-cloak turned to see what had stopped his companion and when he saw me, his golden skin turned pale. “I-is that-?”

Now I knew beyond a doubt that they were not human. Humans were not able to see me as I was not alive. Even animals sometimes did not sense me. I was used to it now, the loneliness had stopped being all-consuming many, many seasons ago.

I did not move to approach them, they were not on graveyard soil and I could not leave, so I would have to wait.

“She’s so young,” the boy in the ocean-cloak whispered, clutching at something under the folds of cloth covering him. “Why did they make someone so young a guardian spirit?”

“How long has she even been here?” the boy in blood asked, looking around, “All I see are ruins.”

“Who are you?” the ocean-draped boy asked, stepping forward, but still not on graveyard land. “Why were you made a guardian spirit?”

He was talking to me. It had been so long since anyone had talked to me. My throat closed up with something I had almost forgotten about. Loneliness. Even though they were demons, I wanted to talk to them. I wanted to talk again, even for just a little while.

I opened my mouth and spoke the first words I had uttered since my village fell, “I do not remember my name,” my voice sounded like cloth rustling in the breeze, not at all like their melodic sounds. “I have been here since my village buried me.”

The boys exchanged looks, “Why did they bury you?” the boy with the blood-cloak asked. “There had to have been a reason.”

“I do not possess one eye,” I tapped the flesh under my empty socket, “I was seen as bad luck and to change that, I was made to be our new graveyard’s guardian.”

“So that’s why her eye is covered in shadow like that,” the bloody boy said to the other. They exchanged another look, something passed between them I did not understand. The boy in the ocean cloak turned to me and smiled.

A warmth blossomed in my chest. How long had it been since I had been the object of someone’s smile? Even if they were demons, it felt nice. “My name is Rayner,” the boy in the ocean cloak touched his chest with a gloved hand. “And this,” he gestured to the boy in the blood-cloak, “Is Solis, we’re members of the Socerer’s Guild.”

“What are sorcerers?” I asked, cocking my head to the side. I had never heard of that, were they perhaps not demons? That might be nice, then I wouldn’t have to kill them.

Their eyes widened, “You don’t know?” Solis asked incredulously.

Mutely, I shook my head. My cloak moved around me without a sound.

“She must have been here before the Blood Plague,” Rayner said, “That’s the only way she wouldn’t know. It also answers the question of why she’s even here. Guardian spirits haven't been used since then.”

I didn't understand what they were talking about. The Blood Plague must have been what destroyed my village, but what had changed so that guardian spirits weren’t necessary? It didn’t make any sense.

“Listen,” Rayner turned to me. “We’re sorcerers. That means we’re humans who can channel magic without sacrifice.”

My eyes widened, surprise hitting me for the first time since I died. A human who could channel magic without sacrifice? If something like that existed, then that would explain why guardian spirits weren’t needed. If they could protect a graveyard without killing someone, then guardian spirits wouldn’t need to exist. No one would need to die like I had.

“A-amazing,” I whispered, clutching my scythe to my chest. “No one else had to die to guard the rest.” I felt something strange happening to my face. I pressed trembling fingers to my lips to discover that I was smiling.

I hadn’t smiled for so long it felt like a blessing.

The boys watched me, “H-hey,” Solis stepped forward, his arm outstretched like he wanted to comfort me. “Do you want to leave this place?”

I stared at him, “I cannot leave,” I told him, “My soul is tethered to this place. I must protect it forever.”

“But if you could, do you want to?” Rayner sounded so nice, like the first rays of dawn after a storm. He wasn’t a demon, so this time I let myself enjoy the kindness.

I hesitated, unsure. A desperate hope was unfurling within me, like a flower struggling to bloom in frozen ground. “I-I’ve always wanted to see the ocean.” I wanted to know if it was as beautiful as Rayner’s cloak, all those shades of blue. I wanted to see what the world was like beyond this place.

It had been a seed of hope I had always harbored, even in life, though my time as a guardian had stripped me of any hope that it might come true. I hadn’t ever wanted to stay here forever, though the villagers had left me no choice.

The boys smiled at my answer. “We can help.” Solis grinned at me, his hair glinting in the sun.

“But how?” I asked, “This graveyard must be protected.” That was my purpose in death, to protect this graveyard.

“Simple,” Rayner replied, “We’ll cast a barrier spell. That’s what guards graveyards now. Then, we can release you.”

The flower was starting to burst through the soil inside of me, urged forward by the warmth and light of their kindness.

“What do you say?” Solis asked, “Do you want to leave?”

“I do,” I admitted. “Please set me free.”

Smiles from both boys made me smile hesitantly back. Then, they took out bags from under their clothes, revealing fine cloth tunics and bark-colored leather trousers, and set ingredients out on the soil in front of my graveyard. “Angel’s feather,” Rayner said each ingredient’s name as he and Solis set them out. “Soil from the graveyard, steel from a broken sword, cloth from a corpse-collector, and moonlight.” The final ingredient was a liquid so silver I had to look away bottled in a small glass container.

I watched with fascination as Solis picked up the feather, stell, and square of black cloth between two fingers. A small spark flickered to life between his fingers and engulfed the feather, steel, and cloth. Soon, the items were fully ablaze with red and orange flames. I stared, I had forgotten how beautiful fire really was. But what amazed me more was that, though the fire was enough to burn the feather, metal, and cloth to nothing in minutes, Solis’s hands remained unburnt.

Solis caught the ash in his hand and mixed it with dirt from my graveyard. Rayner uncapped the bottle of moonlight and Solis tipped the ingredients in. With a practiced movement of Rayner’s wrist, he swirled the bottle until the ashes and dirt were dissolved. Then, he walked the perimeter of the yard, pouring a line of moonlight with him all the while.

When he made a full lap and closed the line it suddenly lit up with bright white light, stretching up to the heavens. I craned my neck back in astonishment at the magic. So this was what magic without sacrifice was, beautiful and soft. Nothing like the pain and torment I had felt to guard this place.

“Now your graveyard will be safe,” Rayner smiled at me like we were old friends. “Now I’ll release you.”

“Solis will not do anything?” I asked timidly.

Solis laughed like I had said something hilarious, “Hells no, Rayner’s a necromancer, not a pyromancer like me. The dead’s his speciality.”

I had never heard the words necromancer or pyromancer before, but I would have to trust them that they knew what they were doing. Now that freedom was within my grasp, the flower inside of me was blooming fully, its petals stretching out to the light.

Rayner stepped up to the entrance to the graveyard and clasped his hands together like he was praying. “Spirit before me, chained to this place in death.” Wind began to stir around us, whipped my cloak around me. That was enough to tell me something was going on, my cloak had never moved for wind before. It was even moving enough to reveal the white linen dress that I had worn to my death. It had been so long since I had seen its folds. “I name you Sentury, be forever freed from your chains here.” Sensation trickled into my limbs, starting with my fingers and traveling up my arms and body into my chest. The warmth of the sun’s rays, the soft caress of my cloak and dress, the rough handle of my scythe. “The price is paid, now be free to walk these lands as you please forevermore!” he ended on a shout. The winds had whipped up into a frenzy now, I reveled in the feeling of air moving on the body again until, with a final gust, it disappeared.

My cloak fluttered back down to rest on my body comfortingly. “I-is that it?” I asked.

Rayner heaved for breath, sweat dotted his brow and he looked pained, but he still smiled. “Yep, you’re free now. You’re still a spirit, so not everyone will see you. But you can leave now.”

Happiness rushed up from within me, bubbling up and forcing itself out of my throat in something foreign to my ears. Laughter. I was laughing. I took a step forward towards the exit where the two sorcerers who set me free were waiting.

“You said you wanted to see the ocean,” Solis said suddenly. I froze in my tracks. “Does that extend to other areas?”

“I...do not understand.” Could I not leave? Had they lied to me? Panic almost made me collapse, so close to freedom and it was possibly all a lie.

“Do you want to explore other things?” Rayner clarified. “Like, see other lands?”

Relief almost knocked me over, “I see,” I nodded. “Yes, I’ve always longed to see the lands beyond this village and this graveyard.”

“Then…” Solis looked almost uncomfortable. “Do you want to come with us? We’re explorers actually, and it would be really handy to have someone who could fight spectrals with us.”

Explore the land...with them? I wouldn’t have to be alone anymore. “Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Rayner nodded, “I mean, I did name you. We’d be happy to have you along.” He froze, “Er...if you want to come, that is.”

I nodded, “I do,” I was smiling again, I knew it. “I do want to come! I really do!” I ran up to the edge of the graveyard and froze.

My toes were just barely inside of the confines of the yard. I had never been able to get past this point, I had long given up trying. Had they really freed me? Could I really leave? Could I hope?

“Well?” Solis said, I looked up to see both of them grinning at me.

“Come on... Sentury,” Rayner said.

Sentury, my name, given to me by the same people who granted my freedom, who wanted me to come with them.

I smiled, and, with the sun’s rays warm on my head, took my first step out of the graveyard.