Guardian [UPDATE]

Prologue

“There is a legend, a legend all but lost to time, that speaks of the Creator and the beginning of all things.

“Before there was anything, there was the Creator. She was at the same time everything and nothing. At first, She slept. She slept for ages, though there was yet no Time. She slept continuously.

“Then, the Creator opened Her eyes. At that instant, a world spread out before Her. It was an empty and barren world, but it was a world all the same. The Creator saw this world and smiled.

“At once, the Creator began to fill this world. She created vast oceans, towering mountains, open skies. She created night and day, time and space. She created forests, deserts, plains, tundra. She looked over the world and smiled.

“Though the Creator liked Her new world, She saw that it was still empty. The surroundings were beautiful, but there was no one there to enjoy them. So, the Creator decided to form beings like Her to live in the wonderful world She had created. She took a rock and breathed life into it—the first Pokémon. From the nature around Her She created more and more Pokémon of every type, and they filled Her world. The Creator saw the beings She had made and smiled.

“It was then that the Creator realized that She alone could not watch over this world. She needed guardians to help Her keep the Pokémon of Her world safe and keep nature in balance. Thus, the Creator made what we today call ‘Legendaries.’ She assigned each of them a specific element to guard. These Legendaries respectfully took on their duties, and, as the Creator watched them work, She smiled.

“And yet, something was still not right. The Creator still felt that something was missing. Puzzled, She created a great being to govern over the world at Her side, a Knight that would keep harmony with Her in all cases and at all times. This Knight was incredibly powerful; more powerful, in fact, than the Creator Herself. However, his power was but raw power, not forged with knowledge, will, or emotion. At first, he did the job assigned to him by the Creator, but jealousy soon flooded his heart. Why would one less powerful than him rule over him? The Knight began to plot, rebellion in his mind.

“The Knight needed an army to fight the Creator, so he decided to create his own warriors. He formed them from many different elements, and attempted in his design to make them superior to the Creator’s Pokémon. These were the first humans. The Knight led these humans against the Pokémon, and they began to capture and enslave them.

“The Creator was appalled. She gathered the Legendaries, and together they fought against the humans and the Knight. There was great bloodshed on both sides. The war raged for years, with no sign of ending.

“However, some humans did not want to fight the Pokémon. They befriended the creatures, fighting alongside them. This bond made their power grow tenfold. Some humans even befriended the Legendaries. Seeing the great power these Legendaries’ humans, these Guardians, held, the Creator knew that the war was won. With the Guardians’ power, She cornered the Knight and vanquished him to a dark realm, sealing his power. The Legendaries and their Guardians taught the humans and the Pokémon to live in harmony; then, once their job was completed, they vanished, keeping guard from afar. The Creator saw this harmony. Her work done, She smiled, and vanished as well, only to return when the world once again needed Her.”

The man closed his book, grinning slightly. “Oh, that time is nigh, my darling Mew,” he muttered, placing the book into his pack. He pulled from the pack a small panpipe, one carved with ornate designs depicting a small cat-like Pokémon beside a much larger, four-legged figure. He ran his fingers over it and closed his eyes, feeling a sort of power course through his veins. This was the moment he’d been waiting for.

He slowly opened his eyes and raised his head. The hall before him was dark, covered in a veil of deep smog that seemed ominously unnatural. Large stone pillars rose from every side of the room. The man’s grin grew as he raised the panpipe to his lips. He took a deep breath. And so it begins…

Slowly, the man began to play the pipe. The notes he played were discordant and haunting. They echoed throughout the hall, bouncing off of the walls and clashing with one another. The melody was both terrifying and strangely sad. As the man played, the smog began to circle around him, forming rings of purple. The floor began to glow, but the man did not stop playing. The notes slowly but surely became louder and louder, and the glow of the floor became stronger and stronger, until suddenly the floor was no longer a floor but a glowing, transparent block of what seemed to be light. It began to rise, taking the man, still playing, with it. The smog grew darker and darker as they went higher and higher, and the glow of the floor became a deep purple. Then, suddenly, it was pitch black. The man finished the song, letting the final notes ring out, then slowly lowered the panpipe. His grin grew wide as he looked up into the darkness. There was a roar that seemed to resonate from everywhere; then, right in front of him, a pair of bright red eyes snapped open and stared through the dark.

Instantly, the man fell to one knee in a bow. “Welcome back,” he said, “my Lord Knight.”

The roar that followed seemed to shake the world.

~~~

Prologue Cover Art

Well, here begins a project that I have dreamed of for a very long time. This is Guardian, a Pokemon fanfic. I'm not even sure how long it will be yet, but it will probably be rather long ^^;

Some warnings about this fic:
It's rated PG-13 for violence, language, and romantic situations (but nothing too raunchy and gutterish).
There are all kinds of relationships here: het, yaoi, AND yuri. (I'd say an equal amount of het and yaoi and slightly less yuri.) Please don't bash on pairings because of the nature of them -- I did give fair warning ^^;
I'm going to be terrible about updating, I can already see it. So please bear with me if I take forever to update...since I'm doing chapter artwork as well as writing, it could take me a while ^^; Thanks in advance!

Feedback is GREATLY appreciated. It seriously is all that keeps me writing sometimes. Are people interested? I'd love to know!!

Chapter one up now!

--UM