“Hmm, well where to begin? Ah, yes.” Syntinnial pondered things for a moment and then continued, “You’re familiar with the Ark war I assume?”
Cypher nodded and the old man continued.
“Well, the thing is, when it comes to that event it happened much further in the past than people realize. Certain things happened to not only the world itself, but the flow of time when the Guardians ended the war. Their sacrifice was great and the powers they wielded simply weren’t enough to stop the threat of that ancient evil.
“The antagonist who started the Ark war wasn’t some simple Conductor. History, or what little remains of it, says that it was the leader of the Order of Eternal Night who started the war. That isn’t untrue, but there was more to it than that. When the other divines banished Satis’s mind to the void, the dark God managed to send a shard of his mind and malice to our world.
“That shard was all Satis needed to establish a link to this plane of existence. The Order of Eternal Night was actually founded when the first leader, a man named Zeonidus, happened to stumble across that shard. He was altered and became a conduit for Satis to manipulate the creations of the other divines. His plan was to retrieve the Blood Ark and use its power to free his true self from his prison.
“However, Satis hadn’t considered what his host would do. Satis could only influence him from afar. He couldn’t actually force him to do anything. After supplying Zeonidus with his dark power, Zeonidus began unfolding his own plans.”
“But what is the point of all this?” asked Cypher.
“The point,” continued Syntinnial, “is that Zeonidus had divine-level power, and it took a similar strength to take him down. The Guardians were forced to use the Ark of Ages and it caused a splintering of time. You and most of the world believe that the Arkwar happened a few millennia ago, but in reality, it was actually five thousand years ago. That splintering of time affected every single unprotected mortal in the world.”
“So where do you come in for all of this?” questioned Cypher, his eyebrow raised in confusion.
“Well, I’m getting to that. You see, a thousand years before the start of the Ark war, I was a normal mortal living a normal life. I lived on a farm and took care of my pa’s chickens and the other livestock. It was a good and simple life, one that I miss even now. However, thirty years before I was born, the Guardians were told by the Divines that they were to appoint seven individuals, each matching their own race, and train them to become Guardians themselves one day.
“Apparently, the time was coming when the gods would need their help, and they could not leave the world unprotected. Thus, after much searching, I was appointed as the apprentice to the Guardian of mankind, a man named Mythrillus. He took me in and trained me to become his eventual replacement.
“After I was chosen, Mythrillus granted me levels of power at the peak of the seventh rank. Since I can’t advance beyond that, my lifespan was set in stone. So in order to fix that, Mythrillus cast a spell on me so that I would age significantly slower. He also cast one that would prevent me from dying. Every three hundred years or so, the cycle of my life resets itself and I am returned to my youth to restart the process all over again.
“At the time the idea was to train me in my new powers, and once I was acclimated to it, he and the others would step aside and we would take their place.” Syntinnial paused and took a long sip from his cup before refilling it. Cypher himself was on his fourth cup of mead when the old man finished speaking.
“If that’s true,” began Cypher, his words slurring a bit. “then why didn’t you help during the Ark war? I’ve never heard of any apprentices before.” Syntinnial stared into his cup and sighed.
“Because after nearly a thousand years into our training, the Guardians came to us seven apprentices and told us not to interfere with the chaos that would ensue from their departure. They limited our powers and locked us in their citadel, the Chamber of Seven.
“All we could do was watch the madness, and pray that the forces of light would prevail over the dark ones. We did what we could, but as I said, we had been severely limited in what we could do. Even after the darkness was sealed away, our group was never the same again. Freedom was something we had been denied while the Ark war raged. So when at last we were free, we separated to pursue our own goals.
“The twin elves of our group, Alioiana, and Oliaiono, disappeared into the forest of Galle’noray. I haven’t heard from them since we split. The two-headed dragon twins Grizzenban and Farazinix headed into the clouds and vanished as well. As for the dwarven twins Erbas and Zasramen, I believe they still mine the deepest parts of the world and every few hundred years I’ll receive word from them.
“As for me, I travel the world watching over the delicate landscape, trying my best to restore it to its previous state. In many ways I’m still that young farmboy I used to be…” Syntinnial chuckled and let out a sigh of longing as he stared into the distance.
“Watching over your family in particular just happened to be one of my hobbies. You Ceraunus men have peculiar traits I found interesting, and your ancestors have spearheaded a lot of the change that has occurred in this world,” finished Syntinnial.
“So that’s why I never heard of you and the other apprentices?” asked Cypher, already on his fifth cup of mead.
“Come now Cypher, not all things are known to man. My group is just another one of those long-forgotten secrets swept away by the endless currents of time. It certainly helped our anonymity that we were locked in the Chamber of Seven during the Arkwar.”
Cypher was shocked to be speaking to one of the oldest beings in the entire world and he felt quite humbled at the idea of it all. Cypher’s mind had trouble processing the implications of Syntinnial’s story, but his mind soon snagged on another topic.
“What about my mother? You said you knew her too right?” he asked, knocking over his cup and spilling his drink all over the table. Syntinnial handed him a rag and Cypher cleaned up his mess as the old man spoke again.
“Of course I knew your mother, and very well I might add!”
“And you also know that she’s still alive right?” asked Cypher. He was hoping that Syntinnial would let slip a clue or two about her whereabouts. He had already confirmed as much in the cave, but Cypher still wanted to know for sure.
“Indeed I do, and I take it you know the truth about what happened that night. I also have a feeling I know what you’re going to ask me next, and I’m afraid that I can’t help you very much. I don’t actually know where she is now.
“What I can say though, is that she stopped by here two days after she left you with the Galvans. She said only that I was to send you to Ardua to look for a man named Raymont. She claimed he would know the answers to the questions that plague you most,” finished Syntinnial.
Cypher felt excited inside, that was exactly what he was hoping for. It might not be her current whereabouts, but it was a step in the right direction and a good place to start looking for her.
