Protect Selflessly

"Maraja…"

A dull pain spread itself throughout my heavy head.

"Maraja…"

The prickly feeling of rough sand forced my eyes open as I scrambled to my feet in confusion, dusting the dirt from my face and body.

"Good morning, emberglow."

It was eerily hard to tell the beings' gender as I overlooked it's feminine face and melodious voice, yet muscular build.

I looked around, taking in the sand and grass filled earth, squinting upward as the morning sun came to an end.

The trees and little bushes around us swung happily as my eyes came back to the being, settling on it's disturbingly yellow eyes. "Who are you and where am I?"

The…man smiled, a hint of annoyance painting itself on his rather confusing features. "I have been shown quite some disrespect today…I do not like it." Its voice strangely morphed into that of a man as he narrowed his slender eyes at me. "However I shall try my best to be lenient with you, seeing as you are greatly uninformed. I am Kiera. A Vanrei, a protector."

I tilted my head back in thought, partly admiring the beautiful afternoon skies. "Protector?" I looked down, jumping back in fright, my hesitant eyes glazing over the unmoving body sprawled on the ground behind Kiera. "Who's that?"

"Oh that's just my sister, no need to fret." His smile widened. "Khione is quite the wayward one. Can you believe she thought she could hide you from me?"

Suddenly it clicked, my eyes going wide in remembrance. "She kidnapped me?!"

"I know right, the audacity." He smiled playfully at me.

"So you saved me?" He nodded slowly, a playful smirk dancing along his lips, a feeling of unease settling at the pit of my stomach. "Wait. You called me emberglow. What's that?"

"The emberglow was a title given to the royal family of the Elarans in Eryndor of the beyond realm, merely used to identify them. Over time though, this title became a type of power, an added advantage to the already immense power of the Elarans." His yellow eyes looked me over with an expression I couldn't decipher. "The emberglow would choose who it would give itself to. So all the true royal Elarans carried around the title of the emberglow but only a selected few had the actual power."

My head spun, absorbing the new information. "And how can you be sure I have this…emberglow?"

"Well I believe it's quite obvious. You're said to be the nawi and an Elaran. What other special power to possess other than the emberglow?" He stretched his arms wide open.

The woman's body stirred, causing me to to recall a disturbing sentence. "You…you said she was hiding me from you?" I took a shaky step back, my eyes pinned on the man. "What…why is that?"

"I-"

"Stay back, brother!" Suddenly, the woman was in front of me, her height battling with her brothers' as she attempted to shield me from him.

Kiera reached back, tying his wayward hair into a messy bun as he let out a long breath. "Must you always ruin my fun?" His voice became deeper, menacing even.

"Brother this isn't right. I am only here to protect the Nawi. That is who we are, we're meant to protect." The woman communicated.

"Protect?" He let out a short laugh. "She's the Nawi she should be able to protect herself, should she not?" Kiera's eyes traveled passed his sister's body, settling on me. "As well as make decisions for herself." He raised a brow at me.

"Kiera don't." Khione shook her head, pleading with her brother.

"I have a deal for you, Nawi!" His voice boomed, and I stepped out of Khione's shadow.

~~~

Kiera gave his sister a sly smile as she frowned, a look of concern spreading itself on her face.

"Go on." Maraja chimed.

"Surrender the emberglow." Kiera focused his eyes on the chosen one, taking note of her every move and reaction.

"What?"

"Surrender it and your life will go back to normal. No title on you, no dragging you to a world you know nothing about. All you need to do is give me the emberglow and you can go back home with your human brother without a worry in the world." He smirked, his hands coming together in front of him.

Maraja's eyes widened as she begun thinking, the prospect of things becoming normal again sounding irresistible.

"Don't!" Khione's yellow eyes, much like her brothers' landed on Maraja with much concern, as well as a thousand other emotions within. "He's lying. Don't listen to him, he lies. Nothing can return to normal again, Nawi. Even if you could miraculously go back home, everything would just become worse. Please Nawi, this isn't right."

Maraja tipped her head down, heart aching at the protector's words. "I know." A strange feeling washed over her as she felt her watery eyes glow. "But why?" She whispered, hopelessness and grief filling her senses, golden tendrils surrounding her.

"Maraja, this isn't the end. You'll bring a smile on your mothers face, you'll become stronger, you'll be fine, I promise." Khione stretched out her hand towards the distraught chosen one, eyes pleading.

"Or…you'll fail. Die before you reach your goal. Even worse, you can't beat him and you become the villain, hated and cursed upon for the rest of your life." Kiera reminded, face painted with an untold victory.

"Brother stop!" Khione yelled at Kiera, turning back to Maraja in panic. "Nawi your emotions control your magic. You can't loose control! You're an Elaran, a chosen Elaran. Loosing control would be fatal."

Maraja's eyes glazed over the two protectors, barely hearing their words as she sunk into her own sea of pain.

"Brother!" Khione turned to her brother, eyes wide with fear. "Brother stop her!"

"And slip up this chance to steal one of the most powerful magic in all the realms?" He snorted, his eyes glowing as he watched the Nawi begin to loose control. "Not a chance."

"Brother you know this isn't right! Look at her! Young and naive! You're destroying her, Kiera! We are protectors, meant to protect selflessly not steal power!"

Kiera's head snapped back to his sister, anger gathering in his power laden eyes. "Protect selflessly? Is that right? Then why is our mother dead?! Where you protecting selflessly when she was killed? I left for one day! One day, Khione!" Ripples of immense energy followed Kiera's words, slashing trees, and leveling bushes.

"Brother-"

"Look at me, sister!" Kiera spat out the last word, beating his chest with both hands, as the surrounding became dense with a gloomy power. "Every single protector child made fun of me! For my warped appearance! Only mother could shield me, but you let her die! How then is that protecting selflessly!?" A deadly wave of energy left Kiera's mouth, heading for his sister.

Khione's eyes glowed as she snapped her fingers, a similar wave of energy leaving her, colliding with her brothers, the air becoming thick with their combined power.

"AHHHHH!" Maraja screamed in pain, drawing the attentions of the squabbling siblings.

"Nawi!" Khione's face twisted in confusion as she watched Maraja's body be scrapped by an unseeable energy, blood dripping down her body.

"What the?" Kiera took a step back, his brows furrowed in as much confusion.

"H…help…" the chosen one whispered, her luminous eyes wide, as golden tears rolled off them. "Help…me." The scrapping against her skin continued, going deeper and forming unreadable letters as she fell to her knees, hands flying to her scalp in pain. "HELP ME!" She cried out, a transparent barrier drawing itself around her.

"AHHHHHH!" The screams of the chosen one echoed throughout the veil, the so-called protectors standing, watching helplessly with shame and fear on their faces.

Her screams transformed into lethal waves of energy, slicing into Khione and Kiera, pushing further, wounding, destroying everything in its path until it collided with the very walls of the realm.

Then there was silence, the smell of death filled the veil as the chosen one lay on the bloodied coarse earth, life leaving her battered body second by second.