Chapter 2

hello, master
​

Ariah’s cabin was strangely cool amidst the scorching summer heat. It smelled of forest and woods, reminiscent of our home. Lexi and I were sitting quietly on the terrace, admiring the crystal-blue lake and the thick rows of trees around us. 
 
“Here’s your tea.”
 
Napatayo kami nang iabot ni Ariah ang tray ng tsaa at napatingin din siya sa harapan ng kanyang bahay.
 
“I was also from the rural,” she said as if reading our minds. “Kaya naisipan kong dito tumira.”

“Ms. Ariah, paano po kayo nagkakilala ni Papa?” biglang tanong ni ni Lexi.

“Ah. Leon? We were both trainees under the same Master, though I was eight years younger,” she explained. “Actually, there were three of us but . . .”

“Si Kass . . .” I continued and my voice faltered. Saying my mother’s name still stung.

“How . . . wait, who are you?”

“I-I’m her daughter.”

A hint of surprise and disbelief ran through her expression. “M-may anak sila ni Ramon?”
 
Maging ako ay nagulat. Their colleagues didn’t know they had a daughter?
 
She tried to regain her composure. “A-Anyway, I’ll be your master from now on so I want you to listen to me.”
 
Pagkatapos niyang sabihin ‘yon ay pinalagay niya sa amin ang mga gamit naming sa isang kwarto. Dahil dalawa lamang ang kwarto sa cabin ay magkasama kami ni Lexi sa isa.
 
“Tortos, sal-ve!”
 
We felt a tremor and I had to duck in case something fell while Lexi went straight to the window.
 
“Oh my god!” she exclaimed while pointing outside. Dahil tumigil na rin ang pagyanig ay dahan-dahan akong lumapit sa kanya at tumingin sa labas.
 
In the middle of the lake, the huge turtle was staying still and even though I had seen it a while ago, I still couldn’t comprehend its size. Halos ma-cover na niya ang buong lawa dahil sa laki niya.
 
“Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala sa nangyari kanina,” Lexi said while staring at the guardian.
Naalala ko rin tuloy ang mga pangyayari. “Yeah. Nakakatakot dito sa Capital.”
 
Sabay kaming naglakad papunta sa kama at humiga. We stared at the ceiling made of oak, reminiscing our near-death experience.
 
“Buti na lang dumating si Miss Ariah saka ‘yong lalaki . . .” saglit siyang tumigil. “What was his name again?”

“Nakalimuta ko na,” sagot ko naman. “But I think he’s a Spirit Master. Hindi ba gano’n ang uniform nila?”

“Yeah. Mukhang magkakilala sila ni Miss Ariah.”
 
Our conversation was interrupted when we heard a loud thumping on the window and I almost cursed when I saw a huge eye, almost covering the window, staring at us. After a few seconds, it stepped back and I realized it was a huge dove.
 
“What are you still doing there?!” sigaw ni Miss Ariah kaya agad kaming napabangon at nagmadali sa paglabas.
 
Nakatayo lang siya sa harapan ng cabin at lumapit naman agad kami sa kanya.
 
“Magpakilala kayo,” she ordered.

“I’m Lexine, pero Lexi na lang po ang itawag n’yo sa akin.”

“Reika po.”

Miss Ariah nodded. “Lexi and Reika. Leon told me to take care of you but let me just make it clear. I am your Master, not your custodian. I will train you to become true Divians, just like your parents. Maliwanag?”

“Opo!” sabay naming sagot. 

“And please, call me Master.”

“Yes, Master!”

“For now, gusto ko munang makita ang guardians n’yo. Call them.”

“Uhm, lahat po sila?” tanong ni Lexi.

“Lahat.”

Lexi and I exchanged hesitant looks. “Pero…hindi pa po naming sila kayang tawagin nang sabay-sabay.”

“And that’s precisely the purpose of our training. I want to see your current capabilities.”
 
I sighed in distress. Lahat? Ibig sabihin, pati siya ay kailangan kong tawagin?
 
Lexi started by calling her first guardian. “Charlie, sal-ve!” she chanted and Charlie materialized in front of us, hovering above Lexi. 

“Oh. Siya ‘yong kanina,” Master commented.

“Smith, sal-ve!” Lexi called and she was getting out of breath. Smith, a white stallion, appeared and neighed enthusiastically at her.

“Is this your main guardian?”

“H-hindi p-po.”

“Meron pa?” 

She nodded and braced herself for the last and most difficult one. “L-Lio, s-sal-ve!” she yelled and her knees immediately buckled. Napaupo na lamang siya sa damuhan habang hinihingal. At the same time, spirit partcles gathered in front of her and after a few seconds, her main guardian came into view.
 
“You really are Leon’s daughter,” Master muttered as she stared at Lexi’s guardians.
 
Lio, a lion bigger than the normal one, roared proudly. His golden mane and fur gleamed and I remembered Tito’s guardian. Hindi ko na alam kung kailan ko huling nakita iyon. I just knew that it was a hybrid of different animals.  
 
“He has a chimera as his main guardian,” Master said, as if reading my mind. “It’s one of the mythical guardians, that’s why it’s difficult to train and handle. Mukha namang kaya mong kontrolin ang isang ‘to,” sabay tingin niya kay Lio.
 
But something went wrong. Lio roared at Master and charged at her.
 
“L-Lio, s-stop . . .” Lexi said in a mumble and I could see that she was just doing her best not to lose consciousness.

“Lily!” sigaw ni Master.
 
The giant dove came flying at her direction and she clung herself on its talons. It hovered above Lio and Master jumped on Lexi’s guardian’s back.
 
“Fal de,” she chanted as she tapped Lio’s head. A few seconds later, it calmed down.
 
Bumaba si Master sa likod nito at lumapit sa amin na para bang walang nangyari. Tumingin siya sa akin at ngumiti.
 
“Reika. It’s your turn.”
 
Tumango naman ako kahit na kinakabahan ako.
 
“Jerry, sal-ve!”
 
Lumabas si Jerry at nagpaikut-ikot sa akin. He’s a huge Alaskan malamute and he could tower over me if he was standing.
 
“Carlos, sal-ve!” I chanted and it felt like my strength had left my body. Calling another guardian while one was still in the real dimension was physically and mentally exhausting.
 
“Wow. Now, that’s a fast guardian,” Master complimented.
 
A faint smile escaped my lips as I looked at the majestic figure of Carlos, a cheetah. Naalala ko tuloy noong una ko siyang nagamit. Tumakas kami noon ni Lexi mula kay Tito dahil may balak siyang iligaw kami sa gubat.
 
“How about your main guardian?” tanong ni Master. “You have three, too, right?”
 
As expected. She must have realized that I also have three guardians just like Lexi. Exhaustion, terror and doubt made me silent for a minute.
 
“I . . . I can’t,” I mumbled in fear. “H-hindi ko po siya kayang tawagin.”

There was a hint of curiosity and disappointment on Master’s face. “Huh? Why?”
 
Umiling lang ako dahil hindi ko alam kung ano ang isasagot ko. There were too many reasons that I could think of.
 
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it if it goes berserk.”

“But . . .”

​“Call your main guardian.”
 
Her tone was stern and I was scared for a second. I heaved a sigh and fished out the wooden tablet in my pocket. Master furrowed her brows and looked at me.
 
“You haven’t Marked it yet?” tanong niya at tumango ako. “Why?”
 
Bigla kong naalala ang una at huling beses na sinubukan ko siyang tawagin.
 
Guardians are usually sealed in wooden tablets, given by a family member or its previous owner, and you must Mark them the moment you call them for the first time. Marking is done by performing a blood seal as you chant the incantation. That’s the way for the guardians to recognize you as their owner and partner.
 
In my case, I failed Marking my main guardian. When I called it for the first time, I wasn’t able to see its true form. The wooden tablet just emitted bright blue lights and that was when we realized the absurd amount of spirit particles of that guardian. I didn’t have enough spiritual stamina to control them, thus, it couldn’t show its physical appearance. Buti na lang at dumating ang parents noon ni Lexi para i-seal ulit iyon.
 
I was unconscious for three days because it had consumed my life force when I ran out of spiritual stamina. I also saw my parents when I was trying to Mark my guardian but I wasn’t sure if those spirits were just my hallucination because I was dying. Kaya simula noon, hindi ko na muling sinubukan na palabasin siya.
 
Sinabi ko naman lahat ng ‘yon kay Master maliban doon sa hallucination ko at in-inspect niya ang tablet.
 
“If you’re afraid to call your own guardian, how will you fight?” she said and I wasn’t able to respond. “All Divians went through that. And you won’t survive here if you do not have your main guardian.”
 
I already know that but remembering that incident made me afraid of that guardian.
 
“You know, maybe it’s also waiting for your call,” Master added and she handed me the wooden tablet.
 
Her words echoed in my mind and I was reminded of the joy I felt when I Marked Jerry and Carlos. Huminga ako nang malalim at muling tiningnan ang wooden tablet. Maybe this was the right time.
 
Nilapag ko ang tablet sa harapan ko. I breathed deeply and recited the incantation for Marking.
 
“Es freit mich sie, ich han liip! Mwe kontan fe konesana siz menen ku zibana!”
 
Just like before, blue lights came out of the tablet and a name was formed. I wasn’t able to see it before because I was too weak, but now was different.
 
“Phoebe, sal-ve!”
 
Upon calling her name, my body went limp. Orbs were dancing in front of my eyes and it felt like my lungs were getting crushed every time I breathed. I couldn’t do it by myself. I failed again.
 
“Lutem olmasa per pias hyva. Gliek vat furtuna vinaka viel!”
 
With the remaining strength in my body, I tried focusing my eyes and saw Master performing the other half of the seal, the blood seal. A pentagonal shape glowed and encircled me and my guardian. She was helping me . . .
 
Despite getting out of breath, I cut my finger and let the blood drip on my hand, touching the spirit particles gathering around me, and dropping on the wooden tablet.
 
And then it happened. The spirit particles slowly showed its form and I weakly gasped when I saw something. The blue lights turned out to be blue flames and its warmth coursed through my body. The flames burned brightly and I realized that was the signal for the final step of Marking. Drawing a ten-pointed star using my blood on the flame, I called my main guardian.
 
“Phoebe, ocien buorre reis!”
 
Upon chanting, I heard a screech from the flames and the spirit particles illuminated glaringly that it almost blinded me. Then, I showed its true form. Something so terrifyingly beautiful that I almost cried.
 
“So your main guardian is a mythical one,” Master remarked. “It’s beautiful.”
 
The pentagonal seal dissipated and my main guardian flew freely, as if it was waiting for that moment for all of its life.
 
“W-wow,” Lexi muttered in awe. “Phoenix ang main guardian mo, Reika.”
 
Lexi and I remained lying on the grass, staring at the two aerial guardians, Lily and Phoebe. She soared across the sky, blue flames instead of feathers fluttering as the wind blew. She was beautiful.
 
And now, I have my main guardian.

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