Chipper:

 

Chipper, the Albino Squirrel of Symphony and Guardian of the center, couldn’t speak. He didn’t have the standard vocal folds and full-throatedness that human beings and their fellow sapients possessed. That's because Chipper's design was based on a standard squirrel, and he was given life without thought to what would happen should sapience occur.

He didn't hate his Creator for this oversight, as his existence wouldn't have occurred in the first place had they not simply placed him near his tree. Also, Walker seemed to care for him and this world, enough so to make sure he and his circle could protect it. No, there was no hatred in him for Walker. Raganoth was a bit of a different story though.

The Poison Wyvern was currently lounging near the Mana Tree, taking a nap. The large yellow creature had already hunted around the area, and decimated the local wildlife to the point that Chipper was worried it wouldn't fully recover. Thankfully his tree provided all of his nutrition, but still, it was bothersome to see such an empty area where life once teemed. Such was the burden of friendship.

Chipper felt a ringing in the back of his mind. He mentally accepted and, a moment later, he heard an audible clicking sound with a mental voice coming through.

"Hello Chipper, how are you on this fine Symphonic day."

"I am well, Adele, how are you on this fine Symphonic day."

"I am well." She replied, completing their standard ceremony for when two Guardians should meet. Although they were doing so through a peculiar evolution the other Guardian had received, Chipper felt that the process was important as who knew what new monsters would appear on Symphony. His argument to the Guardian Collective was because of the possibility of shapeshifters, or those who could take on the appearance of another Guardian. Sure, their magic might give them away as not one of the pure, but regardless, Chipper liked to be certain in times where uncertainty can breed.

"Excellent. How are you really doing Adele?" Chipper asked.

A mental sigh passed through their connection, "It is difficult in the snowy region. The cold has grown more intensive, and the manticore's are coming through more quickly, less affected by the weather than myself. I've had to defend my tree twice in the last week alone, and one of the manticores was quite powerful. Its speed, almost unbelievable. Had I not developed my evolutions to the point that I have, there is a chance you would never hear my voice again."

"I am sorry to hear that, Adele. Do you need assistance from the Collective?"

"No, I am not that far gone as of yet. How is your new friend, Raganoth the Bleeder?"

"Difficult, if I am honest.."

"You are always honest, friend Chipper. That is one of the great and terrible things about you."

Chipper didn't see it that way, but to each their own.

"I wanted to speak to you about something of great importance Adele, so it is fortuitous that you have contacted me. I have met the Creator...in person. They were quite strange, but very friendly."

"You actually met the Creator? As in...THE Creator? The one who built Symphony and made all of us?" She asked. Chipper could feel her shock through the bond, which was unlike her. This must have greatly surprised Adele for her to lose control of her emotions during the connection.

"Yes." He confirmed. Chipper started to sense something was wrong in his territory, but he continued speaking. "His name is Walker, and he asked to be my friend. He..." The wrongness increase. "Hold for a moment"

"Of course." She replied, and he felt her voice fade to the background while the bond still held.

Chipper jumped from his Tree and, while soaring through the air, spotted something trying to blend in. Of course green and gold didn't quite mix, although they were quite pretty together. He found the golden manticore trying to sneak through the grass, attempting to get closer. As he came down, he pulled from his core and created a pure ball of rotating mana. Once he got closer to the ground, he rotated the mana even faster, creating a small vacuum effect as air rotated around the ball in a circular manner. Just before landing, he placed a burst of mana behind him to reposition his body right over the manticore at a quickened speed, and using both hands, shoved the rotating mana ball directly into its head. The Manticore's body exploded, showering him in blood and viscera. A quick sheathing of mana expelled the bodily fluids and restored his fur to its pristine white. He walked back to the Tree at a sedate pace and began climbing.

While the other Guardians consistently complained about the amount of Manticores they were seeing, and eventually fighting, Chipper never did so. He had fought them in the thousands across his lifetime, far far more than the others. He believed it was because of his position within the center of Symphony, as a natural collection point for the Manticores as they passed through different territories. He never told the others, or complained, because he didn't think it was a helpful action that would benefit the Collective. They had their Tree's and territories, and he had his. That was the simple truth of the matter. Complaining never helped, it just added your burden onto others. Of course their territories held two trees, and for some reason his only held the one. But still, it wasn't as bad as it would seem. He had a duty and he fulfilled it, happily.

Chipper reached the branch he liked to sit on, mentally tagging it as the "thinking branch", and leaned against the bark of his first friend.

"I'm back, apologies."

"Not a problem, Chipper. So, I am dying to ask about the Creator, but I feel that this needs the entire Collective to listen in on. Would you be amenable to a grouping?"

Chipper thought on that for a moment. With the addition of Raganoth, and his conversation with Walker that had many future implications for Symphony as a whole, he didn't disagree with his fellow Guardian. The Collective should know, and he should've been the one to suggest it. Mentally admonishing himself, he agreed.

"I believe that is the correct choice, friend Adele. Please bring them to me."

Chipper's Tree was the obvious meeting location for all of the Guardians due to its proximity to their territories. He didn't call himself their leader, as none of them wanted to place a Guardian above the others. That was why they called themselves a Collective in the first place.

"I will, see you soon, friend Chipper. May your Tree grow and shed leaves."

"May your Tree grow and shed leaves."

He felt the click of Adele leaving his mindscape and returned his thoughts to Raganoth just below him. The Wyvern was still sleeping, but, there was a problem anytime he did so.

He spread poison.

Chipper was sure he didn't mean to. It was just a part of who he was. Raganoth was a Poison Wyvern, and would spread it whether he wanted to or not. Chipper pulsed a quick and low amount of pure magic, clearing the area of poison as he had done a dozen times since gaining his newest friend, then went over and poked the Wyvern in the chin. Many people would be nervous about poking a massive poison lizard who could somewhat fly, but they were friends. Chipper didn't hold any fear for him. After the third poke, wherein the great creature didn't wake up, Chipper gave him a light slap on the rump with his magic. That did it.

The Wyvern arched his back and woke up abruptly, yelling to the sky with his many large teeth, "What? Who dares to...oh. Hello Chipper."

Chipper spoke in the only way he could without a mental link like Adele's, writing in the air, "Hello friend Raganoth. I will be busy for a few hours, and I was wondering if you would not mind protecting my territory in my absence."

"Where are you going?"

"We Guardians like to speak to each other from time to time, and a grouping has been called for. They will be arriving here, and I think it important that we introduce you to them in a slow and thoughtful way, rather than all at once."

"Hours...hours. Ah, right, those short moments in time." The Wyvern thought for a moment, "Okay Chipper, I will protect your territory." He sniffed the air, picking the blood particles out of the standard bits of floating grass seed and the all-encompassing unattuned mana. "You have killed only recently, how often do you need to protect your tree?"

Chipper thought on that for a moment before saying, "I believe they come about once an hour. It should not be a problem for you."

Raganoth gave a deep-throated laugh, "Hahahaha! As if these tiny creatures can cause Raganoth the Bleeder any cause to worry. Do not worry young Chipper, I will protect your territory!" Saying so, he flared his wing-arms and leaped into the sky, angled for height.

Chipper smiled at watching the Wyvern take his duty seriously, and began the long hike to the top of the Tree. He was, of course, using his magic on his nails and feet, surrounding himself in a pale aura that slowly bled away if he didn't keep the ratios up. Each time Chipper did this, he got a small high out of it. Magic was a truly wonderful thing, and even if Walker turned out to be a bad person, Chipper would still appreciate the world he had created. The Guardian had yet to scratch the surface of what his powers could do. It was an addicting experience every time he found a new way to use his attunement.

He settled on the boughs of the top of his Tree and kept an eye out. Chipper spent a bit of the time he had before the other's arrival going over what he wanted to say. He had to make an attempt at neutrality, speaking for his friend or not, otherwise the Collective may not take his words seriously. So, he cleared his mind of any positive emotions related to Walker before they began to arrive, spending several minutes to isolate and remove any chance of not remaining neutral.

Naturally, Bale the Quick arrived first as he sped out of the Swamp forest, feet a blur, with Adele the Speaker only a few minutes after. They met and touched tails upon first meeting, creating a small pulse of pure magic, and saying their traditional lines once they were within range.

"Hello Bale, how are you on this fine Symphonic day."

"I am well, Chipper, how are you on this fine Symphonic day."

It took, all told, several minutes for all of them to greet each other once they'd all arrived. Long enough that Chipper began to grow weary of the experience. They'd only held a few groupings in the last several years, but that was enough to begin to annoy him with the process. He disliked the delay, even if he is the one who created it. Finally, everyone settled onto a branch and Adele connected them together so there wouldn't be a natural delay in writing to each other.

"Hello everyone, it is great to see you."

"Hello Adele!"

"Hi Speaker!"

"Heyyyy Adelle!" said the always exuberant Josh....he was a strange one. Then again, anyone who had to sit out near the ocean and stare at the water all day was likely to develop some strange tendencies.

Adele physically waved at Josh with a smile, always enjoying his energy, which Chipper didn't understand, before getting to the heart of why they'd arrived.

"Lets get to the heart of why we're here." Adele said, mirroring Chipper's thoughts. "Chipper the First has had a chance to meet with our Creator, and I asked for him to tell us of what was spoken of."

"What!" Josh mentally yelled, causing many Guardians to wince. "No way!"

"I do not like this." Rine the Dark said, his tone and unnaturally dark fur for a Guardian giving way to his chosen title. "Dealing with powerful beings is a mistake. I said this before when we allowed that massive frog to move up a tier."

Rine's territory was where the mini-manticores had started. Some of the Guardians had come to speak to Chipper about him, worrying that he was a corrupted Guardian and would need to be put down. But Chipper had changed their minds, saying that you shouldn't judge a Guardian by their fur. He firmly believed that when you needed help, Rine would be there. They had all spent a bit of time in Rine's forest, helping him maintain the equilibrium of Manticore's so they wouldn't get out of control. Thankfully, whenever the creatures bred, no more than two of the younglings would ever survive at a time.

The only problem was just how often they produced offspring, and of course their was the Silent Wind. The Silent Wind was a name Rine had given to a larger than normal Manticore who was approaching Sapience. A Manticore with self-control and an increased intelligence would make it incredibly dangerous. The great golden Manticore already produced more offspring than the others, and would actually keep most of them alive during their initial birth to battle phase. It was a worrying subject for the entire Collective as when it reached Sapience, they were worried it may start a war within Symphony.

Chipper listened back in on the conversation the others were having. Some, like Rine, didn't like the idea of speaking to the Creator of Symphony. All of them, including the Dark, were appreciative of what the Creator had done for them. Creating a world, creating them, providing a means of life and a way of defending themselves. There was certainly a deep and abiding glow of feelings for the powerful being within his group. But, speaking to him, and reminding him of their continued existence, was scary for some. Appreciating what they had was important, but testing fate was a different matter.

Chipper's neutrality wavered a little as they each shared their feelings on the matter. He pushed his emotions away and focused on what they were saying, trying to take it all in with clear eyes and a full heart. He firmly believed he would never lose if he was able to do that.

Looking at his fellow Guardians and doing a quick mental head count, there was certainly a split decision right now. Rine led the side that believed they should keep their distance, while Adele the Speaker and Cenare the Just led the side that wanted to not only speak to him, but work with him if they could. Finally, as he knew would likely occur, Rine the Dark looked at Chipper.

"Chipper. You are the first Guardian and hold the central territory of Symphony. We've all appreciated how you travel to each new land and provide guidance and advice on how to thrive on this world. I would say, and I do not believe I am speaking out of turn, that your word here counts more than the others." He looked around and received a chorus of nods from both sides. Chipper didn't like that, as it went against what they'd agreed to when first forming the Collective. But, you couldn't change people's feelings. Rine continued, "So, what do you say? How should we move forward with our Creator?"

Chipper looked from pale face to pale face, taking in the expressions on their faces. "That is difficult to say. You still do not even know of what we spoke of. You only know that we had a conversation."

"Yes." Cenare said, causing the others to look at him, "But the fact that he came down and spoke to you, I believe, speaks well of his character overall. He is an all-powerful and infallible being. One that we need to have positive relations with for our continued survival and purpose. You do not shun the thing that keeps you alive. That would be like all of us moving away from our trees and inhabiting bushes." He looked to the crowd as a few shuddered.

Rine disagreed, "All creatures of Symphony have a voice and a purpose. That is the first value we decided on as a Collective in the second meeting. You call yourself the Just, how is there justice in destroying a group of creatures for the simple act of not choosing to speak with you? He could do that on a whim! The Creator place a giant burning ball that is blinding us at this very moment." He said, one grey finger pointing at the yellow star in the sky, "For what purpose? He never told us or consulted with us. Thus, we do not hold a high enough value in his eyes."

"That is the thing Rine", Adele said from only a branch away, "There is no guarantee that he will destroy us, and with Chipper standing in front of us now and not obliterated from the face of our world, I have to hold that he is not a villainous character." Cenare nodded just beside her, bolstering the Speaker's resolve. "Chipper, First, what do you say? Can we trust him?"

Those words hit Chipper like a ton of bricks, and his preferred neutrality formed a small crack. Walker was his friend, but he needed to also look out for the Guardians. If he didn't, who would? The Creator chose him as a Symphonic representative for the Battle...apparently. Had chosen him again to speak with, and even physically presented himself. He knew everyone had heard him speaking just before the light turned to back to the darkness they all knew. Also, as far as he knew, Walker hadn't visited anyone else. This was a precarious moment, and they needed to know all of it.

"Let me explain what we spoke of. Then, we can make our decision as one group, the way the Collective was envisioned." Chipper said with resolve, looking each of the other Guardians in the eyes to make sure they gave a nod of agreement. He was called the First because he was the original Guardian, but no matter what they said about his word meaning more than another's, none of them truly wanted to pick one of them to stand above the others. After he made sure everyone was in agreement, he spoke.

"I was asked for a favor, and then more than one. He explained that I had just returned from a battle, though I had no memory of it....."

The other Guardians stood quietly and listened to Chipper's story. The outcome of their debate was not settled in the slightest.

---

Raganoth:

 

The grand Poison Wyvern, Raganoth the Bleeder, flew over the central territory of Symphony. His nap had been surprisingly pleasant, with no attacks to speak of and a generally quiet atmosphere. Being woken up early would normally have bothered him greatly, but seeing Chipper made it not quite as bad. He was still getting used to the feeling of not being hyper-vigilant at all times of the day, but it was hard to break over two-hundred years of tradition and evolutionary needs.

Raganoth spied a black Manticore on the edge of the territory. He'd seen Chipper kill them in the past, but the Albino Squirrel had never asked for his help before. He was happy to do this for a...friend. Raganoth swooped down from on high, the feral creature not seeing or hearing him coming. A quick breath of poison and he moved on, a yellow stain bubbling behind him.

This world was strange. Everything was so...weak. So fragile. Everything but two he had found. Chipper and his Mana Tree. That tree was a thing of pure glory. Absolutely beautiful, breathtaking even, and its bark was as tough a thing as Raganoth had ever seen. The first time he'd watched Chipper gather fallen leaves and eat them, had been quite the shock. How the Guardian could stomach that amount of magical potential was beyond him. He respected the smaller creature though, and valued his friendship enough to make sure he didn't cause any undue or unnecessary damage while he traveled.

Their "Spar" had been quite fun, and Chipper had seemed to get better at fighting him the longer they went, whereas Raganoth couldn't help but feel like he wasn't improving himself. Sparring was strange. But, a new land, and new experiences, required a new Raganoth. He would do his best to blend in with the local natives.

Raganoth found he had overshot Chipper's territory while lost in his thoughts, but it turned out to be a positive mistake. He spied a very large black manticore next to a golden one that was also unusually big just a mile away. He gained some air so he wouldn't be seen quite so well, then prepared to swoop down on the attack. But, the moment his wings bent and his air resistance began to weaken, the golden one looked up. It saw him, and immediately lifted its tail and ran, leaving the black one behind. That was an unusual amount of intelligence from what he'd seen of these creatures so far. Not that he could talk, as in his formative years, he'd spent much of his time as a hatchling murdering his way around his parents territory.

The Poison Wyvern decided to not chase the golden one, as he was unsure of being able to kill it within an acceptable timeframe. When it dove into the forest at full speed, his chances of success were reduced due to a forest's natural protection from large flying creatures. He would have to destroy the whole forest just to pin it down, and Raganoth was sure that would negatively affect his relationship with his new friend. Still, there was the large black one, and it would help the Guardians to not have to deal with another large manticore. After all, he was here to help.

Raganoth further closed his wings to the wind and picked up speed, dropping like a meteor at the black manticore. The creature stared up at him, hissing and waving its poison-tipped tail behind it. Of course, its poison would be many levels weaker than his own, so he didn't overly worry even if it did get a lucky hit on him.

As he grew closer, moving at a blurring speed, something stabbed into his side and actually pierced through his plated skin. He felt a negligible amount of poison enter his body, and absorbed it, further increasing the strength of his own. Wyvern's were unique creatures across the cosmos. They were all elementally attuned and could absorb new forms of their element for an improvement in overall power. Poison for poison, heat for flame. Raganoth accepted this gift freely as he opened his wings, slowing his descent, and looked to the side.

It was the large golden Manticore, who had seemingly moved through the forest and attacked him in a moment where he couldn't see it. Definitely smarter than the rest, and thus, dangerous. He spat a large glob of poison at the creature, but it dodged behind a tree too quickly to be affected, while the black manticore began climbing a tree of its own, preparing to attack.

Raganoth continued to focus on the golden manticore, spitting again as it peaked its head out from behind a tree. The moment he did so, the black manticore leaped off of the tree it had been climbing, and was already soaring through the air.

Just like he wanted.

Raganoth swung his tail in a perfect arc, catching the black manticore full in the face and shooting it into the ground, cracking it on impact. He dove down quickly, before the golden manticore could attack, and ripped what was left of its head off of its neck with his teeth before swallowing it whole. It didn't taste great, missing all of the seasonings from his planet, but his stomach could still use its filling.

The golden manticore hissed and ran off, likely for good this time.

Raganoth took a few more bites, filling his large stomach, then ambled out of the forest and began flying again. He tried to hold down any indigestion that may flare up, as he'd always found exercise right after a solid meal could cause him problems. The Poison Wyvern smiled when nobody could see him. Not so different from his old world after all.