Silence pervades the room as I lift my eyes to the person who has apparently saved my life. She appears about my age, her olive skin glistens in the light, green eyes meet my gaze evenly, looking over my gaunt face with a curious expression, searching.

Mustering up my courage I give her a half bow, “Thank you for saving me.”

Arching her eyebrow, she gives me a small nod, “Tarain, Gaz you can leave us now.”

A loud clunk nearly scares my robes off as I whip around out of fear, only to realize that Gaz and Tarain have disappeared from the room. Other than the door, they didn't make any noise, are the ninjas? Also How the hell did someone like Gaz manage that?

Turning back to meet my benefactor I see that Lady Raven has visibly relaxed, no longer carrying the air of judgment and nobility, the look of curiosity still remains. The noise of cracking wood then fills my ears as branches unfurl from her back in a fluid motion, startling me as I fall backward. They lift her up into the air with practiced ease and settle under her, acting as a seat. The branches then flow outward forming a rough-hewn table and booth made out of overlapping wood and vines.

Giggling, she beckons me forward, “Please, come and sit.”

Getting to my feet I brush myself off, a cold sweat pouring down my back. Before I sit I gently touch the wooden table. The wood that makes it up thrums to an unseen beat as I run my hand along it. Lady Raven beams with pride at my awestruck appearance “Isn't it so cool!”.

“Yeah, it is!”, I unconsciously reply before realizing who I am talking to. Panic sets in as I quickly apologize, only to look up to see Lady Raven looking at me with smug satisfaction.

“You can drop any formality Jaxon, it’s just you and me here, no prying eyes to judge your actions, just call me Raven,” she says, holding out a hand.

Slowly nodding my head I take a seat before hesitantly shaking her hand, “I’m Jaxon”, I reply while noticing her hand carries the same, almost unnatural warmth that Tarrain’s did, something that must be normal for residents around here.

“It’s good to see you finally up, you had us all scared”

“If you don’t mind, what exactly happened to me”? I ask, flinching at the reminder of my near death experience.

“What happened, is that you materialized three hundred kilometers outside the city, near the edge of my families’ territory. Your entrance then ripped a hole through most of a hill and several meters of bedrock”

Pausing she sighs, “And to answer your next questions, no I have no clue how that happened, or how you even survived. Almost all recorded cases of The Guardians of Gaia have materialized inside of the Recovery Zone. Out of the roughly one trillion Guardian’s of Gaia that have been sent out, only a few hundred thousand have been cases where they materialized out of the zone.”

Sitting back in the wooden booth I fail to imagine myself shooting out of the sky.

“Okay so that’s strange, but okay I'll buy it. What I really mean is why was my body … and my soul … so damaged when you found me ?”

Raven lets out a small laugh, “Damaged is an interesting term, Is that what you were told ?”

I nod, “That’s how Tarain put it, that it took time to heal my body and stabilize it.”

Raven just rubs her temples at my explanation, “I swear, I love the woman, but Tarain is an airhead at the best of times.”

Flicking her finger a small screen floats in front of my face before opening up to reveal an all too detailed cross-section of my body. Symbols detailing my vitals outline the image, except for one small orb at the center of my body, below where my heart is, no data about the object is shown as I piece through the rest.

“Your body is fine, it’s your soul that caused the issue.” She says a small branch growing out of the table to point at the orb.

“When the investigation team found you, your soul wasn’t just rejecting your body, it was rejecting the mana itself.”

“Mana as we understand it is an ambient force that permeates our Universe”, Raven lifts up her finger, a small green flame igniting on the tip.

“While it isn’t the only force that we humans cultivate, it is still fundamental to how we grow” The flame then absorbs back into her finger before a small flower blooms in its place.

“You, Jaxon are a rare example of a person who possesses a unique soul. It doesn't guarantee you unparalleled talent or power, but the potential could be there if you are lucky. From what data I have been able to gather so far, your soul naturally rejects ambient mana, aura, and even the energy of other souls that surround it.”

“This is a problem because when a Guardian of Gaia materializes, Saint Gaia forges the human body out of the mana in the air as the soul exits her realm.”

“Your body was crafted normally, but your soul rejected the body all the same. It was only when the investigation team cast a healing spell on your body that your soul took root.”

Another screen pops up next to mine, showing a different person, it looks mostly the same except for the colors and energy coursing through them.

“Do you see the difference here now”, she says her tone growing heated. “ I … I think” my voice comes out small, my mind still reeling from all of the new information.

Without noticing my hesitation she continues. “ No mana, no aura, and only the faintest traces of a soul. Your entire existence is a mystery begging to be studied.” her cheeks flush with each word.

Growing nervous, I sense red flags galore as she rambles on.

“Jaxon, I’ll be straight with you, I’m a researcher at heart. I've spent the majority of my life looking into how Gaia managed the miracle that made her a canonized Saint to the empire. I've made progress here and there but nothing substantial."

"Yet finally after all these years of study here you are, a unique case I haven't seen gets dropped onto my doorstep. Jaxon I want to study you!”

Hands pressed onto the table she looks at me with fervor, the curiosity I saw earlier flaring dangerously.

After several seconds of my mind bouncing around my skull, I make the hardest choice of my young life.

“I’m sorry, but no.”

Rejecting a beautiful woman who wanted me.

For several moments she stands there staring at me blankly before she clears her throat and sits back down.

The desire in her eyes still simmers as she looks at me, but her face gives off disapproval, and something else I can't quite make out.

Gathering herself, she speaks, “I’ll try it this way then, I’m prepared to give concessions if you will accept being studied”

“Ooh?” now she has my attention, “concessions” are always a golden word.

“If you allow me to study you I will take you as my ward in training, this will mean that you will not see military service until I deem your training complete, giving you far more preparation than the average soldier.”

My throat grows dry …. “Military Service ?”

“Every Guardian of Gaia is conscripted into the military, didn’t Tarain mention that?”, her thin lips spread into a devilish grin.

“As my ward, that military service would be postponed, and you would be given a higher rank upon completing training under my house’s name. While you train for a decade or two, you would also get the highest facilities and resources I can offer.”

“I can’t hide you away from the realities of this world, but I can help you prepare for them."

The abrupt change in tone catches me off guard, as she leans closer to me.

“I know more about you than you think Jaxon. I know for example, that you are a coward at heart.”

As she sets her hooks one by one, I almost feel the tension in my skin.

“I know how you run away from your responsibility.”

My grip on the wooden table tightens.

“I know how much you pity yourself, hiding alone, away from the world.”

My teeth grind against each other as I look away from her, I don't need this, not now.

Leaning in to whisper exactly what I didn't want to hear she continues, “I know that how you failed them Jaxon, all those drugs to try and keep your problems down didn't work did they?”

Branches coil around me forcing my head up, my eyes lock onto her with equal parts rage and fear.

"You turned your back on them, Jackson, don't fool yourself, you're weak."

The branches tighten around me, cutting off my breath, along with a string of curses.

“With everything I know, what saddens me the most is that you weren't always this pathetic Jaxon, that once upon a time you had the strength to push forward.”

Releasing my body, the branches unravel all at once, dropping me to the ground. The wind knocked out of me I lay on the floor of the lab, anger muted by the sudden pain flowing out with each ragged breath.

Time passes, her words keep crashing into me, it’s the truth. Deep down I know it is but, I just didn't want to face it. Instead I got angry because she told me what I can't say myself. How many times on Earth did I tell myself I would change? It was always an empty promise to make myself feel better. In reality, I because I was too weak to make the effort.

I was too weak to ask my family for help, too weak to stop using the drugs. When my father covered for me when the college found out about the drugs I hated him, blaming him for problems he never caused. I took all my rage out on him because I couldn't accept responsibility, and finally when my family was ripped away I couldn’t help them ... because you guessed it, I was weak!

Taking a deep breath I come back to my senses to see Raven standing over me. My first instinct is to turn away, to cower, but this time I refuse and meet her head on. Gazing into her eyes I expect to see hatred and ridicule, but instead I am greeted with a look of hopeful determination. "Let me rephrase my offer to you." Raven says, holding out her hand to me. "Jaxon Ward … Lend me your strength, and I will offer you my own." I feel myself relax for the first time in a long while as I take her hand.