“After much deliberation, I have made my decision. Florence shall be sentenced not to go and spend time in the dungeon but instead, he shall join the Everguard. May he serve well and the Evertree rest his soul. Case closed.” The judge slammed his gavel down and Florence’s case was sealed, he would be joining the same organization that his parents had.

He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or to squeal, he was about to go to the organization that had played a major part in the death of his parents, a very big part.

Thinking about if further though he found that he didn’t actually mind going, sure his parents had died serving the Everguard, but he had also been brought up with stories of glory about the Everguard. Afterall the Overseer was one of their number, Florence remembered that as a pup he would ask the Overseer about one of his scars and after a while of looking into the fireplace would be rewarded with a tale of battle, or sometimes he would be rewarded with silence, and told to ask him to tell a different story. This still didn’t put Florence off, after all, he was still hearing the stories of glory.

One question he had asked though and that was brought to the fore as he thought about the Everguard was that, why, if the Evertree had been supposedly at peace for centuries did the Everguard still have casualties? He had, of course, asked this wondering about his parents.

The Overseer had looked into the fire, antennae twitching and was about to ask the young pup to tell a different story, then thought better of it and explained; “The Evertree is at peace because of the continual watch of the Everguard. The Everguard eliminates any and all Outside threats and thus brings peace to the Evertree, this, of course, is fraught with danger and is swept under the rug for the most part. After all your not truly at peace if you are continually warring with the Outside are you?”

The Overseer sighed at this point and looked deep into the dying fire, “They are praised as heroes within the Everguard but are often never heard of outside of those circles. Such is the way life, and such is the sacrifice of the Guard.”

Florence thought about these things as he was packing his stuff, taking what little possessions he owned. He took his fathers mace, an old thing, but strong, and he took his mothers shield, a metal shield for strong women as his father used to say.

He also took the root slayer shovel that the Overseer had given him as a gift, “You never know when you might need to dig a hole, or slay a root, or attack a rodent.” Florence had looked up at him with wide and said “really?” The Overseer had answered in the affirmative and Florence had taken the shovel.

Florence, of course, grabbed his necklace with the rat fang and bagged it.

The last thing that he grabbed was several sets of clothes for the long journey that he was about to undertake. It was at least a kilometre from here to the capital and another two kilometres after that, a long, long trail to say the least.

Regardless it was the trail that he would have to journey on, maybe he could ask his uncle though to get him a carriage once he made it to the capital, that should cut down his journey time by quite a while.

After he finished packing he went to say goodbye to the one critter that he actually liked in the Evertree…. He went to say goodbye to the Overseer.

The Overseer was where he always was, Overseeing the cemetery, making sure that no errant spirits escaped and resting the souls that did. An important job, though one that was shunned by the conventional clergy. A bit too rodent-esque for them, the Overseer would say, before admitting that they were in parts right.

“Flo, I see that you have come to say farewell.” The Overseer as always seemed to be able to sense where he was, despite him being directly behind.

“You know I don’t like that nickname!” Florence grumbled, but the Overseer was having none of it, “Flow was your first word, so Flo you shall be. To me at least. You can name yourself whatever once you get to your destination.”

The Ant turned around and looked at Florence this time, before nodding. “Your parents would proud of you, following in their footsteps, I’m proud of you. Yet, I am also worried. The Everguard is not a place for the weak of heart, body, or spirit, and it is also not a place for the foolhardy, the reckless, or the angry.”

The Overseer sighed, “Weak in body and heart you are not. In spirit though, you are still healing. As for the foolhardiness, recklessness, and anger? You have all of those, just like your Father. And your Mother as well for that matter.” The Overseers antennae waved about remembering the past, before continuing;

“The Guard is also a place where you can heal Florence, it can heal your spirit or it can tear it apart, so too can it teach you to temper your vices. For this to happen though you must not let in break you, for that has happened. You must grow.” With this Overseer walked toward his charge and hugged him, his grip strong.

“Remember though. I am here should you need me. I will always be here, at least until I join my wife and children down underneath the dirt.”

Florence hugged him back, he has thought about arguing but had decided that it was true, that he did suffer from all those problems despite his efforts to control himself. He hugged the Overseer once more and then turned away.

It was time for him to move on, it was time for him to take up the mantle that his parents had set for him. It was time for him to join the Everguard.

He touched his heart and said one of the Guard creeds. “My life for the forest may peace reign forever.”