1. Protectors of the Earth

One of the most dangerous selections in a century was about to begin. 

Ariana sat in a row in the back of the room, just a few seats up from the last picks. She couldn't take her eyes off the dull red phoenix egg on a black velvet pillow at the front of the room, sitting among the other eggs and newborns. Even the sight of it made her face feel cold and damp. If she tried to avert her eyes, her gaze caught Mr.Ward's scarred face, and that was even worse.

The other kids sitting in the back row looked just as nervous as she did. They had all made it into one of the most prestigious Guardian academies in the world-- barely. Since the new students were arranged in order of entrance exam scores, the ones in the front would pick first, and the lowest scoring student would pick last. There were only enough eggs and newborns in the front for everyone-- no more, no less. This selection was special because it was the first time a phoenix egg had been present for a hundred years. And as far as Ariana could see, nobody wanted it. She could only hope one of the highest achieving students would take it before it could go to her. She imagined, with rising terror, being called last, going up to the long table at the front with all eyes watching, and seeing only that dull red orb in front of her. To turn it down she would have to drop out of the academy, and being a Guardian was all she'd ever wanted to do. Her parents had been so proud when she'd been accepted...

She turned in her seat to look behind her. Her parents were there with everyone else's, looking varying degrees of excited and anxious. There was a loud throat clearing at the front, and the room stopped buzzing so the headmaster of Chrusay Guardian Academy could start the ceremony. 

"This is a monumental day for all of you, but it is also significant for the future of our world," the tall man droned. He was dressed in a trim black suit and a matching trim black goatee. His direwolf partner sat at attention behind him, one eye blue, the other black. He began to tell the story that they had all been taught in preparatory school. "Long ago the gods created the creatures of the wildlands." 

Each representative of the four partnerships spoke in turn. Mr. Ward, with his bald, eyebrowless head and scarred face, said, "To his only creation, the phoenix, the Elder God, Doem, gave the power of the sun." His firebird, perched on his shoulder, cocked its head and fixed one deep blue, malignant eye on the audience.

 "The minor gods granted the dragons the power of the four elements," said a woman with a soft, musical voice and long eyelashes. A cobalt blue lizard as long from nose to tail as a human man was curled at her feet, appearing to nap. 

"The fairies were granted the magic that bound the elements together," cried a high, small voice. It emanated from a tiny woman doing back flips in the air. She landed in the palm of a jovial man with a vibrantly colored suit. 

Finally the headmaster spoke again. "To the Speaking Beasts they gave the wisdom of the undying gods, with which they were to rule the earth." The direwolf blinked. "But something happened then that the gods did not intend. A Speaking Ape queen gave birth to a hairless daughter, who was exceptionally clever and learned to walk on two feet like the gods. One of the youngest gods, Enuska, fell in love with her, and she soon gave birth to twins, the first humans. The elder gods were enraged that Enuska had created this new race, and set out to destroy the children. The fairies took pity on the babes, though, and with the help and wisdom of the Beasts, they hid them from the sight of the gods until they became strong enough to stand on their own. The twins, brother and sister, decided to find the phoenix, for he was the only one strong enough to contest the power of Doem. With the help of the dragons, fairies, and Speaking Beasts, they found the phoenix and formed the first contract. In exchange for protection against the wrath of the gods, the humans promised to build homes and roosts for all the wildland creatures, places of learning where the Beasts could share their wisdom, and a human army so that the fairies and dragons could live without fear of invasion from other countries, whose gods were with them. Thus the gods' creatures united against them because they believed humans had a right to exist, and have been able to hold back divine wrath by the magic that came from their creators."

The first name was called, and the class representative, a slim, athletic-looking girl, accepted a fox kit from a Speaking Beast mother with a deep bow. At Chrusay Academy, all of the races sent some their children to be partnered up with a child of another race. The resulting teams, one human and one of either a beast, faerie, phoenix, or dragon, preserved the alliance and grew up to become the Guardians of the world who protected creatures from the wrath of the gods. As she watched the human children be called up one at a time to choose their new partners, she burned with excitement that she was going to be one of the legendary warriors whose names were taught in classrooms all over the country. 

As she watched the dragons' eggs, teeny fairy children, and cute fluffy beast pups disappear one by one, however, she filled again with trepidation. She became more and more afraid as name after name was called, and it wasn't hers. Not the phoenix, please...

Choosing a phoenix egg was a double-edged sword. The most ambitious students did it because with a phoenix as a partner they could become the most powerful warrior in the world; phoenix-fire was the only force that could truly keep the gods at bay. However... Ariana cast a glance at Mr. Ward. He had lived for over a hundred years, and he was still strong as a young man. The pair were undoubtedly the most powerful living force in the world. But Mr. Ward was covered from head to toe in horrible burn scars. Pheonix who lived to old age were sage and calm, but the hatchlings were known to be extremely temperamental. Not a single partner to a phoenix escaped unscathed; in fact, many human children who were impatient with their hatchlings had been burned to death by the firebirds meant to be their allies. Those phoenix who had killed friends in a fit of temper were shamed and lived alone, and for the next hundred years the world was without a phoenix guardian. Historically, the gods' most devastating attacks against the human race had occurred during those times. Whichever human child chose the phoenix egg today would carry the weight of the world, as well as possible impending doom. 

"Ariana of Anves," the headmaster called. She jerked to her feet and walked all the way up the aisle between rows of hundreds of students playing with lively fairies or cradling dragon eggs. The phoenix egg loomed before her, red and menacing, the table around it stark and empty. Surely not... surely not... Mr. Ward's phoenix partner stared hard at her with those predatory eyes. 

But wait! On a far corner of the table there was a lonely dragon egg, smaller than average and a rather ugly grey color. Sagging with relief, she snatched it up, almost forgetting to bow to the dragon's parents before turning back toward her seat. 

"Nique of Enting Village." The children in the room turned in their seats to see the owner of the name stand in the last row. From her vantage point, she could perfectly see the chubby boy's death-white visage. He moved up the aisle as if in a nightmare. Parents and classmates held their breath as one to see if the least competent student in Chrusay Academy would accept a dull red death sentence, or live as a coward, dooming the world to a century without a phoenix Guardian.