Asperum

Asperum didn't have to search for too long before finding his Charge. It wasn't too near in relation to his home lair, nor did he arrive upon it too early on his Journey, but he felt its pull the moment he arrived at the edge of the forest. He was to guard the forest itself.

And guard he did. The area was large enough for a Guardian to live and feed on, so he set a place for himself and started observing the flora and fauna. He knew he wasn't meant to guard the animals, only the populations, the species, the balance. The same applied to the trees he felled and the ground he dug, the water he drank and the rocks he used for crafting. As such he hunted the local wildlife, but only so much that the balance remained.

However, it wasn't quite enough for him, not enough to cover his basic needs. Every now and then, he would have to hunt further away from his Charge, and sometimes he would meet up with civilization to trade for items or non-perishable food. He rarely stayed just to chat or have fun, but his trips did take him far from the forest at times.

That was his mistake. One fateful time, during a completely regular - if slightly longer - trip of his, something set flame to the forest. Maybe it was a traveler, maybe it was a force of nature, maybe an animal - it could have even been a hot coal from his own campfire. Regardless of the source, the fire spread, and during such a dry season... it burned down the entire forest. Asperum returned less than a full day later, only to find out his Charge had been reduced to smoking ashes and burning stumps. No movement, no life, nothing to save - the animals that had been able to flee were long gone.

He was heartbroken, as any proper Guardian would have been. He spent the next few days in shock and sorrow, burying all the remains he could recognise as having been living things. He considered burying himself, next, when he'd be done paying final respects to his neglected Charge.

Days dragged on into weeks as he spent time cleaning and rearranging the remains of what had been a lush forest. Even after a whole month, then several months, he did not feel ready to leave, aside from going to hunt just enough to stay alive. He was heartbroken, he felt like he had failed everything and everyone, like his life lacked purpose... but he still felt a pull to the area. A feeling that was trying to tell him he still had things to do there.

And so he stayed. He set a miserable base at one of the cleaner locations and spent his days wandering in the barren landscape, among the burnt and dry rubble. It was very uneventful, but the nagging feeling inside him kept him from leaving the area behind. So he stayed, only briefly wandering away for the bare essentials.

It was a lonely sort of existence, with only the wind and occasional rain as his companions. His whole world felt grey and brown and black. So much so, in fact, that when he saw a glimpse of green, his brain almost didn't recognize it. But once his mind broke out of the trance of mindless wandering, he rushed to observe this odd speck of color and found himself looking at a small patch of seedlings.

Shock washed over him. It felt like for the first time in months, if not years, his heart was beating again. There was life in the territory he had believed to be dead! Filled with a newfound sense of responsibility, Asperum guarded this small instance of life, all the while searching for more. And eventually, most of the once ash-covered ground was full of grasses and weeds again, even some saplings and insects finding their way there with time.

And he knew it would be alright again.