#she has a guardain spirit

[kindred-spirit-93]

me asf

listen the Chinese were cooking SO HARD with the “red string of fate”

[glacizata]

Magical Girl AU: Maidens of the Guardian Spire Intro

For those wondering, Maidens of the Guardain Spire is a for fun, WIP involving Characters from all my different stories in a sort of a magical girl setting.  This is the intro, it’s 9643 words (A pretty lengthy read) and there’s a readmore after the context.

In a land ruled by humans, the world was stagnating.  Technology had reached its peak and the humanity had lost its hope of growing, ascending.

Then from the cosmos, shining winged beings brought themselves to humanity.

They gave humanity several gifts.  The gift of knowledge, the gift of protection and most importantly

The gift of Glacara magic.

With the celestial Glacaras’ magic, humanity started to grow once again.

There was creation of magical cities that floated within the air, beautiful temples for the Glacara’s that turned the hostile underground into a place of pride and…

The most destructive war to ever pillage both life and land.

With newfound power, humanity broke out of the frozen stalemate of a war its technological wall kept them in.  Magical weapons turned cities and countries into charred caricatures of their former selves.  The most adept sorcerers brought world powers to their knees and became gods among humans.

The Glacaras were disgusted.  Lamenting what their prior decision had done to humankind, they hunted down every fraction of the magic they gave to humanity.  They massacred witches and sorcerers, annihilated those who were prideful enough to try to fight the Glacaras with their own gift.

After they were done with their purge, the Glacaras left humanity one last gift.

From the ruins of the last Glacara temple rose a gleaming spire.  It’s creation shook the land and sent out a flash that humanity never forgot.

No one knew what the Glacara’s last gift was, until one woman decided to enter the spire.  After braving the traps and celestial beings that guarded the inside of the tower, the woman learned the spire’s secret.

…

In current times, the Glacara’s last gift is known as the Guardian Spire.  It is the place of trial and home for the those who wish to use the Glacara’s magic to defend humanity, either it be from other threats or from itself.  

Witches still run about, those who survived the purge are still abusing the Glacara’s magic of old.

Those who wish to challenge them head to The Guardian Spire, to take the Glacara’s trial.

Like the orange haired girl who stands at the Spire’s base.

The Guardian Spire stood over me, the light coming from it changing colours every second I stared at it.  Its entrance looked like it was inviting me, but that wasn’t my plan.  I don’t think I have the strength to fight through the Spire.  The spirits within would destroy me before I got to the second floor.

I had a different idea, one that felt smart yet risky.  Beside me, tied to an old, eroded stone pillar was a bouquet of balloons big enough to let a girl like me touch the clouds.  No one said that you had to ascend the spire by going through the inside.  If the Glacaras’ had thought of that though… any way I look at it I’m playing with my life.

Behind me was the path that Flora brought me here from, several kilometers from the nearest town.  Flora was one of the Maidens of the Guardian Spire.  She’s one of the bravest girls I know and the one that convinced me to do this.  I’m sure that she fought her way to the top, but unlike her, even if there’s nothing to stop me on my flight to the summit, I don’t think I have the courage to be one of the Spire’s Maidens.

I took a deep breath and stared at the red skin of one of the round balloons.  It’s all or nothing.  If I turn away, I’ll be walking to a land that has no place for me, and if I go, there’s either death or a new destiny.

With one last deep exhale, I grabbed the balloons from the pillar and started my rise to the top.  I tightened the loop of ribbon that was around the pillar around my wrist; nothing would be more embarrassing than dying to my own grip.

The flight seemed peaceful at first.  I got close to the spire and ran my free hand on its walls.  It looked more crystal like, but it felt like cool, marble countertops.  I wonder if Glacaras ever felt smooth marble before?  The ground was getting farther away, but I hadn’t even reach the halfway point of the spire.  I kicked my feet off against the Spire’s wall, sending myself away in the sounds of bumping balloons and my own laughter.  This mini journey to the top of the Spire was kinda fun.

As I toyed with the strings of my balloons, the Spire grabbed my attention.  A large panel of the spire wall flashed a blue light before fading into nothing, showing the room that was on the other side.  Sitting in room was a glowing, cyan form of a woman.  That’s a spirit, which Flora said protected the Spire from attackers and trial goers alike.  In front of the cyan spirit was a bow, coloured the same colour as her.  

I started to sweat.  The idea of flying by with fragile balloons seemed so much more dumber now.  The spirit picked up the bow and strolled over to the edge of the floor.  She grabbed the air with her free hand, creating a gleaming cyan arrow.  That way she brought the arrow to the bow and shot it off would have been mesmerizing if she hadn’t been trying to kill me.  After the first arrow flew past me, I started to flail my arms and legs, hoping to shift myself to another side of the Spire.  I drifted myself out of the way of another arrow, my heart racing after seeing how close that one was to my neck.  The spirit paused.  She just stared as I was starting to float out of her sights.  I thought I was clear until an arrow flew by my side and right into one of my balloons.

The sound of a balloon popping had never startled me more than in that moment.  I was still rising without it though, going overboard with the amount of them turned out to be a good idea.  By now I was out of the range of that Spirit, but as one wall reappeared, another revealed my next opponent.

A pink spirit with long, puffy hair sat on a couch, a magical rifle sitting on her lap.  I could feel my heart fall to my feet.  The bow was scary, but now a gun!  I was lucky enough to not be noticed by the spirit for a few seconds before I caught her interest and she started to wave at me.  I waved back, her rosy smile lifted my heart back up as if they were flying with balloons as well.  She seemed playful enough.  We made faces at each other until she just stopped.  The playful spirit froze with her hand up to her mouth before fumbling with her rifle and firing off several shots of pink light into my balloons.  

“Hey!”  A falling ribbon draped itself over my face, the leftovers of the burst balloon tickling my nose.  The spirit didn’t respond, but instead stared at the ground with a glum look on her face.  She tried to bring her rifle up again, although slowly.  As sorry as she looked, all I wanted to do was get to the top and away from her.  I started to round the corner, catching a glimpse of the pink spirit’s sad wave.  

Around three balloons were lost from her.  I wasn’t going up as fast as before, which could bring more problems if I run into another spirit.  The Spire at least seemed like it was giving me a break, its walls stayed where they were and I could almost see the summit.   Someone stood at the top of the spire, with long dark hair that hid their face against the falling sun and a gown that hugged close to the body.  They acted as if they were tossing something in the air, even though I saw nothing.

I didn’t know what they had planned, but I feel sorry for my balloons already.  A rainbow of bright beams surrounded their tossing hand, creating a knife whose brightness made itself known to me.  I flapped my arms like a sugar-filled bird before either me or my balloons were brought to an end.  There was no point though, as they juggled the knife a few more times and then sent it my way.  As a last resort, I flapped my way to the tower wall, hoping to dodge the knife or at least cause less of my balloons to pop.  The knife tore through a couple of balloons before exploding into a rainbow of bursting light that turned the rest of my balloons to shreds.  

I tried to grab the wall of the Spire, but there was nowhere to grab.  In the end, all I was doing was rubbing my hands against its walls in my panic.  My heart and soul was falling faster than my body, with any sense of hope leaving me when that knife exploded.  

It wasn’t until I crashed through one of the Spire’s fake walls into a room that my hope came back.  The one thing that brought me so much fear before was now what saved me, huh.  There was no spirit here luckily, just a door, a staircase and some pain in both my back and arm.  I was frozen in a flurry of emotions.

I could have died.  I was about to die.  If I don’t get up this tower, I’m probably going to die.  What would I tell Evie… No, it’s not the time to panic, I was given another chance.  It’s hard to say how far I fell, but all I know is that my body didn’t like the landing.  I wanted to run up those stairs so badly, but all I could do is walk.  One aching leg in front of another, I can’t fail now.  I untied the ribbon holding all of my burst balloons, they did what they could, but now they’re weighing me down.  Past those stairs was another spiritless room.  Like the Spire’s outside, the rooms on the inside were always changing colours, which was starting to hurt my eyes at this point.  

The room’s weren’t that interesting, with only doors, stairs and the occasional thing of furniture in this maze of marble countertop floors.  I could hear running below me, oh no, do the spirits know I’m inside now?  Adrenaline flowed through me while I sprinted through my pain.  I found another staircase that brought me closer to my goal.  There were no windows and I couldn’t find a way to make the walls vanish, so there was no way to judge how close I was.  

Footsteps surrounded me both above and below.  I was going to run into a spirit again eventually, but I can’t float away this time.  

Each room was straight forward, no tricks, but more confusion from their similarity. There wasn’t much I could do but run, put my ear up to the next door, and hope to find no spirits.  This was true until I stepped into the next room.

I opened the door to a straight path to the next staircase.  It was relieving at first, but that feeling was taken away from me when the floor started to glow.  Like the walls, parts of the floor faded away, leaving me a thin, winding path to the staircase.  I took my time, falling here would be a point of no return, especially since I could spot a visitor on the floor below.  The pink spirit was back, her rifle included.  Running wasn’t an option for me, although this time was due to the path.  

This whole situation felt stacked against me, but I can’t give up now, the summit’s so close.  I made my way along the path in a steady pace, falling would mean I would have to go through the last floor again with a spirit on my trail.  Miss pink wasn’t doing anything yet, she seemed to hesitate before, so maybe she’s taking it easy on me.  I do the one thing that I shouldn’t do and look down at the pink spirit, who was messing with the switches on her rifle.  It took her a few seconds, those seconds that I definitely needed, before she stared up at me and waved that same happy wave she gave me before.  She was so friendly for someone who’s about to shoot at me.  Her rifle was ready; she fired off a few shots as I winded above her.  At first I thought she was being nice as all of her shots hit the ceiling, I was going to thank her until I saw the bubbles expanding from where they hit.  

There were three bubbles, one at the entrance, and one on each of the side walls.  Their expansion covered parts of the path where I needed to go, and it wasn’t long until I ended up smushed between the bright pink goo.  There was only two places I could go, down to Miss Pink or to the exit.  That’s it!  Even though the path is blocked, these bubbles could bring me to the stairs.  When it reached me, I grappled onto the one of the bubbles, hoping that they aren’t as fragile as bubbles normally are.  I looked at my exit behind me as it pushed me along.  The other bubbles started to close in, giving me a claustrophobic feel between the three.  When I got close enough, I pushed myself off the bubble, with its elasticity throwing me to the stairs.  Even though it was another harsh landing, I’m taking what I can at this point.

I almost headed up the stairs, only stopping to wave to the pink spirit through the bubble’s skin.  “Thank you.”  She smiled and nodded back.

The next floor only seemed to be a long hallway, with a red spirit standing at the other end.  In her hands was a sheathed sword, which she unsheathed before throwing the scabbard away.  Like everything else in this spire, the scabbard faded into nothing when it hit the ground.

Flora had warned me about this, the spirit on the floor before the summit.  She told me not to worry about it, since the whole balloon plan, but now I’m starting to feel thankful for her warning.  From what she told me, the spirit’s name is Lynn, the combat trainer and the final trial of the Guardian Spire.  Kind of makes me wish that I brought along a weapon, although it wouldn’t help; I don’t have the skills or will to hurt someone enough to use a weapon.

Lynn held the curved blade in her right hand, with her using her left to punch a panel on the wall.  Banners of light fell from the ceiling on both sides, forming into matter and showing black silhouettes of different people on coloured backgrounds.  I could actually recognize Lynn’s form on one of the red banners, are these silhouettes of the spirits?  Along with the banners, a long carpet formed between me and Lynn, with it starting at my feet and ending at hers.  Pairs of miniature Guardian Spires rose from the floor between us, dotting the hallway.  As far away as she was, Lynn stood her ground, not moving any closer or farther.

I started to walk towards her, yet she still stood.  When I walked between the first pair of Spires, a orange flame appeared above them and in the distance, a red flame appeared above the ones closest to Lynn… And then she started to approach.  I stopped.  This was it!  The final trial.  I was excited, but not in a good way, more so in a way that paralyzes you, leaving you to only be able to shiver.  Lynn kept walking until she reached the red flames.

I let out a sigh of relief.  It seemed like she can only go as far as I do, meaning I’m safe until I reach the middle.  I glanced back from where I came; the door was gone, so I didn’t have to deal with any other spirits, only Lynn… and maybe that person who threw that knife at me, but I didn’t want to think about her.  I continued along, taking deep breaths along the way to calm my nerves.  Seeing Lynn’s eyes focused entirely on me, along with her stance changing into a more battle ready one, both hands on the blade and about to strike, made my heart beat ever so faster.  She was ready and I was not.  

No matter how I passed the spires, the flames lit themselves and Lynn continued.  There’s no outsmarting it.  I stopped when there was only one pair of spires before the middle of the hall.  This was the last point where I can plan anything, past this is the trial.  What could I plan though, it’s not like I could convince her not to slice me up, or could I?  The spirits do have emotions, Miss pink made that clear, but Lynn doesn’t look like the soft type.

“Um… Hello!”  This is my only shot though.  “I know you’re supposed to challenge me right now, with that sword and all.”  I could hear the shaking in my voice, Lynn’s not going to be convinced by this.  “You’re Lynn… Flora told me your name.”  She kept her stance.  “I’m going to admit something here.  I’m not here to fight.”  Lynn’s body didn’t move, but I could see her eyes lose some of their focus.  She was listening.  “That would probably make me a bad guardian maiden though, wouldn’t it? “  Back to full focus, was I even having an effect on her?  “I don’t fight, I do have something… I don’t know what it is, but it has guided me up this tower so far.  Through the fall and fear, I’m still here at the last stretch of the trial.  Miss Lynn,” she seemed about ready to strike, “my only option is to pass by you… If I make it, I don’t know, but the only thing I could do is try.”  Pouring my heart out only seemed to cause Lynn to be even more ready to shut me up, but I may as well listen to my own words.

I stepped behind the boundary between safety and the trial, nowhere to go but forwards.  Lynn was more than ready, which could make this the last step I make.  With a breath, I dash past the spires, the orange flames flaring up beside me.  Lynn didn’t react, but simply stood her ground.  I kept going, stopping will only give her a chance to attack.  Our eyes were locked and the moment had almost come.  I figure I would jump around to avoid her, the most sensible thing to do.  The pain in my legs vanished, my whole body felt like it knew this was all or nothing.  I got ready to hop around until… She sheathed her sword.  Lynn brought her blade to her hip, the scabbard reforming around it when she did.

“Um… What are you doing?”  I stopped at the next pair of spires and just stared.  Lynn didn’t speak, which felt like it was more out of principle than because spirits can’t talk.  She passed by me, my gaze locking onto her as she approached and pressed the button at the stair end of the hall.  The hall reverted to it’s boring, eye hurting state, and Lynn gestured me towards the staircase.  I was confused.  Did I pass the last trial or did I fail it?  Maybe I convinced her not to fight me?  I guess it doesn’t matter, I’m finished the last trial.  Lynn gave me a slow nod as I passed by her.

“I’m hopefully gonna see you again soon.”  She closed her eyes, and I made my way up the stairs.

The nearly night sky was a well welcomed sight.  The Spire’s shining light showed a new beauty in the darkness of night, which was hard to appreciate from inside the spire.  When I reached the top, I could see a woman, tall with long purple hair that covered one eye wearing a tight fitting violet gown with the emblem of a star surrounded by a grand wing printed on the side.  She stood in front of a fountain, whose stone was made of white and black stone that danced around between the two shades in a graceful pattern.  Light flowed through the fountain instead of water, creating a bright aura around it.

The woman started to approach me.  “It’s good to see our balloon heroine made it.  I was worried about you.  That fall did look nasty and I was starting to think that you would be our newest spirit.”  

“Wait… Were you the one that threw that knife at me?”  That was the only thought that came to my mind after she said that.

“If it calms you heart, I did feel bad for doing that.  I don’t usually participate in the trials, but I couldn’t have you just float up here like that.  A bit too easy in my opinion.”  She went to pinch my cheek but I backed away.  “Your death wasn’t what I wanted, only for you to go through the Spire.”

“So does that mean I failed?”  I looked down at my feet.  It would be crushing to have been told that all I went through didn’t matter.

She lifted my chin up with a smile on her face.  “No, you still faced the adversities of the Spire, so in my books, you passed.”

“So I’m a Guardian Maiden now?”  She took her hand off my face and backed away.

“Nearly.  You have one more trial, a trial of heart, a trial of judgement.”  She moved to the side and her hands pointed to the fountain.  

On the fountain’s top was a shining being, although not like the spirits who looked like they were made from light, but more as if whatever that was and the glimmering aura that surrounded them were one.  The being had the shape of a young woman with skin made of a pale yellow and pink hair that flowed out and around her.  She wore a dress that was both visible yet looked as if it was melding with her skin, as if it was made of light, magic and her own life.  Four wings graced the strange being’s back, two pink, two yellow, and as brilliant as the being herself.  She opened her eyes and looked on at me.

“Her name is Alice.”  The purple haired woman said.  “She’s the patron Glacara of the Guardian Spire, and she will be judging you.”

Thats… That’s a Glacara, huh.  In front of me was one of the powerful beings that gave us magic and took it away just as fast.  I should of expected for there to be a Glacara here, but that doesn’t make me feel any more ready.  Also she’s going to be judging me, what’s going to happen if she doesn’t like me?

The storm of thoughts in my mind paralyzed me where I stood.  I need to make a good impression, but what do I do when I’m faced by a celestial god!  Should I bow?  Kneel?  It feels like what I should do, but it also feels wrong.  

The purple haired woman grabbed my arm and lifted me up when I was about to fall to my knees.  “You seem confused… or scared, your face makes it hard to tell.  I can bring you to Alice if you can’t get yourself there.”  

“That would be nice Miss…”  Exhaustion from the trials mixed with my stress, which made my voice sound quiet.  I couldn’t faint here.

“Oh, you don’t have to be formal.  My name is Rosalynn.”  She grabbed my arm and walked me to the fountain.  To my surprise, the fountain actually had water in it at the bottom.  The water was perfectly still, making it look more like a mirror that reflected Alice’s Glacara grace.  Rosalynn helped me stand and look up to Alice.

“Madam Alice, we have another who has survived the Spire’s trials and awaits your judgement.”

“She more looks like she’s waiting for a nap.”  My head jolted up at Alice when she said that.  Both her arms and legs were crossed as she sat at the fountain’s top, with a smirk on her face that I didn’t expect to see on a Glacara.

“Um, sorry.  It’s just that this whole situation has drained most of everything out of me, and being judged by a Glacara doesn’t help with my nerves.”

“I guess I can understand.  You went through several floors of hell and that scream when Rosy threw that knife at you tore a tiny hole in my heart.  The possibility of that all going to waste must be the highest point on the “this was a mistake” spire that rests on your soul, huh?”  Alice leaned towards me.  I was expecting a Glacara to be more formal in her speech, but this could make it easier to talk to her at least.

“I wouldn’t describe it like that…”

Alice took a breath.  “So be it.  No matter how this all looks, it’s time for judgement.  Put your hands in a nice soak in the fountain, then I’ll tell Rosy if she should throw you off the spire.”

Rosalynn turned her head to me, “I’ll escort you down, we don’t toss people off the Spire.”

I let myself out of Rosalynn’s arms and kneeled in front of my fountain, dipping my hands into its waters.  Waves formed the shape of stars around my fingertips when they touched the water’s surface.  The soreness from the trials started to leave my body.  A feeling of warmth and comfort made its way into my fingertips and spread throughout me.  My mind nodded off and created a mythic hot spring around me that cured my wounds and woes.  A place of comfort and healing that I never wanted to leave…

“Do you feel better Gem?”  Alice snapped me out of my dreaming.  Her voice sounded more gentle than before.  “Sorry if I interrupted your well needed rest, but you should know that I’m done with your judgement.”

“That’s all I needed to do?”  I wanted to scratch my head, but my fingers refused to leave the water.

“Indeed.”  Alice seemed to have a newfound grace that she didn’t have before.  “Do not underestimate a Glacara’s magic, you should know that.”

“Sorry!”

“It is fine.”  She giggled.  “Now, you came here for your own reasons.  A feeling of being lost, of wanting to be a help more than a burden.  Both selfish, like the wish for adventure, and caring, like to give the one you care the most about a less stressful world.”

“Ah…”

“I have seen through your heart and soul Gem, your questions and thoughts are part of me at this moment.”  I flinched and fell backwards, ripping my hands out of the fountain.  “You do not have a hostile soul, there is no part of you that wishes to fight and harm others.  Is that correct?”

“Yes.”  While my body wasn’t sore anymore, all I could feel in my head was a feeling of dizziness, as if some cord was yanked out in my head.

“If you were to become a Guardian Maiden, would you be willing to fight others?”  

“Somewhat?”  My head was starting to get back together.  What did Alice do to me?

“Do not worry, not all of the Glacara’s guardians fight head on with their enemies, others support and protect their allies and those around them.”

“Why are you asking me this, weren't you just in my mind?”  

“I’m telling you all this because… You would make a wonderful Guardian Maiden.”  I simply stared at Alice, woozy from both excitement and from having a Glacara poking through my mind.

“Are you saying that I’m a Guardian Maiden now?”

“That’s what I just said!”  Her loud, informal voice came back.

From behind me, I could hear Rosalynn clapping.  “Congratulations Gem, it’s always nice to have another member.”  She stopped clapping and walked closer to the fountain.  “Should we signal the others and tell them the good news.”  

“Aw, yeah, of course!  New maiden parties are always the best.”  Alice’s snapped her fingers before staring out into the distance.  “That should wake any of the sleepy girls up, and notify those that are out in the field.”  Then her gaze went back to me.  “Now Gem, when you become a Glacara Guardian, or Guardian Maiden in this case, you get a couple of neat, magical gifts.”

“To be more exact, you gain a link to the Spire and a your own magical item to help you as a Guardian Maiden.”  Rosalynn added.

“Let’s start with the the Spire Link.”  Alice rubbed her hands together and smiled down at me.  “It’s something you wear that lets Rosy and I tell you when stuff’s going down, along with being what gives you your defence and a cutesy outfit.”

“Okay?”  I scratched at my head.  We get supplied with a cute outfit, makes some sense, most of the Guardian Maidens I’ve seen definitely stood out compared to everyone else.

“It’s usually some sort of accessory or trinket, like a locket, ring or a rubix cube if you’re into that.  Just make sure it’s something you can easily see, I still remember when Ce thought a choker as a link was a good idea.  Trying to signal her felt like some being was trying to punish me…”

“Pardon Alice’s tangent.  Choose whatever you feel Gem, as long as it fits that criteria.”  Rosalynn piped up, which made her feel like Alice’s unnecessary translator.

I stared at my reflection in the fountain’s mirror-like water, my star hair clip felt more visible than normal against my bright orange hair.

“I do have this hair cl…”

“If it’s on your head, then it’s immediately disqualified from being your link.”  Alice sighed.  “I’m worried about my decision to make you a Guardian Maiden if you don’t know what ‘easily visible’ means.”

“Well, then could you turn it into something that does work, like a necklace.  It’s just that it’s important to me.”  I took the hair clip out of my hair and held it in my hands.  The star was a bit over sized for what would normally be on a hair clip, which was made it stand out.  

“I can do that, if you don’t mind throwing it into the fountain.”  With one more glance at the hair pin, I closed my eyes and tossed it into the fountain.  “Give me a few more seconds and… Your Spire Link is made!”  I opened my eyes to Alice upside down on the fountain, a silver necklace with my grey star swaying ever so slightly in her hands.  I leaped up and grabbed it from the Glacara’s hand, although I almost landed in the water doing that.  

“You know that stuff’s not for swimming in.  Watch yourself.” Alice brought herself upright on the fountain.  “Ignoring that though, try your link on, and watch the Glacara magic at work.”  I put the necklace over my head and around my neck.  Feeling it, the star seemed mostly the same, but yet, a bit foreign at the same time.  It felt less like plastic, but instead, it was something different yet stronger.  

It wasn’t until it glowed a bright orange that it really showed it’s differences.

“And there it is!”  Alice gave some jazz hands at the kind of disappointing display.

“While it isn’t that spectacular, this light will be how we signal you, as well as tell you about nearby threats and magic.”  Rosalynn stared at my link before looking back at me.

“Rosy, do you have to keep undercutting me like that, especially around the new Maiden?”

“Well, maybe if you were a little less brash, Rosalynn wouldn’t need to.”  The sounds of footsteps, along with a new voice came from behind me.  “Also, it looks like we have a new Maiden joining us.  That’s why you signaled us, right?”

“Yeah.”  Alice gestured towards both me and the other Maiden.  “Gem, meet our gothic extraordinaire, also known as the reason for for the “your link must be visible” rule, Catherine!”

Catherine walked to my side, a tall girl with long black hair that was tied up in a ponytail with a bright red bow.  She wore a crimson dress, covered with black ribbons, lace and bows, with a large bow that made its home at the dress’s middle, its ribbon wrapping around Catherine’s waist.  A black heart adorned the dress’s neckline, with others appearing at the bottom of the dress and on a crimson garment that wrapped around her wrist.  On her forehead was one of those masquerade party masks, sharing the crimson with black lace look with her dress.  At her side was a thin sword in a black and gold scabbard.  

“Please stop bringing that up, especially around the new Maiden.”

“If it makes you feel better, the newbie over here wanted to make her’s a hair clip.”  Alice laughed, but no one joined her, probably for my sake.

“You did say that this came with a costume or something?”   I decided to change the topic.

“It used to come with a default Guardian Maiden outfit, but an incident happened where someone threw their link off the Spire after having a fit about the outfit, and now if you want your outfit, you have to get it made by the tailor, Pura.”  They have a tailor here?  I think I might of underestimated how much they took this outfit stuff seriously.  “Let’s do that later though.  It’s more important to give you the thing that lets you do the cool magical stuff, then what you’re wearing while you do the cool magical stuff.”

“It’s time to choose what you want as your Glacara Gift Gem.  Whatever you dream of can become your mystical reality.  Take your time.”  Rosalynn gave me an comforting pat on the back.

“Anything… and this is where my magic comes from, right?”

“Yes, and if need an example, this is my Glacara Gift.”  Catherine chimed in before unscheathing her sword, a black rapier with gold streaks with a guard that danced around the handle.  It was fancy, but I’m not really a sword person.  “It doesn’t have to be a weapon of course.  What you want is your choice.”

“This feels like a big decision that I wasn’t ready for.  I don’t know what I want.”  I scratched at my head.  Anything I want is a lot of choices…

“You know what ,” Catherine put her sword back and put her hand on my shoulder, “let’s start with what you like.  You’re going to be using your gift for a long time after all.”

“Well, I do like to draw.”  I almost teared up when I said that.  All my sketchbooks were left at home with Evie when I left… I wonder how she’s doing.

“Oh, a fellow artist.”  Ce giggled then smiled.  “A creative gift sounds like it could be both fun and useful.”

“You’re thinking of something artsy, huh.”  Alice laid down on top of the fountain, looking down at me.  “Dip your fingers in and maybe if we put our minds together, we can make something good.”  Although I was hesitant, I dipped my fingers in the fountain’s waters.  Like before, the feeling of calm entered my body, bringing it to its own heaven.  “And done!”  The warm feeling left all at once.  

“What... just happened?  What’s with this water?”  I said while I took my fingers out of the fountain again.

“That’s not the water doing that to you, that’s the embrace of a Glacara’s soul against your own.  Feels nice, doesn’t it?” Alice wrapped her arms around herself, mimicking a hug.  “Possibly uncomfortable soul hugging aside, here’s your maiden day present.”  She tossed me down what looked like an pen.  I fumbled it a bit, but caught it in the end.  The pen had a fancy looking body, which seemed like a mix between a calligraphy pen and a drawing pen.  It was bigger than a normal pen but not by much, and it was a vibrant rainbow colour other than the gold tip and a glass panel that held rainbow ink inside.  Like the pen’s body, the tip also looked off, with the appearance of a calligraphy tip that was made more fanciful in design, but more useless for actual calligraphy.  Although I shouldn’t judge, it’s magical after all.

“So what does it do?”

“I dug the idea out of your subconscious, you should…”  Alice put her hands up to her face and took a deep breath.  “I understand I said something stupid there, so I’m sorry.  It’s a magical pen, it should be self-explanatory.  You draw stuff, it exists, watch your ink, try it out.”  

I stopped examining the pen and decided to see what it can do, my hand going from holding the pen’s end to holding it as if I was ready to draw.  What to draw though…  I waved the pen about, but nothing came out.  Maybe I need paper.

“Hey Gem!”  I was startled by the voice behind me, with my hand swinging towards the voice due to me losing my balance.  It was Flora… with a rainbow ribbon draped over her head.  At least the pen works.  She pulled the ribbon off her head and laughed.  “I can see you got your gift but you look no different.  Just got up here?”  Flora dropped the ribbon into my hands, its colourful fabric melted into ink that flew back into the pen.  While I was distracted by the flow of the ink. Flora grabbed me into nearly crushing hug.  “So, how far did those balloons take you?”

“Not far enough for her.”  Rosalynn replied with the back of her hand covering a grin.

“Well, you made it up here at least.”  Flora looked away with a concerning face.  “I was worried that I should have told you to go through the normal way, then the spirits would at most knock you out, and not have to shoot you down to your death.  Sorry.”  She brought her sight back up and smiled, “Seeing you up here is a relief though.”

“So, what to do now Gem?”  Alice laid down on top of the fountain with her face resting in her hands.  Relaxed and casual, especially for a deity-like being.  “You want to wait for everyone else, or do you want to see Pura so you can wear something that’s not a torn sweater?”  That kind of struck a nerve.  The clothes on my back are my only mementos of home; they may be damaged, but they’re still mine.  

“I can bring you to pura, he’s a bit out of the way, and it gives me a chance to connect to my new teammate.”  Flora pulled me away against my will, a smile on her face with a dash of worry.

Flora found me on the streets a day or so after I ran from Evie.  I can remember when she dropped out of high school to train to become a Guardian Maiden.  People mocked her, expecting to see her either dead or working at a dead end job in her future. Yet, here she is, with a green dress that danced like petals in the wind and a grand longsword on her back.  She’s kind of stunning to be honest.

We walked down into the spire, the color shifting walls were causing my eyes to ache again.  

“Yeah, the walls are kind of painful to look at.  We don’t have to worry about that now, watch this.”  Flora touched the pink flower on the cuff of her sleeve.  The room pulsed white along it’s walls before fading to the green of a midnight forest, with a ceiling that mimicked the night sky and a path of pink flowers in front of us.  “Each room of the Spire acts kinda like a blank slate and your link can make them into whatever you want.”  It’s amazing being exposed to all this magic, especially when I’m able to use it.  I took a hold of my star necklace and imagined an… um… Oh, let’s go with cosy cabin hallway.  The room pulsed again, its walls turning to logs with light from the candles that hung on the wall that gave the room a nice, natural brightness.

“You’re getting a hang of somethings.  Learning what your link can do is a good start.”  Flora walked on to the door at the end of the hallway.  “Still we shouldn’t hang around and leave Pura waiting.”  

Together, we headed through the spire.  What was a maze of blinding rooms became tests of our imaginations.  It was fun having little contests in each room of who can make a better design.  Between our little bouts, Flora and I would talk about what I should expect.

“So, there’s you, me, and Ce.  Are there any other Glacara Guardians?”

Flora nodded.  “Yeah, there’s also Naomi and Ami.  Naomi seems a bit off putting at first, but I feel that you two will get along.”

“What about Ami?”

“Ami’s a bit strange in her… existence.  Still a wonderful person.”  It’s hard to tell what she meant by her ‘existence’ but I guess that will wait til I meet her.

We ran into spirits every now and then.  A light blue spirit in a noble looking outfit, the sweet pink spirit, who I was told was named Peri, and eventually Lynn.

“That’s our combat teacher.”  Flora said after we passed by Lynn.

“So, we’re trained by a spirit?”  I thought if anyone were to be in charge of our training, it would be Alice.

“She may be a spirit now, but I heard that she was the Glacara Guardians best swordswoman when she was still alive.  I can tell you that Lynn is still very good with a blade… and that she hates people who act too cocky.”  An uneasy smile appeared on Flora’s face

“Are you saying that she ‘was’ a Guardian Maiden?  Wait, does that mean that if I die, I’ll become a glowy spire servant?”

“Maybe, that’s something you would have to ask Alice.  I don’t know much about how spirits came to be.”  Flora scratched at her head.  Spirits, I guess the name makes sense now.  So they used to be Glacara Guardians, kind of makes me rethink what I’m doing.

Flora guided me to a wall, which hid a door that she revealed using her link.  “Pura’s ahead.  Don’t worry, he’s a nice Glacara, well, nicer than Alice.”  Wait, Pura’s a Glacara?  I should have expected that there would be more than one Glacara here, but not one that worked as a costume designer.

“He’s a Glacara?”

“Well, he looks human, but Alice says otherwise.  She could be messing with us though.”  I’ve only met Alice today, and I still agree with Flora.  I went to open the door, not knowing to expect a graceful being of the stars or a human.  Flora gave me a wave as I entered inside.

A pink and white swirl pattern covered the walls of the room, and across from the door was someone who looked pretty human.  Mannequins stood on one side of the room, some wearing cute dresses as they stared at the other end of the room.  A large pink chest with a pair of scissors on top of it stood against the end of a bed.  Pura sat on a cushioned stool, focused on whatever her was doing at his desk.  

“Hello?”  Pura tilted his head to the side, his short pink hair flicking to the side, before he spun around to face me.

“My, it’s nice to see we have a new face.  Oh!  Do we have a new maiden?”  Pura clapped his hands and smiled.  His voice was soft, with a bit of a melody.  It had a warmth that comforted and calmed the nerves.  “I’m Pura!  What’s your name Miss new maiden?”  Definitely a lot more polite than Alice.

“Yup, I’m the new maiden.  The name’s Gem.”  I strolled further into the room, with Pura meeting me halfway.

“Your name is Gem?  Then you must be a worthwhile girl to have such a precious name.”  Is he flirting with me?  I’m not one to date human boys, much less Glacara ones.

“So do you make the outfits?”  Pura nodded.

“I’m the tailor of the Guardian Spire, the one who will create the outfit that cloaks you in the style of your heart and soul.  Can I see your link?”  He held his hand out, a still smile holding its place on his face.  I hesitated giving it to him, I didn’t want anything to happen to it.  He let me take my time though, and eventually I placed it in his hand.  “You’re acting cautious.  I didn’t think I was that off putting?”  Really, Pura wasn’t off putting at all, if anything, how he dressed made him look kinda precious.  A white shirt with an absurdly large pink bow and frills, with matching white pants.  His Pastel pink hair twitched as he stared on at me.

“No, you’re fine”  I scratched the back of my head.  “That star is just important to me.”

“I understand.”  His pink eyes glanced over at me, before holding up the link in the air.  “Most Guardian Maidens have their link close to their heart, and it’s not because Alice loses her mind when the link is on their head.”  He chuckled.  “Jokes aside, your star is safe in my hands Miss Gem.”  He pressed my link against his chest and grabbed my hand.

“I’m sorry but..”   A feeling like that of a sweet mist, tasting like vanilla and smelling just as nice flowed through me.  It reminded me of the feeling from Alice’s fountain, but with its own flavor.  

“I’m not flirting with you Miss Gem, don’t worry.  I just need to know what kind of outfit will fit the maiden right in front of me.”  The pink chest opened on its own, fabric and ribbons flying out and circling the two of us.  “Besides, I’m taken.”  He let go of my hand and backed away.  Before I could get myself together from having a glacara poking around my soul, the fabric and ribbons wrapped around me, trapping me in a cocoon of cloth.

“Hey!, Pura, what are you doing?”  I pushed against the fabric walls, but they didn’t give.

“Don’t worry, It’s just part of the sewing process.”  I took a fashion class in school, I know that this isn’t how sewing works!  Glowing pink sewing needles pierced through the cocoon, stabbing through my torso.  I screamed at first until I realized that the needles didn’t hurt.  They felt odd though, like as if a dot of bright sunlight was shining upon where they struck.  Needles upon needles stuck into me, turning me into a celestial pin cushion.  Now I’m debating if I knew what I signed up for.  The needles’ glow intensified and after a few seconds of blinding me, they exploded into a light that blew the cocoon into nothing.

“Voila, your outfit is done Miss Gem!”  Pura smiled at me with his hands on his chest.  With his finger, he drew a rectangle in the air, creating a floating mirror that showed my new look.

A frilly, gray coat with star shaped buttons covered over a dress that wasn’t there before.  The dress was separated into two pieces by a rainbow ribbon and bow.  The lower half puffed out, thanks to the petticoat underneath, with blotches of paint moving through the white fabric as if it was water.  A long, starry scarf wrapped around my neck, and a gray beret made itself a home on my head.  White and orange striped stockings covered my legs, which headed down into a pair of soft, white boots with an orange bow wrapped around it.

“Wow!”  I turned myself to look at Pura’s handiwork.  Normally, I wear whatever feels comfy and fun, but this was a hell of a transformation.  “I love it!  Thank you Pura”  

“I only made it into reality Miss Gem, it was you who designed it.  My, do you look like an artist of wonder and grace.”  I do have to admit, I could see myself blushing in the mirror, although I then realized something.  

“So… what happened to my normal clothes?”  Pura held out my link, which let out an orange glow.  The glow spread from the link to my outfit, nearly enveloping me in it entirely. With noise of a faint pop, my clothes turned back to normal, the rest of the light buzzing around like fireflies before flickering out.

“You were wearing them the whole time, Miss Gem.”  He tossed the link to me, which I fumbled with until it landed in my hands.  “Whenever you want, you can will your Guardian Maiden form from your link.”  I put on my star necklace and decide to try it out.  My focus goes into the link, the thoughts of my new destiny and helping those hurt by witches such as Evie made the light come back over the link.  It danced around me, a storm of orange shooting stars that become one with me until my cutesy artist clothes popped back into existence.

“Wow.  I don’t have much else to say.”

“I can feel your gratitude coming off you Miss Gem, don’t worry about that.”  He strolled back to his desk.  “We’re done here, I’m sure the others would love to see you in your Guardian Maiden beauty.”

“Aw, thank you!  I’ll show the others right away.”  I ran out of the room, giving our celestial tailor a wave with my leave.  Rushing out turned out to be not the best idea, as I run into what felt like a oversized, melting gummy bear.  I stumble back to see a couple of new faces, one from a smiley red haired girl with glassy wings behind her, and another from… a girl made entirely of dark purple goo in what looks like a schoolgirl outfit that went a bit overboard.  

“My, it looks like our new recruit is in hurry.  Are you alright?”  The gooey girl said as she grabbed me to help my balance.  It was a nice thing to do, but the only thought that came to my mind was if a bit of her was going to get stuck in my clothes.  “There you go.  Your name is Gem isn’t it?”  She held her hand out to me.  “I’m Ami, the brains of the group as the others would say.  It’s nice to meet you.”  We shook hands, but I couldn’t help but just feel the squishiness of her hands.  It did hit me that I might have been getting carried away.

“Having fun?”  The red hair girl started to laugh at us.

“Don’t worry about it.  I understand it’s your first time meeting someone like me.”  She let go of my hand and flicked at the slimey clumps of what could be considered hair that covered her right eye.  “I’m a being made of a witch’s magic and various kinds of ingredients.  While my kind don’t really have a name for ourselves, as there’s only about three of us, the others call us slime girls.  It’s a silly, but fitting name.”  I do have to admit, it is fitting.  She’s definitely slimey.

Ami turned her head to the other girl.  “Naomi, it’s time for you to introduce yourself.”  Naomi walked from the wall she leaned against and towards me, sticking her own hand out once in arms reach.

“I’m Naomi, the spire’s local happiness fairy.”  The smile she had since I first saw her grew with every word she spoke.  

“A fairy?”  I’ve heard of fairies before.  They were the Glacaras’ magical servants until they got enough people to become Glacara Guardians.  Most of them disappeared a long while ago, so I never expected to see one outside of history textbooks.

“Yeah, I’m probably the last happiness fairy out there. Enough about me though, is our new maiden ready for her celebration?”  Right, Alice mentioned a party.  Sounds pretty fun really.

“Of course I’m ready for a party!”  With my joy, the three of us took off to the top of the Spire.

Everyone’s outfit had their own special style.  Ami’s was a dress that reminded me of a schoolgirl’s outfit with that cute sailors tie.  Her dress was covered in ribbons and little, diamond shaped buttons that gave it such an adorable charm. In her gooey hair was a bow that look puffed up like a bubble of her ooze.

“I actually didn’t design my outfit.”  Ami said as we walked.  “I’m not a fashionable person, but my sister is.  I had her design it.”

“Can slime girls have sisters?”  Didn’t know if I was being rude asking that, but my curiosity overcame me.

“We were made in different pots, but we still consider each other sisters.  Her name is Peri, you might have met her during your trial.”

“Peri’s the goofy pink spirit with the magic rifle.  It’s hard not to miss her.”  Naomi butted in.

“Oh, I remember her!  She was a bit too friendly for someone who was trying to shoot me down.”  Ami let out a soft laugh, although I’m kind of curious how someone like her laughs when she’s made of goo.

“That’s Peri alright.  She’s not too fond of the trials, but she participates anyways.”

Naomi walked next to me, smiling on at me, Ami, and at times, nothing.  Her red dress flowing about, bows on the bottom of her dress bobbing with her every step.  Her gloves were a silky white, waves of crimson stained the end of the gloves, circling around Naomi’s arm.  Around Naomi’s neck was a black bandana with what looked to be a frown drawn in chalk.

“So, what’s the bandana for?”  Naomi held the end of the bandana in her hand as she responded to my question.

“Well, I can’t really stop smiling, so I put in on in during battle so it doesn’t seem like I’m enjoying it.”  Naomi scratched her head.  “It’s more for the other guardian maidens than the enemy though.  They tend to find my mid battle smile disturbing.”

“Wait, you can’t stop smiling?”

“Well, I am a happiness fairy.  Smiling is in our blood.”  

“Can you grin too?”  Naomi bellowed out a laugh.

“Eh, it’s close enough to a smile.  Probably.”

Eventually the three of us made it back to the top, passing by Lynn, who bowed when Naomi waved to her.  The top of the spire was covered in decorations.  Balloons of all different colours and sizes cluttered the spire, reflecting the beautiful light of the fountain.  Shining ribbons flew around the spire, making a light show that looked like a rainbow meteor shower that filled the night.  Rosalynn and Flora were kept busy blowing up balloons while Ce sat with a tray of cupcakes in her arms.  

“My, my, our little newbie looks like a fancy girl.”  Alice kept her place on top of the fountain.  She grabbed the pink balloon she was playing with out of the air.  “Could you perhaps draw me miss artist?”  Alice balanced herself upside down, grining at me as her hair flopped down.

“I’m not really in a drawing mood.  Um, is everyone still setting up the party?”  

“It’s pretty much all ready, we’re just having some fun waiting for you.”  Flora said while tieing up the end of a big, orange balloon.

“I told Rosy to make it up to you for all those balloons she popped, so she’s gonna be doing this all night.”  Alice tossed her balloon at Rosalynn, a needle of light protecting her from the harmless assault.  “That’s pretty harsh, I didn’t know you hated balloons so much.  Oh yeah, also the balloons that Flora blows up doesn’t count.”  

Rosalynn sighed before tying up the balloon in her hands.  “Good to see Pura’s handiwork fits you well. I hope you enjoy your time as a guardian maiden, you’ll have a lot of work to do once day breaks through.”   She sat on the ground, out of breath while Flora kept going along with her balloons.  

“So now that the person that party’s all about is here, do you think we can start with the cupcakes?”  Ce held one of the cupcakes in question in her hand, looking at the orange icing and star sprinkles with desire in her eyes.

“Hell yeah!  Throw one up here for me!”  Ce tossed Alice a cupcake, which Alice almost failed to catch with a lack of Glacara grace.  She handed out cupcakes to everyone, with me being the last.

“Hey before chowing down, let's give give our new maiden a bit of cheer.  To Gem!”  Flora lifted her cupcake up as she sang out my name.

“To Gem!” and everyone else joined in.  I had to admit, I started to blush.  Everyone was so happy to have me join them.  We all unwrapped our cupcakes and started to bite into a wonderful world of vanilla.  A lovely taste to start off my journey of being a guardian maiden.

Intro End!