Guardian

Erick approached the temple, the sun hanging high in the sky, a gentle breeze blowing through the grass and loosing some of the leaves off the trees to spiral softly to the ground. There was hardly a cloud to be seen. It was a beautiful day. A good day to be traveling to visit the shrines, if you wanted to pray to the gods, or even just to sightsee. Or, if one were traveling the lands to eliminate the shrines to the gods, it wouldn't really matter to them one way or the other if it was a nice day, other than that the air would be fresh as they made they're final ascent.

Erick took a deep breath of that fresh, morning air.

The temple guardian was standing the in the doorway at the top of the steps, waiting for him. The man stood, his sword already drawn and resting loosely by his side, and as Erick drew closer, he could feel the wind begin to pull in around the man. Many of the guardians before him had looked upon him with a smile, welcoming him freely into their shrines. This man would not be so kind. Which was not unexpected - there weren't many people left who visited the shrines after Erick had slaughtered their guardians and burned them to the ground.

Erick's own blade was still sheathed on his back, and he waved toward the guardian, a coy smile on his face. "Stand down," the guardian called out to him, the anger plain on his face. "I will not permit you to assault this holy ground as you have."

Erick merely smiled up at the man, slowing his steps as he reached the top of the stairs, but not stopping. "You know, I've heard that a few times now," he replied calmly. "And yet, here I stand. What makes you think you will be any different from the others? What makes you think that you can stop me when no one else could?"

The man's sword seemed to crackle with energy, and the draw of the wind grew stronger. "I am not like my brothers," he stated, holding out his hand, inviting Erick to battle. "I was assigned to this shrine because I am the strongest of the guardians. If there is anyone who can stop you, it will be me."

"I will be more than pleased to wipe that confidence off of the face of this earth."

The blade sparked to life, lines of red, green, and blue shooting across its surface as the power of the elements came to it. The wind gathered in the guardian's hand, like a sort of bomb that he could throw as a secondary weapon. Erick smiled and pulled forth his own blade, already coated in black shadows that dripped from its surface like thick poison, ready to chew out the life of his foe.

This would be fun.