Hello everyone, and welcome to the first chapter of my first story ever on FanFiction. I don't have much to say now, so I'll just let you guys jump right into the story.

Disclaimer:

Dragon Quest IX is the rightful property of Square Enix and I own nothing in this story except my original characters.

Prologue: The Journey Begins

"Hello? Is anyone there? If you're there, say something. Show yourself."

"Thus do the voices of mortals plead, ever hopeful for proof of our existence…" my teacher explained to me, his apprentice. "For how long now have we watched over their realm…? For how long have we Celestrians existed…?"

Yeah, we were Celestrians: sacred creatures whose duty was to protect the mortals who lived in the Protectorate. And we were immortal. Are you envious? We were literally watching over the peaceful village of Angel Falls as we were flying thirty feet in the air with our angelic wings. Yep, we have wings. I bet you're envious now. My teacher was a middle-aged-looking man with a perfectly bald head named Aquila. Me? I'm, Michael. I have spiky green hair and bright blue eyes. Oh, and we both were wearing funny looking clothing and had halos over our heads.

Having finished looking over the village, Aquila turned back to me and said, "You have come far, Michael. I must confess to having my doubts when you became Guardian of the village in my stead, but its inhabitants' continued peace and safety is proof of your devotion. When Apus Major came and told me 'Aquila, take Michael as your apprentice,' I never imagined I would see you become so strong. You are indeed worthy of your title, Michael, Guardian of Angel Falls."

Now, Aquila is not a man known for giving compliments, so I was slightly shocked to receive such a large compliment from him. All I could do was reply "Th-thank you, Master."

"You're welcome. You have more than ear…" Then something caught his attention. "Oh! Look over there Michael." In the distance there were two people walking along the trail towards town. I immediately recognized the young woman with purple hair as Erinn the local innkeeper and the old man as her grandfather Flinn.

"Hahh…" Flinn said, "hahh…don't ever get old, my dear Erinn. You don't ever want to get old."

Erinn turned towards her grandfather with a smile large enough that I could see it way over where I was. "Oh, Grandpa," she said. "It's not much further now. I'm sure you'll make it just fine."

As this exchange between them took place, a Cruelcumber and two Slimes sneakily crawled out of a bush and hid behind a rock near the trail, waiting to ambush the two travelers.

"These wicked creatures must not be allowed to ambush innocent members of your village, Michael," said Aquila. "Come, Guardian of Angel Falls, it is time to fulfil our duty as Celestrians!" I nodded in agreement and quickly followed Aquila, who had swooped down and challenged the monsters to battle.

Having heard us approach, the monsters turned around and prepared to attack us instead. I always wondered why monsters and animals could always see Celestrians, but I stomached my curiosity as we drew our swords.

The battle took no time at all. Aquila easily took out the Cruelcumber while I easily took out both Slimes with my blade.

As we finished fighting, I noticed that Erinn and her grandfather had stopped by the rock. Erinn cheerily exclaimed, "Look, Grandpa. There's Angel Falls up ahead"

Panting, her grandfather sighed, "Aaah… I honestly believed I'd never set my tired old eyes in the place again, but here we are at last. Home sweet home."

Erinn, still smiling, put her hands on her hips and replied "Oh, don't be so melodramatic, Grandpa! The village Guardian will have been watching over us all the way. Nothing could ever have happened to us!"

'Damn straight!' I thought to myself.

She then put her hands together and bowed her head, "Benevolent Michael, thank you for protecting us on our journey." Once she finished, she continued with her grandfather the rest of the way to the village, leaving behind a beautiful blue crystal that shone with bright light. I quickly went and collected it.

"Behold, Michael," announced Aquila. "Benevolessence. The crystallization of the mortals' gratitude towards us for protecting them. As Celestrians, our cardinal duty is to offer up this sacred substance to mighty Yggdrasil, the Great World Tree. Come, Michael, let us return to the Observatory so that you may make your offering."

I nodded and we flew directly up into the clear sky until we were able to see the ancient floating tower that we all call home rapidly approaching. At the very top of the beautiful structure was the even more beautiful Yggdrasil Herself, a sight which made my heart soar.

We entered through a portal on the bottom floor and gently landed in the large chamber. Aquila turned to me and said, "The first task a Guardian must perform upon returning from the Protectorate is to report to Apus Major. As unchanging as the North Star, you will find him in the Great Hall." He turned away.

"Will you not come with me, Master?" I asked.

Turning back, he answered, "Nay. I have other matters that I must attend to. You must excuse me." As he once again turned away and left, I noticed that he was heading in the direction of the grave of his old Master, Corvus, who had disappeared ages ago in the Protectorate. Remember, we are immortal, so we are all older than we look.

I quickly ran up too many staircases and reached the Great Hall, where, as always, Apus Major stood upon his daïs ahead of me. "Good day, sir," I greeted, kneeling before the leader of all Celestrians.

"Well met, Michael, apprentice of Aquila," replied the extremely ancient being. "Welcome back. I trust your absence has not been so lengthy that you forget your old Master, Apus Major!"

Smiling, I answered, "Of course not. How could I forget one such as yourself?"

Laughing, Apus Major continued, "Indeed. Also, you have my congratulations on successfully completing your first task as a Guardian, Michael." I happily accepted his praise, which flowed much easier from him as it did from Aquila. "You have performed your duties well thus far," he continued, "albeit under Aquila's watchful gaze. However, the time has come for you to spread you own wings." I struggled not to roll my eyes after he had said that. "What say you? Are you ready to undertake your duties alone?"

Feeling rather proud of myself, I quickly answered "Yes, sir!"

This caused Apus Major to laugh again. "Ho ho ho! I see you are a confident apprentice. That's very good. You young ones have confidence where us old folks have experience. And now we come to the next of your duties. I believe I heard you have acquired a crystal of Benevolessence. This is true, yes?" Seeing my gesture of confirmation, he continued. "The essence of mortal gratitude. You must offer it to the Great World Tree, Yggdrasil, who shelters us with Her nurturing boughs from atop the Observatory. I believe she will soon bear fruit at last. Go now, and do as I have instructed."

Giving one last gesture of respect, I took my leave. As I climbed the unnecessary amount of stairs, I thought about what Apus Major had said. Is Yggdrasil really so close to bearing Her fruits, as the legends said?

Once I finally reached the very top, I quickly knelt in front of the Tree and held the Benevolessence above my head. I watched as the crystal floated out my hands and got absorbed by the Tree, causing the Tree to shine a brilliant gold light for a few seconds.

"Behold, Michael…" said Aquila behind me. I stood up and turned around towards him. "Is Yggdrasil, to whom we offer the Benevolessence we gather, not truly beautiful?"

I nodded in agreement and added, "She is even more beautiful when She glows.

I noticed Aquila began staring at Yggdrasil deep in thought. "Gathering and offering up Benevolessence is the most sacred duty with which we Celestrians are charged. I trust you will perform your duties well, Michael, Guardian of Angel Falls."

"You can count on me, Master," I said.

As I began to climb down the stairs, which I have grown to hate, Aquila called to me one last time. "I have been thinking, Michael, Guardian of Angel Falls…"

I looked at him and asked, "Yes?"

"To address you as 'Guardian of Angel Falls' is both convoluted and inconvenient. You will henceforth allow me to use this form of address only when formality dictates, understood?" I quickly agreed. "Good," he said. "It is well that you succumb to my recommendation so quickly, my pupil. As you are well aware, the law forbids a Celestrian to oppose a superior. Now, go to Apus Major and tell him of the successful completion of your task."

Having traversed the staircases again, I once more found myself before Apus Major. "Well done, Michael," he exclaimed. "And how did the mighty Yggdrasil appear to you?"

"She was a true sight to behold. When I gave Her the Benevolessence, She had the brightest glow I had ever seen from Her."

Apus Major nodded. "She was fiercely aglow?" I nodded. "Ho ho ho! It seems the time may soon be upon us. As I am sure you are aware, it is our duty as Celestrians' to tend to the mighty Yggdrasil until such time as She bears fruit. It is to this end that Guardians watch over mortal kind and gather Benevolessence." He smiled. "And now, Michael, Guardian of Angel Falls, I believe you know what you must do next. You are to return to the Protectorate and gather Benevolessence…this time without Aquila to accompany you. Make ready, and then speak with female Celestrian who stands guard over the great portal in the floor below. May all the bodies of the heavens watch over you, Michael, Guardian of Angel Falls."

"Yes, Sir!" I exclaimed. I then turned around and happily flew down the rest of tower to the room with the portal. Wasting no time, I leapt into the portal and landed in Angel Falls, immediately looking for people to help out.

Almost immediately, I ran into the local stray dog. Again, I wondered why animals could see us, but I stopped thinking about it, as the dog was trying to get me to look at a something on the ground. Looking closer, I found a golden ring in the grass. Thinking that somebody had probably lost this and was looking for it, I put it into my pocket for later. "Thanks, boy." The dog barked in return, rolling on his back. Smiling, I rubbed the dog's belly for a minute, and went on my way.

Afterwards, I wandered into a horse stable and found the farmer sleeping on a pile of hay. While looking around, I heard the farmer mutter, "Gutta clen da puh."

It took me a second to realize what he meant, but when I did, I wasn't happy about it. I looked around and found a shovel. Rolling up my sleeves , I grumbled, "You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me." The worst part was I had nowhere to put what I shoveled except – wait for it – my bag.

When I finished, the farmer woke up and said, "Ah! I fell asleep. Now I'll be late for dinner because I still have to clean up all of this sh-." He stopped when he saw that all the mess had disappeared. When he returned to his senses, he exclaimed, "It must have been the guardian, Michael. He must have known how much I wanted a new horse and helped me show my wife I could handle the horse we already have. Thank you, Michael!" He then glowed brightly and a crystal of Benevolessence flew from him into my hands.

"Um…sure. Well, I got Benevolessence and that's all that matters." I exited the stable, emptying my bag into the lake, before heading towards the local church, hoping to both find plenty of people to help in there and to remove whatever was left of the unholy substance that had contaminated my bag. When I entered the church, I saw only two people inside: the priest and an old woman who was praying real hard for something.

I moved closer to her so I could hear what she was saying. "Please help me find my lost ring. It was given to me as a wedding ring from my late husband. It means so much to me and I need it back or I might die from shame." I felt bad for her at first, but then I remembered the ring the dog pointed out to me earlier. I quickly pulled it out of my pocket and slipped it into the woman's own pocket. She paused when she noticed the sudden change in weight in her pocket and stuck her hand into it. Pulling out her hand, she was amazed to see, in her hand, her no-longer-lost ring. "Where did it come from? Michael must have heard my plea for help, found my ring and returned it to me. Thank you, Michael!" She then began to glow brightly and produced another piece of Benevolessence, which I proceeded to pick up and put in my cleansed bag.

Rather content with myself, I exited the church to find that the sun had set and night had fallen. Something to my left then caught my eye and I turned towards it. There, standing on an island in the lake, looking at the waterfall, was Aquila. I walked towards him, catching his attention. "Good evening, Master. For what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?"

Aquila turned towards me. "I expected that I would see you here, Michael. I am currently on my rounds throughout the Protectorate, and I thought I would see how you are faring by yourself." Aquila then pointed out something on the other side of the lake. "See over there? There's a spirit of a dead mortal. One of the most sacred duties of a Celestrian is to aid spirits stuck in the mortal realm to reach the afterlife. Why don't you go over there and try to help him, but be aware that soothing a troubled soul is no easy feat."

Not concerned in the least about by ability to help the spirit, I walked over to the ghost of a man and said, "Hello, Sir. Can I help you?"

The man turned towards me and loudly exclaimed, "Thank goodness! Someone finally noticed me. Yes, you can help me. Can you tell me why everyone I know is ignoring me?"

"Well, putting it bluntly, you're dead."

"Then how can you see me? Are you Michael, our guardian?"

"Yes, actually, I am."

"Oh. Well, there you go. I feel better knowing my friends just weren't being jerks. Thanks for your help. See 'ya later." With that, he started glowing brighter than anything I had seen yet, and rose into the sky until he disappeared in a flash of extremely bright light, leaving a very large, bright piece of Benevolessence.

"That wasn't that hard," I decided.

"That was a…unique situation," said Aquila. "But never mind. You got a powerful piece of Benevolessence, so you should back to Yggdrasil post haste. I will continue my rounds in the Protectorate." Suddenly, the sky brightened for a brief moment as a bright golden streak flew across the sky, "The Starflight Express..." murmured Aquila. "Indeed, it has been unusually active as of late." He turned back to me. "I have changed my mind. I shall accompany you to the Observatory after all, Michael."

Back at the Observatory, Aquila told me he had important business to discuss with Apus Major and told me to quickly see Yggdrasil. Climbing the Observatory, I was too excited to even care about the giant staircases that I had to climb. When I got there, I was very surprised to see that Aquila and Apus Major were already there.

"Well met, Michael!" Aquila exclaimed once he noticed my arrival. "Truly, you have chosen a most fortuitous moment to join us. Behold Yggdrasil. She is ready to burst into bloom with all the Benevolessence we have offered up to her."

My excitement peaked at this point. "Truly?" I asked. I noticed the Tree was glowing softly.

"Ho ho ho!" laughed Apus Major. "Yes, she is but a hair's breadth now from bearing fruit. 'Fyggbloom hails the opening of the heavenly gates, and sets the Celestrians on the path to salvation…'"

"'...And lo, it shall be in the celestial carriage that we, the chosen custodians, journey unto the Realm of the Almighty.'" Aquila finished the legend and turned to me. "It is time, Michael. Offer up the Benevolessence you have gathered unto mighty Yggdrasil. Do so, and She will surely bear fruit at long last."

My heart raced as I stepped forward and offered up all of my Benevolessence to the Tree. As Yggdrasil absorbed it, She began to glow furiously – brighter than anyone of us had ever seen her glow and much brighter than that of a passing spirit. Gold energy flowed from the roots, through the trunk, across the branches, and burst through the leaves in a bright golden color. On Her branches bloomed seven shining fruits, and I heard gasps from all around me – every Celestrian present in the Observatory had come to witness this spectacle.

"Behold!" cried Apus Major. "The sacred Fyggs bloom!" A piercing whistle echoed throughout the tower, and from up above, the shining brilliance that was the Starflight Express soared towards the top of the tower, using the light of Yggdrasil as a beacon. "And the celestial chariot appears…praise be! All is as it was foretold!"

As he finished speaking, the Starflight landed atop the Observatory. This was it – The moment we had all been waiting for for all these years. But, as we started approaching the engine, the tower started shaking violently and a massive purple beam of energy shot up from below and tore right through the Starflight Express, blasting it from the tower to the ground far below us. More beams tore through the tower, one of which was strong enough to blast the seven Fyggs off of their branches and throwing them down after the Starflight.

As more beams continued shooting through the tower, I was knocked off of my feet and I had to grab onto the stairs to keep from falling. For once, I was grateful for their existence.

Through all the madness, I was able to hear Apus Major cry out, "What is happening? Were we…deceived?"

Suddenly, the Observatory rocked especially violently and I was blinded by an extremely close flash of purple. I heard Aquila yell out my name.

When I was able to see again, I was confused at first about why the Observatory was rising into the sky so quickly. Then it hit me.

"Shit!" That was all that was said as I fell towards the Protectorate at such speeds that my wings were easily torn off my body and my halo flew away without a trace. As I continued accelerating downwards, I saw the lake of Angel Falls speeding towards me. Then it hit me.

So, there's the first chapter of my story. What do you think of it so far? If you couldn't tell, this is based of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Sky, which is one of my personal favorite games.

If anyone had noticed a large amount of changes in this chapter since I uploaded it, that's because I forgot to make a few revisions before I uploaded, but don't worry, the rest of the chapters should be better.

If you like the story, please review, favorite, and follow. The next chapter will be up as soon as I get a chance to work on my final revisions.

Until next time, DScribbleF