That was my first encounter with Millis.
After that, I kept meeting her in my dreams. I noticed that as I grew, so did she. We ended up spending a lot together in my dream. Our dream. That's what we decided to call it.
She was one of the reasons why I slept a lot. I always loved our little rendezvous. We hadn't seen each other for a while though. We decided not to meet until she was ready to come to Lyra.
"I missed you." I said.
"I missed you too." She replied.
We were so engrossed with each other that we completely forgot the crowd gathered around us.
I turned around and faced the crowd. "Everyone. This is Millis, the second Celestial of Wisdom. Or should I say fallen now."
"Welcome, Lady Millis." The crowd knelt down in greeting.
"Stand please." Millis said. The crowd stood up in response. "I am Millis. I have descended to the Northern Region for you all. I have come to protect and guide you. I have come to be your Guardian. The Guardian of the Northern Empire."
The crowd lit up with excitement. They had all hoped a Celestial would take interest and decide to ally with us. But this was earlier than anyone expected. No nation's Guardian had ever arrived before the creation of the nation before.
*
*
Millis had announced herself as the future guardian to the crowd. Soon the news spread throughout the Northern Region and Minora. I asked Ash to prepare banquet for the whole city to celebrate her arrival.
Once the sun had set, the city was celebrating. The center of the banquet was the courtyard at the Leader's Manor. It was wide and open space with only few trees occupying little space. We had a bonfire lit in the middle of the courtyard.
We ate. We drank. We sang. We danced.
The women took Millis away with them. They had apparently bonded rather easily. But I expected that. Millis was the kind of person who was very easy to love.
I was with the men. Ash, Mikey, Roger and Ralph and I sat together as we drank and talked.
"So this is what you meant when you said she will come." Ash said to me.
"Yes. Millis and I have been close for over a decade."
"A decade. When did you guys meet?" Ralph asked. "I did not hear of any Celestial descending in the last fifty years."
"She didn't descend. She visited me, in my dreams. That was where we met."
"Dreams?" Ash asked looking confused. "Wait, was she the one you told me about years ago?"
"Yeah. You remember."
"I do. But I half thought she wasn't real And, you told me she was your soulmate."
"Hmm. I did. I remember that. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her." I said as I watched her from afar. She looked like she was enjoying herself.
"But she is a Celestial." Mikey said. "She's might be a billion years old. And I have never heard of any mortal being with a Celestial before."
"So Just because something has never been done before, doesn't mean it can't be done. She was my main reason for seeking strength. My goal was initially to become stronger and evolve into a Celestial. Then I could stand by her side as her equal. That was before I found out about the veil."
"Celestial huh..." Roger said. "That's a tough goal. You do know that not many people have been able to evolve into Celestials. I think, I heard somewhere that there are less than twenty people who have succeeded since the beginning of time."
"That doesn't matter to me. She gives me strength, and hope to keep going. I know I will do it."
"You have found something that makes you want to become stronger." Ralph said. "Go after it. Chase your goal and become stronger. Celestials may be the pinnacle of evolution for us lower beings, but that doesn't mean it is unattainable. I am sure the Six Gods gave us the ability to evolve for a reason."
He must have said it hoping to motivate me. "Exactly." I said. "The Gods never gave clear rules forbidding interaction between Celestials and lower beings. I respect those people who gave all they had into evolving. The were never bound by the term 'lower being'. I know I am probably the laziest person alive but... she makes me want to stand. She makes me want to move forward. She makes me want to grow. And I will. Not just for myself. But for us all."
"Love. I thought Lisa would end up hating me after what I did back at the Tower." Ash said. His eyes looking across the yard to Lisa. "But she didn't. She really is the best thing that happened to me." He looked satisfied.
"Really. What about me?" I said. I wanted to tease him a little.
"You?" He asked. Then he scanned me from head to toe and answered. "You are the worst thing obviously."
"Argh." I shouted and clutched my chest. "My chest. That hurt."
We burst into laughter then we sat there in silence watching everyone as they were celebrating.
"Inter-clan relationships." Roger started. "As most of you know, this is a problem to the Monster race. Or at least it was. As the different clans all stayed separately and rarely interacted. Monsters who fell in love with people from other clans were always forced to choose between staying with their loved ones or stay with their clan. But with your arrival Jordan, this will no longer be an issue. I always wonder why no one had ever tried to unify the Monster race before."
"I don't think someone never tried." I said. "I think they just didn't have a good enough reason to come together until now. Over ten thousand years ago the Ancestors came together against the Demons. But after the war ended, no one felt the need to stay together. They all went back to their clans. What we needed something to bring is together. Something strong enough to compel us together. A common threat perhaps. That's what I think."
"Awwhh!" I yawned loudly. I must have had one cup too many.
"Yawning already?" Ash asked. "You finally met your soulmate today, but you still feel like sleeping."
"Hmm... You are right. Let me try stealing her for a while." I stood up. Walked slowly towards Millis. "Can I borrow you for a second." I asked when I got to her.
"Huhn!" Dawn exclaimed. She sounded drunk. "Why are you here. Lady Millis is busy." She said as she poked my chest trying to push me away.
"Dawn." Aisha said as she pulled Dawn away. "Come this way. Don't interfere."
"Thanks." I whispered to Aisha as they left.
Millis smiled. "She's a really nice girl."
"I know. Want to go for a walk?" I asked as a held a hand out to her.
She took me hand with a smile on her face. "Alright." She said.
We walked around the manor together in silence until we got to an empty garden at the back of the manor.
"So, what do you think?" I asked her.
"Of what? Lyra? The Northern Region? This garden?" She asked as we continued walking.
"Everything I guess."
She chuckled softly. "It's amazing." She said. "Every time I descend, it's always different. I know Olympia is this bright and beautiful place but, it is a little empty. There aren't that many people in Olympia. I only get to interact with my sister, my brothers and my cousins. But they are a bore most of the time. We may be related but we all have different tastes and personalities. So we rarely interact much."
She paused and sighed. "That's probably why some of my brothers and cousins choose to stay in this realm. Not just for the sights but also the people. So many races living and interacting with one another. It's amazing." Then she stopped. "Oh. Sorry I just kept talking."
"It's okay." I said. "I love listening to your voice."
She smiled. I thought I saw her cheeks turn red for a second. It was probably just my imagination. "You really do love to tease." She said. "They said the same thing."
"Who said that?"
"Almost everyone. They all love you. But not just that. I can tell from the way they talk about you. They respect you. We need to make sure our plan works."
"We will. It's just... they have no idea how much change is coming. How much danger they will face. We need to get them ready... and fast."
"Don't worry. You have already set the plan in motion. We just need to make sure there is only a little margin of error."
"And even if that error occurs. We'll have ways to handle it."
"Exactly."
"I don't want to lose anyone. I really need our plan to be one hundred percent, foolproof."
"Then we must make full use of the three months we have."
"True." I said as I nodded. "That is why I plan to head to The Dungeon after the ceremony."
"Will you go alone?" She asked.
"No. I have selected four people who will accompany me."
"Ok. Are you sure you don't need me with you?"
"Yes. I need you here, I need you to take care of the Empire while I am away. You will be the Guardian of the Northern Empire. If the King is away, the Eight Lords can take over. But if the Guardian is away. No one, can replace her."
"Promise me you will be safe." She said as she stopped and looked at me.
"I promise. You know me better than anyone else. You know I won't lose to anyone." I said.
"I do. I know you."