When The Mother formed Soojin, from the clay of the Earth, She whispered, "One day, you will do great things." 

But for hundreds of years, nothing felt "great". It was just business as usual for the young Guardian. Watching over the humans: prideful creatures who craved power, prestige, and the immortality of The Guardians. Watching over the lands: vast expanses riddled with disease and natural disaster after natural disaster. Watching over the Shadows: playful creatures who liked to appeal to the weaknesses of humanity and wreak havoc. 

"One day, Soojin" the Guardian grumbled to herself, toeing a boulder off the edge of the cliff side with a huff. "One day you'll do great things." Arms open to the sky, she shouted at no one in particular, "When is it going to be one day?" 

Far in the distance, lightning cracked along the waterline. 

"Har har, very funny." Soojin rolled her eyes at her sister's thunderous retort. "I just want to–" The words died when the Earth shook. 

Hands raised, eyes attentive as they danced across the horizon, her ears listened for the sounds no human could hear. 

When a Shadow sprung out of the low hanging mist, Soojin was ready. The creature wreathed beneath the weight of her hold. "Be still Shadow!" Soojin’s voice ignited the air with charged energy. It snapped and crackled like the snarl of Cerberus. 

Much to her surprise the Shadow listened. Stockstill its eyes were wide, black voids that reflected nothing but an unending darkness. The Mother had said it was the mark of a Shadow – the void of life, a faux husk of a human form. But there was something The Mother had not described, an odd shimmer in the depth of the void. 

"State your–" In the pit of her being, Soojin felt a tug. One that pulled at the particles of clay that made up her being. It felt like falling: plummeting from the sky and crashing into the ocean. It felt like dying and, maybe, being reborn. 

Whatever the Shadow said was lost on Soojin. Despite the ability to comprehend all, the message that left those dusky lips meant nothing. 

And then, suddenly flat on her back, Soojin heard a whoosh. It was like the wings of The Phoenix as She carried the Sun across the sky. But, unlike her sister, the air felt foreboding and the ground trembled. 

The weight of the Shadow, pressed into the curvature of her humanlike frame, was unquestionably protective. As if it had known of what was to come and it had cared for her safety. B