Finally, they arrive at the gate and Nora feels dizzy after that.

"Is this our first 'jump'?", Valerie asks. Nora nods trying to hold herself from puking.  

(Jump=when portals are used for beaming people into places. They can access a certain amount of places and not many people on the Galaxy have them as the require huge amount of energy to work).

The gatekeeper approaches them and Valerie knows they have to follow the routine. His eyes are stuck to the newest recruit. “This is Nora. We sealed the deal for the quest number #432 of the year 2050. She is our payment”. The gatekeeper reads his archive and let them pass.

Nora is cautionaly walking next to Valerie, almost clinging at her side. The road is full of trees made of gold and red colors. Statues of Lords and Masters decorate the path. Valerie notices that Nora has grown weary. “Am I going too fast?” she says concerned.

Nora stops and looks at Valerie’s face. It looks like she genuinely cares. “You.. one minute you are nice, the next you have no emotions, and now you act like you care! You confuse me more than I can take!” and with that outburst she starts crying. 

Valerie remembers she used to cry a lot just like her. 'where did I grow cold? was it before or after my first kill?' a quick thought pass her mind.

“I’m really sorry. I do care, but at the same time I’m a Guardian and I have to do my job. That means being strict at times. Didn’t mean to scare you. Please, count on me while you are here”.

Her voice is soothing and Nora smiles. 

Valerie feels that she didn't use her mind on that. 'why do I care for her?'.

This is the first time she helps another recruit. Nora brings her back from her thoughts with a question, “Where are we going?” .

 “The Legion is divided in this way; We have the Lord, he is the head of all and acts as a representative of Eden, God of All. Underneath him, are three Masters. They are the ones that we are gonna meet now. They will evaluate my work and choice of Guardian. It will be quick”.

“Will you be there with me?” Nora has a concerning voice. Valerie nods her head and gives her a smile.

Nora is exploring the wild, touching the leafs, smelling the autumn. Valerie examines her petite body, bright orange hair down to her shoulders, eyes green filled with wonder. She sees how a child would act. She is enjoying seeing her going after a butterfly, acting like a frog, tasting the air.  She can't remember the last time she did these things. She realizes that maybe she never had a moment in her life like that, even before the Legion. 

She looks at Nora wondering, 'Will this innocence last?'.

They continue taking that path when suddenly a tall grim figure appears and shouts, “What are you doing there?!”.

Valerie sits straight, like a soldier with her eyes wide open. She waves at Nora to come next to her and do the same. This is Kion, one of the three Masters. He is really tall and thin having a dark blue ponytail. He has icy cold eyes that always scared her. Valerie often compared him to the Reaper.

(Reaper=one of the Gods of the Tirrenia Galaxy. He is the God of Death).

“What’s this? Why are you jumping around? This is a sacred place!”, he shouts at both of them.

Valerie is rolling her eyes. She never really liked him, as he is barbaric and strict.

“Why aren’t you answering me?!” he screams at Nora. She is frozen and no word seems to be coming out of her mouth. She mumbles, but no one can make out what she says. Valerie steps in front of her to protect her.

“Don’t bother her, if you have a problem, blame me”, she calmly answers. He gets more angry on her disrespectful manners.

“You, always causing trouble! The Lord won’t allow this!” Kion grabs Valerie by her shirt and raises her from the ground to his height. He is intimidating but she isn't breaking on his threats.

Odel steps in and grabs Kion’s hand and he drops Valerie to the ground. “You can’t know what the Lord would allow or not. Don’t make assumptions for Him”.

His voice was serene and pacified her. Kion look at him bemused and angry. Odel still holding his hand, crashing it little by little in his palm. “Please, restrain yourself next time from abusing my student” he says smiling.

Kion answers back, “You mean your eri?”. 

He want to get in Odel's nerves, and it's working.

Odel gets angry and holds his hand even tighter now.

Another figure steps in to stop them both, Vina. Her walk is elegant, and her straight blonde hair touch the ground. She winks her eyes and Nora is captivated by their pink color.

“Stop this here. Kion, don’t abuse your power over afraid yuns, and you Odel, be careful of your actions” says Vina with a beautiful voice. Odel leaves Kion’s hand and bows to her as an agreement. It looks to Valerie as she was implying something to him.

He looks back at Valerie and winks at her. Valerie then kneels down as a sign of respect, and has Nora follow her.

“Hello my three Masters, I just came back from my quest on the planet Rinasa. It was successful, as I took down Hon Len, the son of Min Len and with that, stopped the Hindra reign over the Noa people. We should make sure protection continues in the planet in case Min Len decides to attack for revenge. Here is Nora, I chose her as the next Guardian. I hope you are pleased of the results”.

Valerie’s speech was formal and elegant, like one that a lady would announce. Vina raises her hand in sign for both of them to stand up. “We hear you Valerie, Protector of Men” answers Vina, since she is the spokesperson.

“Your mission was indeed successful and we thank you for that. You made a great deal and the Lord thanks you for that. Unfortunately he can’t come, since he has business to attend in the outer rims of the Galaxy”.

Vina pauses for a second to take a breath and continues.

“Since young you exhibited abilities not many people have. You have surpassed powerful men and you always succeeded, no matter the task. Normally, we would make you a Paladin by now but, you seem to lack some discipline still. For that, we will grant you a small gift of your choosing. The gift should be an object that doesn’t violate the law of what a Guardian could have. What is the gift that you desire?”.

Vina stops for a second, and Valerie starts thinking what all this means. She wants to question her motives and reasons, but that would be disrespectful. She sees Vina looking at the other two Masters, as if they are not sure of what they are doing, and if that is right. 

She realises she is waiting for her to choose what ‘gift’. She is caught off guard and isn’t sure of what to answer.

Odel steps in and says, “Perhaps she needs more time on deciding what to do. Let me brief her later on that. Let's focus now on the business at hand”.

Valerie feels saved one more time by Odel’s hand.

“Fine, do as you wish” answers Vina, a bit cold now. Valerie isn’t close with Vina, and there’s not a particular liking between them, but at the same time, it’s not they don’t like each other. 

She remembers that at first, Vina was really nice to her. But when Vina realized Odel took her under his wing, she became distant. 

Vina places her hand on Nora's hand with eyes squeezed shut. 

She lets go and moves some steps back. She opens her eyes and looks at them. 

"That's a good choice, being your first time. Permission granted for Nora to enter the grounds and train to become a Guardian. May Eden bless you".