Light. That was the first thing he remembered. It was all around, illuminating every crevice and corner, and left no space untouched. All he knew was its binding brilliance and that he was all alone. There was no sense of time or direction, just isolation from all the darkness that threatened to destroy him.
Through the light, he heard a deep voice speak out. “Do no fret. You will have your chance soon. You will save us, Caine.”
There was a short moment of silence, the span of a single heartbeat, and the world around him changed. The light weakened its brilliant white giving away to dull gray. It seemed tainted, like the evils of the world had finally broken through and were seeping through the cracks
A faint whisper brushed past him like the wind, and a part of him wondered if it was really there. “The time has come to make a difference. Your name is Caine, and you will be the salvation of the World.”
The world shifted once more, and a sudden darkness overcame him, thick and fast, like a blindfold. He closed his eyes to block out the shadows that threatened to overwhelm, and when he opened them, his vision blurred in a disarray of color and light. As he started to adapt to the brightness, he could make out ark hues around him. When he finally settled, he could see huge trees with green leaves and coffee brown trunks. A river trickled past on his right, and he wandered over to peer into its clear waters. His reflection started back.
He had cropped, dirt green hair and brilliant blue eyes that shined with the same light he had seen when he had first arrived in this World. His skin was a light copper color, like he head been in the sun on a regular basis, and green tattoos that looked like a tangle of vines framed his face. He was clad inn a red sweatshirt and faded blue jeans.
Caine pushed himself to his feet and notices that small river joined much larger one. His gaze followed the other river, and he noticed that the two encircled a tree. It was much taller than any one he ha seen, towering above all the other trees in the forest. Its branches intertwined with the trees around it, forming a canopy of life above. It looked ancient but possessed a certain strength to it. Intrigued, Caine came closer, but he was interrupted by a sudden ball of light that shot down from the top of the tree. It twirled in a celestial dance in front of him.
The voice he had heard upon his arrival spoke out. “This is the Seed of Life. You are to be known as the Protector of the See. From henceforth, it will always be part of you. It is connected to the forest around you. Protect it well, and it shall guide you to your destiny.” The light vanished into his chest,, and the trees suddenly moved around him forming a path through the forest.
Caine cast it a puzzled glance but followed it instinctively. He eventually came upon a cliff, and when he was perched on the edge, he could see the entire forest. It was lush green with a lake to the West, the Ancient Tree to the North, mountains to the South, and canyons to the East. Beyond that was a barren wasteland, devoid of any life. The sun, was setting, so Caine decided to go back to the forest where it was safe. He found a place among the roots of a tree where he could sleep.
When morning came, Caine opened his eyes an welcomed the sun’s light with a small smile. Suddenly though, he jerked awake when a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. A woman stood before him with his same green hair and vine tattoos, though her eyes blue eyes lacked the same light his had. Hers looked old, like they seen more that anyone her age should have been burdened with.
“How is this possible?” she hissed. “I should be the only one left, and there’s no other way for another to be created…” she narrowed her eyes in his direction. “What’s your name?”
“M-My name is Caine,” he said.
“Come,” she said. “Come now.” Without any explanation, she ran off, leaving Caine behind.
“H-Hey!” he called out. “Wait up!” he race after her, following without any hesitation, and before long, he recognized the path she traveled. It was the same path that originally lead him to the cliff, but now it would tack him back to the Ancient tree. When he stumbled to stop, he found her perched on a rock, glaring up at the tree.
“You promised that I’d be the one! What’d I do wrong?” she said, a single tear running down her face. It shine with the same light Caine had see when he first arrived, the same light that shimmered in his eyes, the same light that kept him feeling safe an protected. “Give me answers!”
Her words caused a shift with in the forest, and she clenched her eyes shut. A wind rustled through the forest, and when she opened her eyes they had turned a deep, vivid green. The whisper that had spoken to him before answered, but it was so low that Caine was unable to make out its response. Whatever was said, the woman seemed to accept it without argument. She closed her eyes, reopening them to reveal the same blue they had been before.
“I don’t know anything about you, and I really don’t like how this changes thing,” she said to him. “All I know is that you are going to be the last of or kind through this generation, that it is my job to train you in our ancient ways. You will receive the memories in your dreams.” She jumped down form the rock and stood in front of him. “My name is Cecelia. What’s your story?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “All the Whisper said was that I’m the Protector of the Seed.” He looked at her in confusion. “What does that mean?”
“I am the see of Knowledge,” Cecelia replied. “It is my job to give the Protector of the Seed information. The first thing I must do is tell you of our history…If you’re ready?”
Caine clenched his hand into tight fist and breathed deeply. “I am… I’m nervous, but I am ready.”
“Alright then,” she said and seated herself in the grass. Caine joined her. “It started a long time ago, before humans had even come to be. There was this tree called the Tree of Life. The people of Tantun had the job of protection the tree. It was the source of life for this planet. It was said that when the tree fell, so would the World. Finally came the time when humans started to appear. In the beginning, these people were nice, and Tantun were willing to give some of their land to the humans spreading out. Well, what they didn’t know was that humans were going to take advantage of their hospitality. When Tantun finally figure it out, it was too late. They tried to negotiate like civilized people, but the Tantun did not know that the humans were not borne of innocence like they were. The Tantuns and humans gathered together to discuss a treat, but at the meeting, a human stabbed a Tantun in the heart. The Tantun at the meeting were forever change because… well… They had never experience death before.”
“Doesn’t our kind die of old age?” Caine asked.
“Yes,” Cecelia said, “But our deaths were ceremonial. When someone dies of old age, we bury them with the tree that they were born from out of respect. What made this death so different was it brutality. There was no respect-only hatred. The Tantun had to fight back. The humans began to burn everything, and our leader, The Protector of the Seed, gave his life to the last standing tree. The forest came alive with his death and fought back the humans, but there was nothing they could do. It only got us back our land from the original forest, and by that time, there were very few of us left. And with each new generation, there were lesser and lesser, until finally, I was the last. When I saw you, I was shocked. I though I could be the one to bring back our civilization.” Her gave lowered to the ground, and sadness was evident on her face. Her ark blue eyes shimmered with a faint sheen of tears.
“Your eyes…” Caine said. “Your eyes are different form mine. Why?”
Cecelia shrugged. “I’ve seen death. My curiosity got the best of me, and one day I decided to go to one of the human colonies. What I did not know was that they were in the middle of a war. I was someone die. He was stabbed. I walked out from behind a rock, like I could help, but it was too late. I watched the light leave his eyes, and he saw the same leave mine.”
Bang
Their heads whipped around in the direction of the sound. “What was that?” Caine asked lowly

Cecelia didn’t reply and stood up, heading for the sou. Caine followed and they both huddled in a bush. Cecelia pushed the leaves aside, peering out, but before Caine could catch a glimpse, she had turned around and covered his eyes.
“Don’t look,” she said, but it was too late. Caine had already seen the deer, a dark hole in its hind, and the trickle of blood that ran down its body. The light began to dim from his eyes Cecelia knew what would happen if Caine had lost his innocence, the most honored quality to the Tantun, so she pushed him down on the ground, shielding the dead dear from view.
“Don’t look,” She repeated, her voice soft, and he wasn’t sure if she was talking to him or herself. “Don’t look. This… This is what you have to save us from this death. Can you do that?”
Caine was silent for a moment, but then he narrowed his eyes and nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I can