Wild Guardian: Rise of the Beast Legionnaire
By: jungleboy69

Prologue

Our world is home to thousands of many species, all sorts of different creatures. Humanity and animals lived together in the same planet. There were many legends about humanity's relationship with nature. However, one legend stands above all else. The story of a great warrior whose connection to animals was so great, he received a special power from the Spirits of nature to take the shape of any creature, bird or beast. With this new power, this brave warrior became a great hero, protecting both humans and animals. However, as humanity progresses and expands, that story has long been forgotten.

That is, until now.

“MOOOOMMY!!!” a frightened voice called out, frightening many of the jungle animals from their sleep. “DAAAAADDY!!” “WHERE ARE YOU?!”. The source of the voice was revealed to be a boy, hardly more than a toddler, wandering through the jungle, his clothes were slightly torn and soaked in dew and sweat, his face stained with tears.

Now, you might be wondering why on Earth an innocent little boy is in a deep jungle, where he could be eaten by wild beasts. Well, this little boy is Max Parker whose’s parents are zoologists of WWF working at the Congo jungle to study the wildlife. Like his parents, Max loved animals too with a passion. However, since he was too young, he had to remain behind at camp. While waiting, the boy got distracted by a little orange frog and being curious, he wanted to get a closer look and tried to catch it, wanting to show it to his parents. He chased the frog for a while until it finally hopped into a thick undergrowth, where he couldn’t follow. Disappointed, Max turned to return to the camp. However, when he looked around, he didn’t know where he was. He was lost in the jungle. Now, he was alone and scared.

“Mommy!! Daddy!! Where are you?” Poor Max wandered around, calling out his parents, to no avail. All it seemed to do was get him even more lost. “Mommy…Daddy…”. Slowly, Max’s voice died down and he fell down on his bottom, quietly sobbing. “Somebody… Anybody….” It seemed to him that he would be lost forever in this thick jungle and never see his parents again.

“Max”
Max’s head shot up in surprise at the sound of his name. “Who’s that?” he whimpered.
“Max~~”~
Max looked around. The soft and gentle voice echoed again but there was no one around. “Who’s there?”
The voice spoke again “Look I’m right here”. To the boy’s surprise, a small glowing white light suddenly appeared right before him as if by magic.
Max stared in amazement. “So pretty” he whispered to himself but the wisp seemed to hear him and giggled softly.

As Max reached out to touch it, the light suddenly lifted above his head and to Max’s shock, more lights appeared and form a path deep into the jungle.
“Follow us~~Max~~Follow us~~”, the voices whispered. Max was a little afraid at first but the voices sounded gentle and kind. So, slowly, he followed the trail of lights deeper into the jungle.

He didn’t know how long he walked, but the path of lights led him into a cave. As Max entered, the cave suddenly lit up, showing hundred of paintings of animals and brave warriors. Amazed, Max continued to walk, entering the dark cave.

Finally, he came to the middle of a strange cavern, with 22 stone runes arranged in a large circle. There were paintings all over the walls and even the ceiling Max was amazed. He had heard stories off ancient ruins from the other zoologists. Right in the centre, was a small stone pillar with an even smaller glowing golden orb.

Max stared in wonder, his eyes widening at the sight. Slowly, he approached to the centre of the circle. Looking around, he was surprised to see that each of the runes had a carving of an animal on it. When Max approached the strange orb, he felt a strange warm and pleasant feeling flow through him.

Max stared for a while and wondered what it was. As he reached to touch it, the small orb started to lift of the ground and right before the boy’s astonished eyes, it glowed brighter and a yellow mist blew out of it, forming images of all kinds of birds and animals.
Suddenly, a voice spoke from the orb “It is you. You are the one. I have been waiting for you for so long, little one”.

"Me?" asked a surprised Max.
"Yes, little one. I sense you have a kind and pure heart. You are worthy by the Spirits of Nature to receive this power."

“Power? What power?” Max asked confused
“The power of the Animus Totem”. With that, the orb enveloped in the golden mist and before Max knew what hit him, the orb slammed itself straight into Max’s chest, much to his shock and slight fear.

Suddenly, everything happened all at once. Max felt a strange warm but powerful energy flowing through his entire body. He could feel every creature on Earth and heard every roar, every screech, every hoot, every growl. At that moment, the entire cave lit up in a bright flash of light. The last thing Max thought was his parents before everything went black.