Justice Hestiana (Deadeye)

WARDS AND CHARGES

The companionship existing between Wards and Charges has been around since before written literature and is believed to have even predate the very dawn of humanity. The legends regale that with the creation of humanity, there was also created a separate race of intelligent being that would grow alongside humanity and aid them in their evolution: the Ward. Wards were gifted with magical properties, usually those pertaining to the earthly elements, and universally assigned to the duty of using their powers to aid humanity. Wards were given the ability to use their powers individually to complete this quest, but were also given the ability to "link" with a human that they deemed worthy and share the Ward's power between them, combining their strength to unlock even heightened abilities.

Throughout human history, Wards and the humans that they chose to share their power with, known as Charges, would use their power for many different purposes, both good and bad. Many of the most notorious wars were waged on the coattails of a Charge and his Ward and of the most notorious legends of history and lore, most held the title of Charge. Abdallah al-Battal, Hiawatha, Icarus, Waligóra and Wyrwidąb, Empress Dowager Cixi, and Paul Bunyan among many others, for example, were all living individuals that held the title of Charge. With time, the true knowledge of the existence of Wards would fade into the backdrop of humanity. Civilizations that had grown in large part due to the power of a Ward and his Charge would come to see the beings as merely myth. As Wards are unable to reproduce but were able to die in the battles that their Charges would wage, the population of Earth's Wards would dwindle and Wards went from being readily seen to using their elemental powers to hide in the shadows from humanity. Nowadays, while Wards still roam the land and select Charges just as they had at the dawn of humanity, their very existence is regarded as folklore and fairytale.

DEADEYE

Deadeye is much less apt to taking a Charge than the others of his species. In his long, long lifetime, the Ward has only had four Charges, where most Wards have had anywhere between two hundred to two hundred thousand Charges each. Instead, Deadeye has spent most of his time as a Ward as a lone traveller, still aiding humanity with his power but choosing to do so alone. He does not talk of his past readily, so no one but himself truly understands why he chooses to travel this way.

While visiting a carnival for the dropped fried food, Deadeye crossed paths with a woman with a raucous laugh and a bright smile. She appeared to be a part of the rodeo that the carnival was located outside of, but the Ward was drawn to her. He followed the woman, who he would come to know as "Justice", for about a year, following her and observing her from show to show. He followed her until he was positive that this was the human who he trusted enough with his power. He followed her until she completely proved herself to him, forfeiting the biggest competition of her life to save a small boy who had fallen over the railing of the stadium. He followed her from the first aid booth after the fact, to her final stop at the funnel cake stand outside, and into the backseat of her truck as she hopped in to drive back to her ranch. About two hours into her drive back to her ranch, he spoke from her backseat and offered her a pact. Justice agreed.