The Birth of the Guardians

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On this page we will try to set out what are currently understood to be the facts, origin stories and the following development of the organisation known as the Guardians of the Cave.

It is thought that around the end of the 15th or early 16th centuries, somewhere in Northern Europe, a girl, possibly 16 or 17 years old, certainly considered and treated as an adult, discovered 71 oranges in a remote cave,arranged in a neat pile. The cave was said have been used previously by a local hermit but he had not been seen there for a decade or more.

Now at this point perhaps it would be useful to note that oranges were not unknown in Northern Europe, but they were very rare and thought of as extremely exotic, especially in rural areas. The oranges represented for many people something wonderful that they were unlikely ever to see in their lives and certainly never to eat.

It might also pertinent to point out that rural populations around that time were of an extremely superstitious nature. They saw signs and portents in everything that they experienced, all kinds of predictions and doom laden inferences would be drawn from anything in any way out of the ordinary. For instance, any small mutation in livestock, mostly goats and chickens, could be read as a sign that the Devil himself had passed nearby and that therefore the end of days was imminent.

In this febrile atmosphere it is not surprising that the girl, when confronted with an impossibility, i.e. 71 oranges in the middle of nowhere, was deeply troubled. It is her response to this difficult situation that is in many ways remarkable. She seems to have understood almost instantly that if she reported this, uncensored, to her friends and family there would begin a great outcry. All kinds of predictions, good and bad, would be foretold. People would be blamed for this outrage, either for their actions or something they said, rumours and all kinds of false accusations would begin to fly, and all this might culminate in setting neighbour against neighbour, father against son etc. you get the picture. In events like this around that time, people were tarred and feathered at the drop of a hat, witches were burnt.

So she bravely decided to keep the information to herself and make a plan to protect her compatriots from this dangerous coincidence. She drew up a list of people who she felt she could trust. People who would handle this event with common sense and use reason and what we now call rationality to understand the coincidence of this event. In the end she found 14 people who she invited to meet her in a grove not far from their town. In the event only 13 people were able to attend, the 14th had gone into labour that day and was therefore unable to leave the house. The woman who was unable to attend has always been referred to in the literature of the Guardians as ‘The Lost Guardian.’ The meeting, the First Meeting of the Guardians, happened at dusk, we do not have any direct evidence of what was said at the meeting as none of the proceedings were recorded. But we do know that the girl, known only by her Guardian name of the Shepherdess , explained what she had found and what damage it could cause. She asked for their help in protecting this information and proposed that they form a secret society that could keep this information safe. In the future these 13 would be wary of like events, coincidences and unusual events that could be misinterpreted and cause upset, unrest and strife. They would show how all events could be understood using thought and reason.

They decide as a group that as they were not prepared, the best solution to the Oranges problem was to make them disappear, and to this end they hatched a plan whereby the oranges would be collected up and transported to a place far away from where they could do any harm.

They knew that they would need to build an organisation that would be sustainable, with a structure and sustainability. They also knew that their society would have to remain secret in order to be effective.

‘They took names from the professions of their families and ancestors. The thirteen names were, The Shepherdess, The Carpenter, The Forester, The Candlemaker, The Gravedigger, The Herbalist, The Hunter, The Innkeeper, the Jester, The Minstrel, The Rat Catcher, The Scribe and the Weaver. Each Guardian would then recruit a ‘family’ of helpers, people who they could trust, known only to each Guardian and provided with a secret symbol of the family to identify themselves. Some of the Guardians recruited only tens of followers to their families whilst others, in later generations especially, had ‘families’ running into hundreds.

This made the use of the family symbols problematic as they soon became well known, copied and faked. In more recent centuries whenever there was a resurgence of interest in Guardians, it was common for people to wear a fake family badge and claim to be a member of one of the ‘families’ in order to look ‘cool’ as we would say nowadays.

Stories Associated with The Birth of the Guardians

The Coincidence of the Oranges

It happened some centuries ago when a girl, a shepherdess, found Oranges in a remote cave. Since then all our lives have been changed, some say for the better.

It was on a cold ordinary day, somewhere in northern Europe, a shepherdess wandering with behind her flock of sheep, or was it goats, found a small Cave which, rumour had it, had been inhabited by a recluse or hermit many years previously. At the mouth of the Cave, extending back into the Cave some way was a fairly large mound of fresh, vibrant looking oranges.

The Shepherdess was amazed at this sight and counted the Oranges, in number 71. She realised immediately that this discovery was extremely dangerous. In her village and the surrounding district, superstition and weird beliefs in all kinds of augers and portents swept through the population like wildfire. These had caused suspicion, mistrust and even violence. People had been ostracised, exiled and even tarred and feathered at the mere hint of something out of the everyday experience of their lives.

Knowing this she hatched a plan to hide the very existence of the Oranges and, with the help of 13 trusted friends, conspired to transport the Oranges, in secret, to a place of safety.

The Oranges Disappear

Once the Oranges had been discovered, she felt that she had no choice. A plan was hatched to save and protect the world that she loved.

When she had gathered together the thirteen trusted helpers (the fourteenth had unfortunately gone into labour that day and was unable to attend) they discussed in detail the formation of a secret group that would shield the world from upsetting events which might be misunderstood, wrongly attributed and generally misconstrued.

It is believed that they first met in a small gully not far from the Cave of the Coincidence, a quiet place where they would not be noticed or disturbed. The Shepherdess, for that is the only name we have for her, explained her concern and outlined a plan, which included the proposed structure of the Guardians organisation and the plan to take the Oranges to a place far from prying eyes and out of harm’s way.

It is believed that there has been a small building constructed at the entrance to this gully in later years. It has, apparently, no windows and only one small door with the GC emblem of the Guardians carved in stone, low down to the side. It is not known what this building is for.

She asked those present, which of them could secretly transport this dangerous load of Oranges, without seeming suspicious, to a place of safety.

Without hesitation the Guardian now known as the Hunter stood up and declared in a quiet voice. “I will do this thing”.

The Hunter’s View

He was put out, very upset, derailed and not a little annoyed when he read the note. The request, nay, the demand that he put down everything that he was doing to wander off to some secret meeting, about who knew what, at the drop of a hat, with no notice and without any explanation whatsoever, was irksome to say the least.

The Hunter had been planning his trip into the forest for days, checking his hinting gear and supplies, sharpening, oiling, ordering, folding and packing until all was just so. The weather was set fair for the first time in weeks and the timing for the trip was perfect. Yet here was a note asking him to put his livelihood on hold and troop off into the dusk at the behest of a slip of a girl.

Not that he did not respect the Shepherdess. He knew that she was a clever and capable person, and a fine shepherdess who had proved herself wise in the dealings with the people of the locality and brave in her defence of her flock when wolves ventured out of the forest in search of easy prey. Still, here he was, sloping off to the grove on the edge of town, when he should be working. He felt disgruntled, yes, but intrigued all the same.

As he fell in with the group gathered there in the hidden gully, he found himself somewhat impressed by his co-conspirators. All of them people, as far as he could make out in the gloom, who he respected, all thoughtful, talented people from many backgrounds, and, he had to admit, people whom he would call on in times of trouble.

Then, once he and the group had heard what the Shepherdess had got to say about her discovery and the potential danger that these Oranges represented. He knew at once that he, and he alone, should be the one to smuggle them away, unnoticed and without fuss to whichever place that a sound plan should require.

Ans so it came to pass that, when it had been discussed, and the question had been asked, ‘Who will do this thing’, it was him, the Hunter, who spoke saying, ‘I will do this thing. I shall be the first to shoulder a burden for the Guardians if the Cave and it will be my honour.’

The Innkeeper’s View

The note came whilst I was working in the yard, shifting barrels. A child came looking to find me carrying a note, I took the note and told her to run home.

As the note was from my friend, I decided to do as she asked and meet in the gully by the grove at the edge of town that evening, although I am not prone to attending mysterious meetings.

That evening I walked through the gathering dusk to find others coming together in the grove. Some dozen or more people who were known to me were there, and also the girl who had sent the note.

What she asked of us was possibly, I understand, a life changing thing and whilst I was not unhappy as the son of an Innkeeper, and possibly the Innkeeper myself in years to come, the mission that she held out to us all was a grand and fine vision.

For my part in that enterprise I recruited the help of a seaweed gatherer on the northern coast. She would finally bring the Oranges, carried on her back in baskets, to the farm of my grandfather where there was situated a wine press. This, it was hoped, would render the Oranges harmless.

It must be said that I did enjoy the fruits of our labour in the form of mashed oranges spread on toasted bread. This had to be consumed in secret, guarding against any prying eyes.

The Lost Guardian

I was shocked when she told me what she had found. My daughter, the shepherdess, told me that these oranges were dangerous, and I believed her.

We talked over the options open to us and soon realised that we could not solve this problem alone. She had goats that had need of her on a daily basis and I was preparing myself for the birth of my third child, which was due at any moment. We decided to gather together a group of our respected and trusted friends to form a secret group to deal with this hazardous outbreak of coincidence.

That afternoon we drew up a list, a varied cast of people with a range of skills and talents that, if they could be persuaded to cooperate, might cope with this situation, and, who knows, perhaps be prepared to act in other instances of coincidence precipitating  superstition, bigotry and misunderstanding.

As it came about, I could not attend the first meeting of the organisation that came to be known as the Guardians of the Cave. The birth of my boy kept me otherwise engaged and I know that this has been a bone of contention with some of the Guardians. Some amongst them felt that I should not be allowed to add my name to the roll call of their order, but I nonetheless feel that I have a strong claim to taking my place in their company as it was me and my daughter who brought about the Birth of the Guardians of the Cave.

I am called the Lost Guardian because I could not be present at the swearing of the first oath, but without me and my daughter the Guardians would not exist. I have sworn the oath to my daughter, the Shepherdess, alone and that should be enough. They say my methods are eccentric, but I say that I am effective and the Lost Guardians will always play their part in our grand cause.

The Oranges Situation Resolved

The evening of the day following the first meeting and birth of the organisation known as the Guardians of the Cave, a lone figure made his way to the Cave where the Oranges had been discovered. Quietly and carefully he gathered the Oranges, 71 in all, in a sack. Having searched the Cave carefully to be sure that none were left behind, he excited with the sack over his shoulder and made his way slowly away from any inhabited areas in a northerly direction towards the coast.

The Guardian who had bravely taken on this task was the Hunter Guardian and it is thought that he may have come from a family of professional hunters and so had the relevant skills to navigate, unseen, through the sparsely populated countryside to his final destination. When he reached the coast, he met with a helper of the Innkeeper Guardian whose occupation was a seaweed harvester, the Oranges were transferred to her collecting baskets and she made her way to a farm owned by the Innkeeper.

When she arrived at the farm, the Oranges were quickly put into a wine press and the handles were turned until the Oranges were no longer recognisable and posed no further threat.

This painting is thought to be a fairly recent copy of an original in the archives of the GC organisation.

An interesting postscript to this episode is that some have proposed the idea that this was the beginning of Northern Europe’s obsession with marmalade and fresh orange juice, but I’m afraid that, although this is an attractive idea, there is no positive proof.