[Fantastic Worlds] Guardians of the Citadel: Humanity, under siege by infinite hordes of monsters

The epic fantasy literature market is dominated by Anglo-Saxon authors. This is no coincidence, since Tolkien himself was English, his world was inspired by Norse folklore and many of those who followed in his wake shared both origins and thematic focus. However, there are also works and sagas by Spanish writers. We already saw in this sectionThe demon of Arbenniosof theyoutuberBernard Tordelló, and today we will tryGuardians of the Citadelby Laura Gallego.

The action begins in an unnamed enclave on the western reaches of the known world. The little girl lives in itAxlin, a girl of just nine years old who, like everyone her age, spends part of her time (especially at night) in a cabin located right in the middle. The choice of location is not accidental: it is the part of the village furthest from the palisades and, therefore, from theOverworld full of monstersWhat's beyond?

Monsters are a constant threat, because not only do they lurk on the roads, but several of them circumvent the stockade to wreak havoc. Therefore, from a very young age, childrenThey learn to fear them and to condition all their habits to those of those creatures.. In this particular enclave they know that shaving their hair prevents their long toes from being carried away during the night, or that onion-smelling socks prevent suckers from eating their feet while they sleep.

Not only is Axlin no exception, but every day he feels firsthand the danger that monsters represent. Being very small it surprised hera gnarled man who was close to burying her alivewhen he grabbed her ankle with his tentacles, which can pass for roots. Although they managed to save her in time,suffered a serious leg injuryfrom which he never fully recovered. Since then, her limp prevented her from functioning like the rest of the locals.

Axlin's world is, well, small. Very, very small. The dangers are such that the inhabitants of their enclave do not go further than necessary to obtain food, andonly peddlers travel through the enclaves to exchange goods and people(in the latter case, to avoid inbreeding). Since it is not feasible to have mines, metal is scarce and, furthermore, fewer and fewer people know how to read and write. It could be said, therefore, that they are not far from returning to the Stone Age.

Axlin, like the rest, knew nothing about the outside world other than what the children who arrived from other enclaves brought by peddlers told them. However, this meager information would be enough to know thatNot all enclaves have the same monsters.; in others not too far away other creatures lurk, andits inhabitants fight them using their own strategies. She didn't know it yet, but just at that moment a seed of curiosity was planted in her that would not stop growing.

Her crippled condition gave her a unique opportunity:be trained by Oxis the scribe in the art of writing(He is the only one in the village who has that knowledge). As the years went by, and once his teacher died,she would become the village scribe(an increasingly less valued occupation), until he found his purpose:write a bestiary that collected everything that was known about the weak points of monsters. But to do this he would have to leave his home...

Guardians of the CitadelIt has surprised me very pleasantly.Its background is disturbing and to a certain extent terrifying and makes us alert., especially in the first half of the first book, knowing that the characters runconstant danger. This seems to be partially broken when he meetsXein, but it will lead to amore adventurous, sociological and suspenseful facetwhich also captivates, since the new revelations of the plot are well dosed.

The world that it presents to us is coherent with what it proposes. Humans in western enclaves only think about the most immediate survival: eating, reproducing and postponing their death. That makes yourcomunidades sean bastante igualitarias y cohesionadas(por ejemplo, la cría de los hijos es común). En cambio,en la Ciudadela hay más desigualdades sociales y afloran los conflictos entre humanos. En ese sentido, el choque cultural que experimenta Axlin me parece muy bien conseguido.

Como he dicho, hay un antes y un después cuando Axlin conoce aXein, un muchacho de ojos dorados que tiene dotes sobrehumanas para detectar y luchar contra los monstruos. Cuando llegué a esa parte pensé “oh, no, comienza el romance adolescente”, pero ahíempieza una nueva etapa en la que Laura Gallego logra que sintamos angustia por lo que será obligado a pasar el pobre muchacho. Los sentimientos románticos están casi siempre allí de un modo u otro, sí, peroel romance no es el eje de la trama.

Que Axlin tenga cojera me parece interesante, y no por dogmas de “diversidad”, sino porque me parece original y me hizo preguntarme cómo se las apañaría en un mundo donde luchar por la supervivencia es obligatorio. Por otro lado, a nivel de personajes secundariosagradezco muchísimo que no haya sesgos maniqueos tan presentes en las historias anglosajonas de los últimos años(por ejemplo, enLengua de dragonesningún hombre blanco heterosexual es trigo limpio, salvo el padre de Vivien).

Guaridanes de la Ciudadelaes una trilogía compuesta deEl bestiario de Axlin,El secreto de XeinandLa misión de Rox. Ya he explicado la estructura de la primera parte. La segunda es la transición entre el planteamiento y el desenlace que introduce detalles clave para la trama envueltos de misterio, algo que continuará el la tercera hasta el desenlace final.Todos ellos son bloques monolíticos sin partes separadas, en los que el foco pasará de un personaje a otro.

La obra está escrita entercera persona y tiempo pasado.Su prosa es ligera y relativamente poco elaborada, descripciones no muy minuciosas y expresiones muy repetidas (por ejemplo: “su corazón se detuvo por unos instantes”) o demasiado modernas (como «flirtear»). Como nota positiva, destaco el proceso de aprendizaje de Axlin como escriba. En unas pocas líneas logra plasmar de forma minimalista y efectiva lo fundamental del salto temporal de la acción a través de sus propios trazos.

Guardians of the Citadelse ha convertido, sin lugar a dudas, en mi obra de fantasía juvenil más o menos reciente favorita. Su mundo plagado de monstruos me recuerda a laSaga de Geralt de Rivia, pero con monstruos completamente propios, y la sensación de decadencia y amenaza me supo aMetro 2033, aunque con un tono y temática diferente. Se trata de una obra profundamente humanista sin llegar a ser ingenua que capta nuestro interés de principio a fin.

La trilogía es publicada por laeditorial Montenaen una atractiva (que no recargada) presentación enhard covercon su propioestuche, en caso de hacerse con los tres a la vez.