Gaia Temple guardian

The Gaia Temple Guardians, also referred to as temple guardians or just guardians, are a group that appears in the PlayStation 2/Wii version of Sonic Unleashed. They are a collection of regional protectors tasked with the duty of safeguarding their local Gaia Temples.

Overview
The temple guardian is a role that is inherited from one generation to the next, presumably within select families. Some Gaia Temples only have one guardian while others have a pair. As pointed out by Chip, temple guardians tend to be among the most important people in their local villages.

The temple guardians have a number of important duties for their position, the primary of which include protecting their local Gaia Temple and guiding those who seek to enter the temples that they have deemed worthy. Additional duties include overseeing the local Gaia Gate and protecting the Planet Tablets, keys to the doors of the Gaia Temples.

As a skill mainly exclusive to them, the temple guardians are the only ones who can assemble a Planet Tablet from their scattered fragments. However, there are also those with special roles that can assemble Planet Tablets as well, like Jari-Pekka.

History
The temple guardians have been overseeing the Gaia Temples for many generations, with each following generation taking over for the previous, although their point of origin remains unknown.

After Dr. Eggman triggered a premature time of awakening, the latest members in the lines of temple guardians were sought out by Sonic the Hedgehog and Chip who sought to use the Gaia Temples to restore the planet. Proving their worthiness each time, Sonic and Chip convinced each temple guardian to assemble a Planet Tablet for them to enter the temples with.

Archie Comics
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs, the guardians, also referred to as Gaia Key Guardians, include select families on Sonic's World who has been entrusted to protect each of the Gaia Keys, and they keep their duty a secret. As such, they only entrust the Gaia Keys to those they deem worthy.

While many of the Gaia Key Guardians are the same as their game counterparts, other include comic-exclusive characters, like Lupe the Wolf.