#THE_RED_CRYSTER
©Sir Zach
EPISODE 53
Theo had not slept at all. Even after hearing the good news from his general. They had pushed back the enemies outside the borders and that Aeros can soon rest from the attack.
Still, he was bothered – no; he was varied whether to believe that the spirits were with them in winning the war against Plethora and Oscoria.
First, his son returned from the puzzle wood forest. It would normally take at least six hours to travel such lengths back, but Christopher made it back. He returned well and unharmed. While it was a good miracle, it was confusing altogether.
Second, he saw a powerful being in green skin and this same creature was responsible for moving him in-between spaces, bringing him to the castle in a split second.
Third, his general told of a flying woman with fiery wings, aiding in the fight against the Oscorians.
From afar, he did see the wall of flames but knew not what caused it. Apparently a woman who could create fire burned Oscorians to ashes and created a barrier of fire.
From the courtyard of Aeros’ castle, Theo had been walking back and forth, sometimes attending to his wounded men but mostly pondering on the overwhelming turn of events.
“Theo, don’t you want to get some rest? You have been wounded,” said Farid, his general. He walked up to their ruler, seeing how unsettled he remained to be.
“I took a healing potion, Farid. Do not mind me. I will be better soon. Have you heard from my son?” Theo asked, sighing at the end of his lines.
“They were going around house to house, checking if there are any more enemies hiding within the nation. He will return soon,” informed Farid, putting a hand on Theo’s shoulder.
Fortunately, Theo did not have to wait that long.
From above them, they could see the dawn light up, following the arrival of one supreme being flying with wings on fire. They saw the female being staying afloat thirty feet above the castle heights and then came Christopher behind her.
Christopher first lowered himself to the courtyard grounds. He was met by Kyle and his men, Khalil and Razul. He spoke with them briefly before ordering the same to keep away. He looked up to Amanda and raised his hand to her, urging him to come down.
She slowly flew down, lowering her hand first.
The second Christopher touched Amanda’s hand, his eyes and his body glowed in blue and the same force quickly spread throu-ghAmanda’s entire frame, gradually putting out her fire until her feet landed to the ground.
Amanda took a de-ep breath, still in disbelief that her fires were quickly tamed by Christopher’s hand. It was a dream come true. She thought, ‘Finally, I would no longer fear my own powers.’
She studied herself and was amazed at how she was no longer on burning, yet; she remained in her second skin of red. She glanced at Christopher and hug-ged him tightly. She said, “I’m so glad it’s you.”
Meanwhile, Theo, the general, and the soldiers who were present at the courtyard became dumbfounded. The girl on fire was… none other than Amanda.
Moreover, everyone earlier saw their young master’s body glowed in blue.
They all had questions in their mind, especially how such a supernatural incident unfolded before their eyes.
“Christopher, son! Amanda! What is happening? Explain to us!” Theo demanded, walking briskly towards the two.
“Father, I’m happy you are safe and well,” said Christopher. He opened his arms to Theo and hug-ged him tightly.
Only then did Theo realized, he should be far more thankful his son was alive and well, more than the intriguing over the magic he had earlier witnessed.
Theo caressed Christopher’s back for seconds. After letting go, he said, “I’m sorry, son. I am glad you are back.”
“Chris! Chris!” Ca-ssy came running across the courtyard. She had earlier received word from Kyle that he was alive and well. She had also anticipated for his return, unable to rest after fighting against Oscorians.
“Ca-ssy!” Responding Christopher.
The siblings hug-ged each other firmly with Ca-ssy teary-eyed.
Although Ca-ssy also was baffled with what she had seen, she was more than relieved that her brother was alive. She told, “I – I was so afraid when Mahak a-ssumed you dead! Father ended up rushing me back to the castle with the soldiers, to keep me safe. He feared – ”
“I feared I would only be left with one child,” Theo finished Ca-ssy’s words. He then turned to Amanda and asked, “Please, tell me what is happening. The two of you explain this to me.”
“Father, I have very little words to describe this to you, but I suppose.” Christopher looked at Amanda and only after she nodded, he resumed, “My new friends can explain it better.”
As if it were a cue, a swirling light became apparent from behind them. Amanda and Christopher gave way for the rest of the masters to come out from the wormhole.
The soldiers that remained awake and were staged at the courtyard, became scared out of their wits. Only very few had witnessed healers create gates from another world. Never had it appeared out of nowhere.
Coming out from the swirling void were Trisha and Abasi. Taara and Brody followed. Brody was still recovering from healing Christopher, but he came in his weak condition, wanting to see how Amanda was doing.
The masters of the earth had reconciled from the cavern in Brazil. Covered in their second skin, they crossed together to Pelagy, using the gate that Abasi opened.
After Abasi closed the gate, Trisha sighed. She looked around at the many witnesses to their existence and muttered, “I hope that people of Aeros could keep a secret.”
The masters have never revealed themselves to anyone this openly. Exceptionally, they let themselves be known for the sake of the master of water.
It was because Christopher decided that Aeros deserved to learn the truth about him and his power. If he were to flood Pelagy with water, his people needed to know about him. Moreover, the woman he was about to marry held another kind of energy.
Since the people of their nation are not new to magic, Christopher determined that Aeros will come to accept the force inside his body. Now, more than ever, he was determined to prove everyone wrong, in dire need to tell them that the magic inside him was not evil in the first place.
He, the master of water, the blue crystal, was supposed to be… Pelagy’s last saving grace.
Trisha raised her hand and revealed her yellow crystal. Her eyes glowed in the same color. She crept into every beating heart of Aeros’ people, including those outside the castle walls. She revealed, “Greetings, people of Aeros. I speak throu-ghyour hearts. I am the earth’s master of the heart.. Let me show you who we are.” From Trisha’s last words, all people of Aeros suddenly felt goosebumps all over their bodies.
They could see from their heads, a vision of the earth’s powerful spirits; how they were first represented, and how they evolved, dwelling from one human being to another.
A tale of the past, a visual narration of their existence, and they all saw it as a dream.
Starting with vague images in their heads, they saw the spirits in their translucent form. The same impressions faded and eventually, they saw the same force roam around the earth, a-ssisting the humans in their daily needs. As the spirits aided in disasters and war, some, by accident, revealed themselves to the human eyes.
From their heads, they saw how the earthlings feared the unknown. They understood how the people on earth struggled to comprehend the supernatural existence of the mighty spirits. They suspected the same force that helped in their saving.
The people of Aeros felt the pain of the spirits and witnessed how the six powerful forces connived, seemingly deciding on how to help the people on earth without being known.
Instead of their luminous form, the image quickly shifted to how the spirits lived in one black crystal. It became their primary superficial form. All six spirits entrusting their powers to one earthling. From their heads they could hear him call himself; Hades.
The people of Aeros saw how, in the beginning, only Hades held all the elements of the earth. He became the ultimate master, carrying out the responsibility of helping humans all throu-ghout his prime. The visual of such a powerful being sent shivers down the spine of every person of Aeros.
However, just when they thought they had seen enough, they witnessed how power consumed the greatest known master of the earth. Throu-ghrevelations of various events, they saw how Hades abused the power of the spirits.
The master who was meant to be the protector of the earth slowly abandoned it, only using the powers for himself, aiming to become… immortal and forever youthful. He jumped from different worlds, trying to find the solution to live eternally.
Each of the people of Aeros, including Christopher, was absorbed in a trance. They were all still, some dreaming in their sleep, but the images were clear enough to grasp.
It did not take long for the pictures to change. They saw an internal battle from the greatest master of the earth. The spirits that lived within him for years became in war with Hades.
Like fireworks, they saw each spirit, one by one, erupt out his body, leaving Hades to become old, slowly decaying to the ground. Eternal youth was his aim, death was his fate.
The eyes of every man in Aeros were blinking shut, seeing the events unfold like a nightmare. They felt the chills and the fear of how greed can come about, holding all six powers. However, just when they dreaded the worst, the next images they saw shed light on the arrival of the beings in their land.
They saw the translucent spirits lived in their new superficial form, now in each of their crystal.
The yellow crystal of the heart.
The green crystal of time and space.
The red crystal of fire.
The blue crystal of the water.
The brown crystal of the earth.
The white crystal of the wind.
The spirits spread across the earth, this time, finding their own rightful hosts.
From their dream-like images, they saw how each spirit chose based on the host’s will, pure heart and selfless desire. The hosts’ were deemed the masters of the earth.
Unconscious smiles suddenly replaced the earlier chilling experience of the people of Aeros. They recognized how masters were replaced every two decades, once again finding another set of masters to gain power and take responsibility for their world.
They saw how it was the master of the heart that found each one of them ever two decades as they came about. The master of the heart was their leader. She or he made them one, united to maintain the peace and order of the earth.
Decades pa-ssed again. Since then, never once did the spirit made the mistake in choosing the succeeding elemental masters. It was a healthy cycle that had not been broken over two hundred years.
On all instances, only those on earth were chosen as the masters… until the arrival of Christopher on earth.
Once again, they were brou-ght back to a theater-like movie. Theo, his men, and all the people of Aeros saw the crying of the little boy from the cliff of Trinity Bay.
The boy’s yearning was so pure and noble, the spirit of water could not deny his plea. With the sight of their young master’s cry, some flood with tears in their eyes, others holding it back to a mere nostalgic state, li-ps trembling and noses flaring.
The visual narration tamed down, reflecting how Christopher slowly came about, ten years following his childhood plea.
Like an x-ray vision of Christopher’s body, they all saw how he grew to be a fine young man, yet, inside him was the blue crystal, the earth’s spirit of water, gradually growing inside of him in each year that pa-ssed.
It became clear to everyone that Christopher was the chosen master of water. Regardless if he was from earth or not, his selfless heart deserved it. That was the conclusion of Mahli, the spirit of water.
Ca-ssy, Farid, the general, Christopher’s friends realized, this was the force that they thought was evil. They finally understood how they were wrong and had been for over five years.
Closing the tale, Trisha spoke again, “We are the masters of the earth. I am the master of the heart. With me are the rest of the masters. The master of time and space, of the earth, of the wind, Amanda whom you have met is the master of fire. Of course, your very own, Christopher, the master of water, meant to save your world throu-ghthe gift of…. of water.”
WATCHOUT FOR EPISODE 54