Glowing Stones

Tiran and Estïqiã turn out to be very good friends:)

"So you're sure she made it to the forest?" Finneaus asked the blue orb floating in front of him. His friend's face grinned widely at him from it's surface.

"Surer than salmon's sense of direction." Farrell replied cheerfully.

"Um.....that's good, right?" Finneaus guessed, and Farrell laughed out loud.

"I've missed you, Finny! You always make me laugh." the friendly horse tender told him, and Finneaus grimaced at the nickname.

"I've been missing your companionship, too, Farrell. I daresay we'll meet again soon, though. The King has scheduled a trip to Zancastle, and I intend to be there." Farrell just laughed again.

"See ya' then!" he bellowed, and the transmission ended. Finneaus rubbed his temples, worried sick. The Forgotten Forest was a dangerous place, and Ava was an inexperienced girl. Any number of things could go wrong.

Suddenly, his blue orb began flashing, and Finneaus placed a hand on it to answer the call. When he removed his hand, a pretty female face stared up at him. Always the charming one, Finneaus immediately fell off his chair and crashed to the ground.

"Oh gods! Finneaus, are you okay?!" her musical voice fell onto his ears, and he was immensely grateful for a moment or two to control his blushing face before standing up and sitting back down.

"It's okay, I'm okay, Polaria." he assured the beautiful woman in front of him. Even now, the sight of her face made a hot flush creep up to his cheeks, and his heart started bouncing around. Her hair, usually in a ponytail, was now cascading down her shoulders, and her blue eyes sparkled merrily.

"Finneaus?" she asked, and Finneaus suddenly realized he had been staring at her mutely. He forced himself to talk.

"Sorry, spaced out there for a second. What do you need?" he asked.

"I was wondering if you got Avaline away." Polaria looked sober and serious now, and Finneaus's heart deflated a bit. She wanted to talk about Ava.

"I got her away, into the Forgotten Forest." Finneaus reported. "She hasn't contacted me, but I wouldn't think she would know how to yet. I trust Estïqiã. She knows her way around the woods, and I know Tiran is close friends with her."

"The fairy?" Polaria asked, and he nodded. An awkward pause stretched out between them. Finneaus's head hurt, and he wanted to tell her how much he missed her....and how much he loved her.

But he couldn't. Things like that had to happen in person.

"Finneaus?" Polaria's pretty voice was hesitant, like she hardly dared to ask him something. "I just.....I just wanted you to know that my...offer still stands." Finneaus felt like he had been stabbed in the heart, then had the blade twisted around to sever any feelings of comfort or happiness.

"I promised. I promised him." he whispered, lowering his head to hide the tears he was desperately holding back. When he looks up, he sees Polaria has this funny look on her face.

"Ah....of course." she replies, and her voice is thick and strange. "I....of course."

"She needs me." Finneaus whispers, and she answers, so quiet, he can barely hear her.

"So do I."

Apparently, the last knife hadn't gotten every shred of happiness.

This one did.

"Goodbye Finneaus." Polaria was looking everywhere but into the orb. The transmission ended.

Finneaus lowered his head again.

Damn his foolish heart.

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For two more days, it was same old, same old. I did start doing the eye drop stuff, but with no results. I became immensely bored, and wondered how Estïqiã had managed to keep up the same thing for hundreds of years and not just kill herself with boredom.

However, after those two days, I left with Peeka, and when I came back, Estïqiã was sitting on the couch with an unfamiliar man. He had dark, dark brown skin, almost black, with curly black hair and friendly chocolate eyes. Spotting me, he smiled, showing his brilliantly white teeth.

"Hello, Ava." he stood and extended a hand, which I took. He was tall, about two inches above the tall, willowy Estïqiã, who was a good nine or so inches above me. "My name is Tiran. I am your Sheñshåweï."

"My.....Shensh-what?" I asked, confused, and he laughed.

"Your Sheñshåweï. A Sheñshåweï is a mythical being who is appointed to Mythical Being Caretakers to teach them their ways of magic. I am a fairy." he explained.

"But....you're normal sized." I blurted out before my brain was able to stop me. He laughed again, only this time, it was much more genuine.

"Fairies are normally this size, although we often shrink ourselves to observe without being discovered. As for my wings, I just have them tucked away." he stepped back, closed his eyes. Dark blue wings, with golden designs all over them, suddenly unfolded from his back, and they fluttered slightly before folding back into his back.

"You're a fairy!" I exclaimed, stating the obvious, then mentally slapped myself. Way to make a first impression, genius, my brain said sarcastically. Tiran grinned.

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, please go fetch all of the things you received when you were appointed." he smiled kindly, and I hurried to my room to grab my cloak, book, necklace, and bag.

"I'll make some coffee." Estïqiã offered when I returned.

"Tea for me, please." Tiran requested. "I can't stand coffee."

"Me, too." I added. Estïqiã stared at us.

"You people are strange." she said finally, but started a pot of boiling water.

"Now, Ava, to start your training, you must first understand how magic works. To do magic, you must have energy, and you have to pull that energy from the world around you. Magic is all around us, but it's just a question of whether of not your body can serve as a portal from the air, then to provide for your spells. Your body is a conduit, but it can only handle so much magic at one time. Overload your body, and you will die. Of course, over time, you can build a tolerance for magic, and will be able to channel more and more energy at one time, but for now, we must be very careful.
"There are certain things that you should avoid at all costs, because of the energy it spends. Healing people, for instance, takes a lot of energy, and so does altering your body, like adding an extra ear or something. If, for some reason, a person dies, do not under any circumstances would you bring them back to life. They'll come back not quite complete, with strange tendencies and personalities. It's also exceedingly dangerous to bring inanimate objects to life. I, myself, can't do that, without killing myself, unless I used a magic storage object."
"A what?" I wrinkled my nose at the term.
"There are things that you should avoid at all costs, because of the energy it requires. Healing people,
"There are certain objects or beings that can store magic energy in their body for long periods of time, where they safe keep it, until the need to use it arises. There are certain types of stones, or jewels, that can hold enormous quantities of energy, and they are in great demand to serve as a ring, or necklace, hidden from sight, and close at hand. You could also create salves or liquids that have magical properties, and some, like healing creams, are very common and fairly easy to make. More advanced potion making is usually left to the witches and wizards.

"With magic, there is the general kind, and that's the type of magic that witches, wizards, sorcerers, and sorceresses use. For Mythical Being Caretakers, it's mostly the same, except for little extra things here and there, like extra spells, or maybe different magic sources. Things like that. With fairy magic, our spell casting is more pure, and slightly more powerful that way, and we can draw energy more easily than others. In addition, we only have to listen to someone speaking in ancient language, before it just comes to us naturally. There is also a final link to our magic training that is only heard of in the fairy race."

"What about dragons?" I broke in.

"What about them?" Tiran asked.

"What's special about their magic?" I clarified.

"We also have our own special spells, and we also get special privileges, at the last stage." Estïqiã jumped in, coming over to the couch with sandwiches and tea.

"What special privileges?" Tiran asked curiously. "I was close friends with Geordi, and he never spoke of special privileges."

"He was human. His short life span didn't allow him to complete his training." Estïqiã shrugged. Tiran looked at her for a moment. We'll continue this later, his eyes told her, but then he returned his attention to me.

"Anyway, back to our lessons. Our first lesson will be casting a very simple spell....say, make a stone glow. Estïqiã, go and fetch us a stone from outside, please." Tiran requested, and the elf bowed, then exited the room. She returned shortly with a small grey pebble, no larger than a chicken's egg.

"Here." Estïqiã handed the rock to Tiran, who nodded his thanks.

"Hold it in your palm, Ava." he instructed, passing the stone to me. "Very good. Next, I want you to close your eyes. Yes, you're doing splendidly. Now comes the hard part. I want you to sense the air around you, and lose sight of everything here except the magic. It's there, pressing against you, invisible to the eyes, but you can find it. Just lose focus on everything, and it will come."

My closed eyes sent everything into darkness, and I concentrated on losing my concentration.

Wait...

What?

"Ava, you're thinking about it too hard." Tiran scolded. "You have to clear your mind. The magic will come to you."

I tried again, sitting in darkness and silence for at least ten minutes before Tiran spoke again.

"Let's stop for today." he said gently. "That was a good effort. Only three magic holders in the history of magic have been able to summon magic upon first try."

"Besides, dinner is ready." Estïqiã announced. "I made pasta."

"Oh, good. You were able to hold off your meat obsession for one night." Tiran teased, and I giggled. He did have a point. Every meal Estïqiã had prepared so far had included some type of meat.

"It's healthy." Estïqiã replied stiffly.

"It's barbaric." Tiran corrected her. "I have no doubt that you have, on many occasion, consumed dragonfly wings."

"It is a delicious delicacy."

"Well, the only things that differentiates fairies from dragonflies are a human body and an intelligent mind."

"Oh, so you two taste the same?" Estïqiã paused, and took the moment to begin sharpening a knife and stare strangely at Tiran. "I do love dragonfly wings.....so crunchy, and sweet....." There was a long pause, until Estïqiã finally burst out laughing. "One more for me!" she cheered, and pulled out a tiny notebook.

After making a tiny mark, she then brandished it to me and Tiran, where it showed a tally mark chart, with Estïqiã printed at the top of one column and Tiran over the other. Estïqiã's column showed at least several hundred tiny, meticulous marks, while Tiran's couldn't have been more than eighty.

"You're still keeping track?!" Tiran cried.

"Well, someone has to record history." Estïqiã rolled her eyes.

"What? What is that?" I asked, lost.

"Estïqiã here got the brilliant idea to start keeping track of each time we would win a verbal spar against each other. It's been going on since we were born." Tiran groaned.

"You two grew up together?" I asked.

"Well, yes. We have the same birthdate, as a matter of fact. Plus, we're both immortal, so I have to put up with him for a long, long, time." Estïqiã butted in.

"My city lived near the elf city, and we were very close, until we both turned about two hundred, and all the drama with the dragon magic started." Tiran explained. "We kept in touch, but it wasn't the same. Eventually, however, I moved to another fairy colony, simply to get away from my parents, as most fairies do, and I ended up in the Forgotten Forest, and that is where Estïqiã happened to be." Tiran finished, then added, as an afterthought. "There are many fairy settlements, scattered about the world. Sometimes, they're nomadic, but they usually settle down somewhere, for long periods of time, until they decide to move again. Life can get awful boring when you live forever."

"I can imagine." I forced a smile.

"I'm starved." Estïqiã complained, hinting that we should sit at the table. Tiran and I plopped down on the wooden chairs, and eagerly took generous helpings of the pasta.

After dinner, the elf and fairy went to Estïqiã's room, probably to catch up. I went to my own room, and attended to Mr. Man. He still was in a weird coma, and never moved, only breathed.

When I finished with that, I decided to go and join Estïqiã and Tiran. Plus, I'd never been in Estïqiã's room, and was rather curious as to what it looked like.

Padding quietly out of my room, I suppressed a yawn as I approached the door, which was open about an inch. Just as my hand was touching the handle, I heard Tiran speak.

"Gods!" he yelped. "Is that what I think it is?"

My hand froze, then slowly retracted.

"Shhh!" Estïqiã hissed. "Not so loud. Ava will hear."

"You should tell her anyways." Tiran insisted. "The Prophecy depends on you two working together. Secrets are not a good start." he fell silent, and appeared to be looking at something that was behind the door.

"There are legends, legends of this being the final link in dragon magic." his voice is hushed and reverent. "The dragons, giving away the orphans, without mothers. When hatched, the creature and magic holder would form a bond, so strong, that can't be explained, only experienced, in order to understand it." He paused. "But they were only wives' tales, nothing more." Tiran finished.

"Well, this wife knew what she was talking about. I only got it a week ago, on my last visit to Dråçønel. Eńteì gave it to me, and said that I was no longer going to be taught by him. He said that I was now supposed to teach myself, and discover my own ways with the egg." Egg? I wondered.

"Do you know what you're supposed to do?" Tiran asked. There was a pause.

"Of course. I have a special formula that it'll have to get each day, but other than that, it's not that different from other things." Estïqiã told him.

"No, I mean with the whole.....prophecy thing. You never did tell me about what the dream witch said." I was getting more and more confused by the minute, but the two seemed to know exactly what they were talking about.

"Yes." I heard Estïqiã reply softly. "Ava and I are supposed to stop......him." Tiran swore.

"Estïqiã, you know how powerful he is. You can't destroy him alone, and Ava started her training not five hours ago."

"Don't you think I know that?" Estïqiã snapped. "It seems impossible, but Ava won't let up. She's very brave, and she believes we can do it." I moved up to the crack and the doorway and peered through it. Estïqiã was within sight, but Tiran was behind the door.

"She doesn't know Ekzema like you do." Tiran's voice lowered. "You don't have to do this, Estï. Come with me. You can stay with me, and no one will have to know."

"And hide like a coward?" Estïqiã sniffed disdainfully, but I could tell she was tempted. Tiran moved closer to her, into where I could see them both.

"Please, Estïqiã. Don't let your pride get in the way. I care about you. I want you to be safe." Tiran begged, and he suddenly leaned in and kissed Estïqiã. I gasped, but they didn't hear me.

Tiran pulled away, and Estïqiã lowered her head.

"I'm sorry, Tiran." she whispered. "I still....."

"Love him?"Tiran finished, barely audible. "Estïqiã, you know it'll never work. His kind could never marry your kind."

"But he said he loved me." Estïqiã sounded close to tears. Tiran sighed, and embraced the elf. She buried her head in his chest.

"Sometimes, it just doesn't work out." he told her.

"I can't live with anyone else." Estïqiã moaned.

"He's the prince." Tiran said, but she was silent. Tiran sighed heavily before breaking the silence. "Estïqiã, I should go."

"Of course." Estïqiã disentangled herself, wiping at her eyes and managing a smile. "Good-bye, Tiran."

"I'll be back tomorrow to instruct Ava." Tiran promised, and started for the door. I quickly stumbled back into my bedroom, and swung the door until it was only open a crack, so that it looked closed, but without actually closing it, which would make noise. I listened as my instructor crossed the living room and to the door, and let out a sigh of relief when I heard it open and close.

I quietly finished closing the door, covered the glow-stone, and got into bed. In the darkness, I could hear the guy breathing across the room, but my mind was somewhere else.

What was the egg? Was it magic? And who was the prince? I could tell that Tiran liked Estïqiã, but Estïqiã liked this prince guy, but I didn't get the whole thing about love. Princes and princesses get arranged marriages, and so how would Estïqiã and this prince even meet?

"No use asking questions you can't answer." I told myself quietly, and forced the thoughts away. Instead, I slowly relaxed, steadying my breathing, and concentrated on falling asleep. I would need all my energy for tomorrow's day of training.

In the morning, breakfast and such continued on as normal, as did the horse exercising and lunch. This time, however, Estïqiã didn't leave to go hunting until Tiran arrived to begin my training, which ruined my plans to snoop in her room, once I was alone in the house. I guess I'd have to figure out the secret later. Tiran and I started the magic sensing thing again.

"Okay, Ava; closed eyes, clear your mind....good." Tiran instructed. Again, I sat in darkness, waiting eagerly, until my sense of anticipation began to fade, I simply sat there.

After nearly two minutes, I was ready to give up when I suddenly felt something.

Something, something powerful, pressing on my consciousness from all around me. It seemed to sing to me, with a melodic tune, that made me feel warm and happy inside. It was so strong, I wondered how I hadn't felt it before. My eyes popped open, and Tiran grinned.

"I'm going to assume that you feel it now." he guessed, and I nodded, a little overawed to have discovered something so powerful. "Good, here's your stone. Now that you are aware of magic, you have to work with it, manipulate its essence, and use it to power your will, which is to make the stone glow, at this current moment. You have to draw in the magic yourself, but to release it, you must say the spell. You must say, loudly and clearly, 'Hañabóshí.' Got it?" I nodded, and closed my eyes again.

I focused on the presence of magic all around me, and then focused on taking in some of the magic, trying to absorb its essence into my own body. I became aware of the stone, sitting in my palm, and I imagined it glowing, just like the one in my room.

"Hañabóshí!" I shouted, and suddenly felt a rush of adrenaline. Then, as suddenly as it had come, it was gone, and I felt terribly weak, with a pounding headache.

But when I opened my eyes, I was delighted to see the stone was glowing brightly, just like the one in my room, which Estïqiã had created, no doubt. The glow slowly died, fading until only the gray color of the rock remained.

"You did it!" Tiran cheered. "And on your second try, no less! That's still very impressive." I smiled, but my mind wandered to another thing.

"Tiran, why did Estïqiã act the way she did when I mentioned Ekzema?" I asked, and Tiran bit his lip nervously.

"Ava, you don't yet understand Ekzema's power. He is dangerous beyond reason, and a terribly fierce opponent." he finally spoke.

"Yes, but why is Estïqiã so scared? Has she heard of Ekzema before?" I asked curiously, and Tiran shifted his eyes again, and began in a low voice.

"Because Estïqiã has met Ekzema before." his voice was quiet. "Ekzema used to be an elf, but he did some horrible things, and he began to change into something unimaginably evil. When Estïqiã was only two, her father worked as a blacksmith; one of the best. Ekzema requested a very.....unusual sword, and Estïqiã's father made it. But when he saw what Ekzema did with the sword, Estïqiã's father stole back the sword and hid it. Ekzema swore revenge. Before his transformation was complete, and before he was able to hurt anybody, he was banished from the elvish city, but when he became the creature he is today, he hunted down Estïqiã and her parents, as they ventured outside the city gates for a picnic."

"He killed them?" I whispered, horrified.

"Not only did he kill them, but he made them suffer, suffer worlds of pain. After his transformation, he had gained the ability to suck the life essence out a person, just by making eye contact. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, and, somehow, Ekzema made that a reality."

"How did Estïqiã live?"

"Moments before Ekzema reached her parents, she had run off to get a closer look at a squirrel. When she turned around, she watched the whole thing from behind a berry bush. The memory still haunts her today.......she often sees the looks of pure agony on her parents faces, and feels the helplessness she felt that day."

"But she's stronger now." I argued. "She could take him on."

"In a one-on-one battle, no, she couldn't beat him. That's why you are also in the Prophecy, but due to your severe lack of training, you wouldn't be able to beat him in a one on one battle, either. He gets stronger, all the time, and you're just barely starting out. In addition, Estïqiã believes she will lose. The utter terror and powerlessness she experienced that day is branded into her memory; in her mind, she becomes that frightened little child, all over again, when confronted with Ekzema."

"But if I'm with her, our combined strength will be too much for him, right?"

"Together? I don't know." Tiran sighs, and I look at him, shocked. "His power has grown, and I no longer know what he's capable of."

"You're saying that we could lose to him?" I asked worriedly. This was an unexpected twist. "But.....but the Prophecy said...."

"Prophecies can be wrong." Tiran stated. "And they have been before."

"They can be wrong?" I suddenly feel small. So unimportant. I realized how much the Prophecy had meant to my self confidence in this insane quest.

Here I was, thinking I was going to rush in heroically, that I could save the day, and that maybe, just maybe, I wasn't going to end up as another useless princess, spirited away to a foreign kingdom when I was of age.

What made me think that I was so special?

Without warning, tears sprang to my eyes. Tiran didn't notice; he was distracted as Estïqiã returned from her hunting trip, with a sack over her shoulder.

"Welcome back!" Tiran chirped. "Slaughter some innocent creatures?"

"Why, yes, yes I did." Estïqiã stuck out her tongue.

"I'm going to change." I murmured hurriedly, and almost ran to my room, then had to force myself to close the door normally before running to my bed and collapsing on it.

"You idiot!" I berated myself. "You think that you, a princess, who has never worked a day in her life, got singled out to save the world? Don't be stupid. Heroes are people who work hard their entire life, who stumble upon special things, and save people because they know how to do things. You're just some pampered, air-headed, self important princess, who thinks she can save the world. Get real." Tears ran down my face as I approached the mirror.

I touched my reflection's face, looking at the soft skin, which used to be rubbed with lotion daily, by servants.

"You were strong, and independent, in the castle life, but you're weak, here in real life." I told the mirror girl. She made a face at me. "You are weak." I repeated, and she stuck out her tongue.

"Who's weak?" a small, tired voice interrupted my self pity, and I spun around. Nobody was there.

"What?" I asked cautiously, but no one answered. "Who's there?" Suddenly, I jumped as the man on the cot moved his hand, and it dropped off the side of the bed and hung limply. I slowly walked up to the man, and watched as his eyelids twitched slightly, and his lips moved to let out a groan. His hand moved up to rub his face, and then his eyes opened.

They were a beautiful sea-green, and I found myself transfixed by them, cocking my head a little as I stared at his face with open curiosity. His eyes focused on me, then blinked.

Then he yelled out at the top of his lungs.

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Polaria nervously adjusted her servant's cap as she travelled down the expansive hallways of Zancastle's palace. In one hand, she balanced a tray of food.

It was almost one in the morning, but King Leopold had rung for a midnight snack, and she had volunteered to deliver the food. She had gone on a mission to Zancastle to gather information on the king's assistant. Reports on his abilities seemed greatly exaggerated. No one could kill with just a touch.

She had to see for herself.

And it was totally be accident that she had decided to come around the same time Finneaus had decided to come. Farrell had told her that the tutor was on his way over, soon, with Islan's new king and queen, so they could dispute over the disappearance of the Islan princess, Avaline.

Polaria knew that seeing him would probably just make their relationship just more strained, but she wanted, needed, to see him, touch his face, and remind herself why she loved him. Why she waited for him.

"Your Highness?" Polaria knocked gently on the slightly ajar door, but no one answered. Summoning her courage, she marched into the dark room. She set the tray down on a table, and looked at the King's bed, which was rumpled and undone, but empty. A thin sliver of light shone out of an almost closed door nearby, so Polaria picked up the tray and walked over to the door. She was about to call out, when she suddenly felt a chill in the air. A shiver ran down her spine, and she nearly dropped the tray when she heard a voice speak.

The voice was strange and whispery, and it slithered into Polaria's ears, filling her with fear. She knew at once that it was Ekzema, the elf turned evil, and she began to think that maybe the stories about his death touch weren't so far-fetched after all.

"My lord, now is the time to act." Ekzema hissed. "We have over one million Seÿts, trained and ready for our plan. We must act quickly."

"Why is that again?" King Leopold is rude and dismissive. "You've been nothing but rush, rush, rush, all the time. It's aggravating. Don't forget who's in charge here."

"Of course, Your Highness." Ekzema oozes, after a moment of silence.

"Good. Now, ah, what is the status of the project you've been working on? The Elith, I believe. How many have you gotten?" King Leopold asked, then let out a shrill whistle. Polaria muffled her shriek and barely managed to hold onto the tray as an unbelievably massive python slid past her, pushing open the door enough so its thick, shiny body could slide through. At least twenty feet of python passed by Polaria before the tail finally disappeared into the room. Leopold chuckled happily.

"Who's a good girl? You are!" Leopold cooed, using a special voice he reserved only for his beloved reptile.

"My lord, the Elith are also prepped and ready for any special missions you may have." Ekzema told Leopold.

"Good. What about the problem Elith? The one who was questioning your motives, if I remember correctly." Leopold recalled.

"Yes. The training didn't work on him, and he began to progress ahead of the others and question his missions. Shame, too. He was our best Elith. We disposed of him properly." Ekzema answered.

"And I trust that our agreement is still in effect?" Leopold asked.

"Of course, my king." Ekzema assured him. When you got past the creepy groany voice, it sounded almost condescending, as if he was speaking to a child.

Or if he was lying.

"And now, my lord, I shall be leaving you." Ekzema hissed. "Right after we dispose of a little dilemma."

"What dilemma?"

"Why, Ms. Polaria, my lord, who is currently standing right outside that door, and has heard our entire conversation." Ekzema purred.

Polaria let out a gasp, and her terrified fingers went numb, letting the shiny silver tray fall to the ground.

"What?! Morgana!" Leopold shouted, but the massive snake was already on its way out the door and parked itself in front of a petrified Polaria. Its yellow reptilian eyes fixated themselves onto Polaria's face, and she found herself unable to move, or run away.

"Oh, and Morgana?" Leopold called in his oily voice. "Don't hurt her too much, okay?"

The last things Polaria saw were Morgana's two fangs, sinking into her flesh, before she blacked out.

Author's Note

So, I hope that you inferred that the egg was the 'object' from the chapter "Estïqiã." Now, the question is, what kind of egg is it? If you are the first person to guess it correctly and put it in a review (it has to be an actual review), I will review two pieces of yours.