Auvreria (17 page)

One bright morning
, a boy came to ask questions. He wanted to know from what clan I had come, why I had a dragon for a sister, and if he could become like me. Moana told the boy to go help with the summer festival. She said that the boy was an orphan from a different clan. She took care of him as her own son. I paid little attention to him until the day of the storm.

I stayed in the huts to pass the time while the cold, wet, and wild winds swept the valleys.
Borrowed furs kept me warm. As Aurora landed near one of the houses, she told me to come to her in a hurry. The orphaned boy had got lost in the Arctic Ocean while Moana and her people went fishing. A sudden storm separated the group from the boy. I mounted Aurora, and we flew high into the erratic wind currents. I saw the boy’s canoe, dropped into the water, and grabbed him. He cried in fear of losing his life as his parents had.

I could not focus on the element because the storm came from everywhere.
I tried to use Moana’s teaching and assert my inner control. The elements of water and air were connected. With the help of my medallion, I drew enough strength to soothe the wind, water, and rain. To my astonishment, snow came from the clouds, and the water became still. The snow appeared as a kind of divine magic from above.

We brought the
boy back to the village. As we walked on the cold snow, I told him that he had to fill his basket of knowledge drop by drop, or else the basket would collapse. From the falling snow came the white phoenix with a blue gem. The boy was startled and ran to his mother. Moana thanked us for saving his life. She told us to travel to the lands of the obscure mists, where I would learn the element of darkness. Aurora and I were painted with blue marks. We started our journey south to study the sixth element in the ancient past of Aethra.

Ancient China

3,000 years B.C.E.

O
n our flight, I asked Aurora questions.
What is the Final Battle? Why do you have to become the guardian of the center of the universe? Where have you been while I was studying the elements?

I will tell you,
she said,
however, do not judge my fate. Because we are two parts of the white dragon, our paths intertwine and overlap in time. At the sanctuary of the kingdom of Eofea, Elfeon told you the truth. Our souls were one at my birth, but when I received the fourth gift, our souls were broken into two.

We have received three
of the gifts. The rings changed our destinies. Your fate was to battle Maldelsoul. Mine was to seize the power of the ninth element so neither evil nor good would gain power over the other. You and I became two individuals with different purposes. Maldelsoul’s ring disappeared from my body. Years later, the ring came to you. He did not make them; they were found in the Northlands. The Tree of Life took your rings and stone of Cielune as a sign that both opposing elements of the dragon were needed to remain in balance. Neither would win, and neither would be erased from existence.

The Final Battle takes three hundred thousand years to happen. By then
, the soul of the guardian becomes fully united with the universe. Auvreria decides the successor to guard its power. I am the next one. Even though it sounds glorious to be the chosen one, danger and great responsibility will be my lot. I went to all the oracles preparing for my role. I will not come back again in material form. I will be a soul while I guard for many millennia. Then I will reach a state of perfection, a state that words cannot describe. This will be an endless cycle until all the souls will become part of the new journey.

I had no
thing to say to that. In the everyday world, people are considered nothing but a working force for the economy, social affairs, and government. We do have a purpose, but the journey is different for everyone walking the path. Every religion helps us attain higher goals in bringing ourselves closer to what we believe. It is the language of our hearts striving to make us see a path beyond our desires toward the well-being of our soul. It brings us closer to a connection with the universe.

The compass pointed to a hidden mountain valley. I noticed a humble town
that appeared deserted. Nightfall was approaching; I climbed up the rocks away from the town toward a temple. Inside, an old monk was waiting. He wore dark garments and a serious expression.

“I am Huang, one of the last
to practice the dark element. All the people have fled but you and your dragon. I see time has come for a change. I will teach you all I know so you may gain your treasure.”

“When shall we start?”

“We need to journey to the Omjang temple where the element is practiced. We shall depart now to reach the Kunlun Mountains before sunrise.”

Huang gathered supplies for our journey. I put them on Aurora’s back. The monk decided to travel on a horse through the isolated valleys to the temple. Aurora and I travelled through the skies while Huang galloped on land wit
h his horse. I observed the slowly rotating stars as the cold air formed and reformed the violet clouds above. When we grew tired of being airborne, we set camp.

While I ate a warm bowl of soup, I asked the monk questions about their legends. Aurora lay
coiled on her belly on the ground. “Do your stories say anything about a phoenix?”

“What is a
phoenix?”

“It is a type of special bird that appears very rarely to people.”

“Ah, yes, you are speaking of Fenghuang? It is the ruler of all the birds. It comes during good times and hides during times of trouble.”

“When does it appear?” I gazed at the distant mountains.

“It appears from the deep Kunlun Mountains to start a new era. It is the bird of peace and prosperity.”

“How is it connected to the dragon?”

“Every generation, a new emperor arrives. The emperor has the power of the dragon to rule the people. Fenghuang stays if the emperor is free of corruption and evil. It leaves otherwise.”

“Can we do anything to bring it to us?”

“The bird is gentle and is believed to eat the morning dew to not cause damage to any animals or plants. Only a flower purified by a strong soul can make the bird come.”

I said goodnight to Aurora and Huang,
took out a sheet of cotton, and slept on it with my green cloak covering me.

When we arrived at dawn
at the magnificent temple, I was taught by Huang and his magicians. On my break from class, I decided to walk along the gardens of the beautiful temple. I picked a white lily and put it in my hair. Autumn had come with its dark and warm colors. I sat on the branches of a high tree to observe the sky. I wondered how the Final Battle would go.

Aurora flew above me
with immense speed and gained altitude as her wings stretched to the light. She sensed my thoughts.
You are worried?

Yes. There are many questions and answers that can’t disappear out of my head.

The time will come, and you will see that after the darkest night the sun will rise again.

What if Maldelsoul does gain what he wants? He is the strongest magician that one would imagine. The fate of the universe can’t just depend from one person.
What if the war would destroy the whole Clamoor Clan? Maldelsoul has the two medallions. Our plan is ruined. There are no chances for our victory.

One petal falls. The tree lives and never falls.

She disappeared from view as she glided into the morning mist. I was shocked that Aurora knew the phrase that Estrella had told me. I picked the lily from my hair and put it on my palms. I repeated the phrase. It transformed into a lotus and became purified.

I heard the
gong vibrate. I put the lotus away and ran to class. When I was ready, I came to the Jo-Shun Mountains to earn the gem, and so I ended my studies for the six elements in the realm of Aethra.

Ancient China, the valley of the shadows

3,000 years B.C.
E.

As I looked off to the dark horizon, clouds as thick as mountains moved through the peach
-colored sky. The mountains were going into a deep sleep as the glowing light faded from the pink cherry tree next to which I was meditating. The wind gently lifted my hair as the forces of darkness acquired full strength in my body. I was resting on top of a flat rock on a cliff higher than the mountains. In this mystical world of the past I had learned to master one of the elements of the universe. I felt fine; neither altitude, nor pressure, nor temperature affected me as long as I had my green cloak.

I saw the spirits of shadow
seek out the faintest light they could consume. The valley glowed with magic. Tojan Lake sparkled like a million crystal moon pebbles. The stars were the only source of light in the valley. The constellations were striking against the gloomy land. Impossible to go back to where I had started—I had to get what I had come for.

The
Omjang temple relied on me to obtain the gem of darkness. As I moved my hands in a circular way, shadows started whirling out of my marked, glowing palms. The darkness became tangible. It spread out into the sky like a drop of paint on the surface of water.

No moon
—good,
I thought.
There is enough power for the return of the white phoenix. I will receive the gem of darkness for my medallion if I pass this challenge.
A strong wind shifted the violet clouds. A bright white light appeared just at the edge of the cliff.

The
phoenix glided down from the sky. Her body was covered with the symbols of Auvreria inlaid lightly with gold, silver, and precious gemstones. The bird of balance appeared right in front of my eyes. Her skin was pale white, her beak sharp and thin, and her wings resembled those of an angel. She ate the lotus on my hand. As a gift of appreciation and fulfillment, the phoenix gave away one tear. It dropped to my hand, and the bird flew away into the depths of the luminescent sky.

The tear on my hand hardened into a perfect
black gemstone. As I put the gem into the necklace, intense magic sprang up. Six elemental gemstones in my medallion were already present. Two spaces were left to finish the medallion. When it all came together, my next destination would be the center of the universe. I would protect the power of the ninth element from being used to destroy all existence. My knowledge of the eight elements of Auvreria would help me with this task.

All the colors of the rainbow poured out of
the medallion. I saw a glimpse of my sister, Aurora, before I disappeared. Specks of magic circled me until I appeared in a new world, a place only told of in tales and legends. I was getting closer to the Final Battle between good and evil. I waited in wonder for the turning points of my future.

The Tree of Life, the journey to the Astral realm

The present day

The journey took me back to the Tree of Life for a third time. I appeared in a wooden chamber within the tree, dressed in my elven clothes. I looked out through the opening in the outer wall. Hundreds of empty tents were visible, but no human or animal came into view. Terror overcame me when I noticed Mortver’s symbol everywhere. Maldelsoul had probably broken the barrier to let outsiders enter without the medallions. I moved with haste toward an arch near the spiral staircase opposite the window.

From
the grand chamber, I looked down the staircase and saw Aurora with Elfeon. Within seconds I was down on the same level. My eyes filled with tears of joy. I embraced Elfeon; he had taken material form.

“I thought you died
!”

“I did
, and I did not,” he said. “The third journey of your life has come. When Mother Nature showed you the history of our past, you had begun your journey of the past in Arthaesia. Weeks ago, you found the Tree of Life, which was destined to be my home. That day you started the journey of the present in Aethra. You have found six gems for your medallion. I can now give you the two gems of time and energy. Your challenge will be to walk through your third journey of the future in Astral. You will find the center of the universe held within the three galaxies.”

“How will I know where this place is? What if the Final Battle has
already started? Where is everyone? Are we too late?”

This time Aurora answered
.
Sister, your pure soul will guide you. The Final Battle awaits us—we must fulfill our path. Mortver and the Clamoor Clan await us. The war of ages has begun with alliances of souls in material and spiritual existence.
I calmed down a little. I noticed the same flute I had seen in Eofea was now in Elfeon’s hands.

“You left this in my homeland,” he
said. “This flute belongs to Aurora. I should have known that when you couldn’t play it.”

As he gave the flute to Aurora
, she transformed into her human body. She had long white hair and a flowing pearl dress. When her soft hands came into contact with the wooden flute, it turned into silver. She played it like an angel. I felt as if I were listening in on heaven. When she stopped playing, I wondered if I would ever hear it again.

“The Tree of Life is connected to the center of Auvreria,” said
Elfeon. “All the power here is located at the bottom where the golden symbol of Auvreria lies carved in the wood. The center, otherwise, is located at the top of a mountain. The mountain holds the ninth element and its power.”