| Astrea looked up at the starry sky. She sighed softly and her breath billowed in a white cloud in the cold night air. She wrapped her brown cloak around her and picked up her flute. She gently put it to her mouth and played a few soft notes when she saw something. She put the flute in her bag and looked up. Coming towards her was a small white light. It landed near her. She cautiously approached the hole that the thing had made. Meteors had sometimes landed in the plains but this was the strangest one she had ever seen. She gently lifted the small thing out of the hole. It was neither hot nor cold, but warm. Like if it was alive. It was a crystal clear gem hanging from a silver chain. She suddenly had the impulse to put on the gem. She slipped it on and disappeared into a bright flash of light. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Theo walked into a clothing store and looked at some clothes. She saw this stunning two-piece dress and she wanted it. So, she found a size she could wear and went to the dressing room. She slipped it on and then put on her regular clothes with it. She walked out of the store casually and ran into an alley where she waited until night. She then went back to her apartment. When she got back, she packed her bags so that she could move on to another place. She had everything she owned on her and in her bags. She then was about to head out the door when she saw a red crystal. She picked it up and disappeared in a big red flash. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Elenor petted the small rabbit and sat down. The sun was just beginning to rise. Her dress ruffled slightly in the breeze. She smiled and lay back, taking in the warmth and life around her. Suddenly she felt something nudge her. She opened her eyes and looked at the unicorn beside her. The unicorn nickered and dropped something beside her. The unicorn then took off into the forest. Elenor sat up and picked up the green gem beside her. She slipped it on and disappeared in a green flash. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~* Lizzia was working on her high-powered computer. She was playing with her holo graphics unit on her computer, trying to find a perfect design for another one of her inventions. Suddenly this holo graphic image appeared in front of her, but it wasn't something she had brought up, it was a purple crystal. Curiosity got the better of her and she reached for it. Her hand enclosed around it and she found that it was solid. A second later she disappeared into a huge purple flash. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* They found themselves in a glen. "Welcome, Crystal Keepers," a deep voice boomed. They looked around, but didn't see anyone. "Who are you, and where are we?" Astrea asked. "You are in Collingwood," a voice said and a young woman stepped forward from the trees. She had long flowing blond hair and was wearing a long white dress. Her blue eyes were filled with wisdom beyond her supposed years. "Why are we here?" Theo demanded. "Forgive me, my name is Orianna. You four are ere to protect our world from the evil that has invaded it," the woman said. "What if we don't want to?" Theo asked. "Then the evil will rule and the other Realms will be in danger," Orianna said. "What other Realms?" Theo asked. Astrea, Elenor, and Lizzia looked at her strangely, but Orianna only smiled. "This will explain everything," she said and handed Astrea a small book. She then disappeared in a white of flash. Astrea looked at the book. It was small and covered with a silk gold cover. The pages seemed to be made of silver paper, but looked stronger then paper ever could. She glanced in it then back at the others. "Well, we might as well get to know each other. I am Astrea of one of the tribes from Fantasy," Astrea said. "My name is Lizzia from the high tech part of Twilight," Lizzia said. "I am Elenor, though all my friends call me Elley. I am from the forest regions of Manora," Elenor said. "I don't have a clue where you people come from. Probably from an insanity clinic. But I come from Chicago and my name is Theo," Theo said. "You mean you�re from Earth?" Elenor asked. "Yeah, like the rest of you," Theo snapped. "It seems like one of us doesn't know about the other Realms, but you have to expect that from Earth," Astrea sighed. "What are you talking about?" Theo asked. "Easy, there are six main Realms and billions of smaller Realms. Earth, Fantasy, Twilight, Manora, Collingwood, and Legend are the six main Realms. Earth is the only one that is separated slightly away from the other five to protect it. So very few from Earth know about the other Realms. But we can tell you a little about our worlds. Mine is split between technology and nature. The population mostly consist of Unicorns and Humans," Lizzia said. "Mine is almost fully forest, a little is plain. There are small villages and the Humans are friends with the animals," Elenor said. Astrea sighed softly, "Well, my world is so split up its impossible to tell you all the regions and parts. Where I live, we are a warrior tribe that lives within the plains," Astrea said. "This is weird," Theo said. "That is the truth," Lizzia commented. "We had better find out why we are here," Astrea said. "Okay, what does that book say?" Elenor asked. Astrea opened it and started reading, "The time has come when for humans will be called to defend Collingwood from the evil Lady Morphia. The evil witch has risen in power and is searching to rule Collingwood. She uses her army, which is commanded by her Commander, Gavin, to attack. She also uses her powers to make herself young and beautiful as well as to attack. The Keepers will be called by the four crystals, which have been hidden for as long as they have been known. The Keepers will be taken from the four of the six Realms. The clear crystal is the crystal of shimmering ice; it can freeze who ever it is pointed at for as long as the wearer wishes. The Leader of the Keepers wears it. The red crystal is the crystal of true sight. The Protector wears it. It can be used to see the spells of Lady Morphia and to change anyone it is pointed at into a friend for as long as the wearer wants. The green crystal is the crystal of healing. It is worn by the Healer and is used to heal almost any injury in either human or animal. It can also help the wearer to understand the animals. The purple crystal is the crystal of invisibility. It can make the wearer and anyone the wearer touches invisibly for as long as the wearer wishes. The Scribe wears it. The duties of the four Keepers are these. The Leader is responsible for the team. The Leader must lead the others through each mission and get them back to safety. The Leader must make the final decision on all plans and is the guardian of the crystal of shimmering ice. The Protector must keep the others as well as his/herself safe throughout the missions. The Protector must also be the guardian of the crystal of true sight. The Healer has the power to cure any person or creature suffering from an illness or injury. The Healer must settle arguments and determine the answer to difficult questions raised throughout the adventures with the help of the jewel crystals and the Wheel of Choices together. The Healer must be the guardian of the crystal of healing. The Scribe is the second in command to the Leader. The Scribe must keep the journal in his/her possession and protect it at all times. The Scribe must write down all the important and the missions into the Journal. The Scribe must code and decode secret messages found within these pages. The Scribe must look up answers to some questions within this book and must be the guardian of the crystal of invisibility. The Keepers must find a place within the Secret Garden to build their fort. It must be secret from all except their allies," Astrea stopped reading and looked at the others. "Sounds like a big job," Lizzia commented. "Are you sure there is nothing in there about going home?" Theo asked. "It only says that we must defeat the evil first before we can return to our Realms," Astrea said. "Great, we're stuck here. So now what do we do, oh great Leader?" Theo asked sarcastically. "We must find this Secret Garden before this Lady Morphia and her army finds us," Lizzia said. "I can help with that," a small voice said. "Where are you?" Elenor asked as they looked around. "Here," the voice said and a small light landed on a low tree limb. When they came closer they could see that it was a small fairy with black hair wearing a green dress. "Who are you?" Astrea asked. "My name Elanil, I am Forest Fairy and a scout for Queen Lalnoor. I can lead you to the Secret Garden," the small fairy said. "All right," Astrea said. Elanil flew off and the Keepers followed her. They came to a thick bush that seemed to be a wall to a maze. Elanil led them through the maze to where a small-woodened shelter was. "Well, here it is. Its been waiting for you every since Lady Morphia showed up. All your supplies are in there. Bye," Elanil said and few off. "Thanks," Elenor called. They then walked in. The building consisted of eight rooms, four bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a small green house, and a bathroom. The Keepers checked out each of the bedrooms. "Well, my bag with my clothes and weapons are in here," Astrea called from one of the bedrooms. "My suitcases are in here," Theo said from a room beside Astrea's. "My clothes and other stuff are in here," Elenor said from a room besides Theo's. "My clothes and computer equipment are in here," Lizzia said from the room besides Elenor's. "Well, we had better get unpacked then see what we have to do," Astrea said. The others agreed and they went to work in their separate rooms. Astrea was the first one done, being the one with the fewer amounts of things. She had put her clothes in the small closet, her guitar in a corner, her flute on the dresser and her few weapons were hidden in varies places except for her dagger, which lay on the nightstand beside the bed. She walked out and sat in a chair and picked up the book. Elenor was the next one done. She had also placed her clothes in the closet and drawers. Her medical supplies and other things were also put in varies places. She joined Astrea in the living room. Theo joined them shortly after. She had put all her clothes in the closet and the drawers. Her other stuff was either hidden in varies places or placed in what drawers were left. Lizzia joined them last, because she had to set up her variety of computer equipment and to put her clothes away. "Well, as far as I have read. It seems like Morphia has a pretty nasty and large looking army. We are going to have to find a way other then to directly attack her. I suggest we search her castle out first and found out what we can. But we had better not do anything foolish," Astrea commented. "That might work, but how would we get in?" Elenor asked. "Well, since I can make us invisibly, we can probably sneak in, look around, and sneak out without a problem," Lizzia said. "So we are just going to do this?" Theo asked. "We have to," Astrea said. "All right, just so we can get home. I'll help. So what are we going to be facing?" Theo asked. "Skeleton guards, variety of monsters. I am really wondering about her Commander though, he seems to have powers of his own, but the book doesn't really specify," Astrea said. "Well, we are just going to have to find out, aren't we? What if we get caught?" Theo asked. "We can use our crystals and if worst comes to worst, our weapons. That is if any of you have any?" Astrea asked. "I have a small dagger, but that is it," Theo said. "I don't have any weapons, I never needed them," Elenor said. "Nether have I. But I can design some. But I think we should get this scouting mission over first," Lizzia said. "All right, I'll be back," Astrea said and went into her room. She came back a moment later carrying a few weapons. She handed a sword to Theo, a wooden bow to Elenor, knowing she wouldn't want to hurt anyone permanently, and a bow and arrows to Lizzia. She then strapped her dagger to her waist and another sword to her back. "You have any other weapons?" Theo asked sarcastically. "Actually, I have a few more daggers and another set of bow and arrows. But I didn't want to weigh us down, not lets go," Astrea said. They hurried out of the house and quickly found where they were supposed to go. They walked toward the dark castle in the distance. When they came into the edge of the Village, they stopped. "All right, here is the plan. We go invisible and sneak into the castle. Then we check it and meet back here. Understand?" Astrea asked. "How long should we be in there?" Lizzia asked. "One hour, that is about as long as we can take," Astrea said. "All right, lets go," Theo said. Lizzia pulled out her crystal and touched each of them with it. They disappeared one after another and then Lizzia disappeared. They made their way to the Castle of Dread. They arrived a few minutes later. They split and check out the different parts of the castle. Astrea went for the upper levels, Theo took the lower levels, Elenor was checking out the outside of the castle, and Lizzia was checking out the middle levels. Astrea snuck into the upper rooms. Most of it happened to be bedrooms and a throne room, but there was no one in sight. She had the feeling that something was immensely wrong when she found a hidden door. She opened it and walked in. There in front of her were two people, an old woman and a young man. The woman chanted something and was consumed in smoke. A moment later she appeared as a young woman. "Well, Gavin, have these heroes appeared yet?" she asked. "There are rumors that they have arrived, all of them are women. The oldest is either nineteen or twenty, the other two are eighteen, and the last is fifteen or sixteen," the young man said. "Well, this will be interesting. Maybe I can destroy these so called Crystal Keepers quickly, before they try anything," the woman said. "Lady Morphia, we can't find them. They disappeared into the Secret Garden. Our spies tried to follow them but lost them within it," Gavin said. "Don't worry, I'll get them with this," Morphia said and held up a gray crystal with a spider in it. Astrea gasped softly when a pain hit her, but she held the gasp in. "What will that do?" Gavin asked. "It will help me find and destroy them," Morphia said, "Now come, I must attended to something." They left the room. Astrea looked at the crystal lying on the table. She couldn't leave it in Lady Morphia's hands, so what could she do? She steeled herself and walked forward, feeling the evil radiate from it. She picked it up and almost dropped it from the pain that shot up her arm. She closed her eyes against the pain then opened them. She then got out of the room. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Theo snuck into the lower level. Most of it was dungeon, and she was appalled by the violence. The sense of the pain was filling the air. But there was no one down here, except the guards. She snuck into a cell and noticed a fifteen-year-old girl chained to a wall. She didn't appear to be hurt. Theo approached her. "Hey, do you want out of here?" she asked softly. The girl looked around but couldn't see her, but she nodded anyway. "All right, just to tell you. My name is Theo and I can pick any lock on Earth," Theo said and knelt. She pulled out her lock picks and quickly picked the lock. The girl stood up and rubbed her wrists. "Well, get out of here, I'll cover your escape," Theo said. The girl nodded and ran. She hurried past the guards. The skeleton guards turned to go after her when Theo sliced them down with a swipe of her sword. She then ran after the girl. They made their way out of the castle and the girl went on toward the Village. Theo turned back to go into the castle to check it out a little more. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Lizzia snuck around but only found soldiers� barracks and reception areas. She snuck out of the castle when the time was almost up. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Elenor had the same amount of luck. She had found only certain monsters and shelters for them. She also left to get back to their meeting place. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* They met back at the meeting place, but Theo and Astrea were still missing. They began to worry when they were still missing when the invisibility spell wore off and the two had not returned. But just as they were about to get back to the castle, two figures appeared over the hill. Astrea's skin was gray and she looked horrible. Something was clutched in her right hand. Theo looked a little better off, though she looked angry. Elenor and Lizzia ran toward them. "What is going on?" Elenor asked. "We had better get back to the hide out first," Astrea whispered. "No way, we are going to Orianna first," Theo snapped. "I think you are right, besides, I don't think we can let this thing anywhere near the Secret Garden," Astrea said. "What?" Lizzia asked. "I'll tell you later," Astrea said. They made their way to Orianna's Glen. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* They got to the Glen quickly. Orianna appeared soon after. "What is wrong?" she asked. "Astrea's sick," Elenor said. "No I am not. Its this thing," Astrea said softly. "You have the Spider Crystal," Orianna stated. "Yes," Astrea said. "You are lucky to still be alive, and I know why you did it," Orianna said. Astrea didn't say anything but nodded slightly. "Theo, you are the Protector," Orianna said. Theo looked at her. "You want me to take it?" Theo asked. Orianna nodded. "All right, here goes," Theo said. She tried to take it from Astrea but Astrea's hand was firmly around it. "Let go," Theo said. "I can't," Astrea gasped. Theo muttered something then decided something. She gently touched her crystal on Astrea's hand. Astrea's hand opened up and just as Theo took the crystal from it Astrea collapsed. Elenor and Lizzia caught her. Theo glared at the crystal then looked at Orianna. "Now what do I do with it?" she asked. "Go hide it where no one but you can find it," Orianna said. Theo nodded and quickly went off. "You had better take her back to your hide out. She will be all right soon," Orianna said to the others. They nodded and then put Astrea's arms on each of their shoulders. They then went back to their hide out. Theo arrived at nightfall. "So, what did you do with it?" Lizzia asked. "I got rid of it and that is all I am going to say about that," Theo said, "So, how is our great Leader?" "I wish you would quit that. Anyway, Elenor was just in there and said that she wanted to talk to you when you got here. So go in there," Lizzia said. "Where is Elenor anyways?" Theo asked. "She went back into her room," Lizzia said. "OK, well, I better get in there," Theo said. She walked into Astrea's room. "Ya wanted to see me?" she asked. "I just wanted to say thank you," Astrea said softly, sitting up. "You look better," Theo commented. "I feel better," Astrea said. "I just want to know something," Theo said. "What?" Astrea asked. "Why did you do something so stupid?" Theo asked. "I knew I had to protect the group and even though I don't really know you people, I knew I had to get rid of that thing before it hurt any of us," Astrea said softly. "Well, don't let it happen again," Theo said after a moment. Astrea smirked softly, "I won't." "Good, see you in the morning," Theo said. "All right," Astrea said. Theo left the room and headed back into her room. |
| The Begining |