Prologue
Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress.
–Bruce Barton
~800 years earlier~
"Audra, what do thee think?" asked a lady with pale skin and shiny black hair. I had lost myself for a second. I was in King Edmond, king of the Eastern Lands' castle. We were sitting in the conference room, one of the only places everybody could fit. Queen Madeline, queen of the Western Lands sat with her legs crossed on the west side of the table. Her brown hair was worn straight down and dress clung loosely onto her. King Lancelot, King of the Southern Lands sat at the south of the table. He wore a black button down suit and his wife who stood beside him was wearing a lovely white gown that went nicely with her blonde hair. King Zuki, king of the Northern Lands sat at the north of the table with his wife, Queen Sydney standing closely behind him. They both wore thick clothes that were the only show of the cold land they came from. King Edmond sat, obviously on his normal side of the table, the east side. He wore his normal nice suit and his beautiful wife (who I thought looked patient and calm as she stood behind him) wore a beautiful dress made of the finest silk.
The Protectors, Rhodanthe (the mage of water), Herman (the mage of fire), Jaromir (the mage of Earth), and I (the mage of air) all stood behind Queen Madeline (who was the queen of where we lived). We were discussing the gates of Avalon which obviously was the only thing that could ever cause such a meeting. I already knew Queen Madeline was the only one who trusted the Protectors to do their job and keep Jerold and his evil followers from stealing the magic of Avalon. Although I had heard Queen Katrina more than once bend down to talk to her husband King Edmond about the Protectors and what a fine job we had done so far.
I sighed, I despised my ancestor who had made the treaty saying the Protectors would take care of Avalon and meet every dozen years to discuss Avalon's safety in exchange for living in peace.
"She doesn't know what to think. Her mind is stuck in the past," growled Herman impatiently waiting for my answer.
"Temper Herman, temper," I warned before sinking back in thought. Let me answer. I begged Herman before seeing both choices. It was either I believe my friends and I could keep Avalon safe (which Jerold had made a very hard task to do) or close the gates of Avalon, stopping big flows of magic. I was saddened at the thought of closing the gates of Avalon, which would mean magical creatures and plants would all disappear on Earth and at the thought that me and my friends would be the only ones with very powerful magic (not that we weren't already very powerful but other creatures had a good amount of power too). But on the other hand everyone would be safe. Wasn't my job as leader of the Protectors to care about safety first? It was I knew it was. This meant I only had one choice.
"The gates of Avalon should be closed," I saw all of the kings and queens stare at me startled.
King Zuki was the first one to speak. "As is your will, my fine lady. The gates of Avalon shall be closed," he said. His words joined up the meeting.
"What were you thinking!" hissed Herman. We now stood outside in our favorite meadow.
"You should know, you were probably listening to them the whole time," I said. He turned on me, growling. He hated when I brought up his power in this way. He was unable to control what he heard.
"I am going to miss this place," Jaromir whispered sadly as he sat raising a flower slowly watching each leaf bloom and grow.
"We aren't going anywhere," I pointed out softly as I came over to stand beside him.
"It will never be the same though," Rhodanthe said throwing rain in the sky from a nearby puddle creating rainbows. Herman nodded his head in agreement as he walked up to Rhodanthe wrapping his arm around her waist and pointing his other hand at her raindrops creating a brighter rainbow. She smiled slightly. As the healer she rarely showed pain which hurt me the most.
"Nothing is going to happen except that the gates of Avalon will close making everyone on Earth safe," I pointed out looking surprised as Jaromir hopped up.
"No, it won't be. The Earth, itself will lose magic and eventually we will. The Protectors have no purpose anymore. Now we are no better than powerful witches and wizards," he stormed. The fire in his eyes made me step back in panic. His eyes softened, apologizing silently before turning and storming off into the forest. I looked over at Rhodanthe and Herman and closed my eyes when I saw her pain and his anger. I turned and flew away in a single jump.
I landed in my favorite tree. It was too tall for someone to see me from the ground so I felt very safe up here. In the spring there would usually be birds but not now in the fall. Although fall usually brought the wind which brought me happiness I could find no joy in it now. I looked off into the sky.
The clouds seem to taunt me as usual. I couldn't go to high for fear of losing oxygen which meant I could usually just barely get above the clouds. But this time they taunted me for they seemed to be darkening into a storm which reminded me of my troubles rather than helping me relax.
"Someday, they will be thankful the gates of Avalon are closed," I vowed, glancing up at the bright sky, hopefully.
How do you like it so far? Please review. Oh and I am planning on atleast Audra coming back into the story later on but these are not the main charecters, this part is just important to remember because it explains what is happening later on.
^..^*Crystalpath*^..^