Author's Note: I've finally finished this first chapter! And thank God, too, because this has been about three years in the making. I'm planning to work on part of this for Camp NaNoWriMo in April, so keep an eye out for this.

Also worth noting is that this is the last main story in the Gemstone Saga. So be sure to read up on the previous entries if you haven't already. Otherwise, enjoy.

Somewhere out in the Nambulite desert, there existed a tree called Yggdrasil. It was the only one that could be seen for miles on end, and it was in fact the very tree from which Amber, the supreme Goddess of all creation, was born and the world of Mineralis came to be. It therefore warranted protection from a select group of life-forms specifically chosen to guard it for the rest of their lives.

The first one of these sacred guardians was Bridgmanite, one of the most beautiful and ancient Gems to ever exist. As the descendant of a primodial Gem race, she was especially relevant to the history of Gemkind. Not only did she help make peace with the mineral snail-like Yilgarn-Didyma, gaseous Vaporae, amphibious Xenophi, and scaly Opisthias; she also led the way for modern civilization by utilizing her knowledge of the subterranean world to help them thrive. Her skin was the color of umber, her eyes the color of burnt sienna, and her hair pitch black. Her gem was located on her stomach, exactly where a navel would be, and it gave her the ability to manipulate the earth as she saw fit.

The second guardian of Yggdrasil, Ulexite, was also a Gem. In her case, however, her lineage was a lot more recent and not as significant as Bridgmanite's. Her skin was a silky white and her eyes were a striking grayish color. Her hair was translucent, though, and so was the gem on her forehead. The gem itself could be readily used as a mirror if she wished.

The third guardian was an Opisthia named Rhyncho Searles Trona (or Rhyncho for short). As his full name would suggest, a clan of Trona used to own him as a slave for agricultural work before eventually manumitting him after half a Mineralis year, which was to say fifty Earth years. He towered mightily over Bridgmanite (who was 5'5") and Ulexite (who was 5'1") at 7'9" and always stood upright. He had the head of a tuatara, a spiny crest on his back, a narrow abdomen, a tail as wide as a cedar log that tapered at the end, and dull greenish-brown scales all throughout his body.

The fourth guardian was a Yilgarn-Didyma named Kalgoorlie. According to many an oral legend, he was the first alpha male of his species and therefore the Adam of his kind. In height, he was 6'7", 7'1" in length and a monstrous 9'2" in width. His shell was conical and beautifully iridescent, his eyestalks (which were considered by many to be his most attractive assets) were as thick as regular wooden pencils found in the human workplace, and his body had a sort of peach hue which was only magnified by the slimy sheen he constantly produced.

The fifth guardian was a Vapora named Lockyer, who hailed from the Helium race. She gave off a bright yellow glow that tended to peak whenever she felt utter joy for something or someone. Her "body" shape was practically nonexistent, taking the form of something like a twig rather than an actual figure. She was 5'1" in height, mightily smaller when compared to Bridgmanite and about the same height as Ulexite, but chose to compensate for her tiny size by floating at all times.

The final guardians were two Xenophi, Bufo and Rana. Bufo was a hefty and muscular specimen with slimy fawn-colored skin while his companion Rana was much slimmer and more agile with periwinkle skin that constantly sparkled when she moved. They were both 6'2", not nearly as tall as Kalgoorlie or Rhyncho but still impressively tall.

Bridgmanite, alongside the others, was participating in the annual bonding ritual with the tree when she suddenly yelled out in pain and stumbled backwards to the ground.

"Is something wrong, Bridgmanite?" Kalgoorlie couldn't help but ask.

"There's a great disturbance here..." Bridgmanite announced.

"What do you mean?"

"It's been infected."

"Infected? With what, pray tell?"

"I can't tell, but whatever it is... if it kills Yggdrasil, it kills us all."

"Oh my..." Ulexite muttered softly. "We have to do something about this."

"But what can we do?" Kalgoorlie asked once more. "We're only mortal. It would take someone with as much power as the Gods to fix it."

All of a sudden, a figurative light bulb went off over Rhyncho's head. "I think I know who could help us," he said. "All we have to do is find him."

"One, who could that possibly be?" Kalgoorlie questioned the anthropomorphic lizard. "Two, you know we can't just leave this tree alone. It needs our protection."

"Right, which is why I want you to go get him. His name is Steven Universe and he's the chancellor of the Chalcopyrite Queendom."

"Wait a minute, you mean that Steven Universe? The one whose mother was able to defeat Zirconia without resorting to murder or violence of any kind?"

"Yes, that one! Now go! It's a matter of life or death!"

"Alright, alright! I'm going!" And with that, Kalgoorlie was slowly but surely on his way to seeking out Steven Universe.

Steven Universe was preparing to start his duties as chancellor of Chalcopyrite, writing to other nations and asking them for solutions to new problems for the time being, when he suddenly heard someone call his name.

"Steven!" he could hear the Queen Pearl call out to him.

"Yes, Your Divinity?" he called back.

"There's someone here who's come all this way to see you!"

"Well, who is it?"

"Well, why don't you come and see for yourself?"

Steven let out a heavy sigh. "Fine."

He got up from his desk and trudged out into the throne room where the Queens Pearl and Garnet were waiting for him. In between them was a life-form he'd never encountered before, at least not up close.

"P-Pearl?" Steven started to ask hesitantly. "G-Garnet? Who is this?"

"Steven..." Garnet began. "This is Kalgoorlie. He's a fellow Yilgarn-Didyma and one of the guardians of Yggdrasil."

"O-Okay, but what is he doing here?"

"I think it's best if we let him speak here."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Kalgoorlie said. He diverted his attention towards the Chancellor who stood before him. "Steven, the reason I came all this way from Yggdrasil was to tell you that..." He gulped and leaned in just a bit closer. "...the tree is dying."

Steven's eyes widened at what he'd just heard. "What?"

"Yggdrasil. It's dying."

"I'm sorry... did you just say Yggdrasil... is dying?"

"That's right." He sucked some air into his pneumostome and then puffed it out in a matter of seconds. "And you're our only hope."

"Really? But why me?"

Kalgoorlie sucked in some more air and puffed it out before speaking again. "It recently came to my attention- and by 'came to my attention,' I mean one of my fellow guardians told me -that your mother is Rose Quartz, the one Gem who was able to bring Zirconia's murderous rampage to a halt by showing her love and kindness instead of hatred and violence, the Gem who fought a war against four tyrants for freedom, the Gem whose father was once friends with another Chalcopyrite Chancellor Zoisite, may he rot for all eternity. She fell in love with a human back on Earth and then sacrificed herself so you, the bridge between humanity and Gemkind, could be born."

"So you've come all this way from Yggdrasil to tell me it's dying and that I'm the only one who can save it, correct?"

"Yes, right again!" Kalgoorlie's eyestalks stiffened in the air with pure and utter joy. "I'm so glad you understand. And it took me quite a bit of time to do this, too. I mean, only three Earth days? That's gotta be a new record." He giggled a bit while blushing all over his body, somewhat of an impossibility for snails on Earth but not for Yilgarn-Didyma in the Mineralis dimension. "Anyway, only Amber knows how much time is left until Yggdrasil dies and life as we know it is destroyed, so you'd better have come up with a strategy to save it before then. May the odds be ever in your favor."

And with that, he proceeded to slowly and painstakingly turn himself around and make his exit. Now Steven was just staring out into the void, shell-shocked by what he'd been told.

"Steven?" Pearl asked him out of concern. "Are you alright?"

"Honestly, I don't know," her surrogate son answered uncertainly. "This is a lot to take in. I'm not sure I'd be up to the challenge."

"Oh, Steven, don't think like that. Of course you would. You're Steven Universe, the boy who's saved us and humanity a dozen times over. I know this may seem like a hefty task for you, but if you could put an end to Zoisite's murderous rampage on Earth, then you could figure out a way to save Yggdrasil and thus all of Mineralis. Right?"

"Well, if you believe I can, I will. Thanks, Pearl. I won't let you down. Alright, now why don't we get to work on that strategy? You were always good at those things."

"Good idea. Maybe I can ask Garnet to help, too."

"Yeah, she could help us see which strategy would work and which one would fail. Let's go!"

And with that, they set off into the meeting room where the Chalcopyrite Parliament would surely be waiting so they could get to work on a plan that could save Mineralis.