Disclaimer: I do NOT own Final Fantasy in any way. Most characters are mine so that can be copy written to me. Yay personal characters!!

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Eh.hi everyone. I'm taking a break from my Zelda stories because I had a block. That really sucks too. But hopefully this is better written and comes out better. ^_^

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The Legend of the Crystal Shards

Chapter 1: The Legend is Told

Legend says that one-day over three millennia ago a powerful crystal was made from the lava from the core of the earth. This crystal was left untouched for many years guarded by the god Ramuh. The wise old god took very good care of this sacred rock and over the centuries this crystal took the job of keeping peace in the world and sanctity between people.

But one day that all changed. An evil man with a wicked mind set out to find the crystal to make it his own. All the powers of time and space would be for the taking, and to wield such a power would make people bow and tremble before his feet. He set out in search of the holy land in which the crystal laid.

After a few years of searching, the man finally discovered where the holy land could be found but the only way there was by a pure heart. All others would be sent to the fiery bowels of the underworld where the demons lay for souls to stray from their masters. The evil went to the gates of the hellish world and convinced many demons that under his power, they could steal souls and posses unnatural powers. So he began rule above thousands of monster minions.

They scoured the land in search of one who could be pure of heart and could be convinced to go into the holy land to get the crystal that held the supernatural powers. At last they came across a young man clad in a tunic of brown. The cynical man dresses in tattered robes and posed as a lowly wizard. To him the evil asked for the young mans help to get an item that could bring both of them riches. The young man declined saying that riches were nothing and that he lived under the rule of nature.

Discouraged but not crestfallen the evil asked the man if he would at least help and old wizard regain what was rightfully his. The young man agreed to this and said that the wizard's praise would be all that he would accept for payment. So the evil left his minions behind and took the young man on a journey.

Over mountains and through rivers they went to find the sacred land. It was told that the holy land was found over the never-ending fields and past a rock the reached the sky. One must also travel under the ever-going forest and through the torrential waters with all colors that came from the sky. The wicked mind did not understand what this meant, but maybe this was why one needed a pure heart.

On the journey the two men stopped in many villages and asked a few questions. All of the answers came out the same as the legend. They roamed past many fields and wandered through a small forest. In the forest they came upon a clearing filled with brightly colored flowers. The evil walked through them and crushed them with every step as the young man stopped and stared at them for a few minutes. The evil turned around as he reached the end of the clearing and called for the young one to follow. The younger replied that this clearing was one of the never-ending fields. Greatly confused, evil walked back to the man. When asked how it was so, the young man sat and looked toward the flowers. He said that the flowers in the field had roots, and the roots went on and on never stopping. Because of all of the roots, their intricate pattern was never ending. All of the other fields that they had seen were a sign that they were nearing the holy land.

Again they pressed forward into the wilderness. For food they ate berries and an occasional animal, all the while the evil still wanting to possess the crystal that held eternal power. Stopping for a rest in an open plain both men sat down. The evil leaned against a small boulder as the young man lay down. The young man said to the evil that they are one step closer to the holy land. When asked, the young man replied that when you lay down with your head toward the sky it seems never ending. If you lay near a rock, it looks as though it reaches into the sky and never ends.

After a rest the two pressed onward. More villages were passed and supplies were gained, all the while the evil becoming more impatient. His desires rose up through his body like a coursing hot liquid. He bent his mind to suppress these feelings for just a bit longer. The travelers wandered into a mountainous area with cliffs and crags up to the skies. Those skies were filled with treacherous looming clouds that screamed with winds of icy chills. As they pushed through the rocks and against the wind the young man turned to the evil and told him they were one step nearer to the holy land. The evil looked at him in puzzlement and the youth replied that they have been traveling under the ever-going forest since they left. The clouds produce a pathway for the wind yet also cover the sky like branches. One can get lost in the forest of white and gray but always find their way out.

The evil did not believe that the young man was telling the truth. None of his responses made any sense to him at all. How could anyone ever think of such ridiculous ideas? Yet they still pursued toward the holy land. Both traveled over more plains and fields and into a forest. In the forest lay a quiet fresh water stream in which they could make a dinner of fish and replenish their water canteens. As the evil sat upon a rock and speared for their dinner the young man took a look around. An hour later the man came back to find the evil had already eaten all of the catch. Taking into mind that the man he traveled with must be older than him, the young man put it into the back of his mind and told the evil that they were almost there. The wizard grabbed the man by the shoulder with a painful grip and asked where it was. He was tired of being lead around like a dog on a chain. The young man smiled and led the wizard to a break in the stream. Following the left side, they came across a small waterfall that was a bit taller then the men themselves. The young man pointed to it and grinned as the wizard sat on a rock. He asked the younger how that could be and the man replied that to a salmon, a small waterfall seems like it reaches the sky. As the sun reflects against the water, it turns into a rainbow of flashes that they follow to their home.

The older man sighed and put his face into his hands. At the rate they were at they would never find the holy land. The young man urged the evil to follow as he walked up the stream and the wizard reluctantly came. After a few minutes of walking, the young man pointed to a small field of flowers with a small boulder in the center. Around the boulder lay a small stream with a dip in it to make it cascade across the lower half of the rock. Above them lay an endless sky with white clouds soaring with the wind. The young man walked to the stream, then turned to the evil and told him that they had found the holy land.

The wizard in an outrage pulled a dagger from in his cloaks and stabbed the young man in the back. The man's blood trickled off his body and into the ground, staining it a dark crimson. As it seeped into the ground the water nearby gained a reddish color and flowed by the boulder also staining it in its wake. The sky above darkened as the ground under the boulder shook. The boulder cracked at the base and the water flowed into it causing the crack to widen. At last, the boulder broke with a mighty crack and a small crimson orb appeared. It was the color of blood but it shone as if it were a full moon. The evil walked forward and reached for the orb. It was almost in his grasp and he could feel the power emanating from the sphere. At long last the power was at his fingertips. The wind blew and the man's robes snaked off of his body revealing his old tattered clothes that he had worn before. He was now the ruler.

The sky darkened even more and thunderclaps could be heard from a distance. The evil grasped the orb tightly in his hand and slid his fingers across its sleek surface. Behind him a low rumbling began and as he turned around an old man with a staff stood looking as though he were staring into space. The evil's long black hair whipped into his face and licked his cheeks. The wind picked up and the robes that were on the ground blew over to the dead man's body.

The old man stared looked into the evil's eyes and saw the desire for power and the lust to kill. The evil walked over to the other and pushed his way by, though the winds seemed as though they were pushing him back. The old man lifted his arm and raised the staff high into the air. The sky above him crackled in anticipation. The man's beard blew in the wind as he turned toward the evil caper and called upon the thunderous clouds to give him the power of judgment.

A flash of gold light cut through the sky and fell toward the ground. Its landing place was exactly where the evil was. The evil jerked around as the electricity surged through his body and into his veins. A hot feeling came over his limbs as the capillaries within his appendages burst and his skin turned black and red. His eyes bulged as his throat became tight and the air refused to come out of his lungs. His heart raced as he fell limp to the ground and reached for the orb on the ground nearby.

The orb, which had been safely guarded for many centuries, lay on the ground in three separate pieces. One, the color of the sun's rays on the snow. The second, the color of the night sky when there is no moon or stars. And the third, the color of ice in a river, transparent and slightly blue with a hint of a rainbow.

The old man walked to the orb, bent over, and picked up the pieces to the treasure he could no longer guard. The pieces he gave to three kings who would be loyal and trust worthy. They were to hold them under guard and pass them down from generation to generation each with the legend to be told with it. Each of the kings lived far away from each other. The black shard living in the west in the vast grassy plains, the gold shard living in the east where the forests lay thick and green, and the blue shard living in the desert equidistant from both its relatives. Each of them possessing a great power.

Never again should the pieces of the crystal sphere be reunited for the earth would tremble under the power it possesses. And even if that were not heeded, the world would be destroyed in it being brought together.