Characters:



Flarite


Skelerite

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The Storyline:

Inside a volcano, on the deserted island of Cryatheros, there is a stone. Not just any stone, a Magma Stone, only formed when the essences of rock and lava combine. It gives the power of fire, heat and all that come under that category. It grants powers un-known to man, and the owner becomes an immortal god. So many have searched for it, but failed. They either died, or gave up. But one Ny'vene was faced with an impossible decision. Risk his life and try to help, or live and watch his best friend crumble. The Magma Stone was key, the thin line between life and death...
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The Story:

I looked at the egg for a long time. I wished it was all right, but it wasn't. I could hope, but I knew no amount of wishing could fix this. The egg was almost squashed, battered and bruised all over. The red shell was brown with mud and filth. Flarite's a good mum. She kept the egg in perfect condition, despite it being the child of an enemy. We have fought against Nephinis for many years, and when we attacked their camp, we killed a new mother. Her egg would die. Flarite said it wasn't the egg's fault. That the egg shouldn't die. So she kept it and loved it. It was like her own child. She's always been strange, but we won't be friends if she was normal.

Then the Morkkos came. They were a wild pack, hungry scavengers. A young female and an egg... Hmm, an easy target, I guess. So they attacked. Flarite fought back, but was outnumbered. I heard the shouts and flew there as fast as I could. I beat bear after bear, Morkko after Morkko. My armour helped. But I was too late. The egg had taken a beating. My heart fell. Flarite was broken. Her adopted child was dieing.

She looks broken now too. The quiet breathing from the shell just gets quieter and ragged. Her child is dieing. Right there, infront of me, dieing. And there's nothing I can do. Nothing can fix this. Nothing. I looked at Flarite. She was looking at the egg, silent tears spilling out of her amber eyes. I had to do something, but there was nothing to do. I had to help, but there wasn't a way. Hopeless. It was all hopeless. I imagined that I was being sucked into an endless void of hopelessness. Nothing could help me as I struggled against the suction of the void. So my struggles grew weak and I let myself be sucked in. It took me to a floating island, where everyone and everything lived in peace.Is that where you go when you die? I thought as I looked around.Whatever, whoever comes out of the egg will like it here. So many friends. All happy, all peaceful...

"Skel."

Flarite snapped me out of my daydream. She looked depressed and was about to cry. "Sorry," I said. She nodded. "Can you go now? I'm sorry..." She wanted to be alone with her egg. Fair enough.
"Of course Flare. I'm sorry..."Then I flapped my wings twice and took to the skies. I saw her hug the egg and burst into tears before I left. I felt awful. And there wasn't a thing I could do to help her. So I flew towards Skeleton Cave. It was my home. My beautiful home.

I'm not boasting. I live in a world famous landmark. There are crystal skeletons embedded in the walls of the cave. No-one knew about it until I found it. But by the time the Natural Landmark Trust arrived, I had claimed it. There was nothing they could do about it. Once land is claimed, its claimed. On Sundays I let tourists in to make some money. They love the crystallised fossils of Sylestis in the walls and floor. I sell some skeletons to people if they pay enough. Some skeletons that weren't in the stone. People loved them. I loved them. It's the best place to live in the world.

Usually.

Today it was just a plain old cave. The skeletons were just rocks. Hopeless, dull, black rocks. They couldn't save the egg. They were useless. I went to my bedroom, the only room off limits on Sundays. Because it doesn't have stone in it. It's just pure crystal. Smooth walls and a glass-like floor of the precious mineral. The public would try to take bits of it. Then the walls would have chips in it, the floor would have holes in it. I don't want that. This is my house. My home. I want it to stay like that. I curled up in my bed of luxurious cloth I had bought from a gang. They stole it from humans. But humans don't matter. They just catch us, and try to make us do what they want. They don't. We do what we want. Nothing changes that.

I couldn't sleep. As soon as a closed my eyes, images of the egg popped up. And Flarite, sobbing, mourning her soon-to-be-dead baby. So I read a book called 'objects of the land'. It's just a book about all the magical items that can be found in Sylestia. Crystal skeletons are in the newest copy, which I've got. I flicked through the pages, half reading. " Skull Mace, Crystal Skull Mace, Undead Bow, Bone Arrows, Acid Arrows, Corrosion Dagger," I muttered. "Crystal of Infinite Winter, Crystal of the Sun, Pure Summer Gemstone, Water Orb, Leaf Orb, Fire Orb, Magma Stone, Magma Mace...Wait." I flicked back to the Magma Stone page. The Magma Stone is a legendary item that can grant the user immortality as well as many other god-like abilities. This has not been proved to exist, but is featured in many legends. It is said to be hidden in a volcano, guarded by traps. It looks like a black, charred stone with red cracks that seem to be molten lava. Picture on the page 197. Other related items: Magma Mace- 15, Fire Orb- 17, Flaming Arrows- 19. This legendary stone could heal the egg. This was the hope, the life giving angel, a gift from the Gods.

The only problem was where it was. There are millions of volcanoes. I was searching for 1. 1 in a million. I threw the book down angrily. It caught the light from the crystals, revealing a faded word. I couldn't make it out at first, then it became clearer. Cryatheros.

"Cryatheros. What's that?" I said. It wasn't a relic or item, so maybe a person or a shop. "No, wait. Cryatheros. Cry-a-ther-ros. It sounds like Kyntheros. And that's an island. Maybe Cryatheros is an island. Or a place on the island. I've never heard of it before though..." I grabbed the book and shoved it into my backpack. I slung the bag on and leapt from the cave. I fell through the air, then flapped my wings. I flew through the skies towards an orchard. On the way, I just kept thinking about Cryatheros. It was a mystery. But mysteries get solved by detectives, so I could find out what Cryatheros was. Or where it was.

I was so busy daydreaming, I didn't notice that I was over the orchard. Then, a bird flew into me full pelt. it was holding a massive apple that was blocking its view. It obviously wasn't expecting a big dragon to be in the way. I landed in the orchard and filled the backpack with apples. They were the brightest red possible and were bursting with juice. I ate one and the flavour exploded in my mouth. I soon ate another and another and another. I got so carried away, I didn't notice the approaching footsteps. Or the clank of chains. Or the growls of the Morkko guards. Until they yelled at me.

I'm not suppose to be in the orchard. There's a fence round it to stop other creatures going in and eating the apples. Sylestis started flying in, over the fences. So the orchard is covered by a big dome of wire mess. I discovered a loose bit and started sneaking through to get apples. I've never been caught before.

The Morkko yelled, "who dares trespass in my orchard!!" He was getting ready to leap on me and kill me. There's no cops or anything, whoever catches the criminal punishes them any way they like. Morkkos normally kill. Actually, they always kill. Even each other. So I was toast. Unless I could talk my way out of it.

"Trespassing? No, no, dear Morkko friend. I'm helping you," I said. And I smiled and walked towards the Morkko, just for affect.
"Helping? How are you helping, trespassing on my property? How does that help me?" asked the Morkko savagely.
"That's just it, my friend. I'm not trespassing. I'm a legendary Ny'vene, one who the fire orb of Gracitas has touched. I teleport into this orchard and watch over the areas that you can't see, for you can't be everywhere at once. I'm helping you, I'm like a second pair of eyes, my friend. I'm helping your apples."
The Morkko glared at me. "Why were you eating an apple then? You seem to be a common crook."

I was stumped for a second, but soon came up with a reply. "Eating apples? What apples? Those were cameras, set up by a thief to see what times you look at that area. So when your not there, they could swipe the apples. I ate them to stop them filming you and your apples. That in itself is illegal, in my eyes. Is it in your opinion?"
"Yes it is. But why would you eat the cameras? Hmm..."The Morkko thought he had won.
"Because I am meant to be invisible, a secret hero. If people found out about me, I'd be swarmed with fans and villains wanting to destroy me. If I was destroyed how would I do any good? If I took the cameras, they would film me, if I squashed them, you would find them. Like I said, I'm invisible," I said to the bear. He wasn't so angry now.

"So your the good guy?" asked the Morkko.
"Of course," I replied.
"Get out of here, you invisible guy. I haven't seen you."
"Thanks friend," I said.
Then I flew away, out of the orchard, into the open skies. I considered going to find Flarite, but she wanted to be alone. So, I flew off. Kyntheros is a long way away, so I flew slowly. All the time, thoughts of the egg bounced round inside my head. Maybe it was dead. Maybe it was too late. I headed towards Kyntheros, towards the unknown.

I had been flying for a day when I saw an island below me. It wasn't Kyntheros, but it meant food and water. I glided down towards the small patch of green. It grew bigger until I could see the jungles, beaches and lakes that were dotted around the island. I headed towards a big lake that glistened in the light. I landed in it's cool waters and lay there for a minute or so. Flying had made me all sweaty and the water was refreshingly cool. I cleaned myself, then thought about the night. The sun was setting and I needed a shelter. There were tall, thick trees around the lake with coconuts near the top of them. I pushed the tree over and made a pile of coconuts. I pushed over more trees and got more coconuts. I chopped the trees into smaller strips, and made a little shelter out of them. I made a fire near the lakeside and watched it's amber light reflect on the water. Finally, I placed the big palm tree leaves over the top of my shelter, making it waterproof. I ate the coconuts, then used the skin as bowls to collect water. Then, as night began to steal the island, I lay in by shelter and tried to fall asleep.

THIS IS UN FINISHED PLEASE DO NOT POST COMMENTS. PLEASE PRIVATE MESSAGE ME THE COMMENTS INSTEAD, I'M HAPPY TO RECEIVE THEM

- Aren10000