The Elementum

“Now we save the world,” Jane repeated. Jason scoffed at the statement and rolled his eyes.

“How exactly are we supposed to that?” asked Jason as he turned to face Legatus. “I mean, no offense guys, but none of us are “hero” material,” he stated in a mocking tone.

“You’re wrong, Jason, each and every one of you has what it takes to carry out this task. Don’t doubt yourselves, and more importantly don’t doubt each other,” Legatus responded as he scanned their faces.

“But what exactly is our task?” Shana asked.

“Well, remember I told you about the seven Divine Crystals? How Emily trapped the power of the Elementum and of Pavus within them?”Legatus asked, and everyone simply nodded. “Well, the crystals’ purpose is not to simply contain the power of the Elementum when it is deemed convenient, but to contain the world’s most powerful sources of power. You see, the crystals are the source of the power of the Elementum. The power that you kids have running through you is nothing compared to the power that courses through each crystal. Furthermore, when the crystal is in the possession of someone with the ability to control the forces of nature it enhances the power of its beholder by allowing him or her to tap into its power. If someone like Pavus was to posses all seven crystals his power would be infinite! He would become something close to a god. That is why the crystals where hidden away thousands of years ago: to make sure no one gained possession over such massive power,” Legatus explained.

“So, Pavus is after the crystals, isn’t he?” Jane asked already knowing the answer to her question.

“Yes, and it-” Legatus responded.

“Is our duty to stop him” Tristen finished. Legatus nodded grimly.

“Your task is to find the crystals before he does. He already has his hands on the Dark Crystal, the one he was imprisoned in, and I’m sure he’s now very close to finding the next one” explained Legatus.

“How are we supposed to find them?” Tristen asked.

“Each of you is the key to finding the crystals. Each crystal has a corresponding force of nature, except for the dark crystal which can only contain souls. Before Pavus attacked the Council of Magic, we were able to find a long lost map which was made by our ancestors as a key to finding the crystals in case they were one day needed. However, only those gifted with the forces of nature can see the location of the crystals on the map,” explained Legatus. He retrieved a blank parchment from a pocket in his tunic, and gave it to Jason. “What do you see Jason?” Legatus asked.

The minute Jason looked down at the parchment lines started to appear on the light brown surface. The thin black lines continued to turn and swirl until a map was clearly visible. He did not recognize any of the landmarks on the map, so he figured it must be a map of Scindo.

“I see a map. It’s a path that starts at what seems like a beach and continues to some mountains to the east of it,” explained Jason. He showed the map to Tristen so he could see what he saw. Tristen frowned.

“I don’t see anything on it,” Tristen said in a confused tone.

“That’s because Jason can see the location of the Time and Space
crystal, and you can’t. If you grab the map it will show you the location of the Earth Crystal, if Jane grabs it she will see the location of the Fire Crystal, and so on. I, on the other hand, can’t see a thing besides a plain brown surface,” Legatus said trying to end in a lighter tone.

“Are you coming with us?” Jane suddenly asked. Legatus looked at her knowing full well what she was talking about.

“No, I’m afraid I have to stay behind, and kill off the creatures that are escaping into the other continents. You guys will have only each other to rely on. I don’t believe that it is a coincidence that all five of you are such close friends. Your friendship will help you through all the tough times that await you. Trust each other and rely on each other; that is the only way you’ll make it out of this alive,” encouraged Legatus. All five friends suddenly felt very nervous. They hadn’t pondered the thought that their lives might be in danger if they agreed to go through with all of this.

“What if we refuse?” Jason asked plainly.

“You can’t, I’m afraid you don’t really have a choice in this matter. Either you accept this task and face it head on, or you wait around here until Pavus comes looking for you. Either way, you’ll have to face him and your destiny,” Legatus responded.

“How are we supposed to go against someone as powerful as him? I mean, Sean here can barely manage walking without tripping! How are we supposed to kick monster butt in a place completely unfamiliar to us?!” Shana asked in a frantic tone.

“I’m sorry Shana, I wish I could tell you that it’s going to be easy, and that incredible fighting skills will suddenly appear within you the moment you need them, but that’s not the case. I know that this is completely unfair, and completely out of the blue, but then again so are most things in life. The most you can do is try to prepare as much as you can for the fight ahead before you land on Scindo,” Legatus replied in a sad and apologetic voice.

“And how do we do that?” Sean asked after having been quiet for quite a long time.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have much time to waste, so you will have to board a ship tomorrow at five am. During the two day trip to Scindo a trainer on board the ship will show you some basics on fighting, and you will also get to practice your powers while-” Legatus stopped when he noticed the panic looked on their faces. The chilly air entering the cave increased their uneasiness.

“Wait, what? You mean we leave in less than nine hours?” Shana asked with panic. Legatus nodded and lowered his gaze towards the fire.

“What about our families? How are we supposed to explain all of this to them?” asked Jane softly. Legatus’s face saddened, and he looked intently into the fire before responding.

“After you leave I will…. I will erase every memory they have of you, thus removing you from their lives,” Legatus grimly responded.

“You- you can do that? Wait, what happens when we come back?” Shana asked with shock.

“If you come back I will reverse the process, and implant fake memories, so it will be as if you never left,” Legatus responded.

“If we come back,” Sean repeated. Jason responded with a short mocking grunt. Jane looked down at her hands which she now realized were extremely cold. She brought her hands up to her mouth, and blew hot air into them. Her eyes looked over to Shana, whose face had a sad expression written all over it. Jane sighed and lowered her hands again.

“We will come back. As long as we have each other we can get through anything,” Jane stated with confidence. Tristen looked at her warmly and nodded.

“She’s right; we can do this,” Tristen said with equal confidence. He reached over and put his hand on top of hers. The warmth of his hand sent shivers down Jane’s spine, and she hoped to the heavens she wasn’t blushing.

“Alright, if you guys are in then so am I!” Shana stated cheerily as she put her both hands on her waist.

Sean grunted and then sighed.

“Fine, count me in” said Sean after a moment’s pause. All four looked over at Jason expecting his answer. Jason gave them a small sideways smile, and they knew he was in it with them too. Legatus looked at all five of them, and a sad smile spread over his face.

The fate of the world couldn’t be in better hands he though with optimism. “You have to look out for each other, and give each other support. I, more than anyone, know the pain of losing close friends, so follow my advice and look out for each other,” Legatus said in a kind tone. Suddenly, he stood up and smiled warmly at them.

“You said Pavus attacked the Council of Magic…did they-” Jane couldn’t finish her question, for she saw a Legatus’s face become filled with pain.

“Yes, Pavus killed every member of the Council. I was able to escape, it wasn’t easy, but I knew I had to find you, and tell you the truth. You five are our only hope for survival,” Legatus explained in a tone was filled with a strange desperate plea for help. It suddenly dawned on the five friends how important it was for them to succeed, for if they didn’t then the consequences would be beyond belief. Jane stood up and walked over to Legatus.

“We won’t let you down Legatus, I promise” Jane said reassuringly as she put her hand on Legatus’s shoulder. He looked over at her and smiled.

“I know; I have faith in all of you. Now, you five should head home, and pack some extra clothes and whatever else you may need. Try to keep it light because you’ll be doing a lot of walking once you get to Scindo. Meet me at the pier at five am, until then take care.” Legatus picked up the Truth Orb that was lying on the floor and put it inside his pocket. He looked at them again and waved goodbye. The group stared at him as he walked out of the cave.

“I can’t believe this is really happening…” Jane confessed once Legatus had left.

“I know, this morning all I had to worry about was fixing my car, and now I have to save the world,” joked Sean. Shana laughed lightly, and gave Sean a small pat on the back.

“We’ll be alright, won’t we?” Shana asked the group.

“I sure hope so,” responded Tristen with a smile.

“Well, hey, look at it this way it’ll make one hell of a story,” Jason said as he stood up and started walking out of the cave. The others laughed in agreement, and followed him outside. They walked the rest of the way back to the dormitories in silence. Each of them thought back on what had happened pondering how much things would change.

Once they arrived at their dorms they packed a few extra clothes and basic necessities such as toothbrushes and soap. Legatus told them to pack light, so they each only took a normal sized backpack with them. They packed money as well, even though they knew it would probably be useless to them in Scindo.

“Jane?” Shana asked once she was finished packing. They still had an hour before they had to head for the pier.

“Yeah?” Jane responded as she folded a white t-shirt.

“Promise me that no matter what happens out there we’ll always be best friends,” Shana stated in a serious tone. Jane stopped folding and looked over at her.

“Best Friends ‘till the end Shana, I promise.” Jane walked over to Shana and hugged her tightly. Both of them were very nervous, but these simple words brought each of them a lot of comfort. Jane let go of Shana, and walked over to her bed and put the white shirt inside the backpack.

“Alright, I’m just about finished. Let’s go see what the guys are doing,” Jane said as she put on the backpack. They walked out of the room, and looked at it one more time before turning off the lights and closing the door.

“Finished?” Sean asked when he saw them walk out of the dorm.

“Yeah, we were about to go see if you guys were finished,” answered Jane.

“Did your roommate say anything when you started packing?” Shana asked.

“Fortunately, he wasn’t there, so I didn’t have any explaining to do. Well, come on let’s go see if the lovebirds are finished,” Sean said, and started walking towards Tristen and Jason’s dorm. Jane and Shana chuckled before followed him.

The trio saw Jason and Tristen leaving their dorm as they walked across the courtyard directly in front of it.

“Ready?” Sean asked them. Tristen nodded and Jason simply ignored the question.

“We still have an hour. I would suggest stopping to buy a coffee or something, but everything is closed right now,” said Tristen.

“I could sure use some caffeine though, but I guess I could settle for a soda from that machine,” said Shana before she ran towards a soda machine not far from where they were.

Tristen laughed, amazed that even when Shana was tired she was still more active than all of them. Jason walked towards the machine after he realized he could use some caffeine as well. Sean sat down on a nearby bench, and rested his head.

“Are you okay?” Tristen asked Jane.

“Yes, well as okay as one can be after what happened,” Jane answered in a tired voice.

“I suppose you’re right. It’s been a pretty weird day, but I guess a weird day in which you’re told you’re some kind of hero is still a pretty awesome day,” Tristen laughed. Jane smiled and nodded in agreement. “It just sucks that you’re never going to see the flowers I ordered for you” he added. Jane looked at him confused.

“You ordered flowers for me?” she asked. Her heart skipped a beat just at the thought of it. Tristen smiled flirtatiously at her.

“Well, a little bird told me that Lilies were your favorite” he answered smoothly.

Jane laughed softly.

“And does this little bird have short blonde hair?” She teased. Tristen shrugged, and then gave her another of his spine tingling smiles. Jane felt herself blush, and was about to respond, but she was interrupted.

“Hey Jane, I brought you an apple juice,” Shana said as she and Jason approached them. Jane was a little disappointed at having to cut short her alone time with Tristen. “Thank you,” she said as she grabbed the juice.
“Alright,1 let’s head out” Tristen said with a little disappointment in his voice.

As the group approached the pier they saw a small white boat resting on next to the deck. It looked more like something meant to vacation in, not something that would take you to a foreign and mysterious land. Legatus was talking to a woman that appeared to be the Captain when he saw them walking toward him.

“Ah, you’re just in time,” Legatus said when they had arrived next to him. “Come on; let’s get you and your stuff on board.” The group of friends looked around the Astrum Pier for one last time before getting on board.

Farewell Astrum City, Jane thought as she boarded the boat.