Pure

Today was the fifth day of the Green Festival and I was going to spend the whole day with my uncle in prison. My mother and father tried to persuade me not to go, because they were ashamed to associate with him, but I wasn't. I loved my uncle and his crazy but still somewhat sensible theories.

My uncle Jerich, was arrested for spreading whisper talk about the return of the Gust. The Gust were a proud elemental race that disappeared 500 years ago, after the making of the Elemental Treaty. The treaty entailed that the four elemental nations; the Naturics, the Aquaetics, the Fire and the Gust, were to live in harmony. However, now the treaty had a tiny flaw in it and everyone was a bit testy on the subject of the Gust. They didn't want any disturbances that could shatter out thousand year old treaty, even if what my Uncle said made a bit of sense.

The Aquaetic weren't openly hostile but they never associated with us, the Naturics or the Fire, of their own accord. They only ever met with us on days or rejoice or trading days and even then they were stand offish. It wasn't as though 1000 years ago, the Naturics or the Fire started the war. It all began with the Aquaetics and them not being satisfied with what they already had. All large bodies of pure water were their domain, but they still yearned for the mountains and the forests. They wanted them so much, that they attempted to flood all of Terra. But the Naturics, the Fire and the Gust stopped them. Seeing as they couldn't arrest or kill a whole elemental race, the Fire and the Gust created a treaty.

From that point on Terra would be shared by all and no longer divided. However 500 years after the treaty was established, the Gust disappeared. No one knew how and no one knew where they had gone too, but the Aquaetics began to rebel against the treaty. The Gust was gone, and seeing as the treaty had been signed by the leaders of all four elemental races, and one was gone, they demanded that the treaty be rewritten. They wanted more power and they wanted all of the pure water and the mixed water that kept all of the elemental races alive, and if they didn't get what they wanted they would go to war again. But this time, the Naturics and the Fire were prepared. We the Naturic has our own ways of countering the Aquaetic and the Fire had enough power to weaken the Aquaetics indefinitely. And that is exactly what they did.

Now the Aquaetics, can not threaten us with floods or increased rain anymore. The water must stay in the confines of the banks and the rocks, and the earth is able to absorb the rain much quicker than before. And when it snows, the Fire warms the air and melts it quickly, so that nothing can build up. After that everything was nice and steady, except for one thing.

A new treaty was made to correct the new one, and nothing was said about the Gust. And if they were to return, if anyone were to mention their return, the pillars of our stability would be violently shaken.

So you can understand why my Uncle was quickly silenced and locked away.

"Uncle Jerich!" I called as I entered his cramped room. Since his crime wasn't violent, he got a room where he could continue small research and not a cell. He even had his own section away from the main prison.

"Myrga, my girl!" he exclaimed, his eyes glowing with happiness.

"But of course!" I pulled out two oranges that I had brought with me.

Uncle grinned and we began to eat out oranges. After a bit, Uncle stood up and grabbed a few papers, off of his desk and handed them to me. "Myrga, I have," he paused then and leaned in close. "I have noticed a few things, while imprisoned here and what I have seen is not good."

I leaned in closer, "What do you mean?"

"The stream, the stream running beside the prison. It continued down here and from my window I have noticed that it looks quite odd." he took a deep breath and licked his dry lips.

"Go on," I urged. If Uncle Jerich said there was something going on, then there was definitely something going on. I would believe him over my own mother and father.

"The water is not clear, there are bits of red pieces. The pieces they look like something I have seen in our great forests once. It was a scary thing, and it's to stay within the forest away from all moisture. It was once used as a medicine to fight poison, but it itself is a poison. If anyone consumes it they will fall greatly ill." He placed his hands on my shoulders then. "Myrga, you must take this," he placed a small black stone in my hands. "and place it in the water at it's source. There you will see where the red pieces have originated, and it is there that you will be able to stop it."

I nodded slowly, not quite able to take all this new information in. And to go by myself into one of our great forests? It was exciting and horrifying all at the same time. I had only every traveled from my oak home to the prison, and sometimes to the market. But I had never gone to an unknown place on my own!

Uncle must have noticed the worry in my eyes and he ruffled my hair. "I know it seems scary, but I cannot do it myself, and besides, no one listens to me. No one, but you. You are my only hope."

Those five words, immediately lightened my mood and I nodded. "I will go then, I will come and visit you again tomorrow, if I'm too late to visit again today." I said and he nodded and waved me off.

As I walked down the path towards my oak home, I thought of what Uncle had said about the black stone.

"This stone is called Pure. It grows in the darkest and dampest of places and it is able to purify anything. I found it and kept it just in case we ever needed it."

When I reached the fork in the path, one leading to my oak home and one leading to one of our great forests, I hesitated. For a moment, I briefly considered running home, giving the stone to my father and telling him all about my visit and just let him take care of it. But I knew if I did, he wouldn't do anything except for mock his brother's 'crazy' theories.

No, I had to be the one to do it. Anyone else would just laugh and dismiss it as a idiotic worry. Besides, Uncle was counting on me.

I was his only hope.



When I reached the first great forest, I immediately knew that something was wrong. The earth around the roots of the trees was dry and cracked. And rock littering the path were jagged and broken. I saw traces of the red pieces everywhere. I was beginning to panic. Uncle said that the stone could purify water at it's source but there's was no water here! What if it spread even after I found the source?

I released a sigh of relief when I saw that there were small streams of water branching out from a pond. The pond floor was uneven and it was forcing the water out. There were many red pieces present, but that couldn't have been the source! The stream that ran beside the prison could not have come from the pond.

I walked for what seemed like hours until I reached the entrance to the second great forest. That was when I saw it. A wide river that seemed as if the water was struggling to force it's way out, and a large red and jagged rock was in the middle of it.

The rock looked exactly like the pieces I had scene and I saw that it was starting to erode. It was then that I realized that I didn't quite know how I was going to use the black stone to purify the water.

Did I drop it in the water or did I put it on the rock? And if I dropped it in the water, what if it needed to touch the rock and became a red piece?! Then I would lose it forever!

A burning in my palm forced me to release the rock and it tumbled into the river. Before I could snatch it out, the water seemed to bubble and then it was all clear! All of the red pieces were gone and the large red rock had turned into a regular stone. I reached into the water and picked up the black stone, which was now a dull blue.

I placed it back into the water and returned to my oak home. It was too late to visit my Uncle, but he would understand and he would see that the stream was clear now.

I stumbled into my room, and collapsed onto the bed. I was so tired! But not tired enough to forget my task for tomorrow. I was going to tell everyone what had happened and who had brought the matter to my attention! Then Uncle Jerich would be released and no one would think him a fool every again!

When I woke up, I was pleased to hear that everyone in my oak home was talking about the red pieces. So they had noticed them as well!
Before anyone could leave, I told them everything that had happened the other day and received a promise from my oak home elder that she would get Uncle Jerich released.

Later that day, Uncle Jerich was released and I went with him to live in a new oak home, where we could research and find other Pure stones.