The Elyrian

by D P Rowell

  “And they spoke to one another, saying, ‘it has been that since we have grown in number, the elyr has ruled The Realm Unknown, and suppressed the darkness. Let us ask the Light to bring the lives of this realm to know the way of the elyr, so the dark may be rid of forever.’”

  Ace interjected, “So, the Realm Unknown didn’t create the physical realms?”

  The King shook his head. “The origin of the three physical realms is unknown to us. Their inhabitants knew once, but that history is mostly forgotten. The only thing that is certain, is that the Tree Kingdom has attached them all. From the sixth realm we can enter all others, and from all others, the sixth.”

  “Are you saying that from this realm I can travel to any other realm I wish?” Ace said. “Even the seventh?”

  The Tree King shook his head. “You must let me finish so that your questions may be answered before they are asked, Evelander.”

  Ace nodded apologetically, and Ishvi chuckled. “I told you this would take a while, human.”

  “Now,” the Tree King began, “to answer your question, the short answer is yes. All but the seventh realm can you travel to from here. Wherever there is life, there are trees. We are the in-between, and from the trees we emerge to any realm we please. However, only one realm of physical beings remains in existence.”

  Ace held his tongue, knowing it might irritate the King to ask another question.

  “You see, once the inglings and faes had decided to reveal the way of the Light to the jags, the darkness found an escape from its suppression in the Realm Unknown. The darkness, which had been losing the war to the Light in the Realm Unknown for ages beyond, was now desperately seeking an escape. The elyr had grown in the faes and inglings, and as the Light multiplied, the darkness dwindled. The darkness needed an exit; some way to escape its realm and spread like the elyr. Until the elyr emerged from the trees into the jag realm, the physical had been unknown. But in these creatures of the physical realms, the darkness saw a weakness. Better yet, an exit. The darkness became aware it could manifest itself in the flesh of the physical, but only at the will of a physical being. The problem was this: The elyr made known to physical beings the way of the spiritual, and thus opened the door for the darkness to deceive them.

  “So, it was once these jags were taught the way of the Light, the darkness entered them. It deceived them from within to believe the Light could be used for personal gain and power. Once these things became known to the jags, they overturned their will to evil. Darkness overcame the elyrians of the physical, they perverted the elyr to witchcraft, and the sorcerers had woken. So, with these abilities, the darkness used the jags as conduits, traveling through the in-between to find other physical realms to grow in number. It was not much longer drakes and humans were discovered and taught the dark arts of witchcraft and sorcery. Now it is here I should mention something. Not all physical beings overturned their will to the darkness. But the ones who saw through the deception of the darkness gave up their elyrian abilities, saying amongst themselves, ‘it seems that this power comes from something that is incompatible with the needs of our flesh. Such a great power perverted will in return render us powerless.’ Their hearts were in the right places. Unfortunately, witchcraft had become so influential in their realms that the beings of the physical were still greatly deceived by the existing sorcerers. Though they gave up their witchcraft, they were unable to discern a sorcerer from another being, and as such were deceived greatly.”

  Ace held his tongue again. So many questions. But they would be answered soon. He gathered himself with all the patience he could muster.

  “During this time, the first sorcerers of each physical realm came together. The warlocks had woken, and the council formed. They deceived the physical beings under the noses of the elyrians. They gathered armies of sorcerers, preparing for war, while the inglings and faes believed all along that everything was perfectly fine, entirely unaware of the coming danger.”

  Ace couldn’t help himself any longer. “You guys didn’t know they were warlocks?”

  The King shook his head. “Sorcerers are powerfully deceptive, human. This is something you must understand if you are to achieve the stone’s purpose in you.”

  Ace’s stomach flipped upside down. “The what?”

  Ishvi sat up again. “Hey, Evelander, let King Vinan finish and your questions will be answered.”

  Ace sat back in his seat again, fighting his twitches. This may have been the first time He had been forced to fight back his curious urges.

  “Well,” King Vinan said, “as I was saying. The warlocks gathered their armies of parcels; and parcels their witch slaves, preparing for war. One by one, they caused the collapse of all the other realms through wars within. They deceived the jags against each other, the drakes against each other, and the humans against each other. And the War of the Realms had begun. But collapsing six realms was not truly their intention. They wanted to rule the realms.

  “Now, before I continue with this, it is important to explain something. You see, human, as I have said previously, the faes and inglings were unaware of what was happening. To us, it had just seemed as the realms of the physical had just simply gone mad. It wasn’t until a human came to us, and revealed to us how the flesh had perverted the Light, that we became aware of witchcraft. A human with a strong perceptive eye, and an ability to see evil for what it was. An ability which had alluded the faes and inglings for so long.

  “At the brink of Earth’s collapse, he appeared to us. In his hand he held a red gem. The Emerson Stone. His name? Oliver Halder.”

  Ace’s gut dropped as if a bomb had gone off inside him. Grandpa’s story was true! All of it! Did they know the inscription, too? Did they know about the map?

  The King went on with his story. “He came to us, stone in hand, and explained the dangers approaching. The council had grown in number, and every realm was now too full of parcels and witches. So much so that in the Realm Unknown, the darkness had grown to a greater size, and was beginning to diminish the Light. Oliver had said he knew this by a visitation from a warlock in his realm.”

  Jakka, Ace thought, that was the warlock’s name in Grandpa’s story!

  The Tree King continued. “Seeing that the elyrians of the realms had been oblivious to this coming evil, the Light knew if it did not somehow reveal this to us, soon the warlocks would destroy us. So, it fled The Realm Unknown. (No one knows how; for the Light doesn’t owe its creation an explanation) But he caged himself in the stone and hid away so the darkness would not know where it went. Now, hear this, human. The Light saw how the darkness had manifest itself in physical flesh to deceive the realms but could not do so with spiritual beings. And it became aware that the only way to save its creation, was the same way it lost its creation, by way of the physical. This is because of the freedom of will that physical beings have. (and I should mention that some faes have learned and adapted to this freedom of will since then, but that can be explained at a later time).

  “So, the Light watched the realms of the physical, keeping an eye out for someone worthy to contain the way of the elyr without being deceived. So far, no creature of the physical had successfully done so. That is, until Oliver. Oliver Halder had been approached by warlocks, but he saw through their deception. He saw the evil behind their motives. For this, the Light appeared to him in his stone cage. Now, when Oliver came to us, the stone in hand, he revealed to us all that had remained of the Light was there in the palm of his hand. He spoke to us of the war which would be waged soon unless we acted.

  “To return to what I was saying before; the warlocks wanted to rule the realms, not destroy them. And so, the council saw that their armies were spread throughout all realms, but if they could be gathered together in one realm, they would become much more powerful, and ready to wage war on the Light. Once and for all. To diminish the Light forever.

  “To accomplish this, they began the collapse of the other realms. The downfall instil
led their inhabitants with much fear as they watched their world begin to crumble. So, the warlocks offered a safe place. And that’s just how deceptive they are. From within the realms they began the collapse, then offered an escape from the very collapse they caused! They stood before each realm and told them ‘there is a safe place prepared for you. Your world crumbles, but this world will not.’”

  Yutara, Ace thought.

  “Yutara,” the King said. “Now, Yutara, until then, had been Breen. The home of the faes. And so, disguised as elyrians still, the warlocks brought the inhabitants of the other realms through the in-between into Breen.

  “As they were bringing people of other races to Breen, they told us inglings and faes that their worlds were crumbling, and they needed a safe place. Us elyrians, being deceived and not wanting any innocent persons to die, agreed to this. It was only at the collapse of Earth, when Oliver appeared to us with the stone, that we saw what they were doing. At that point it had been too late; Grol and Morlog had already collapsed, and Earth was just beginning to crumble. But we had to act on what we could. After our understanding of what the warlocks were doing; we, of course, grew in our discernment between witchcraft and the elyr. Anyone practicing witchcraft was denied access to the in-between. To the Tree Kingdom.

  “The warlocks evaded this easily. In the same way the faes called to the Light to wake the Tree Realm, the warlocks called to the darkness to wake a new realm. The Shadow Realm. Or, in other words—” the King was interrupted.

  “The seventh realm,” Ace said.

  The King nodded.

  “So, King Vinan,” Ace said, “is it true that just as from the Tree Kingdom an elyrian can travel through the realms, a sorcerer can travel through the realms in the shadows?”

  “Yes. From the shadows the council emerges,” King Vinan said. “Now, once we saw that the warlocks had collapsed the other realms and managed to gather their armies together in Yutara, all hope had been lost. But Oliver instructed us to hold fast. He explained to us that the Light had a plan. For a time, darkness would rule, as it has been for some time already. But for the same time that darkness would rule, the council would seek to distinguish the Light, but seek in vain. For the Light would be hidden for ages to come. And though darkness will rule, it cannot wage the final war until the Light could be found. But the Light would not reveal itself until the proper time. (For though the darkness has grown; the Light has the only true power). And once it does, it will do so through such a vessel, the darkness will struggle to defeat it. Until then, Oliver instructed us to remain in the in-between. The sorcerers were too numbered for us to be able to fight them. But the Light will choose its last hope, then we will be ready to fight. The final war will be waged, and the fate of the seven realms would be determined by the victory, or failure, of the chosen vessel.”

  Ace’s swallowed a bitter taste, “In other words, the stone’s keeper. In other words, me?”

  Silence filled the room. The King, the fae, and Ishvi exchanged glances to one another.

  “No,” Ace said, “there’s no way! I can’t do that! My Grandpa chose me to run his business, not save the world.”

  Kareena, who had been silent until now, finally spoke, “Ace, don’t you see? Your grandfather never chose you . . . The stone chose you.”

  The King closed his eyes, and spoke a familiar poem aloud,

  “Whosoever frees the stone

  Will venture not a realm alone

  Seven of which will confess

  Emery’s chosen, Emery blessed

  Come Emery, who knows Unknown

  In search of no Haevyr

  There is one, and one alone

  Who is called a savior

  Eldest, will the keeper be

  ‘Till shadow clouds all truth

  One is chosen, this day’s Eve

  One, all hear ye in youth

  What’s to come, some will believe

  Despite some who deny

  Stone in hand, one will deceive

  And one will bear the lie

  For there, in the Land of Faes

  Once returned to its throne

  By one, in this tamest place

  The Light is set in stone

  No race of faes

  Nor jags, nor drakes

  Nor shadow or tree

  Says from Unknown

  Should bear, the stone

  For this fate of Eve’s

  Burdened will the chosen be

  But should he seek his soul free

  Stone and man shall trade their fate

  Then, of him, come Emery”

  Ishvi chimed in next, “Emery is what The Light calls himself. It’s why Oliver named this gem the Emerson Stone. The prophecy is clear, Evelander. The stone revealed itself to Oliver, seeing a powerful potential in him. But the Light knew Oliver wasn’t quite ready for the task he needed him for. Emery waited patiently, protecting the bloodline of Oliver until one of his descendants proved worthy of the great task.”

  King Vinan spoke again. “The stone had been passed down through your family in secret. At Oliver’s old age, when his passing grew near, he passed the stone to his oldest living son. For the stone only protects its possessor and descendants of its possessor. And for ages beyond, this occurred. Each of the oldest of sons was given the stone and instructed to keep it secret. But soon the stone would choose its own possessor, and the prophecy would begin.”

  Ishvi spoke once more. “Your grandfather did a lot to bring about the knowledge of witchcraft in Yutara and try to stop it. He must have thought the stone had chosen him. And all of us will admit, he did a great deal to help the cause. He was the first of the lineage to use the immunity the stone gave him to bring about a revolution. Only it was when the stone chose you, he must have seen that his time on Yutara had only paved the way for the true chosen. You.”

  Ace buried his face in his hands. This was too much to take in. Everyone on Yutara was against him. How could he convince the entire world to trust him? How could he lead an entire army in a final war to save the seven realms? He was only twelve! He lifted his head and looked at the Tree King.

  “How do you know the stone chose me?” he asked.

  “Two things suggest this,” The King said, “One, that your grandfather gave the stone to his youngest descendant, thwarting the protection of the rest of his family. No other Halder has done that in history. Two is the most obvious. You’re an elyrian who has not been deceived by the darkness. The stone granted you this power. Emery must believe you have the potential to hold the gifts of the Light without becoming corrupted like everyone else.”

  Did I really light that torch? Ace thought. I’m not truly an elyrian, am I?

  Kareena jumped into the conversation again. “The tree people have remained in the in-between, awaiting the return of the Light and its vessel. Faes who still practice the elyr have obviously been instructed not to teach the Light of the elyr to any physical creature. For they would eventually be deceived and turned to evil. When your grandfather created the Indies, we faes thought it was a sign that the Light had returned, and that he was the vessel. But once the elyr had been outlawed in Gathara, we lost all hope. We began to accept that the prophecy was simply legend and myth. But now I see it clearly. You aren’t an elyrian, Ace. You’re The Elyrian. You are the chosen keeper. The chosen vessel. Yutara needs you.”

  Ace sighed, his face still buried in his hands. For a moment there was only silence. He lifted his head and spoke softly, “How am I supposed to destroy the seventh realm? How am I even supposed to find it?”

  The King nudged his shoulder. “At that, your guess is as good as ours. All we know is what the prophecy speaks of:

  “Burdened will the chosen be

  But should he seek his soul free

  Stone and man shall trade their fate

  Then, of him, come Emery”

  “It doesn’t seem to say much at all about finding or destroying the seventh realm.”


  “Well, that’s a little disappointing,” Ace said as he folded his arms and leaned back.

  “What do you mean?” the Tree King replied.

  “When Grandpa Marty gave me the stone, he told me the reason he believed the seventh realm wasn’t a myth was because of a map. Then he told me when the map was revealed to me, the stone would become mine. The next night, he told me the prophecy and the story of Oliver. I thought the poem was the map to the seventh realm.”

  King Vinan’s eyes perked up. He waved his hand as if to dismiss the matter. “No, no, Ace, your grandfather didn’t mean a map to the seventh realm. He meant a map of the future. The prophecy tells us how the power of the seventh realm will be uncovered and uprooted.”

  Ace squinted and scratched his head. It did seem to make more sense the deeper he thought of it. In fact, Grandpa told him the map was inside of him. His mind bounced back and forth.

  “Besides,” Ishvi chimed in once again, “Elyrians have avoided such a journey. The Shadow Realm is an elyrian’s greatest nightmare. The darkness is so powerful that an elyrian’s light will fade into nothingness the moment they enter and, the elyrian will pass away.”

  Ace swallowed a lump in his throat. “Great.”

  “But,” The King said, “it would not be that way with you. At least not once you are ready.”

  “Why not?” Ace said.

  Kareena spoke next, “Unlike other elyrians, you are a physical being. Just as the Light lives in this world, caged by the stone and protected from the darkness, your physical body can act as a shield of the Light.”