Monday: 03/08/2032: 3:00 am. We’re going to the Rutledge house to watch over Heather. Sidera has already hidden her parents in her sanctuary. We arrive at the address Camilla gave us and wake up Heather, who already knows what’s coming. The Darkness arrives as we predicted and begins lifting the house into the air. “Mom?! Dad?!” She wakes up, frightened and confused. “Are they here?!” “Yes! You must let this transformation happen, remember?” “I had a feeling this was going to happen, after what happened to Fiona and Aqua. My parents are safe, aren’t they, Feline?” “We were able to hide them before midnight.” “Are we going to your house?” “Yes. There are spaces these creatures can’t enter.” Her hair becomes cloud white and fluffy, and she begins floating above her bed. The house then falls back to the ground, landing in a pile of rubble, glass, and wood. “Oh, dear. You hid the parents.” “Kehran Rhianh!” Kehran stands underneath a streetlamp. “Looks like you’re too late. My parents are beyond your reach.” “Isn’t that a shame, and apparently, your friend’s cat was also nowhere to be found. I was rather disappointed by her absence.” “You’re not getting all of them, Kehran. We’ve caught on to your pattern. Your time here is nearing its end.” “You might as well start packing.” Kehran, alone, only looks at us with a mix of contempt and reluctant admiration before taking flight. “Now what?” “Come with us, Heather.” We bring her to the Bridge temple where the others already bring Fiona, Aqua, and Erde. “I was warned about the Shadow Queen and her minions.” “We need the last two avatars, each one representing a primordial force. Five mortals and five immortals. You are the fourth mortal, the avatar of Air.” “I’m finding this easier to handle than I thought.” “The enemy’s tower is surrounded by a shield impenetrable to all except the ten. When the great ones attacked it last month, they couldn’t get through.” “It’s true, child. The power that was once mine is now yours, at least until its purpose within you is fulfilled.” A Sentinel, arrayed in all the colors of the air, accompanied by Lyral, approaches us. “This is Cumulus, the one whose powers you now possess.” “You’re a Sentinel, aren’t you?” “Yes, dear. I dwell in the airspace above this county. I have a feeling that other powers are involved in these doings of the Queen.” We show her an image of the enemy tower in the Book. “That’s where they’re keeping all but my parents prisoner. And we can’t free them until we find the last two avatars.”
4:30 am. We bring Heather to my sanctuary, and she is amazed by the size of it. “You have an entire forest in here?!” “Yes. It’s virtually infinite in size in all directions.” “You said something about these old gods. What are they?” “They were among the first living beings to be created by the Divine when the Universe was very young. There were ten: Percec, Alÿran, Magnetos, Gravitos, Electra, Atomë, Hydros, Petros, Ventië, and Pÿro. The Divine created Other beings, of unspecified and chaotic nature, who generally kept to themselves. One day, in a moment of folly, Percec, jealous of his mate’s wisdom and wanting to share it with lesser created beings, stole the heart from within her chest. Immediately, she forgot who she was and was corrupted into an Eldritch Abomination known as Inanis, the Empty One, and the Horror began. In the confusion caused by the absence of her heart, Alÿran flung Percec, and her heart, into the furthest reaches of the cosmos. The balance of Creation was upturned, and it began expanding faster and faster. Their children and grandchildren did not know what had become of Percec or the heart of their Queen, or even that it was his fault. They chased the Inanis into our corner of the galaxy where she was defeated, but at the cost of their spirits never being able to personally, directly interact with the world again. Eight of the ten now have avatars, but the representatives of Percec and Alÿran still remain unidentified.” “Who do you think they would be, Feline?” Then, the Book pipes up: “The avatar of Percec is someone you know. The avatar of Alÿran is someone you don’t know, but whom the boy with the tail knows.” “The boy with the tail. The boy with the tail! Fiona!” “Yes?” “You said all the way back in September that you were able to see JW with a tail!” “Yeah. I did, but it was like it was there yet also not there, only an outline, like it was phasing in and out of reality. Why?” “The Book just said that the avatar of Percec is someone I know, but that the avatar of Alÿran is someone I don’t know, but whom JW knows. It didn’t say whether Percec’s avatar is mortal or immortal, though, so we can’t rule anyone out.”
5:00 am. I take the Light into our basement temple and the other great ones follow me. “What are we doing, Ælura?” “We’re going to strengthen the Light, and by extension, the lamps.” “How?” “We’ll take a bloom from each of our rose plants.” Sidera, Verito, and Spatium leave and return with a rose bloom from each of their plants. Sidera’s rose is blue like the glowing gas of some nebulae, Verito’s rose is white like a dove, and Spatium’s rose is black like the depths of space. My rose is purple like the glow of lightning. We take our roses and boil them in the font, creating an ethereal tea, but not for our tongues, but for the Light. We then let the potion cool, and I replace the water in the lantern with the great rose tea, making it even brighter than before, and strengthening lamps all over the forest. “That should keep them contained for a good while.” “At least until the last two people are found.”
Tuesday: 03/09/2032: 8:30 am. Heather goes to school with us today and in the hallways, sees JW’s mysterious tail, flickering like a mirage in the distance. By now, people have adjusted to the strange events and transformations. Her new strange properties are presenting some trouble, though. Even the slightest breeze lifts her off her feet and she can hardly keep herself on the ground. “I’ll hold you, Heather.” “Thanks, Erde.” The Daffy Duck virus still incapacitates all the major search engines and social networking sites. Kids and teens all over the world have been going crazy without YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and other sites being operational.
4:30 pm. JW comes home and starts his homework, feeling still somewhat faint from the larger-than-normal blood draw almost two weeks ago. He feels a pain in the small of his arm but can find no marks on his body.
Friday: 03/12/2032: 5:00 pm. I am in the Forest room when my stone glows. “Who is that?” Then, Emma, Virgil, Tanner, Fiona, Aqua, Erde, and Heather appear in my sanctuary. “Are we ready to practice?” “I thought you’d never ask.” We eight conjure up our respective elements, with the mortals showing improvement in their abilities, Heather especially. Her white hair flutters in the wind she conjures. “So, if this avatar of Percec is someone you know, then who do you think it is, Lindsay?” “I’m not sure, Heather. But I do know that if they’re immortal, then the avatar of Alÿran is mortal, and vice versa.” “It also said that the other avatar is known only to JW.” “What if it’s Kyle, his brothers, or Ida Crawford? They’re descendants of the Other Aurië, and Aurië was close friends with Alÿran.” “But wouldn’t Alÿran’s avatar have to be very powerful? Grandma Crawford is powerful, but I’ve never seen her face the Shadow Queen before in battle, but she could be.” “Book, throw us a bone here.” It responds, saying “Percec’s avatar you know, Alÿran’s avatar you don’t.” “Why does it have to be all cryptic and stuff?” “The avatar of Alÿran is strong, stronger than any on Earth through whose veins the blood of Aurië flows. From three species she is drawn. Even in chains, her sheer force of will shines through the darkness.” “Who is this mysterious witch?” “I don’t know.”
8:00 pm. The raccoon rests peacefully in the attic of the worm’s house, watching over her brother as he sleeps. She falls asleep and soon enough, she falls into a dream state. “Golden-silver one.” “Yes? Are you the Wandering Light?” “I am. I am the one who guards the Uncreator, the one who came from the furthest reaches of the Universe. An ancient evil dwells within the forest.” “Don’t I know it, mother of seeds that I am!” “A plan is brewing under the auspices of the Silver Guardian that seeks to banish the Shadow Queen from this planet. The old gods must be represented by ten avatars. The avatars of nine of them are so far pledged. The last one is yet to come to them. You must go to the house of the Silver Guardian and pledge yourself to their cause.” “But I cannot leave my brother here alone. I must continue to protect him! The worm is only getting worse! I don’t know why I simply didn’t just guide him to our uncle’s house where he would be safe! Grandmother would’ve been able to protect him!” “You are my most powerful descendant alive since Oonagh the Queen Mother returned to me in death. You’re a great witch and the avatar of Alÿran the Wise, the Graceful, the Queen Mother of the Aether. You are the final piece of the key to defeating the Darkness.” “But it takes nearly all my strength to maintain this manifested form, protect my brother and mother, protect my children, all from this damnable worm!” “My dear, you have more power in you than you know. Go to Ælura’s home, join her cause, before it’s too late.” The raccoon stays put, nonetheless.
Friday: 04/30/2032: 5:00 pm. Camilla’s father drops her off at my house. “Bye, Dad. See you tomorrow.” “Bye, kiddo.” We set her stuff up in the Forest room and eat dinner. “So, do we have the last two, yet?” “I have a feeling that the Book is the avatar of Percec. I mean, he, I mean, it seems to know everything. It knows that Percec’s avatar is someone I know and is immortal, for all intents and purposes.” “Sure. But how will a Book be able to join our raid?” “I was introduced to it the summer before last after I learned about him and his disappearance. It was never known what became of Percec after he disappeared or how he was punished. But I’ve been having a growing sense that in a strange way, he got the knowledge he always wanted. He just wasn’t able to share it with everyone the way he envisioned.” We finish dinner and return to the Forest room where we find the Book, laying open at the base of my apple tree. “I don’t know what happened to her heart. We were flung out with such force that it flew out of my golden hand. That poor tree. She wanted so badly to bear fruit.” “What’s it talking about, Lindsay?” “I must use the knowledge I was given, to fix things.” I bend down beside the Book. “Are you Percec?” “I figured I would reveal myself to you eventually. I was turned into a Book as penance for my transgression against my beloved Alÿran.” “Well, why didn’t you say you were Percec back on Xilanti when we found you?!” “I suppose I just didn’t have the spine to say it right then. I’ve lived with this burning shame for billions of years.” “So, is Ida Crawford the avatar of Alÿran?” “No. She’s wise, but she does not possess the raw magical power necessary to counteract the Other magic involved in the barrier.” “But this person whom JW knows, does?” “Indeed.” “Then, let’s find her and attack the tower tonight!” “We can’t! Not yet!” “And why not?!” “We must first brew a potion that will attune each avatar to the Aether which they represent. It is called the Honey of the Stars.” “What’s in it?” “First, you must go to the Lake of Light on the planet Xilanti and bring back 10 gallons of its water. Then, you must slowly add the nectar of the nearest Immortal heirloom tree as the water reduces and thickens into the Honey of the Stars over the course of one month.” “We don’t have a 10-gallon tank in here, Lindsay.” “Yet.” I take Fulgur and dig out a 10-gallon pit and I use the Earth Element to line the bottom and sides with pure gold and the Fire Element to heat it. “To Xilanti we go. You wanna come?” “Is that the planet with the crystal trees?” “Yeah. It’s also where we found Percec. Percec, summon the Bridge.” He brings up the Bridge, showing the Lake of Light. Camilla and I take buckets, and after nearly half an hour of going back and forth, the pit is nearly full and warmed. We then begin collecting the nectar from my apple tree, picking the silver flowers and shaking them into a jar, the shiny pinkish powder sparkling with sweet light. “You must continually take and add the nectar until it thickens into honey, the starlight will become concentrated into the nectar as the water reduces.” “What do we eat with it, I mean, when it’s finished?” “It’s best consumed alone by the avatars for optimum results.” “Will you be able to eat it, Percec?” “Do you feed a book, child?! I said that the avatars will eat it!” We then add the first batch of nectar to the boiling water, turning it rosy pink and making it smell sweet and shine brightly. “We’ll have to collect and add the nectar every day for a month. Percec? How much will be left when it’s ready?” “Just enough to fill a one-quart jar, dear.” “Will it all be consumed at once?” “Yes, so have nine small cups ready. Then, as the potion is consumed, each avatar must speak an incantation that will attune them to their god until the rising of the sun that morning.” “So, when the Honey is ready, we’ll have to attack them in the small hours, before the sunrise?” “Yes, child.”
9:00 pm. My phone rings. Josh. “What’s up?” “I want you to take my chinchilla and hide him in your house. They’re coming.” “Are they there yet, Josh? I’m coming!” I teleport to Josh’s house and find him in his living room, holding his chinchilla and trembling. “That was fast.” “Yeah. They won’t have him now.” I teleport back home to my Forest sanctuary where we know he will be safe from the enemy. I take the Nine and the Light into me and go back to Josh’s house. “Is he safe?” “Yeah. He’s in my sanctuary right now with my cats. They’ll keep him company. Are you alright? Do you want me to stay until morning?” “Sure.” “Yeah.” “Okay.” Josh, knowing his chinchilla is safe, goes to sleep while I sit up, letting the light inside me act as a deterrent against any enemies.
11:00 pm. A woman in black approaches the barn and carves the letter R to the right of S, A, and H.
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