Crystal Shade Episodes 01

Aurora called.
    “There you are, little princess,” said her mother excitedly as she noticed her. “Your father is waiting for us.”
    Grace hurried to them and gave Aurora a kiss. She was rewarded with a big hug.
    “I missed you,” Aurora’s little voice chimed. Her sister adhered to her much more than to anyone else. She was her sister’s best friend.
    “I missed you too, little sister.”

    * * *

    The large, majestic silver Anshara stood silently on its large metal claws at the edge of a huge grassy canyon, which was at the border of the valley of Seradelphia. The craft looked like a large peacefully sleeping brave eagle, its head bowed to stare at the ground with artificial, lifeless eyes. Its large silver wings were folded up and back in landed position and ran parallel to the shiny hull. The main and the tail wings were connected into three coarse circles to the hull itself. The segmented feather-like wing elements could slide along these circles to the intended position in flight very quickly. The tail feathers were bowed up a bit, which reminded Grace of Aurora’s hair after she woke from a long sleep.
    The graceful craft rested under the shadow of a tall beacon house. Grace noticed that his father already aimed the large mirror at the top toward the distant, usually stormy Syayina Mountains where shy Carenia Seli will rise to take Sachylia’s place at night. The tower with the help of the crystal-light always was the safe beacon to guide flying craft home at night.
    The polished silver hull of the Anshara reflected Sachylia’s cold blue sunbeams right into Grace’s eyes for a moment while along with her mother and Aurora, she slowly descended on the gentle grassy side of the valley. The Anshara was much more than five hundred cycles old, but its age wasn’t visible at all. The craft was clean and shiny; her father cared for it greatly. As the legends said its wings and hull were forged by the eternally vigilant God, the man-of-all-work Dernaia Vira who wanted to give wings to the humans. Other legends also said these craft were eternal and the legacy of humanity’s great abandoned and forgotten knowledge.
    Many legends connected to these mythical craft. As Grace watched the Anshara from a distance, she wondered which legend was the truth. Are these craft really capable of reaching the stars as some said? Do the Aserians really respect, nay, fear the power of these craft? She didn’t know. In her soul she felt the truth fell somewhere between all and none of them; it’s a gift for mankind, a present from the oldest Aserian High-Guardians, Eve and Aaron who asked the most talented humans to build these craft to share the sense of flying with their protected ones. Or maybe not; whatever the truth was, mankind used these fast, graceful, and highly maneuverable craft to travel throughout the twelve provinces and reach even the farthest corners of Eecrys Aredia.
    Eion, her father sat near the claws, resting in the lush green grass under the shade of the craft with closed eyes and whistling softly. Her mother grinned mischievously and put a finger to her lips to show Aurora and Grace to stay quiet. They rounded the craft in silence to catch Eion by surprise. As they approached, the young mother put little Aurora down and nodded to her children; it was time to catch their beloved prey.
    Grace let Aurora get to Eion first. The youngest jumped at her father to initiate their play fight. As always their father let Aurora win and after a short fight, it was not surprising that Aurora emerged as the victor.
    “I got you,” Aurora grinned.
    “Give me mercy, little princess,” her father begged.
    “I would never hurt you, father,” Aurora threw her arms around his neck in a loving embrace.
    “I know you would never hurt anyone,” Eion stood up with his daughter.
    “Some children are certainly making a lot of noise today,” the motherly tone addressed the eternal child soul of her husband as she joined them along with Grace, who still held her papyrus and pencil in her hand. “I hope we didn’t make you wait.” The young woman smiled with a little twinge of conscience as she stepped closer to her husband.
    “For you, I can wait forever, my love. You know that.” He gave his beloved wife a great kiss, and then passed Aurora to her. Eion smiled at his children. “Are you ready to go?”
    Margey and Grace nodded with smiles, but Aurora looked up at the large silver flying machine, right to the