Crystal Shade Episodes 01

top with her big curious eyes.
    “Are we going to fly with birdie?” her tiny voice asked with excitement building.
    “Yes, sister. We’re going to fly,” Grace explained.
    Grace grinned as Aurora quickly padded to the large metallic claw of the sleeping bird and stroked it lovingly. “Chosovi. Wake up. Wake up,” she whispered and called the bird by the name she personally named the Anshara – in the dialect of the neighboring province of Seriana, instead of their native one. The silver hull of the craft gleamed in the sapphire sunlight and the name perfectly described the sleeping bird, but Grace knew her sister was calling the Anshara a Blue Bird for a different reason.
    Throughout the twelve provinces of Eecrys Aredia, many aura-based technologies helped the people and the mechanical, mighty and ultimately beautiful flying craft; Ansharas, Kerecsens and Sanayras were one of them. They used the spirit will of the humans to fly. These majestic flying machines, fashioned to imitate predatory birds, revealed the true nature of the controlling spirit to any who saw them. And soon, her father’s will, his aura would give life to Chosovi.
    Aurora looked back at her father. “He will wake up soon,” her determined voice insisted. “Hurry,” she waved to her family. “We should get in before Chosovi flies away.” The little one already hurried under the Anshara’s belly and stood on the small circle shaped hull plate that connected to the belly of the craft above.
    A small pedestal stood with a crystal ball embedded in the hull circle. Her father touched the small crystal ball that filled with azure light; his aura gave it the power to lift. The metal circle slowly lifted all four of them up into the craft.
    The interior was large enough to house four persons. Strange shaped comfortable cushion-like seats crouched on the floor, one for the master who controlled the craft in front and another in the middle plus two behind them in a row. Two large half crystal domes were inset on either side of the large first cushion. They were the heart of the Anshara.
    There were no windows on the craft, but they saw everything, the windswept grassy plain below, the clear azure sky and clouds high above, the valley of Seradelphia and the canyon all around. All the while, the safe strong body of Chosovi surrounded them. The entire hull was solid on the outside, yet the walls from the inside seemed transparent. The closed wings gleamed blurry silver and half transparent, as did the small tail wing behind them, which still pointed up toward the sky. The eyes of an eagle gave a great panoramic view to the master of the Anshara, who navigated the sky.
    Eion sat down cross-legged on the first cushion while her mother sat on the last cushions with excited Aurora. Grace put her papyrus and pencil under the cushion before she sat down behind her father.
    “Would you like to master the Anshara?” her father glanced back at Grace.
    Grace measured the fragile controlling crystals; they called her. She wanted to touch them just once to see what cannot be seen otherwise; her aura. Every time her father gave her the opportunity, she resisted the great temptation. The greater part of her soul feared that the nature they would reveal would be something else never dreamt of.
    Shy, she shook her head to say no.
    “Then when you’re ready,” said her father kindly and he laid his hands on the crystal domes to each side of his cushion. They slowly filled with his aura; azure light started to spread out from the crystals into the transparent walls of the control chamber, and then throughout the entire craft from bow to stern, center to port and starboard. The aura energy that came from Eion extended his spirit will to the craft. The gently whirling blue light was the string that held the entire craft together and controlled it.
    The aura reached the eagle’s eyes through the very thin pipes that now glowed blue as the eyes filled with the power. Grace looked back to see Aurora’s eyes gleam with happiness as the blue energy gave life to her beloved Chosovi.
    As the aura wrapped within the walls the craft itself created an invisible gentle force of nature, Grace’s fragile body felt a tingling feeling that pulled all of them lightly to the Anshara’s floor. Her eyes followed the flow of the energy as it quickly spread its way into the walls through the rifts to the two large circles, and the small tail circle; the aura-cauldrons. They