Crystal Shade Episodes 01

the boy.
    “My body is old and tired,” the old man said. He sat himself comfortably in his chair. “But my soul is younger and healthier than ever.”
    Deep in thought, the old man smiled before he looked at the children.
    “So, you’d like to hear a story about her?” he asked and the children nodded.
    The old man let out a sigh tinged with fond memories. He never thought anyone would ask about the mysterious guardian angel that changed everything. Yet they did and they deserved to know who she really was.
    The children sat down on the carpet at his feet and watched the old man’s youthful anticipation. He gathered his thoughts and smiled fondly at the children.
    “Then I will give you a story that both of you want. A story about an era where light and darkness clashed at mythical legendary places, where valiant heroes lived and fought, loved and died. But foremost it’s about the life of a lonely angel, who has challenged even death itself, so others may live. It’s the true story of the Crystal Shade; or as she called it in her beautiful, forgotten language, the Eecrys Denara.”
    “The Crystal Shade? What is that?” asked the girl.
    “As she always said, the crystal; one of the most beauteous elements in the universe. And all galaxies, others, and our own are just like a crystal. Beautiful, perfect, shiny, and faultless, whose brilliance whispers peace and eternal harmony. But even crystals have a shadow. A dark shade that hides the mistakes dulls the cruelty and the void.”
    He looked at the crystal chrono device.
    “The Crystal Shade is the story of beginnings and endings; the brilliance of life itself whose shadow is also able to make us all vanish if we live our lives blindly. Everything we do throughout our days, our history, we challenge its mighty power that determines what our future will be; as the present battle of the past conquest is always the key to determining the future. It can be everything we ever desired and it can be the greatest illusion of all. Whoever faced with it always needed to realize; nothing and no one was what they appeared to be within the Crystal Shade.”
    The old man paused as forgotten memories flooded him again for a blink of an eye.
    I don’t care about a world in a slow, purple prose fairy tale. I care only about the people, little one. Get to the point , his own young, impatient voice had declared.
    You, human are so impatient, ignorant, and selfish. What is worse, you’re so proud of it, a disappointed angelic voice responded. You believe everything is just about people, yet you don’t know anything about the world that surrounding you.
    “Everyone cares about people. But someone must care about the world itself,” whispered the old man and smiled at the irony; he just realized the once resisting young man had become the one who tended to the world the most. He knew the story was far more than the woman’s life. The young angel’s story was also about the world itself.
    He looked beyond the children at the chrono device once again, focused on a tiny orb that swam amidst the thousands of others around the crystal; truth shone within every star, every planet. While he didn’t know the story and the truth of the rest, he knew the life of this little one, as this was the closest to his heart.
    “Eecrys Aredia. A fragile, heavenly place so distant, yet so close, our known and also unknown world. Oh, you should've seen her home, that true paradise!” His old heart beat with excitement as he continued, “The old sapphire sun brought smiles, happiness and life, watching over and embracing every continent with her nurturing motherly light. The calm breeze whispered the ruling peace and equality, singing to everyone as it sighed among the leaves and branches of the rich lands. Crystal clean drops in rivers and vast oceans flowed peacefully, boundless and undisturbed just like life itself on our fragile home world. Nothing evil. No hate, grudge, wealth, poverty, misery, nor mastery. Just harmony. Oh, and the angelic vanguards of peace, our Guardians; the brave and noble Aserians have watched over, guarded and guided mankind for so long, since Eecrys Aredia existed.” His smile was kind as he looked at the swimming little orb, which seemed so peaceful, but it’s long history was always born in pain and suffering.
    “But beneath the surface, Eecrys Aredia was a place of myth and buried secrets shadowed by the legend of the Crystal Shade. Many feared it