Prologue: The Guide

The Ruby stands for Perseverance. Its Bearer must be able to move through the toughest of hardships and still emerge as themselves. The Pearl stands for Strength. The Bearer of the Pearl could be either mentally strong, spiritually strong and physically strong. The Opal means Bravery. The Bearer of the Opal must not, in any way, be reckless and mistake bravery as throwing themselves headfirst into danger. Bravery is facing fears, standing up for beliefs when no one else will, that is bravery. The Saphire is Intelligence. Knowing the difference between right and wrong is something simple but yet, not. That is what the Bearer must know. The Amber Gem is Loyalty, at its finest. The Bearer of this stone faces the hardest job; being loyal. As humans, it’s in our nature to be tempted and tested, but being loyal to yourself and even more so your friends, is the hardest test and temptation of all. The Diamond stands for Trust. The Bearer of this Gem must be both trustworthy and trustful, and that can easily be mistaken and broken. Trust is a fragile thing, but once reaffirmed, it is as unbreakable as diamond.

Yet, when all six Gems were once one, it was easily broken. The Bearers fought and, through smoke, ash and the blood of thousands, the Gem of Eternity broke and each smaller piece was thrown away and lost. Only one person every new century will subconsciously know the location of each Gem –-

“Tia’na! Wake up!” You lurched up, breathing heavily, and soft but strong hands cupped your face. “Breathe Tia, it was just a nightmare. You’re fine.” You gulped for breath and clutched at the hands tightly.

“I couldn’t see anything and I couldn’t breathe and there was blood…” You trailed off and in another deep breath of air as the hands smoothed back your hair and gently brushed over your features.

“Well you can see now and you can breathe and there is no blood.” You smiled at your lover and bit your lip before nodding. He pushed his forehead against yours before bringing you in for a hug. You rested your chin on his shoulder and gazed out the window of your hut as the sun began to rise.

“Luhan, the sunrise. We’ll miss it.” You murmured quietly. Watching the sunrise was something both you and he had done ever since you were children and it was something you planned on continuing until you died. Luhan bit your ear affectionately before rolling out of bed. He threw a thin overshirt at you and you sighed before pulling it on and following him out the door.

You lived in Niveah’Sa, the Floating Islands. Truthfully, Niveah’Sa was the name of the large forest beneath you but the small gravity-defying chunks of earth were the only inhabitable parts. The forest itself was full of noxious gases around ground level and each bush or tree secreted a toxin that rendered one paralysed and that made them easy prey for the various beasts that lurked nearby.

Each island was occupied by two to three people, and at least one person on each island had figured out some way of navigating the huge chunks of earth. On your particular island, Luhan has practiced with his own special ability and is able to move objects with his mind.

Arms wrapping around your waist brought you out from your musings and you raised an arm to cup Luhan’s face.

“Teacher is planning on coming today.” He said and you nodded.

“I know. He is planning on giving me something.” You said. “Something that could apparently assist me.” Luhan nudged your face with his nose before resting his chin on your shoulder as the sun broke over the far mountains and Niveah’Sa was, to sound cliché, bathed in warm gold light.

“This never fails to amaze me.” Luhan muttered and you chuckled.

“It’s like the calm before the storm.” You agreed. “This early in the morning, it’s like no wars are happening, nothing bad is going wrong…in all of Ulasah. I feel like I can breathe.” Luhan pulled back to ruffle your hair.

“I’m going to shower.” You followed him back inside and propped the door open so that the sun could shine in.

“I’ll start on breakfast.” You said and he dropped a kiss on your temple before disappearing out the back of the hut. You plodded into the kitchen area and pulled out half a bowl of rice, some bread and honey and set it on the bench before starting the small woodfire. You put the bread into a small metal cage-like clamp and rested it over the fire before starting to wash the rice. The reason for such sparse breakfast materials lies in the fact that harvests have been bad in The Planes and rumours that bandits have been attacking both Nola and Tabaha are running wild and that could also account for the lack of food being given to other places in Ulasah, with the obvious exception of the capital Sambal.

“The bread’s burning.” You jumped violently and swore before turning to the fireplace where Luhan stood, smirking, as he dangled the bread clamp form his fingers. “Or rather, it was going to burn.” He chuckled and you scowled at him before he flexed his fingers and the clamp sprung open and the cooked bread floated over to your waiting hands. You caught them and placed them in separate bowls before spooning the now-hot rice into the bowl and drizzling honey over the top. Luhan produced two apples from behind his back and offered them to you with an exaggerated bow.

“My Queen.” You stuck your tongue out and flicked his forehead and handing him a bowl.

“Strange child.” You replied before digging in. Luhan ate slowly, a thoughtful look on his face, and he tapped his spoon against his lips.

“Something’s happened in Nova Kina.” He said suddenly. “I heard from Yuna’s cousin that Nova’s priestess attacked the scribe at their temple. They don’t know what set her off but someone’s trying to cover it up.”

“It’s the Gems.” You said quietly, so quietly Luhan nearly didn’t hear you. He nearly dropped his spoon but barely recovered it and you continued. “The Gems want to be together again. They don’t care who has them as long as they’re all together.” Luhan closed his mouth and nodded slowly.

“Sometimes you scare me.” He admitted before kissing you cheek. You shrugged and chuckled weakly.

“I scare myself sometimes as well.” Your voice was weak and you hated it.

“Tia! He’s here.” You straightened up and stretched, your back popping in several places, before you hurried outside where Luhan was waiting.

“You’re leaving today!” You stopped still and Luhan swallowed thickly. Leeteuk brushed his hair out of his eyes and gestured for you to come closer. “Quickly girl.” He handed you a small leather satchel and ruffled your hair. “Inside is a map of Ulasah and areas where I believe the Gems may be located and I put a couple of other things inside as well. Luhan is going with you – “ You opened your mouth to protest but Leeteuk held up his hand. “He knows the risks and I trust him with you far more than I trust you by yourself and you know it.” You scowled but grasped your teacher’s hand tightly.

“I – my ability isn’t very strong though.” Leeteuk nodded.

“That’s why Luhan will help you. His ability deals with the mind as well, just a different variation.” He explained. “Now get. Once you’ve started, it won’t stay secret for very long.” Your teacher gently kissed your forehead before dissolving before your eyes into dust, which was at once carried away by the wind. Luhan draped his hand around your neck and pulled you closer and you tucked yourself under his chin, loosely wrapping your arms around his waist.

“Like Leeteuk said, I know the risks.” Luhan broke the silence. “Wherever you go, I go.” You took a deep breath and rested your hand on the leather satchel.

“Let’s have a look at this map.”

Now bear in mind, Tia'na is NOT the main OC in this story. The prologue is simply introducing you to The Guide andher role will be explained later on.

Tia and Luhan are indeed lovers and have been for a few years before this story is set.

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Prologue: The Guide

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