Aera-Kerr: Dusk of Desolation (Act 1 - free sample)

Chapter 5: Evening Meeting

It was within the hour before six o'clock that evening when Tyrell's parents were helping their son get ready for his "date" with Aria. She would arrive any minute now. His attire was nothing special. A fully-unbuttoned short-sleeve white shirt over a long-sleeve black T-shirt that was tucked in, blue jeans with a belt, and black leather boots.

"Hope you have fun with that girl, Tyrell," his father said.

Hope I have "fun," huh? Tyrell thought as he left the room.

He still did not understand why he had to go through something as cliché as a date just to be able to figure out what Aria knows about the Xerians. He did not want to disappoint his father, he supposed. But, he also wanted to know for sure if Aria would, in particular, be of genuine help with finding the remaining shards of the Prominence Crystal.

Aria showed up after a few minutes.

"Well, I suppose your just gonna be a cheap date with that getup?" She asked.

Tyrell sighed. "It's the best I've got for right now. Besides, I never planned on making it a formal date."

"Well, alright then," Aria said. "So, what do you have in mind for tonight?"

Pondering the possible options, Tyrell decided it would be best to keep it small. After all, he had his reasons for agreeing to this "date."

"How about we just head down to a restaurant and grab some dinner or something?" He suggested.

Aria nodded and shrugged. "Sounds fine to me, so let's get going."

After descending to the ground floor, Tyrell called a cab to pick them up at the hotel entrance. The driver took them to an Olive Garden on the outskirts of downtown Nashville, per Tyrell's request.

Tyrell did not feel confident going along with this facade, since he was barely acquainted with Aria, and knew that people were going to get the wrong impression of them. But of course, he would have to make the best of the situation.

After waiting in line to be seated in a booth, Tyrell broke the momentary silence following the waiter serving them their beverages.

"I'll be honest here, I really think this whole thing is stupid," he said.

"Same," Aria added. "I just agreed since, after all, you're the one who'll save the world, right?"

Tyrell shook his head. "I really don't know for sure how everything's gonna turn out. I just thought maybe you'd be willing to join our convoy and help us locate the remaining pieces of the Prominence Crystal."

Aria darted her eyes around. "Whether or not I would be of help, I can't say. No one alive knows the location of the Crystal shards. I'm very well-trained in combat, Mana, and alchemy, but when it comes to finding something that is literally next to impossible to find . . . that's a whole different ballpark."

"So what, then? You're not up to the task?" Tyrell asked.

Aria smiled slightly. "I never said I wouldn't do it, but I don't know any more about where to find the pieces of the Prominence Crystal than you."

It seemed like things were not going to get easier, since there was apparently no one alive who could offer proper guidance. Also, without any leads, they would be right back to square one.

"Anyway," Aria spoke up, "how did you learn about the Xerians?"

"Like I said before, it's kind of a long story," Tyrell said.

"I'm a patient listener," Aria said, putting her elbow on the table and resting her chin in her hand.

Tyrell explained how he accidentally came across the first shard of the Prominence Crystal in a creek whilst he was walking Rosaline, how it allowed him access to the Crystal Catacombs where he found the Dragon Vein. After that, he was contacted by the spirit of Zane Azrael, who informed him of the situation and the capabilities of both the Crystal and the whip. He went on to explain that he and his friends from high school secretly practiced utilizing the power of the mystic crystals, which in turn gave them a fighting chance when the Second Calamity happened, and since that time how they traveled across the country in hope of finding the remaining shards of the Prominence Crystal before the Xerians could do the same.