Children of Prophecy

Astra: Chapter 18

Paintings and glass paintings were on the wall as we entered the hall. We walked through the hall as the king told us a story with Basil who assisted him. The story went far back through time, from where it all began. "This war started with the same reason as the first war" the king began "It started because of a man's greed".

It all started with a man who was given a gift from a spirit. The gift was the 'light' which took form of an orb. The man was told to protect it and keep it away from the clutches of evil. None knew what purpose it had, yet it was passed on to protect for generations. It was until a king from Alastar had been chosen to protect the 'light'. The man felt its power and wanted to use it to rule both kingdoms. A war was unleashed between Alastar and Euryele. The war lasted for two decades before the king of Alastar decided to form a 'truce'. The king had other plans than to keep the truce. He planned to destroy Euryele from the inside by trying to kill the king of Euryele himself. Feeling the greed of the man get stronger, the spirit who had given the 'light' from the beginning took away the 'light' and gave it to someone else. Finding about the 'light' which had disappeared, the king went mad and ordered troops to search for it. He did not stop looking for it until his death and passed on his will to the future kings of Alastar. His will to find the 'light' and to rule over both kingdoms.

The spirit gave the light to a mere child filled with kindness. The child created a copy of the 'light' which became the substitute core of a lake. The original had been hidden by the child to a faraway place where none would even dare to step foot on. As the forest became filled with life, the behemoths offered to protect the 'light' as a sign of gratitude for giving the forest life. Eventually, the Alastarian king had heard of the core and thought that if he could not find the 'light', he would instead take the second best option to power. The guardian protected the core and when the guardian died, the spirit chose a new one. The task was not passed on through family anymore in fear of a generation where one would become greedy to seek power.

As Basil and the king finished the story, my mind became filled with questions. "Is there more to the story?" I asked. "There was a prophecy" Basil began "A prophecy of two children who would decide the fate of Valencia". I looked at him and wondered why he suddenly brought it up. "Those children are us, Astra" He said looking at me "On my way here, I came upon a cave with pictures that told me about the guardians' history and also about the prophecy". So that was what the voice meant when it said that the fate of Valencia was in my decision's hands. "So what you're trying to say is that your decisions would become Valencia's fate?" Raphael asked trying to sum up what he just heard. "You heard Basil clearly" Tabitha told Raphael with her arms crossed. "No matter the problem, we're here to help" Spot said with Lynx who nodded in agreement. "Thank you" Basil said as he smiled at them. "You are welcome to stay here for a long as you need" The king said before we walked back to the throne room. A man who worked came to give us a tour around the castle grounds, but before we could leave the room, a guard came in panting heavily as he shouted "We're under attack!"

The king walked fast to the guard and asked about what was happening. All I heard from the guard where the words: wall, Alastar, king and magic. It seems that the Alastarian king decided to come here and personally destroy Euryele. I looked at Basil who stiffened slightly hearing the guard say the words before he ran of towards the walls. We ran after Basil who didn't stop running when we called out to him. When we reached the walls, we saw him. The Alastarian king sat on his throne on a moving vehicle with the substitute core floating over his right hand. He had a wicked smile all over his face as he watched his troops attack Euryele. Villagers ran in panic as the Alastarian troops destroyed their homes and barged the kingdom's entrance open. Basil drew his sword from its sheath and ran again to help the villagers. I used my magic to knock down the troops and lead the villagers to safety. Eurylanian troops came to protect the villagers and continued to lead them towards a passage way to a safe place. I had lost track of where Basil was before I heard someone yell my name "Astra!" Raphael waved his hand from where he stood to get my attention and pointed towards where Basil was. Basil was running towards a tower, knocking out troops that went after him. I ran after him towards the tower, dodging everyone in my way.

"Grandfather!" Basil yelled from the top of the tower. The Alastarian king looked up to see his grandson on a tower with a glowing sword. His face became grim and raised his hand to stop the vehicle from moving. "Grandfather! Please, stop this madness!" Basil yelled trying to convince his grandfather, but instead, his grandfather laughed at him. I looked at the Alastarian king with a face that held fear and disgust. He had truly become mad and greedy after power. "Look at this!" The Alastarian king spat to Basil "My own grandson, the boy I raised after his father's death is now siding with the enemy! You are a traitor and a scum towards Alastar!" What he said had made me fume inside. I could not believe it. "You don't deserve to be king if you only greed for power!" I spat at Basil's grandfather, our grandfather. Basil looked at me with shock before his expression changed into a gentle one with a smile. "And who are you to tell me that? You look like a mere peasant!" grandfather sneered. I smirked mischievously and answered "I'm Basil's twin, your granddaughter" His sneer faltered and then shouted "You lie! My son did not marry a Eurylanian scum!" I continued to look at him with my head held high that said I was not lying. Grandfather became furious and charged towards the entrance to Euryele using the power of the substitute core to clear his path.