Spirit Animals - The Ten Keepers: The Lost Talisman of Ursala [Book Two]

Chapter Three - Good or Bad

Eilene's POV

The clearing was dead silent. Everyone stared at her in shock and it made her uncomfortable for she never liked the attention but she hid it. She looked back with cold, expressionless eyes.

After a couple of minutes, John shook his head, "This is crazy."

Eilene doesn't say anything.

"I mean, you died," John went on, "You died, I know you died. I even saw it in my dream, you died."

"Yet you didn't see me die," Eilene said, "You thought Zerif died too but he's pretty much alive, capturing Great Beasts."

"But you said it yourself, you knew about the dream," John said, "You knew all along."

"You didn't see me in the dream," Eilene nodded, "but you didn't see me die either. I'm just not there."

John rubbed his head and sat down. She could tell he was having a hard time believing this. The others just watched, shock, confused, uncertain.

"Anyways, we're not here to talk about how I miraculously survived," she went on, "I'm here to talk about more...urgent things."

No one said anything for a while until Zoron nodded, "Go on."

"My father, Derek, does a dangerous job," Eilene started, "He travels all over Erdas to find the secrets and history of Erdas. When he found this book, he spent many nights trying to translate it. When the Conquerors came to him, he agreed to join because, you might not believe this but...Kovo was trying to save the world."

John scoffed, "You expect us to believe that? He tried to rule all of Erdas by starting two wars, killed four of his Great Beast brethren, tried to steal all of the talismans, and betrayed the Reptile King!"

"Yes he did all those," Eilene nodded, "but he did it for a reason."

She opened the book to a picture of the Evertree but it also showed the huge roots under the Evertree, "Of all the Great Beasts, he was the one who sensed the rot underneath it, the Wyrm."

She flipped to a page where their were humans, a group going through a door while the other watched sadly, "Kovo told the Hellans, which are the first people of Erdas, to split into two groups. One to go down and tend the Evertree's roots while the others to build a weapon, strong enough the destroy the Wyrm. But the Hellans above ground grew greedy, forgetting about what Kovo had instructed them, so he had to do it himself."

Everyone was listening now as she went on, "That's when Kovo started the first war, to capture all the talismans. What else is more stronger than the Great Beasts' talismans? He took the talismans so he could create the Staff of Cycles, the weapon that was supposed to destroy the Wyrm."

"Then why didn't he just tell the other Great Beasts?" George asked, confused, "Surely Tellun might've approved. Why did he have to kill the Four Fallen?"

"Yes, but not all," Eilene said, "The other Great Beasts have grown too proud of themselves that they would never give up their talismans. He killed the Four Fallen because he did what he thought was right. He just saw himself as the best protector of Erdas."

"By starting two wars, killing the Four Fallen, and Kovo is now hated by all of Erdas," John said, sarcastically.

"Everyone had made their mistakes," Eilene said, "I don't approve of Kovo needing to kill and betray but he's doing it to save Erdas. The first Devourer did something wrong but why should the rest of Stetroil be punished for what he has done? The Greencloaks made a mistake by punishing Stetroil when it's the first Devourer who is to be blamed. Shane did what he thought was right, he couldn't let his kingdom suffer because the Greencloaks didn't give them the Nectar."

"You're saying that as if the Greencloaks are the bad guys," Zoron said.

"No one can be truly good and truly bad," Eilene replied, "You can only choose who you want to be."

"And you choose to be a traitor," John muttered.

Eilene tried not to glare at him, "Wasn't Kovo a traitor yet he's doing it to save Erdas? If you ask me, everyone had been good and bad."

John glared at her, distrust in his eyes. Eilene met his gaze, not pulling away. They kept on staring as if it was a contest and the first to break away was John.

"What's the plan then?" John muttered, "Find all the talismans wherever they are, make the Staff of Cycles and destroy the Wyrm?"

"We don't need to find the talismans because the Staff of Cycles has already been made," Eilene said, "We just need to find where it is but...that's not all."

"What do you mean, that's not all?" Hope asked, uneasily.

Eilene took a deep breath. She was unsure of how they would react to what she was going to say and if they're going to believe it.

"There...There used to be a sixteenth Great Beast," Eilene told them, "Ursala the Bear. She too have sensed the rot, the Wyrm but...after that she left. Three years later, a bright star had flashed into the sky and stars form into the shape of a bear. Then, the Great Beasts received a prophecy."

They didn't say anything and waited for her to speak, "Two must become one to move on. Ten must become one to face the threat. Sixteen must become one to defeat the Wyrm."

"What does that mean?" Riley asked.

"I don't know the full meaning but," Eilene answered, "Sixteen must become one might mean all sixteen Great Beasts must come together. The rest, I don't know what it means but that's not all. Like the rest of the Great Beasts, the Great Bear Ursala also had a talisman. The Titanium Bear."

"Are you sure you're not just making this all up?" John asked, suspiciously.

"I'm not, just listen," she snapped, "No one knows where she went but when she died, the talisman disappeared with her but when she had been summoned back, the talisman had broken into two. One half is somewhere in Erdas, probably near the Staff of Cycles while the other is underground."

"Wait, you mean the Great Bear Ursala has been summoned back?" Irene asked, confused, "When? And why haven't we heard of it before?"

"Just like the past, people forgot about her," Eilene answered, "But she's actually here right now."

In a flash, Eilene's Spirit Animal, Ursa had appeared.

"Ursa?" Ivan exclaimed, "Ursa is Ursala?"

"I...I had a dream of what happened," Eilene explained, "She told me everything. I even went to Kovo myself if he knew who Ursala was."

"I'm not going to believe any this," John said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I don't expect you to," Eilene said, coldly, "You did say you weren't going to believe me or trust me anymore."

John flinched.

"Anyways, believe it or not, it's the truth," Eilene went on, "We're running out of time. The Wyrm is much stronger than the Bile but since we're still Keepers, we can still free them but if the Wyrm controls you...you lose. We need to split up. One group will go underground to find the talisman while the other group stays up here to find the Staff of Cycles and the other half of the talisman."

"And I suppose you're choosing the groups?" John said.

"Oh no, not me," Eilene replied, "The Great Bear Ursala, or should I say Ursa, will be choosing them."

I guess you know who the Great Bear Ursala is, right? Please vote and leave a comment on what you think. Stay tuned for the next chapters!