Fireball

A Birthday Gift

Amos was celebrating his 200th birthday and many friends attended. Fireball flew up to give him the first gift.

"Happy Birthday Amos. I have had this for a long time and it has always been a mystery to me. I have a feeling it will mean more to you."

Excitedly Amos unwrapped the gift. He loved a mystery. In front of him was an underwhelming little box. It was smooth and neat, with little hinges on what he assumed was the back, but there was no front clasp. No opening. He stared at the box, puzzled. As everyone else looked on in disappointment, Fireball moved forward again.

"I know it doesn't look like much, but it contains something very special. I just don't know how to retrieve it from inside."

Fireball picked up the box and concentrated hard. Amos stretched his head forward to get a closer look, as the others also gazed on. At first nothing happened, but then suddenly and very slowly the box began to disappear. As it did, a bright red stone became visible. When the box was completely gone, the stone began to glow until it was an intense red. Amos, was again intrigued, reaching out to hold the stone in his hand. Like Fireball decades before, Amos's hand was blocked inches from the stone.

"The ruby stone has always revealed itself to me, but I could never retrieve it from inside the cedar box. I tried to smash it open and I tried to burn it, but nothing worked. "

Amos still stared at it with great anticipation.

"Where did you find this Fireball and how did you hide it from me for so long? If I'm right, this is a very important stone. It has been missing for centuries and Alexander mentions it in his journal. Once retrieved, the wearer of this stone would be protected from all evil. This person would be protected for life and a long life they would have."

Amos opened the journal, completely forgetting about his birthday. He showed Fireball the prince's notes. The chosen wizard would not be an only child, so this stone had to protect more than one child. The two read on and Alexander had guessed that if the stone was split in three it could protect the wizard's that wore it at least until they were 18. The ruby stone while split in three would be reduced in power, but that power could protect his decedents that would help the wizards' world one day. Alexander wrote in the journal how Amos would come upon the ruby stone one day and it was very important that he split it in three to create three amulets, destined for their future owners.

"There seems to be a lot of information we need to gather before we can split the stone correctly, but I guess we first have to figure out how to open the box. Perhaps we could find a spell that will unlock the chest."

Amos secured the cedar chest and got back to celebrating his birthday. He figured waiting one day to start working on the ruby stone issue, would be okay.

Many World Wizarding Council members came by for Amos's birthday. Victor had passed away a few decades earlier and his son's were aging and in ill health, but 3 of his children and 4 grand children came to celebrate.

The celebration lasted throughout the night. It wasn't a crazy party, but rather a few dozen people celebrating one wizard's long and beautiful life.