The Sapphire of Ismira

Introductions.

SAPPHIRA

    The tent was quite crowded now and with Lord Ramon and Lord Zarion standing in front of me, I could barely see what they gasped at.

“Please sit down, my Lords. My name is Jahdan Arsandia. This is my wife Sophia and my son Aldrien.” the blurry man said flourishing his hand towards each member of his family.

 His wife looked distraught and his son’s face seemed oddly familiar too me and apparently the elders felt the same but they did a good job covering their shock.

 “Oh, and I forgot to mention my father, Prince Phosilio.” The man motioned towards an old graying man in a wheelchair.

 “But..that’s impossible! You don’t mean the Prince? And you’ve returned…that means that the you are…” Lord Zarion stuttered.

 Never have I seen any member of the council of elders so lost for words. I was pretty sure then that there was no turning back.

 “Not me sire, but my son Aldrien.” Jahdan said gravely.

 All of a sudden understanding dawned upon me and I finally comprhended the extent of this situation. It seemed so impossible. As a part of the guardians(a senior member mind you) we were taught painstakingly the history of the Neitherians and other legends. And ofcourse we had inside information that the common people were not aware of. It was a certain incident in the Battle of Arrohona that came to my mind And combined with the fact that I was sitting amidst a Prince , it was clear why the boy Aldrien was here. It was also clear that I was in deep crap now.

 “Sapphira my dear, please sit down. Its time we told you too.” Said Lord Ramon.

 “Huh? What..?” I spluttered. Looks like I had been day dreaming again. Nevertheless I took a seat next to the weird kid.

 “We thought that there would be no need to bring this up with between young Aldrien turning up and the current situation in the Neither world, we have no other choice but to tell you this.”started Lord Zarion.

“Situation in the Neither world….??” But I was immediately silenced by Lord Ramon’s look.

  It seemed like I wasn’t the only one concerned though. Prince Phosilia seemed rather taken aback too. Suprisingly enough it didn’t take em much to believe that he was King Arsandia’s long lost son. There was just something about him that just made me believe.

 “The sapphire of Princess Ismira has been removed and has dissappeared. Over the past few months the power of the sapphire had been dwindling and now it is lost. As for the situation in the Neither world, Princess Ismira has been poisoned. This would explain the decrease in the sapphire’s strength since it draws its magic  directly from her.” Said Lord Zarion in the gravest tone he was capable of.

 “NO!!! It cannot be…This must be Ropta’s work!” I screamed.

 Everyone stared at me and then at Lord Zarion, waiting to say I was wrong. Unfortunately that was not the case.

 “Yes, Sapphira is correct. But that is not what we fear. To steal the sapphire he must have had to open the portal and cross it. The portal cannot be opened unless by some great magical force is applied. Atleast five council members must apply themselves in order to open it. Ropta is certainly not capable of it unless rumors are true.”

 “Long before the Neither world was created with the help of an ancient force which we now refer to as the Light of Diamade. It ensured peace and harmony among the Nietherians and all was well as the Kings ruled over our kingdom with the presence. But for every good, an opposing bad will exist. Another ancient force that was locked up for a very long time escaped and started tainting the minds of the Neitherians. After a while the Netherians did start acting like monsters to general dismay. But time and again it was bought into control by the Kings ruling them.” Continued Lord Ramon.

 “But it seems now that  the Darkness has creeped upon Ropta and is now feeding him more power than imagined. The last we heard of him was through our spies in the nothern lands of Kirnen. A few weeks after that the sapphire dissappeared.”

 “But how do you know that it’s the Darkness feeding him. And how is it that we guardians did not know about this?” I asked, my fear  and anger building up steadily.

 “Actually the guardians do know about it dear. Where do you think Jeromino is? He is currently working with the royal Netherian guard, trying to hunt  down Ropta. Few of the other guards are with Princess Ismira now. Her health doesn’t seem to be improving. Whatever Ropta has done to her seems to drain the life out of her faster everyday.” Said Lord Ramon in a solemn voice.

 “My sister. My poor, dear sister.” Wispered Aldrien’s grandfather softly.

 “So why wasn’t I informed about this. I’m second in command and I’m not even made aware of this. Are you telling me that  I’ve spent the last month protecting something that had been stolen?” My voice was steadily becoming louder upto a point  when I was literally shouting at the elders.

 “Sapphira, please draw in your fangs. You’re started to scare the others” said Lord Zarion gently.

 “We wanted to wait for the right time to tell you. And now the time has come. The rising of the darkness, the prophecy made for the Prince and the events in the Neither  world not only affect young Aldrien here but also you. It is you who will have to lead the people when the time comes. Aldrien might weild the throne and the power but it is you who will show him how to and show the Neitherians the way against darkness.”Lord Ramon ended.