| MERIDELL - The battles are over. But the conflict is just beginning. A conflict
that will make the brutal Meridell-Darigan War look like two fourth-graders fighting
in the parking lot after school. A dark shadow has fallen over Neopia, and it
isn't Dr. Sloth. It's a force beyond anything that Sloth shall ever be.
Lord Darigan has harnessed the immense power of the Orb, throwing Meridell
into further ruin and threatening to conquer the whole of Neopia.
My Uni RubyRainbow333 and I walked through the torn remnants of a land once
free and proud. We walked right past the fallen trees of Illusen's Glade and
the shallow depression where the Turmaculus once lay. We were searching for
one thing and one thing only. The Kyrii Seer who sent Meridell's knights on
that quest for the Orb.
We found him crouched under a tattered tent, gazing into a crystal ball. Fog
swirled inside the ball, lighting the room with a soft golden glow. In that
glow, the Kyrii's gypsy bangles and bracelets sparkled like diamonds. His eyes
were wide and staring at the fog. His hands were covered with rings, at least
two on each finger. He wore a loose, flowing maroon robe, like a witch might.
"Excuse me, Mr. Seer?" I cautiously approached the Kyrii.
The Kyrii snapped out of his trance. "What are you doing here, child? I'm
trying to See into the future! It's a very delicate procedure and I don't wish
to be disturbed."
"Can't I have a moment of your time, sir? Just a moment? I'm a Neopian Times
Reporter and…"
"Go away!"
Then, Ruby trotted up to the Seer and glared at him. "This is important, Kyrii.
We want the truth."
Then, the Kyrii broke down and cried, "Go ahead, blame me! I destroyed Meridell!
I told the king to steal that dratted Orb from Lord Darigan! I set Darigan's
wrath upon our villages and farms! And I set that wrath upon the whole of Neopia."
I was moved with pity for the Seer. But as a reporter, I tried not to let
my feelings show. If he knew of my pity, he might take advantage of it. "Why
did you originally send King Skarrl to retrieve the Orb?"
"All I wanted was peace. I wanted to end the famine and disease and poverty.
I wanted Meridell to be prosperous again."
"So your intentions were good," I said. "How did you find out about the Orb?"
The Kyrii gestured wordlessly towards his crystal ball, still sobbing like
a baby.
"And did you know of its power?"
"Aye, yes. I knew it had power to destroy as well as heal. And I knew its
strength was nearly limitless! The ultimate Battledome weapon! One with that
in their paws would never face a loss again, not in a thousand years or more.
Nothing should hold that much strength."
"Where did the Orb come from?"
"Some say it was created by the first Faerie Queen, centuries ago. Countless
generations before Neopia Central was even an idea in someone's mind, a Faerie
named Modrena was the first Faerie to harness the elemental powers of Neopia.
Fire, Air, Earth, Water, Light and Darkness, she was all six. Thus, her descendants,
including Her Majesty Queen Fyora, are also all six. She proclaimed herself
the Queen of Faeries and gave each of her subjects a piece of her power. Then,
she stored the rest of the power into a golden Orb. The Orb worked sort of like
a battery for magic, storing it until it was ready for use. Her children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren continued to use this power, taking from it and adding
some of their own magic to it too. But they always gave more than they took.
"One day, the Orb just disappeared. Some say that a Dark Faerie stole it and
sold it. Others think that it didn't like the way Faeries were treating one
another and as punishment, it rolled away to make another land prosper. It found
a world full of kind, innocent people and made the soil rich and the people
free from disease. Then, when the people lost their innocence and became too
greedy, the Orb rolled away again.
"And so it continued its destructive cycle. Aiding and deserting, creating
and destroying. The legend says that it is searching for the perfect land. 'Show
me soil untainted by greed, and I shall make it prosper.' Or so says the legend."
"And did you ever suspect that Darigan would come back to wreak vengeance?"
"No. But I was young and naïve then. I didn't think. Only a few years have
passed, but I'm so much older now. So much older."
The Kyrii paused and light from the sun fell on his face. Truly, he wasn't
lying. His fur was graying and dulling with age. His eyes were weary, like they
had seen every horror. Wrinkles and lines creased his facial fur. He looked
more like an old man that the Kyrii I saw on the plot film.
Then, something scary happened. His eyes filmed over, as if his mind was not
there. Lowly, as if in a trance, he picked the crystal ball up and held it over
his head and chanted:
"Brave Aisha Lady and Valiant Lupe Knight
Shall once more join the bitter fight.
Swords shall clash and warriors shall fall,
But whoever wins shall take it all.
"Perhaps Neopia again shall be free.
But no Seer can say if that is to be.
There's only one way to ensure liberty,
The destruction of the weapon that gives Darigan victory."
Terrified, I poked the Seer on the shoulder. "Sir? Are you okay?" I asked.
The Kyrii snapped out of his trance. "Sorry, lass. I must have dozed off there.
Now what were you saying?"
"Nothing important," I replied. Then, I left the Seer's tent.
Had I witnessed an actual vision? Was the Kyrii just begging for attention?
And is the poem true? Do we have to destroy the Orb, the thing that brings
prosperity in order to ensure freedom?
As I stand here, on the threshold of a new chapter in this story of Neopia,
so many questions come to mind. But life is like the "Neopian Adventure Generator"
game. We'll just have to read this tale, and choose the path that's right for
us. We'll just have to hope that we made the right choice.
But the Seer's haunting words still rang in my mind.
| 
