Scepter of the Sky
Animus and Star stared wide-eyed at the pastel
colours of Faerieland.
"Whoa! The colours make me wanna go to sleep,
but there's too much to look at!" Animus exclaimed.
"I'm glad you like it here, Animus. Does all
the faeries remind you of Sublime?" I ducked as Animus's tail whipped around.
Star laughed.
"Be nice, Animus," I told the Gelert. "Now,
where could we find the Scepter? Coltzan said there was a new Guardian, but
that could be anyone!"
The three of us looked around helplessly.
Thousands of tourists and Neopets were swarming.
"Do you need assistance? You look lost," a
light voice said behind us.
"Eh?" I said stupidly. Now in front off us
was a woman with tawny hair and wise brown eyes. She wore glasses and was beautiful
in her own way.
"Who are you?" Animus asked bluntly.
"The Librarian Faerie. Don't you read?"
she teased. The Librarian shifted slightly so we could see her gauzy wings.
" So do you need help?"
"Actually, we need to know who's the new Guardian
of the Scepter of the Sky," Star calmly stated. Both Animus and me gaped at
her. What was she thinking?
"Excuse me?" the Faerie asked with a surprised
on her face. "How do you know of the Scepter?" She peered at me closely. "You
bear the Orb of the Earth's mark already. You must be the Carrier..."
"How do you know of the Scepter?" Animus inquired
suspiciously.
"I know the story. And you know that I am
the Librarian Faerie, and the top of every Faerie dwelling in Faerieland knows
Fyora is the new Scepter Guardian."
"Of course!" I exploded. "I should have known!
Fyora is the Queen of Faeries, and the Scepter came to her because she's the
closest to a Wind Guardian than anyone can get! Can you take us to her?"
"Sure. Come with me." The faerie went into
her shop while we followed. It was kind of warm inside with a pine smell.
"Close the door please." Star shut the door.
"Now, I will summon Fyora, but firstly, is anyone around us?" We all glanced
around.
"No. Every one's outside of the shop."
"OK, I'll start." The Faerie sang a tiny tune.
"Queen! I ask you to join us!" A twister of purple light blinded all of us,
and ended almost as soon as it started.
"Yes?" A voice asked. A tall woman with long
lilac hair down to the floor stood in the middle of the floor. It had to be
Fyora.
"Queen, the Carrier is here," Fyora started,
obviously not expecting this.
"Goodness! Already? Centuries do pass by.
I feel so old now." Fyora smiled warmly, showing, I think, she was joking.
"Umm, Queen?" I asked timidly. "Can I, uh,
have the, um, Scepter?"
"Of course, child," Fyora replied warmly.
"I see in your heart you are the true Carrier. And to be the Carrier is a life
of danger. Here, take this first." The Queen handed me a small bauble on a chain.
"When you touch this, both good and evil shall be revealed. The Keys--" She
glanced at Star and Animus. "Have the ability to do this. One, pure of heart,
sees all goodness within a person. The other, full of lawful duty, sees all
evil. But this amulet will help you on the way." Fyora kissed it lightly before
putting it about my neck.
"And for you..." The regal Queen held out,
to everyone's surprise, a Cirrus to Star. "Her name is Purity. Treat her well.
And Animus, don't worry, your little companion will be in Tyrannia."
"Thank you!" Star smiled. Purity cooed in
contentment.
"Cool. I'm gonna get a Pet pet soon!" Animus
wagged his tail.
"Thank you for the gifts, but what of the
scepter?" I asked.
"Here. This is the Scepter." Fyora waved on
hand before her, and a light shined in front of me. A long rod, taller than
me, appeared. It had a pair of silver wings at the top, and was made of some
white stone. It was sort of plain, like the Orb of the Earth, but it vibrated
with a power of its own. Fyora, the Librarian Faerie, Animus, Star and I all
turned around as the door flung open. But no one was there.
"Who is it?" the Queen asked sternly. "Show
yourself."
Instead of answering, the thing grabbed the
Scepter and tried to wrestle it from me. It was too strong, and when I fell
I instinctively clutched the bauble. To my shock, outlines of a lithe, dangerous
looking Lupe was prowling near the door.
"I see you, Lupe," Animus growled. His body
shone darkly, and I could have sworn his usually flashing eyes turned a steel-gray
colour. Animus lunged for the invisible Lupe, knocking him down and taking the
Scepter.
"Quickly, Carrier, merge with it," the Librarian
urged. I made a lunge, and desperately hugged the rod to me.
I felt a sensation, just like when the Orb
was becoming one with me, and again sensed the burning mark, only on my forehead
instead. I looked at a mirror nearby. Now my right cheek held a green flower
mark while my forehead a silvery wing tattoo.
"Treleg will avenge me. You will pay for your
insolence," the Invisible Lupe growled.
"Not before you pay for yours." The Faerie
Queen raised a hand and blasted the Lupe. He disappeared.
"Did you--" I gasped.
"No." Fyora shook her head. "I put him in
Faerie Prison. I believe he's under some influence, and isn't himself."
"Animus? How'd you do that?" Star asked the
panting Gelert. Purity, living up to her name, came over and nudged Animus.
"Animus has come aware of his powers, and
soon you will too Star." The Librarian patted the blue Lupe's head. "Shortly
you will spy the goodness of people's heart."
"Too shortly." Fyora shook her shimmering
lavender head. " I shall transport you to Tyrannia immediately. The danger is
upon us. Carrier, seek out the Beast. He holds the Sword of Fire. Beware of
this...Treleg." With that I felt a sucking feeling throughout my body, and fell
into blackness.
"Fool! He was captured!" The clocked figure
paced nervously. "And Master grows more impatient. I have no choice, but to
steal all the Tools when she collects them." And like that, the figure was gone.
Sword of Fire
"Oof!" Animus, Star, and I grunted as we landed
on the rocky soil of Tyrannia.
Animus immediately sprung up. "Where's my
pet pet?"
"Probably with the Beast, whoever he is,"
Star said, patting Purity, the Cirrus given to her by Fyora.
"Oh..." Animus sighed. I looked around. Everywhere
was either jungle or stony cliffs. Where was this so-called Beast?
"Are you guys OK?" A voice asked.
We turned around. A yellow Lupe stood, concern
in his eyes.
"Who are you?" Animus asked suspiciously.
"I am Bladecharm. You?"
"His name is Animus, or just Animus. That's
our owner Tiari. And my name is Starbane." Star wrinkled her nose. "But call
me Star."
"All right. And you can call me Blade." I had
doubts in mind for this...Blade.
What if he was a spy?
Animus seemed to share my thoughts. "Where's
your owner?"
"Don't have one." Blade shook his head sadly.
"She lives on someplace called Earth, and someone called a Hacker or something
tried to take her place. I ran away though. It wasn't me this hacker guy was
interested in anyway."
"Then what was he interested in?" Star's eyes
softened. She out of all of us knew the hardships of an owner that didn't love
you.
"He just wanted money." Blade's eyes had such
a genuine look in it; I couldn't bear to disbelieve him.
"What do you think about this guy?" Animus
whispered to me. Star was talking animatedly to Blade, with Purity floating
above them.
"I like him. Besides, Star has good judgement
and I trust it."
"You're right," Animus sighed. "She wouldn't
do this if he isn't trustworthy. Besides, didn't Fyora say she could see the
goodness of people's hearts?"
"Yeah," I raised my voice so the two Lupes
could hear me. "Hey! Blade! Do you know someone called the Beast?"
The Yellow Lupe cocked his head slightly.
"Uh...do you mean the Beast of the Lair?"
"Hey, isn't that the guy who lives in that
giant cave?" Animus shivered.
"Oh no!" I slapped my hand to my face.
"I can take you there," Blade offered.
One hour later, all four of us found ourselves
standing in front of a large cave mouth.
"I hope your right about this Beast," Animus
told Blade.
"So am I," Blade retorted.
"So we all." I shrugged. "Let's go."
"Wait." Blade stopped us. "Can I come?"
"Sure," Star said. "We might need all the
help we can get."
"But you don't want to risk getting hurt,
do you?" Animus pressed. Hey, he did like the Lupe after all.
"It's all right. Besides, I always did want
to know what Beast looked like." So all of us headed inside the cave.
It wasn't long before we were lost. The damp
walls scratched at fur and clothing, and I stumbled at least two times.
"Great. Where is this Beast? I wasn't looking
forward to this before, but now I just want to get out," Animus moaned.
Just then a light illuminated. I looked around.
Dozens of torches I could have sworn weren't there before decorated a circular
cavern.
And in the middle, unmistakably, was the Beast.
Its beak was about five feet long, and its
wings were folded. It they weren't, they probably would have been ten times
larger than Animus, though.
Also, its talons were curved with deadly foot-long
nails, and the skin tone of its body was a dull, coppery clay colour. The Beast's
eye, though fierce, was full of intelligence.
"Carrier. Keys. But who is this?" The Beast
croaked.
"I'm Bladecharm," the Yellow Lupe said bravely.
"Yes. You. You will not live long with this
bunch." The Beast's tone was no mocking, but flat. It seemed it was simply telling
the truth.
Blade didn't flinch. "To die a life with honour
is better than to live long without it."
The Beast nodded, seemingly pleased with the
answer. "Good, I'm glad you say that." I gasped. Why was it acting so normally
now? Before it was answering in one-word sentences!
"I don't just say it, I believe it." Blade's
eye had a gleam to it, as if he was defending his life.
"Yes, of course." The Beast nodded. "I'm sorry
about the crudeness of my words before, it was just I wasn't sure of you. I
see now you will live a life of a noble warrior. Just like the rest of you there."
"So, are you the Guardian of the Sword of Fire?"
I asked. Animus was quivering with anticipation.
"Yes." The Beast's eyes hardened. "But I'm afraid
you will have to do more than ask to get he Sword."
"What will we have to do?" Animus asked. His
lean yellow body stretched as if to jump any second.
"Not you, her." The Beast pointed to me. "She
must battle me to get this." He held out a gold sword, its hilt made out of
rubies.
"Why should I battle for something insignificant?"
I said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Blade asked me. "Obviously
you guys came here for whatever that is, and now you don't want it?"
"It's more complicated than that, Blade." Star
shook his head and Purity cooed in agreement. "Tiari knows that's not the Sword
of Fire."
"And how do you know this, Carrier?" the Beast
asked sternly.
"Because it doesn't call to me, like the other
two. It doesn't seem to hold the simple radiance like the Orb of the Earth or
the Scepter of the Sky." I answered slowly, slightly awkward. "Those weren't
made of fabulous jewels or amazingly rare metals, but they outshine the thing
you hold now."
"A wise answer," the Beast said. "You deserve
this." A flaming sword with a plain brown hilt floated down to me. I hugged
it like I did the others, and when I felt a burning sensation on my left cheek;
I knew I would have a crimson fire mark there.
"And Sprit, let us not forget your new companion."
The beast made a slight whistling sound, and a Black Gruslen appeared, fangs
bared in a slightly evil grin.
"His name is Dark Star," the Beast informed
Animus. The Gruslen padded over, and sat down quietly next to the delighted
Animus.
"And where shall I find the Amulet?" I knew
the final Tool was deep in the Oceans, but I didn't know where.
"Ah. Just remember this: A fair city once Graced
the Sea. Now only Ruins seen by You or Me, For the Place it dwelled turned against
Them," the Beast finished reciting. It wasn't exactly a poem, just a riddle.
"I think I know the answer." Star sat down on
her haunches.
"Good, then I will send you there..." I said
as I felt the blackness swallowing me again.
To be continued... | 
