A young Lupe shivered, then asked, "What story are you going to tell us tonight?"

"It better not be lame, like last time," chimed in a Meerca.

The old Scorchio shook his head slowly. "No, tonight I will tell you the tale of a great artifact--a weapon so powerful... it changed history forever."

Appreciative "oohhs" and "ahhs" were emitted from the group of young Neopets gathered around the small fire. The young Lupe spoke up. "What item was it? Tell us, tell us!"

The old Scorchio smiled. "The item I speak of is none other than the Rod of Dark Nova."

"The Rod of Dark Nova?" repeated the Meerca. "I've heard of it, but what does it do?"

"Ahh, a great many things, my young one," continued the aging Neopet. "It has the power to both give and take life." More excited murmurs erupted from the group. The Scorchio waited patiently for the children to settle down once more.

"Each time this Rod of Darkness is wielded, the bearer is healed by its power, and protected from the forces of fire and darkness, while his enemy is struck down by those same forces. If that were not enough, each wave of this rod creates a trinity of dark novas, that also heal the bearer, and burn and envelop the enemy in darkness, before vanishing forever. Truly, it is a weapon of terrible destruction."

The heads of the young Neopets bobbed in agreement, eager to hear more.

"It seems this tale holds interest to you, young ones. Very well. The legend of the Rod of Dark Nova begins...

Each of the Seven, in turn, agreed to play their part in the making of this new world, and pour a bit of their magic into its creation. Light blessed the land, giving it her power of justice and illumination. Earth gave her determination, and created the ground on which we now stand upon. Fire created flames, as well as the strong sense of pride. Air contributed by creating the spirits of the creatures, and endowing them with her sense of wisdom. Water made the great oceans, and provided the world with her sense of compassion. And Darkness lent the world her power of night, as well as her sense of jealousy and anger. Lastly, the Queen Faerie created the first creatures, and sent them to live here on Neopia."

The ancient Scorchio paused, waving a wrinkled finger at the young pets. "But peace was not maintained for long. Darkness began to grow away from the group; she pitted the creatures against each other for entertainment. The Queen soon noticed this, and in a fit of anger and rage, she brandished her Rod of Supernova--"

"Her WHAT?" exclaimed a young Shoyru, quivering. She was soon met by a wave of hushes.

The Scorchio picked up where he'd left off. "She brandished her Rod of Supernova, and expelled Darkness from the Circle of Seven, as well as the Faerie Realm. Darkness did not take kindly to this, and soon began to plot her revenge..."

...The ancient Scorchio paused to let the shiver pass through the gathered youngsters before continuing. "Many years passed, for Faeries are immortal, and time passes them like wind through the trees, before the Darkness' plot was complete, and the Queen's mistake was realized."

The young Lupe cocked his head, "How did she make a mistake?"

The Scorchio chuckled. "How, indeed. The Darkness can be nasty, cold, and vicious. However, she is also vital to this world. Although the Queen possesses facets of the other six, she cannot replace them. Each element was used in forging this world, and each element is needed to maintain it. The Queen in her rage banished the Darkness from the Circle and weakened the very land she guarded."

His eyes swept the room, pleased at the children's rapt attention. The Scorchio took a sip of his tea before once again picking up the tale. "Our land reflected the shift to the Circle of Six. The days grew warmer, brighter, and longer. Arguments seemed to become things of the past. Fights became rare... it seemed ideal."

"But then, it was noticed that the crops were starting to wither. The mountains started to lose their glaciers. The land began to sicken. And the Darkness watched; she was not idle. She watched the people of the land grow soft and complacent, while marshalling her growing forces. Her agents had been moving throughout the land for a decade, gathering the pieces for her perfect vengeance, the Rod of Dark Nova..."

"The Queen knew her world could not maintain its orderly life without the balance of Darkness, so summoning her powers, she strove to bring Darkness back into the Faerie Realm. However, there was something wrong. There was no sign of Darkness coming back. Suddenly, as havoc and chaos had been unleashed upon the soft land, the Queen was called back to the world down below.

The Queen was escorted to the beautiful woods that skirted the large desert south. She gasped upon arriving; trees had begun to suddenly rot, the brush was tangled and gnarled, and a darkness had begun to rise over the woods. As she walked in, two creatures ran screaming out of the woods.

The Queen gasped, as a tall figure emerged from the shadows of the once-beautiful woods, surrounded by a glowing blackness that emitted from a wand. Darkness scowled as she saw the Queen, who could only look on in horror. Somehow Darkness seemed to have grown different; she no longer appear merely slightly dark, as she had before, but pure evil.

'Queen! You sent me far, far away... to a forsaken place. But there, I plotted my revenge... and made this delightful toy. Do you like it? It's my Rod of Dark Nova!' she cackled, swinging the sceptre about. A dark nova swooped out from the wand and enveloped a bunch of trees. They wilted in less than a minute, becoming dry and dead.

'Darkness! What have you done?' the Queen exclaimed, backing up against one of the still-beautiful trees. It was very tall, but old as well, yet it still held beauty.

Darkness held up her new wand. 'Now, my Queen! It is time for you to resign, so that I may take your place!' Darkness twirled the wand in a circle. Blades of black light began to come out of it, at first going in different directions, then coming into a full beam and flying towards the Queen..."

..."Oh no! What happened to the Queen?" a squeaky voice asked from the back, interrupting the aged Scorchio. A small Korbat gazed at him as he grimly looked into the dying fire.

"The Queen was turned into ashes." the Scorchio answered; the crowd gasped in unison.

"B-But she's the Queen!"

"Oh, she didn't die... she was just changed into a different form. Darkness threw her into a jar, then placed her into one of the darkest, wettest dungeons in the whole land. Now everything was hers." the Scorchio lamented, sadly shaking his head. "What a dreary time that was."

"D-Do you mean, YOU were alive back then?" a Lupe exclaimed. The Scorchio chuckled.

"Of course! Ah, but these old bones were spry and chipper back then." His eyes glazed over, reminiscing about the past.

"What about the story?" An Usul asked, tugging his hand. "Continue the story!"

"Well, Darkness lived with everyone in fear of her.The Faerie Queen was gone, and no one else was powerful enough to stop her. No one would stand up to her. At my age, I was very scared, too... I would hide trying to avoid the darkness, but it was everywhere," the Scorchio sighed. "You are truly blessed children, to be free today."

"Why? How did the land get free?" everyone asked in a chorus of anticipation.

"Well, as I said. No one would stand up to her. However...

'We still have the Rod of Supernova,' Water piped up.

Air, however, shook her head. 'Only the Queen can wield that weapon,' she reminded them sadly.

Light was the youngest, and she listened to this debate in interest. Finally she said, 'I'll go fight her. Fighting's the only language her kind understands.'

'Are you mad?' Fire cried.

At the same time, Water exclaimed, 'That's a wonderful idea, dear!'

'Well, at least let us come,' Earth said reasonably. However, Air shook her head again.

'She needs to do this alone to unlock all of her power, and mature as we have. We would only get in her way... but we can each give her a gift before she leaves.'

Earth went first, stepping up to Light. 'My gift is determination,' she said, kissing Light on the forehead. 'May you never give up, even when you're in pain and afraid... hold on, and you'll eventually break Darkness' will.'

Air was next. She also kissed Light, and said, 'I give you wisdom, my friend. Darkness will try every trick she knows to get you to surrender, and her tricks are many and cruel.'

Fire came next, and after she too kissed Light, she said, 'I give you pride. Remember who you are fighting for, and what you stand for.'

Water was last. With tears in her eyes, she kissed Light and whispered, 'And 'I give you compassion, little sister. Darkness is evil, and she will only gain power if you are as bad as she is. Just ask yourself what Darkness would never do, and then, do it.'

Light didn't entirely understand the last thing Water had said, but she didn't ask for an explanation. She felt that time was running short."

"Oh, poor Light!" a young Aisha cried. The other Neopets shushed her.

The old Scorchio continued. "Light took her weapons--a bow and quiver of arrows as golden as the sun, and left the Faerie Realm. She walked toward the forest, trying to block out her terror by concentrating on walking.

All around her were scenes of devastation. With every new horror she saw, Light became more determined to defeat Darkness. Finally, she entered the shelter of the trees. 'D-D-Darkness!' she called, trying to ignore the stutter in her voice. Darkness swept out of the trees, grinning evilly. 'Well, little girl, I see you think you stand a chance of saving your precious Neopia,' she snarled. She seemed to have grown taller and scarier. Light's hands trembled on her weapons.

Darkness laughed and swung the Rod of Dark Nova at Light, who dove to the ground. She scrambled to the protection of several boulders. Another blast of dark energy surged across her back.

Light held back a scream of pain. Oh, I am so afraid now... she cried in her head. She fitted an arrow to her bow, thinking how weak and pathetic her weapons looked now. She fired an arrow, which crumbled as a beam from the Rod of Dark Nova hit it. The Rod of Supernova is the only power that can beat this thing, Light told herself. So that's it; I have to be a supernova. I have to burst out, and take her by surprise, giving it everything I've got. If I am to die, as stars must when they supernova, then so be it. She gathered all her energy and leaped from behind the rocks, with a war cry that was surprisingly fierce for such a small girl.

One thing was for sure; it certainly took Darkness by surprise...

She fell back, losing her grip on the Rod of Dark Nova as she did so. Crying out triamphantly, Light snatched up the dark weapon and held it, poinging the tip at Darkness' heart. As she prepared to strike, the words of Water came back to her:

'Darkness is evil, and she will only gain power if you are as bad as she is.' Suddenly, Light realised her mistake: to spare Darkness would destroy Neopia, which would perish beneath her. But if she did destroy her in anger and hate, Light would become the next Darkness, and Neopia would be doubly doomed, under the absense of light. Her pause for thought gave Darkness a breif respite, and she leaped off, reclaiming her weapon as she did so.

"Oh no!' exclaimed a striped Blumaroo, 'Poor light!"

With a slight cough, the ancient Scorchio resumed his story. 'Ha!' shrieked Darkness, 'you wil perish, and my -'

But Light suddenly felt very strange. She felt as if every ounce of power in Neopia was sizzling within her. She looked at her hand, and saw a great weapon there: the Rod of Supernova.

Taking aim, she fired, catching Darkness straight in her evil heart. As Darkness crumpled to immortal dust, Light felt a floating sensation, and, after a blinding flash, found herself back in the council room with the other Faeries..."

"Do not worry, young ones," he said, "For the worst worst of the story is over. Now... where was I? Oh, yes...

Earth, Air, Fire, and Water were all seated around Light. On a table next to Air stood a glass jar with ashes inside.

'You have done well.' Water said. 'You understood my warning, and you caught your mistake just in time. Your love for Neopia was so different from Darkness' hate, so the Wand of the Supernova was at your command. Now that you have succeeded,' Earth continued, 'You must use the wand to restore the Queen to her rightful self.'

Strangely enough, Light felt as if she knew how to use the wand, so she pointed the tip of the wand towards the glass jar.

There was a blinding flash, and smoke filled the air. The fiveF aeries covered their mouths and coughed. When the smoke cleared, the Queen was standing in the same spot where the jar had once been.

'My Queen!' Light said. 'You're exactly the same as before!' the Queen smiled.

'To you, I am the same,' she said. 'However, I have gained such knowledge about the balance of elements that I truly have changed.'

'What happened to Darkness?' Fire asked. 'Has she been destroyed?'

'Oh, goodness no!' the Queen exclaimed. 'As you well know, Faeries are immortal, we can never be destroyed. But her remains have been swept away in the wind, and she will no doubt find a way to strike back. But since she will no longer try to benefit our world, there is a new, compassionate, Darkness.' With a wave of her hand, the Queen brought forth a cradle. In the cradle was a tiny figure with dark purple wings and dark hair.

'It's another Darkness!' Air exclaimed.

'Yes, my dears.' the Queen said, picking up the baby Faerie. 'I have always kept a part of each of you in my heart. With my piece of Darkness, I was able to re-create her in a new form. I have a feeling that this one will not betray us.'

And so, that is how the world came to be. The Circle of Seven was restored, and the balance returned to Neopia.

As for the old Darkness, she became known as Jhudora, meaning 'one who turned from the light' in the Faerie language. She and the Queen, now known as Fyora, still had their quarrels and battles, but the two no longer tried to destroy each other. At least, not yet.

Now you know the story of the Rod of Dark Nova, which the Faerie Queen now keeps carefully hidden in her Tower. Always remember, children; do not turn from the light."

The End