A color- and sound-eating void of emptiness was charging
towards Sapphire. But the blue Eyrie stood her ground. She was no longer afraid.
She had the Amber Stones of Courage. She alone was armed with magical powers.
Her voice lifted in song.
"Tierre, aerine, marina, eth incedi.
Luminos shine eth sombre obscuri.
Chante a faeries, Chante a faeries.
Melodi, melodi avec ma."
"Earth, air, water and fire.
Light shining and darkness hiding.
Song of faeries, Song of faeries.
Sing, sing with me."
"Chante eth vibrence, Chante eth vibrence,
Melodi faeries, melodi avec ma.
Chante a le sis elemanta,
Elemanta eterni."
"Song and color, Song and color,
Sing faeries, sing with me.
Song of the six elements,
Elements forever."
And so the faeries did sing. First, came a soft
voice. It was rich and sweet, and smelled slightly of old loam. But vibrant
life was in that voice, making it the voice of Earth Magic.
The next voice was so subtle; one wouldn't even
notice it was there. It was breathy and whistle-like, similar to birds' songs.
It carried the essence of wings. It was the voice of Air Magic.
Next, came the crashing of waves and trickling
of a stream. It was the sound of dolphins playing and fish swimming. Its thin,
playful voice stood out against all others, the voice of Water Magic.
Then, a fire seemed to cackle. There was the
sound of sizzling and burning and warmth. It was harder to explain that the
other three, and it was the voice of Fire Magic.
The next two were the hardest to explain of
all. One was sweet and melodious, like the sun peeking out from behind a cloud.
The other was the song of the night, of spaces between the stars, empty and
lonely. They were the voices of Light and Dark Magic.
Then, the void twitched… and slowed… and stopped
altogether. Then, it trembled again, and violently expelled all of the color
and sound it had eaten. An explosion of noise and flashes of light resounded
around and illuminated the area. The tree turned green and brown again, the
grass turned green again, and the mirror turned gold again. The void hung, limp
and lifeless in midair.
Sapphire turned towards the mirror. She had
just met it, but it seemed like they had been friends forever. "Mirror, are
you okay?" she whispered.
Then, the mirror melted in a river of pink and
lavender and mint-green. The river of color shifted, and became oddly solid.
It formed long, slender legs and a mauve dress. It formed a slender torso, and
thin arms and a delicate face. Long, lavender hair fell loosely. A tiny silver
and amethyst tiara sat atop her head, glittering in the sunlight.
There, standing on Sapphire's Neohome lawn,
was Fyora the Faerie Queen.
Sapphire gasped, and bowed low. Of course, Eyries
weren't meant to bow, so she went tumbling beak over heels.
"Thank you, child," the Queen said, helping
the Eyrie to her paws.
"What was that… that thing, Queen Fyora?" Sapphire
asked.
Fyora walked over to the void. She walked as
regally as she looked, taking each step slowly and carefully, as if she were
walking on eggshells. "A creation of Anandra the dark Faerie. Up to her usual
tricks."
"Anandra the Dark Faerie?"
"Anandra was the leader of a group of dark faeries
called the Black Circle. They believed that magic was meant to destroy, not
to create. They tore up towns with their magic, and misused it to a disastrous
point. Finally, I stripped Anandra of her powers and banished her from Faerieland.
She has been out to get me ever since. For several days, she trapped me in that
golden mirror. So, I called out to everyone and anyone who was a mage to come
and help me. You must have heard my plea the loudest. You have been a mage all
along without knowing it."
"You mean all this time." Sapphire stared at
her paws in disbelief. Magical paws. "Every time I hid under my bed during a
thunderstorm, or cried because a bully stole my lunch money, or fled helplessly
from a Spyder, that was a mage doing all of that?"
Fyora nodded solemnly. "Perhaps a very powerful
mage."
"So, how'd you get away from Anandra?"
"By the time I had finished calling for help,
I was too weak to do the simplest spell. But somehow, I summoned the last of
my powers and floated here. Levitation is really quite easy. I heard your song
and was attracted to it. I floated to your backyard, and you were singing. I
knew that there was magic in that song, so I sent you another cry for help.
I didn't know that you were oblivious to the fact that you are a mage."
"The band rehearsal… so you mean I can still
sing?"
"As much as you want to, child. Anyway, I saw
you faint and your siblings brought you inside. I had no more strength left
in me, so I broke the levitation spell and sat at the roots of the tree, despairing.
"Today, the Scorchio came behind the tree to
escape the appalling racket coming from that silver Shoyru that was trying out.
He found me. Feebly, I showed him multicolored fog, hoping that he'd bring me
to you. Again, I thought that you were an experienced mage. You know the story
from there."
"Wow," Sapphire gasped. "You have it rough,
don't you?"
"Rougher than you'd ever imagine, child."
"What about the Stones? What part do they play?"
"They're a vessel for your magic, sort of like
a battery. It will store your songs until they need to be used."
"Well, I like your voice. Could you maybe stay
in Neopia Central for one more week and sing at a Uni's birthday party?"
"I'd be honored to sing in the presence of a
song-mage as powerful as yourself."
To be continued...
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