"The Stone of the Shield
Share your armour
Hide your weaknesses
Identify your future
Eliminate your enemies
Leave your prejudices
Defence your loved ones
You are the Chosen One of the Shield"
- a poem for the Guardian
by Ayano_Ann (me)
Lucas felt a big emptiness. His gaze was blurry. Everything was scarlet red as the blood. He could feel the vampire poison killing him bit by bit. He reached out his hand and someone grabbed him. It was Isabelle. There was no way he could mistake with her softness and scent. He grabbed her tightly. Like a drowning man grabs a straw.
The boy could hear deaf voices. Looks like everyone came while he was unconscious. Now they were taking him somewhere. But they didn't know where. The boy could hear their arguments about the direction. In his vision, the only light other than the bloody red was in gold and orange shades. It was shining up north, straight ahead.
"Forward... go forward....go...to the stone. . . quickly…" He didn't even have the strength to open his mouth. But he had to say it. He felt that was the direction.
The others spoke a few words that he could not recognize. He was caring away again. But he felt that Isa squeezed his hand harder. She must have understood his words. Now they're heading in the direction he's given.
☆
The boy passed out again. In his mind, he saw memories of his childhood. Lucas was still very young in them. Only 5 years old. He was out with his father. His little brother was bouncing in their mother's arms. Everyone was very happy.
It was the first day for Lucas to use Fire bending as a defence. He had already mastered a little bit the summoning of Fire, but he found it difficult to control it. The little boy took a deep breath and forced himself to make a fire.
At first, it was just a little flame. Barely noticeable. The little Lucas got angry and his mother and father laughed. Out of anger, the flame played into his hands and burned him. His father put his hands around Lucas' shoulders and hugged him
"You're making a mistake, my dear! You don't have to force the fire to come out and do whatever you want. It's about letting him obey your wishes.
And then, with all the strength you have, create a chain of fire! You and the Fire are friends. You should be helping each other, not treating him like a slave," he explained wisely to his son.
The little Lucas tried a few more times to do what his father taught him, but his attempts were unsuccessful. The months passed, and it still didn't work out. In the end, he gave up.
One day he was out in the woods with his mother and little Axel. He was running cheerfully. He could feel the light breeze. The sun was barely showing up behind the great majestic centuries-old trees.
He felt free and alive when a pack of lynx attacked them. It was unexpected and their enemies had already surrounded them. They threatened to tear them apart with their big claws. His mother Miranda wasn't a bender, so they were defenceless.
Lucas was very scared. At any moment, the Wildcats were going to jump on them. He recalled his father's words. The little boy focused his entire Spirit on his goal. 'Please...let me protect them.' He was praying quietly. Flames rose past his skinny body. Lucas thought of his enemies and opened his eyes. At this moment the fire spread like tentacles of an octopus.
The flames hit the lynxes and they screamed out of unbelievable pain. They could barely stand on their bruised paws. The wildcats ran scared of the future attacks.
Only one big lynx stayed in place and stared at the boy. Its eyes were golden. 'Someday I will see you again.' He heard its voice in his head. But it was impossible! The wildcat couldn't talk! Maybe it was only his imagination.
Moments later, he had fallen to the ground. He was shaking. They took him to the palace and for a long time, he suffered from an uncontrollable fever.
☆
Lucas had forgotten about that memory. All he could remember was that he was seriously ill then. Now he felt something familiar in the big unshakeable lynx of his memories. 'Something in his eyes...stone. They were the same as the stone!'
Iza pulled him out of the trance. Looks like they'd already arrived. The boy forced himself to open his eyes and looked around. Right across from them was a large metal door.
A stone wall surrounded the entire battlefield in a circle as an unshakable defence against intruders. The only way out was the door, but it was locked tight.
Right next to it, hung in the air, was a large gemstone with a sharp tip and combined of thousands of long triangles. It was shining in orange and gold. Just like the stone, he saw….wait when did he see it? He couldn't think of...
The sky above the stone was not as grey as the rest of the terrain. It was glowing in orange, red, purple and yellow just like the sunset. The stone itself didn't follow the rules of gravity. It flew a few centimetres from its stone stand.
Lucas tried to stand up. It turned out he was lying on a hammock created by Valentina's tough plants. He looked at the Stone. The light in gold had intensified so it was his landmark. He shook slightly as he approached the jewel of his Destiny.
With every step, the light was becoming brighter. Lucas' eyes shone too. As soon as he stood inches away from the giant treasure, he could see his tortured white as of a dead man reflection on its surface.
He touched the Stone with his right bruised hand. The light intensified and surrounded him. He felt the power of the Stone of the Shield going through his veins. He could create metal from fire. Not just metal but the strongest one in the world. Tough as a diamond. He could set it on fire and form it whatever he wanted.
His father's wish had finally come true. Lucas allowed his Destiny to conquer him. The pain of the vampire scratching had diminished a little bit. He was no longer seeing only bloody red, but bright gold, silver and orange. Only his right hand was still painful. Like thousands of little blades getting stuck in the scratch wound. It was burning.
A bracelet of the same unbreakable metal covered his right wrist like a prison. He wouldn't let the monster come out and to instil fear. He could lock it with his chains. The power of the Stone healed his wounds. Now all that could be seen was a big vampire scar.
His energy began to absorb the stone. In the end, there was no sign of it. Only one crystal illuminated the metal bracelet.
Lucas was the Chosen One of the Stone of the Shield.