The Crimson Chronicles

 

The Crimson Chronicles:

Guardian of the Crimson Crystal 

For I am a child of the stars and the moon.

My race is of the astral waters, celestial blue. 

As the moonlit waves pull me out to sea,

and I float amongst cosmic daydreams.

For I am the Guardian of the Crimson gem.

Enchantress, Queen, and Fatale Femme. 

The Crystal’s very essence runs thru my veins.

And once I find the Andromeda, the Darkness I’ll tame. 

The Crimson Chronicles: Oracle of Orenda 

I seek your wisdom, Oracle of Orenda.

I need your guidance. I need your help.

The Crystal has sent me, to seek your aid.

I, Guardian of the Crimson Crystal, stand before you, powerless. My kingdom has been invaded by the ancient Darkness. I seek your knowledge in locating the Warriors of Orenda.

The Crimson gem spoke to me, telling me to search you out. It told me that only you, great Oracle, can help me find them. The Darkness has drained me of my powers, leaving us defenseless. 

My kingdom is in tremendous danger, Oracle.

Villages devoured by the monstrous Darkness.

Sucked into the Darkness’s impervious void.

Villagers, farms, livestock, all wiped from existence. Less than a week’s ride from my kingdom’s capital. While I grow weaker by the day, the Darkness gathers strength. 

I beg of you, Oracle of Orenda, please help me in my quest...

 

The Crimson Chronicles: Letter to The Warriors of Orenda 

Warriors of Orenda, please hear my dire, desperate plea. We need your help to defeat the Darkness, your ancient enemy. 

For evil has once again returned to our beloved, sacred land. Turning our once lush and green forests into black desert sand. 

We desperately require your ethereal flames of righteousness. To raze this Darkness to the ground, restoring light and blessedness. 

You faced this evil once before and defeated it, with your divine grace. I beseech you, Warriors of Orenda, remove this Darkness from our sacred space.

Become the phoenix once more, become our eternal empyrean flame. Bring forth your celestial light, and purge all the suffering and pain. 

Expel this Darkness, this evil. Removing all the death and disease. Aunt Cassandra, Warriors of Orenda, help us! Save us! Please! 

The Crimson Chronicles: Caira (Part 1)

The great Darkness rolled in like a storm, 

with little resistance. 

The Darkness’ weapon, the Void, wiping 

all life from existence.

Sweeping Its way across the vast Crimson kingdom,  with survivors few. 

And Caira, the Crystal’s Guardian? There was little she could do. 

For the great Darkness had increasingly grown in strength and speed. 

So Caira sought help from the Oracle and the Warriors, a most dire plea.

As Caira had grown increasingly weaker, her magic now failing. 

Afraid help may not arrive, as she sent the last of her Crimson navy sailing. 

It took the kingdom’s entire Crimson Guard to slow the impending Darkness. 

It mattered not, that her city was now completely and utterly defenseless. 

Once more, she pleaded to the heavens that someone, anyone, may hear. 

The kingdom of the Crystal had not faced such evil in over a hundred years.

She once more asked if there were any updates, reports, or news.

“Any word from the Warriors? Anything from the Watcher’s view?”

It was always the same question, and always the same reluctant reply. 

“No, your majesty. Nothing from the Watcher or our deep-cover spies.”

Then one morning, Caira received wondrous news from her messenger. 

For the Warriors were on their way, to be her kingdom’s great redemptioner.

They also had a most valuable prize in their magical hands. A weapon of yore. 

The sword of Andromeda, after searching for a hundred years or more. 

The Crimson Chronicles: Caira (Part 2)

Her prayers were answered. The Oracle had kept her word, most sacred. 

Caira sent out the news. Her hopes renewed, thankful for the magical aid. 

The Guardian of the Crimson Crystal would see the victory she so desired. 

The Warriors would once more destroy the Darkness. Peace acquired. 

And perhaps, bring back all those taken by the Darkness 

and it’s Void. 

Caira, desperately hoping, the Darkness would finally be destroyed. 

——— ——— ——— 

In the days after, she received reports of lost battles that were now being won. 

The Warriors of Orenda had arrived, the days of reckoning had now begun. 

It seemed the Darkness was being gradually pushed back, more every day. 

The Darkness was weakening. With renewed strength, Caira was less afraid. 

Weeks passed, with more victories for Caira’s Crimson Crystal kingdom. 

She then set off to battle the demonic and malevolent foe, most fearsome. 

Her magic having grown exponentially, while the Darkness drudged on. 

The Void had dissipated. For the Warriors of Orenda, the war was nearly won. 

Caira would make her final stand, armed with the Andromeda sword. 

The Warriors of Orenda, those fierce female djinns, aiding her evermore. 

The Crimson Chronicles: The Orenda Warriors 

They fought in the second Great War, the second time the Darkness fell. 

Aiding to defeat the great evil, but by barely a thread’s width. Now, only time would tell.

Once before, using their most powerful djinn magic, along with the Andromeda weapons. 

Queen Calliope’s staff was destroyed by the Darkness. Her sword lost to the realms of 7. 

For Andromeda of the Horde had placed her soul inside her astral sword and staff. 

And though the staff was gone, her power remained. The Darkness would feel her wrath. 

A hundred years passed. The sword, forgotten by time, becoming legend, lore. 

And the djinn Warriors of Orenda, vowed to find it. Its power would be restored. 

For the beautiful blue djinn had a strong female connection to Queen Caira. 

Sharing a mutual ancestor, a goddess of great importance, Andromeda. 

One bloodline became enchantresses and queens. 

The other line, djinn warriors, hiding behind the scenes. 

Forever the two lines were connected, the djinn and the sovereign heirs, always intertwined. 

Perhaps one day rejoining their kin, and the two separate would again be one solid bloodline. 

The Crimson Chronicles: The 3rd Great War (Part 1)

The final stand against the Darkness, a most worthy adversary. 

In the Valley of the Crimson Sun. Once the second Great War’s sanctuary. 

A place most sacred, hidden, and guarded by the queen. A place revered. 

Where refugees and displaced villagers could hide from a death most severe.

For Queen Calliope set a great enchantment, 

hiding the valley from all. 

All enemies and rogues that would kill, pillage and plunder. Criminals of the law. 

Everyone and anyone, a direct descendant of royal blood, would be safe there. 

Which just happened to be every townsfolk, farmer, and villager. Every heir. 

For all who lived in the Crimson kingdom was related by blood or by marriage. 

Making it easy to tell the difference between a rogue thief and a royal blood apparent. 

And only the Valley was large enough to hold all those displaced, every single one. 

Queen Calliope and Cassandra placing a spell of protection over the great Valley of the Crimson Sun. 

Now, the new queen and enchantress, Caira, stood with the Warriors of Orenda. 

To face the Darkness once more, as Calliope did in the Great Wars, with the Andromeda. 

The Andromeda was the Queen’s powerful enchanted staff that held a hidden enchanted sword. 

The sword containing the spirit of the goddess and oracle, Andromeda of the Horde. 

Now Caira held the sword of Andromeda, 

the staff long ago destroyed in battle. 

The Darkness menacingly rumbling like thunder, but Caira’s nerves were unrattled. 

She feared neither man nor beast. She feared 

only the loss of her people, their lives. 

Protecting and defending her citizens, her family. This Darkness she could not abide.

Whether god or goddess, whether king or queen. To Caira, it did not matter. 

If anyone harmed her people, she’d avenge them. For she was a true sadist in battle. 

The Crimson Chronicles: The 3rd Great War (Part 2)

The great sword of Andromeda lost, long ago, in the second Great War. 

Andromeda’s staff, once wielded by Calliope, the Darkness had destroyed. 

The Warriors of Orenda searched all the ancient realms of 7, until found. 

Now with it, Caira’s fear dissipated, and her magical powers abound. 

The sword, like her, sought retribution. To strike the Darkness an eternal finale blow. 

Facing it twice before, winning by a crimson thread. This time, to lay it permanently low. 

For three times the charm, to infinitely kill this most fearsome of all evils. 

First Andromeda of the Horde, then Queen Calliope, now Caira faced this primeval. 

Running headfirst into battle, Caira let loose a wickedly fearsome scream. 

Her troops and the Warriors, a mere half step behind their enraged queen. 

With magic, sheer bravery, and the Andromeda sword, they battled the Darkness. 

In the Valley of the Crimson Sun, their foe fighting with great severity and harshness. 

After what felt like hours, their foe, seeming to barely give ground,

it began to quiver and dissolve before them, unable to rebound. 

With a vicious blow to its dark heart, Caira eradicated its existence once and for all. 

Nothing left but a pile of ash on the ground, where the Darkness did finally fall. 

The Warriors of Orenda’s leader, Cassandra, using her magic, placed it into a jar, sealed. 

For the Darkness, it was over. Never again to run amok. No court for it to appeal. 

The day had been won, aided by the Warriors and the Crimson Guard. 

Songs of their victorious battle would be sung by every troubadour and bard. 

And the enchantress queen, Caira? She could once more peacefully rule with a caring hand. 

For with the Darkness and its Void gone, all those taken had returned to the Crimson land. 

The Crimson Chronicles: The Darkness (Part 1)

 

Back when the world was first created, all was darkness. No light, no love, no safety. 

Demons ruled the earth and over man. Fear was known to all humanity, innately.

Cruelty was every Demon’s twisted, sadistic purpose. Torture was a particular joy. 

For both man and beast suffered greatly at their hands. Many hid, attempting to avoid. 

But the darkness was a close friend to Demons and a cruel fiend to all of humanity. 

Camouflaging the Demons’ presence, to help their attacks. Darkness was their certainty. 

Humans huddled with their livestock, sheltered in caves, afraid, with their feeble fires. 

Demons in their towers, made of onyx blacker than night. Perched in their lofty spires. 

The humans survived off of the fruit from black, twisted trees. The food too much of a temptation. 

A generous gift from the Demons, or so humans believed. Gathering the fruit, with little reservation. 

The Demons preferred their victims fat and plump. So they needed man to stray. 

They would then swoop down from their onyx towers to catch their ample prey.

The Demons enjoyed the hunt, enjoyed giving chase. For them, it was a game. 

Just like the false sense of safety that man believed, of Demons’ gift of the flame. 

The fire, the fruit, it was all just part of the Demons’ twisted and perverse minds. 

Then one day, the sun rose up in the sky. A ball of yellow fire. Shortening their time. 

The Crimson Chronicles: The Darkness (Part 2)

Now with the giant ball of yellow flame bringing light and hope to all men.

Humanity could now wander out from their caves. For the Light was man’s loyal friend. 

The Demons hid in their black towers, afraid of the Light. Those who ventured out, died. 

Death to Demons, whose arrogance overruled their good sense to stay hidden, safely inside. 

They’d burst instantly into flames, so hot that only ash remained. No hint of flesh or bone. 

The Demons quickly turned on one another. Fear and starvation turned friends into foes.

They had no choice but to hide from the giant ball of fire. Deathly afraid of the Light. 

The humans no longer needed to go outside, in the dark, in the Demon-filled night. 

The humans soon banded together, while the Demons slept during the day. 

The tables had drastically turned. The once hunter, was now the prey. 

With the invention of powerful siege engines, man brought the Demons’ onyx towers down, one by one, by one. 

Piles of rubble, crumbling spires of shiny black rock, tumbled to the ground. The Demons defeated, humanity had won. 

What few malignant, vile creatures had escaped a horrific burning death, hastily fled, flying North. 

Traveling to the mountains, hiding in the deep, dark caves. Malnourished foul creatures, a living corpse. 

The Crimson Chronicles: The Darkness (Part 3)

Mankind had survived the darkness and its demons. Humanity had flourished, thrived. 

The Demons were few, staying hidden. Never leaving their dark caves in the mountainside. 

Yet something else had also survived. Something unnatural, something arcane. 

It started out small, inconsequential, unnoticed. Something difficult to explain. 

It hid amongst the shadows, in the dusty forgotten corners of people’s homes. 

And slowly it grew. Slinking away from the sunlight. 

Its name not yet known. 

As it grew larger, it could no longer hide amongst the houses. So it left, fled. 

Traveling to the mountains in the North. From the corpses of the vile Demons, it fed. 

And it grew. Absorbing every plant on the mountain, every creature. 

Feeding on their life essence. Burrowing its claws in ever deeper. 

Soon it covered the entirety. The Northern mountains, under a cloak of perpetual night. 

Townsfolk feared it. None would travel there now, not even in the broadest of daylight. 

People began to call it the Darkness. An evil entity, from ancient times, that somehow survived. 

Soon, it crawled down from the mountains, swallowing every home. Every man, woman, and child. 

Every living thing and every building. It was all gone, nothing had survived its vileness. 

It was black-heartedly cruel, as it continued to grow and thrive. The blood-thirsty Darkness. 

It was relentless. More feared than any Light or Demon. More than any creature alive or dead. 

Andromeda of the Horde readied her army, waiting for the Darkness to rear its ugly head.

She vowed to remove its toxic black veil from her world. It vexed her extensively and profoundly. 

With the Light and her ethereal sword, she would eradicate the danger most assuredly.

The Crimson Chronicles: Andromeda of the Light 

(Part 1)

She was iridescent with beauty. Her powers were incandescent and strong. 

Born with the determination to help the helpless, to right all the wrongs. 

Though to say she was ever born, is a great

understatement, and not quite true. 

For she came into being, suddenly, unexpectedly, and simply out of the blue. 

She woke, newly born and fully formed. A young woman of an unknown age. 

As her eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the sudden light, of a brand new day. 

She slowly stood, legs a tad wibbly-wobbly, and stumbling just a small bit. 

As she looked at this new world she had just became a part of, and the sheer size of it. 

She took in all the world’s wondrous beauty, then slowly walked a few steps, towards a silvery-blue pond. 

Kneeling in the lush green grass, staring in wonder at her reflection. Of all this newness, she was quite fond. 

It was then that she noticed, she emanated a soft azure-blue glow. Her skin and clothes, all the same color blue. 

It was as if the sky and earth had given birth to her. A stirring in her heart told her that it was quite true. 

She instinctively knew that she was created for a greater purpose. She was born of the Light. 

She then stood, and stared off into the distance. She felt the pull of the night. 

And not just any night, but a carnivorous ancient evil. The Darkness, an endless void of black. 

She knew this malignant force to be the reason for her creation. She was born to destroy it, in fact. 

She was one half of the whole. Created from the Light, to bring balance and peace. 

For you cannot have one without the other. The Darkness and her, to balance out each.

You cannot have darkness without light or water without fire. Equilibrium was needed. 

She named herself, Andromeda of the Light. Her name on her lips, she then repeated. 

“Andromeda...of the Light.” She would gather an army to destroy the Darkness, the evil beast. 

The Darkness also sensed her, shivering in great fear, it sensing its imminent defeat. 

 

The Crimson Chronicles: Andromeda of the Light 

(Part 2)

Time passed, and the Darkness grew. Swallowing up small towns and villages, its destruction wide. 

Andromeda tracked it, tracing it back to the northern mountains. Looking for a clue as to how or why. 

From there, she followed its destructive path. 

Noticing that it always returned to the mountains to hide. 

She traversed through the emptiness of its dark wake. A great blue light, amidst a vast black void, personified.

For the Darkness could not harm her, in any way or shape. No matter its malicious form. 

She was immune to its destructiveness. All thanks to the Light from whence she was born. 

She traced the Darkness all the way back to a crevice 

in the mountains, seeking its origin and the truth. 

The deep crevice, in the mountains, is where it hid. Humanity nothing but its personal fountain of youth. 

She left the mountains, knowing they would soon face each other in battle, in her heart’s mind. 

She also knew that they would engage in bloody warfare three separate times. 

And so she waited, gathering adept soldiers. Especially those with proficient Demon-hunting experience. 

Her army came to be known as the Horde. The earth’s most formidable warriors. They were quite insidious. 

The Crimson Chronicles: Andromeda of the Horde 

(The 1st Great War)

Now with her loyal and intimidating army of men and women, tremendously imposing.

Andromeda set out to trap the Darkness. For It was steadily, maliciously encroaching. 

Trespassing in her world. It was removing all of humanity from existence. Removing all life. 

Worse than any falling volcanic ash, killing people in their sleep. Its evil was rife. 

Andromeda of the Horde corralled the Darkness, herding it. The Darkness was oblivious to her obvious trap. 

Small skirmishes helped push it into the great red Valley. The Darkness had incurred Andromeda’s wrath. 

And In the Valley of the Crimson Sun, she battled the Darkness. Her movements infused with the Light. 

Striking it down with her sword, a powerful gift from her creator. The blade, luminescent and etherealite.

With the Horde’s help, she defeated the Darkness. But her victory was not without sacrifice. 

Nine months after the Great War, she gave birth to twin girls. And in doing so, relinquishing her life. 

For without darkness, there can be no shining light. 

The scales must always be balanced, put right. 

She kissed her beautiful twin girls, with tears in her eyes, trying her best to be brave. 

Then with her dying breath, Andromeda sent her soul into her battle-hardened blade. 

Her sword, the Andromeda, would protect the bloodline of her twin daughters. Her love would always remain. 

Her lover, Atlas, was utterly heartbroken, but knew his beloved’s magic flowed through their daughters’ veins. 

Atlas named their daughters, Cassandra and Calliope. He knew they each would go on to claim an admirable destiny. 

Knowing they would embrace their magical lineage. Proving themselves adept demi-goddesses, exceedingly worthy. 

Atlas then made a staff out of white oak, placing the Andromeda sword inside. Her soul infusing both. They were a living eulogy. 

Andromeda’s twin daughters went on to prove themselves worthy of their mother’s sacrifice, 

honoring her memory. 

One founded the Orenda Warriors, becoming the leader of the djinn. Her magical abilities beyond any dispute. 

The other went on to become the first enchantress queen, who discovered the Crimson Crystal, of great repute. 

But Andromeda knew, even in her new conscious form, that one day the Darkness would return twice more. 

She had faith though, that her descendants would defeat the Darkness. That they could weather any storm. 

And she was right.

The Crimson Chronicles: Calliope and Cassandra 

(Part 1)

For a hundred years, the Crimson Kingdom had known great peace and tranquillity.

The Enchantress Queen, Calliope, ruled over the Crimson kingdom, with great reputability. 

Her sister, Cassandra, leader of the all-female djinn, was her beloved fraternal twin.

The djinn, better known as the Warriors of Orenda, renowned for their glowing blue skin. 

Their sky-blue skin would emanate pure power when casting spells or using potion bombs. 

The Warriors of Orenda also had the gifts of second sight, telepathy, and healing balms. 

Orenda, of course, meaning “of the Light” in the prominent language of the Great Creator. 

It referred to Cassandra and Calliope’s mother, Andromeda, the first Oracle and soothsayer. 

Calliope had a different destiny than her djinn sister, though. A great quest. She knew it would pay to have perseverance. 

To find the ancient Crimson Crystal. An object that contained all the knowledge of every living creature in all of existence. 

Calliope could not let the Crystal fall into enemy hands, namely the Darkness. 

Both she and Cassandra knew it was only a matter of time before the evil harkened. 

The Crimson Crystal drew its power from the sun that turned crimson red, once every year. 

Once recharged, it granted its guardian limitless power of protection, without fear. 

Calliope was determined to find it, with her sister guiding her path, using their twin-telepathy. 

Cassandra foresaw Calliope’s future, that one day she’d be queen. She knew of her sister’s significant destiny.  

The Crimson Chronicles: Calliope and Cassandra 

(Part 2)

Time passed, as it always undoubtedly does. Calliope became enchantress queen and guardian of the Crimson Crystal. 

Just as her twin sister, Cassandra, leader of the djinn and Warriors of Orenda had foreseen. Both of their lives, quite blissful. 

Calliope was gifted their mother’s magical staff and sword, the Andromeda, by their devoted father, Atlas. 

He knew in his heart that his beloved, their mother, would want Calliope to wield her sword to defeat the stygian blackness. 

All three of them felt its impending arrival any day now. Though Andromeda had banished it to the Underworld in the end. 

But it was only a matter of time, before it grew strong enough to travel to the world above. To wreak havoc once again. 

Months passed without any dark troubles. Then one day, Cassandra had a dark vision. 

She saw the Darkness splitting open the earth and re-emerging. She felt its dark ambition. 

She quickly sent telepathic word to her sister, warning her of the Darkness’s resurgence. 

Queen Calliope gathered the entire Crimson army and fleet, to face its evil reemergence. 

——————————

The Darkness cracked open the earth in the Southern mountains, seeping out, like a black river of nihilism. 

Slowly, without thought or reason, it surged forth like a tumultuous wave. An inky-black leviathan. 

Swallowing towns and villages, all under Crimson protection. 

For the Crystal had grown dim, unable to recharge in the sun’s reflection. 

The Guardian of the Crimson Crystal, Queen Calliope, her powers unexplainably waning. 

She needed her twin sister’s help to protect their innocent citizens. The Darkness was gaining. 

The remaining villagers and townsfolk fled to the Crimson capital, in great need. 

It was then that Calliope began to formulate a plan. Together with Cassandra, she did proceed.

They traveled to the Valley of the Crimson Sun, where their mother had previously defeated the Darkness. 

Cassandra and Calliope combined their magical abilities to form a powerful protection spell, in the valley picturesque. 

After placing the spell of protection over the valley, they then sent word to the capital of Crimson.

Every Crimson citizen would travel to the valley, far away from the Darkness, protected and hidden.

Once every man, woman, and child were safe, the sisters traveled back to the capital city, at least a half day’s ride. 

They readied themselves for war. Finding comfort in the knowledge that their people would flourish ardently and survive. 

Calliope asked Cassandra, with her Warriors, 

to protect the Crimson Crystal, at all costs. 

Cassandra and the Warriors of Orenda agreed. The incomparable Crimson Crystal would not be lost. 

The Crimson Chronicles: The 2nd Great War (Part 1)

After many melee battles and clashes with the Darkness, the Darkness was losing. 

Its malignant conquest had subsided, causing the Crimson soldiers to start pursuing.

The Darkness slinked its way back to its hole in the ground in the Southern mountains. 

But as it got closer to its home, it suddenly turned around, as if it was uncertain. 

The Darkness just sat there, in the middle of a field at the Southern mountain’s edge. 

Its black tendrils furling and unfurling, repeatedly. Sitting there, as if stuck, wedged. 

The Crimson soldiers stood there, expecting an attack. Unsure of what to do, watching and waiting. 

Calliope was amongst her troops when they decided to give chase. She too was unsure, debating.

Should she charge the foul creature, or wait it out and see?

Unsure of what to do, she contacted her sister, telepathically. 

Cassandra, heard the hesitation in Calliope’s voice, with her valid and concerning questions. 

Cassandra placed both hands on the weakening Crimson Crystal, a sort of magical intervention. 

She poured every ounce of magic she had into the Crystal. Then suddenly, a vision. 

She saw the Darkness releasing the Void and its blood-curdling sadistic mission. 

She saw the entire earth consumed by darkness and gloom once more. 

The humans, and a new score of Demons, fighting an endless and futile war. 

She then saw Calliope, with the Andromeda sword raised high, along with its enchanted white oak staff. 

Her mother’s form appeared in all her ethereal beauty. Magnifying the sword’s power tenfold. Releasing her wrath. 

Calliope and their mother’s spirit sprinted towards the Darkness, screaming. 

Plunging the Andromeda sword deep in its black heart, the sword gleaming. 

Then suddenly, a blinding explosion of pure empyrean white light. 

She stepped back, letting go of the Crystal. Shocked by the sight. 

After a few seconds to gather her thoughts properly, she sent Calliope a message, with great calmness. 

Cassandra simply said, “Hold up Mother’s sword and staff, high. Then charge headlong into the Darkness.

Calliope replied, “Won’t it consume me entirely? We’re only half as powerful as our Mother. Dearest sister, I am immensely afraid.”

Cassandra, “Do not fear, for our Mother’s spirit is with you, in your weapons. She will lead you to victory. She will not waver, or stray.”

The Crimson Chronicles: The 2nd Great War (Part 2)

Calliope, with renewed hope, gathered strength, doing just as instructed by Cassandra’s vision. 

She instructed her steadfast soldiers to hold the line, but not to interfere in her vital lone mission.  

Raising the Andromeda sword and staff, she charged directly into the fray, without fear. 

She sensed her Mother’s spirit guiding her into the very heart of the Darkness, her path clear.

Her Mother’s spirit glowed like the bluest of skies, all around Calliope, protecting her. 

Never once letting her light fade or waver. Andromeda’s power was still as potent as ever. 

Calliope soon, with her Mother’s guidance, reached the very center of the Darkness, its epicenter of evil. 

With all the strength she could summon, she plunged the Andromeda sword deep into its black heart, primeval.

Her sword glowed with unattainable light and power, steadily intensifying and growing. 

The sheer strength of it was overwhelming to all those present. The light then exploding. 

Calliope’s staff deteriorated instantly, her sword thrown with great strength from the massive explosion of the Light. 

Calliope temporarily blinded from its magnitude. Collapsing onto the grassy field. In shock, by her Mother’s might. 

The Darkness was no more. Back into the Underworld it was sent, weakened, most irreparably. 

The mindless creature, a remnant of before the Light. Its tail between its legs, running scared undoubtedly. 

Calliope slowly stood, her legs unsteady. Saddened by the loss of her Mother’s legacy. 

The Andromeda sword and staff, lost, destroyed. But the War was now won, thankfully. 

Enchantress Queen Calliope, Guardian of the Crimson Crystal, would continue to rule in peace and prosperity. 

The Realms of 7 all bowed before her, out of both respect and fear. The Crimson Crystal now recharged properly. 

Cassandra, leader of the Warriors of Orenda and djinn, would travel far and wide, searching for their Mother’s mystical sword. 

Once found, she’d guard it until they next met the Darkness in battle. Passing the sword onto her niece, Caira, whom she adored. 

For the djinn are long-lived, more so than Calliope’s royal line. Cassandra would see this through until its climactic end. 

Waiting, watching, and searching. A hundred years would pass before the Crimson kingdom would meet the Darkness again. 

And Cassandra would be ready for it. 

The Crimson Chronicles: Cerulean

The djinn women were all of Cassandra’s magical bloodline. Their job was to right all wrongs.

They mated once a year with the local village men, so they may keep Andromeda’s bloodline strong. 

Only baby girls were ever conceived. Never once had a male djinn been born. 

So when one of the djinn women gave birth to a healthy baby boy, their emotions were torn.

Why now a male heir? Was it some bad omen from the universe or some punishment?

Cassandra felt a shifting in the earth. Something strange had occurred in their encampment. 

When she reached the birthing hut, all of her fellow djinns had already arrived to see.

Standing there in both shock and surprise, unexpectedly so. As to why, no one agreed.

She made her way through the crowd, kneeling beside the frightened new mother. 

Her granddaughter, Starry Eyes, holding her newborn son tightly, fearful of the others. 

Cassandra assured Starry Eyes that everything would be fine, promising her. 

She then gently took the babe from her granddaughter. He was the color of a little bluebird.

She held the baby close, marveling at such a wondrous sight. She was entranced.

Then said to her fellow djinn, “I will seek counsel concerning the male infant. 

But do not fear, I am sure this male djinn is an incredible gift from the Great Creator. 

I will take him with me to search out the meaning. He is a blessing, rest assured.”

After packing a few things, Cassandra, with her granddaughter and great-grandson, soon set off. 

Starry Eyes knew her grandmother was right. Holding him tight as they left the village of Lauf. 

They sought answers from the Crimson Crystal, Calliope, and the Oracle of Orenda. 

Her daughters and granddaughters left to wonder, and pray to the Great Creator above. 

—————————

After much discussion and deliberation, everyone in the room seemed to agree. 

The male infant was a gift from the Great Creator. He was a great blessing indeed. 

Cassandra said goodbye to her sister, and niece Caira, preparing to head back home. 

But not before the Oracle placed in her hands a most ancient and sacred of tomes. 

The Oracle, Calliope’s oldest daughter, and wisest of all sages, said four simple words.

“It has been foretold,” she said. Then after a moment’s pause, “of a little bluebird.”

Everyone in the room wondered at what she had meant. Her cryptic message and the ancient tome.

Leaving with more questions now than answers, Cassandra and her family left for home. 

———————-

Cassandra, Starry Eyes, and the baby, arrived back in Lauf, and were met with many questions. 

Cassandra spoke, “This child is a blessing from the Great Creator, needing our protection.”

And with Cassandra’s decree, life went back to normal in her little encampment, for many years.

Starry Eyes named her son Cerulean, for his cerulean blue skin. The tribe protecting him,

without fear.

The day he became a man, old enough to survive on his own and take a wife, 

was both a joyous and tearful day. Cassandra knew he needed to seek out his new life. 

Searching for his destiny, seeing the world and all the realms of 7. 

Cerulean longed for something grand, a great destiny from the heavens. 

The Crimson Chronicles: Cerulean Meets His Destiny 

He left his small village behind. His family’s little djinn encampment. 

He longed for adventure, meeting new people, for lost and ancient magic. 

So off he traveled, to see every inch of the realms of 7, namely the other six kingdoms. 

Every big city and small town in the wide, wide world. Every little village and fiefdom. 

—————-

While visiting the town of Bryton, with its multitude of shops and healing waters, too. 

He stumbled upon an unusual individual, playing a hand of cards at the local inn, the Goat’s Rue. 

He felt a strong shift in the air, while drinking his pint of rum and eating. 

There was something odd about this person, he pondered it’s meaning.

After finishing his meal, he decided to speak to the strange individual, without thought or plan.

Upon closer inspection, he realized it was in actuality a young woman, dressed as a man.

He sat down from across this mysterious person, saying “Are you from the Kingdom of the Crimson Crystal?”

She studied this hooded man, covered up from head to toe. He was very mysterious. She sensed he was mystical. 

“No, I am not. I’m from nowhere and I am no one.” She said in her deepest voice possible. 

Cerulean looked around and whispered low, “Why the pretense? Do you hide from some deplorable?”

She looked at him, unsure of what to say. “It’s difficult finding work aboard a decent ship, otherwise,” she responded. 

A woman had to protect herself from men with bad intentions. He understood her being disguised and desponded. 

“My name is Cerulean. My great-grandmother is Cassandra of the djinn,” he said, with sincerity. 

It caught her off guard. “I thought there were no male djinn?” She asked with uncertainty. 

Cerulean replied, “I am the first and only.”

He pulled back his hood to reveal his neck and face, blue-skinned. 

Took off his gloves as well, to show her that he spoke the truth. His blue skin glowing in the dark inn. 

“You’re not the only one who wishes to be judged on character alone,” he said as he raised his hood. 

“My name is Destiny. I do not hail from the Crimson kingdom. I grew up in an orphanage,” she replied in truth. 

Cerulean remembered the arcane book of prophecy that the Oracle had given his great-grandmother long ago. 

‘Could Destiny be the missing piece to the puzzle?’ Cerulean wondered. “There’s an ancient prophecy foretold.”

He went on to say, “Come back to my village and meet my great-grandmother. I believe you to be a part of that prophecy.”

“Your great-grandmother may know of my parents and family? Why I was abandoned?” She asked, feeling a tad more at ease. 

“I believe so,” he said, “She knows many things.”

Destiny had hope for once. The truth, now probable.

They set out on their long journey that very afternoon, after purchasing food and other supplies.

Destiny now wondering what her future and life would be like, as she ditched her masculine disguise. 

The Crimson Chronicles: Cerulean’s Destiny 

After days of traveling by horseback, through mountainous landscapes, they reached Cerulean’s village. 

After introducing Destiny to his great-grandmother and his mother, Destiny rested from their pilgrimage. 

Weeks passed. Destiny and Cerulean spent much time together, reading the prophecy in great depth. 

‘And he shall be born, the little bluebird. He will leave the nest and meet his destiny. Two will be one, adept.’

——————————-

Destiny learned all about the history of the Crimson kingdom and how the Darkness fell. 

She traveled to the capital to speak with Calliope and Caira, and the Oracle as well. 

She learned that one of Calliope’s granddaughters had met a handsome merchant sailor and ran off with him. 

Her granddaughter claimed that they were madly in love. Writing her grandmother letters, now and again.

They loved each other and their newborn daughter, very much it seemed. 

But they all disappeared one night. Calliope later learned that they had drowned at sea. 

By touching the Crystal, Destiny saw them, drowned by a rogue wave. The baby was found on the beach, alive. 

An old woman who found her, took her to the local orphanage. Calliope had thought the baby too had died. 

Destiny told them that the nuns had been kind and raised her well, rest assured. 

By some great miracle, she had survived the shipwreck, floating safely to shore. 

Destiny had finally found a home, one that was stable and filled with love. 

She wholeheartedly thanked the heavens and the Great Creator above. 

And the ancient arcane prophecy that concerned both Cerulean and her? 

She knew they were destined for each other. Her and her beloved bluebird.

At last, the two were once again one solid bloodline. Just as Cassandra had foreseen. 

And so ends the tale of Cerulean and his Destiny. 

THE END