Crystals of Farlesia

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. Though I am just one story already, the way humans talk of me and my looks, but less about me for I've seen a story far greater than mine yet it starts off so simple and could end in a way you may or may not predict. A Friday of a second semester for high school teens it seems. I was only told to observe from afar. I guess it can start with a boy named Reid, on his way home from that day of school he finally enters the house.

"I'm home !" shouts Reid as he closes the door.

"I'm in the kitchen" replies Reid's mom. Reid went to check on his mom to see she would not catch him leaving the house again. Turns out she left a note on the fridge saying she would be gone out of the house for a bit which was good for Reid. He got back to his bedroom and got ready to leave

Now this is the part of the story where some things take a turn, but some things could be explained for those who see the other way. Not the cliche ways I've seen in the movies humans have created but a tale is told and as I once heard as a term called the "butterfly effect". One action can lead to another.

Reid and his friend Zack were walking through a forest talking about their prank from school to each other.

"Oh my god, your reaction to that was so hilarious !" Laughed Reid.

"Well at least the teacher was not mad at you for, I don't know, exploding paper throughout the classroom ?!'' retorted Zack. The more they walked the darker it got in the forest. That's when Reid got an idea. "Wanna do a couple rounds of hide and seek ? it's always so fun when the forest gets dark."

"I don't know, my dad is going to be back soon so maybe we should just head home." replied Zack. Reid started walking backwards into the forest and asked again "Please ? my house is so boring and my brother only makes it worse" Zack looked at the time and back at Reid and went inside the forest to start counting. Reid quickly ran behind some trees a few meters away from Zack. As Reid was snickering at Zack, a pink light caught his eye. He made sure Zack would not see him and walked towards the light. A tall black figure came running and picked the light up. Reid stood in shock as the tall black figure turned around to face Reid. It continued running and disappeared into a nearby cave. A cave that people were warned to go inside. Out of fear, Reid went back to Zack and they walked home, though Reid decided not to tell Zack what he saw.

Later that evening

"Just where in the hell have you been ! you should have been home 30 minutes ago, would you like to explain yourself young man ?" shouted Reid's mom " I uhhhhh, I was just in the forest with Zack, we got so carried away with our jokes that I forgot about the time." stuttered Reid. " You're just lucky it is not a school night, or you'd be in bigger trouble with dad." replied Reid's mom. After dinner Reid went to his room to finish his homework. He was not in the mood to finish the math questions so he decided to text his best friend Marla.

Reid: "Hey"

Marla: "Hii"

Reid: "What’s up ?"

Marla: "Stuck with chores is all, thankfully my mom is not home so I can play music"

Reid: "At least you're not stuck with factorization"

Marla: "lol, you poor thing, having a hard time ?"

Reid: "Thankfully I'm good at it, it just takes forever to finish"

Marla: "True"

Reid: "You know what ?"

Marla: "What is it ?"

Reid: "I think I saw something in the forest earlier"

Marla: "What do you think you saw ?"

Reid: "It seemed like a tall black figure, it picked up this pink light I saw and vanished"

Marla: "Oh......did you see which direction it went in?"

Reid: "That's right, I saw it vanish into the cave that we're told not to go in"

Marla: "Thanks for telling me about it, I'll stop by the cave tomorrow"

Reid: "Cant we go together ?"

Marla: "I.....I guess it's fine"

Reid: "Cool, see ya"

[ On Monday ]

After class Marla met up with Reid, she had to change her plans with Reid a bit

"I'm actually a bit busy after school so could I meet you up at your house a bit later?" asked Marla.

"Uhhh sure, is something wrong ? you seem jumpy" questioned Reid.

"what ? no its fine, just nervous for my presentation in class" replied Marla

"Oh I see" said Reid

The sky was turning darker by the hour and it was getting late, Reid decided to pack some stuff into his backpack for the walk and waited on the driveway until Marla showed up just as she said. Seconds turned into minutes and those minutes turned into another hour. Reid looked at his watch and saw it was already 11 pm.

"maybe she forgot about the plan" thought Reid. He went back into the house and chose to try talking to Marla the next day at school.

~The next day~

Reid saw Marla at her locker, he went up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and dropped her textbooks. Reid took a quick step back and with a look of concern.

"Are you okay Marla ? did you even get any sleep ?"

Marla took a deep breath, "You know me, I always stay up late."

"Where were you, I waited for you and you never showed up to my house" asked Reid

"Look, I'm so sorry for not stopping by, I said I was already busy after school and I seemed to have lost track of my time and......yea" explained Marla. Reid sighed. " I guess its okay, I mean, we could go today instead if you're free"

"I'll try, but if I do not come then please, do not go by yourself." said Marla

"Great, and try to show up this time okay ?" Reid picked up Marla's book and handed them to her, he then left for his class. The hours of school went by and Reid was once again on his driveway waiting for Marla, only this time, Reid told himself that if Marla did not show up. He would go to the forest alone this time. But as Reid had predicted, Marla once again did not show up.

"That girl really is something" muttered Reid. He got up and started heading towards the forest. Down the path the trees thickened and the darkness in the forest seemed to have been growing faster then the time went by. The end of the path came and that's when Reid stepped into the forest and faced the cave. A small cave it seemed on the outside But got larger the more further down Reid went, he'd already got his flashlight since the light from outside was no more. The flash light caught something yellow going from one side of the cave to the other. It was police tape.

"I wonder why this is here" Reid looked at the tape " But I guess no one should really be in here" Reid slipped under the tape and continued forward. Something flickering caught Reid's eye, it was the same pink light he saw before in the forest. He walked closer and looked down, it appeared to be a small rounded rock that had a pink glow to it. Two mist like feet came before Reid, when he looked back up, Reid was face to face with the same dark figure he saw the day before in the forest.

An interesting part of this that Reid didn't know, I saw Marla was making her way into the cave at that very moment.

An interesting part about this, Marla was making her way down into the cave at that very moment and Reid was looking into the blank green eyes of this strange entity. A low yet quiet voice came into Reid's head. Assuming it could only be the voice of the creature he was looking at now.

"Who are you"

Reid couldn't move, he didn't know what to think or say but managed to form some words in his voice. "I...I'm Reid". The figure slowly picked up the pink light and faded. Reid heard some footsteps coming into the cave. He didn't know who it was so he quickly hid behind one of the big rocks in the cave. The foot steps came closer and stopped, Reid took a peek and saw it was Marla who was looking around the cave with her flash light. Out of surprise Reid jumped up from behind the rock.

"Marla !" exclaimed Reid. Marla quickly shown her flashlight onto Reid's face and let out a sigh of relief. Then she remembered that she already told Reid not to come to the cave if she didn't show up at his house. Marla picked up a small rock and threw it as Reid's shoulder.

"What was that for !"

"That was for coming to the cave when I told you not to if I didn't show up !" Said Marla. Marla glared at him and turned to walk out of the cave but glanced back at Reid "Its just good that nothing happened to you" Then she continued walking out. Reid saw a old book in her hand.

"whats with that book ?" asked Reid. Marla looked at the book and put it in her bag, "Its nothing"

"You know I don't like it when you don't answer my questions" said Reid

"It's nothing I swear" Marla started walking a bit faster now.

"Is it something embarrassing ? Or is it important to you ?"

"Look, can you st-" As she was going to face Reid she tripped on a stone and fell on top of Reid.

Reid with a smirk on his face " Well hello there, I didn't think something cliche like this could actually happen"

"And good bye" Marla quickly got off and up, she dusted the dirt off and walked. "Did you see anything when you came down here ?"

"why"

"Just curious"

"Well, when I came down, I saw the same pink light I saw the other day" Marla froze" And when I got closer, I noticed it was like some sort of rock with a pink glow around it, as I was looking at it. The same dark mist figure came to me, it asked who I was, I said I'm Reid. Then it vanished.'' explained Reid.

"Oh, that's it ? "

"Yea"

"Good, then I guess I didn't miss too much"Both Reid and Marla walked out of the cave and to their homes they went.

This part of the story where you might think everything might be a bit better for these two teens, but trust me, there will be more. Though out of all humans I've stood around, I found Reid and Marla most intriguing.

{ Marla is typing }

Marla: "hello ?"

Reid" "whats up"

Marla: "Can you please not go to the cave tomorrow ?"

Reid: "Why not ?"

Marla: "I heard they might be doing some construction around it so you might get hurt if you go"

Reid: "Oh, thanks for telling me"

Marla: "N..No problem"

During break I followed Reid to the library in the school, he appeared to be doing some research on the pink stone he saw from the cave. Reid wasn't able to find anything on it other than some pink colored rocks which looked really cool. But, he did manage to find some information on the tall mist figure he saw. They appear to be called Bladehades, creatures of some old legend. Humans are strange when it comes to legends....as well as their lies.

"Bladehades are usually creatures that may look like shadow people but with a closer look, they'll have a mist look to them....." Reid saved the website link on his computer and walked to his next class. He saw Marla in the hall so he went to her to tell her what he found. "I think I know what I saw when I was in the cave" Marla had her earphones in, Reid took one out and poked her cheek. "What do you want ? that's a good song" Marla glared. "Really ? you're not thinking about what I told you about back in the cave ?" said Reid, Marla sighed "Of course its on my mind, but what if....maybe...." she hesitated, "But what if maybe what ?" asked Reid. Marla pulled Reid to the side of the hall. "What if you didn't actually see what you saw ?"

"What do you mean ?"

"Simple, maybe you didn't see the shadow like figure, and only thought you saw it" Marla looked back. "I'm only guessing that, I know I was not there to see anything, and I cant read your mind either. To be honest, I just don't think you'd be the one to see something like that." Marla looked down at her feet. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."Marla was about to walk away when Reid stopped her. He explained "I know what I saw and maybe I don't have proof but I do have something that can help me explain what I saw in that cave."

"What is it ?"

"I found a website that was talking about the creature I saw"

"You cant always believe in the internet" said Marla. Reid looked at his laptop. "Though that may be true and I myself don't trust the internet, it at least says and talks about what I saw"

"Okay then, my parents are going out later so you can come over and show me the website you found on the creature"

[ Later after school ]

Reid went over to Marla's house. He brought his laptop and opened it to the site, and it started loading. Marla looked over at the screen and asked.

"Do you want some water ?"

"Sure"replied Reid. Marla left the room and went downstairs. The loading was taking a while so Reid got earphones out, when a piece from the top came off and rolled away. He looked around the room to see where it went. Reid found it under the table, but something was a bit off though. The same book he asked Marla about was laying under the bookshelf, that was beside the table. Reid reached the book and got up. A brown leather cover with some strange symbols and the letters "M" and "F". He was about to open the book when Marla came back to the room and placed the water on the table. Reid hid the book behind his back.

I wasn't the one with the book and it was my heart that was beating fast

"What do you have in your hands?" she questioned. "Just....scratching my back, its nothing" she glared at Reid in disbelief. "I've got to get one more thing from downstairs" She walked toward the stairs. Reid held the book in front of him when Marla looked from behind the door. She realized what Reid had. "What are you doing with that !?"shouted Marla

I face palmed at this moment, why must humans be so complicated I thought

"I uhhh, well you didn't tell me what it was in the cave and I found it under the book shelf"

"Put it down on the table and do not open it" Marla would not get her eyes off the book. Reid looked at the book and back at Marla.

"That book is just really important to me okay ? so please just put it down" said Marla. Reid didn't want to be rude, and put the book down on the table. Marla then took the book and put it on top of the bookshelf. "I'm sorry for trying to see the book when you told me not to"said Reid, Marla sighed. "Just forget about it, show me the website of the creature you saw" Reid went back to his laptop to see that the page had loaded and the description was coming up. Reid read out loud. "Bladehades are creatures with shadow like features but their also seen as mist figures. Usually with orange eyes, they tend to lurk in darkened places. There have been sightings but no one has been able to catch proof." Reid scrolled through the website "I could have sworn I saw that there was more information here, oh well" He looked at Marla who seemed to be thinking. "And it spoke to you ?" asked Marla

"Yeah" He opened a new tab and started typing. "What are you doing now ?" asked Marla. "I'm just gonna see if I can find anything else from what I saw"

"Oh...okay"

Time went by as I switched from watching Reid on his laptop to Marla working on her chemistry notes, I decided to walk around Marla's house out of boredom.

"It's getting a bit late, I should head home or my mom is going to give me another lecture"said Reid. Marla looked at the time. "Sure, do you have everything with you ?" Reid looked at the book on the shelf. "Yea , I have everything" He walked out of the house and on his way home.

Though right before I was about to follow Reid back home, my eye was caught to Marla getting her backpack and heading in the direction of the forest. I looked back at Reid who wasn't paying any attention, if only I could have shouted for him to just turn around. My curiosity got the better of me and so I followed Marla to the forest. Off the path and into the cave. She had been all alone the whole way I followed her. Sure Marla was secretive but this was new.

Marla was holding the book in her hands, she put the book back in her bag and pulled out a yellow roll of some kind.

It looked like the same police tape from before in the cave

Marla taped one side of the cave to the other with the police tape. She placed the roll back into her bag and got out something else, a flashlight. Marla continued walking down into the cave with the flashlight on. "No one would be silly enough to pass police tape twice right ?" she said to herself.

I wanted to follow Marla but even as scary as I may seem, I fear the dark. Not even with a flashlight will I go. I thought it would be safer back at Reid's house.

[ Back at Reid's house ]

"I'm home...." he looked at his watch. "On time" His mom came walking down the stairs. "So you are" She went to the living room and sat on the couch with a book. "Hey mom ?" said Reid. "What is it ?" Reid thought if he should ask or not. "Do you know anything about bladehades ?"

"No, why, what is it?"

"Never mind then" He went to his room and got his phone out to text Marla

Reid: "Are you there ?"

9pm

Reid: "Hello ?"

9:30pm

Reid: "Where are you ?"

9:30 pm

Reid: "Where are you ?"

9:35 pm

Marla: "Hey, sorry for not responding fast enough, I was just busy"

Reid: "Oh, okay. Is everything alright with you ?"

Marla: "Yup, everything is good, don't worry"

Reid: "I wanted to ask you something but I forgot what it was, anyways, see you tomorrow"

[ The next morning at school ]

Reid walked through the halls looking for Marla but couldn't. He stopped by her locker, but she never showed up. Reid had the thought that Marla could have missed her bus and would show up later to school. He would wait until history which was the class they had together. The school hours went by and there was still no sign of Marla. History finally came along, Reid looked behind him, and Marla's desk was empty. She was normally the second person to get to class, she was never late. Reid got worried why she had not shown up. On, his way home Reid texted his mom that he would show up a bit late home because of a new "club" he joined. Down the forest, off the path and in front of the cave. "Weird, I don't see any construction". There was still some daylight so Reid didn't need his flashlight since the sun light was going straight into the cave. He went inside.

Though I may not have any emotions, I still had the feeling Reid should not be going into that cave. Despite knowing it was Marla who put up the tape. I walked behind Reid into the cave. it was getting darker and darker. I stopped walking to see Reid looking at the second line of police tape he came across, he turned around and looked around. Of course he didn't see me. He went under and continued. Only I thought I saw something ahead of him so I went ahead faster. My eyes widened to see a small room of crystals. I questioned why no one had ever found this, then remembering that Reid was really far from the entrance of the cave. He came and had the same reaction I did.

Reid stopped and admired all the colored crystals. He picked up a green one and it started to glow, he quickly put it back. There was a crystal that brought him closer, a red crystal it was. He picked it up, looking at the shine he didn't realize the figure coming behind him. Reid heard a step and turned. It was the same dark mist figure, it reached it's hand out. A portal opened in front of the crystals. Reid tripped and fell back into the portal, the mist figure faded. He closed his eyes.

I saw the dark figure fade and there was no sight of Reid, I'm in trouble !

"Uhhh... hello ?" a voice said "Are you okay ?" it said again. Reid opened his eyes and jumped up. He looked around to what looked like a burned forest, he turned around to see a purple short haired girl with a leather jacket , woolen boots and brown leggings. Reid then looked at his surroundings. "What happened to the forest ?!" The girl looked around, "It's always been burned, you're new here aren't you, everyone knows this place"

"New here ?! what are you talking about" exclaimed Reid. "Well....I was walking and...there you are...on the ground....asleep ?" She tilted her head in confusion."Okay, let's just start off fresh, I'm Blade" She put her hand out. Reid took a step back, "Blade ?" Reid noticed a black bladed sword on her back "What the-, where did you get that ?"

"Its my weapon, I've had it for a long time"

"Oh I see, well my name is-" Blade put her hand over his mouth, "You're a human right ?" Reid nodded. "Then you can't use your real name" She removed her hand, Reid thought "Ok......my name is Ryland, so...why can't I use my real name ?" he asked. Blade only shook her head "Not a good place to explain, but anyways, cool name". They shook hands. Blade walked around him, "Geez, you don't even have a weapon ?" Reid looked at his hands and noticed he had gloves on, "Why am I wearing these?"he asked. "What do you mean ? you've been wearing them the whole time" Blade took a small mirror out of her pocket, "You must really be new to everything" She gave him the mirror. Reid stopped. He had red hair, his eyes were changed to gold, low boots, light brown pants and a black shirt. Blade took the mirror back,

"That's it, I've gotta help you until you're smart enough to think about things yourself here." Both of them walked out of the burned forest. Later, they ended up at what seemed like a market place. Worn down shops with people and other creatures, "Yea...just ignore the fact that they look different, their nice....people....who are living here." Reid looked around. One market seller had horns, another had teeth and claws. He blinked several times. "Can we just do something about my hair first ?"

"That won't be possible, it’s the color of your mind crystal"

"Mind crystal ?" Reid remembered the red crystal he picked up before seeing the mist figure behind him, he felt something in his pocket and took it out. It was the red crystal.

"Mind crystal?" Reid remembered the red crystal he was holding onto before he fell back into the portal, he reached into his pocket and held it out. "You mean this thing ?"

"Yea, that's the crystal" Blade then coveres the crystal "But you need to keep it covered or hidden, if your crystal shatters then you'll die in this world" She walked off to the side of the market. "Usually if you show your crystal to someone else, it means you trust them" She got her crystal out from her bag. The purple glow sparkle, she then put it back. "Other than protecting your crystal, you're gonna need a weapon to protect yourself, most people get a weapon that suits the pattern they have in their fighting."

"What about guns ?" Blade shook her head, "Guns are known as cowardly weapons because you're able to fight your enemy from a distance without having the courage to face them"

"That's so cruel..."Reid kicked a piece of metal that was leaning on the side of the building. "Do you know anything else you would be good to fight with ?"

"Maybe... a spear ?" Blade clapped "Nice choice, lets see if they have it in the market" The two walked back to the center, Blade pointed to a vendor who was selling weapons. They walked over and looked at what the man was selling. "Do you have any spears ?"asked Blade. The man nodded and pointed to the store behind him. "I don't have any money." Said Reid to Blade. "Don't worry, I'll pay" she then whispered "There not even that expensive in this market" Reid laughed. "So take your pick" Near the front there was a stand lined with different styled and coloured spears. Reid looked over them. "I think I'll get this one" a spear with a red handle and two black blades on each end. "Ooooh, nice". After Reid got his weapon of choice they walked out. "Take out your crystal for a second and place it on your weapon" Reid did as told and the weapon turned to dust. "What happened !"he exclaimed. "Dont worry about it, your weapon is just inside the crystal, now put it back in your pocket" Reid sighed. Blade looked at the time and mumbled to herself "Crap ! she's gonna get mad"

"Who ?"

"A friend, I was supposed to meet up with her a couple minutes ago"

Reid was still confused. "Who"

"You could have just said you were part owl" she laughed "Im just kidding, I'll take you to her" They walked past the market, back into the woods and ended up to what looked like a small stone house. Blade knocked on the door and entered. She put her stuff on the table near the entrance and had a seat. Reid only stood in the doorway. "Hey ! you home?"

"Just a second !" a voice came from upstairs, the sound of footsteps were making their way down. A girl with dark blue hair and a moon pin came down. She was wearing a short black hood. Her eyes were the color of stars.

"Guess what I found just by walking in the burned forest, usually there's nothing there" The new girl and Reid only stared at each other. She looked over at Blade, "Can we trust him ?"