Prologue
In front of me, there are two crystal, one in yellow and one in green, my father told me the yellow one is a electric crystal that discovered by Grandfather, and the green crystal is a earth crystal that has been on family possession for centuries. Now my father is sitting behind me on a small wooden chair, alongside my mother, my mother said to him, she looks concerned about something
“Dear, is this okay for our son to undergo this ritual” she said with soft voice lingering with doubt
“There’s no problem with that, my dear. It’s been centuries that our family of Blumenhart undergo this ritual, and worry not, magic always choose us as one being worthy, thus our son, shall be the same” Father replied with a stern tone
“I heard from your dad that the ritual was excruciatingly painful, I can’t bear that happen to our son” she replied
“There’s always obstacle, my dear, but in the end, they always prevails”
Her concern about me is a normal thing, because I am the sole children of Blumenhart family, she was caring for me, afraid that something bad happened to me during the ritual, but my father reassure her, that there’ll be nothing happened and it won’t harm me, it’s just a proof of my coming of age, a sign of me became an adult.
The Blumenhart family is granted with ability to assimilate with corresponding element, enabling us to harness its power like conjuring element without using any tools, just only our hand, and other body, father even told me that Grandfather can conjure a wall of stone just by tapping the earth with his feet, and while he said that he show me a way of Blumenhart using their magic, with a flick of his finger, surge of lightning appeared and whirling within his index finger. It was so cool to see that, but in order to do so, I must touch the crystal that have corresponding element of it, he said that Blumenhart veins can adjust and assimilate the contained element stored by the crystal, thus our ability is born, and my attempt to do that process is my coming-of-age, as most Blumenhart are considered as adult when they at least can conjure elements from their body.
As I walk and take a closer look, I saw that the crystals were about the size of my palm, quite small for an adult to hold. I was only eleven years old, and my father had instructed me to merely touch them, allowing the power to slowly infuse my veins. Grasping them, he explained, would be an act of arrogance, a sign of disrespect towards the crystals. Before receiving their power, we were merely mortals, guests in their presence. “And how do guests behave?” he had asked. “With politeness, with respect, with humility.” His words echoed in my mind as I touched the crystals. After the ritual, I would be free to hold them as I pleased. Just as we embrace friendships after making a good first impression, so too would I embrace the power of the crystals.
My fingers brushing the surface of the green crystal. A faint warmth pulsed through my hand, and for a moment, I felt as though the crystal was alive. I close my eyes to embrace the energy of the crystal to seep into my veins. A sharp pain shot up my arm, spreading through my body, like a thorny vines struck on my skin. I want to cry it out, and take my hand out from the crystal, but Father told me that no one would even dare take out their hand on the crystal till the ritual over, which in my situation, till the pain was over, till the crystal accept me as its vessel
Images began to flash in my mind, a serene and green forest with couple of animals and birds in the lake drinking and savoring its water, a bunch of monkeys jungling the tree ravine, then I saw glimpse of people, they have strange ear, seems they are about to hunt on their horseback with their bow. Then suddenly it flashes, the forest is burned, many animals dying, it flashes again, the people were running away, it flashes and flashes conjuring a grotesque image and splash of burning fire into my vision, then I see a tree, walking and expanding its fine, eating those corpses and then their eyes gleaming in red, thus the image flashes into darkness. A soft voice echoed into my mind
“To the Sinner who take everything from our land”
I opened my eyes, and see the green crystal’s glow dimmed, the ritual is complete.
“Now for the Second Crystal” my father urged.
I took another deep breath and reached for the yellow crystal. This one was cold to the touch, and as soon as my fingers made contact, a searing pain shot through my body. It was unlike the green crystal’s pain—sharper, more erratic, like lightning coursing through my veins.
Another image flashes into my mind. This time, it’s a giant tower with endless storm, I saw many thunder striking across, causing fire to whatever it touches, at the top of the tower I hear someone
“Just a little reach, we can get close to the sky, the Heaven”
A bolt of lightning struck him, and he fell. Others at the base of the tower screamed and pleaded for forgiveness. “The tower was a mistake!” they cried. “A delusion that cost us everything!”
“Save us. Please save us.”
Then I heard a thunder strike, this time it was huge, striking the tower, the image flashes again, and I see the Tower was burned and began to crack, the half of it fall down crashing with ground. Thus leaving the thunder wreaking havoc endlessly upon the land.
And then, silence.
The crystal’s glow faded, and the pain subsided. I opened my eyes, my breaths shallow and uneven.
My father helped me to my feet. “The ritual is complete,” he said, though his stern demeanor betrayed a flicker of concern. “You’ve done well, Elliot.”
But I could barely focus on his words. The visions, the voices—they felt real, as if the crystals were alive, crying out for help. My mother approached, her face etched with worry.
“Are you all right?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“You worry too much my dear, it is just after-effect of the crystal, our son will be fine” said father, reassuring her
Maybe I should tell father what I experienced, but I don’t know where to began, then I uttered it clearly
“The crystals... they spoke to me.”
My father bend down to his knee, he patted my head, and replied my question
“Elliot, what did you see?”
I told him about those picture, those voices, he look a bit confused, perhaps he’s trying to proceed about what I’ve explained to him, he took a deep breath, then he hold my shoulder, and said
“I’m sorry Elliot, I don’t know anything about that, even myself during my coming of age back then, I don’t even feel the same like you, I didn’t receive those visions that you told me, perhaps there’s something that would occurred to you, but I hope it’s a good thing”
With that he stood up, and lifted me to his back, he said “You must be pretty exhausted at that ritual, at least let me give you a little piggyback ride to the manor”
I nodded happily, it’s a first time my father being considerate to me, he was a busy man and often doesn’t come home because of his job, seeing him acted like that towards me is a something that I must treasure it for my lifetime
But it makes me wonder myself, does that vision is true or maybe it was just a voice in my head, manifestation of exhaustion, absorbing the crystal element. For now, I should hold back my thought, clear my head, and maybe I’ll find out the answer eventually.
