The Elemental Guardians

Nevia’s POV:

The sight of trees whooshed past me in a blur, the wind whisking through my hair as I stared up at the blue sky. The sun glared at me behind the clouds, as if to mock me for staring so longingly at the home I had left behind.

I grumbled and rolled the windows back up with annoyance. “Too bright.” Michael just chuckled, his eyes meeting mine in the rear view mirror.

“Then don’t look up into the sky like that. Don’t wanna have my little sister go blind huh?” He chuckled looking at me with cheeky eyes , his rough British accent clear as day.

That was my brother. Michael Onyx.

He was a 19 year old sophomore at SkyWard Academy. He had just started his second year and was now one of the top students in the school with all A’s on his report and barely any mistakes. He’d come a far way to get into this school.

To get here. New York City.

New York City. The largest city in the United States… The city where big dreams happen, yet I don’t see that. I miss London. There was so much more to it than bustling cities. The historic sites. The buildings. There were hundreds of stories to be told.

I just wish we had more time…

But here I am, stuck in a country I didn’t want to be in and forced to adapt to a new life.

I sighed, my eyebrows furrowed in frustration as I stared at the open view of the city, with the sun casting a beautiful glow over the sea.

“Did we really have to move here, Mike?” I turned to look at him. His gaze softened as kept his eyes on the road ahead.

“Well we were just worried. You were being bullied again and I wasn’t there to help you when you got hurt. Your scars… It was worse than before. Don’t you think it’s a bit better to move away from that environment?” He looked at me with weary eyes for a brief moment, gripping the steering wheel as if it was iron.

“It wasn’t that bad-” I muttered but Michael scoffed bitterly, his eyes now filled with anger.

“It was. You know it. You got hurt because I left you there with that gang, all alone. That was one of my biggest mistakes and I won’t let that happen again. I won’t.” He growled and looked back up again, making me shiver.

I looked down, slight guilt painted onto my stoic demeanor.

My brother was right. I was bullied even more after he left for high school.

They beat me and provoked me, only to get the silent cries and silence, hoping to eventually break me. And they did. I felt alone and helpless without him. I always wished I wasn’t like that.

I walked over to my new bedside table with a sigh. I guess this is what I get for leaving home. Redecoration! I thought as I put down the box, took out my favourite lampshade and placed it down on the bedside table beside a mushroom toy.

“Perfect.” I smiled and I put my hands at my hip, proud of my decoration skills. “Perfect indeed, but aren’t you forgetting something?”, said a familiar voice behind me.

“Mmm, not really-”, I mumbled and turned around to see my brother, holding up a green vintage book, laced with a gold border and bold words that wrote, “Knowledge of the Werewolves”. I must have forgotten that in the car this morning.

“Oh.. Thanks.” I smiled and took the book, placing it in one of the drawers. “Well I can’t forget this, can I?”

“Nope”, he said. “You know V, you’ve been clinging to those books lately. I thought you were done with this type of crap.”

“Hmm.. maybe I just don’t wanna let go or forget about it. It never hurts to be aware of these things you know. What if it exists?” I sighed and folded my arms over my chest, looking at the now foggy forest in the distance from the window.

“You know, I don’t see the point in worrying about this Via. It’s not like we’re in some apocalypse. But if it makes you feel better reading this shitty book, so be it ”, Michael smirked and punched me lightly in the arm. I giggled and pushed him back as we went down stairs for dinner, where my Aunt Sage was setting the table and serving the food.

“Dinner’s finally ready?” My brother questioned hungrily, sitting down in his seat at the dining table quickly as his mouth watered from the fresh aroma of food .

“Mmmh! This is wonderful, Aunt Sage! Can I have more?-” Michael spoke with a mouth stuffed full of mashed potatoes and a muffled voice.

“Okay slow down Michael..! You shouldn’t talk with a mouth full either. It’s bad manners, dear.” Sage giggled and Michael blushed in embarrassment. But I just chuckled.

Michael was an absolute ‘foodie’. It was what Sage would always say because our father was like that too. But there was one thing I didn’t understand. How they loved my parents. I don’t know them… Michael says he remembers them like the day but I didn’t. I don’t remember anything about them. The only thing I remember is being told I got a necklace from my mom, a stupid but reminiscing piece of jewelry, or what I see, made of cheap crystals and some silver, but what is it for anyways?

It’s useless-

“Nevia dear, are you okay? You seemed lost.” I snapped out of it when Sage spoke up and looked at me with concern, and that’s when I realized I was fiddling with my necklace.

“Oh! Uhm.. I’m fine. I was just in it there..” I stuttered and fumbled with my words. Sage gave me a worried look, but decided not to push it and continued to listen to Michael’s ramblings about god knows what.

Maybe the academy I didn’t even want to go to? Who knows. I just knew I was not gonna like Skyward Academy. I just hate being the spotlight of some stuck up school and having to deal with dumb idiots. The friends I had were much better at my other school.

I don’t want to join a new school. Much less a “prestigious academy”. It was overbearing and I hated it.

But Michael didn’t mind it at all. He basically lived there since there were dorms and he practically lived on campus. Of course came to visit us on holidays, but now that he was closer to home, he could visit in his free time and Aunt Sage wouldn’t be so alone anymore.

At least she had real company other than a couch I guess..?

I plopped down onto my bed with a sigh, snuggled into the comfort of my own sheets.

Oh well… time to live in the fortress of dreams and conquer the comfort of home for 9 hours. Hopefully my dreams will change this time.

I mentally groaned. I didn’t want to go to school or experience life at all. But here I am, stuck in whatever you want to call this “situation” that life imposed. I groaned into my pillow and closed my eyes, hoping to dream of a peaceful rest. Or so I thought.

I saw it again.. The fire, the people screaming in fear, panic and death. Many soldiers and commoners tried to fight off these obscene shadow like creatures but failed at saving the people or themselves.

“No…” I muttered and closed my eyes, shaking my head, only to open them and find myself near a wall in what seemed to be in a castle with an ancient scroll on it. It read:

A king will come from a distant land.

And fall for a queen at first glance.

With love so strong, they created three.

Not knowing the destiny of their youngest sheep.

Once a goddess powerful and great.

Her soul now written in this child’s inevitable fate.

The sister of the queen be forgotten,

Filled with jealousy and envy; now corrupted and rotten,

She’ll dwell in the darkness, and hide for some time,

Plotting and planning and harnessing her wicked crimes,

The souls of Celestial Guardians will awaken,

The last of the queen’s children will be taken.

But once, a blue moon will arise,

And the youngest child’s full power will come alive.

Jealousy and Hate, this story began.

But only the 8 elements will bring hope and love to these weary lands.

A black hand with claws ran across the scroll and it burned into ashes, with an evil laugh fading into the noise of the people’s terror. Then everything went dark, and only white outlines were left of my body.

“What’s happening?” I muttered, trying to understand what had just happened. I looked around and started to walk forward, the sounds of water echoing into the quiet abyss.

“Hello?” I shouted, only to receive distant echoes of my voice. And that’s when I saw that woman. That woman I saw in all my dreams. Her white, purple hair flowed freely behind her back, her stance heavenly. Gold coated and shimmered on her white gown. It looked… godly. I ran and attempted to follow her, but she had disappeared before my sight.

“Wait!” I shouted and came to a stop, panting from exhaustion.

“Nevia…” I heard the whispering echo of her voice.

“Huh? Where are you?” I gasped and whipped my head around, trying to find the voice, until I finally found her. People were surrounding the woman, their faces blurred. There was my brother to her right, with black wolf ears, huge black wings and a tail. A man was next to him.

He looked just like Michael, his hair a dark blue like the set midnight, scars littered his face, with a familiar black marking on his right eye. His skin was darker than mine and Michael’s but he was wearing armor, just like a king who was at war.

To the woman’s left, was a lady. Her skin was delicate and pale. Her hair was almost snow white like mine, but with soft highlights of dirty blonde which looked like fading dye. She was wearing a long silk cocktail dress adorned with gold jewelry and diamonds at the waist and the neck. Her arms had gold bands which reminded me of the goddesses of Greek mythology. Her head dressing had a sun in the middle with a gold sun crown to go with it. She was a beauty.

Next to her was Aunt Sage in armor, one that I’ve never seen before. It had sage colored markings, which looked ancient and old along with gold markings that I was sure I had never seen in all my historic studies.

It was all strange. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, then I saw her. Standing in the middle was that same woman, she held eight stunning gems in her hand. Each shining in the light and I know them -- I know those gemstones. Each represents an element.

“Nevia,” The woman said. “Your time has come… your time has finally come to be who you were born to be. A warrior, a leader. Nevia Onyx, Daughter of Serenity, Queen of Eartheria… Your time has come to find the elements of the Celestial Guardians and save the galaxy. Each gemstone is hidden away. Some with their owners, the others left in the dangers of the forgotten. And it is your duty as Princess of Eartheria, to find all eight gemstones and their wielder, so that you may defeat the evil one and save her from her own monstrosity. I don’t have much time left. Find the main eight and save us all. I trust you, my sister.” She whispered and held my cheek before everything bleared white.

I gasped and jolted up in panic from the flashback. And when I looked around, half the stuff in my room floated around, but before I even got a chance to process it all, they all fell with a loud thud. I stared confused, furring my eyebrows. What the fucking hell just happened? I thought, looking around at the scattered items. Rubbing my face frustratedly, I flopped back down on the bed with a groan.

There’s no frigging way I’m gonna clean that up right now and make myself late. But my dream– It was different this time. That lady… she spoke to me…. She never has. She just watches me. So why did she speak to me and what did she mean by ’find the eight gemstones and their wielder’? And why did she call me sister?-

“Nevia Isabella Onyx! Get your ass out of bed! You’re gonna make me late for school again!” Michael shouted and banged against my door for the second time, snapping me out of my train of thought.

“Michael! Calm down! The world won’t end if we’re late!” I groaned and got out of bed and headed for my bathroom.

“Doesn’t matter!!” He screamed back. I just rolled my eyes and picked up my phone. Scrolling through my playlist, I found the song “Castle in The Sky” by ADON and put it to play as I got ready for the first day of school.