Element Rebirth

5. Guardian of Portals

“Terra,” they whispered repeatedly, filling my ears with breathless voices. “Terra. Come.”

“Where?” I asked aloud, unable to trace the voices in the light room. A layer of mist clung to the ground, swirling around my ankles like dancing breaths of air. “Who are you all?”

It didn’t take me long to realise that I’d never been in a place like this before: golden frames hung off the walls along the never ending corridors, every picture inside of it moving like a real-life movie. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw familiar scenes flashing back and forth in one frame.

“That’s –”

“Terra.” I snapped my attention back to the voices and slowly, the corridor started moving.

No, it wasn’t the hallway but rather me: I was moving without really . . . moving my feet. The multiple gold frames zipped past me in a blur until I came to a gradual halt in front of two large doors encrusted with strange, tiny glowing jewels. Embroidered with long winding patterns, the pair swooped open inwards. The urge to walk forwards was too strong and I soon found myself putting one foot in front of the other, my eyes widening at the sight.

The room was empty, devoid of all life aside from the mist rolling around the ground casually, covering my feet up to my ankles. There was a long brown throne cushioned with red velvet pillows. After another quick sweep of the room, my gaze landed on the figure that had mysteriously materialised by the throne.

Long purple robes trailed to the floor, the golden hems peeking out from the mist occasionally. It covered a tall slim figure with winding brown curls draped across her shoulders and trailing down her back. What really mesmerised me were the figure’s eyes: round and wide, they gave her face a slightly chilling yet beautiful look, what with their pale lilac colours.

I stifled a sharp gasp when those eyes locked with mine and a delicate smile laced her perfect pink lips.

“Terra.” It was her. Even though it was a lot of voices calling my name before, when she spoke my name, I recognised all the voices to be one. “Welcome.”

“Uh hi?” I squeaked, unable to help myself and felt utterly out of place in the rags I wore compared to the glorious long purple robe she wore. “Who are you? How do you know my name?”

It was chilling, to say the least. Her eyes peered into mine like they could see right down to my soul, my every thought I’d ever had. It was creepy.

“It is an honour to meet you, Earth Guardian.”

Everything seemed to freeze for a moment, my jaw dropping and my heart thudding, pounding like a hammer. “E-Excuse me?”

Her smile broadened. “You are in possession of the Earth Crystal, are you not?”

Something burned against my hip, tingling my skin as my fingers slowly wrapped around the gem protectively, drawing it out into the open. “You mean this?”

“Yes, Terra. That is the Earth Crystal, one of the main elements of the mortal realm.” The young woman let her hands fall from a clasped position in front of her, hanging loosely by her sides. “The former Earth Guardian was Ashleigh Elbane.”

The crystal started vibrating, pulsing in my hand at the name, burning up even more. It was like it recognised the name. “Yeah . . . I-I know. I know of her very well.”

“You were very close to her, Terra, were you not?”

A heavy lump formed in my throat and automatically, the sting of tears made my eyes burn. “Y-Yes. She was my grandmother but she never said anything about being a Guardian before, let alone the Earth Guardian.” It was odd to hear from a complete stranger that my dear grandmother had been an Earth Guardian, one of the four who had come so close in saving the mortal realm yet had failed. But it wasn’t her fault. I never blamed her, mainly because I had no idea she was a Guardian.