On+the+Other+Side+of+Fate+-+Prologue

Xera, queen of the Water Kingdom, was awakened by an urgent pounding on her bedroom door. "Open up! We found him! We found the Juel!" As soon as she pulled on her robes and opened the door, she was dragged down the hall to the Water Temple. The one dragging her was none other than Kra, an old earth sait who had escaped the fall of her kingdom and sought refuge with Xera. The older woman kept up a steady stream of explanation as she half-ran down the Temple corridors. "We found him, you won't believe this, but actually //he// came to //us//, and he's just a boy! But that doesn't matter, he's the Juel, the ultimate sait! He knows all about water and earth and wood, but he says he doesn't know fire, but that's okay, someone will teach him-" She was still talking when they entered the Temple's main sanctuary. Seated on a bench was a boy about 13 years old, with short blond hair and serious green eyes. He rose as they entered and shook hands with a formal gravity that belied his young looks. "Hello, I am Yusha. And you are...?" "Xera, queen of the Water Kingdom. Pleased to meet you. I was...informed that you claim to be the Juel." she said, with a sidelong glance at Kra. "Far more than just a claim, it is reality. It is fate." Yusha clasped his hands behind his back and smiled seriously. "Oh, it is." Kra interrupted, her excited face contrasting sharply with the boy's dignified air. Although she was only in her late 40s, Xera tended to think of Kra as "old". But now she looked positively young again, and Xera knew why. If the Juel had been found, then surely the salvation of the Earth Kingdom could not be far behind.
 * On the Other Side of Fate: Prologue**

~*~

Xera led the way back into the inner chambers of the temple. She had been putting Yusha through various trials all morning, and at last even her skeptical mind had been convinced. "I am sorry for the trouble, but when you see what I have to show you, you''ll understand why we must be so careful. We can't risk any Air spies seeing this." Xera stood before the final doorway and demonstrated her own abilities. The manipulation of water, or watersight, was the base of every monarch's power in that Kingdom. Using water she pulled from a flask, she turned three keyholes in different directions. The door swung open silently. The chamber beyond was small and unimpressive. Wooden boards covered the floor, the walls, and the ceiling. It looked empty. Yusha's brow furrowed as his emerald eyes scanned the bare walls. Then they settled on the wall to the right. Without a word, he gently pulled back one of the boards, which bent under his touch. His light fingers slowly drew out an ancient roll of parchment. "This is what you wished to show me?" he asked. Xera shot a glance at Kra, who held up her hands defensively. "I told him nothing, I swear! It was fate that led him there." The three of them sat down in a circle on the floor as Yusha spread out the crackling paper. His brow darkened as he examined the page. "This is a very old dialect. It will take a little while for me to translate it." "You do that." Xera said, inwardly amazed that he recognized the words, "The Air Kingdom has put much store in the prophecy, as have we. But this part of the prophecy they know nothing of, and that gives us the advantage. You can confirm it, but an elder of ours told us that it says this: 'From the least of you, proud ones The age-old threat will arise. From under the wilting trees Against those war-tinged skies. When two stand alone, Watch and beware, See how it has grown, The Ancient One, there!'" Xera took a deep breath, but Kra cut in before she could speak again. "You came here, I know, because the thrice-accursed demon, the Ancient One, the Daionis, is coming back! We know the Air Kingdom is already searching. If you defeat the demon first, they will lose hope. And now we know exactly where to look!"

For a few seconds, there was silence, as Yusha considered to study the prophecy. Finally, he spoke. "I see. You are correct." He looked up, his eyes grave and troubled. "Then the Daionis...is to be found in the Wood Kingdom."

On the Other Side of Fate - Chapters