Prismatic

Constellation

It was still dark when I woke up. Aina and Tyke were sprawled together. Bry was in a sitting position beside me like he was meditating. The tribesmen were still outside but were cooking what seemed like breakfast. When they saw me awaken from my slumber, they brought in the food. Aina and Tyke sprang up from their previous position. The tribesmen placed the food in front of us and went out to give us some space. This time, it was a mix of lavenders, leafy indigo vegetables and meat drizzled with lavender oil. Along side it was a hot mix of milk and lavenders with a splash of assorted nuts.

After we finished and cleaned the dishes, we approached the tribesmen who were waiting outside. “Umm, good morning… I guess”, I greeted them.

“Have you slept well, champions?” Ne-le smiled.

“We slept well, thank you”, Bry answered, “sorry to bother you.”

“Don’t apologize, champions”, La-er was tending to the fire, “It is part of our duty.”

“Thank you, again”, Tyke approached closer, “If you don’t mind, we would like to hear the rest of the tale.”

“Yay… story time!” Aina squeezed Tyke by the arm.

“Ow!” Tyke winced, “Careful, these biceps are sensitive.”

She punched the affected arm, “Wow. I need to hear those biceps cry.” She squeezed again, harder this time. Tyke screamed in pain and locked her arms.

“Okay, stop it you two”, Bry was stern. “we don’t have time left to stall.”

“Yes, Captain Killjoy”, they said in synchronization. Bry sulked at the side.

“Let us begin the final part of the story”, Ne-le began, “The fallen warriors were buried. The astral spirit took pity on them and decided to place them on the sky as remembrance for their bravery and values. She made three ‘Constellations of Lavender’ as we called it, named after the war. The first constellation is Family. The three main stars face the east of the sky. It is located on the eighth of the clock. It was formed in the shape of the house. The least bright of the star in the middle was misplaced to the fourteenth of the clock. The second constellation is Stewardship. The three main stars face the northwest. It is located at the sixteenth of the clock. It was formed in the shape of T. The brightest star in the right was misplaced to the ninth of the clock. The third constellation is Leadership. The three main stars face the southwest. It is located at the twenty-fourth of the clock. It was formed in the shape of an arrow. The indigo star on the left was misplaced to the fifth of the clock.”

“You now know the story of our tribe and the constellations as well as the problems in the alignment”, La-er finished.

“You must find a way to bring the misplaced pieces together”, Ve-ne cut in, “in memory of the Fallen Warriors of Lavender.”

“But how are we going to reach the stars and their constellations?” Aina asked.

The Halvers were squealing around us. They formed the steps to the stars.

“Are you sure they can maintain a hold of us?” Tyke was speculating.

I tried to step on one of the, it glowed aquamarine at the step. It managed carry all of my weight. I stepped back and returned to face them. The tribesmen grabbed our attention. “Before you depart”, La-er stood, “you must remember the stories.”

“Guide the misplaced light back to its domain”, Ve-ne instructed.

“Strengthen their bonds as you have strengthened yours”, Ne-le followed.

“We can never thank you enough”, Bry waved them goodbye.

“Thanks for everything”, I doubled in.

“We will make sure to fulfill our quest”, Aina faced away and toward the steps.

“We promise to return the constellations to their former glory”, Tyke looked back following Aina.

The tribesmen bid us goodbye. We took on the steps the Halvers made for us. Bry was leading the path and I was next in line. Aina and Tyke were tailing behind us. The Halvers would replace the step in the front with the last step at the back to bridge the gaps. We finally reached the Family constellation. We stepped on an invisible plane. The constellation was just one step above our heads. We were greeted by an astral spirit, “Greetings, this is the Family constellation. Only one of you could bring the misplaced star to its place.” The astral spirit approached me. “You have the power in bringing the star back. The others shall help you defend it on its course.”

“I don’t understand, why me?” I was confused.

“Because you are the only one who heard our call”, she replied.

“Was it that dream?” I recounted.

“Yes. You are the only qualified person for the task”, she replied.

“Don’t worry, Jo. We got your back”, Tyke assured me.

“I’ll see what I can do”, Aina pondered, “I don’t know if I can control elements beyond me.”

“Do what you can”, Bry commanded, “Every effort counts.”

I placed my hand to the direction of the misplaced star. There were stars shooting at different directions. Bry tried to shield the goal but the protection always broke in three hits. Tyke tried shooting at the stars that got close to it with dark balls of light and an explosion resulted. Aina touched my hand to lend me some of her mana. It required a lot of it to pull in the goal. Finally, the goal was set into the right place. The astral spirit thanked us then transported us to the next one.

We were at the plane of Stewardship constellation. I did the same procedure. This time, Bry held my waist to give me some of his mana. The goal went into its rightful place. We were then transported to the plane of Leadership. It was the same procedure again. This time, Tyke held my shoulder to give some of his mana. The three constellations lit up and formed a triangle. Inside it, a black hole has formed emitting dark light. It shot down to the land and three creatures appeared. The astral spirit talked to us, “Thank you but you must defeat the menacing creatures below. They are the cause of the misalignment.”

“Where did they come from?” Bry asked.

“Its origin is unknown. It is most certain that it was not one of the creations of this floor”, she sounded sad.

“That is strange but we must defeat it before the tribesmen get hurt”, Aina was worried.

The astral spirit transported us with the speed of light. We faced the creatures that seemed to be heading towards the tribesmen. They were ten steps tall. They rushed to us intent on getting past. Bry aimed at the dark figure with three horns placed in a horizontal line. Its body resembled the sky. It had a triple axe on which heads were facing the same as the constellations. The spirit within me called it, Cornum Astrel. It spun its axe three times with the last one slashing Bry downwards. His chest bled from the blow with a long slice. Bry was set aback but he prepared himself and casted, Locus Carcere. He imprisoned the creature in a transparent pyramid. The pyramid closed in on the creature and crushed it into nothing. I defended myself against a boulder-sized creature that was hunched. It had the same body. It was holding a massive sharp fork. The spirit called it, Saxum Astrel. It struck my torso giving me three holes to bleed out. I touched my blood and with it I casted, Lumen Vorare. Crimson light struck through the foe and devoured it. Tyke faced a triple headed foe wielding a triple-edged sword. It also had the same skin. The spirit called it, Tredis Astrel. He was stabbed on the abdomen which was replaced by a red hole. Three orange balls of light circled his sword. With few rapid stabs, the creature started to disintegrate. Aina was going to tend to our wounds when another creature appeared from the black hole. It was a three-winged creature with the same skin. It doesn’t have any weapon with it. It was a few steps bigger than the previous ones. Aina took a deep breath and faced the creature. It rushed to her with blinding speed. Its wings stabbed past her. She spouted some blood out of her mouth. Aina held some of her blood and formed a fist at the foe. A four-bladed weapon shaped like a fan suddenly took shape. Each blade was of one element. She took a step back and threw the blade at the foe. It swiftly dodged but the weapon was still chasing after it. The weapon then split into individual blades, covering different directions. The creature attempted to return to the black hole but the blades caught up to it. It reeled in pain then imploded.

After all of the enemies were defeated, the triangle changed into a white light. A woman bathed in light came down to us. She had a lavender silk dress with three stars shining that formed a triangle on her body. “Well done, champions”, it made a slow approach at us, “You have succeeded in returning the Constellations of Lavender in its former glory.”

“Who are you?” Tyke was mesmerized, “What are you?”

Aina punched some sense into him. He could not recover as if he was locked in a trance.

“I am the astral spirit in my true form”, she continued and looked beyond us, “I maintain the constellations and the life that affects them. I have requested Lutin for aid from the anomaly. The anomaly had an unknown origin. I am thankful for your accomplishment. I shall heal your wounds and restore your lost strength.”

With a flash from her hands, our wounds healed gradually. I felt my strength seep in slowly. Tyke has restored himself after that. Aina was deeply upset with him when he regained himself. The astral spirit was then replaced by Lutin who was on a flying machine that covered half of his body. “Congratulations, champions!” he greeted us gleefully, “You have passed the requirement of this floor.”

“The astral spirit’s gratitude extends to the stars and with that she wants to give you a guiding light.” He handed me a shiny indigo crystal, “It is called Provisio. It is a part of her celestial being. She said that it will guide you on your journey.”

“You are entitled to rest. You will be informed of the departure”, he left to the light after saying that.

I felt a part of me leaving my body. It was a part of the astral spirit’s previous form. It went into the crystal. I was the only one to witness that. Everyone else was lying down on the grass.

“Ahh… This is such a beautiful sky”, I joined them after hiding the crystal into my pocket.

“They sparkle like your eyes”, Bry faced me. “You are like them, in a way.”

“What do you mean?” I asked although I think I knew the answer.

“Never mind”, he shuffled to his side, “I was just talking to myself. Forget you heard anything.”

“What is it?” I prompted him.

“I don’t think it’s time to tell you yet. Maybe next time”, he flinched.

“Okay, Bry”, I rolled my eyes, “I will wait.”

I don’t want to force him so I respected his space. I just fidgeted my pocket for the crystal. It felt quite warm to the touch. It helped me calm my thoughts. Aina and Tyke were just messing with each other. They really fit each other perfectly. I returned my attention to the crystal and waited.

“It is time to depart, champions”, a voice was heard above, “Please stand below the triangle.”

It was a shimmering white now. I felt my body become weightless. The Halvers, who were playing, caught up to us.  When we were halfway, it sucked us in to another floor.