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The wise old woman from your village has three colored power stones. You hesitate because you can't go back on your decision. You knew that it could imbue you with amazing abilities, making you a formidable force against other stone users. "Hmm, red, blue, or green. Which stone should I pick?" you confidently say to yourself as you look at all three stones presented nicely in front of you.
Without hesitation you notice the red one to the far right. Your hand hovers over the red one. It was calling out to you. But as you look at the wise old woman Deborah, you could see her facial expression changing as your hand moves. Then as your hand gets closer to the red power stone her eyebrow is raised. “I believe I will ummm…” Wise Deborah interrupts your monologue before you have a chance to pick the stone that’s in front of you on a stone pillar.
“Just one word of advice child before you make your final choice.” In that moment you stop and look at her. “I see you showing interest in the red stone. Just so you are aware, that the red one, unlike blue or green, is a very intense stone and requires a special type of person to wield it. That’s all I’m required to say.” She then gives you a grand grin on her face and lets you continue.
“I can’t believe this.” You thought, “Why did she say that suddenly. Stupid old hag. Now I’m not sure what to do.” You kept staring at the glossy beautiful red power stone. It was clear you wanted it. “A special type of person? What does that even mean?”
“Will you make your choice today, child?” Wise Deborah looked at you with an unamused expression on her face.
“HEY, STOP PUSHING ME, ALRIGHT! I will make my choice, but this is…. Sigh… This is so important.” The glow of the light hits your eyes as you stare intensely at the red stone.
“Sigh….. Children these days, slow, misguided, and loud. Yes, especially loud. Can you please show some respect when choosing? This is a sacred ceremony after all.”
“Sorry, I’m just stressed out right now. But, yeah, my choice is clear.” You swallow hard before you said the following, “The red one.” You reach over and grab it. You can see the beautiful red stone glow in the dim lights of the small hut. You breathe deeply as you look at it, completely engrossed by its red glossy glow.
Wise Deborah nods and gets up from her old chair. “Alright. There is no going back now. From this point on, you are no longer a child. The red stone is your protection, your guardian. Your ceremony is officially complete. Your rite of passage has concluded today once you selected your stone. However, for red power stone users, a warning…”
“What? A WARNING? You’ve got to be kidding me old hag Deborah.”
“I told you, TO STOP CALLING ME THAT!” Wise Deborah was clearly agitated from the disrespectful way you were speaking to her.
“And I told you it’s very fitting of you.” You replied to Wise Deborah in a mocking manner. You held the red power stone confidently in your hand. You had a smirk on your face because you knew very well that you had the most powerful stone out of the three. But you had doubts now. You needed to know exactly what the ‘warning’ was.
“Even with that stone in your hand, you still insist on acting like a child. You are nothing like the Legendary One.”
“Wait. The Legendary One.” You whisper to yourself after Wise Deborah said that. You began to remember the short stories of the Legendary One. But you could only recall one or two short tales. You weren’t sure yourself if these stories were even true. “You mean that girl… Shella. The one that…”
“YES of course, the one only the Wise ones speak of, day and night. She is the sole reason why we use these special power stones to defend our villages. If it wasn’t for her…. Shella, we would be defenseless.”
“What is the reason we keep fighting each other? I mean, like, stone users against stone users.”
“Child, do you not pay attention to the stories the Wise ones tell? Oh, I see. You are part of the ones that fall asleep and couldn’t care less about the past. Once a troublemaker, always a troublemaker.” Wise Deborah nods.
“You guys are boring, okay. It's always the same dumb long-winded 'tales' too, about Arcavist the Brave and Kotamo's Chaos. Who could possibly stay awake? But….” You look at the red stone one more time in your hand, “How did all this come to be? Why is the red power stone the strongest? I can’t stop thinking about this. You said it takes a special type of person to wield the red one.”
“You should know by now, that the real reason stone users fight other stone users is to sharpen their fighting skills. To train themselves with their personal stones. But the real fight, our real enemy, is the Dark One. Whenever he threatens our homes, our families, and our friends, we will be ready, using the powers of these special stones. That’s exactly what the Legendary One did many moons ago. She was special because she sacrificed her life for her friends.”
“Sacrificed her life? I didn’t…. I didn’t know that. Th-that’s sad.” You squeeze the red stone in hand as your facial expression turned serious.
“Yes, she did that. It was her choice. It was important that she did. She had her reasons. That’s why I say shes a special one. It takes discipline, mental discipline to use that small red stone you have there in your hand. That was my warning. If your mind is not up for the task, then you’ve chosen poorly and that red stone you possess is useless to you. Once you use it for the first time, it bonds with you forever and only you.”
“Old ha-g… I mean, Wise Deborah, tell me, what makes this Shella girl so damn special? What was she like anyways?”
“Show some respect child. I thought you’d never ask. Sit down and listen this time. Listen carefully because this a true story, full of pain and sorrow. And a girl that struggled internally with herself each time she used the power of the red stone.”
“What do you mean by that, ‘struggled internally’?” You looked at Wise Deborah confused.
“Just pay attention and I will explain it all to you, why this girl changed everything for her people. After her, no one, and I mean no one could master the red stone. She was the first Legendary power stone user…. the One that mastered ALL stones.”
“No. No. That’s not possible.” You shake your head in disbelief. “All stones? That’s insane. You expect me to sit here and believe these false made-up little fairy tales? That this, this girl was the first… I mean, who in the world trained her, if she didn’t learn about stones from someone else?”
“This isn’t make-believe! These aren’t fairy tales. Get that straight. Give me a chance and I will explain her story. Starting from her beginning. I should know after all, because her grandfather was my older brother.”
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