Episode 130: The Cloud Ruins

Tuck reveals an unexpected Tornadian keeper, who must face his own regretful past and role as a hero, before he can heal Atheria. Simon shares a special bond with Nea that the heroes will need to get to the Cloud Ruins.

Transcript

The Cloud Ruins

Once upon a time in the land of Atheria, there was a princess Nea and a princess Lulu and they went on the most amazing adventures. They had just retrieved the white crystal after it was taken from Darius and ran into Prince William and Clef in the Northern Badlands.

Now that they had gotten the white Devorian Crystal back, they knew that Darius needed to head back to the elf grotto and heal the elf chief who had been turned into stone. And Nea and Lulu still had to find the other Tornadian keeper of the gray crystal. 

They agreed that heading back to the elf grotto made the most sense. After parting ways with William, Clef and the rest of their group, Nea, Lulu, Coryn, Ellery, Nakisha, Darius and Rose headed back through the Badlands to the Forest of Forevermore.

Only when they got to the forest, they were greeted by a messenger from Cedar Landing. 

“Princess Nea, Lulu and Coryn, you must hurry to Cedar Landing. Simon son of Aylon has something important to share with you.”

So, at the entrance of the forest, they parted ways with Darius, Ellery and Nakisha so that Darius could go and heal the chief who had been turned into stone. The rest of them made there way to Cedar Landing. 

When they got there, Prince Paul welcomed them in and took them the main chamber, where the Shadow Man stood next to O’Lah the ogre from Ubbin and on the other side of her, Tuck the lion.

“Tuck!” they all said, running over to see him. 

“Princess Nea & Lulu of Sparland, Coryn of Forevermore. You have done a good work finding our Keepers.” Tuck said. He walked around the adventures in a circle while the others stayed standing around the room.

“But we haven’t found the Keeper of the gray Tornadian crystal.” Said Nea. 

Tuck looked over at the Shadow Man who pulled the gray crystal out of his pocket. It immediately started glowing, softly at first, then brighter and brighter as he walked over to Coryn. 

“Coryn of Forevermore, you are needed for Atheria.” Tuck spoke as the Shadow Man held out the crystal. “Tell us young elf, where your heart lies.” 

“What do you think?” Coryn responded humbly. “You are the Almighty Tuck. You know thoughts and you know hearts. You are much stronger, smarter and braver than me. What would you say?”

And Tuck looked at the elf deeply. 

“You are young, but you have courage. Take heed of your mind and watch over your heart. Do not let your own desires outweigh what is right and what is just.” 

The elf knelt before the lion. “I saw what the crystals can do. I saw my chief’s intentions.”

The lion walked around the elf slowly. 

“And you did not stop it. You had the chance. You had the opportunity.”

“For that I am sorry.” 

“Stand, brave Coryn.” Tuck said with a warm empowering voice and motioned with his head for the Shadow Man to hand him the crystal.  

Coryn stood up and took the crystal, now brightly shining up the entire room. His eyes were huge and you could tell he was balancing his excitement with nervousness. 

Lulu looked over at him, put her hand on his shoulder and smiled.

“We all need someone to help us in the beginning.”

When the moment had concluded, Tuck got to the next order of business. The healing of the Cloud Ruins. Since Nea and Lulu had helped Paul and O’Lah find it in the clouds, they were already familiar with where it was and how to get there. They still had the wind chime in case Rakta, or any of the wingiants, showed up. Their only concern was how to get back to the Sky Kingdom. 

“There is another thing,” The Shadow Man said, motioning over to the back side of the castle. 

Outside waiting for them was Scorch the dragon. Simon took Nea aside.

“I saw how well you took care of Scorch on our last flight, Princess Nea of Sparland. I am not able to come with you to the Cloud Ruins this time, but Scorch is.”

Nea walked over to the dragon and gave him a soft pat to the head. Scorch smiled and rubbed his forehead against her hand. 

“Scorch the Protector.” She whispered to him. 

“Will you take good care of him?” he asked. 

“I will.” She answered, standing up straight. 
 
Then the Shadow Man turned to the young elf, “I will admit, I wasn’t sure of your heart. However, we can trust the lion.”

Coryn didn’t quite know what to say back to the old man and instead just got on top of the dragon, right after Nea and Lulu. 

“I will do my best,” Coryn said. “To make Atheria proud.”

And Scorch took off with a hop, launching the group into the air and then soaring high above the Torturian Sea. With every flap of his large wings, he brought them higher and higher into the clouds, until they found themselves in the kingdom of Skyrabia. 

They flew past the Glass Castle where Princess Aria was out with Valley her windog. They waved happily as the adventurers flew by. They flew over Voxbay Valley and from this high they could even see the wingiant village and were a safe distance above Rakta’s Cave. They flew up the side of Torgonda Mountain and landed just outside the Cloud Ruins. 

When they got there, they were surprised to see a griffin patiently waiting outside the temple. Shorty after they landed the ground started to rumble and shake and they could tell that something was happening inside the temple. 

“Oh no! It must be under attack!” Coryn said, jumping off of Scorch and running into the ruins. 

Coryn hadn’t met the Keepers of the Terrainian Crystals yet, nor did he understand that they also played a part in healing Atheria by restoring power back to the temple as well. Nea and Lulu did their best to keep up with Coryn but he was quick, even for an elf. 

“Coryn, wait!” Nea yelled from atop Scorch.

Lulu jumped off and scurried behind after him.

“Coryn, this isn’t how you save Atheria!” she warned. 

But it was too late, by the time the princesses caught up to him, he was already brandishing his gray crystal inside the temple at a very confused Princess Blu and the three dwarf triplets - Elifonia, Potifonia and Jacob - who were in the middle of using their green and brown crystals to heal the Cloud Ruins. And because Coryn hadn’t been taught yet how to harness the power of the crystal he just stood their, holding a bright rock with an outstretch hand. 

Blu and the dwarfs were just putting their hands up to the side panel, where a symbol for earth was, and out came a burst of green and brown light from the crystals that swirled around the ruins, shooting up and round the sky as it began to breath new life into the ruins.

When the crystal’s magic had been released, Coryn looked over confused “Huh?”

“Coryn of Forevermore, meet Princess Blu of Allaymia and Elifonia, Potifonia and Jacob, the Terranian Crystal Keepers.” Lulu said. 

Lulu hunched over, while Nea just shook her head and gave Princess Blu a welcoming hug. 

“Looks like you picked up that green crystal pretty quick.” Nea noticed. 

“It’s not so bad after all.” Blu responded. “But these sidekicks, they’re another story.” she motioned over to the dwarfs.

“Hey!” Jacob said, “Who’re you calling sidekick, blondey?”

And then Flix the yellow fairy appeared, who had been traveling with them invisibly. 

“If you ask me,” he said, “They’re all crazy!” 

And they had a quick laugh before making way for Lulu and Coryn to use their crystals to restore the temple. Blu and dwarfs stepped away from the panel on the side of the temple while Lulu and Coryn walked to the center stone. Lulu started to explain to Coryn how to let the crystal’s magic out and hoped that the same practice worked in the ruins as it did when it came to calming the weather or summoning a tornado. 

Almost by surprise, the crystals started to float in front of the keepers and circle around them, getting brighter and brighter as they hovered. Then, a huge beam of yellow and gray light exploded from the ground and shot up through the open ceiling of the Cloud Temple. And as this happened, the musty, stale scent was replaced with a fresh soft breeze. The crumbling walls of the temple began to heal as old cracks got smaller and smaller until finally disappearing. And all the engravings around the temple were made ornate and beautiful again.

It had been an extremely long day, but Princess Nea & Lulu had found the Tornadian Keepers, returned them to the Cloud Temple, and run into some friends along the way. What they failed to realize was that the giants all around Atheria were getting very, very annoyed with them. 

The end.