Kaleidoscope of Wishes - WritingForums.com - Writing Forums, Writing Challenges, Critiques and Help for Writers

AXB · 03-24-2007, 08:11 PM

Color of Legend

There is a legend passed down from generation to generation in the colorful, vibrant World of Kaleiru. According to that legend, this world was created by the Sacred Gods, a group of transcendent deities. They shaped the World of Kaleiru from fiery orange embers in the cosmic discord of space.

In the midst of the World of Kaleiru was a vast, brilliant land, Kaleiru Kingdom. When the world was first created by the Sacred Gods, the royal family of Kaleiru Kingdom was given a most holy gift; a magical kaleidoscope that granted the desires and wishes of whosoever peered into its viewer and witnessed its brilliant explosion of colors.

The Kaleidoscope of Wishes became a royal family heirloom, passed down to the heirs of the royal family of Kaleiru. When the next heir recieved the Kaleidoscope of Wishes, they were entrusted with the task of protecting it. This was so that the artifact would not fall into unworthy hands... and for generations, it never did...

The blue sky above Kaleiru Kingdom was as clear as a crystal. The sun shone brightly upon the vivid land. It was a lively place, paved with cobblestone streets and and filled with fountains. The plazas of Kaleiru Castle Town were full of markets and shops. The Kaleiruvian race was characterized by long pointed ears.

In the midst of Kaleiru Castle Town was Kaleiru Castle. The structure was constructed with marble and was capped with blue rooftops and conical spires. It was surrounded by a vast, peaceful courtyard, which contained beautiful gardens and crystalline fountains.

In the midst of the serine courtyard, a young lad named Aleron was playing tag with with Princess Arilda, the heir to Kaleidoscope of Wishes. It was a hot day, and both of them were feeling particularly energetic. Aleron was a friend of Princess Arilda, and visited her every day for schedualled playdates.

Aleron wore a sky blue shirt with white highlights. He had dark brown hair with matching eyes, and wore old, brown boots. He was stoic and kind, but occasionally tended to play roughly. He was ten years old, like Princess Arilda.

Aleron ran swiftly from Arilda, laughing at her futile attempts to catch him while wearing her dress. It made it difficult for her to run while dressed in such impractical garb.

Princess Arilda was elegent and graceful, and when she and Aleron first met, the first thing he noticed about her was the color of her eyes. She had shimmering, aquamarine orbs and beautiful strawberry blonde hair. She wore a jeweled circlet and her dress was brightly colored, marking her as the heir to inherit the Kaleidoscope of Wishes.

After a while of chasing, Arilda tripped on a rock and fell on the grass. Aleron walked over to her, chuckling, and held out a hand, offering to help her up. Then, they were approached by a shadowy man with black clothing and hair the color of soot.

"Alric..." Arilda spoke.

"Salutations, Princess Arilda." the sinister figure answered.

Alric was a Kaleiruvian swordsman who pretended to be a kind, loyal person, masking a cruel, calculating personality. Arilda had seen through this, and never trusted him. She actually feared him. Alric was fascinated with the Kaleidoscope of Wishes, and he had been asking Arilda for information about the artifact for weeks.

"I was just... visiting Kaleiru Castle for a short while. I didn’t mean to disturb your... activities, Arilda." Alric spoke.

"It’s alright. Aleron and I were just playing." Princess Arilda answered with a solemn look on her face.

Alric’s piercing eyes focused on the young girl as he cocked his head and smiled in a fierce manner. His sinister glare struck Arilda and Aleron with a gloomy feeling of fear. They stood perfectly still, terrified of Alric.

"Hey." Alric seethed through clenched teeth.

"Yes, sir?" Arilda answered.

"I shall see you both later." Alric spoke as he turned his back on them and exited the courtyard, that evil sneer still fixed on his face.

After he left, Arilda and Aleron went back to their activities. They played a round of hide and seek in the bushes of the garden. After a few minutes, though, Arilda stopped. She had a troubled look on her face, and turned to Aleron.

"Aleron... you can tell that Alric is truly evil, can you not?" she asked.

"I think it’s sort of obvious. He’s nuts!" Aleron answered.

As the Princess of Wishes, Arilda was gifted with a variety of psychic and magical powers. A few days in the past, she read Alric’s mind and discovered a disturbing revelation.

"I read his thoughts a few days ago. He plans to steal the Kaleidoscope of Wishes. And he plans to do so on the night of this day." she said.

"How are you going to protect it?" Aleron asked.

"I can’t. Even my spells can’t stand up to Alric’s cunning. I need you to keep it safe, just for tonight, so I can tell my father." Arilda said, holding out the Kaleidoscope of Wishes, which appeared as if from nowhere.

Aleron stared at the colorful object in awe. He had never seen it before, and had only heard stories and fables about it. Arilda looked through the viewing hole of the beautiful artifact. She rotated the object chamber and witnessed a starburst of colors that brought tears to her eyes. Aleron shielded his eyes as a blinding flash of light filled the courtyard.

When Aleron opened his eyes, he was amazed. Arilda held a bottle filled with water. She sweetly offered it to him. As he drank it, he realized that it tasted like sweet necter. Arilda smiled and clutched the Kaleidoscope of Wishes.

"Whatever you ask of the Kaleidoscope of Wishes, it will give to you. But you must make simple wishes, or its magic will become to much for you to handle. I’m entrusting this to you, and I hope that you will be able to keep it safe from Alric." she announced, handing it to him.

Aleron took the mystical item in his hands and looked into it. He made a simple wish as he observed its rainbow of colors, and was surrounded with that light. He opened his eyes and beheld a blue fish swimming in a plastic bag filled with cold water. Princess Arilda giggled at his wish.

"Although, I probably could protect it myself. As Princess of Wishes, I have an assortment of magical powers. But... I just want to be sure that it's safe. I want to protect Kaleiru Kingdom, and the rest of this world that the Sacred Gods shaped." Arilda said.

"Don't worry, Arilda. I'll do my best to keep it safe!" he announced.

"Thank you. I trust you completely. And remember, should Alric discover our secret, use the Kaleidoscope of Wishes to protect youself." she said.

Arilda gently kissed Aleron on the lips as a show of gratitude for his assistance. This caused him to react in joy and excitement. She giggled at his boyishness. She knew Alric would never think to look for the Kaleidoscope of Wishes at Aleron’s residence. Aleron clutched the Kaleidoscope of Wishes and his new pet fish and exited Kaleiru Castle’s courtyard.

As Aleron passed through the wooden doors leading to the outside and walked to the central square of Castle Town, a cold voice made his skin crawl. It was dark and raspy. he recognized it as the voice of Alric. He turned to face the dark mad, staring with fear into his frightening lime eyes.

"Leaving Kaleiru Castle so soon, son?" Alric asked while leaning against a wall, bathed in shade.

"Alric! I... uh... yeah! I was just about to go back home. It’s almost time for lunch." he answered nervously.

"And I see you’re holding the Kaleidoscope of Wishes..." he hissed, taking a step toward Aleron.

"Uh, no! This is... this is a toy I picked up at the shop." Aleron stammered, tightly gripping the Kaleidoscope of Wishes and his fish.

"I don’t think so, boy." Alric wielded his sword. "I was planning a coup against Kaleiru Kingdom. But now that young Arilda has entrusted my target to a peasant boy, I can just take it now and become king of this land." he announced ferociously.

"I don’t understand! How did you know to wait for me? How did you know Arilda gave me the Kaleidoscope of Wishes?" Aleron asked as he took a step back.

"Hahahaha! Aleron, son, don’t you know that I am one of Kaleiru’s elite swordsmen? Don’t you know that I have served the royal family for years? I knew Arilda would see through my ruse and entrust the Kaleidoscope of Wishes to her best friend. Now hand it over, and I might allow you to live." Alric threatened.

The man shoved Aleron to the ground and snatched the kaleidoscope from his hands. He looked through the eyepiece and made his wish.

"Hahahaha... at last, the moment of my victory has come! Kaleidoscope of Wishes, I wish to have control over Kaleiru Kingdom! I wish to be Dark Ruler Alric!" he announced.

The sky darkened and black clouds blotted out the sun. Lightning flashed in the distance. People locked their doors and windows in fear of this furious storm. A bolt of pink lightning struck Alric, giving him absolute power over Kaleiru Kingdom.

"Ah! And now, my second wish!" Alric growled.

"You shall have no second wish!" Princess Arilda announced, appearing from the doors that led to the castle.

The mystical princess cast a spell on Alric, binding him in a magical force field. This barrier appeared in the form of a blue, digital cube. Arilda used her powers to tighten the magical prison around Alric. She bowed her head and began to speak a prayer to the Sacred Gods.

"O, great spirits, Sacred Gods who watch over the World of Kaleiru, give me the power to protect this kingdom. Alric has made his first wish, and controls the Kingdom of Kaleiru, but he does not rule the World of Kaleiru in its entirety. Empty the powers of the Kaleidoscope of Wishes, and deny this beast any furthur desire." she said.

Arilda released Alric from the spell, and the skies thundered with fury. A flash of lightning struck the Kaleidoscope of Wishes and drained its magic. Alric frantically picked the object up and looked through it, but its colors were no more.

"What sorcery is this!? The kaleidoscope... it’s power is gone!" he yelled.

"The gods gave power to the Kaleidoscope of Wishes, and they can take that power when it is used by evil." the princess spoke with wisdom, years ahead of her time.

"It matters not. I may not have the power to make another wish, but I did get my first and most desired wish! With this power from the gods themselves, I can now take this kingdom and rule it with an iron fist. You, princess, cannot undo me. I shall be your king, and it was inevitable to begin with. Here, take this lifeless shell. I have no more use for it." Alric said, casting the Kaleidoscope of Wishes to the ground.

In a flash of red light, the cruel man disappeared. The sky was still illuminated with lightning and powerful winds blew through the kingdom. Alric’s influence, in mere seconds, had contaminated Kaleiru Kingdom. He was now the usurper king of the land and its people. Princess Arilda and Aleron looked at the great Kaleiru Castle. Suddenly, the palace in which the royal family resided was surrounded by a bubble of magic, so that no one could enter or exit.

Aleron sulked on the stone ground. He was distraught that his actions had a part in Kaleiru Kingdom’s overthrow. Princess Arilda, a wise and sympathetic person, comforted him.

"Worry not, Aleron. The Sacred Gods have transcendent, omnipotent control over what happens in this realm. If we confide in them, they’ll see us through. We are destined to emerge as the victors over Alric’s rule." she spoke in an angelic voice that sounded like soothing music to Aleron.

"But... Arilda... Alric already rules the kingdom, and you sucked the power out of the Kaleidoscope of Wishes. How can we save the kingdom? How can we save our families? We’re just kids!" Aleron cried.

"Oh, Aleron... young though we may be, we still have an advantage over Alric. He wished for control of Kaleiru Kingdom, but he has no power over the rest of the World of Kaleiru that the gods created. Outside of this kingdom, there are many other lands. With our unique abilities, we can triumph over Alric. You’re an energetic, brave boy, and I was given devine knowledge of the World of Kaleiru by the gods. I know of a way to restore power to the Kaleidoscope of Wishes." she said, creating a holographic image depicting four jewels.

"What are... those?" Aleron asked.

"These are the Holy Stones. There are four of them outside of Kaleiru Kingdom. If we collect them all, they can be used to restore the power of the gods to the Kaleidoscope of Wishes. Then we can purge Alric’s influence from this kingdom and save Kaleiru Castle." she answered.

"Alright... then let’s do it!" Aleron yelled.

And so the two children, each gifted with an attribute that would allow them to triumph over evil, set out to distant lands outside of Kaleiru Kingdom to retrieve the Holy Stones. But while they were gone, the influence of Alric stretched across the land. They would have to be swift in their quest, lest the World of Kaleiru be swallowed by shadows.

To be continued...