The Jewel of Life
A Gift From Arceus
Three cheers to my first fanfic on Serebii forums! This is rated PG13-14 due to violence. Also, I feel a minor introductionis necessary seeing as this world of pokemon is of my imagination and needs to be explained.
Intro: In this world, no humans exist. Pokemon here have not even heard of humans, they simply live as pokemon. However, they are not all intelligent like in the mystery dungeon series; only the legendaries are. Also, there are many of each legendary and they live in kingdoms on one great landmass called Monlitho. This story is from the point of view of various members of the darkrai kingdom found in a maze-like cave filled with glowing crystals called the Dark Labyrinth.
Enjoy.
A small ray of sunlight trickled down from a miniscule hole in the ceiling and shone its light on the sundial below, telling queen Cassandra that it was a few hours after noon. Annoyed, she rolled her eyes. I have been sitting here on my throne for what, seven hours? Why does being Queen have to be so boring. Cassandra rolled her eyes and stared at the sundial again. Deep in the Dark Labyrinth, far below Lunar Peak, it was hard to tell the time. In fact, Cassandra’s sundial was the only one in her subterranean kingdom; the throne room was the only room with a high enough ceiling to reach the light of day. Still bored, the darkrai queen swung her staff around, watching as the purple diamond strengthened by the darkness of all the rulers before her made patterns in a hazy purple light. It seemed like just another day.
All of a sudden, one of Cassandra’s guards rushed in and glided up to her. He panted a little bit before speaking in an urgent voice. “Y-your Majesty, a group of twenty or more cresselia was spotted about a mile in from the entrance to the cave, but seeing as only us darkrai know how to navigate the maze of our homeland, they are most certainly lost.”
“Well then, Cassandra replied, “You know what to do. Send out a troop of warriors to take them down or just shoo them away. Twenty cresselia is nothing compared to our army of a thousand strong darkrai, how mad are they?” Cassandra knew that there was something her guard wasn’t telling her, and this was a subtle way of asking him to tell her. Questioningly, the queen stared her faithful guard down until he began to speak again.
“W-well your majesty, this group is quite a bit different from your average cresselia war party.” He gulped and stopped speaking, as if waiting for Cassandra to respond.
“So then, what makes them different? Go on please, I don’t have all day.” Well, actually I do have all day. I need something to keep me occupied while I am just sitting around. Cassandra thought after her reply. But she dare not speak her thoughts; the queen didn’t want her guard to see her as impatient.
“Um, you see, this group of cresselia isn’t only warriors. Actually, I don’t think more than just the leaders are warriors. There are elders and children traveling too. It is very odd, uh, so now what are your orders.” Cassandra was amused at how nervous this darkrai seemed. He was stuttering occasionally and shaking a little as he spoke. The darkrai queen chuckled a little bit before giving a new order.
“All right then. Send out a small group of about four archers and a team leader to contact these queer cresselia and bring them to me. I wish to deal with them myself. You are dismissed.” Nodding, the guard hovered out and set to his duties. This had turned out not to be a normal day after all. In anticipation for the upcoming conversation between her and the cresselia convoy, Cassandra straightened up in her fanciful throne and began going over the possibilities for the groups’ arrival. Oh how exciting this hour had become after all.
* * *
A darkrai called Burson sped down the pathways of the Dark Labyrinth with four of the best darkrai archers following him. It had only been minutes since he had been alerted of his duties and been sent out to find the cresselia and bring them in for interrogation. Hastily, Burson picked up the pace and didn’t bother to look back when the four others followed suit. A faint pink light was shining from behind the next curve, and knowing it was the cresselia, Burson was more eager then ever to do his job.
Then, he saw them. The young cresselia were gathered in the center with the sick and old, while strong, adult cresselia warily looked out from the sides. Some of the members of the group were holding out their strong hands and making little pink lights with their powers. Because the darkrai troop was in a still a little bit out of the view, the combined light of the cresselia’s pink sparkles and the luminous crystals on which the darkrai depended for their meager supply of light weren’t even enough to give them away. The cresselia were completely unprepared.
Burson waited just a second and then raised his hand to give the signal. Instantly, the four archers following him surrounded the cresselia, forcing the whole convoy to stop, and held their bows ready. Burson himself floated up in front of the group and spoke in a deep, powerful voice. “Cresselia of Lunar Peak, you are trespassing on our territory. However, since your group is… most unusual… the queen had wished you all to be brought to the Subterranean Palace immediately. Come quickly.”
The cresselia hesitated to move ahead and one of them, a large male, floated up gracefully in front of Burson. “Thank you. We came wishing an audience with the queen. We will come willingly.”
Satisfied, Burson nodded and led the group back down the path he had came, but much more slowly than before. It seemed to him like they were never going to get back to the main city.
* * *
Cassandra was getting impatient, as always. It had been nearly an hour since she had last seen her guard, where could this party of cresselia be? Frustrated, Cassandra tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair and stared angrily at the doorway to the throne room.
To Cassandra, it seemed like another hour had passed when only moments later the great doors swung open and the warrior Burson came in, followed by a small mass of cresselia and his four helpers, who still had their arrows aimed at their escort. “Queen Cassandra, I present you the cresselia intruders.” Burson bowed and moved aside, allowing the lead cresselia to glide up and lower his own head before speaking.
“I am truly honored to be in your presence, your majesty, but my story is long, so hear my out.” When Cassandra didn’t respond, the cresselia assumed that he should continue speaking and went on with his lecture.
“There has been, err, trouble on Lunar Peak. Our once wise and benevolent king has died, and was replaced by a cruel tyrant. We are but one of many groups of cresselia that have left Lunar Peak and set out for other territories. Your people, the darkrai, may be our enemies, but after a long and complicated deciding process, my friends here and I have consented to come and ask if we may join the darkrai of the Dark Labyrinth and live below our once peaceful home.”
Cassandra was stunned. Cresselia wanting to be part of the darkrai kingdom? Could this be a trap? No, they would not bring the very old and very young along if it were so. But was it wise to let them into the kingdom. Without further hesitation, Cassandra formulated her response. “Dear cresselia, while I am still baffled that you wish to join us, I find your offer flattering and would gladly accept you. However, this choice may not be the best and I plan to go over it with my council of elders. Burson? Keep them here while I go and speak with the council.”
With that, Cassandra got up from her throne and zoomed down to the doorway and out into the crystal-lit courtyard and around through a series of passageways until she reached the room she was looking for. Nervous despite her title, Cassandra opened the door and flew in.
The old, wise darkrai of the kingdom always hung around in this room, seated around a long table and willing to give advice if need be. Cassandra held her head high as an old female raised her head to speak. “Welcome young queen. It is only on very rare occasions that the royal family consults us. What are you seeking help on at this time?”
Cassandra was quick to respond. “A group of twenty or so cresselia was brought into the palace today. They say that turbulence has struck Lunar Peak and they were forced to move away. These cresselia claim that they wish to join us peacefully. I seek your advice on the matter.”
Astonishment spread throughout the room as the elder darkrai began to talk in hushed voices among themselves. Mere seconds passed before the loud voice of a cranky man sounded. “Why should we let them in?! The cresselia have been our enemies for eons!” A couple murmurs of agreement sounded, but not too many.
Then, the youngest of the old spoke up. “Maybe we should take them. Even if this is a trick, twenty cresselia couldn’t last more than a second against a civilization of darkrai.” This time, just as many voices of approval could be heard, but all drowned out when they heard a chair move as one of the elders stood up.
It was the oldest darkrai alive, a wise female that had outlived uncountable others and seen so many things that her wisdom was nearly unquestioned. The darkrai’s name was Marina, and she spoke in a voice so cracked with age it was sometimes difficult to make out what she was saying. “The winds of change are blowing it seems. Even in the deep of our caverns they can be felt by those who know how. At the heights of Lunar Peak, these winds blow strong, and perhaps they have changed the ways of these cresselia. When one kingdom changes, the others must as well. Us darkrai will welcome the cresselia here with open arms.”
Cassandra nodded, and looked around to see that the other elders seemed to be silently agreeing. “It is settled then. We will let the cresselia join.”
To be continued.
Intro: In this world, no humans exist. Pokemon here have not even heard of humans, they simply live as pokemon. However, they are not all intelligent like in the mystery dungeon series; only the legendaries are. Also, there are many of each legendary and they live in kingdoms on one great landmass called Monlitho. This story is from the point of view of various members of the darkrai kingdom found in a maze-like cave filled with glowing crystals called the Dark Labyrinth.
Enjoy.
-Chapter I-
A small ray of sunlight trickled down from a miniscule hole in the ceiling and shone its light on the sundial below, telling queen Cassandra that it was a few hours after noon. Annoyed, she rolled her eyes. I have been sitting here on my throne for what, seven hours? Why does being Queen have to be so boring. Cassandra rolled her eyes and stared at the sundial again. Deep in the Dark Labyrinth, far below Lunar Peak, it was hard to tell the time. In fact, Cassandra’s sundial was the only one in her subterranean kingdom; the throne room was the only room with a high enough ceiling to reach the light of day. Still bored, the darkrai queen swung her staff around, watching as the purple diamond strengthened by the darkness of all the rulers before her made patterns in a hazy purple light. It seemed like just another day.
All of a sudden, one of Cassandra’s guards rushed in and glided up to her. He panted a little bit before speaking in an urgent voice. “Y-your Majesty, a group of twenty or more cresselia was spotted about a mile in from the entrance to the cave, but seeing as only us darkrai know how to navigate the maze of our homeland, they are most certainly lost.”
“Well then, Cassandra replied, “You know what to do. Send out a troop of warriors to take them down or just shoo them away. Twenty cresselia is nothing compared to our army of a thousand strong darkrai, how mad are they?” Cassandra knew that there was something her guard wasn’t telling her, and this was a subtle way of asking him to tell her. Questioningly, the queen stared her faithful guard down until he began to speak again.
“W-well your majesty, this group is quite a bit different from your average cresselia war party.” He gulped and stopped speaking, as if waiting for Cassandra to respond.
“So then, what makes them different? Go on please, I don’t have all day.” Well, actually I do have all day. I need something to keep me occupied while I am just sitting around. Cassandra thought after her reply. But she dare not speak her thoughts; the queen didn’t want her guard to see her as impatient.
“Um, you see, this group of cresselia isn’t only warriors. Actually, I don’t think more than just the leaders are warriors. There are elders and children traveling too. It is very odd, uh, so now what are your orders.” Cassandra was amused at how nervous this darkrai seemed. He was stuttering occasionally and shaking a little as he spoke. The darkrai queen chuckled a little bit before giving a new order.
“All right then. Send out a small group of about four archers and a team leader to contact these queer cresselia and bring them to me. I wish to deal with them myself. You are dismissed.” Nodding, the guard hovered out and set to his duties. This had turned out not to be a normal day after all. In anticipation for the upcoming conversation between her and the cresselia convoy, Cassandra straightened up in her fanciful throne and began going over the possibilities for the groups’ arrival. Oh how exciting this hour had become after all.
* * *
A darkrai called Burson sped down the pathways of the Dark Labyrinth with four of the best darkrai archers following him. It had only been minutes since he had been alerted of his duties and been sent out to find the cresselia and bring them in for interrogation. Hastily, Burson picked up the pace and didn’t bother to look back when the four others followed suit. A faint pink light was shining from behind the next curve, and knowing it was the cresselia, Burson was more eager then ever to do his job.
Then, he saw them. The young cresselia were gathered in the center with the sick and old, while strong, adult cresselia warily looked out from the sides. Some of the members of the group were holding out their strong hands and making little pink lights with their powers. Because the darkrai troop was in a still a little bit out of the view, the combined light of the cresselia’s pink sparkles and the luminous crystals on which the darkrai depended for their meager supply of light weren’t even enough to give them away. The cresselia were completely unprepared.
Burson waited just a second and then raised his hand to give the signal. Instantly, the four archers following him surrounded the cresselia, forcing the whole convoy to stop, and held their bows ready. Burson himself floated up in front of the group and spoke in a deep, powerful voice. “Cresselia of Lunar Peak, you are trespassing on our territory. However, since your group is… most unusual… the queen had wished you all to be brought to the Subterranean Palace immediately. Come quickly.”
The cresselia hesitated to move ahead and one of them, a large male, floated up gracefully in front of Burson. “Thank you. We came wishing an audience with the queen. We will come willingly.”
Satisfied, Burson nodded and led the group back down the path he had came, but much more slowly than before. It seemed to him like they were never going to get back to the main city.
* * *
Cassandra was getting impatient, as always. It had been nearly an hour since she had last seen her guard, where could this party of cresselia be? Frustrated, Cassandra tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair and stared angrily at the doorway to the throne room.
To Cassandra, it seemed like another hour had passed when only moments later the great doors swung open and the warrior Burson came in, followed by a small mass of cresselia and his four helpers, who still had their arrows aimed at their escort. “Queen Cassandra, I present you the cresselia intruders.” Burson bowed and moved aside, allowing the lead cresselia to glide up and lower his own head before speaking.
“I am truly honored to be in your presence, your majesty, but my story is long, so hear my out.” When Cassandra didn’t respond, the cresselia assumed that he should continue speaking and went on with his lecture.
“There has been, err, trouble on Lunar Peak. Our once wise and benevolent king has died, and was replaced by a cruel tyrant. We are but one of many groups of cresselia that have left Lunar Peak and set out for other territories. Your people, the darkrai, may be our enemies, but after a long and complicated deciding process, my friends here and I have consented to come and ask if we may join the darkrai of the Dark Labyrinth and live below our once peaceful home.”
Cassandra was stunned. Cresselia wanting to be part of the darkrai kingdom? Could this be a trap? No, they would not bring the very old and very young along if it were so. But was it wise to let them into the kingdom. Without further hesitation, Cassandra formulated her response. “Dear cresselia, while I am still baffled that you wish to join us, I find your offer flattering and would gladly accept you. However, this choice may not be the best and I plan to go over it with my council of elders. Burson? Keep them here while I go and speak with the council.”
With that, Cassandra got up from her throne and zoomed down to the doorway and out into the crystal-lit courtyard and around through a series of passageways until she reached the room she was looking for. Nervous despite her title, Cassandra opened the door and flew in.
The old, wise darkrai of the kingdom always hung around in this room, seated around a long table and willing to give advice if need be. Cassandra held her head high as an old female raised her head to speak. “Welcome young queen. It is only on very rare occasions that the royal family consults us. What are you seeking help on at this time?”
Cassandra was quick to respond. “A group of twenty or so cresselia was brought into the palace today. They say that turbulence has struck Lunar Peak and they were forced to move away. These cresselia claim that they wish to join us peacefully. I seek your advice on the matter.”
Astonishment spread throughout the room as the elder darkrai began to talk in hushed voices among themselves. Mere seconds passed before the loud voice of a cranky man sounded. “Why should we let them in?! The cresselia have been our enemies for eons!” A couple murmurs of agreement sounded, but not too many.
Then, the youngest of the old spoke up. “Maybe we should take them. Even if this is a trick, twenty cresselia couldn’t last more than a second against a civilization of darkrai.” This time, just as many voices of approval could be heard, but all drowned out when they heard a chair move as one of the elders stood up.
It was the oldest darkrai alive, a wise female that had outlived uncountable others and seen so many things that her wisdom was nearly unquestioned. The darkrai’s name was Marina, and she spoke in a voice so cracked with age it was sometimes difficult to make out what she was saying. “The winds of change are blowing it seems. Even in the deep of our caverns they can be felt by those who know how. At the heights of Lunar Peak, these winds blow strong, and perhaps they have changed the ways of these cresselia. When one kingdom changes, the others must as well. Us darkrai will welcome the cresselia here with open arms.”
Cassandra nodded, and looked around to see that the other elders seemed to be silently agreeing. “It is settled then. We will let the cresselia join.”
To be continued.