The Crystaline Keepers Part 1
Throughout all of time, there have been seven beings that have held a secret so powerful, it could destroy or save the world. It has been sealed away to protect all of us from the evil forces that exist in our world. The people live and die along with the rest of us, and the secrets are passed on to the next Keepers. The final keeper shall be revealed when the end has come and the first six keepers have fallen. The seven secrets are different between each Keeper, but one truth that all must beware of, when all seven keepers fall to the darkness, the end is here . In a dark dungeon of an isolated castle on a small rocky island in a frigid sea, two furs are gathered around a crystal ball. One an old witch who tries to see the future, the other a fearsome figure hidden by shadows. "What is it witch, if you're wasting my time, you'll regret it" the fearsome tiger said with a menacing growl. "Patience dark master, I've found the key to our future conquest, it's all in the mind of one man" replied the old witch, and as she spoke, the face of a 25 year old man appeared in the crystal ball. "Good, GUARDS, go and grab this man, he shall tell us what we want to know" and with that, the demon guards vanished, leaving the tiger and witch to stare at the sleeping human who was blissfully unaware of the darkness in store for him.
******"Mmmmmmmmmm", said the 25 year old human as he woke up in the warm furry arms of his arctic fox fiancé. Leo looks down at his body, once again wishing he had gotten transformed too, "ah well" he sighed softly to himself as he carefully got up and headed down to the kitchen and started to fix breakfast for them both. "Hmmm now what shall we have today, I've got it", pulls out some bacon and starts frying it up, the young man turns as he hears a crash behind him and screams as a cloud of darkness appears near the back door. Alo awakens with a start as his fiancé screams and rushes down to the kitchen to see what's wrong. Alo gasps as he sees his fiancé run out of the kitchen only to have his legs grabbed and get dragged back by a black clawed arm. Leo reaches an arm out to Alo and screams as he is dragged backwards. Alo rushes forward and tries to grab his fiancé but is hit in the back on the head by a being of pure darkness and falls to the floor stunned and watches as the black demons disappear with his struggling and screaming fiancé.
*******The arctic fox woke with a yell and looked around the room shaking in horror, once again having nightmares about that horrific day three years ago when the love of his life had disappeared. "Any one awake" he whispers softly as he looks at his other pack mates, hoping he didn't wake anyone up. "phew, at least I didn't wake anyone" he looks at his pack mates, then gets up and goes downstairs and watches the dawn on the porch of their large house. Alo hears someone walk up and stand behind him, he turns around and sees his pack mate spirit walker standing and looking at him shivering. "Spiritwalker, are you ok" says Alo as he walks over and quickly takes Spiritwalker into his arms, trying to warm him up. "Who is he" whispers the shaking wolf. "Hmmmmmm?" asks Alo curiously, "who is who?" "The guy you dream of all the time, the one who get dragged away, the one holding you and kissing you lovingly" replied the young wolf. "How could you know that?" responds the fox as he backs away, wide eyed from the wolf. "I'm not called Spiritwalker for nothing" replied the blushing wolf, "in my sleep I travel into people's dreams and see their inner most feelings."
**********"Well he was the love of my life, he was my fiancé, he was a history teacher, he loved history and the social sciences, I taught a theater program at the same school." "And what happened to him?" asked the young wolf. "He got up one morning to make breakfast in bed and I'm not sure what happened while he was down there, but I heard him scream, I ran down to see him running then being dragged back into the kitchen, I lunged trying to grab him and something hit me from behind, I couldn't move, I just laid there and watch in horror as he disappeared in a dark cloud. I searched and searched for him, I traveled the world searching for a sign of him, but I never saw him again, I finally gave up and wandered around, and that's how Alpha found me. And I've been here ever since."
***********Far off in a distant dungeon, an emaciated body is thrown back into a cell, bruised and bloody. He once again been taken out and beaten to within an inch of his life, and then brutally and viciously raped, and once again he was praying for death as he'd been doing for the past three years. Today had been as hard as any other, the only difference that ever occurred was the order the guards went in while raping him. There was one small kindness however, as of late, one of the guards had been stopping by in the dead of night and holding him close, as he applied a strange ointment to his bruised and ravaged hole, numbing it from the pain so that he could sleep a little. He would be awoken each morning when this wolf left before the others came to get him to start the whole process over again. He would cringe as the wolf would come up and rape him just as viciously as the others but he always went towards the end when he was stretched and could feel very little anymore.
*********But one day, things changed, the guards didn't come in the morning to get him, and they didn't come that night, he waited for the wolf to come and tell him what was going on but he never showed, this continued for the next three days until finally the wolf appeared, grim faced and serious. He didn't even have to ask, cause the wolf could tell from the look in his eyes, "I'm getting you out of here, if I don't do it tonight then you'll never see the light of day again, they're planning to use you as a warning to any who would oppose you, We've all been gone scouting locations for the sign, I've been using it as an excuse to find a place to leave you so you'll be safe.". Speaking for the first time in almost three years, "What's happening?" "They're making their move for control, they want to drop you down into a large gathering, one that's being broadcast to the entire planet, the High Shaman has died and the new one is ascending to his position today, the entire world will be watching, and you are to be an example of what happens to those that aren't on their side" and with that the wolf took Leo into his arms and kissed him lovingly, "I love you Leo, and I'm sorry for not getting you out of here sooner, I know your married and can never be mine, but I wanted you to know that I'm going to try and stop that evil bastard even if it means my death.", and with that he pulled Leo under his cloak and vanished into the darkness of the night.
******** Alo perked up immediately, he couldn't believe what he was smelling, it was a scent he'd given up ever smelling again, the smell that he hadn't smelt in three years. He was off in an instant leaving a very startled Spiritwalker behind on the porch as he rushed off into the woods nearby. Could it be that somehow he had managed to make it here and that they would once again be together, he slowed and advanced a little more cautiously because he now realized that there was an unfamiliar smell in the air.
********The wolf stopped, he could smell the fox getting closer, he walked over to a tree and gently laid the human down after once again giving him a soft kiss, and as he started to go the human looked at him and made a faint whisper, "I don't even know your name." The wolf looked at him one last time and smiled, "its Xavier, my name is Xavier" and with that the wolf took off and disappeared into the darkness. Leo sat there and stared off into the darkness where he had last seen Xavier disappear.
*********After a few minutes he heard someone approaching and began seeing a faint white outline in the distance, then, before he could do anything to defend himself, the white blur pounced him and hold him in a crushing grip, and that's the last thing he remembered before blacking out. When Leo awoke, he was still sitting in the clearing where Xavier had left him; he looked around and noticed that something warm and white was wrapped around him, it seemed extremely familiar, yet distant, as if he had been in this position before in the past. Then the white fur moved and he saw the most amazing and unbelievable face possible, could it be possible that he'd been found by his long lost husband? "Alo?" Leo whispered softly, still not able to believe the face he was seeing, the very face that he had seen in his dreams for the past three years. "Leo" came the soft whisper from the arctic fox, which had wrapped himself around him. Leo leaned down and curled into the fur and shivered violently and blacked out just as a wolf arrived to help carry the weak sickly human back to safety. "Am I imagining things? Isn't this the guy that you dream about every night?" said Spiritwalker as they carefully loaded Leo onto a sled and carried him back to their house. "It is, but what I'm worried about is that I smelled a strange wolf when I got near, and they fled when I got closer." "I'll keep an eye out once we get back to the house".
*********Leo looked around, "this is impossible". He was standing in an ancient courtyard that he had found years ago by complete accident, he'd been on a archeological trip, exploring an ancient some ancient ruins found deep in the highlands of Scotland, he had been chosen because of two facts, First, he was a protégé when it came to ancient history, and secondly, the strange occurrence of a family name. He remembered being told that they wanted him to accompany them, expenses paid so that there would be no annoying forms to fill out and red tape. He remembered a loud groaning as the wall and floor had collapsed and he had fallen down and awoken in the courtyard. Leo remembered the startling events that happened next as his dream unfolded before his eyes and the strange lights and mysterious ceremony that the souls had performed. The more he looked around, the more he felt like he belonged here and that he should join in the ceremony. As he came to that realization, the souls all stopped and the one who appeared to be in charge, wearing a radiant crystal around his neck, stood surrounding Leo with six others, all wearing a unique crystal that seemed to radiate a strange sense of power. Leo realized that he should be shocked that the crowd of souls was a strange mix of humans, animals, and were-animals. The one in charge, wearing what appeared to be the strongest crystal, was a tall strong, intimidating looking Were-lion, spoke to Leo then and Leo was taken aback and couldn't make sense of the words that came out of his mouth. "Welcome home my son, we have missed you so". "what" was all Leo could utter before there was a horrible scream from the back of the crowd and a young tigress fell dead at the claws of a great Were-tiger "well well, what have we here, the lions blood has returned to the castle?", the were-tiger chuckled wickedly.
*********"LEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" screamed a worried voice at which point Leo awoke staring at the face of a strange wolf that he felt he should vaguely remember. The wolf placed a paw on his forehead and checked his temperature, "You gave me a scare, one minute I'm bandaging your injuries and healing as many as I can, the next you're thrashing and screaming". Leo laid there shaking "where am i?". "You're at the packs den, in my examining room, I'm the pack healer and you've kept me quite busy, covered in bruises and infected cuts, bleh, feel bad for you, plus the mental trauma that you've endured, well, I'm trying to dim those memories for you." Said the wolf, "the names Spiritwalker by the way, how you feeling?" "Like I got hit by a truck" said Leo with a groan, "where is he?" "Alo is out searching for a trail on that strange scent we caught right before we found you, we need to find whoever did this to you" growled Spiritwalker, "they shouldn't be allowed to live". "NOOO, it wasn't him, he saved me, he was the one that saved me, they were about to kill me and use me for an example, I don't know who they are but they demanded information about the legend of the keepers", Leo blabbered out quickly. "What the heck is the legend of the keepers?", said Alpha, five minutes later, after Spiritwalker had told him what Leo had said. Leo sighed, he knew this was going to hurt with his aching muscles, but he loved this story so he decided to tell it anyways. "The Keepers are seven people who guard the true source of magic and power. The keep the crystals as part of themselves, that's why they are called the Keepers. There are seven crystals, the first six represent the six elements that make up the universe, they are Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, Light, and Darkness." "And the seventh crystal?" asked Alpha. "I'm getting to it, give me a second. The seventh crystal is called the Matrix crystal, it was said to be the most powerful and its keeper could control all the elements and change the universe at their whim, it was the seventh keepers job to keep the others all in balance and keep the world in peace. Then one day, the keepers were attacked and the legend ends, it's said that the crystals all disappeared as the keepers died, their last act to save everything." "What else do the legends say?" asked both of the wolves, eager to hear more. "Not much, but it mentioned a courtyard and the palace of the ages, a splendind castle where the keepers lived in peace and harmony, until the day that they were attacked and wiped out, then the last thing is the prophecy. It states that the six must fall before the seventh shall be revealed, and if the seventh falls, all is lost. I'm sorry I can't tell you more, there isn't anymore that those of us who study this stuff have been able to find, I could tell you more if we could just find the palace of the ages, that's where the legend lives and can be solved" Leo said with a sigh, "Of course, ive searched for any trace of it, I honestly can't believe that it truly exists" "What would they want with the crystals? Why all the trouble to find them?" asked Alpha. "All I could guess is to gain ultimate power, the crystals control the elements, and the matrix controls all" Leo said as he laid in the small bed and looked down at all of the bandages covering his body. "Has Alo seen me yet?" "No, he was to busy worrying about getting you here and looked at to really see how you look, and luckily the cloak you were in covered all of your injuries. Alpha deemed it better to keep him away, especially after I saw what happened to you, I wanted to get you cleaned up before Alo saw you like that." Replied Spiritwalker as he finished bandaging the last of Leo injuries. "Thank you, I know he'd die if he saw me like this, is there any way one of you has a long sleeve bathrobe that I could wear to hide the bandages?" "Are you not going to tell Alo?" asked Spiritwalker. "No, it's in the past, it'll just upset him needlessly, I don't want to see the pain in his eyes that it would cause him, no, I just want him to be happy, we're back together again, that's what matters." Said Leo in a tone that implied he wouldn't appreciate anyone else telling him. "Hey, it's your business, not ours, but I still think you should tell him" said Spiritwalker. "I will, eventually, but I want the wounds and injuries to cover first, before I tell him, also, I need an excuse to sleep alone, or at least away from him. I love him, and I know I'll have nightmares and wake up screaming, so if you could just keep him from hearing Me." said Leo as he looked down. "Ok, we will, we love him too and don't want to see him hurting like that." said Alpha.
********"Finally" said Alo as his patrols ended and he could head back to the den, "I wonder if he's woken back up yet, I hope he's alright." Alo ran straight back to the den as fast as he could and was outside the door to the medical room when Alpha walked out and stopped him, "He's not in fit shape to be seen, Spirit walker's orders, he doesn't want him to get too excited." "But Alpha, he's my husband, surely I can go in for a little bit" whined Alo softly. "NO Alo, its Spiritwalker's orders, listen, go get some sleep, maybe you can see him in the morning, but for now he'll be staying in Spiritwalker's room and won't be bothered". Alo just bowed his head and walked off to his room, concocting a plan for later that night.
*********Later that night after everyone had fallen asleep, Alo slipped out his room and snuck outside and grinned as there was no one in sight. He creeped up to Spiritwalker's window and gently opened the window slowly, careful not to make any noise and wake up Spiritwalker. He slowly slipped in through the open window and looked around the room. What he saw immediately send a bolt of pain throughout his entire body as he saw Leo snuggled up against Spiritwalker. Alo's eyes filled with tears as he stared and turned and walked out of the room, waking Spiritwalker and Leo as he shut the door and ran crying to his room where he slammed and locked the door. The entire pack woke up and converged in the living room, while Leo followed the directions that the others had given him and knocked on Alo's door "Hun? Can I come in?.........hun?" Leo said softly, feeling really worse as he spoke. Alo threw open the door growling and grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him to the living room, not noticing the tears in Leo's eyes from the pain, nor the blood from the wounds that he had just ripped back open on Leo. Alo stood there in the living room door and glared at everyone gathered there, "Is anyone going to explain why my husband is sleeping snuggled against Spiritwalker? Or do I not deserve to know that my husband apparently has moved on and no longer loves me."
**********Leo looked up at him, his eyes wide in pain as a giant red spot appeared on the shoulder of his full body robe from his reopened wounds. He moved out of Alo's grip and turned to stare at him, "Hun, is that how you feel? Do you think that I could possibly ever stop loving you?" Leo says as he starts to tear up. "That's what it looks like, and I'm not going to stand in your way, I'll get papers and when their done you can just sign and move on with your life". Everyone gasped and tears started running down Leos cheek as he just stared at Alo and then in a shaky voice, "Hun, please, its not what you think, please you don't know what's really going on" "No and I don't care, ive spent three years looking for you and hoping id find you one day and this is how I get repaid, you get back to me only to no longer love me, get out, I won't hold you back anymore".
**********Leo stared at Alo and couldn't help getting pissed that his husband had so little faith in him "Three years searching, god, I would kill to have that except that it might have put you in my position" with that Leo undid his robe and revealed his loose shorts and "naked chest", his chest covered in bandages and scars, the bandages around his right shoulder blood red from the bleeding "so you think you've had it bad, do you hun, I spent three years being raped, beaten and tortured, just because I happen to know a lot about some ancient prophecy, but I guess that's nothing compared to your searching huh, I've spent every moment of it hoping that through some miracle I would be released or could escape or rescued, anything, that way I could come back to the one person who means most to me". Leo turned to look at Alpha, "I'm sorry, it appears that my husband" Leo glances over at Alo then back at alpha, "sorry ex husband no longer wants me, I'm going to go grab some of the clothes Spiritwalker gave me, I would appreciate a ride into town, I'll hop a train from there back to my house in my hometown, I'll give Alo the house that used to belong to us."
**********Leo turned and walked into the room he had been staying in and grabbed the few clothes they had given him and packed then in a spare bag and walked right out and sat in Alphas truck. He looked up as someone approached and looked away as Alo came up to the truck. Leo just grabbed his bag and started walking down the road, completely ignoring Alo staring at him with tears in his eyes.
**********Once in town Leo went straight to the train station and got on the soonest train and speed away back to the town he'd left years ago when he was whisked away by a handsome young DJ named Patrick. As he sat in his seat in his first class car he was completely unaware that he was being watched. He flipped open a laptop he had bought and accessed his email and scanned all of the messages he had missed in the past couple years and all the friends he'd left behind and sighed as he saw all the work he would have to do to make up for all this missed time. One email caught his attention and he opened it, it had to do with the trip he'd taken just six months before he was kidnapped. "What the, this emails only three days old, I've been missing for months." Leo said as he stared at the opening email and gasped as it opened and he beheld the gruesome pictures that had been included. The pictures were of his research partner that had examined the ancient Scottish castle with him. The email simply read; Did you really think you could run from me? Meet me where this all began, the place where you last saw this man, You have 24 hours. I'll be waiting.