Secret of the Crystal - Omnibus Edition Books 1-3 (Time Travel Adventure)

by Larson, Brian K.

  With only a few moments left, Jhovahkan began to rush over to one of the discs to turn it back to blue while his brother caught his foot with the curved end of his blade. He tripped and fell to the ground and Jhahnahkan ran to the last disc, and stepped on it seconds before the clock ran out.

  Qiaoshan rang the gong, which sounded the end of the match. The crowd continued to cheer for Jhahnahkan while they all jumped up and down and screamed for the victory of the younger son of Qiaoshan of the house of Sö’.

  “The challenger has won!” Qiaoshan announced, “The Bant’tuuk is final, Jhahnahkan will have his ship returned to him once he has completed his training. Jhovahkan will relinquish his fleet command to his brother.”

  Jhovahkan picked himself off the ground, took off his helmet and tossed it aside. He peered at his brother, “Father, I will not relinquish my fleet command!”

  “Qiaoshan!” Ghaia said as she stepped up to the platform, “The high priestess of the council will address this assembly.”

  “Very well, Ghaia, my wife and high priestess of the council. You shall have your say,”

  “Brothers of Sö’… face me,” Ghaia commanded.

  The two brothers came together in the center of the arena. They stood at each other’s side, waiting for what their mother would say to them.

  “This is a grave time for Ackturra,” Ghaia began, stretching her left hand in front of her, “Hear me, this is not the time for a change in command over our fleet. The Zelinite threat grows day by day. They approach our planet, closing in and tightening their grip on our survival. Changing fleet command at this juncture will spell imminent defeat. Jhovahkan has led the fight and has kept them at bay. Even though the contest was won by Jhahnahkan of the house of Sö’, he will not take command. However, he will be given his ship, the Telenian. This will restore the honor taken from him unjustly and without council authority.”

  “I am the fleet commander. I will place anyone I please on any of the ships I command,” Jhovahkan argued.

  “Silence,” Ghaia shouted as she interrupted her son. “There will be no discussion in this matter. Jhovahkan will remain fleet commander, and Jhahnahkan will have his ship returned. That is our final decision. It is written, so shall it be done!”

  “I will not let you have her back, Jhahnahkan. You will have to fight me to the death before I give her up to you,” Jhovahkan said, turning to his brother.

  “The high priestess has spoken. You will have no choice in this matter. Return my command at once! Restore your honor,” Jhahnahkan said, maintaining composure.

  “Never!” Jhovahkan sneered, “I will not return your ship. I would rather stay dishonored than to give her back to you.”

  “Then you shall remain dishonored, my son,” Qiaoshan said. “You will be giving up your right to lead this council when the time comes. Your brother will become leader as long as you remain in dishonor.”

  “We shall see about that, my Father!

  “I still beat you… I have become the better Bant’tuuk player,” Jhahnahkan said, jabbing words at his brother’s back.

  “The council will assemble in one hour to begin the ceremony of Ack’raamon, the joining with the power crystal and admission to the high council,” Qiaoshan said. “Jhahnahkan will then be sent up into the Crystal Mountains to seek out his power crystal.”

  Qiaoshan adjourned the arena assembly as he struck the gong in three successions.

  Tamika rushed over to her brother and gave him a big squeeze, “I knew you could do it. I knew you would beat him at Bant’tuuk.”

  “Thank you, my sister. However, I still have not won the respect of my brother. He still chooses to dishonor me rather than return the Telenian back to my command.”

  They turned and began to walk with arms locked, out of the Bant’tuuk arena.

  * * *

  Ack’raamon

  Jhahnahkan, outfitted in full military dress, stood at the council chamber entrance. He stood proud with his hands on his hips, his legs slightly spaced, and his head held high. His cloak flowed down from around his shoulders all the way to the ground.

  The council chamber that he stood at before was not a room in the normal sense but an open-air circular platform.

  On the four sides of the platform, there were fifteen-foot-tall stone pillars forming entryways. On the top of each pillar were stone archways laced with gold and silver. These archways all joined the pillars around the chamber that rested on the platform. Each archway was decorated with rich green-colored ivy.

  Inside the chamber, each member had their place. Qiaoshan stood at the head, Ghaia on the left, and his oldest son, Jhovahkan, on his right. Tamika stood next to her mother, Luanren.

  In addition to Jhahnahkan’s family, the remaining council members were also present at the chamber.

  His father, Qiaoshan, was standing at the center, facing him. He was outfitted in his full council dress and wore a white cloak that surrounded his red military garments.

  Upon his head, he wore the high council golden crown laced with every colored power crystal, which were illuminated by a shimmering glow of power all around the room.

  Each council member stood forming a circle around the platform, leaving one open spot for Jhahnahkan to join. He continued to stand at the entrance, taking in the moment. The moment he waited all his life for, Ack’raamon, an Ackturrian ritual for when a council member sought their power crystal.

  He listened to the crisp, cold water flow down a waterfall in the distance. The river, being fed by the waterfall, surrounded the council chamber and bubbled as it flowed. Minstrel plants that grew wild in the area joined the ensemble. Their song of shimmering harmonics gave a sense of harmony and peacefulness to those that would stop and listen.

  Qiaoshan held his clear power crystal in the palm of both hands and stretched them in front of him. Each council member, also holding their crystals, aimed them at Qiaoshan’s crystal. Their eyes were all closed as they began to concentrate their focus on each of their own power crystals.

  “My son,” Qiaoshan began, “you have proven yourself worthy. You sacrificed the last twenty years to take this journey and have returned to honor me and this council today.”

  Jhovahkan opened his eyes slightly and looked over at his brother. Making eye contact, he gave him an approving nod, and then peered over at his father.

  Jhahnahkan smiled slightly and acknowledged his brother with a returning nod. Tamika smiled proudly at her brothers, content that it seemed they had put aside their differences for the moment.

  Qiaoshan continued, “The critical intelligence and relationships you formed on your quest will help to forge ahead a new era in securing our victory over our enemy.” Pausing for a moment, he continued. “My son, your seat on this council has been confirmed by a majority vote. Now you must enter the caverns to seek out your power crystal. You will know when you have found it, or more like, you will know when it finds you. We will send you there with our power crystals as we focus on the sacred location. The exact spot will be determined by the location of your crystal that is seeking you. Once there, you must search the cavern and follow your instincts. You shall not return to the council until you have secured your power crystal.”

  Qiaoshan raised his arms over his head and muttered the words “Naeg’ Mos Magniglieo.”

  The other council member’s crystals began to glow, each with their own color. Each of thier crystals began to shine a beam of power at Qiaoshan’s crystal, and then from his crystal, a powerful white light began to emit in front of Qiaoshan.

  The sound of rushing wind accompanied a vortex that started to open in the center of the chamber, and the glowing phenomenon opened to form an image of the Crystal Caverns.

  “Jhahnahkan,” Qiaoshan commanded, “step forward. Enter the vortex. You will be transported to the Crystal Caverns. Search for your crystal. They will make you powerful, very powerful! Go now!”

  With his father’s words ringing in his ears and wit
h an unquenchable desire to enter the cavern, Jhahnahkan stepped up onto the council platform and walked, seemingly like slow motion, toward the vortex. He stepped into the spinning force, and the world around him began to fade. Then the image of the caverns illuminated and became his reality.

  After stepping through, he felt as if he passed a great distance but did not move. Jhahnahkan exited the powerful force, and it immediately vanished.

  He was left by himself in a large cavern that was illuminated by the crystals that glowed with shimmering light.

  Jhahnahkan heard what seemed to be faint voices echoing in his mind. As he concentrated on what the voices were saying to him, he began to make his way over rocks and stones of the cold and damp cave. Broken shards of crystals were all around the ground, but they did not yield any glow of power.

  With each step he took, the remains of crystal fragments crushed beneath his feet, making a crunching sound that echoed in the large cavern.

  He thought to himself, I must be fairly close since my father had said I would be transported near my power crystal.

  Stopping for a moment, he thought he heard the sound of another person walking.

  He called out, “Hello? Is there anyone there?”

  Waiting, expecting an answer, he began to hear one voice in his mind stand out from the others.

  He continued to move closer to the source of the voice and thought, If you are my power crystal, guide me to you.

  Danger, he heard in his mind, just barely able to make out the word. Danger, it said again in a whispered voice. Danger... Beware…

  Jhahnahkan stopped once more and pressed his first first two fingers of each hand on the sides of his temples, fixing on the voice.

  He thought, What danger is there? What are you trying to tell me?

  In his mind, he could start to see an image of a blue crystal bed just ahead of him. He continued to center on this image in an attempt to understand this strange message.

  You must be wary, Jhahnahkan, he heard once again in his mind.

  He worked his way up on top of a slight ledge in front of him. From there, he could see a blue glow that emanated from just over the next rise about ten yards ahead.

  Yes, you see me now. Come closer. Feel my power, Jhahnahkan. I am your power crystal, the voice spoke softly, and drawing out every word as it was projected to Jhahnahkan’s mind.

  He made his way quickly to the next rise, climbing over large stones covered in green and blue moss, nearly slipping and falling to the ground.

  He stopped himself short with his hands and knees and continued to crawl over the ledge. As he came near to the top, he heard the crunching footsteps once more and stopped to listen. He pulled himself up to the top of the rise and carefully stood and looked around.

  In the distance, he saw what appeared to be a very old woman standing in the shadows, watching him.

  He could not make her out clearly in the darkness of the cavern, but she was wearing old tattered clothes and holding a crooked wooden cane.

  Distracted by the old woman’s presence, he turned from the power crystal that had been calling to him and called out to her, “You there! Who are you?”

  Jhahnahkan started to make his way toward the old woman and called out again, “How did you get here?”

  The old woman slowly raised her cane and pointed it at Jhahnahkan. The woman muttered something that he could not understand because he was just out of earshot. He concentrated and tried to communicate with the woman with his mind, but she lowered her cane, turned, and slowly moved out into the darkness of the cavern.

  “Wait,” Jhahnahkan shouted as he tried to reach her before she disappeared.

  The woman stopped and turned once more and looked deep into his eyes. Jhahnahkan froze in his tracks, startled by the woman’s actions.

  The old woman spoke to him with her mind, Find the sacred chest deep in the cavern. You must learn the secret within the scroll. Do not claim your power crystal.

  Tell me who you are, Jhahnahkan projected with his mind.

  You must find the secret scroll. Do not take your crystal or you shall die, the old woman replied.

  Jhahnahkan continued to make his way through the rough terrain of the cavern, but the old woman vanished with a flash of blinding light.

  Forgetting about his power crystal, he began searching where the old woman stood.

  He fought the power of the crystal’s voice in his mind, which beckoned him to return and claim his possession. He reached the spot where the old woman had been standing. Jhahnahkan looked down and saw an arrow on the ground that appeared to have been drawn by the old woman’s cane.

  He thought for a few moments, wondering who she was and how she got there and, even more strangely, how she left.

  The blue power crystal began to speak to him again, No, don’t listen. Danger awaits you if you follow that path. You must take your crystal. Come back.

  Jhahnahkan fought and resisted the powerful and unnatural draw of going back, No, I must find out what she was telling me. I must seek the ancient scroll she told me to find.

  He started down the path that was pointed by the arrow on the ground. The farther away he traveled from his chosen power crystal, the weaker it pulled him and the less he heard the voice drawing him to claim it.

  He continued to venture into the dark recesses of the cavern. Unable to see, he felt that he was going in the right direction. The path almost lit up beneath his feet as he walked.

  Jhahnahkan eventually came to a small fissure in the wall. The crack was not quite big enough for him to pass through. He raised his hands and put them on either side of the crack and began to think about moving the opening wider. The ground beneath him started to quake, and the sound of rocks rumbled. He stared at the fissure in the wall as it began to enlarge. He almost could not believe his own eyes. How could I possess this kind of power, he thought.

  He lowered his hands, and the opening stopped moving, and he saw that it was just wide enough for him to pass through. Turning sideways, he started to make his way between the rocks squeezing himself through the opening.

  Jhahnahkan came to a stop about halfway to the other side when the crack before him closed with a sudden rumble.

  He looked back and saw that the crack behind him was also closing down. Nearly in a panic of not wanting to be crushed, he cried out. All at once the ground beneath his feet gave way, causing him to fall through a hole.

  He slid on his back, feet first, screaming as he continued down. The rocks soon turned smooth beneath him, giving way to a round, man-made tube. He raised his head slightly to see where he was headed and saw the bottom of the slide. A door opened, and he was quickly deposited into a small round room. The door closed as he went through, sealing him inside the small room.

  Jhahnahkan got up from the floor and stood as high as he could, slightly hunched over to fit inside the room. The small room had smooth walls and was illuminated by four large clear glowing crystals mounted on poles that were placed around the room. As if by instinct, Jhahnahkan kneeled by the center of the floor and wiped the dust with his hand, exposing what appeared to be a square before him. He pressed his hands on each side of the square, and the floor began to light up and glow. He removed his hands with a start, and the glow stopped. He thought for a moment, wondering what he had found, and resolved in his mind that he must be close to finding the secret scroll the old woman had told him about.

  He pressed once again on the square that was before him on the floor. Jhahnahkan felt the warmth of the glow on his hands as the square began to lower a few inches and separated in two halves and slowly slid apart. Taking his hands away from the sliding recess revealed a box that was now rising to the level of the floor and made a grinding sound, as if two cinder blocks were rubbing together. Once the box rose to the top of the floor, it stopped, and the glow once again died out.

  Jhahnahkan examined the box and, with his hands, felt around all the sides and edges, looking for a way t
o open the chest, but nothing was revealed. Remembering the words of the old woman, he focused on the chest with his mind. Seeing the image of the old woman in his thoughts, he began to try and ask her a question. “I am here,” He thought to himself. “How do I open the chest?”

  He started to see a vision in his mind and pictured the chest open. He could see himself looking into the box and seeing the contents. While he was focusing on the images in his mind, he laid his hands on the two front corners of the box. Pressing in toward the middle, the two corners gave a snap and depressed with a whoosh of air being released, revealing a portion of the front that could be slid to the left.

  Jhahnahkan proceeded to slide the front panel, and when it came to a stop, he heard another click and reveled yet another slide on the front of the chest that could now be slid to the right, which he did. After finding three more slides on the front panel, the lid of the chest unlocked and burst open slightly.

  Jhahnahkan lifted the lid of the chest open and let it rest back on its hinges. A dim light was emanating from the chest, and as he peered inside, he beheld a cloth that had something wrapped up inside.

  He reached inside the box and lifted the artifact from its ancient resting place and closed the lid on the chest. Setting the object on the top of the chest, he began to open the cloth. The material was made of the finest pure silk and was glistening white with silver and gold lace sewn all around the edges, making the fabric appear that it was made very carefully and meticulously. With each of the four corners of the cloth being lifted out from the center, the object that was inside was revealed as a long carved wooden scroll.

  Jhahnahkan carefully unrolled the parchment and read what was inside.

  I write this scroll in hopes that one day the truth will be told about the secret of the focus crystals and a way to correct the wrong that has been done will be discovered. This document, hidden from the rest, is intended to protect the truth. It is my hope that only the chosen one that possesses the ability to repair the damage will find these writings.