ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This is for my Parents who pushed me when everyone else gave up, and for fueling my emanation and also for my Brother for being there when I needed him. I would also like to thank M and the rest of the cast of Blue Star for staying with me for the past 16+ years of my life.

This is the first 30 Chapters of Book 1, this volume extends to Chapter 61. If you are interested in the rest of the story, it is on sale at both Amazon, and Createspace. In both paperback and digital formats.

The story you are about to read is a legend and as all legends or great tales worth telling, this one has pain, happiness, sacrifice, hatred, death, and of course love. But this story does not truly begin when our hero was born, it began long, long ago, on the planet of Éarth. Now Éarth is almost the mirror image of Earth, but much more advanced in its technologies. At least it was until the meteor hit. Thousands of years before the events of this tale during the first Great War between the realms, a meteor was on a collision course to impact with the planet surface. Now before the meteor hit the planet, Éarth was just like Earth, no one helped one another. There was so much crime in the streets that people would get killed every day just going to the market to get food for their families. But, when the meteor impacted on the planet's surface, it brought with it the Star Crystals. The Star Crystals changed the way the people dealt with one another and is one of the main reasons that the Great War ended. It was the discovery of the crystals by the first Hèro Eruvil, which brought the crystals into the lives of all the people of Éarth.  There are eleven different varieties of Star Crystals which were discovered within the meteor and each one brought its wearer a new found power.

The Blue Crystals brought to its wearer the power to control all the water around them, even the water which is not visible to the nicked eye.

The Red Crystals brought to their wearer the power to make fire come out of thin air, as well as control the fire that is already around them.

The Green Crystals are very special, they possess the power to control the vegetation around their wearer or the rocks and dirt around them, each one is different.

The Orange Crystals were found to be the offspring of the Red ones, these crystals contain the power to control the sun's heat and how much light it projects onto any point on the planet. It also allows the wearer to see light differently than other humans. This being fairly useless, the Sun Fighters, the people who now wear the Orange Crystal’s are called by others, use the abilities not very often. This has caused people to believe that Sun Fighting and its power are fake.

The Yellow Crystals brought with them the powers to control lightning. The wearer can make it appear on a clear and sunny day. During a lightning storm, those individuals who possess this crystal are the people you don’t want to be anywhere near. The slightest touch could send lighting down through the person they come in contact with. But for some strange reason, the wearers of Yellow Crystals call themselves Thunder Fighters. They themselves aren’t even sure why.

Now the Purple Crystals do not do anything magical like the others, but it gives its wearer a higher Brian capacity.  The Normal Fighters use this to help them learn all the different forms of martial arts, and other types of fighting, they also are considered to be the smartest people on the planet.

The Silver Crystals let humans that have it in their possession to move the air around them. This can come in handy when the air is polluted, or the wearer needs to go under water, allowing them to make a helmet of breathable air. The masters can even move the air so fast that it appears that they are flying.

Now the Pink Crystals for some reason are only attracted to the females of Éarth. It allows them to have moral self-control and to think ahead. This Crystal changes color after the woman turns sixteen and its color depends on where the girl was born. They are the only Crystals which have the ability to choose which color they want to be and which power they want to control.

Now the Black and White Crystals are very different from the other Crystals listed before. The Black and White Star Crystals were made by the people of Éarth they were not brought by the meteor.  These crystals were made out of rage, love, fear, hatred, hope, the longing for freedom, and other human emotions. The Black Crystals represent evil and the need to control while the White Crystals represent good and the need to help. These Crystal are what the other eight Crystals eventually become because of their wearers' emotions.

 Now people aren’t born with these crystals on. After the people started wearing them, they would place them around the necks of their children on a necklace when they are born. They’ll glow if the infant is alive, and they will glow the color of the region of the child’s birth.

The eleventh and final crystal is the Master Crystal. This crystal is the Meteor itself and it is the reason why the crystals are on Éarth in the first place. Only one human can use the master crystal's power and the crystal chooses who that person shall be at their birth. The Master Crystal sends a message to the smaller crystal that is first placed around the child’s neck at birth. That person’s Crystal shell have no color and he or she shall be able to use all ten of the powers of the other crystals and he or she shall be known to the people as the Hèro.

*          *          *

The night that the Master Crystal was found there was a battle raging on between the people who now occupy the Eastern Water Realm and the Fire Realm. A Water Pavilion was heading south to attack the Fire’s soldiers and their commander, Eruvil was leading the way through the pouring rain, the crackling thunder, and howling wind. Eruvil was a Caucasian male in his late thirties. He wore the standard uniform of an officer. Navy blue jacket and pants, a black undershirt with brown boots. Five red stars called his shoulders home showing that he was a commander. When this unit's explosives officer Kaynald, found the crash site he called for Eruvil to come over to see it for himself. Eruvil went down into the thirty-foot crater with a rope tied to his waist so that his men could bring him back up if the crater was too deep. Then it happened, Eruvil reached the bottom of the thirty-foot hole in the ground and there it was, the Master Crystal itself. Eruvil, not knowing what this large crystal was, approached it very slowly and as he did, he unbuckled his gun from his its holster and held the weapon in his hands. As he did the crystal began making a noise so as most things do when they are afraid of something. Eruvil shot the alien thing, the bullet ricochets off the crystal and hit Kaynald’s head killing him instantly.

What in the world? Thought Eruvil as he saw that the bullet didn't even scratch this thing which stood before him, Eruvil stretched his right arm out to touch the Crystal, as he did it pulled him within it. The next thing Eruvil knew, he was at a victory party and everyone was wearing a small piece of the crystal around their necks. Eruvil’s men filled him in on how he had single handily won the war for the Continent of Astrica. How he flew out of the hole and started to shoot blazes of fire at the enemy troops. They also told him how he pulled the water from the nearby ocean to wash away their camps.  How he brought lightning down out of the clear night sky and killed thousands of the enemy troops and how the enemy had surrendered in a matter of hours. When Eruvil asked about the Crystals the men said that he had been giving them to everyone and that they were now being worn all-around the world. The crystals were now giving the people of the world the same powers or something similar to the power that Eruvil had shown on that night not but one year ago. Eruvil had become the first Hèro, thirty-eight Hèros later is where our story truly starts. Marshal O'Brien or M for short is the first time the Hèro had been born a male twice in a row, and he didn’t know it but he would be one of the planets last true Hèros.

The date was the first month on the twenty-fifth day of the ninety-eighth year in the age Aang-Ki. The thirty-eighth Hèro Aang-Ki of the Fire Realm at the age of ninety-eight had died of old age. Also at the time, the new Hèro was being born to Paul O'Brien of the Sun Realm and Katherine O'Brien of the Western Water Realm. His parents' second child together and as the crystal that was placed on this new born baby it started to glow blue but then the light went out. His parents began to morn, believing their son had died already. Suddenly it began to rain outside, very soft, almost as if the sky was morning with the parents. As the parents mourned over their child the doctor looked at the wooden bucket full of water where he had placed the blood stained towels, the water was moving towards the bed, but there was no wind. Almost immediately after that baby started to breathe and a strange marking started to appear on his left wrist, it looked like a royal blue S and a dark green D and they were connected and then it faded away.

His Father knew that their son was the new Hèro of Éarth. Both parents knew that Dark Fighters and their masters the Grays would be looking for him. Wanting their child to be safe, and have a normal childhood where people would treat him like a child instead of the world's protector. The couple decided to hide the child with Paul's father in the Eastern Water Realm. With the excuse that Paul was going there to visit his father. There the boy would be safe and the world would believe that the Water Realm’s Hèro had either not been born yet or died at birth. That the Hèro would now be born in the Forest Realm. Weeks later in another part of the world a secret council of the kings and other representatives of the nine of the eleven realms talked about the fate of their planet. The male and female representatives were all seated in a dark room in which the only light that was visible was coming from the hole in the roof. The table that lay in front of them was made of cedar wood with the Fire Realms insignia burned into the middle of it. The council members could not see the person who sat in front of them. They could just see the shape of the other person. The king of the Fire Realm Jason Cinders addressed the other realms representatives.

“This meeting never happened” stated Jason and all the other men and women noted their heads in agreement. Jason continued “and we are here to decide the fate of Éarth” and as he said this Jason stood up and looked at all of the other representatives. They could now see Cinders clothing, he was draped in ruby red and his sword had a golden handle. His blade was so long that it stretched into the darkness as it hugs on his hip. The other members could still not see his face. His face was still covered by the shadow coming from his upturned hooded cloak.

Norman of the Sun Realm who was still seated placed his bare feet on the table. You could see his crystal was glowing orange in the dark. As he did this he announces to the other representatives  “You mean what should be done about the Hèro” said Norman. As he said those words the other people in the room made such a loud gasp that it filled the room where the council was being held.

General James Fong of the Water Realm, who was there representing both the Western and Eastern sections of the Realm said. “The Hèro is in the Water Realm, we now know that the Hèro being born there and died at birth was a hoax, and we know that she was born there because that is the next part of the world that she will be reborn to, ” said James as he looked around at the seven other men and one woman, James was still seated and you could not see him, just his legs which were closest to the table.

Admiral Shamus McCall of the Western Water Realm walked into the room, where the console was being held. As he walked to an opened seat next to James he spoke in his commanding voice, “How do you know the Hèro is a girl?” asked Shamus as he sat down next to James. James looked at Shamus and replied “The Hèro has been a girl the last eleven times Aang-Ki was a fluke” said James as he stood up and all the room fell silent.

Minutes turn to hours and then finally “There were six male Hèros and most of the babies who were born on the day of Aang-Ki’s death in both the western as well as the eastern Water Realm were male” said Shamus his crystal started to glow blue as he stood up. Shamus was an elderly man of advancing years and he stood with the strength of a much younger man. His clothes from his hooded cloak to his boots wear all different shades of blue.

“Then test all the girls and then test the boys, ” said Eruvil of the Forest Realm and he appeared to be old as his early twenties and James and Shamus both look at him and then at each other they both replied “Fine”.

*                       *                           *

Two weeks later in the Water Academy General Sang Toy, General James Fong and Fleet Admiral Shamus O'Brien began to test all the Water Academies girls which had been born on the twenty-fifth day of the first month of ninety-eight year of Aang-ki and all of them, each and every one of them failed the test within the first minute. Days before the test began Paul, Shamus O'Brien’s son had brought his grandson for him to raise. Paul told his father the whole story about the about the SD marking on the child’s wrist and that he wanted him to be kept a secret for as long as he could. The next day Paul departed on the next boat that would take him back to the Sun Realm, alone.

Seven Years went by and the Hèro still could not be located on either one of the Water Realm’s shores. Admiral Fong looked at his commanding officer, Fleet Admiral O'Brien after the last eligible girl of which could be tested had failed and said “I guess you were right after all sir.”

“So which boy should be the first to take the plunge… I mean test?” asked Sang with a laugh as he walked into the over headed viewing. This was so the men could see the children take their test and judge them, Sang had stopped in front of the two men.

“How about your grandson,” said James with a deep and sinister voice and he looked at Shamus. As he spoke Shamus looked at James and with a frightened look in his eyes. Sang just stood there dumbfounded. 

“M?” said Shamus

“Yes, your son’s boy… Marshal isn’t it?” asked James and he looked at Shamus and continued “It is curious why your son and daughter in law would give up their youngest child only a week after he was born.”

“I told you that they wanted me to train him,” said Shamus

“Okay, so that’s settled,” said James as he began to walk out of the room

“But I haven’t started yet, ” said Shamus

“Then train him” answered James

“Every boy of seven years of age now has to be tested Fleet Admiral… sorry, sir, it’s a rule” said Sang as he looked at James

“Fine, let me train him first, ” said Shamus and James saluted his Fleet Admiral and he said “His test will be in one month. We will see if others who are more capable of being Hèro pass and if we still haven’t found him, then we will test your… M” and he turned from Sang and Paul and he started walking out of the room. Then when he got to the door, he started to laugh “M… that’s cute…” and James was gone.

Paul looked down at the floor and he started to walk out of the room when Sang said.

“That James Fong… I remember when the stars on your shoulders meant something. Don’t worry about him Fleet Admiral we might find the Hèro in a month” Said Sang but Paul just said in a low whisper which not even Sang could hear

“I highly doubt it”

That night as Shamus and M were eating their dinner in Shamus’s one room hut, Shamus didn’t even touch his food. Instead, he just looked at his grandson and thought maybe it’s a bad thing that we protected him, I mean after all the Gray’s haven’t been seen in years.

“M” spoke Shamus out loud, M stopped eating and looked at his grandfather.

“Yes?” asked M concerned that he had done something wrong. He was known throughout the island of Oceanea for getting into trouble.

 “You are going to start to learn Water Fighting tomorrow, ” said Paul in a low voice as he looked at the seven-year-old boy.

M cocked his head to the side and asked “Water Fighting like you do?”

“Yeah, like me, ” said Paul in a whisper as he looked at M and he watched the boy as he continued to eat his dinner.

A month went by and M had learned everything that a normal seven-year-old boy would know about the art of fighting who attended the Water Academies. Except M did not go to the Academies, he learned at home by himself sometimes with his grandfather teaching him, but most of the times M understood what the books at the town library were saying, it was almost like he had read them before. M had progressed faster than the other children his age. But then again all Hèroes progressed in their birth style.

On the day before M would be tested M and Shamus had left their hut after they ate their dinner and they went to their backyard. Some people would call it the opened field on the outskirts of the forest at the edge of Oceanea Island. The sun was starting to set and M looked at Shamus and each one had on a blue hooded cloak with different shades of blue for their clothes. While Shamus had shoes on M did not, they were each holding a sword in their right hand.

“Ready?” asked Shamus as he looked at the seven-year-old boy who stood before him holding a sword which was way too big for him. M's skin was Caucasian like most of the Water Realm citizens and stood about 3 feet tall with short brown hair.

“Yeah” replied M as he switched his Sword to his left hand. M’s sword was a silver handled sword with a blade half the size of his body. Shamus twirled his sword and his sword’s hilt was gold with a sapphire in the pommel, his blade was a good arm and a half size and was colored a dark blue, which meant Shamus held a certain power. Only the rich and powerful people got a colored blade in any realm and M knew they weren’t rich because they lived in a one room hut.

Both Shamus and M removed their cloaks and before the cloaks touched the floor the two began to run towards one another and both held out their swords. The two fought till the sun had set completely. When the sun had finally set Shamus had almost killed M nine times and M had not even touched him.

“M, I’m… I’m…” said Shamus as he extended his arm to grab his grandson's arm. Shamus helped M up off the ground. “It is time,” Shamus finally stated as he looked at M. Shamus helped M go back to their hut, M had leaned on his grandfather as they walked slowly towards their modest home.

The next day Shamus took M to the main Water Academy, which was located not far from their hut, it was a good hour or two walk. The Academies were where the men and woman of the realms would train their young to become fighters, and at the academy was where M would face three challenges. Shamus led M to a dark room with a fighting arena as the floor. M stepped into the room and Shamus kneeled down to look M in his eyes.

“M, any time you need us to stop, just tell us, ” said Paul and he stood up and walked out of the room. The door closed shut behind Shamus and M could no longer back out, he would have to face the test.

“Okay, ” said M as he looked at the closed door where his Grandfather had left, though little did he know, but, that would be the last day he is known only as Marshal O'Brien, Grandson of Shamus O'Brian.