The Crimson Prince： Awakening 99 Defense To The Defenseless

Will and Maya stepped through the portal into the courtyard of the Crown Emba.s.sy in Ember. Before the portal closed, Roy jumped through. "Where do you think you're going?" Will asked without turning to see him come through. "I thought I said that Aiden was in charge of the earth forces."

"That's true." Roy said with a smile. "But I'm not from earth, and I'm part of the royal guard. You are still a prince, right?" He raised an eyebrow as he stared Will down.

"I suppose I am." Will sighed in defeat as he activated his crimson and gold aura, shedding the clothes he had worn for vacation, leaving a white t-shirt and blue jeans. Darkness twisted around him like a twister until he held out an outstretched arm. The darkness clung to his skin and crawled up, leaving nothing in its path but what looked like true midnight. It crawled down his body until it formed into a thigh length trench coat. Gold burned into the middle of his back and a small portion over his heart, embellishing the emblem of a burning crown. His dogtags and cross hung low to his chest over his shirt. His hair hung to the small of his back in a ponytail. "Much better." He said as he took to the sky.

"Show off." Maya rolled her eyes as her dark aura with gold waves burst forth as she soared into the sky, following Will.

"Yeah. Showoffs." Roy smirked as he simply took off and followed the two senior wielders.

Will made his way north of Ebonhart as he aimed himself towards the mountainside far off in the distance. It was far enough to just look like a nail sticking out in the green of the forest which surrounded them.

"Where to?" Maya asked as she caught up to Will.

"I have ignored the kingdoms of Crystallia for too long." Will said as he picked up the pace. "For now, we will go see the king of Hawk Ridge, but I intend to meet all of this land by the end of three months."

"What happens after three months?" Roy asked.

"The time limit I gave my father runs out." Will said glumly. Maya looked at Will with empathy. "I gave him five months to decide how to put his kingdom together again. After that, I'm afraid his line will no longer rule in Ebonhart." The weight of such a declaration shone in his eyes as he continued his way to the mountains.

Maya and Roy fell back slightly to give Will some time to think. From below, they could see many of the Ryder's that Leo had commissioned zooming across the land. They could also see farmers using the water affinity crystals to water the fields, while earth affinity crystals helped the fields grow their bounty months earlier than expected. They could tell that much had changed within the land of Crystallia since they had left just a few months ago. "Maybe everything isn't lost within Ebonhart after all." Maya said as she also noticed the Crimson Knights riding their own Ryders, able to patrol much faster than they ever were able to with horses. They had affinity crystals set in rings on their hands, ready to use them when trouble presented itself.

Roy heard many exclamations of excitement and looked below. One man's crystal ran out of the water affinity, yet the power did not subside. Instead of the power coming from the crystal, the man yelled happily at his neighbor as his own body supplied the aura. Others also put away their own crystals, trying out their own auras for the first time. Even the knights raised their hands with crimson flame coming out. He couldn't see very well from so far behind, but he could have sworn that Will was smiling from the front.

"It seems he has come to a decision." Maya said quietly to herself, yet Roy heard her.

"How do you mean?"

"He has decided to trust the people with their own auras, instead of having to rely on him to use the crystals." A tear ran down her cheek before disappearing behind them. She thought of the many years it had been since the king had gifted them the same abilities, only to take them away when his son was stolen from him. "Now he can be considered the king returned, yet he would never take such a mantle. I'm just glad they can now defend themselves."

As the three flew to the mountains, the land below glowed with newfound power. It was as if the land of Crystallia itself was happy with the new gift. Water auras glowed blue as earth glowed green. If Maya looked hard enough, she would even see some dark auras, with even fewer white aura of the healers, yet they were there as well.

It would take the population of Crystallia years to build up their power in order to use their affinities for anything other than small farm work, yet with the crystals, they would be able to advance in their abilities much faster than when Will first discovered his own aura.

If those in the mountains were paying attention, they would see the energies of the world around them racing to their front door. Winds blew, water gushed and the ground trembled as the three friends took their own pace to their destination.

"I think we're going to have a few more recruits in the future." Roy smiled as they flew on behind Will.

"I don't think it's about recruits anymore." Maya admitted. "I think it's about giving people the right to defend themselves, instead of relying on others to do it for them." She watched a small girl sitting under a tree, lighting her finger on fire. Her thoughts went back to those months she had watched Will do much the same thing. Then she saw the girl take a crystal and the flame grew slightly larger, then all of it went back into the crystal. Maya smiled as she thought of the future of Crystallia, where the aura wasn't a wonder any longer.