• Crystal Wargames
    Chapter 1: The Result

    The various names of the Sevgori Gods and Goddesses are…

    Kyle Juleis had looked at websites for months now, and not once had he been this close. He slams his laptop down in frustration and watches it fall to the floor. So close and it was all a hoax. “This blows” he yells, a little too loud.
    Interrupting his hissy-fit was a sudden knock on the door. He jumps up, his mood gone from furious to excitement. “I’m coming Erika”! Erika Bowman was a friend of his and she only lived down the block. Kyle has to admit, that anyone else would think, she is pretty, with her big blue eyes and long flowing hair that she had just dyed pink not too long ago. It made her look more girlish, more…cuter, but he always thought of her as a sister and nothing more.
    He opens the door and Erika was beaming, a huge grin on her face. Of course he offered her in. “So Kyle you’ll never guess what I found today!” she said her voice filled with enthusiasm. Kyle peeked around his blonde bangs that dangled around his eyes. “What”? They both took a seat on his old fashioned, crossed stitched, white couch.
    “Well I was doing some research and I came across some information. You know, about the weird dreams you’ve been having? Anyways I found some names…well name that you might be interested in”.
    Kyle moved his bangs away with a quick flick, and looked at Erika in disbelief. This girl had been his best friend for more than eight years, and he still couldn’t believe the stuff she’s capable of.
    “Hello, earth to Kyle? Beep…oh we lost him Johnny”.
    Erika’s taunting awakened Kyle’s wandering mind. He wasn’t even sure how long he had been off, lost in his own thoughts. “I’m sorry Erika…you were saying”? Erika smiled her goofy grin. “I sent a search party for you and your brain. Do you want me to call them back”?
    “No, you might as well keep them there. I’m betting this name you found is just going to make my head explode, and my brain will be missing in the pile of mush.” Kyle laughed. Erika joined in for a moment then dug through her purse. “Here” she said handing him a piece of paper, “I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget”.
    Kyle took the paper faster than what seemed necessary. Erika didn’t seem to mind so he assumed it was alright. Besides, his curiosity was out of control just looking at her neat writing on the little piece of paper.

    Arisa Steeple, Goddess of Provocative.

    Kyle stared at the familiar name written. He didn’t know how it looked so familiar, it just did. He moved his gaze from the paper to meet Erika’s confused eyes. They looked at each other for a while, no words were spoken. Then Kyle jumped up and grabbed his laptop just as Erika did to find a notebook.
    It was a good thing that he saved the site to his favorites because it would have taken him forever to find it again. Erika came and sat beside him with a notebook in hand just as he got the site up.
    “I found this site earlier” he said to Erika. Erika nodded and wrote it down in her notebook. Kyle turned his attention back to the web and, in the search box, typed Arisa Steeple to see what would happen. The information surprised him.
    The page that had had no words in it now, suddenly, had Arisa Steeple’s information and historical events. Kyle was shocked and a bit terrified just looking at it.
    “Kyle…what is it?” Erika’s voice came up filled with concern this time. Kyle didn’t answer. How could he?
    “Kyle”?
    He finally found words that were stuck before. “Erika…this…stuff…this information…it wasn’t here earlier. I swear it wasn’t, this was just a sentence the last time I looked at it. Where did you find this name”?
    At hearing this Erika was a bit confused, but at the same time she was curious. “Well, I actually didn’t find it. See I was checking my mail yesterday when suddenly an email popped up asking if this was Erika Bowman. I was a little freaked but I said that it was. Then, a new name showed up randomly on my buddy list. Um, I think it was cho_fuzzle…um, 206? Anyway, she started to talk to me and I told her about your dreams. She seemed excited, like interested at first, and when she told me she was a goddess I didn’t believe her”. Erika stopped at looked at Kyle for a moment, trying to decipher his mood. It looked like he was intrigued, so she continued.
    “So she told me that her name was Arisa Steeple and she was a Sevgori Goddess, the goddess of provocative. Then she told me to write it down and give it to you. She said, and I quote, “Kyle will find out what I mean, and I know he’ll remember eventually”. Erika’s talk was interrupted a corny ringtone. It was her mom calling her cell to tell her she needed to be home.
    “Alright Erika, I’ll see you tomorrow then. Thanks for…well, helping me.” Kyle said trying to sound excited. But his mind was racing with puzzles and fuzzy pictures. Erika nodded and gave him a quick hug before she left. “Don’t think about it to long, your brain might catch fire and then all you’ll have is a big black pile of soot”. Kyle laughed and closed the door behind his friend. How could he not think about this when he dreamed of this every night?

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Arisa brought up a deep yawn as she logged off her computer. “Today has been so tiring, but so interesting at the same time” she mumbled groggily while reaching for the phone. She was going to tell her best friends who she heard about today. Then, she was going to have fun blackmailing Boran. The phone rang twice before she heard the small voice.
    “Hello”?
    Arisa smiled, “Hey girl! What’s up? You’ll never guess who I found out about today”!
    On the other side of the phone there was a quick laugh. “How about giving me a chance to answer”?
    This made Arisa laugh. It was just like Lyla to say that, but she knew Lyla would listen. They had been friends since the beginning and it wasn’t going to change. They were like sisters, Provocative and Water.
    “Yeah well Lyla, I was talking to someone earlier, online, and her friend was Kyle”. Arisa stopped to let it sink it, and when she didn’t receive a reply she continued. “You know Kyle Juleis”?
    A gasp was heard and then a quick “You did what”?? Arisa smiled her mischievous grin.
    “I gave my name to this dear, Erika, and I was planning to meet Kyle myself. Want to come?” Arisa asked hopeful.
    Lyla took in a breath and let it out “Arisa, you know I support you but…Seriah is going to kick your a**”.
    Seriah was also another best friend.
    Arisa laughed heartily “Bring it on”! Lyla laughed, and the girls talked continual for hours.
    The next day seemed so slow.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Kyle woke up surprised and stumbled out of bed to grab his journal. This dream wasn’t like the others, and he just had to write it down.

    I’ll be blunt and tell you that I saw the Goddess. She had red hair, long, and blue eyes that glowed with joy and pure mischief, definitely attractive. This was probably the Goddess of Provocative, Arisa. She was talking to me, begging for me to follow her but I couldn’t move. Then, someone else came…but he was blurred. I heard his voice and there was pain when he talked. I’m not sure why but I longed for this…person. Not in love but in comfort, I wanted to make his pain disappear. Weird I know but it’s not like the other dreams. This one felt more important like something’s going to happen soon…and it going to be one hell of a long ride.