“What do you mean you lost them?” The male voice sound high pitched like a child. His tone was demanding, like a spoiled child.

 “We are very sorry your Master Tyrion but the crystals were misplaced.” Another male voice but this one was subservient, trying to placate the young lord. “We already have teams scouring the planet to find them.”

”Get them back NOW Galen! I will not tolerate failure those shards were the exact elements I wanted!” The young lord demanded.

Galen knew this was a big screw up, those five shards combined to make a complete set of elemental powers that would make a complete mage.  Something that hadn’t been seen in Alderia for over two thousand years, and they had lost them. He knew the Black Fist had truly lost them, their loyalty to the young lord was soul sworn. They had no choice but to obey and betray would shatter their souls. 

“The Fist has been deployed to search the entire area, they will be recovered Lord.”

”they had better or the cost in blood will be high Galen! I promise you they will pay in blood who ever stole my shards!” 

“Yes lord.” There was nothing else he could say, he knew the child would demand blood if they didn’t recover his shards but there was a part of Galen that truly hoped someone else found and used them. 

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

It had taken a full century to find all five primary shards that could be connected in the magic core of a person.  The slightest variation on shape would have blocked one or more of them at best or worse it could have detonated killing the unlucky wielder and more importantly the shards.

they were far more valuable than the cost of one person, the shards were becoming more and more rare. No one knew where they came from but one thing was certain, they couldn’t be found in number anymore. The last great mage, a carrier of five shards, had blamed the kingdoms for hunting the dragons but he was dismissed out of hand.  They had hunted him for a hundred years after that and never found him or any trace of his magic. He had simply disappeared, the kingdoms had continued to rise and fall but all knowledge of that mage was nothing but legend now.

Now sadly the strongest mage was four shards, he held the throne and had for over five hundred years. Tyrion was his only child and the cost of finding the five shards was astronomical, even for a king, but he had done it.  He had found all five shards needed to great a true mage for his son and they had been lost.

the Black Fist had been sent to transport them to the capitol when Tyrion had reached his age of majority. That had been secured in a secret location for years, waiting for the precise day they could be used. In three days the proper stars would align and crescent fall would begin. That was the precise moment the shards would be absorbed by the prince.

Crescent fall only happened once every century, everything had been prepared and now the shards were lost.