Planet Life Interior

We were not chosen to protect the world, we were broken to protect him.

A look into the earth’s past: how our planet was split between two knights, each who guarded along trust, betrayal, and friendship.

Jacques and Blaze sat down on the sidewalk, looking at a distressed and battled world. Winds blew from all directions and waves crashed against the shores, destroying everything. The whole world was drowning in chaos. After just experiencing the most monstrous disaster of their lives, they were traumatized, yet slightly confused. 

Bursting out of the gloomy clouds, two dragons with glistening scales and eye-catching wings hovered above them. They lightened the whole city—the most regal creatures to have ever existed among all of life on earth. Gliding across the sky, the creatures swept up the two young knights and flew into a powerful, lively building. The dragons, one with an immense golden tone, and the other carrying mighty emerald scales, set them down in front of numerous guards. 

“No way!” Jacques yelled out, his eyes widening. As a training hero, he had dreamt of stepping foot in front of the Castle of All Life ever since he was born. 

As Jacques and Blaze stepped back onto the ground, they slowly looked around in awe. The Castle of All Life. Glorious, ethereal, and regal. They were amazed by the magical energy that floated through the air. Waterfalls surround it, with colorful fish swimming playfully, a giant dreamy fountain, and a powerful statue of the Prime Elemental, carefully carved in gold. 

“Blaze, am I actually looking at the castle and throne of the Prime Elemental? The most legendary god of all? This feels like a magical dream. I… I can’t believe it,” stammered Jacques.

“Oh c’mon. It’s pretty and all, but one day, we are going to take charge and rule the world in a castle like this. Just you and I. Dominating the universe,” Blaze said, fancifully looking into the sky. 

But neither of them knew that they were brought to be ripped apart, isolated from each other. Stripped from their friendships and connection. Forever. 

 ━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━ 

Since the separation, 10 years passed. As independent young adults, things for both knights had changed. Jacques and Blaze never talked to each other, and somehow even started to become rivals. When Jacques was selected to guard the underworld, the rich paradise with tons of resources, and heavenly kingdoms, Blaze became jealous. Why couldn’t he have been the king of the bigger region? Did the Prime Elemental think that he wasn’t good enough? This jealousy started to turn into envy and hatred towards Jacques over time. The doors within the sea and land were sealed, and nothing would ever be the same again. Not until Blaze would conquer the greater world, not until he became the bigger ruler. He would not back off until he found a chance to defeat Jacques and show everyone who the real protector was.

 ━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━ 

Marine creatures playfully swim in the clear waters of the underworld. A villager, looking panicked, ran over to Jacques and handed him an important piece of paper.

“Sir Jacques! I’ve got something for you. It looks really important. It’s from the Prime Elemental. Look!” the villager yelled as he ran over.

“Okay, calm down. Bring it over. Let me see,” Jacques said calmly as he rolled down the paper.

“Hmmm, an invitation to the Castle of All Life. Oh! Looks like he’s finally set his foot down. I’m going for a battle against Blaze. It’s to see who will be crowned the supreme elemental knight. Whoever wins three stages of tough battle will help serve the earth under the Prime Elemental’s name. He said our elements in each region are collapsing and the world needs the most powerful knight,” explained Jacques.

“Oh Lord, Jacques we need to get you ready! Blaze is probably hungry to get you. We can’t let him win and take over this beautiful paradise!” said the villagers, worried.

“Don’t you worry, everyone. I’ve gone against him before. He will be out for blood, but we’ve got this. I will get right to training tomorrow morning and that will put myself in the best position for the battles at the castle. You can count on me,” Jacques said back, slightly hesitant and anxious, but full of confidence. He could not let his people down. He had to come back with the reign. 

Meanwhile, resting on his throne of mountains and trees was Blaze. As he was also brought his invitation to the castle, he carefully examined and read through it. A smirk rose on his face, and confident laughter burst out of him.

“Well, it looks like my time has come. Overworld, we have finally been given our chance to redeem ourselves against that pest!” Blaze yelled loudly to his crowd, raising a powerful fist into the air.

“I have been invited to battle Jacques in three rounds. Whoever wins will bring home the title of supreme elemental knight and will help to rule the world under the Prime Elemental’s name. Everyone, this is our chance. My chance. I will fight until the end, and earn my glory against the seas. Mark my words, Jacques, watch your back,” Blaze finished. He and his people already knew who was going to win. Blaze was energized with confidence and ready to take on the enemy.

While Blaze was positive about his victory after the battles, Jacques was in a world of hesitation. His own self doubt and pressure swallowed him down, knowing he couldn’t lose anything from here. A day after Jacques had heard of the upcoming battles, he started his training session with a search. In order to beat Blaze, he would need more than physical strength, a reliable weapon perhaps. 

“I promise I’ll be back. I just need to look for a couple things. A merchant I know told me that all our weapons and warfare are stored in this basement. Right after the storm, things were either moved or blown into here,” Jacques said to a villager. She was worried and offered to go with him, but Jacques rejected. He needed to fight against an opponent of his, there was no time for fear.

As Jacques stepped down to the basement, he was fascinated. Boxes of old knives,  shining swords, numerous arrows, and gleaming helmets. He immediately began digging through. The goal, to find a couple staple weapons for Jacques to use. However, as he rummaged through the bottom of the first box, he uncovered a dusty canvas. It was filled with vibrant flowers, patterns, animals, all signs of life.  The bottom corner had a faded signature and date. Brooklyn Spears, 1357. The name appeared awkwardly familiar. 8 years before his mother had died from the storm. Suddenly, Jacques felt as if he had been struck in the heart. All he wanted was to be with her right now. If  he claimed victory against Blaze, his mother would smile, looking down, peacefully from the skies of heaven. The painting was one of the very few things he had that was left of his lost, special mother. Jacques had already discovered an important weapon for his battle. A piece of his mother’s guidance.

Back in the fields of the overworld, lights boomed and voices roared. Blaze and his people were so excited to take on Jacques, and beyond confident for their leader. They hosted a celebration of their own, taking the invitation to the castle itself as a win.

“We have received the invitation. Everyone already knows who the winner will be. No need to practice or worry. It's only for losers. Tonight, we will enjoy ourselves, and next week I head to the castle,” Blaze announced, once again empowering himself with pride. 

Every acre of land, from the grasslands and plains, to the mountains and valleys, energy and joy were all around. Music blasted into the sky, hands were swinging up high, and laughter filled the air. Suddenly, a loud noise interrupted and a giant rumble crackled toward them. Everyone was screaming, running around, winds blowing everything away, and dark clouds loomed over the atmosphere. 

“Do not panic. Everyone, evacuate to the nearest underground shelter. Hurry!” Blaze cried out, in panic himself.

The hype and vibrant overworld suddenly ran into lockdown. In a matter of seconds, no alive human soul was to be seen. The deserts, coasts, and terrains, all left completely empty. For a while, everything looked like an abandoned ghost town. Trees fell down, angry clouds covered the sky, pouring rain, waves aggressively crashed against the shore, and rocks rolled down the slopes. 

When things seemed to calm down a little, Blaze stepped out of his hideout. He looked across the destroyed fields. Everything Blaze had set up and built throughout his years of power, was shattered into pieces. It would take him forever to recover his place and get his empire back together. But most importantly, they had lost most of their resources. Blaze needed the overworld’s natural gifts for his battle against Jacques. However, they were gone. No stones to create arrowheads or wood to make swords.

When all hope seemed to be lost, a sorcerer tapped Blaze’s shoulder as he turned around. 

“Sir, I am very sorry for your destruction, but I think I’ve got something to help you. I present to you, the power of the tornado. It can be used anywhere, anytime, but I warn you, it is not to be taken lightly. Only in your most terrible situation may you release the tornado. Trust me, the results will be deadly. I am only giving it to you as an emergency tool due to our sudden drop in supplies. Try to fight with other weapons,” said the sorcerer, placing his hands on top of Blaze and handing him a gray wand.

The sorcerer added, “To activate, strike this wand into the ground with all your strength. In a matter of seconds, a monstrous tornado will sprout.”

“Oh, sorcerer Alex, thank you so much. I will fight against the underworld with all my heart. Even with our situation, Jacques will not proclaim success against us. With this gift, we will be unstoppable in this battle,” Blaze said.

A week later, the day had finally arrived. Jacques and Blaze each packed their belongings for the trip and headed to the Castle of All Life. Jacques arrived on a large white horse with a smaller light brown horse carrying his bag. Not so long after, Blaze made his entrance in a wooden wagon pulled by two small, black horses. 

The gates to the castle opened, and two guards walked in first. Jacques quickly hopped off of his horse and drew the symbol he found on his mother’s painting. Using his finger, he carefully carved the symbol onto the sandy surface in front of the gate. Then, Blaze and Jacques each followed. They walked past gold decorations and sculptures of the Prime Elemental. A long red carpet stretched across the white marble floor of the long hallway. There were two balconies on the sides above with guards in armor standing in perfectly spaced lines. Walls were filled with banners and a beautiful gold chandelier hung down from the roof. At the end of the luxurious hallway, Jacques and Blaze entered a small room and doors closed behind them with the two guards standing outside. A deep, familiar voice started. It was the Prime Elemental.

The Prime Elemental started, “Knights.” There was a long silence. “Welcome. You have been invited to this castle to fight a battle that will determine your future as guards of this planet. Do not take it lightly. One of you will go home victorious and will serve as Supreme Elemental Knight under my name. The other,” the Prime Elemental settled in for another long pause. “You will walk back carrying loads of shame and failure. As the loser,” finished the Prime Elemental.

“I’m sure you both are known of why you are here, so I will move along. This combat will consist of three different battles. Each round will test your skill and persistence, holding its own unique obstacles. Your strength will be tested to its limits both mentally and physically. In the end, I will be left with the one, and only one knight to help me continue dominating this world,” the Prime Elemental’s voice grew louder; he was not here to make any exceptions.

Jacques and Blaze set their bags down and were escorted to another room. Moving into a dark space with black walls, The Prime Elemental lowered down from the ceiling still seated in his throne. 

“Round one, the Native Chamber. Lava spilling out of volcanoes, tsunami waves crashing above yourselves, winds fiercely blowing in all directions and heavy rain pouring out of the sky. This is to test your physical powers and to show me who can be my next defense master. In a bit, you will be sent to this room. Both of you will battle against these natural monsters then will return back to this room after, for the second battle. Remember, this is only the first part,” the Prime Elemental disappeared after finishing his sentence. Suddenly, Blaze started to feel dizzy. Jacques felt as if he were going to be sick. The whole world was spinning in their eyes, and the black walls of the room slowly faded out. 

As the sight of the small room began to disappear, another world appeared in front of the two. It was a complete mess. Dark clouds looming above, lightning and thunder striking down, the ground shaking. It was like all the natural disasters were poured into one area and saved for Jacques and Blaze. There was an ashy volcano erupting with lava. As Jacques looked across his shoulder, angry waves stood above the shore. 

Blaze stood next to Jacques with his jaw dropped down to the floor. The storm he had faced before during his celebration was nothing. It almost seemed unreal, like a dream. There couldn’t possibly be a place so horrible, so torturous. 

“Wow, the Prime Elemental really wanted to test us. This place may seem like a small threat to us, or maybe just you, but I will not let my opportunity slip over this,” Blaze annoyingly started at Jacques. “Aw Jacques, you looked a little frightened. If you’re scared, you can give up right now, we all know who is going to take charge anyways. Might as well just not even try, it’s not worth…” Blaze was interrupted by a loud roar. 

A beast crawled out of the distance. Jacques slightly squinted to faintly see the four-legged figure. It was coming closer and closer. Still unknown of its full identity, Blaze carelessly walked closer to the creature. Then, he saw it. 

A big, grey predator stepped out of the darkness. As it slowly revealed its fierce eyes with absolutely no fear behind them, Jacques immediately stepped back.

“Wolf, run!” Jacques called to himself. He rapidly turned around and started running the opposite direction. He was too afraid to look behind, but he couldn’t hear the wolf chasing after him. Instead, he stayed silently staring into Blaze’s fearless eyes. 

However, Blaze’s brave scene didn’t last long. He soon broke eye contact and began to run away. Now, Jacques and Blaze were both sprinting for their lives. They passed trees, mountains, volcanoes, and even other animals. When Blaze decided to start running in circles to lose the wolf, something odd happened. The floor started to glow, a gold rim of light started to appear around the circle that Blaze was making. Inside, they could see a small black room. It was the same one that they were directed into before they were dragged into this mess. Without hesitation, Jacques jumped in, then Blaze quickly followed.

Before they knew it, the wolf was gone, and Jacques was standing next to Blaze once again, in the dark room.

“Welcome back,” started the Prime Elemental.

Jacques had never been so happy to hear a human voice. As soon as the Prime Elemental started to talk, he realized how much he missed the black room, with no creatures, or exploding volcanoes.

“I see that you guys are smarter than I thought. You two are mighty rising stars. However, that was just the start. There is no time to relax and settle in. Let’s move on to the next round. Be prepared. It will be a whole different game,” the Prime Elemental said.

Although Jacques had somehow survived the first round, he was worried for himself. He knew the Prime Elemental would not go easy and he felt that there was another challenge waiting to approach him. It felt like a bigger, deeper one.

Once again, the Prime Elemental lowered down in his luxurious throne. “Round two, Memory Mirror. This round is going to play a crucial part in my decision for who will become the supreme elemental knight. I warn you, it is going to take another gut for you to fight through this one. A room surrounded with mirrors. Your best and worst memories, all blended together and thrown back to you. Perhaps a look back at your best moment, or a flashback of your nightmare. Maybe you’ll get a different perspective of the bad situations. Or you’ll be even more heartbroken and disappointed in your decisions. I can’t promise you anything after you exit out of that room. But I know you will see everything differently. Your family, friends, villagers, and each other,” the Prime Elemental was escorted back out of the room and the two knights were left extremely confused. 

Without another second to think, mirrors started to fade into the black walls. They weren’t just ordinary mirrors though. As Jacques and Blaze stepped closer to each one, they saw a reflection of an event from their past. Blaze moved toward the closest mirror to him as he was struck with a painful memory. 

━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━

Festive music and huge crowds filled the area. Jacques stood proudly at the end of a carpet that ran through the center of the room.  It was the day that Jacques was crowned night of the underworld. Everyone was clapping and happy, yet one person was left out. Blaze silently watched from a small corner of the room. Somehow, he had managed to find the location of Jacques’ coronation, but there was something wrong. He was uninvited, angry and jealous. From now on, Jacques would be known as the leader of the sea. And who didn’t want to be? There was nothing the underworld couldn’t offer. Perfect views, plenty of resources, it was practically heaven. 

Blaze began to tremble. That day was rough for him enough, he didn’t need a flashback of it. He looked away into another mirror hoping for a joyful memory this time. 

Jacques kneeled next to the Prime Elemental’s throne. He shifted his body towards the Prime Elemental to whisper in his ear. Blaze leaned forward as he began to hear their quiet conversation.

“Sir, I believe that he is not at all worthy to serve as knight of the underworld. You have probably seen how out of hand his life is. One day he is sneaking into others’ rooms, then the next day, best friends with them. He is a complete liar. You can’t trust him. He could act like your biggest ally but betray you the next second. No guardian of any world should ever do that,” Jacques finished.

Blaze was shocked, how could Jacques do that? He had never fully understood why he wasn’t crowned knight of the underworld. Now he knew why. Jacques. It was all his fault. His pesky mouth ruined  everything. He continued to listen on as the Prime Elemental nodded. 

Now, all Blaze wanted to do was to beat Jacques in this battle. He needed to take revenge on him. The only way was to show him who the real winning knight was. If he earned the title of Supreme Elemental Knight, nothing could stop him. Not even Jacques.

━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━

On the other hand, Jacques lay between his own memories. 

The day when Jacques and Blaze were still best friends. When they were taken away to a castle then suddenly separated. When Blaze was grabbed by 2 guards, Jacques didn’t even try to fight them. Not even call his name. He was too frightened to do anything. The only thing he did was look away. But now, he saw baby Blaze kicking, screaming, crying for help. Jacques let his best childhood friend slip through. He just let go too easily. 

In another reflection, Jacques was in his kingdom. The day when he faced his first big challenge as leader. A monstrous storm struck and the whole underworld was in panic. Jacques quickly called for help. To his greatest, or at least what he thought was, supporter. It was the Prime Elemental. Jacques knelt down and begged the Prime Elemental for help. All he got back was silence. 

After that, Jacques never thought of the Prime Elemental the same way. He felt betrayed and didn’t think that he was wanted. Maybe the Prime Elemental did not support him. Maybe he was just being played with and used. 

As Jacques looked away one last time, the room started to spin. Mirrors faded off the walls, and they were back in the small black room. 

Both knights were  glad to be back. And the Prime Elemental was right. They saw the whole world from a completely different angle. Nothing would ever be understood the same.  

“I see that you two are tougher than I thought. Congratulations, you have made it to the final round: Duel of the Sunder Hour. I cannot do much explaining for this one. It is as simple as this,” the Prime Elemental snapped his fingers and they were transported to another small dark room.

“See that stopwatch over there? As soon as I exit the room, it will start. When it ends, I will come back in. However, there is only one rule. There better be one knight, and only one, still remaining when I come back in. If the two of you are both still remaining, both of you will be out of the run for Supreme Elemental Knight. I want only one of you remaining when I return. Act wisely, and good luck,” the Prime Elemental disappeared. 

And with that, the 60-minute stop watch had started. 

Jacques drew the symbol from his mother’s painting one last time as Blaze stood there with an evil smirk. He was not going to play safe this round. He knew exactly what he needed to do to win. Without a second thought,  Blaze pulled out the wand he got from the over world and struck the floor with all his might. The wand broke and strong winds suddenly gushed through the room. Soon, the winds turned into a powerful tornado. It was massive. The walls of the room began to tear down, and nothing was in control. The whole Castle of All Life was shaken by Blaze’s mess. 

The tornado was out of Blaze’s hands and was destroying everything in its path. He has released an uncontrollable beast, All the guards, furniture, practically everything in the castle was knocked down. Blaze tried to stop it before it reached the Prime Elemental’s room, but it was too late.

The door flung open and the tornado ran inside. Although everything destroyed so far didn’t cause any major problems, things took a turn when the tornado reached the Prime Elemental’s room. 

The Globe of Power, the center of the universe, was knocked off its stand and crashed into pieces. As soon as it broke, the whole world froze. Time stopped, people stopped, and the panic too, stopped. All towns and villages outside of the castle stopped too, everything except for three people, Jacques, Blaze, and the Prime Elemental. 

Nothing could be worse now. The Prime Elemental took five heavy steps towards the two knights. Then, without saying a word, he pointed to the door. 

Jacques and Blaze quickly ran out. When they finally exited the castle, Jacques picked up a piece of rolled paper that was on the floor. Without time to fully look at it. He put it in his pocket and continued to run back to his kingdom. 

━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━

A couple days had passed, and things were back to normal. Well, not really, but at least time had unfrozen. The underworld and overworld were both aware of the huge catastrophe but remained silent about it when near Jacques and Blaze. 

Jacques refused to leave his room. He sat in his chair all day, thinking. The script he had picked up in front of the castle changed the whole story.

It was written by one of the guards at the castle. His own thoughts and feelings on the two young legends, Jacques and Blaze. And, a letter to the Prime Elemental. It was mostly faded, but Jacques managed to decipher a section. 

“I, with all respect to your decisions, think that it is wrong to separate the two. They are a strong force together. I understand you are fearful for your own good. However, the earth’s future can not be sacrificed for your dominance. Please give everything a second thought, and do what is best for everyone.

It was asking the Prime Elemental to not split them up. For some reason, the guard’s letter was saying that the Prime Elemental was doing it for himself. The two of them were destined to stay together and protect the world forever. 

The letter and script left Jacques in deep thought for days. After a while, he managed to piece everything together.

“We were not chosen to protect the world, we were broken to protect him,” Jacques murmured to himself. 

Still in huge shock, he couldn’t fully understand the truth. The Prime Elemental, who used to seem like an innocent and selfless ruler that only wanted the best for his world, was now a ruthless monster. He had set Jacques and Blaze up for failure with that battle, and only cared about his own power. 

Without wasting another second, Jacques quickly headed to the overworld, to notify Blaze of the horrifying news. He knew that it wouldn’t be easy to convince him, not after what had happened in the castle. All Blaze was probably thinking about was losing the chance to become Supreme Elemental Knight. But if he understood the hidden side of the Prime Elemental, things would take a big turn. 

Jacques’ plan was to convince Blaze to help him defeat the Prime Elemental. Take him down his throne, and rule the world together, like they were meant to be in the first place. 

━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━

After a long trip to the overworld, Jacques finally stood on land. He carefully knocked on Blaze’s door. The first time, no answer. So he knocked again. No answer once again. He waited a couple minutes for Blaze to answer his third knock. However, Jacques eventually left and went back to his underworld kingdom, disappointed. He couldn’t know if Blaze was purposely ignoring him, or simply did not hear. All he knew was that if he wanted to take the Prime Elemental down, he would probably have to do it himself. 

It was around a week later, when Jacques saw one of his villagers coming to him. He said that Blaze was at his door and wanted to talk to him. Hesitantly, Jacques walked up to his entranceway. There he was. Blaze stood in front of Jacques. But he didn’t have that stiff annoyed look that he always had. 

Instead, he started to say, “Jacques, I'm very sorry for what I did at the castle. It wasn’t the right thing to do at all and I totally ruined your biggest opportunity to conquer. My mind couldn’t think straight after that, and that’s why I didn’t answer when you came by. I saw the script you left by my door. What did you need to tell me?”

“Oh Blaze, don’t worry. As of now, I’m glad we are not going to be able to help serve the Prime Elemental. Come in, You’ve got some listening to do,” Jacques responded, relieved. He led Blaze to a quiet underground room in his kingdom and began to explain.

“So, you read the letter right? And all the scripts I left with it?” Jacques asked as Blaze nodded.

“Well, from what I’ve caught from it, you might want to be a little more careful with what the Prime Elemental is doing. After carefully thinking through the information, he might be on his own mission. See, the guard seemed to be writing the letter to the Prime Elemental to prove something. To convince him to not separate us. He wrote how we were ‘meant’ to stay together. Then I saw the ancient scripts, written by an old sorcerer. It said that in 500 years, two unforgettable legends would be born into disaster. They would be put through numerous storms, troubles, and hardships, but they would conquer it together. It turns out to be a phenomenon that they call the Sovereign Unity. When a pair is put through so much together, their power and connection becomes unstoppable. It happens once every seven centuries,” Jacques said as he was interrupted.

“And you’re not about to say that we are the Sovereign Unity,” Blaze added in.

“Everything came in one piece when I saw a picture of us. It was painted by one of the gods training under the Prime Elemental’s name. Even the Prime Elemental knew we were meant to stay together. But he couldn’t. He needed to protect his own future. His own power. So what he did was lie. Told the whole world that he would separate Jacques and Blaze to protect the two wonders of the earth after the storm. There he crowned me knight of the sea and you knight of the land. No one ever questioned him again, but now I think it's our time,” Jacques said, looking at Blaze with a nervous grin.

“I can’t believe it. No way. So he didn’t break us apart to help defend the planet as a whole. But he was only afraid that we would overdominate him together one day? And not only that, he lied to the world about it, and if we hadn’t figured this out, the earth would have suffered from the Prime Elemental’s greed for power?” Blaze asked, shocked.

“Yea, that’s exactly how I felt when I realized. It turns out he had a hidden true side. But I saw that since he’s at his weakest right now, still trying to fix his crystal ball, why don’t we give him a taste of us. I mean he betrayed us, not only us but his whole kingdom too. He deserves to be knocked off that throne. His time’s come, and we need to take the spot we were destined for,” said Jacques. 

The next day they met again and headed for the Castle of All Life. Jacques knelt down one final time before walking into battle with his new partner. He drew his finger across the dirt floor and marked the symbol of his mother’s painting. Blaze and Jacques entered with confidence, walking down the hallway, led by two guards, and looking around as visitors for the last. The next time they exited the castle, they would proclaim victory against the Prime Elemental and be holding the future of their planet within their hands. Jacques reached the end of the hallway, entered into the Prime Elemental’s throne, and from there, he became guardian, keeper, protector of the living.