I was going to write one more chapter for The Rise of the Phoenix, and did, several versions, but they just didn’t work and I realized I’d already written the conclusion to the story in that last chapter. Everything was resolved, and it fit with the Book One’s ending. So, I’m moving on to the next story now. I don’t know if this story will go the distance, we’ll see. I think it’s got potential, maybe. I’ve had false starts before, so no promises. But, it makes sense for this to be the next book. I hope you enjoy the new story. P.S. If you're wondering about the genre I write, it's Scifi/Fantasy, young adult action novels. Suitable for 12-17 with parental guidance, or 18+ with an occasional violence warning, and even rarer, a 'PG' rated adult situation. You'll never find profanity in any of my stories.

A soft, pale light spread out from a flame atop a white crayon sitting on a rock. The light formed a protective barrier against the hurricane force winds outside. A dark-hair boy with dark eyes and dressed in forest green glanced nervously at the flickering flame. “He’s strong,” the boy whispered to a girl wrapped in flowing white robes sitting next to him. The boy touched the ground with a green crayon. Roots grew up out of the ground and weaved themselves together to form an additional barrier around him and the girl watching the storm. An occasional wave crashed against the barrier and submerged them until the wave receded. “Jonathon said he’s an Aeden,” replied the girl. The dark-haired boy turned his head to the girl. He liked the way her platinum colored hair flowed over her shoulders. Her eyes flicked to the side to look at him. He quickly turned his head forward and blushed. “What’s an Aeden?” asked the boy. The girl shrugged. “Jonathon said they think they’re the original humans.” The boy snorted. “That’s arrogant, how would they know? Do they think their planet is the center of the universe also?” “They’re dangerous, and violent. Jonathon said they’re super strong, and they can move faster than the wind, and can beat anyone in a fight.” The boy turned his head back to the girl. “Really?” The girl nodded. “Jonathon said that Cael brought them here to get rid of the monsters.” The boy gave a little shake of his head. “That’s impossible, remember when all the Dreamers got together and tried? Six broken crayons, and Purple Dreamer is still hiding in his Crystal Cave and won’t come out.” “I should go visit him.” The boy narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, if you want to bore yourself listening to him talk about silly rocks all day.” “Aww, you’re jealous.” “Am not!” “Oh calm down, Gaia.” “I’m not Gaia, I’m Bran.” “You know, everything in the Crystal Universe is a shadow on the real world. Without us there would be no mythology, no legends, nothing to inspire the mortals to greatness.” The boy ran his crayon along the ground and the area inside the protective bubble sprouted with wild flowers. “Gaia is a girl’s name, I’m a boy! If anyone is Gaia, it would be the Brown Dreamer.” The girl picked one of the flowers and stuck it into her hair. “You need a Dreamer name.” “Why’d you pick the blue flower, do you like the Blue Dreamer?” asked the boy. The girl giggled. “I’ve never seen you make a blue flower before, is it a present for him?” The boy mumbled under his breath. “No…” then burst out, “Okay, I need water for my plants, so I want to get on his good side from the start.” “Fair enough, I need his water for my clouds, let me help, I want to give him a present too.” The girl leaned down and blew on the blue flowers. They blew out beyond the barrier and into the water. “There, now they’ll only grow on top of water, and we can call them Blue Water Lilies.” “Do I get a present?” asked the boy. “It’s almost my birthday.” “Tell me your name first,” said the girl. “Fine… I’m…umm… Oh, I know, I’m Bran.” “Oh you’re stubborn. Fine, I’ll name you… Peter Pan.” The girl blew a breath at the boy. The breath brushed against his cheek and felt like a gentle kiss. He turned bright crimson from the neck up. “There, now you can fly, just like Peter Pan.” “Seriously? That’s a great present, thank you! But I’m still not Peter Pan. I’m Bran, good old Bran Dreamer. You know, the Green Dreamer.” The girl pulled her lips tight and frowned. “Oh come on, you’re exactly like Peter Pan. You wear green, you live on an island in a tree house with all your lost brothers, and now you can fly.” Bran sighed. “I want to give you a present now.” Bran drew his crayon across the ground and dozens of little white fluffy flowers appeared among the wild flowers. He picked one and held it up. The girl beamed a bright smile at Bran. “Oh, it’s so pretty.” “Blow on it,” said Bran. The girl blew on the flower and dozens of white fluffy florets broke away from the flower and floated up on the wind and out of the protective barrier. “A flower that flies on the wind! It’s perfect, thank you.” “I call it a dandelion. Those are the seeds and will spread to all the worlds, and when people see it floating in the air, they’ll know you’ve been there.” “I love it!” “So, did you change your name?” “My Dreamer name will be, Aura.” “That’s a pretty name, but I’ll stick with my real name,” said Bran. “Does Cael know you’re trying to get everyone to change their names?” The girl moved closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder. “I’m tired, let me know when the Ocean Dreamer is done moving islands around so I can set the trade winds for him.” The girl closed her eyes and drifted into sleep while Bran watched the storm beyond the barrier of their safe and warm little bubble. He could see Cael pulling a rope tied around an island while the Blue Dreamer pushed from behind. Bran was pretty sure they’d already moved that island once. He shrugged, maybe the island was better over here than over there. Bran’s world had been much easier to build, and it did resemble Neverland, a little… probably a lot. Peter Pan had been one of his favorite stories, and when Cael told him to draw a world for the Bran fragments, Neverland had been the only world he could think of to draw. The Bran world consisted of one big island in the middle of an ocean made for him by the old Blue Dreamer. The island was covered with his favorite tree, the redwood, and at the top of the redwood trees was built a grand treehouse city for his brothers to live. He’d never been trying to be Peter Pan, but if you ask a twelve-year-old to draw the perfect place to live, what did you think was going to happen? He sighed and put his arm around Ronin Dreamer. That was her real name, but he already knew if she really wanted him to call her Aura, he would. He’d do anything for her… maybe even let her call him Peter Pan… just to keep her happy. He turned his head toward her, she was starting to shiver a little. It was getting cold. She could make the flame on her crayon a little warmer, but then he’d have to wake her up. He held out his green crayon and lit the tip, then set his green crayon next to her white crayon. The protective bubble warmed back up. He closed his eyes and listened to the wind howling, and wondered how long the Blue Dreamer was going to keep this storm going. But then, Cael didn’t really have anyone that he could play rough with on his level, and the Blue Dreamer seemed to be keeping pace with Cael’s wild chaotic side without a problem. “Sheesh, the Blue Dreamer really is strong to be able to hang with Cael this long."