Free Isle of Wysteria: The Monolith Crumbles by Aaron Lee Yeager Page A

ineffectively against its base. At the center, a great dark pyramid. “This is the capital island of Boeth, and in the center there, the monolith. We believe that this is the source of the curse which is causing the seas to consume our lands.”
    The door opened at the far end and Odger waddled in, looking extremely upset that Alder had hosed him down earlier and laundered his clothes to remove his protective layer of grease and sweat. He pushed a wheelbarrow containing a block of perfect black glass stone.
    Chief Hanni of Cocimbas rose to his feet, his decorative palm leaves swaying about. “You just said that the Stonemasters are listening in. Why would you bring one into this convocation?”
    Queen Forsythia raised a calming hand. “Do not worry. Odger is a friend of mine. He has severed ties with his people.”
    “She fed me lunch once,” Odger boasted, as if that were a perfectly logical reason to betray one’s homeland.
    The delegates grew even more concerned as Odger commanded the block to roll off the wheelbarrow and onto the floor. “The Queen asked me to prepare this. This is Kartonite, or ‘truestone’ in my tongue. The alchemically hardened material that makes up the walls of the monolith.”
    Queen Forsythia held out her hand to the Artice delegation. “King Turino, your daughter is one of the most powerful of your race, is she not?”
    “Quite right,” Turino affirmed, adjusting his monocle.
    “If you would please attempt to crack it.”
    With her father’s permission, the tall blonde woman stepped forward, the long coattails of her riding jacket trailing behind her. The wood at the far end of the hall opened free, permitting the blast to go out into the night sky without damaging the royal tree.
    Princess Turino clapped her hands together and began a long powerful war cry, the sound gathering in between her fingers. Growing and growing, ripples appeared in the air itself, like a sphere of liquid glass. As her war cry reached its crescendo, she forged the energy into a spike. With a crack like thunder, the spike was launched, crashing into the block of stone, all of its power focused into a single point at the tip.
    The clouds parted and forest bowed, the mighty trees leaning away for miles in the direction of the blast. But when it was over, the stone remained unbroken and unstained.
    Princess Turino took a second to catch her breath, her face astonished. Her father huffed in disappointment.
    “There is no shame, good Princess. That was a demonstration of sonic magic worthy of the Thunder Goddess herself,” Queen Forsythia granted, helping the woman to save face.
    Princess Turino saluted in thanks and took her seat again.
    Next, Queen Forsythia held her hand out to the Mesdan delegation. “I would ask one of your party to break it as well.”
    Prince Francisque stood up reluctantly, his long white tail flicking about suspiciously. “I feel like this is a trap,” he commented.
    “If you break it, it is because we loosened it up for you first,” someone shouted from the Articeian table.
    Many of the delegates chuckled. A few clapped their hands.
    The Prince spun around dramatically and kicked his leg in a high arcing strike. A wave of super cooled air rushed along the floor like a blue blade, covering the floor and the black stone with a thick layer of ice. Without missing a beat, the prince followed up with a quick series of five punches. Razor sharp shards of ice shot out from his fists, impacting the stone with precision and strength. One after another, each hit the same exact spot.
    The Prince stood up and waved his hand. The ice melted away, revealing an undamaged stone beneath.
    “I fail to see the point in this,” King Nattol of Iea grumbled, his large jowls giggling beneath his chin.
    “Truestone is the most stubborn element on Aetria,” Odger explained as he swatted at invisible flies buzzing around him. “It is even resistant to sea water. It cannot be unmade by any single magic