San Gets a Vision - Excerpt from Jack Thunder and the Dawn of Unity

Late that night, San sat at the dining room table, Stormbringer clutched in his claws. He concentrated on the gemstone in the center of the staff.

Come on, come on… The veils between Altairus and Earth were growing thin. They had to be. Why else would the portals open again after ten years of being closed?

Colors and shapes swirled within the gem. Gradually, they settled into a clear image. The staff was picking up on a transmission from the other world. As the picture became clearer, San realized what he was looking at. It was a newscast from Stephanie’s hometown.

“In other news, it has been reported that fifteen-year-old Stephanie Granger has been missing for five days. She was last seen at her house on Holly Street last Friday…”

San sat there, listening intently. The police had found her room completely trashed, clear evidence the Adventures in Altairus portal had struck. Her mother, a tired-looking woman with stringy red hair, begged for her safe return, tears streaming down her face.

The tengu couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for her. As far as she knew, her daughter had been snatched from her room by some wacko. Suddenly, he heard something that made him freeze.

“The only lead detectives have found is this singular piece of crystal. While its origins are not clear, scientists have concluded that it resonates with some kind of potent energy.”

The video showed a hand belonging to one of the human scientists holding up a palm-sized crystal, glowing a verdant teal. An Air crystal. It must have fallen through the portal when Stephanie was spirited away to Tempest Island. A piece of Altairus was lost on Earth.

And given how things were going, San reckoned it wouldn’t be long before the humans found their world once again.