Return to Restoria

As if awakening from a dream, the five kids found themselves lying on the ground under the branches of an enormous tree. The kids blinked, sat up, and looked around them.

“Hey,” said Jason. “What is this stuff?”

He ran his fingers through the bed of pink grass.

“I don’t know,” replied Mark. He stood up. “What happened to the storm and the twister?”

They all stood up and looked around. Above them stretched curved a green sky in which flew tangerine-colored birds, and the air was filled with an aroma of magnificence. Surrounding them were great fields of blue and red flowers, and at the ends of the fields were rows of tall spiky blue trees. From the distance came the sound of a gurgling creek.

They were astounded at the event that just occurred.

“What happened?” said Lucy.

“We all got sucked into a twister,” said Mark, “and we landed here.”

“Yeah, but where is here?” asked Sarah. “It looks normal - sort of - except for the weird colors. Like someone messed with the color control on the TV set.”

“Okay,” said Jason. “This is stupid. I’m going home!”

“Which way is home?” said Sarah. “And anyway, there’s more going on here than just some weird colored trees. Look at what you’re wearing!”

“What do you mean?” retorted Jason. “You should talk - you look pretty strange yourself!”

“Lucy, look at yourself!” said Mark.

“Why?” asked Lucy. Looking down, she saw that instead of the jeans and t-shirt she had worn at school, she was wearing a chest plate closed in a leather dress, almost like a warrior girl with a grey skirt.

Each of the kids looked at themselves and their new costumes. They each had a chest plate bound to a brown leather dress. On their feet were shiny black boots.

Mark was wearing a red crimson chest plate that had a fire emblem on his back, a red helmet like the Roman warriors, and red leggings.

Sarah had a blue sapphire chest plate and a sky blue skirt. Jason had a yellow and blue chest plate and similar helmet and leggings. Tom had a greenish brown chest plate and a similar helmet and leggings.

“Wow - these are cool outfits!” exclaimed Jason.

“I don’t know if I like them,” said Tom. “Do they have pockets?” He started patting his leggings.

“This fabric is super soft,” said Lucy. “Must be expensive.”

“And they’re color-coded too,” added Mark.

“I wonder where our normal clothes are?” said Tom. “I had a quarter in my pocket. I don’t want to lose it.” He walked around the base of the big tree, but didn’t find any of their clothing.

“All right!” yelled Jason. “Whoever pulled this joke on us better come out!”

“Yeah,” added Tom. “We’re gonna kick your butt!”

“I don’t think anybody is going to come out and tell us that this is a joke,” said Sarah.

“I’m getting hungry,” said Mark. He looked up into the dense branches that overhung them. “Hey - this is an apple tree!”

Sure enough, hanging from the branches high overhead were dozens of succulent apples.

“Boost me up,” said Mark.

They tried to help Mark into the tree, but no matter how high they raised him, the lowest branch was always just out of reach. It was almost as if the tree were pulling its branches upwards so that the kids couldn’t reach them. All of a sudden the apple tree shook and they saw that it had a mouth and a pair of eyes.

“Art thou the five sacred warriors of Restoria, the children of your ancestor Sendar?” the tree said in a deep and booming voice.

“Rest-to-what?” replied Jason. “And how is a tree able to talk, and who are the five sacred warriors? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You are the five heroes we have been seeking,” said the tree. “It is a great day for Restoria. You are the descendents of Sendar, who have come to fulfill his destiny!”

“Who?” said Sarah. “I don’t have any relatives named Sendar.”

“Neither do I,” said Mark.

“All will be answered soon,” said the tree. “But first I shall introduce myself. My name is Trifus, and this is Restoria, which you have entered through the portal. It is a world parallel to Earth, which thou call it.”

“Wait a second,” asked Mark. “If we got here through a portal, then how do we get back to Earth?”

“Alas,” said the tree, “Since the witch Renalta cast her curse on me, my powers have been diminished. I brought you here but I cannot send you back. If you want to go home, you must destroy the witch Renalta and free me from her curse.”

“That’s crazy,” said Jason. “There must be some other way to get home!”

“Yeah - maybe a reverse twister?” said Lucy.

“No,” said the tree in a solemn voice. “The only way you can return home is to destroy the witch Renalta. But be quick, for I can only last a few more days. My time is running out. Hurry - follow the path to the Desert Resort.”

“A resort?” Lucy questioned.

“Fine - we’ll go on this quest of yours but you better not be lying,” Sarah warned.

“All will be revealed,” said Trifus. “Now go! Hurry!”

“I’m ready for a great adventure!” said Mark. “Count me in!”

Before they started on their way, from the great tree an apple dropped for each of the five kids.

“Don’t eat your apple, but save it to remember,” said Trifus.

Lucy put her apple to her lips.

“Child of the air!” roared the tree with a mighty shake of its leaves. “Thou must not eat the apple, no matter how hungry you are! At the right time, you will know in your heart how to use it!”

“Child of the wha-?” stammered Lucy. “Okay, okay. I’ll put it away.”

Each of the kids put their apple in the leather pouch they found tied around their waists.

Then their adventure began.