The Gateway Crown

    The ground trembled from the meteor impact the next city over.

    "C'mon kids, into the bunker" Mrs. Shuffluffle said, leading the fifth graders into the cavern. The impacts didn't usually occur in bunches, but after the leveling of Archway, the rest of Eremone didn't take chances.

    The caverns were protective enough, and the kids didn't know otherwise. Well most of them. Three particularly insightful children had inquired Mrs. Shuffluffle about the realistic protection a cavern could provide from a meteor impact, and she simply had to shush them. Not to omit the truth, but to keep their minds at ease.

    They could still do their lessons in the cavern, and she did her best to make it an adventure each time. The lantern glow created the perfect atmosphere for the kids to explore ancient ruins or creep through a spooky graveyard. As the frequency of the impacts increased, though, the effects lasted shorter, and the kids began to grow increasingly anxious about the state of the world.

    She couldn't keep the truth from these children forever. Even the oblivious ones would begin to wonder what was actually going on. Safety of the children was a high priority, but these are fifth graders. Certainly they were capable of helping their city, their country, their planet.

    Maybe it was time to stop playing pretend. Maybe they ought to know about the Gateway Crown. Eremone would need more Celestially Gilt soon, and their age restriction wouldn't last much longer. Better to prepare them beforehand then send them into battle unprepared.