Tale 64: Prince Sylph's Quest (Misty)

(real tale: The Invisible Prince)

"Long ago, when the Great Lord Arceus created the world, he created four beings to watch over the first four elements he created." Misty begins. "The guardian of fire he named Salamander, the guardian of earth he named Gnome, the guardian of water he named Undine, and the guardian of wind he named Sylph."

"I know them!" Melody smiles. "Salamander always was and still is very imaginative..."

"Hence the fires of inspiration." Brock agrees.

"Gnome is very wise, and Undine is friendly, if a little vain." Melody adds. "But Sylph prefers to go with the flow of things, as you will soon hear in this tale."

"Now, we all know that the Great Lord Arceus hates to see suffering in this world, but it pained him the most to see people unlucky in love." Misty continues. "For some reason, Sylph took this to mean he was forbidden to take a bride at first. But after asking for and receiving a lot of conflicting information about love, he decided to find out what love was like for himself. So he hitched a ride on a passing Pidgeotto all the way to an island in the earth realm named Bara Island."

"What did he find there?" Brock is interested.

"He met the princess of that land, which we'll call Rosalie." Misty replied. "Sylph fell head over heels in love with her, and the two of them grew quite close. But then one day, a harpy kidnapped Princess Rosalie, and her father the Rose King was devastated. Sylph vowed that he would do anything he could to bring Rosalie back safe. That included help from his brothers Salamander and Gnome, and his sister Undine."

"And then?" Ash is piqued.

"Sylph traveled all over the earth realm, thinking Rosalie was not far away." Misty continues. "When that came up short, he asked his brother Gnome for advice. Gnome allowed him to look in his magic mirror, and Sylph saw Rosalie in a small room at the end of a winding labyrinth."

"Ooh, Zelda!" Ash is excited.

"Sylph braved the labyrinth's many monsters and traps--which is a story in itself--but when he got to the room he had seen, Rosalie was not there--the harpy had moved her somewhere beneath the sea." Misty continued. "Sylph flew out to the sea, but wound up captured by a sea giant!"

"Oh no!" Melody gasps.

"At first, Sylph bemoaned his sad fate, but then Undine found him, and taught him how to turn invisible." Misty continues. "So the next morning, when the giant was about to take him to his private arena for a fight to the death, Sylph turned invisible and fled beneath the waves. He searched the sea from top to bottom, only to discover that Rosalie had been moved to deep within Mt. Ember."

[How did Salamander help?] Mai wonders.

"He felt sorry for his brother, and created a shield around him so the fire of Mt. Ember wouldn't harm him." Misty replied. "Sylph braved the firey volcano, but when he got to the deepest sanctum--!"

"Rosalie was not there." Brock fills in the blank without being reminded.

"So Sylph hurried to the wind realm, where he confronted the harpy." Misty continues. "It was a long battle, but in the end, the rogue harpy was defeated, and Sylph was reunited with his beloved Rosalie. It wasn't long before they were married, and they all lived happily ever after."

"In fact, if you listen hard enough, you may hear them laughing as they fly about the world, observing their creation." Melody smiles.