Forum Thread

The Crystalline Heart...


Welcome to the Land of Oria, home to thousands upon thousands of creatures, all full of life and magic. Everything on this mystical planet is powered by one, single thing, at the very center of it all... the Crystalline Heart. It is the main source of all nine types of magic for this land; Fire, Water, Life, Mineral, Sky, Thunder, Psychic, Ghost, and Normality. These nine elements make up the foundation for the entire world. Filled with unfathomable power, the Crystalline Heart is a staple to the well-being and survival of Oria itself. Unfortunately, some creatures get greedy. Zorin, a human, decided to take his greed to the next level, and he spent all his life searching for the Crystalline Heart to harness its power, and he came dangerously close. Desperate to protect itself, the Heart split itself up into nine crystals, infusing those crystals with all of the magic from one of the nine types. The Crystals then chose nine heroes to hold them and harness their power so that they could stop Zorin once and for all.

Now you are chosen as a hero, to save this once-beautiful world from the brink of war and destruction. Your story starts here, young hero, as you find your Crystal and make a journey like none have ever gone on before. Find new friends, new enemies, and a new world. It is imperative to the survival of this land that you save us...

As you begin another day, you feel a tug from your Crystal, almost as if it wants you to go somewhere...

RULES:

---

Faun sat on a broken tree stump, the rest of the tree having fallen down behind them. They rolled their pretty blue Crystal around in their hand, gazing at its sparkling depths. The forest that had once been so lively, always chattering with the noise of the beasts all around, had now become silent and empty. More trees died every day, and the forest was decreasing in size. The only beast that ever came around or showed itself to Faun anymore was their own companion, Shiver. Then, Faun began to feel a pulling sensation deep within, like its gut was trying to get it to move, to go somewhere. It looked around, but all it saw were dying trees. Then, it looked upwards, over the treetops, and saw the far-off tip of a mountain. After seeing the mountain, the tugging sensation became stronger. Perhaps they were supposed to go there... but why? They didn't want to leave their forest... it supposed it had been sitting on that tree stump for too long now, though. There was nothing there anymore for it, so might as well venture beyond its home.

Faun hung the Crystal, which was threaded through a thin string, back on their horn like some sort of earring, and stood up. They called Shiver to them by summoning their Aura, but they knew it would take a little bit for Shiver to arrive, so they started walking. As they walked, they pulled up their leather journal and flipped it open to the next blank page and began to write, soon getting lost in thought and only looking up to avoid running into a tree, or a bush, or a rock. It didn't know exactly where it was going, or how it was going to get to the mountain, but it knew that if it kept following the pulling sensation it ought to lead it at least out of the forest. Perhaps beyond the forest looked better than inside its borders. Or maybe it looked worse. There was only one way to find out.

---

𝔼𝕧𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 ℕ𝕪𝕝𝕖
"ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪɴᴅ ʜᴜᴍꜱ ᴀ ʟᴜʟʟᴀʙʏ,
ꜱɪɴɢɪɴɢ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ɴɪɢʜᴛ,
ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ ᴅᴀɴᴄɪɴɢ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴋʏ…"
━━━━━━✩♤✩━━━━━━

Snoreee…. Snoreee….

The soft and rhythmic breathing was suddenly broken with a surprised squeak as he felt a kick on his lower leg. He got off the fluffy sheep, which stirred as the previous weight of the boy’s head suddenly disappeared, its little legs waving around in open air as it tried to find where the boy was. It knocked his head and he let out a small yelp again before he lifted the sheep up and pulled it into his arm, finding comfort in its warm wool as it looked up at the man that woke him up from his nap.

“You lazy piece of trash, I told you to collect firewood, didn’t I? You have some nerve to sleep on the job,” he scolded, lifting the boy up by the collar of his sweater. The sheep bleated in anger as he was roughly dragged, butting the man’s leg with its tiny horns. It didn’t do any good and Evander only remained silent as he was dragged by the older faun.

“I-I didn’t even ask to join in the first place,” he mumbled, finding the courage to speak his thoughts. His statement was answered by a scoff as they reached the cabin, the other worker fauns stopped their activities to take a glance at him.

”There he goes. Probably sleeping again”

”Why won’t boss take the hint and just get rid of him already?”

He was dragged away from the whispers and into an empty room, covered in layers of dust and dirt. The grip on his collar was let go and he landed on the wooden floor, stirring up a small burst of debris. His sheep companion gave the man one last small angry kick in the man’s leg before it hurried to the boy, finding it’s usual spot in Evander’s arms, it’s amber eyes glaring at the man.

“It’s not a matter of whether you want to do it or not. You’re 19 now, for god sake, you can’t just spend the whole day sleeping anymore,” he berated.

“At least get me a job that didn’t demand a lot of energy from me,” he whined. He tried to cut the trees just now as ordered but he didn’t even reach half way through the bark before he got too tired and decided to doze off. “Like foraging stuff or something,” he added with a whisper. The man didn’t hear none of it as he grabbed a broom from the corner.

“You’re a young faun and you’re acting like you’re 50 years old. Now quit moping around and clean this room instead. If I catch you falling asleep one more time, you’re really getting it from me,” he instructed before he left, slamming the door and causing more dust to fly into the air, dancing like snowflakes as gravity pulled them back towards the ground. He sighed as he stood up and dusted his pants and started to sweep, his sheep gathered the collected dust and disposing them in the trash, looking up at Evander to see if it managed to uplift his mood a little, and surely it did. The boy’s frown turned into a smile as he kneeled and scratched the sheep’s head, earning a happy flap of the ears in return.

“Thanks Ramu, I don’t know what’d I’d be like without you,” he said before he continued back to work, the two working together to get the job done as soon as possible so they can go home early.

It wasn't long before Evander felt too 'tired' to continue and slumped onto the ground in the half-finished room, Ramu leaped to fill the empty spot in his lap, it's fluff grazing against Evander's nose.

"I think we've did a somewhat good job," he whispered to Ramu, seeing the room which was fairly cleaner than before. Apart from the cobwebs still hanging from the walls and the slight patches of dust, it was a satisfactory outcome for the faun and he decided to head out, squeezing through the crack of the open window.

His boots landed on the moist ground of the forest and he quickly retreated from the confines of the wooden gates, carrying Ramu in his arms, as he walked towards his house, eager to see his father and his other companions. The birds were already following overhead and the small critters were tagging along with him on the ground, skillfully avoiding the long blades of grass as he made his way to the dirt pavement of their cottage hidden deep within the trees, isolated from the houses of the other villagers.

As he neared the hut, he felt a weird sensation from his neck. He stopped and pulled out the locket, it's silver metal gleaming with the ray of sunlight. He opened it too look at the small shard inside, glowing in all it's glory. He used to think it was a rock but his father had told him otherwise when he gave him that crystal, though he never really understood the importance of it much. The crystal was unusually warm when he held it, the heat seemingly focused on one direction, heading to the north. He looked down at Ramu who met eyes with the boy. It started to pace a few steps towards the direction the crystal was pointing towards as if encouraging Evander to follow. The faun hesitated.

"Ramu, that leads to the mountains. You know dad told us to avoid going there," he said, shutting the locket and putting it back under his sweater. Ramu only stood there, determination in his eyes.

"You must go there. The crystal asks you to," Ramu's thoughts echoed through his mind as the sheep bleated. This made Evander sweat as Ramu rarely talked to him unless it was urgent. He sighed.

"Fine, but I'll tell dad first," he answered as he made the last steps to his home and opened the door. "I'm home," he called as usual. He sniffed the air for the faint aroma of coffee his father always drank, trying to hear the usual thump on the wooden planks that followed the beat of the song playing on their little radio. He desperately tried to find any sign of life.

But the house was dark, the lanterns were erased, the rooms were silent. No one was home.

"Dad?" he repeated worriedly as he stepped in, Ramu followed suit behind him. Through the dark, the only light was the guidance of the fireflies, accompanying the boy as he walked blindly in the dark, feeling the coarse walls and making his way to the study. The ground was wet with traces of liquid. Did he spill coffee while he walked from the kitchen?

The door to the study creaked open and Evander peered inside, the room as pitch-black as the others, but the faint light escaping from the cracks of the curtains allowed him to see his slumped figure against his chair. Evander sighed in relief as he moved to open the blinds.

"Fell asleep again, dad?" he chuckled as he pushed them open, letting the sun brighten the room.

He wasn't met with a welcoming sight. His heart dropped, his smile faded.

And tears slowly fell, slowly trailed from his eyes to the wooden floor.

He stared in horror and disbelief at the body in front of him, wearing the usual plaid shirt, slumped against his chair, his eyes devoid of any life, his skin pale from the blood that flooded the wooden floor. Ramu cried in grief and anger, approaching the body and examining it. Even with the feeling of despair his companion felt, it was like it knew this would happen, that it wasn't so surprised. Ramu returned with a note in his mouth, butting Evander's leg.

"We must go. This murder was done by an evil being," Ramu said. Evander looked at the sheep in disbelief.

"We can't just leave him like that!" he cried. He refused to accept this, it was just a nightmare, just one of those illusions he'd have every now and then. His companion looked at him, it's face composed despite the faun's strong emotions.

"You'll join him if you don't get out of here. We had predicted this to happen. Now come, the crystal calls for you. You must follow where it guides you. This place isn't safe for it anymore," it continued. It paced a few steps to let the faun hug him, his wool catching the falling teardrops.

---

There was smoke in the air, a column of it exactly. A lone bonfire crackled and tittered, as if having its own soul. Brilliant sparks leaped from it and disappeared into the sky. A figure sat on a log right beside it, face unable to be seen as his head was tipped down. He uncrossed his legs and stood up, not even minding as the fire nearly grazed his feathers. The fire was his friend, and the only one he had known of.

He ran his fingers through his feathers and gazed at the sun. "Heh," he spoke to himself "what a day. The sun's shining bright and no bothersome people in sight." His crystal was stringed around his neck, nestled in his feathers and out of sight. He tossed his head and skimmed the area he was in. Nothing but trees in sight except for one thing; a faint summit of a mountain. He raised an eyebrow at it; why was he so interested in it all of a sudden? Mountains were not his thing especially since he used to live there once... whatever, if his instinct told him to go there, he wouldn't ignore it. Instinct was never wrong.

Before leaving, he made sure to put out the fire; the smoke could've obviously been seen and leaving it would attract unwanted guests. He waved the fumes away from his face as he snubbed the last flames. He started to walk away from it but then stopped; should he at least throw the ashes away so that all traces of him were gone? He pondered for a while but then decided against it. There had to be many campfires around, his one wouldn't be so special. He gave one more glance back before making his way towards the mountain.

---

"ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴇᴀ ꜱᴀɪᴅ ᴜɴᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ "ᴍʏ ᴄʜɪʟᴅ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪꜱ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴅᴏɴᴇ ꜰᴏʀ ᴍʏ ᴘʀᴏᴠɪᴅᴇɴᴄᴇ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴡᴀɴᴇꜱ"
ɪɴ ᴛᴜʀɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴀʀᴛʜ ꜱᴘᴏᴋᴇ ɪɴ ᴅᴜʟᴄᴇᴛ ᴛᴏɴᴇꜱ "ᴍʏ ᴄʜɪʟᴅʀᴇɴ ᴀʀᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʙᴇᴄᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴀʟʟ, ʜᴇᴀʟ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴀʀᴇ ᴏᴜʀ ɢᴜᴀʀᴅɪᴀɴ"
ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴏ ᴍᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ɢʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ʙᴇ ᴍʏ ꜱᴛʀᴇɴɢᴛʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʜ ʙᴇ ᴍʏ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ"
- Excerpts of a Kitchen Witch

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

The sea churned gently, deceptively calm as the creatures which called the water their home leisurely swam among the vibrant life that permeated every strata of existence in the ecosystem. As things was to inevitably be, life and death's unending cyclical loop continued in harmony, neither giving to the other.

"Call the Sea Witch, quickly damn it!"

"B-but ma'am the price-"

"I don't care, call her!"

A pod of Sirens quickly scramble to do their matriarchs bidding, fan tails swaying in the water as they grab the presumed materials. "Do you think this will really work?" One young siren whimpered, hands full of aquamarine crystals each larger than the rest as it glimmered under the refracted sunlight peeking through the surface. He trailed after his sister who was carrying quite the assortment of lustrous and shining shells all taken from the matriarch's special cave. "I-i mean, the Sea Witch is just a children's lullaby right? Sure its a really popular one and almost species has a variation of it but there's no way she's real, what is the Mistress thinking? Not to mention the price...."

His mumbling were quickly shut down when his sister whipped around to bare her fangs at him, a rattling hiss making her gills flutter. "Silence, guppy. You don't get to question our matriarch's words when you are nothing but another dog. Be glad you even have gills and a tail." She spat out before whipping around and flicking her tail towards the Matriarch's cove where her firstborn brood was slowly rotting away with egg weed. No amount of medicine seemed to be slowing the infection, slowly eating more and more of the clutch until only a few remained. And so, as a last ditch effort, their leader had demanded that her pod summon the fabled Sea Witch. A ring of Aquamarine stones, each cupped in the gentle grasp of a pristine shell, must encircle a group of four, each with a pearl in their right hand. The ones in the ring then must sing in an old tongue, one that had been made by the Sea Herself may She always bless us and give us strength, and become Her mouthpiece, calling forth a witch who healed through the powers of the Sea Herself. It was a common children's lullaby, sang countless times by broodmothers to their fry and he had heard it enough times when his own broodmother had ran her claws through his sister's scales that he had all but memorized it. It ran through his head as he set down the aquamarine stones, its winking faces almost mocking him as he took care not to crack any of the shells. The surreal feeling of the whole ritual didn't even leave his mind as four sirens took point and linked hands, each right hand upturned and a single pearlescent orb placed on their palm. As soon as the circle was cleared, it was as if a different spirit overtook the sirens and from their mouth poured forth a choir of words that made his head buzz with the power imbued in each syllable. A haunting eulogy that none of them could understand rippled through the waters, Her call pleased at the offering.

They all flinched back when on a crescendo the pearls into a dust, carried away by the waves as the chorus came to and end amongst the swirl of technicolor fragments. With bated breath, the pod watched with bated breath when the debris was gently washed away, leaving only the four slumped and unconscious forms of the siren who had participated and no signs of anything or anyone who could fit the bill of "Sea Witch". Some of the sirens looked between each other, concerned murmurs rising as they pittered over the implications of such a phenomenon. The ritual was supposed to work wasn't it, the lullaby had all but guaranteed it but somehow she still hadn't been called. Distantly he could hear the matriarch barking out orders to get more pearls but all he could focus on was that the ritual didn't work. Of course it didn't it had been from a children's story after all, a simple tune made of nonsensical words that exhausted broodmothers used to put unruly guppies to sleep. Why would something like that work?

"Ah, you don't need to do the summon again. I'm here." A soft voice cut through the chaos, gentle and steady among the panic. Almost as one, every head whipped over to the source to find a creature awkwardly smiling, a clawed hand waving as if they didn't quite know what to do with their body. The water made their soft blonde hair float around their sturdy face almost like a halo of purity only aided by the soft glow the odd green rock that served as their necklace held, everyone immediately noticing the sleek serpentine body which lazily flicked back and forth to keep the body afloat, two sets of majestic horns curling around to frame a star speckled face. An Ophiotaurus, he realized with a gulp. Her guardians and messengers. Of course the Sea Witch would be one of them he thought almost bitterly. "Please, if someone is in need of healing, lead me to them." The Sea Witch curled one hand over a pouch by their side, fashioned in a shape that none of them had seen before. It was... weird and foreign, a reminder that the creature before them had undoubtedly traveled to places that they hadn't before.

[WIP]

---

"Aella! It's time to go home!"

The rebellious harpy ignored her sibling's calls for her to land. She did not want to go home and do whatever her mother wanted her to do. She wanted to be outside, alone, doing her own thing.

She flew away from her siblings. It's not her fault if they're grounded. They should know not to tell Aella what to do. She would come home when she wanted to.

Aella suddenly felt drawn to the mountains in the distance. She did love mountains, but why was the crystal hidden away in a pouch around her waist suddenly told her to go there? Why that mountain? Why not any other mountain?

Changing course she started heading to the mountain, her large harpy wings flapping to a comfortable rhythm. A good excuse to leave her siblings grounded, to escape her protective mom, and the other harpies. It was good.

---

Deep within a mountain range, amid the snow covered terrain, a single entity could be found. Most of the creatures who once called the snowy domain their home were long gone, having left in an attempt to survive longer as the local flora died off. But not this entity. This one stayed, even as the wildlife fled and the vegetation vanished. Just who was this entity? A snow-white skinned, long ebony haired, pale blue and white kimono wearing, gold eyed blue lipped woman. And her name? It was Eris.

For as long as she can remember, Eris had been alone. She had tried to make friends, mainly with the local wild animals and the occasional human traveler, but to no avail. The animals were terrified of her while the humans were usually victims to her icy aura. The closest thing she had to a friend was the Crystal; a beautiful light pink chunk of minerals that she felt held a life of its own.

Eris always felt compelled to cherish the Crystal. Something about it was warm, not the type of warm that hurt her, but the type of warm that you get inside your soul. She loved that feeling and protected the Crystal from anything and anyone.

Today seemed different though. She was moving through the snow, carrying the Crystal in her hand, when it physically became warm. Eris nearly dropped it at the sudden warmth, but kept a grip on it. She was stunned. What was happening? She felt a tugging sensation in her mind, as if something was trying to pull her towards something. She turned in a slow circle, trying to figure out where the tugging was aiming for. She got her answer; the mountain.

This was a different mountain compared to the ones she dwelled on. Something about it seemed dangerous and frightening. Eris was confused. What was so special about that mountain?? If the Crystal wanted to go there, who was she to deny it? After all, the Crystal gave her companionship, alongside other benefits, if it really wanted to go to that specific mountain, she would take it there. Thus Eris the Yuki-onna began the trek to the mountain for the sake of her Crystal.

Ilia was walking in the deep part of the forest. She had never gone this far. Her pride would've never allowed her to if they knew she was here. But, she was escaping. She started running, her bow clutched in one paw and her crystal in the other. She finally ran out of breath, so she climbed a tree and waited there, hoping to find somebody to prank.

"Ilia! Where are you?!" Ilia heard her pride calling. She ran away, faster than ever, happy to leave her home behind. She occasionally stopped to look back, but she never saw them again. Eventually, her breath ran out again. How deep does this forest go? Ilia thought. She looked around, only to realize something. She was lost.

---

Scalopus was sitting on a cliff. He always liked the view, and the fact that the tunnel system he lived in was built in its side definitely helped him see it often. The forests were beautiful to look at during this time of day, and Scalo had always wondered what it would be like to climb the mountains on the other side. All this combined with the ambience truly made this a calming experience.

But as of recent, Scalo's mind has been occupied by the Crystal in his left hand. He doesn't quite remember how it got in his possession, or what exactly it's meant to be. He heard the story about the Crystalline Heart a few centuries ago, but that's about all the clue he has; He doesn't know if anything happened to it, what happened to it, or if it's even real. This very well could be a piece of the Heart, but that sounds super farfetched for him.

He is trying very hard not to think about it at the moment; After all, that's the whole reason he's at the cliff. But suddenly, he feels far more compelled to head towards the mountain. Almost as if he was being compelled. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't intend to ignore it. His parents are both currently hibernating, and the others are very used to Scalo being absent for long periods of time, so he doesn't need to say any goodbyes just yet.

He opens a tunnel that leads to the bottom of the cliff, and goes into it, closing it off behind him. It doesn't take long before he's already out of the other side, right next to the forest. From there, he just walks the rest of the way, Crystal still in hand.

Eris the Yuki-onna had been traveling for a while. She had run into several humans trying to traverse the mountains, but in the opposite direction she was heading. Sadly Amike had taken control a couple of times and ended some of their lives... Eris shook off the guilt and continued the trek.

With her Crystal feeling warmer every few miles, she worried it may eventually hurt her. As a Yuki-onna, she was meant for cold and snow. Warmth wasn't something she was really built for. But for the Crystal, she would try to hold on...

Aella has been flying across the sky for a while now. Food was no problem for her since there was plenty of humans trying to eat so she could swoop down and steal their food.

The feeling the crystal was giving her was getting stronger as she approached the mountain. As she perched on a tree eating a human's food she stole, she looked at the mountain, wondering why she was so attracted to it

---

Eris had been traveling for a while now... The warmth of the Crystal was very strong, nearly too warm for her to hold. She kept it in her hands though. She was nearly to the mountain the Crystal was guiding her to. Just a little longer and she would be there. What would she find there? Would there be treasures? Would there be some sort of salvation for her? Why was the Crystal leading her to the mountain?!