The Crystal Quest

Part 1- The Shards

Prologue

From the journals of Sir Robin Wabin-Tabin:

I heard a strange legend in my research today. I was interviewing a survivor of the Crystal War, actually he was from Tavanazia and left before it was destroyed to fight in the war, and he knew a strange tale indeed.

Long before the war began there was a farmer who was plowing his field and he unearthed a crystal as large as his fist. He recognized it was different than most of the crystals he saw typically and took it home. After sometime he became festinated with it, as it seemed to give off every element and not just one. Finally he decided to bring it to Windurst since the people there understood magic better than he.

The Ministry of Magic also realized there was something unique about this crystal. No one seemed to be able to crack its secrets until one of their numbers took it to the Star Sybil and one of her handmaiden's chanced to touch it. The girl collapsed and was unconscious for two days but she came too altogether different. She claimed there was a great war coming and the crystal must be hidden or its power would fall into the wrong hands. The girl became the objects guardian and all seemed well for a time.

Years later the girl was a young woman and the whisperings of the gathering of beastmen began. She tried to warn them but most thought it would pass and peace with the Yagudo was possible despite the stirrings. The young woman was ignored but she knew all was not well in the world and having a vision she would be the one to expose the crystal's existence to the enemy she entrusted it with the man who had originally found it. Then the war did indeed come.

Deep into the war the young woman soon had another vision that the man who had the crystal was in danger and rushed to warn him in his small village next to a monastery in Jugnar Forest. She was too late and arrived during the attack and found the elvaan man's young son running from the village covered in blood clutching the Crystal in his hands pursued by orcs. Taking the Crystal she was able to tap into its power and use it to destroy the orcs drawing further attention to herself and the Crystal. Using warp to escape she and the boy found themselves back in Windurst.

Realizing that this act had indeed exposed the crystal to the Shadow Lord as she had foreseen she knew that the crystal would not be safe anywhere in Vanadiel. She then convinced the alchemists and mages to split the crystal into 9 parts. One part would be the key to activate all the others, which she would entrust to the young son of the finder of the crystal, so once the war was over with his help they could once again make it whole. All the seven others each were imbued with an element, which she would give to different families whom she chose through out Vanadiel to guard and keep. Then, taking one shard of it herself, she disappeared and was not heard from again.

Its odd, hearing this tale has inspired me to write this piece of verse, though I'm not sure why…

8 Crystals find with all your might

O'er all Vana you shall roam

Seek you must the Key to find

With a thief 's heart as home

1 From jungle home

1 From city lost

1 From the darkest heart

gained by great cost

2 from Kingdom

2 from city of stone

1 from heaven's tree