"What's wrong, Jackel?" Warlic asked. The wizard just popped right into Warlic's shop from a portal. His clothes were ragged and he was pale, more so than usual. His grey eyes were alight with worry and he scanned around the shop.
"Warlic!" His voice was urgent, harsh.
"Yes?"
"The Ethereal Realm! It's collapsing!"
"What's this about?" Galanoth asked. He yawned, this being around 2 in the morning. "We were all still sleeping."
If one listened closely, they could hear Linn mutter, "Speak for yourself. I was just about to have dinner." And if one looked closer, a pair of unnaturally long teeth could just be seen poking out of her mouth.
"Yes, I want to know what this is about as well,"Imelza said. Her hair was tousled and her White Wizard robes messily thrown on. A light blue and silver staff was in her hand which was marked by numerous scars.
Inside Warlic's shop, seven heroes were gathered. Warlic, Jackel Sano, Artix, Galanoth, Dante, Linn, and Imelza were all there, the last five having no idea whatsoever as to why they were called.
"Sumthin wrong?" Artix asked, looking extremely sleepy. His axe was in his hand, reflecting the candlelight directly into Dante's eyes, shortening his already tiny temper. Dante's eyes were squinted, him not quite being able to see properly. Unfortunately, nobody seemed to notice his problem.
Warlic and Jackel Sano gave each other a glance. There was a silent agreement between the two. Then, Jackel took a deep breath and repeated what he had said to Warlic about half an hour before.
"The Ethereal Realm is collapsing." There was a slight pause before anybody's sleep-deprived brain could catch the meaning of those words. That someone was Imelza. And she didn't like what she heard. Not a single bit.
"What do you mean it's collapsing?!" she hissed. All traces of sluggishness were gone; she looked hyper-alert now. More than that, really. She seemed absolutely furious. "Does that mean the Crystal is gone?!"
"We don't know. But we need to find the Crystal to fix it," Warlic said.
"What crystal?" Dante asked, shifting so the light wasn't in his eyes. "Like a diamond or what?" He rubbed them once before smiling, satisfied. He glanced around and saw the grim faces of Warlic, Jackel Sano, and Imelza, who were all avid magic users.
"Well, you could say that the Crystal keeps the seams of the Ethereal Realm. Take away the Crystal and the Ethereal Realm falls apart," Imelza explained, choosing her words very carefully.
"Not quite," Jackel murmured. "The Crystal is what keeps all of the Ethereal Realm's magic. Take it away and all wizards based in the Ethereal Realm lose their magical abilities. And all spells will basically become useless. Mana will become inaccessible for eternity." He turned to everyone. "And don't forget that Mana is what keeps your Life Force anchored in this world. If Mana is useless, everyone will die."
"I didn't know that." Imelza blinked once.
"It's only revealed to the wizards who spend most of their time in the Ethereal Realm. Also, the Crystal can be molded," Warlic added.
"Which means?" Galanoth grumbled, not liking the roundabout talk one single bit. He was used to straight to the point talk as most of the time, when he appeared, there was usually a crisis and they had to get at it right away.
"That anyone can change everything in the Ethereal Realm," Jackel finished.
". . .That sounds bad."
"Shut up, Mutt," Linn, who was a vampire, snarled at Dante, who was a werewolf. Dante bristled up but unfortunately, he did not have hackles at the moment. If he did, he surely would've raised them. He struggled to bite back a remark but failed to do so.
"What about you, Leech?"
"You want to fight, Flea Bag?"
"Only if you want to, Blood Sucker." The two were staring each other down, each of their characteristics coming to light, no pun intended.
Linn grew fangs and her skin turned ghostly white. Her eyes became bloodshot and strange markings appeared on her face. They looked like lightning bolts, in copper-red, arcing down her forehead to her jawline. Her eyes radiated bloodlust; she had obviously not fed for a long time. And finally, two small lumps on her neck became clearly visible, obviously the bite from the vampire that sired her.
Dante's nails turned to claws and a bushy, rough tail poked out behind him. Fur grew all over his body and his nose elongated into a snout. His teeth sharpened and grew longer while his eyes turned a golden yellow color. Like Linn's, they too were filled with a plea for blood. Saliva dripped from his snout onto the floor, just about the only sound there was. The two watched each other closely, a growl occasionally escaping from Dante's throat.
Sighing, Galanoth stomped over and pried them off each other. He handed Linn to Imelza and dropped Dante on the opposite side of the shop. He growled once more and tried to claw at and bite at Galanoth's hand but Galanoth stopped him with a vicious glare (though his face was hidden).
"There. Happy now?" he asked viciously. Both 'eep'ed and nodded quite vigorously. Galanoth trudged back to his spot, his head drooping, all traces of viciousness quickly disappearing as the loss of sleep caught up with him. He all but slammed his side against the wall of Warlic's shop, making the ingredients on the shelf jerk suddenly. A vial or two dropped but thankfully landed on the many sacks next to the cauldron.
"Thank you Galanoth," Warlic muttered.
"Back on topic now," Imelza said, shaking Linn heavily on the shoulders. Linn bared her fangs at Imelza a few times but the problems were quickly solved when Imelza, very frustrated, punched Linn hard on the cheek. That left Linn with a nasty looking bruise that would probably last for a few days. Imelza put the dazed Linn against a wall and turned to the others.
"Right. So, we need to find the Crystal. Hopefully, we can fix the Ethereal Realm. If that isn't possible, save the Crystal and make a new Ethereal Realm," Warlic said. 'Although it would be very risky. Half of BattleOn might be blown up in the process...'
"Make a new one?" Artix asked.
"Yes. If the Crystal is recovered, we can use it as a template to 'restart' the Ethereal Realm," Jackel Sano answered. "That way, the Ethereal Realm can be rebuilt to be exactly as it is supposed to be." He looked around the shop. 'Though I wouldn't really consider it normal as it is.'
"And why does this concern us?" Galanoth asked, pointing to himself, Artix, Linn, and Dante. He did not want to waste any time doing some silly quest that could be handled without him. Besides, he really should be getting back to DragonStone.
"Because all class skills, excepting the use of Skill, require Mana. And if the Ethereal Realm is destroyed, Mana basically goes kaput," Imelza said. She made a motion with her hands akin to something blowing up. Dante, Linn, Galanoth and Artix turned to each other. A similar look of alarm was evident on all their faces and they nodded.
"We're in," they said simultaneously. Imelza gave a sly glance towards Jackel Sano and Warlic.
"Toldja they would join if I said that."