CRYSTAL MAIDEN ARC

Curse or Gift?

Young child of ten and two, Rylai looked straight ahead without truly looking at her surroundings as the strong winds bring flakes of snow from different directions. Her heart is troubled and it is visible in her face. Her problem begins as she reflects about her childhood days back home…

Home in a temperate realm and living a simple farming life with normal parents, Rylai is raised with her older sister, Lina. The sisters have different personalities: Rylai is obedient, guileless and naïve; while Lina is rebellious, clever and conniving. Three years older than Rylai, Lina always bullied her: while Rylai tries to befriend and play with fellow children, Lina would do pranks at her, resulting to humiliation and ending up alone; when alone to play or read by herself, Lina would disrupt her; Lina would also steal or destroy Rylai's personal items; worst of all, Lina kept on framing and blaming her to a fault she did not commit.

Rylai would go to her parents and tell them what Lina has done. Sometimes she will defend herself from Lina's accusations or fight her. And when their parents grounded them, Rylai would obey and went to her room while Lina runs away. This kept on going on, much to their parents' exasperation.

Then something happened that will change the siblings' life. On one fateful day in the living room, the siblings are having another fight. As the confrontation lengthens, they were unaware that their surroundings begin to change: licks of fire started to appear from Lina's body while the floor where Rylai stood begins to freeze. As the siblings' bitter fight grows, so are the fire and ice. Then the two elements collide and a small explosion occurred, throwing the siblings away from each other. The elements also destroyed the living room. After the explosion, the parents arrived and saw the damage in their house. They asked the sisters of what happened. Neither of the sisters could answer.

From then on, the family and every citizen are aware of what happened and learned about the siblings' affinity element: Lina is fire and Rylai is ice. The siblings are learning how to control their powers. The clever and conniving Lina is able to master hers and is never afraid to flaunt and do some damage with her magic. She is a rebel at heart and a terror to the parents' and locals' consternation.

Rylai, however, is a huge problem. She has no idea how to control the ice that would suddenly appear around her. The parents tried to help but end up in failure and never bothered her again, leaving her alone to deal with her problem. She tried her best to figure out how to control her element but always fail. Due to her inability to control her element, many bodies of water and crops are frozen, thus affecting the locals' livelihood, especially their lives. The local adults never failed to show their contempt; her age group is afraid to approach her. The locals' reactions toward her saddened Rylai and this deepen her loneliness. Oh, how she feared this curse! Worst of all is Lina. She kept taunting and bullying poor Rylai, thus starting another sibling fight. This time, they are using their magic.

The homesteads they lived would either burn or cave in, and they have to build or transfer to another one. These incidents fueled the locals' gossips about the siblings' rivalries and the damages they did.

Tired of the sisters' fighting, the parents figured out that life would be back to normal if the sisters are separated. They banished the two away from their home: Lina to the south and live with an aunt, while Rylai is sent to a village to the far north.

Back to the present, Rylai has reached her destination, a place called Icewrack. Only problem is there is no village. In fact, there are no living beings to be seen, only an endless field of snow and ice.

Disheartened, Rylai could only wonder where she will go from here. How does one survive in this desolate and depressing realm? She has no idea. Helpless and alone, Rylai could do now is bow her head and try not to cry...

"Greetings, Child." said a voice above her head.

A surprised Rylai suddenly looked up to see the one who spoke. Blurred by unshed tears, Rylai has to blink many times to finally clear her vision. When done, she saw a stooped, wizened old man wearing regal robes that looked as old as he was. He is also holding a staff with a crystal at the top, and his face is split with a friendly and fatherly smile.

When Rylai continued to ogle, the old man continued to talk. "You must be wondering why someone like me is out here in the biting cold. I tell you, the cold is nothing to me." Rylai's eyes widened at what he said. "And as what I suspect, you too could withstand the cold. In fact, your element is ice."

Surprised that the man could tell she has the power of ice, Rylai asked. "H-how did you know?"

"I know because I felt it from my home." answered the old man. "You see, Child, I am an Ice Wizard. When I felt such powerful magic in this realm, I went out to investigate. Haha, thoughts about a rival, such as the Ancient Apparition or the Lich, who wished to face me came to mind first. To my surprise, I saw you as the source of the powerful magic. Hmm… As what I see, I believe you are banished here for not learning to control it?" Rylai nodded her head sadly. The old man nodded wisely "Ah. Then I am glad I found you first before the wolves did. Such powerful magic must not be lost. Therefore, I decided to make you my apprentice. Under my tutelage, you will learn how to control and strengthen your magic. Continuous study will help you gain knowledge and understanding of your affinity element. Through hard work and discipline, you will master your skills and become a powerful ice practitioner. And you will learn to appreciate this wonderful gift."