Chapter 1: Cysero's Invitation
"Warlic doesn't believe that anything can be done," Cysero said earnestly, opening the door of the tower he shared with the Blue Mage and stepping outside to greet his guest. "But I know the world is a wacky place!"
"What do you mean?" Serenity the Innkeeper asked sweetly, looking up at the green-robed mage. "What is all this about? Why did you ask me to come here?"
"I need your help," Cysero answered, looking as deadly serious as if he was about to start expounding on the nature of inverted realities. He stepped aside and gave a courtly gesture at the doorway. "Please, come inside."
Serenity looked into the tower a bit nervously - she remembered the havoc that Cysero's dirty sockmonkeys had once caused when they got loose from his portable flowerbox during his visit to her Inn last spring - but she smiled and nodded anyway. Cysero, she knew, had never meant any of the kingdom's good people any harm.
"Of course." Gathering her skirts and her courage, the young Inkeeper stepped inside, followed by Lore's most eccentric mage.
A few minutes later, Serenity and Cysero were seated in a grand if oddly-furnished room near the top of the tower. The glowing purple armchair that Serenity sat in was making a few odd squeaking noises, especially when the armrests flashed green, but the delicate china cup of Lady Celestia's own blend of herbal tea, served to Serenity by an entirely tame and demure and only slightly grubby sockmonkey, would have been enough to put any well-bred young lady at ease.
"Well you see," Cysero explained, "it all started when Xan and Warlic and I were students at the Swordhaven Magic Academy..."
"Wait a minute," Serenity interrupted. "Did you say Xan? As in, the mad, evil Pyromancer Xan?"
Cysero nodded. "Yup, that's right. But he wasn't always as evil as he is now - and I don't honestly think he'd be insane if he had half a chance not to be. Anyway, back at school he always made a reasonable amount of sense, even if he was angry a lot." Setting down his own mug of hot chocolate, Cysero gave Serenity a steady look. The usually carefree inventor was still acting much more serious than Serenity was used to seeing from him.
"Okay," Serenity said, puzzled. "It's hard for me to imagine Xan as anything but the flaming terror he is now, but I'm willing to believe that you know what you're talking about. So - you three went to mage school together? I never knew that."
"We sure did," Cysero confirmed. "Xan really knew how to throw some spectacular pranks! Of course, Warlic was just as wild. They almost made me look well-behaved! Those were exciting days, let me tell you." He grinned, then went serious once again. "And then there was Jaania..."
"Who's she?" Serenity asked.
"Jaania was the one student at the Academy who always was well-behaved, I think," Cysero said. "She was a very kind, gentle, and wise young lady, well on her way to becoming one of Lore's greatest forces for peace and understanding. Very beautiful, too, of course. She was the love of young Warlic's life." He paused meaningfully. "And Xan's as well."
"Oh," Serenity breathed, her eyes wide. "So that must have been the beginning of their hatred and rivalry for each other..." She suddenly remembered the quickly-cooling cup of tea she was holding, and set it down on the small end table next to Cysero's hot chocolate. "Where is Jaania now, Cysero?" she asked. "What happened to her?"
"That's the heart of the tragedy," Cysero replied. "She's still alive, as far as anyone knows, but she's been trapped inside a giant crystal for years. No one's ever been able to find a way to get her out of it."
"That's terrible!" Serenity exclaimed. "You said you needed my help. What can I do? I... I've never been outside of town," she added. "Couldn't an Adventurer help you better?"
Cysero shook his head. "No way. You're the most compassionate person I know, Serenity. I knew if I asked you for help, even if one of the people who needed help was Xan, that you wouldn't walk away."
"Of... of course not," Serenity answered, shaken by the idea of deliberately leaving someone in trouble. "I'll help you, Cysero. But how?"
"Before you can help, you need to understand," Cysero said. "I know an illusion spell that will help me to tell you the story. To begin with, you will imagine that you are Warlic, the first day we all arrived at the magic academy. Are you ready?"
Serenity nodded. "All right," she said, and closed her eyes. "I'm ready."