The Life Artifacts...Masses of Xerneas' vital energy... When the world and the continents were created, each zone was given one. Since, a lot of different beings and plants thrive in varied biomes. There was a time when the Artifacts were part of the landscape, in rooms visited by Xerneas clerics. But one day, one of these clerics went through a series of unfortunate events that made him radically change his perspective on life. Eaten away by bitterness and despair, he decided that life only deserved to be destroyed... and began breaking some of the Artifacts. The consequences for the zones that get their Artifact damaged were serious. Deprived of vital energy, life and nature started to decay. The trees and plants were dying, Pokemon were falling sick and loosing their energy... A hunt started. People who still had enough energy left organized patrols on the roads, and every suspicious individual was arrested. Day and night, fighters and paladins guarded the Artifacts rooms. But a few of them were found dead, lying on the ground, next to a broken Artifact. The culprit had to be arrested, otherwise life was running towards its end. But days passed, and he was still nowhere to be found.
Fortunately one day, when the important persons of the five kingdoms were discussing the situation in a council room, in the independent zone of the Ancient Springs, a Pokemon came in front of them. Dragging the culprit's body behind him. As the culprit was now dead, the broken Artifacts slowly healed themselves. It took time, but the situation came back to normal in all the zones. Life was as abundant as it once was, and the hero who put an end to the disaster was celebrated in each kingdom and each zone.
But all this time, from their legendary plane of existence, Xerneas was watching. Furious that someone dared to mess up with the Artifacts they gave to the world, they burried them and their rooms deep in the ground, where no one could find them. Then, they appeared to the highest priests and told them to protect them in dungeons riddled with traps, to never reveal their location to anyone and to destroy all books that gave a clue about where they were. Nevertheless, one of these books was preserved from destruction and was put under protection in the large library of Lycir, main town of the Kingdom of Borealis, located in the Boreal Forest zone. To this day, the book is still kept in the library, in a forbidden section where reading the books is strictly prohibited, even to people who work there. Only the approximate places of the Artifacts are known.
Nowadays, the Artifacts are still burried in their dungeons, and no harm was made to them since. People are aware of their existence and how important they are, and nobody really tries to search them. It's safe to assume they are protected for enternity... Unless ?
The four adventurers passed the gate of the small town of Sarathom. It was the end of the afternoon in this peaceful place, located among the spruces, pines and blue waters of the Bristlecone Lakes zone, in the kingdom of Borealis. The sun rays were illuminating the tree trunks and the grass with a golden light, and the townfolks were wandering on the cobbled streets to go relax after a day of work. The four Pokemon entered these streets. One of them, a Sirfetch'd, was walking a few feet before them as they were talking about the quest they just successfully completed. The three others, a Gigalith, a Shiftry and an Escavalier, followed her to a gallery dug into the stone of a small mountain. This place, well-liked by the inhabitants, was home to a few shops and a place where they could eat some snacks and drink. It was there the adventurers aimed for. A few minutes later, they were sitting around a table, each one with a drink contained in a glass made of pine bark. Spring's Blessing, the typical drink of the town, made with berries, milk, honey and boiled with water from the hot springs, was very popular there and the four Pokemon were no exception. But now, it's probably the time to introduce our adventurers, right ?
Amaria, Sirfetch'd. Coming from Lycir, Borealis' capital city, she was raised by fighter parents and taught to battle according to the Battle Styles, a fighting method inspired by the one of a legendary battler. Amaria is short-tempered, resolute, quite snarky and doesn't take annoyance from anyone. Her beak is decorated with a metal ring and she wears a black frabric band around her neck.
Next to Amaria, the Escavalier satisfyingly put her glass back on the table after swallowing a few sips of the delicious drink. She began talking about a new flower she discovered during the day's quest with enthusiasm.
Orahcia, Escavalier. Coming from a small town in the Everfall Forest, an autumnal zone located across the continent in the rainy kingdom of Reghen. Initially travelling to Lycir to study business and trade, she eventually got bored of it and decided to go adventuring instead. Orahcia is sweet, absent-minded, enthusiastic about her interests and curious. She owns an enchanted staff that allows her to retrieve tree saplings and flowers safely to plant them again later. Her goal is to create a garden with flora from everywhere across the word with the help of this item. She wears a purple scarf around her neck and a flower on her head.
Orahcia and Amaria joined the guild quite recently, after the Sirfetch'd, who was kicked out of her home to find her own way, rescued the Escavalier from a tree branch that fell on her while she was herself aiming for the guild.
The conversation strayed onto the lost bag they had to retrieve for their mission, and the Shiftry started narrating how he located it.
Aspen, Shiftry. Coming from the south of the icy kingdom of Svelljord, right next to the border with Borealis, he wanted to become an adventurer since his childhood. He has an interest for mecanisms and above all, treasures and epic tales of adventures. Aspen is theatrical, passionated, confident and cunning. An enchanted tattoo ressembling tangled tree branches ornates his belly, providing him a slight speed boost, and he wears his fur braided on each side of his pointy nose.
As his teammates talked about their day, the Gigalith remained silent, just listening to them and thinking about the memories he made.
Goliath, Gigalith. Coming from the towering mountains of the Dizzying Peaks, right next to the border with Svelljord. Aspen is his best friend since they are teens, and he followed him when the Shiftry left to go adventuring. Like Aspen, he's not in the job since long but already loves the ability it gives him to help people and discover the world. Goliath is calm, benevolent, a bit simple-minded and optimistic. He gets very attached to people he likes, and trains in battle to be able to protect them. He's way bigger than the average Gigalith and wears a redish-purple cloak, and a brown satchel tied to his front-left leg.
Goliath and Aspen were the most recent members in the guild. They came here after an exploration of an abandonned stronghold on their own, that was concluded after the activation of a trap, a collapsed ceilling, a fall in a staircase and a rusty shield as the only reward. Once they finally got out of it, they decided it would be wise to come to a guild to learn about the job.
The party finished their drinks, paid and headed back to the guild, walking on a nice forest path bordered by lakes and hot springs. As Amaria and Aspen were arguing about whether or not the guildmaster's idea to group the Sirfetch'd and the Escavalier with the two newcomers in one team was good, the Gigalith was thinking about his family, a mother and a older sister he wanted to make proud. His father, who wanted to live a lonely life, left when he was a Roggenrola. Sometimes, he tought about him too.
Finally crossing the gate of the guild, they walked on a cobbled path that led right to the main building which was also the biggest. Made with stone and local wood according to the tradition of the Bristlecone Lakes, it had a pointy roof. Green banners with a wind rose pattern, the symbol of the adventurers, decorated the walls. On their right, there was a L shaped building that looked quite similar, and small fields. On their left stood a few cabins. They went there, towards their shelters. The guild of Sarathom wasn't made of one building like most others, it looked more like a camp protected by a palisade. Upon their arrival, guildmembers built their own cabin to live in.
As it was the end of the day, most members were already there. The Gigalith followed Aspen into their shelter, and left his bag and cloak on his side of the cabin. They figured they would have the time to go clean themselves and relax in a spring, but at the time they stepped outside, the sound of a bell resonated in the place.
"The bell ? Already ?" asked the Shiftry, looking into the main building's direction.
It was where the bell was hung, and its purpose was to gather members, either to wake up, come to eat, or if an announcement was going to be made. Goliath and Aspen had to learn it immediately upon their arrival at the guild, when they rang it late on the evening thinking it would call someone to open the door. All the members came instead, believing the guildmaster had something to tell them. Confusion ensued.
Abandoning their washing project, the four Pokemon followed the other members to the central building. It was still a bit early for the diner, so chances were great that it was an announcement. Just in front of the large wooden door, a Xatu was standing, a serious look on his face... which wasn't that ominous for the adventurers, since Rith, the guildmaster's assistant, always had this expression. People, naturally, wanted an explaination :
"What happened ? Dear Arceus, I hope it's nothing serious..."
"I come, I come"
"Bad news, huh ?"
"This bell always makes me jump..."
"Everyone, in the guild hall. Now." the Xatu simply said in his imperative tone.
"Rith, what happened ?" Aspen asked. Behind him, Goliath was staying silent, but was also curious.
"Listen to me and go to the guild hall. Things will be explained"
"Wow ! Seems that we're getting into important stuff !"
Then, everyone followed Rith inside, wondering what they were going to hear.
Author note : English isn't my native language, so there may be some errors in grammar and formatting. Don't hesitate to warn me if you see a recurring mistake.
