Chapter 6: Realize
'Gurdy, there's something that I must tell you. It's hard to believe, but you and I are actually the same person. The Crystal of Fire in Tipa told me that I should understand myself, including this truth about us. I thought we were very different from each other. But as we share the same mind and body, maybe we're not that different. This fragmented personality is why we can hear the crystals easier than most people, but it does make things difficult for us.'
His brother had a lot more to write, although much of it bored Gurdy. It was academic and philosophical ramblings, plus questions on things that he wasn't interested in. Although, it was a curious question of how the both of them emerged from one mind. The differences between them weren't as strange when they were brothers.
"Maybe I'm the evil half," Gurdy mumbled to himself, then laughed. "I'd say I was light on the evil, though I do cause him more trouble than he deserves. But what do we do about this?"
That was the big question now. Hurdy didn't seem sure about it either. With two of them being the same, it could make for some interesting scams… no, he couldn't do that to his brother. Even if the tricks could potentially get them some good gil, it wasn't worth ruining Hurdy's reputation as well. But what he did didn't interest Gurdy. Hurdy wanted to lift people's spirits, learn about all kinds of things that didn't mean anything in day to day life, and help others find peace with themselves. Maybe even find peace of mind for himself, which was indeed made more difficult when Gurdy was entirely disconnected to him.
Disconnected… Gurdy closed his eyes and thought back over some memories he did have. They weren't quite memories, being things he knew about himself and Hurdy. Some of them were in a dream-like haze that were almost memories. At one time, perhaps, he could feel himself outside of this body. He was watching over his brother as a child. Hurdy could hear voices of spirits, of the crystal, even of the miasma. As a result, he wasn't as interested in voices of normal life. That had Gurdy worried. Hurdy would just watch the clouds, not realizing that the path he was on was precarious.
And there was what happened just yesterday. He'd felt disembodied, waking up to a feeling of panic. He found himself standing in front of a bridge, in front of the town of Tipa. Various things came into his mind: this was not a good place to be, he was avoiding this region for a good reason, he was to take care of his brother because they were alone. The Tida crystal wanted to be here in Tipa and Hurdy was the one who could bring the fragments together. However, Hurdy was frozen in shock because of a painful scar that had been forgotten until they saw the place again.
Having lost their memories might have some good points, such as not remembering whatever happened here. But even those good points caused problems. Following some knowledge as disembodied as himself, Gurdy took over their shared body and walked Hurdy over to the crystal. It had made sense at the time. But now that it was pointed out, he wondered why he didn't realize the truth of their existence sooner, that those dreams were real.
That he was borrowing not just his brother's clothes, but his brother's life.
"Should I even be here?" Gurdy mumbled to himself. The wagon rumbled along, leaving puffs of dust above the road. He'd sat at the back of the wagon this morning to think over things; Leon hadn't asked about it, but he seemed to understand. Hurdy had probably told him about things yesterday when he learned about it.
You protect your brother even though you act like you don't care about anything.
"Hmm?" The voice came through a cluster of phantasmal bells. That was… Gurdy reached back to check his bag. There was one of the crystals inside. "I thought you stayed in Tipa."
I was the one who guarded Marr's Pass; I have yet to reach my home.
"Oh right, that was on the way," he said, bringing the crystal back and turning back to the passing road. "But I'm sure I cause Hurdy more problems than he deserves."
That is true.
Gurdy smiled sheepishly. "Ouch, not holding back on anything, are you? What I mean is, I don't see how somebody like me can protect anybody."
He nearly ran away from Tipa. You made sure he entered when he didn't have the courage. That led him to understanding what was wrong and not being afraid of it. And through your whole existence, you looked after mundane matters that Hurdy had few thoughts for.
"What, you mean like getting money and such?" Gurdy asked. "Well life isn't all about dreams and ideals. You can't just hope and pray to make things go right. If you want to get things done, you'll always need money."
Yes, but you are too focused on mundane matters like Hurdy is too focused on spiritual and intellectual matters. You're also lazy and addicted to the thrill of trickery. You don't even care if you win or lose on a con, just that you're making a fool of others. But you mostly make a fool of yourself.
He frowned a moment, not liking how the crystal saw to the truth of things. Various arguments came to mind that he knew he should keep to himself; they were secret thoughts that others would be disturbed by. But then, he was talking with a being that instantly saw the truth of himself. "Well if you're purely honest in business, everyone else is going to take advantage of you. Hard work earns you more work, not much money, and no notoriety. Even the most kindly person is selfish at their core and will laugh silently at you. So you may as well take what advantage you can get and enjoy what you do."
Do you fully believe everyone things like that? Even your brother?
For a moment, Gurdy felt guilty about voicing that. "Well… well maybe he's so pure because I am his darker side, disconnected to him. Hmph, but that makes us together rather twisted, doesn't it? I always knew he was my older brother, so, does that mean he's our true self and I'm just some phantasm?"
He is the main personality of your mind, but he's not your true self. Neither are you.
"What?" Gurdy looked at the crystal, shimmering with sunlight in his hand. He had a feeling that even if he chucked it out into the roadside with all his might, it'd stay right by him. "That shouldn't be right."
Even as you feel that way, you know it to be the truth.
"Man, it's a good thing most people can't understand you because you'd annoy so many of them," Gurdy said. "So what is it? Is there some third person with us that is the one who should be living this life?"
No. You two should balance each other as you once did. We have a plan for that, to help you both find true understanding.
His immediate thought was 'why should I drag Hurdy down?' But he was sure his brother would tell him to trust in the crystals. "Oh yeah? What is it?"
A short time later, the wagon slowed to a stop. "Gurdy, we're at the dock," Leon called from the driver's seat.
"Sure, I can tell that," he said, hopping down to the ground. They had to get the papaopamus to pull the wagon onto the ship, something he felt like could be trouble. But glancing around, he noticed something was off. This dock area of Jegon River should have a couple of crystals that kept the passage safe, out in the river itself. They were gone now.
An explanation for that came up when they talked with the lilty ferryman about traveling to Leuda. "Are you the pair that's working for the crystals?" he asked.
"Yes, they decided to consolidate themselves since the miasma is gone," Leon said.
"There's supposed to be several along the Jegon, isn't there?" Gurdy asked.
The ferryman nodded. "Yes, and it's the strangest thing, but the night after the miasma disappeared, they all gathered together on my boat. They spoke in a weird voice I barely understood, saying that they were waiting on a lilty and a clavat who would go to Leuda from here. Then I got word yesterday of what happened with various other town crystals."
"But mostly about Marr's Pass, right?" Leon guessed. "They weren't too happy about it."
"They still don't understand why their town wasn't chosen," the ferryman said. "But they seem to realize that they have to accept it. It's been a little strange for me to navigate without the crystals here. But in my view, if they want to be somewhere, they ought to be there."
Thankfully, the papaopamus was cooperative in getting on the boat. Maybe the animal realized it was going to get a ride itself. Once they had the wagon secure, Gurdy went over to where he river crystals now gathered. They were in tall fragments, floating closely together but not fusing. "Hello, so where are you going?"
We must go to Leuda. We would have stayed when this boat last traveled there, but we were waiting on you.
"All right, my brother will take care of you," Gurdy said.
And will you work with us?
He hadn't really said he would or wouldn't when talking to the Marr's Pass crystal. "You guys really are one mind," he said. "Sure, I'll follow your plan. It's a nasty trick even by my standards, but, I see what you're doing. Just let me talk to Leon first."
Very well. And thank you for doing this even though it's outside your normal interests.
Gurdy shrugged at that. "Eh, it'll end up benefiting both of us if it works. I'm a bit worried leaving it up to Hurdy, but if you think he's up to it, I'll give it a whirl."
The ferryman then rang a bell, indicating that they were leaving the dock. Leon came up to him, looking over the fragmented crystal. "Where are these ones wanting to go?"
"Lueda, all of them," Gurdy answered. "Which is nice, since we don't have to double back all the way to Shella or something."
Leon nodded. "We'll have to be careful; the ferryman was telling me that the selkies there often take advantage of caravanners heading out to the desert."
Putting his hand to his chin, he said, "Well, it might not be that big of a problem. The crystals are revered by everyone. Even the people of Marr's Pass backed down when they acknowledged what the crystal's will was. If it's anything like the others, Hurdy will want to go heal them immediately. Then he'll tell them that that crystal, most likely to be that of water, is now their responsibility. When they see that you're both there in service of the crystals, I'm sure even old-fashioned selkies would be respectful."
"I hope it's like that," Leon said, then looked up at him. "Are you troubled learning the truth about yourself and Hurdy? You've been off by yourself all morning."
"Don't worry about me," he said, giving a little laugh like he didn't care. "It's a weird thing to realize, but I'll be fine. Actually, I was wondering how Hurdy would do on his own. It's quite disorienting when you suddenly blank out, then wake up at a completely different time and place. It was pretty bad back at Moschet Manor. If I could leave Hurdy to an uninterrupted day, it could be better for the both of us."
Fortunately, Leon seemed agreeable to the idea. "He almost had one yesterday. But what about yourself?"
"Hey, I'm not the one who was born into this body," Gurdy said, waving his hands. "Guess you could say I was born a thief, huh? Although, I've realized that I came about in order to protect him. So when I start causing him more problems then I'm worth, then..." he shrugged, "well, I've got to figure out what I should do with myself. I think, if I'm aware of the situation, I might be able to keep my thoughts to myself, like off in a corner of our mind while he's in control. But I don't know what that'll do to him. So, do you mind keeping an eye on him for me? Especially around Mount Vellenge; he might freeze up again and I might not be paying attention then."
Leon didn't even hesitate to answer, "Of course. I just hope you don't mean to abandon Hurdy, especially if your initial purpose was to protect him."
"Nah, I'm not heartless," Gurdy said. "I just..." he rubbed his head, trying to figure a way to be cool about it. "I just have to figure out what I should be doing, that's all. And it might take time."
Actually, he knew what he'd be doing. The crystals' plan was a good one. He just wanted to be sure that Hurdy wouldn't be entirely alone while they were waiting on the proper time.
The trip over the sea was enough for Hurdy to tell him more of Cecil's story, in particular his trial on Mount Ordeals that lead him to becoming a paladin. He did have companions with him, but they were people who could hold their own. While one was an old man, he was a renown sage that knew a lot about magic. The other two were children, but they were prodigy mages sent along to keep an eye on Cecil and help protect him while he was adjusting to his new class. As mages, they were better off with a tougher warrior to protect them. But they didn't strictly need that.
He and Hurdy were in a different situation. Still, it was good to hear the story. There was even more to it, but Leuda was now in sight. The island had high cliffs and tiny rocky beaches; a group of huts lined a winding path up a gap in the cliffs. While this couldn't be a popular destination, the road was smooth and wide enough for a papaopamus wagon to ascend up towards the desert. The crystal itself was surprisingly at the base of the cliffs, forcing the houses to remain close to shore. Then again, the spread of the crystal would have given them plenty of safe areas to fish.
"I'm going to need a few minutes to get the boat hooked up so you can take the wagon off," the ferryman said, already going about his work. "The papaopamus won't feel comfortable leaving otherwise."
"Sure," Leon said. Hurdy was already leading the crystal fragments over to Leuda's guardian. Leon followed since he'd missed the last one.
There were several residents near the docks, all selkies. Some were taking care of fish caught earlier in the day; a trio were cleaning up a little shop since the ferry had shown up unexpectedly. And a group of children came running down the slope to see why the two travelers had a bunch of floating crystals with them. Leon kept himself looking relaxed while keeping an eye on what was going on around them. It came naturally, like he used to do this kind of act daily.
When Hurdy started to pray, one of the kids asked Leon, "Hey, mister, what's he doing?"
"Watch and you'll see," Leon said.
"From the flow of streams to the tides of the ocean, no life can be without the force that birthed it. You will now be reborn as a source of one of the great elements. You are now the Crystal of Water. May you shine for all time, bringing the blessings of Water into the world." The fused crystal shone a sapphire sheen; the waves burst up suddenly, seemingly drawn to the reborn crystal.
The kids watching cheered while the adults who hadn't come over were staring. "Wow, did you make the crystal stronger?"
"Sort of," Hurdy said. "I need to talk with one of the town leaders, if they're available. Would you please bring one down here?"
"Okay!" The kids then ran off, eager to be bearers of this big news.
"Do we want to head straight over to the desert today?" Hurdy asked him. "I'd like to speak to the crystal, but I could do that tomorrow. And if my knowledge is right, Lynari is hot during the day, but not dangerously so. You might still want to skip out on the black armor, though."
"The leather armor should be suitable," Leon said, feeling like that was right. "Sure, we can head to Lynari Desert today. We have some extra water; we just need to be sure to find some shaded shelter for the papaopamus."
By the time they got the wagon off the boat and on the road, the kids had returned. The two selkies with them had duller hair, marking them as elders. After exchanging greetings, the old woman said, "The kids said you made the crystal more powerful. Did you really?"
"Sort of," Hurdy repeated. "It's no longer needed to protect against the miasma, so this changes its power. They used to be the Crystal of Life. For now, they have decided to reorganize into four crystals in order to heal the world from the scars left by the long curse of miasma. Your town is now the residence of the Crystal of Water. You should find someone who can listen to its guidance, but one of the first things you should know is that they don't want people to restrict access to them."
"As long as people don't try to drive us away from here, we don't mind that," the old man said. "Are you the ones who banished the miasma?"
"No, that was a selkie from Tipa, called Tsu Fai," Leon said.
"Wow, really?" one of the kids asked. Hurdy nodded to that.
"Her?" the old woman said, surprised but quick to smile at it. "She didn't seem like the ambitious sort. But it is wonderful; we may have to send someone to the mainland to offer our congratulations."
"There is someone who can hear the crystal here, so we're fine on that front," the old man said. "What are you two going to do now?"
"We need to go take care of the fourth crystal in Fum and some business on Mount Vellenge," Leon said. "But first, we need to take care of something in Lynari Desert. How are things there?"
"It's grown tamer," the old man said. "Some of our young folk went on an adventure out there after the miasma vanished. The monsters are not coming back as often as they used to; they didn't even see the most powerful monster there, a giant ant lion far in back with the myrrh tree. And the tree itself had withered up."
"That's what has been happening with myrrh trees everywhere," he said.
"They were a part of the cycle that kept miasma strong," Hurdy said. "So they're no longer needed and should fade away from the world. But the mana spring we're after should still be there."
The selkies of Leuda didn't delay them any longer; the elders even sent the kids off to make sure the road up the cliff was clear. There was some vegetation near the town, what the residents had managed to grow. However, the road quickly got dusty and dry. Succulents and other plants that could survive on miniscule amounts of water were the only plants outside where the guardian's range would have been. What animals could be seen from the rolling wagon were equally hardy.
"It's odd that the Crystal of Water would choose an island like this to reside on," Leon said. "It is in the middle of the sea, yes, but it's so dry on top of this massive rock."
"The presence of the crystal will change the land around it," Hurdy said, looking off into the desert now that it had been mentioned. "There is a mysterious old legend that may be of another world. It had four crystals that ruled the elements. Due to a scheme of forces of chaos, the four crystals lost power and darkened. As a result, the wind failed the blow, the waters went still, the earth rotted, and fire lost its heat. I think that with time, this arid island will have plenty of water around."
Leon thought about that a moment, then suggested, "Seems interesting, but how about we stick to the legend we've been following?"
That made Hurdy laugh. "Oh, yes! Well then… ah yes, we were going through how Cecil's friend Kain showed up and brought a demand from Golbez to fetch a crystal in exchange for Rosa. But getting that crystal would be a challenge because it had already been stolen..."
As they traveled along, a salty breeze seemed to follow them along. It took about twenty minutes to reach an old stable by the road. A sign near it warned that the desert ahead was dangerous. Although it was distant from the village, the stable was in good shape. There was even a water pump near a trough to make sure that a papaopamus left here would have something to drink. They got some water for theirs, then headed into the desert.
There was a short canyon leading into the desert itself. Before long, Hurdy put a hand in the air. "This wind feels like it's coming off the sea," he said.
"The crystal must be starting its work already," Leon said, feeling encouraged by that.
Then something caught his eye up in the air ahead of them. A shining glittering spot in the sky… he reached for his sword, his whole body going tense. At his side, Hurdy stared at the spot, putting a hand over his spell rings. "I-is that Raem? But he's gone."
You seek the holy mana spring? The light swung around gently, keeping out of reach.
"That isn't the same light," Leon said. The voice with it wasn't cruel, nor was it mournful; it was serene and noble. But even realizing that, he still felt like he should be ready for a battle.
It seemed Hurdy was in the same predicament. "Yes… yes, we're seeking the holy mana spring. I know how to activate it."
It's already active. Tell me how.
"Oh, I wrote a poem about that," Hurdy said, starting to recite it. He began to relax immediately. Listening to him, Leon managed to calm himself. This was not Raem.
Good. We know that one of you seeks the trial of the paladin. Consider this one stage of your trial. I have shifted the ways of this desert. The ways have become a riddle of magic. As your companion is the one who is versed in magic, you need to make sure he gets through this maze unharmed. Will you take this trial, Leon Esla?
"Are you ready for this?" Leon asked Hurdy first.
He nodded. "Yes."
"Good, then we're ready for this trial," Leon said to the light. It seemed to be a manifestation of the crystals.
Very well, your trial will be complete when you get the blessing from the mana spring and then return here to the entrance.
They walked out into the desert and were immediately confronted with three goblins. Leon moved ahead to draw the goblins' attention to him rather than Hurdy. While it was harder, he slashed at one and hopped over to slash at another, keeping an eye on the third and listening to the battlefield. Hurdy helped him out with a new spell, setting a shielding wind around him. It did knock the goblins back a couple steps; fighting with aero on would take some getting used to.
Once he dispatched the goblins, Hurdy came forward. "I hope the shield didn't get in your way."
Leon shook his head. "I can work with this. Which way do we go?"
He glanced around. "If you imagine this place as a square, each side will move us to another square of desert. It won't necessarily be the side next to this square. Each square has a magic associate with it. I don't know about you, but I can read the magic. While there isn't an obvious riddle, I think we should try with the activation sequence. Which is, we start that way." He pointed to the right of where they had come in.
When they crossed the invisible boundary of the square, Leon felt a faint tingle like static. That was the only sense he had for it being magic. A massive zuu appeared, out of Leon's reach. As he still had Aero on him, Leon made sure to block the zuu's attacks until Hurdy could ground it with gravity. That let Leon dispatch it quickly. As they crossed the desert with its new wandering ways, it continued like that. Hurdy would figure out which way was next in sequence, more monsters would appear, they'd dispatch them, then Hurdy would find the next way. A couple of times, a monster would try to sneak around Leon to get to Hurdy; he didn't let them.
Then Hurdy came to a loss at one point. "We've gone through the whole sequence now, including casting Life on the spring," he said, looking around. "And these ones aren't simple spells now, more like the Gravity part."
Leon thought that Gravity required two magicites to cast, but he wasn't sure. "Which one relates most to Holy?" he asked, hoping that helped.
"Oh right, that's the simple answer!" he said, brightening up. "I should have noticed, but only one of these sequences will actually fuse to holy. You need a life magiciite and an elemental magicite, and it can't be elemental and then life or you get slow. So that's the way."
"I feel like that's the way we came, but that's magic for you," Leon said, following Hurdy over.
He laughed. "Yes, that's magic for you." They crossed the invisible border and ended up suddenly near a drop in the land. Scattered bones almost acted as a fence, right behind a fountain of pink-tinged light that sprouted out of a phantasmal flower. "Here it is! Since this crystal pendant has power, just placing it in the spring should be enough to switch the element to holy." Hurdy set his bag down so he could take the pendant off and do that.
Meanwhile, Leon's attention was drawn to the drop past the bones. The bottom of that pit was brown and, after a bit of watching, seemed to be moving. "Doesn't this look like mud water to you?" he said, pointing down there.
Hurdy examined the changed crystal, then looked over at the pit. Then he smiled. "Oh, yes, this area does look like it should be a lake. This is great! It wasn't as clear with the other two, but this proves the crystals are already at work. Hopefully more signs appear when we get the fourth together."
Leon nearly smiled back, but a shine briefly distracted him. It hovered over the muddy lake bed, then shot across towards them. Was that the crystal again? Leon watched as it went near Hurdy, bracing himself in case it wasn't. However, Hurdy was smiling at the light, so it probably wasn't dangerous. It then zipped off across the desert, making the air shimmer again.
Putting his hand to his cheek, Hurdy turned to the desert. "Hmm, it changed the ways again. None of these are thunder, so it's not going to be the same riddle..."
"Isn't there a magic for leaving a dungeon area?" Leon asked. "I seem to think it shows up in legends."
He nodded. "I was just thinking about that since the Crystal of Fire taught me that magic. This one is blocking me from using that, so we have to go along with its riddles. If it is the Exit sequence, it should be three or four squares back, and that's the first path."
He turned out to be correct; the path out only took them four squares to complete, the last of which Hurdy called silly because it was the whole sequence they'd just followed on one border. At the canyon back to the stable, the white phantom of the crystal appeared before them again. You've both done well in completing this second trial.
"Second trial?" Leon asked. This trial was the path to the mana spring and back here, not both paths separate as far as he understood.
The first trial has already been initiated, although it may take some time to manifest. Without the miasma to cloud our vision, we've been watching you both. We've also been testing you both since we need some representatives of us among the intelligent races to help with healing the world. We will be expecting you both on Mount Vellenge, Hurdy and Leon.
"They're expecting us both there?" Hurdy asked, puzzled. "I mean, I was planning on going with you in case you needed some help with magic, but I didn't think of this."
Leon wondered about that. Hurdy seemed to be honest here, and he was less likely than his brother to be lying about something. However, he had suggested the initial plan for the paladin trial even if he acted skeptical of being the one to protect. Was it Gurdy's idea somehow? Or was it some spiritual insight into what proved to be the will of the crystals?
"Well I don't hear them as clearly as you," Leon said to encourage him. "I'm fine with agreeing to serve the crystals as a paladin if that's their intent in testing me, but I'd still need someone like you to either interpret them or teach me how to listen when they don't speak clearly. They'd be looking for a priest as well as a paladin."
"That could be," he said.
When they got back to town, it was getting late to be sailing from Leuda to Fum. Fortunately, the selkies welcomed them in staying the night, even setting up a bonfire in town to share stories and a late dinner. It was a boisterous and joyful night, and yet felt normal enough that it was reassuring. It made Leon feel like the years ahead could continue on like this, full of memories that he could keep and a blessing to everyone.
When they arrived in the town of Fum, the weather had grown windy. There were dark clouds filling the western horizon, where the plains of Rebena were. "It might be better to stay in this town for the day and see if that weather clears up tomorrow," Leon said as he pulled the wagon into the stable.
"Right, those might be bad storms," Hurdy agreed. The crystal guardian was visible from the entrance of town, standing by a windmill like it had a twin. The road had been lined with fields full of wheat and rice. While some of them would have been outside the crystal's protection, the plants grew without caring about miasma. Such food had to be purified, but that was as simple as leaving it in the presence of an empowered crystal.
This stable was large, mostly taken up by local bulls that helped out with the farmwork. A stablehand spotted them immediately and helped them get to an open slot. "Howdy folks," the clavat man said with a warm smile. "How long do you mean to stable your papaopamus?"
"Maybe a day, it depends on the weather," Leon said, hopping down to help unhook the papaopamus from its harness.
"Yes, we mean to head out west, but it looks stormy there today," Hurdy said.
"Don't blame you for that," the stablehand said. "Would you like me to wash down your papaopamus? She looks like she's been on the road a few days."
"Yes, thank you," Hurdy said. It would be good to leave their steed in the care of someone who knew animals well, like the people here. "We're here about the crystal, so we'll need to speak to a leader or elder of your town about them."
"Sure, I'll send my daughter to fetch the mayor," the stablehand said. "Are you going to be at the crystal?"
He nodded. "Yes, we'll be going right there."
Leon did head over to the crystal and windmill with him. "This place feels really peaceful, even if we've only been here a few minutes," he said.
"That's true," Hurdy said. "Tipa was the same way, but I didn't feel comfortable there. This place is different, though. I must not have spent a lot of time here."
The windmill's door was open, as a few clavats were inside working the mill. The crystal did not have an ornate setting. Aside from the altar, there was a ring of large weathered stones that the tall crystal sat in. In a nearby field, cows were grazing. An orchard was up on a hill too. This seemed like an ideal place for one of the crystals to take as a residence.
Hurdy brought out the crystal from Marr's Pass, deciding to go ahead with the prayer before those nearby decided to chat. His mind filled with thoughts of farms, forests, and mountains as he began. "Blessed Crystal, source of all Life, I come in service of you. The one who harmed you is gone. The one who brought the sickening miasma is gone. Now is the time for healing. From the fields of green to the mountains challenging the skies, become the sturdy protector of Life. You will now be reborn as a source of one of the great elements. You are now the Crystal of Earth. May you shine for all time, bringing the blessings of Earth into the world."
The crystal now glowed a vibrant green, much like the orchard on the hill. And people had gathered on seeing the transformation. Among them, he caught a glimpse of Amidatty and another yuke, presumably his girlfriend. That was surprising. But then, traveling between towns might become more popular now that it wasn't such a large risk.
A new balance has been given to the world. Thank you for assisting us with this move.
"It was an honor," Hurdy said, bowing to the crystal. A new understanding of various types of magic had been granted to him: the elements were the most basic form of magic and all other spells came from some combination of them. That much was basic to any serious practitioner of magic, but he was learning of more combinations that were mysteries these days. Like exit before, and now the comet magic that bomb-type monsters used. There were also spells that would be more practical for everyday life, such as purifying food and water of toxins like miasma.
We need to coordinate some things, and you need to speak with these people. When you come back from your quest to Mount Vellenge, we can speak in more detail.
He felt a little disappointed in that. Then again, if they were successful, the crystals might have more secrets to teach him. "All right."
Unfortunately, his fellow clavats were mystified by the changed crystal. They didn't know much about magic. There was one young woman who had been hearing the crystal speak since the miasma vanished, but they thought she was just being imaginative. But they did seem glad that the Crystal of Earth was residing in their village. The fields here were already rich for farming thanks to Veo Lu Sluice and the Jegon River, so the crystal's presence was sure to enhance their work even more.
But Amidatty was there, so there was someone who could understand things. The one who understood the crystal, Louisa, stuck around as well when the others headed back to their work. "I've been trying to study magic," she said. "But there's only three books on magic in this whole village, and I now own all of them. The crystal might be able to teach me now?"
Hurdy nodded. "Sure, it should agree to teach you if you do some work for it. It even knows a means for us to cast spells without rings like I have or magicite."
"Truly?" Amidatty asked, sounding impressed. "That would be wonderful to know, since magicite is restricted to dungeon areas."
"It sounds potentially dangerous to have more people able to cast magic outside of dungeons," Leon said. "It takes a lot of work to earn those rings, doesn't it? So those who have them are already well-versed in how to handle magic. Making spells easier to learn might lead to less responsibility in using them."
"Perhaps," Hurdy said. "But it seems like it would be easiest to learn this method by becoming used to casting spells through magicite or other means. Once you have a feel for the spell, then you'll catch on to how cast it on your own power."
"That's a shame since some spells seem like they'd be handy to have available more often," Louisa said. "Like Cure or Clear. Though my neighbors think knowing magic won't be as useful."
"They think that it would be cheating actual work, right?" Amidatty asked. "I run into that opinion often from clavats and lilties. They generally don't realize the amount of study and training that goes into knowing magic well enough to use it."
That gave Hurdy an idea, since she seemed really interested in this discussion. He took off his Cure ring, feeling that was one that was seen as more useful than not. "Right, you need to have knowledge and experience to be good with spells, which doesn't always give visible results to those without that." He then cast Cure to make sure he knew it well enough without the ring. From the look of it, he'd need more practice to use high level magic that called for Cure as a component, but he could do this. Then he handed the ring to Louisa. "Here, why don't you practice Cure with this?"
Her eyes wide, she nearly took it but stopped herself. "R-really? Are you sure of that?"
Hurdy nodded. "Yes, it's fine. I want to practice magic without relying on my rings, and this ring should be useful enough to help convince your family and friends to accept that you want to keep studying magic."
"Wow, thank you," she said, accepting the ring now. "I didn't get picked to be part of the crystal caravan because I get tired easily, so I didn't have a way to practice magic myself. This will help a lot; how can I repay you for this?"
"Don't worry about it," Hurdy said. "If you mean to work with the crystal, I'm glad to help you get started."
As the afternoon went on, the storms came in over Fum. They moved to the inn to continue their discussions. Eventually, Amidatty asked, "Do you mean to go to Mount Vellenge as well, Hurdy?"
He nodded. "The crystals want me to, and I was planning to even before they told me." A good part of it was that he wanted to see a paladin's trial himself; it was such a rare thing that this was a great opportunity. He also wanted to see Leon triumph; he deserved that.
But it was his fault that Leon had suffered for several years.
Hurdy tried to dismiss that. It was Raem's fault ultimately. However, the thought kept coming back into his mind. He'd tried to defeat Raem and failed; Leon had been with him, but Hurdy had been the one who should have known how to succeed. So he had deserved to suffer, but not Leon. But no, he shouldn't be thinking like that. They had a chance to start new lives now; regrets from the past weren't going to help. Besides, he didn't even remember the time they'd challenged Raem. There was nothing he could do about that now.
After a while of this, he found it hard to follow where the conversation was going. Hurdy excused himself to head back to the room they'd rented for the night. He set his hat aside and tried to read Path of the Paladin to give himself something else to think about. But the dark thoughts wouldn't let him go, even inflicting physical pain on him. He should calm down. There wasn't anything he could do about the past. But he'd messed up before and could mess up again.
This was like the other day, at Tipa's bridge. Was he going to lose control again? Hurdy felt like he should fall asleep or something; that felt like something that happened. He did have these attacks of guilt at times; he knew something like that had happened on the road to Shella. And his mind would simply blank out. That was when Gurdy would take over.
Nothing was happening today. The creak of a door made him tense; Leon came in. "Is something wrong?" Leon asked, coming over to check on him.
"Sorry, I wasn't able to pay attention," Hurdy said. "And, I'm sorry I failed our mission last time we went to Mount Vellenge. I thought I knew what needed to be done, but I didn't and both of us suffered for it."
"I don't blame you for that," he said.
His thoughts wound up again, trying to bring up things that were lost. "I should have known," he said, "but I don't know what was known."
Then Leon distracted him by putting a hand on one of his. "I have a very good reason for not blaming you," he said, the certainty of it clear in his eyes. "What I remember of my first meeting with Gurdy includes the news that my son was out to kill the Black Knight to avenge my death, not realizing that we were one and the same. And you had been the one to tell him that, having heard of it from the light that haunted us.
"What I think happened is that Raem set up me and my son for that tragedy. He loved painful memories, so it benefited him to set up tragedies. You also mentioned a couple days ago that your parents had also challenged Mount Vellenge, but they died for it. So I believe that Raem was continuing a line of tragedy with us; he may have kept something crucial from you so you would fail. But now he's no longer toying with the world, which has given us the chance to make it a better place. I think we should, so don't blame yourself. It's something we've both forgotten anyhow, and something better left so."
"You think so?" Hurdy asked, divided on whether to believe his theory or not. Leon nodded without hesitation, which was reassuring. "It makes sense. I should have thought of it, but I couldn't." He rubbed his head.
"It seems like it's the same kind of thing that happened to you at the bridge," Leon said, then smiled. "If you keep deciding on making things certain in your mind, you'll move away from these attacks. At least I hope that's so."
"Right, that'd be good," he said. His mind was winding down, leaving him feeling tired. "Thanks."
"You should get to sleep early tonight," he said. "Some good sleep can work wonders, as it certainly did for me."
"That's true," he said, smiling at that. "I think people would have a hard time believing you to be the Black Knight." Then a yawn escaped him. "Yeah, I should get to sleep. Good night, Leon."
"Good night, Hurdy," he replied, then went over to the other bed to read quietly.
It was a good fortune that he'd run into Leon, he thought as he let himself relax and go to sleep.
