Submission (#2049) Approved

Quest: Resonance - Act 2
Act Type: Study
Word Count: 1032
Adult Elnin Present: Samaskel [MYO-ELN144]
Regional Affinity: Faerindell
Claiming Regional Affinity for: ELN948

The walk to the Shrouds was a surprisingly long one. Faerindell, for all its pleasant looks, could be quite a challenge to traverse on foot due to the rising and falling of an uncountable number of small hills. And Cyn, being the tiny kittom she was, found this to be doubly so. She would clamber her way up the dirt path, breathing a proud sigh of relief at the apex of every hill. And then she would all but tumble down the gentle slopes on the other side. The elnin she had been following was a little ways ahead of her, purposely walking slowly so that she could catch up. He looked back in concern, wondering if the kittom was up to the task. "You doing alright?" he called out. Cyn gave a little groan, and then an enthusiastic nod of her head. She certainly wasn't going to give up on something like this!

She had tagged along with Samaskel out of curiosity, but if she was being honest, she didn't really get any of the stuff the guy usually spouted about. She would much prefer to run and explore than to sit in a damp library, poring over moth-eaten books, trying to recite a bunch of spells from memory. But today was something of a rarity -- they had come out here for field research. He'd been discussing it with Fiore over morning coffee, and upon hearing his words, she felt the burn of adventure within, and interjected to ask if she could tag along. Samaskel, of course, could never say no to her. 

Though tiresome, the journey was by no means boring. Faerindell was awash with the colors of life, and one could never quite get far away enough to escape the ever-present green. The path was punctuated by alternations of hills and fields and small forests, in all sorts of blues and purples and pinks. Though she had been here many times before, she found with each visit an entirely new flower species, and would take a few moments to marvel. The buzz of bees followed her into the meadows, and the croaks of frogs greeted her at the creeks. The wind at her paws tickled the rows of overgrown grass, and she made a game of hopping from rock to rock. 

When at last the sun was high in the sky, Samaskel paused again and waited for her to catch up. "We're almost there. You see that area over there? It means we're close." Where he pointed, yet another patch of green -- but this green was different somehow, and this grass was different. She bounded over to look closer, and found that the blades were actually thin shards, glowing softly with a magical light. Crystals! And as they walked, the green became more and more, until they began to crowd into her vision. Crystals, growing along the ground, upon the rocks. Crystals, in rows and rows upon the trunks and branches of weathered trees. Crystals so minute that they appeared as sprinkled dust across flowers, across leaves, within the very air. And the light grew brighter, and the crystal formations grew larger, until at they cleared the last row of trees and came upon a large hollow. 

The Shroud flowers hung thick here, dangling from the trees in dense bushels, pulsing with a strange aura. They filled the meadow like a bowl, overflowing to the brim. She waded into ocean of scents -- the color here was overwhelming, and she felt the heavy weight of the air upon her back. Strewn across the area was an ensemble of large crystals, each several times her size and glowing in shades of green and pink. She felt drawn to them, drawn to the magic of this place, and being here filled her with a feeling of calm. The cries of invisible birds reached her ears, and if she lifted her head high up to look, she saw the blurred movements of things dashing to and fro within the branches. Creatures that were far too colorful, far too strange, and far too wonderful. "This place is relatively small," Samaskel noted, interrupting her reverie. "But the growths are dense enough that we could get significant readings." He cracked open a small notebook and retrieved a few gauges from his pack, setting to work. She watched him for a few moments before deciding -- this was boring! And took off to run around the clearing. She would study this stuff her own way. 

Her own way -- which is, she would climb all over everything until she found something interesting. Which was quite a lot! She clambered up to the tip of a crystal, trying to find footholds upon it with much difficulty. The pulsing light dyed her fur green, and she pawed at it with interest, loving the new rainbows it threw upon her. She pounced down onto the next crystal, and then the next, and the next. And if she lay low, and put her ears up to the their surfaces, she could hear the strangest noise. Something that was equal parts singing voice and heartbeat, something that pried at her core and bade her welcome. Home, this was home -- this whole place was home; the wilds, the cities, the corners of this continent. For an instant, she lost herself to the flow of life, before the call of a bird flew her back into the world. 

Samaskel, on his side of the hollow, was starting to look very enthused. "Oh, this is exciting. There are some anima mutations in these plants that I've never seen before. Come look, Cyn!" 

Time passed unusually fast, and they spent the rest of their evening hours there. When it was time to leave, Cyn felt almost reluctant to go. "Are there other places like that? In the rest of the world?" 

Samaskel laughed. "Oh, yes! Of course. Some of them look similar, but many look different. I've seen mana wells of all sorts of colors, and each one seems to have a new surprise for me. I could take you along sometime, if your mother would allow." 

Anticipation built in her chest. "Yes, I'd like to see them."