Submission (#8205) Approved

Quest: Resonance - Act 3
Act Type: Study
Word Count: 971
Adult Elnin Present: n/a
Regional Affinity: Silveil
Claiming Regional Affinity for: Mizuki [ELN3022]
[Noble] Rank Unlock Mini-Requirement: Far From Home (Home Region: Ealei)

After reminiscing a bit from her encounters, Mizuki decided it was time to move on. While she did love gazing at Starlake, there was more to see in Silveil, and Luna had told her about a location in the forests of Silveil that had certainly caught her interest.

Putting away the mementos obtained from her mentors and friends, she got up and headed into the forest. She couldn’t help but marvel at all the bioluminescent flora, resisting to touch them as they passed by. Biri showed less restraint, and playfully tapped on the glowing mushrooms, sending spores into the air. Mizuki quickly chided her, and fanned her tail to send the spores away. Who knew what effects the spores would have, and she didn’t want to spend her trip being indisposed because her pomu was being reckless.

They travelled farther into the forest, and though it was dark, the phosphorescent plant life helped illuminate the way. It wasn’t just the flora that glowed, but even the fauna themselves emitted light. Mizuki’s eyes widened as a glowing butterfly flew past her, while Biri played with a bunch of fireflies nearby. While the trees around them were quite large, they didn’t completely block out the stars in the sky, which also acted as a guide. Even from the forest floor, Mizuki could see rays of moonlight filter through the canopy, further illuminating their path.

After a bit of time, they arrived at a clearing, and the most notable thing were the glowing crystals that jutted out of the ground. A mana well. It wasn’t common that one would come across such a thing, but Luna had stumbled across it when she was gathering materials. In fact, some of the clothes she had made for Lumia contained small shards of anima crystals, which she presumed had been obtained here. She had figured it could be a source of inspiration for Mizuki, and knew that the undine wouldn’t go spreading the knowledge with no restraint.

The fact that Luna had trusted her with something like this had touched her, and Mizuki promised she wouldn’t disclose this information to just anyone. She floated over to one of the larger crystals, and gently placed a paw on it. It was a brilliant shade of navy blue, transitioning to a gradient of purple at near the top. She couldn’t help but admire the soft glow emanating off the crystals, and could feel the pulse of energy within. It would be unthinkable breaking off such a large chunk for personal use (not to mention her having no desire to cause any sort of destruction to a place Luna so cherishes), but surely it was fine picking up a few stray shards?

Her pomu seemed to have a similar idea, and was currently holding a small shad in her hands. Oh no, was she about to…

“Biri, please do NOT put that in your mouth. Goodness.”

The sheepish chirp told her that her hunch was correct, and Biri put the shard down.

Mizuki continued looking around, noticing that the crystals seemed to vary in shape and size. Even their colours weren’t consistent, some tending more towards darker hues of blue, while others were more of a darker violet. The higher concentration of mana seemed to have an effect on the local wildlife as well, as she spotted some noticeable larger glowing moths, and even fireflies that seemed to glow in the same blues and purples of the crystals. The plants at the base of the crystals also seemed quite larger compared to the ones she saw in the forest, with the bioluminescent flora seeming to sport even more colors than usual. 

She couldn’t help but marvel at how the colors of the crystals seemed to vary region to region. She had come across a mana well in Ealei once, and the crystals there sported aqua and turquoise hues, with some even ranging from teal to seafoam. And while she hadn’t seen the ones in Faerindell, Fuwa had described them as generally taking on pinkish hues, which she supposed made sense. On occasion, he said there were even some that took on the hues of faerie shrouds, with tints of lilac and cornflower blue, and Mizuki would only wonder just how beautiful those would be, as well as the effect it would have on the flora. Surely any faerie shrouds affected by the mana concentration would undoubtedly be breathtaking.

The thought only made her more resolute on someday finding time to visit all the regions and their mana wells. While there were a few regions she hadn’t visited yet, if the crystals emulated the colors of the region they were in, she imagined Zevija’s would be hues of red and orange, similar to lava flowing from the bountiful volcanos there. Bellmoril would likely be ranging from vermillion to amber, reminiscent of the fall colors. Strynhalde she imagined would be white to pale blue. Enmir would be chartreuse and emerald. Ahza she had a hard time imagining. Would those be the same color as the desert sand there? But there were also the stormlands, so many dark blue? Purple? Maybe they’d be similar to Silveil? Come to think of it, Zevija also had the gem mines, so the crystal colors could vary even more?

That left Kyendi and Palu’au Islands. Well, the crystals on the floating islands were known to be yellow, so perhaps the crystals in the mana well would be the same? And palu’au could perhaps be the color of the ocean? It seemed if she wanted to be sure, she was going to have to travel to all these locations. There was still so much she wanted to do, so this trip would have to come at a later time, but it was certainly one she looked forward to.