Krystal Opeya's Story

As the sun slowly began to rise from behind the clouds, merchants began heading out early to set up their shops for another day of trade. Children got up and went to their groups of friends as they have done like any other day, practicing swordplay or casting magic spells for fun while a neighbor trying to sleep in shushed the children from a second story window soon after. Farmers sat on wooden rocking chairs as they watched the children play their games with each other, letting off a slight laugh when one overcomes the other in mock combat. Militia from out of town and resting within three story taverns suited up for another day of patrolling the western borderline, while the maids began cooking breakfast for the hungry soldiers. Elven hunters had already made their way to the nearest hunting grounds, and some were just now returning from the midnight runs against the dire wolves and night-walking creatures who provide only the best meat. Even at such an early time in the day, the entire town of Irha was already wide awake with commerce and joy. The entire town, save for one house. This one house stood at the end of a T intersection in the dirt road, and was one of the only two-story houses on this side of the residential district of Irha. The woman who owns this house is a vastly superior yet widowed Illusion and Healing mage, and also happens to be one of the only three Liberated adults in the town. She owns Irha's child daycare service, making sure the children who can't be taken care of for various reasons have a home and plenty of food to eat. Her husband, who served in the military as a powerful combat mage, disappeared from the ranks about three years ago, and to the day hasn't been seen since. Her only daughter, who isn't seen outside at all except when shopping for food and other magical goods, has been said to have practiced many forms of magic since she was able to draw. The little amount of activity the girl spends in public has raised some concerns among the people, yet no one has dared to talk to the mother about it.

The girl's room was strange, to say the least. The room was made of wood with Dwarven steel rivets to hold support beams together, with a wide rectangular window sitting above a desk to look out onto the dirt street below. Sitting on the desk as wide as the window were many empty and filled potion bottles, a feather pen and ink holder, a few rolled up spell scrolls, and a blank sheet of paper held in place by the ink holder; and within the drawers of the desk were countless more spell scrolls, drawn for practice and future use over the many years she had been creating them. Dark purple drapes hung on both sides of the window, letting the sunlight in and onto the foot of the bed where she slept. The bed was almost like a queen's, large and plush white with bright purple drapes blocking some of the sunlight emitting from the window. The girl's favorite color had always been purple, which also happened to be the color of Illusion as well as her hair and eye color. Her mother had always commented on how the Gods may have given her such strange hair and eyes because of some sort of "destiny", but soon the joke became old and she had stopped telling it as much. On the far side of the room against the wall to the right of the room's door stood a dresser, holding many different kinds of magic robes a Liberated would wear for spellcasting. All of the cloaks were pushed aside or folded on a shelf in the dresser, making room for a single set of purple and white robes given to the girl once she had passed her coming-of-age ceremony as an official Liberated. Next to the dresser was a large bookshelf covering the wall, filled to the brim with stacked and shelved spellbooks from many famous and unknown spellcasters who had shared their discoveries to the eager mages willing to practice their art.

A bright and powerful blast shattered the window and flew across the room, startling the girl awake. She sat up quickly, eyes wide with fright as she swiftly dragged the bed drapes away to see what had happened. Imprinted onto the wall next to her door was a large black burn mark where smoke emitted from, while broken glass lay scattered throughout the room. The girl carefully set her feet down near her desk where the glass hadn't landed, and looked out the window to see a group of three children looking back up to her. What the children saw was a ghastly white face staring back at them and straight into their eyes. The girl stepped back from the window with a sigh, remembering the few times this had already happened this year. It was the same group of kids, at the same time in the morning and with parents who couldn't care less about what they were doing whether someone was complaining or not. Looking to the mess on the floor, the girl opened her desk drawer and produced a rolled up scroll sealed with a black wax. She tore open the scroll and stared at a pentagram she had drawn a few months back, reciting words written in the margins with the Ancient language. A few seconds later, the floor flashed a greyish-white light with the pentagram on the paper, and the glass slowly began to pick itself up and return to the window it had broken free from just a minute ago. The paper burned to ashes in the girl's hands, who then pushed her way through floating shards of glass to her dresser. She took her time in undressing from her night clothes and dressing in her familiar purple robes which she had practiced with since she had earned them. Finally strapping her personal spellbook at her side, she headed downstairs to have breakfast, though she immediately noticed a note and a small sack of coins on the rounded table as she entered the kitchen. She picked up the note, skimming it's contents. "Krystal, left 800 for food, your choice this time. ~Mom", the note had read. The corner of the note glowed red, and the note had turned itself to ash in her hands just as the spell scroll had. Taking the sack of coins and pulling her hood on, she made her way outside and to the market.

The cloak was weighted, but not too heavily as to impair her ability to move freely. An inner layer had been completely covered in spell circles and various materials burnt into the cloth to offer magical protection against most spells, as well as to create a natural affinity to Illusion magic whenever she was wearing it. The wind was low, and the cape followed close at her heels as she walked into the market district. Many outsiders of the town gave Krystal a curious look, though the portion of individuals who had lived in Irha for some time knew of her trips to the market now and then. Mutterings and whispers were passed to and from each person, making the town aware of her trip almost immediately. Krystal walked up to the bread shop she had always bought food at, and ringing a bell on her way in, alerted the owner to look her way. He knew Krystal the best among all the people in town, since she would sneak out of her studies from time to time to have dinner with him and his family if they were around to join her. The shopkeeper greeted her eagerly, and she gave a simple nod in response as usual. After words were exchanged, Krystal bought a few loafs of bread from the bakery and left as silently as she had entered, brushing past another man who was just entering. Peering around, she then ventured to other shops around town, purchasing various foods and the like with the remainder of what her mother had given her. Finally exiting a deserts shop, she began making her way home, drawing even more attention from those around her due to the many groceries that now filled her hands.

The man walked in to the town of Irha, as it had said on the sign on the way in. He looked to his right and saw the thick forests several kilometers away where the Elven people lived. He heard the mummers of the local townsfolk that was natural for a man with a massive sword being held by a strong sheath that didn't cover the blade but held it in place on his back. His dull red uniform was out of place with the local townsfolk but he didn't mind. He went to the market to buy some supplies before venturing off again after a few days. His attention was drawn to a girl, dressed in purple robes, the cloak covering her face and a spell book on her belt. Not attracted mind you but just that his eyes were drawn out of curiosity, he knew what she was. Though it was kind of stereotypical to think of liberated people to be dressed in robes and a spell book somewhere but she fit the description almost perfectly. Then someone bumped into him.

"Sorry..." He said as he moved out of the way.

He sat down on a bench and saw her enter a bakery and after several minutes she left and went around the various shops in the market, buying things and then after she came out of the deserts store holding more than one sack of groceries in her hands. Then he saw movement coming out of the corner of his eye. He saw a thief running with several pouches of gold in his hand and he wasn't looking at where he was going and he barged into the Liberated Girl, sending him and her to the floor, along with everything they had. The Thief got back up and started to run away again.

"STOP! THIEF!!!" A voice called out.

The man got up to go and apprehend the thief. He moved surprisingly fast for a man with a sword that size.

Krystal heard someone running up behind her, but didn't have time to turn and see who it was before a man rammed into her and sent them both to the ground, along with the groceries and one of the stolen coin pouches. "STOP! THIEF!", someone had yelled from behind her. Only slightly dazed, Krystal looked up from the ground to see the man who had shoved her had already gotten up and running again. Acting quickly on short notice, she picked herself up while brushing her index finger across the top rim of her book, remembering a simple trip spell she had learned in the past. Swiping her finger in front of her and remembering the Ancient language, the world seemed to quickly shift a certain way, but only to herself and the thief, and both immediately fell back to the ground. The spell she cast was called "Nullify Perception", which caused both the caster and the target to think that they quickly moved in a certain direction, which in turn caused both people to think that they were falling when they actually caused their own plummet to the hard ground. This time, the thief had landed very awkwardly, as if he had rather been shoved to the right and onto the ground by some invisible force. There was a dull crack as the thief fell this time, and he began screaming in pain from landing hard on his arm. Krystal would have suffered the same fate if she hadn't twisted around to follow the fall onto her back.

Slowly getting up this time, Krystal brushed some dirt off of her cloak and walked to the thief. He seemed very ragged and somewhat aged, but was well built and fast enough to outrun an armored soldier. It didn't seem like he was living nearby either, as he had a bloody dagger at his side and a sack full of meats hanging from his side. Not saying a word, Krystal kicked off some cloth covering his belt, revealing many more coin bags, probably stolen as well. With a slight frown, Krystal brought up the book from her belt and flipped to a binding spell. The thief tried getting up by pushing up with his good arm, glaring at the robed Liberated who had tripped him with her so-called "magic" tricks. Taking a step back, Krystal muttered the binding spell she had selected, and as if a heavy block of iron had fallen on his back, the thief fell flat against the ground, unable to move or even struggle.

"Damn you, witch...!" He yelled out in frustration as Krystal put her spellbook away. By this time, anyone chasing the thief would have caught up to where he was now trapped, and a ring of people around the area had already formed.. Krystal turned around to face a man clad in what seemed to be an Elite Knight uniform, carrying a large metal sword. She imagined the armor he wore to be uncomfortable, what with the large shoulderguards and puffed-out combat pants. "Do with him as you wish..." She quietly said, and moved to the food she had dropped. The ants and other bugs hadn't gotten to it yet, but she would need to head to the local lake to retrieve water so she could wash the dirt off of the food. Standing once more, arms full with food, she made her way back home.

The man saw the girl trip up the thief and bind him to the ground. The Girl told him to "Do with him as you wish" and he nodded her way. He picked up the thief and looked at him.

"Let me go you pompous knight!"

He ignored him and carried the thief over to the local jail and threw him on the ground and left him to the Guards. He walked away to the inn to get a room for the day as he did not want to stay out long, lest people see that he is a half elf. He went into inn and registered with the innkeeper. He got the key to his room and unlocked the door and going in before re-locking it behind him. He took off most of his armor leaving him only in his undershirt and shorts, both made out of linen. He laid his sword and leaned it onto the wall. He took out a book which he had been reading for the past three days. After reading several pages he felt to tired to go on as he had traveled for the past two days and nonstop of the last night. He left the book open and lay on the bed. After several minutes he fell asleep.

After dropping off the groceries inside her house, Krystal grabbed two wooden buckets and wood pole from a closet and set out again, this time heading left to the outskirts of town. Here was a lake which the town used as it's water supply. No one seemed to be here yet, so Krystal took her time in filling the buckets to the brim and etching a concentration spell into the buckets and pole. Hanging the buckets on the pole and bringing it over her shoulders, she made her way back home once more. It wasn't a very long walk, but the amount of weight upon her shoulders made time drag on. Arriving at her house again and locking the door, she placed both buckets on a table and lit the fire pit in the kitchen so she could boil the water. She began thinking to herself as she did all this along with washing the food. Where did the thief come from? Who was the boy in the Elite Knight armor? More importantly, why hadn't the boy confronted her about what had happened? With a sigh, Krystal reached behind her cloak and produced a black coin pouch, which was in fact one of the pouches the thief had stolen. Krystal had used a Clear Fog spell to hide her hand as she snatched one of the pouches, and though it wasn't like her to steal, stealing from the people who steal from others doesn't actually affect the Gods' view of an individual, a little known fact which circulates in a few lesser-known books.

After she finished cleaning off the food, she looked back to the black coin pouch she had taken. Putting out the fire pit, she took the pouch from the counter and opened it to see it's contents. "...This is...", she said to herself, but couldn't finish her sentence as she took in what she held in her hand. The sack was filled to the brim with gold coins, probably worth around 6,000 in currency, and sitting on top was a glowing white crystal. She knew what the crystal was just by putting her hand near it, and carefully plucked it from it's bag with her thumb and forefinger. The crystal was known as "Iosillia's Essence", which was essentially a rechargeable flash bomb. With both the gold and the crystal, she had enough money to buy herself a good twenty or so spellbooks. She closed the coin pouch quickly and secured it at her belt after she finished checking the gold to make sure it wasn't false. Looking out the skylight window, she saw that it would still be a long time until her mom got home. Krystal took some of the bread she had bought and sat at the table, reading through her spellbook and passing the day by like she had done for the past decade and a half.

The day had passed pretty slowly, and Krystal hadn't noticed when she fell asleep at the table. She also didn't notice when her mother never made it home.

For the second time that day, Krystal was startled awake, this time in darkness. She quickly got up from her chair, but noticing too late that she wasn't in her bed, she quickly fell backwards and to the floor in a daze. Immediately, her hands lit up with an eerie green light, illuminating the room around her as well as the Elite Knight above her. At first she was surprised and frightened, and she quickly moved back some distance from him before getting up and readying a shielding spell. But on closer inspection, it turned out to be the Knight she had met earlier today. Krystal calmed herself before speaking.

"Why are you here? And why did you kick down my door?" She asked in her normal semi-monotone voice. Over the years of practicing magic in her room, her spellcasting had somewhat overridden her ability to show emotions easily, and therefore talked in a voice that seemed strange to some people. When talking to other Liberated, however, she never once received a strange look.

"Why are you here? And why did you kick down my door?"

That's what the first thing the man heard as he saw the girl wake up and fall to the floor.

"I'm here to get you out of town since the Religious Sect of the Human military is coming to burn this town and you to the ground. I kicked down your door since it was locked and I didn't have the time to knock. Now get up and let's go."

Then there was a loud scream and the sound of a fire being started.

"They are already here. Now lets go!"

"I'm here to get you out of town since the Religious Sect of the Human military is coming to burn this town and you to the ground. I kicked down your door since it was locked and I didn't have the time to knock. Now get up and let's go.", the Elite Knight said, and as he said it, there was a loud scream and a distant explosion as a house down the street was set aflame. It was only a matter of time before the religious sect arrived at her front door. "They are already here. Now lets go!", he then exclaimed.

"I'll need to fetch a few things, give me two minutes.", she said with a slight nod, taking off upstairs in a hurry. She noticed that her mother's shoes weren't at the stairs, but tried not to think about what had happened as she burst into her room. A peek through the window showed that the Religious military was definitely here, and was fast approaching from the east side of town. Townspeople below were evacuating while soldiers from the tavern and other militia gathered arms to combat the invading army. Looking down from the window, Krystal took a leather pack and began filling it with things around her room, mostly scrolls and vials of potions, as well as an extra spellbook. Though the pack was small, the various spells cast upon it combined with the pentagrams burnt into it caused anything within the bag to shrink to half it's size and to regrow when the item was taken out. Before she left her room, however, she dropped to the ground and reached far under her bed and grabbed a white crystal glowing with a blue mist. Running to her mother's room, Krystal reached under the bed there to find another gem just like the one she had now, only it was black and glowed with a sinister red fog. Both crystals were all that was of the Opeya family treasure - the Two Halves of the Divided Spirit. Krystal always thought it ironic that both of the gems were like magnets which repelled each other, even though they were part of the same original being. Putting them on opposite sides of the bag she had, she grabbed a bright blue meditation sapphire from her mother's desk and ran back downstairs.

"Okay, I'm ready. Where do we go?", she said to the Knight, almost as if invasions on the town weren't out of the ordinary.

WRONG SPOT. EDITED AND IT MESSED UP

"I'll need to fetch a few things, give me two minutes."

He waited as the girl gathered her things. He started to look at the house and saw that it was rather normal, aside from things Liberated would normally have, like defensive markings here and there, some potions and a spellbook or two. He heard the girl coming back down the stairs.

"Okay, I'm ready. Where do we go?"

"First we try to avoid the Fanatics, meanwhile lets try to sneak out west, to the forests and maybe hope to find an Elven settlement. Only attack them only if necessary. Now let's move"

They exited through the front door and sneaked out. In the streets there were people running around, trying to escape from the Military. They tripped over each other while some were captured by the Soldiers. Houses were furious infernos and neighboring houses set fire to the next one and the next one. The Militia were trying to fight the Soldiers but were vastly outnumbered and their weapons practically useless against the Soldiers' skills. There was one woman strapped to a stake and she looked some what like the girl behind me, underneath was wood that looked like it could be set on fire very quickly. A woman in armor approached the stake with a torch in hand. She lit the wood and the fire lit up quickly. The woman on the stake didn't scream but she stared at the girl behind me, almost as if telling a message with her eyes.

The armored woman noticed this and looked in our direction. She ordered several soldiers to come after us.

"I guess this is one of the moments where fighting back is necessary if we can't get out of here in time."

I was startled at the smell of smoke. I threw up my hands, spilling paper,blueprints and ink everywhere over the mahogany table in front of me. I looked around quickly to make sure it wasn't one of my creations, rushing from room to room to be on the safe side, thankfully there was no fire in my home. I quickly rushed to the window of my bedroom to see a house smoking, as two other characters are leaving the scene, a man, brandishing a rather large sword, and a woman, wearing a cloak. I quickly glanced to the other window, seeing multiple guards rushing away from the burning home with torches.

I sighed, packing up almost all of my things I would need into my pack. I grabbed myself two maps, one map of Irha, and another of Halcya. I strapped on my boots, gloves, goggles, and headphones. I activated my pack, it instantly swelled to hold all of my things, and then closed iself.

"It seems the day for evacuation has come my friend.."

I look to my side, seeing a small mechanical snake swirling around my leg, my latest and greatest creation.

"Come..We are headed West.."

I quickly rushed out the door, my metal boots ker-clunking as I run.

Soon after, my entire house glows. Every creation in my house folds into the walls, floors, and ceilings. The foundation groans. The windows, shut themselves, and the doors close and lock themselves. Few villagers watching this stop and stare in awe. Thick metal plates slide up from the foundation and seal the entire house, the glowing stops soon after.

The house goes silent as it waits for my return.

I immediantly headed for the forests, trying to not suffer the same fate as the other villagers who couldn't make it in time. They are torched, beheaded and many other horrible things that I quickly brushed away from my thoughts. I stopped for a moment once I was at the edge of the forest, I see the girl and man, watching as there are multiple soldiers head towards them.

I listen in to hear them. "I guess this is one of the moments where fighting back is necessary if we can't get out of here in time."

I pity my cowardness for a moment as I fail to go to their aid, but looking at the spellbook and the man's rather large sword, I believe they can handle their own. At least long enough to make it to the forests. I shake my head and scale a tree, hiding in the branches overhead.

"First we try to avoid the Fanatics, meanwhile lets try to sneak out west, to the forests and maybe hope to find an Elven settlement. Only attack them only if necessary. Now let's move", he said as Krystal finished tightening her pack against herself and under a layer of cloth. Many of the people have already escaped from the east side of the town where the Fanatics were coming from, but there were still many who were crossing the house, yet they had to be careful not to be seen exiting the house.

The smell of smoke had hit Krystal first, and she had to tighten a white strip of cloth attached to her robe across her nose and mouth to avoid breathing it in. More people continued to flee the town, some being chased down by Fanatics and others before them already captured and suffering unmentionable tortures. Houses in the Fanatics' path burnt an orange glow into the skies above following the pitch-black smoke emitting from the fires below. The town militia had tried combating the invading army, and though they were able to push them back slightly, the Fanatics easily wiped out the militias after pinning their focus on them. In the distance to the North, Krystal saw a house seemingly fold onto itself and suck in parts of what was outside, then lock it's windows and doors with a steel frame. People stopped to look at the marvel, but again realizing the situation they were in, continued their frantic dash in various directions. Some headed through neighboring houses to the southern desert while the Elven population scrambled westward to the forests where Krystal and the Knight were headed. The bulk of the human and minority Dwarf population headed north or even around the invading armies and to the east to try and find shelter there. There was a distant yell, and Krystal turned to see a female soldier gather a few others to pursue them. She must have seen Krystal's robes.

"I guess this is one of the moments where fighting back is necessary if we can't get out of here in time.", the Knight said as he drew his sword and readied for combat. Krystal nodded in short response, and in turn raised her hands in front of her and began charging a spell. The female soldier wasn't very well armored but carried a thinner sword used for quick attacks, while three soldiers joining her used one handed swords and shields along with moderate armor.

Krystal drew her hands back a bit as a purple haze surrounded them, her body appearing hard to look at now. It was as if she was there, but at the same time, was not. "We should not waste too much time with them", she said, "since we need to escape the town. If we take too long with them, they'll have help from the other Fanatics." She finished as her hands began to mist with an icy blue frost.

"We should not waste too much time with them", the girl said, "Since we need to escape the town. If we take too long with them, they'll have help from the other Fanatics."

"You go run first. I'll take a few slices then I'll come after you."

His eyes turned a dark gold.

One Fanatic charged at the man, his tall shield raised. The man slammed his sword, one handed, into the shield. The force stopped the Fanatic and moved him back a bit. A two handed slash practically cut the shield in two.

"Guess that isn't helping anymore" the man said as he plunged his sword into the Fanatic's chest and the tip punching through the back of his torso, sending blood spraying.

The two other Fanatics approached the man but the woman in armor called out

"No. Go for the girl, leave this, boy, to me"

She approached the man, her small but sharp sword drawn.

"I know who you are Sharpe, or should I say Arko Hekil Wolfe."

"You go run first. I'll take a few slices then I'll come after you.", the Knight said as his eyes began to turn a dark gold. It was obvious that the Knight had the situation handled, so with the light from her hands fading, Krystal nodded and ran off. A minute later, she noticed two of the Fanatics had broken from the fight and started running after her. Taking notice of a group of slaves trying to escape close to the Fanatics, she gave a grunt and stopped, readying her magic once more. The Fanatics only came closer, steel swords raged and shields held ready. Her hands frosting with a blue light again, she swept her hand in an arc in front of her, sending a bright flash to the ground and creating a slick icy surface between her and the Fanatics. Not immediately realizing what she had done, they quickly had fallen to the ground in a rather painful fashion. One had fallen onto his left shoulder, emitting a loud cracking noise as he screamed in pain. The other had dropped his sword mid-fall and had lightly cut himself across his chest as he hit the ground, miraculously surviving. She was about to charge a spell to finish him off, but remembering what her mother told her about mindless killing, she lowered her hands and continued toward the forests.

An hour later, she had made it onto a hill facing both the town and the forest, where more than a hundred townsfolk stood trying to decide what to do. There was a large amount of smoke billowing out of the town by now as it burned to the ground, and there was a small explosion as a gunnery market exploded downtown. She gave a slight wince with the explosion, knowing that the various potions her mother had for brewing would have her house suffering the same fate. She turned back to face the forest, wondering as well if it were a wise idea to venture to the Elven territory. Normally they would let traders in to market goods and only let in choice immigrants, however Krystal doubted they would let any more than that across their borders. As a mage, Krystal would at least be accepted without too much problem, but the others...

Someone from behind picked Krystal up by the collar of her cloak, who's grip was to be recognized as the town drunk, Herack. He always seemed to make a fuss over everything, especially when he went without a drink once every couple of hours. He was very large and burly, and had obviously practiced his strength over the years before he stuck himself at the tavern. He violently shook Krystal, screaming, "It's your fault that the military came here, demon! You hear me?! YOUR FAULT!". She let herself be shook, arms limp at her side with her eyes acast, and was then thrown to the ground as he stormed off in his usual fits. A man walked up to her to help her up, but she brushed it aside as she stood up herself. Brushing her cloak off from grass and dirt, she gave a slight grunt as she made her way to the forest. She couldn't understand what the people were waiting for, so she decided to start on her way by herself. She had always been solitary from the public, anyway.

I was snoozing in a bush, trying to a get a few minutes rest before I continued on again, very tired from my long journey, and especially quick one too. I had munched on some bread just before I dozed off in the bushes, giving me some hiding place. Tat's when I heard the footsteps of the girl walking along the dirt path. I stirred a moment, snorting as I came too. I looked around and saw the girl, walking a few yards from my location. I quickly jumped out of the bush, sliding my pack on and walking towards her.

"Hey You! Girl!" I made my way closer, trying to seem friendly, but seeming a bit awkward.

"I wanna talk to you!"

I kept walking ignoring the fact that my shoes were tugging against me to walk in the other direction, away from the girl. After I kicked them into the ground, they stopped resisting and let me continue on towards the girl. I thought how I should start off the conversation, Hello? Who are you? What is your name? I continued on towards her, stopping at a safe distance in front of her.

"Uhmm....Hello there!"

I adjusted the straps on my pack as I waited for a response from the girl wearing the long Liberated Cloak, who I didn't seem to recognize. I assumed that she was the girl in Irha who shut herself inside her house, like me. I felt a slight moment of happiness as I walked over to her.

For hours, Krystal thought of what to do once she had reached the Elven Forest Borderlines. If all went well, then the Elves would see the predicament taking place and would welcome a fellow mage with open arms. But naturally, not all people were kind hearted, and it was foolish to expect the best to happen no matter what events were to take place. It would also be foolish to expect the worst, being that they would bombard her with arrows and nature spells the moment they saw the purple cloaked girl. Looking upon her surroundings, she saw only grass, hills, and maybe a tree here and there. She wasn't the kind of person who liked the countryside, especially walking through such a sea of green. It seemed endless and tired her greatly. With a sigh, she continued on her long walk far after the sun had risen from the horizon, and by noon the forest was a mere mile or so away. It wouldn't be long before she reached the forest, and as it seemed, long before everyone else as well. Her thoughts were both cut off and jinxed as someone yelled from behind her.

"Uhmm....Hello there!", someone had yelled to her. Turning her head to glance over, she saw a Human with brown hair and gold welding goggles who was covered in leaves. He was rather short with skin almost as pale as Krystal's, who raised an eyebrow upon seeing the Hybrid approaching. She knew him to be one of the other shut-in townsfolk who lived in Irha before the raid. If she remembered correctly, the man was named Visceral Jan Teralidan who was said to be raised by Dwarves despite his Niethen blood. She had only seen him a few times on coincidence that they were both outside at the same time, though it barely surprised Krystal that he had somehow caught up to her. With all the technology he could have created over the years, it was highly improbable that he didn't have something for moving faster. She also took notice to the fact that he was a year younger than her.

"Hullo, Visceral of Irha. I was unaware of your following of me," she said, her voice as if it were reading a boring declaration by the Kings, "it seems that you are heading to the Elven Forests for shelter as well?" she continued. Turning her head back forward, she saw the forest line coming up, towering trees, deep blue rivers and all; though something else had caught her eye. "...Oh my...", she simply muttered, before she seemingly hovered toward the forest at above a sprinting pace. At this speed, even a royal messenger couldn't outrun her. There, laying at the foot of a tree, was an Elf. Though Krystal was able to identify the Elf as something more. Using her affinity with the Ancient Language, she was able to see an aurora which identify the Elf as a High Elf, one of large magical potential. It didn't seem that there were any other Elves nearby, which made Krystal all the more concerned. It took her about twenty minutes to reach the girl, and in that time she hadn't seen any Elves hiding within the trees. However, the trees here were tall, and it was hard to tell if there were any around or if they were actually hiding, using the High Elf as bait for unwary travelers. Though as a mage, Krystal saw it best to aid the Elf rather than leaving her to die. If she were in injury, she would need cleric services, however she would also need to be sent back into the forests as to avoid the Fanatic army. Kneeling down by the High Elf, she quickly checked for signs of injury. "...She's only sleeping...", she said. With a sigh, Krystal stood, wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead. Hovering wasn't a difficult spell, but became tiring after prolonged usage, just as how running tired the body. With another look over the Elf, Krystal sat down.

Why was a High Elf at the forest edge, much less, sleeping? Probably to see if any survivors of the attack were coming, her mind retorted. But everyone else is at least a quarter day away? But you were the only one smart enough to move early, she countered her thoughts again. Mental conversations and hard logic governed her judgement and perception of various situations, whether for better or for worse. Looking down to the Elf again, Krystal could only shrug as she came to a decision. The Hybrid would be approaching soon, and just a couple of hours after that, a good third of the Irha people. It wouldn't bode well for the Elf if she slept through this, since there was no telling what would happen should the survivors stumble upon a defenseless Elf. With her mind made up, Krystal formed a dark purple light in her left hand and held it near the sleeping High Elf. The spell she was using was of Dark origin, but had grown popular among many illusionists as a dream-altering spell. By many Dark mages in Ancient times, it was used to attack people through their dreams and even emotionally scar them past sanity. However in these times when the Darkness was powerless, the spell was used to manipulate and see into others' dreams; in this case it was being used to wake the Elf up from her slumber. As she finished muttering the Ancient words to the spell, Krystal could only wait until the High Elf woke up to the warm yet chilling dark glow of Krystal's left hand.

"Hullo, Visceral of Irha. I was unaware of your following of me, it seems that you are heading to the Elven Forests for shelter as well?" Her voice strangely resembled that of a speech a king would make, as if she had already prepared for this. I quickly focused my power and glimpsed into her mind, not far enough to where she could feel my presence.

"Ah Yes..Krystal Opeya.." I smiled. "I do have something to move faster..But I prefer to travel on foot.." I grinned at my remark "..I am headed towards an Elven settlement..to seek refuge for a short time before heading back to the dwarves.."

I pull out a small metal circle, it shows a strap for me to put my forearm in, but the metal is unlike anything you would see in Irha, due to it's texture and color. I pull out a pair of tweasers and pull out a piece of metal, showing the intricate wiring system that is baffling to see. I attach to wires to another and I slid away the circle into my pack, which glowed with differant symbols and rune signs. I sighed, looking at the Elf and Krystal, wondering what she could be doing. My mind went into overdrive in thought, She is probably gazing into the Elf's mind to wake her. I shook my head, realizing that, based on the Ancient Language words she was speaking.

"You need to hide her....It takes to long to wake someone.." I suggested, not even thinking about the Elf. "I believe it will use some of your energy that you will need for traveling..Unless we are in the vicinity of an Elven Village perhapse?"

I looked at my watch, which was ticking away. I sighed and resisted the urdge to take off, without the girl. I sat down and waited for her to finish her spell, which seemed to be of Dark Origin. I took a piece of bread from my pack and munched on it, not having some food for a while.

Rin slowly opened her eyes to a warm feeling, she assumed it was the sun but was shocked as to find that it was a person. Next to her sat a human in a purple colored cloak, instantly Rin saw the dark glow and assumed that she was being attacked. She jumped up as fast as she could and took two steps back.

"Who are you, why are you here, leave this place don’t bring us into your war."

Rin had many more questions but she froze up when she realized that stranger had been using magic. Rin didn’t know much of the outside world so she never expected any other race to know magic. This put Rin on the defensive, judging people’s strength at first glance was not Rin's strong suit she had to be careful and observe. Rin whispered something in the Ancient language, as she finished a nearby small pool of water swirled through the air into Rin's right hand forming a bubble inclosing her hand. Rin glanced around looking to see if the stranger was alone, but didn’t notice anyone else out in the open but who knows how many others could’ve been hidden.

"I only have a few questions that you will answer. Who are you and what do you intend to do here." Rin said attempting to sound intimidating.

Rin had never been in a magic on magic battle before, she was scared more than anyone could imagine, and she surprised herself that she was able to even stabilize her spell. Rin was an expert at hiding how she really felt, thought the many years of practice, but even now she didn’t know if she could hide how nervous and frightened she was.

I looked upon the frightened Elf, stepping from out of the trees. I instantly became worried as soon as I saw her casting a spell. The water wrapped around her hand like a bubble. I realized this Elf new what she was doing. I quickly pulled out my metal sphere, slipping it onto my forearm. I grabbed the mechanical snake and it straightened out in my hand, it sharpened and folded itself quickly into a battle axe. The circle however, slid out into a magnificent shield with a giant V on the front of it. I posed in a battle stance at the Elf, not wishing to attack but fearing for Krystal's safety.

"We aren't here to harm you...Now please...Stop the Spell.." I said calmly hoping this would not frighten the poor Elf and cause her to attack.

"We were just trying to help you wake up.." I said quietly. "We do not want to bring in any war..We are just here for safety in a Elven Village..Is there by chance one near here?"

My eyes were totally cold and lifeless, like staring into a void, while my voice was very soothing and quiet. The gears from my boots whirred as I stood there in silence. My Battle Axe hissed and shook for a moment, pointing itself at you.

"Now will you just stop the spell? Please?" I looked at Krystal for a moment, then back to the Elf, waiting for a response from her as I hold my weapons in a strange defensive stance.

Krystal got up immediately as the High Elf scrambled herself to stand from the grass she had slept on, causing the spell to fizzle. "Who are you, why are you here, leave this place, don’t bring us into your war.", the High Elf quickly said before getting a good look at who Krystal really was. Krystal, taking a step back, tried to make a calming gesture as the Elf summoned an orb of water around her hand. "I only have a few questions that you will answer. Who are you and what do you intend to do here.", the High Elf continued with an intimidating tone. Krystal was about to think of a defensive spell to fortify the enchantments on her cloak, but stopped when she noticed the shape of the water orb. Of coarse the orb was round, all orbs were round, but something else bothered her. As an Illusionist, she was able to keep track on the flow of magic around her as well as where strong sources of magic were coming from. With her years of study inside what used to be her room, she knew how many spells worked from the inside out; what words summoned them, what part of the body to focus the magic in, how to "feel" the spell to control it easier, what may affect the spell's efficiency, and even a small bit on how to counter a spell. However, the ability to use the Cultheu's Eye spell to take full advantage of her knowledge had eluded her. It was still obvious to Krystal what was wrong with the spell the Elf was using. The art of physical manipulation is a difficult school of learning due to the many "styles" there are to each element of casting. The water around the High Elf's hand seemed to be condensing the water around it. The Elf was afraid, and wasn't paying attention to how strict of a control she was holding over the water.

"We aren't here to harm you, now please, stop the spell", Visceral said, once again sneaking up on Krystal. "We were just trying to help you wake up. We do not want to bring in any war, we are just here for safety in a Elven Village. Is there by chance one near here?", he continued. Krystal gave a sigh. If it had been anyone else, she would have socked him with an Illusion of Strength spell on the spot. Calm wasn't always the answer, in fact, calm is what gets some High Elves even more agitated. Krystal also doubted that the High Elf wanted him anywhere near the Elven Villages anyway. Krystal motioned to Visceral to lower his weapons from their defensive position.

"It is as he says. We're not here to harm you. My spell was only one to awaken you, that is all. Now if you will please cease your spell, unless you want your hand to be crushed." Krystal said. It wasn't often that extreme condensing of a spell would crush something on accident, but there were times where it has happened in the past. "My name is Firiyilo Opeya, or Shimmercrystal of Mirrors. If you hadn't already taken notice to the rising smoke in the distance, then you would know that the town of Irha was burning to the ground as we speak.", she said. It seemed strange that her full name was actually translated from the Elven language. "I believe I should tell you that a fanatic Human army is on it's way to the forest as well at a day's march away. If it may be possible, I wish to take shelter in your forests or maybe even assist in a defensive effort against the invaders.", she continued. Krystal could only pray that the High Elf would see how much danger the both of them, along with the entire forest, were in with the equivalent of half the Royal Guard on their way directly to where they stood.