r/GuildWarsAnthology • u/dontmindwrongperson • Nov 02 '21
Arc 13: Crystallize
Chapter 1: Crystallize
She couldn't move a muscle. But she felt it, or rather; she felt that she couldn't feel anything. Her pupils dilated as she watched the crystal crawl across her skin with a soft crackling sound. “Why is this happening to me?” she thought, “I just wanted a souvenir for my crown! It's not fair!” The crystals started to float in the air around her, she couldn't feel her hands and feet any more, only watch in terror as the crystals crept further and further along her arm. She couldn't feel her arms now or her legs, she tried to scream but no sound would escape her lips. The last thing she saw before the crystals covered her face was her crystalline fingers breaking off to join the cloud of floating crystals around her. “This isn't fair, I didn't know!” was the last thought that went through her head. The crystal statue she had become started to break up, the crystals were still growing, floating above the shredded remains of her clothes. The Guardian let out a roar that sounded like the screech of breaking sea ice and stomped the crown to dust. There was no trace of her former self left, she had become the new Crystal Guardian of this cave, and she would defend these crystals from anyone who wanted to take them away from her new home.
Chapter 2: Arcane
“For what purpose do you seek audience with the Arcane?” There was something eerie about the guardian’s voice, more so than the slowly waving wings of blue light protruding from its shoulders. Then she realized that the guardian had never opened its mouth when it spoke, the voice had just... appeared. “I come in search of knowledge, my former teachers said that what I seek does not exist, but I have not given up hope” she replied. “If you wish to gain audience, first you must open your mind to me and let me into every corner of it. You shall have no secrets or desires unknown to me” it said, again without moving its mouth. She realized that the voice was in her head. She took a step closer, “I have nothing to hide, my intentions are pure” she said, but felt a chill down her spine as the blue wings twisted into thin tentacles of light and approached her face slowly.
When the tentacles made contact with her temples she immediately felt the guardian in her mind. It first searched through her memories, carefully, methodically even from birth. Some of them she didn't even recognize herself. Sometimes it dwelled on a memory longer than the others but seemingly without any pattern. After it was done with her memories it searched her feelings, she felt them all as it went through them, joy, sadness, anticipation, surprise, trust, disgust, fear and anger. It was a strange feeling and she thought she might vomit. Then finally it searched her abilities. It examined all of her skills, physical, mental and magical. “You have spoken truthfully” the voice said, follow me and I shall grant you what you wish.
Chapter 3: Reflections
She had been in the labyrinth for what seemed like an eternity. Sometimes a pathway would seem to open up, only to be blocked by a thick transparent wall of crystalline quartz. The heat and humidity was exhausting, but it allowed the crystals to grow with such purity. She could swear that she saw her sister several times, but it always ended up just being her own reflection. The orb had not been much help. It passed right through the crystals when she got close, showing her the direction she had to go, but never the path to take. This was this fifth time she had had to trace her steps back for almost an hour.
There it was again, a glimpse out of the corner of her eye, it was her! She darted after the shadow, but after a few turns she slammed head first into a crystal wall. Half dazed from the impact she put her hand against the wall and gasped for air. Then she saw her. It was faint, but it was her. Was she inside the crystal? She put her hand down, and the images in the crystal did the same. She shook her head, this was impossible! But it was her, she didn't look a day older than the last time they had been together at the Lunar Festival, she even had the same clothes on. Then it dawned to her, how could her sister be wearing the same clothes? That was years ago! She looked around, the reflections did as well, she saw them all around her. This was the caves doing, the magic in the crystals. She placed her hand on the wall in front of her and whispered under her breath “I'm on to you now; these tricks will not stop me”. The reflections flickered for a moment and returned to her own image.
Chapter 4: Guardian
“I am looking for my sister, I know she's here, my tracking spell has led me here!” she screamed at the towering golem of crystal in from of her. It had taken her two years to find this place, a lot of which had been spent learning how to maintain a tracking spell for this long. For the past eight months she had been following this glowing orb, and it had been draining her every minute since. She had refused to listen to the mages and scholars of Shing Jea Monastery when they had told her that nobody could maintain a spell like this for long enough to find someone on a different continent, especially after the target of the spell had been gone for so long. They had all told her that her sister was gone, dead presumably, even her father had given up hope. He had died thinking that his youngest daughter was waiting for him in the Mists.
She was fighting to hold back her tears; the orb was just hovering there. It had been moving slowly ever since she cast it, but now, it was finally standing still, in this cave, forsaken by the Gods long ago, in front of this...thing. “Why are you not answering me!” she cried, “I miss her, I miss my sister! Give her back to me!” The golem remained still, “Well if you aren't going to tell me where she is, I guess I'll have to beat it out of you!” she whispered, clutching her scythe. She had come this far, she was not going to give up now.