The Crystal

The beginning (start here)

"As the lotus blooms, so does the mind."

The elf was withered and old, not necessarily in his sane mind. Tanthallas stared at him in disbelief as he continued to spout seemingly random phrases.
"Master Tirwyn," repeated Tanthallas, "I was not inquiring about the biological connections between fauna and cerebral units, but upon the subject of elf crystals. I have in my possession something which the elder council of my village believes to be an elf crystal.

"As you know, there are currently no active crystals which are known of by the New Kingdom. There have not been any such crystals discovered in over six thousand seasons, but we have now unearthed something which appears to have the same qualities as those fabled crystals of the past. The only surviving and sentient creature" sort of, he thought, "surviving from that time, Master Tirwyn, is you. All other elves from that period have elected to leave for the peaceful realms.

"I therefore have come as a representative of the declining New Elven Kingdom of Qualinestia. I ask you for the methods which our ancestors used to regenerate and multiply these wondrous seeds of power, in order to once again flourish and empower our proud race."

Throughout Tanthallas's speech, Master Tirwyn became more alert with every word. By the time Tanthallas finished, Master Tirwyn's eyes looked as though focusing on a distant page of knowledge.

"You way is becoming clear to me, Tanthallas. You must journey to the ancient city of Lletya in the the old kingdom of Alfheim. Here you will find a reptile of distinguishing features, which you must return to the great elves of the light. Once this has been accomplished, a new path will appear before the wanderer."

When he finished, Master Tirwyn immediately turned and entered his hovel, leaving Tanthallas to contemplate the meaning of his prophesy. Recognizing his dismissal, Tanthallas left the clearing and made ready to journey home, to give the prophesy to his elders.


Entering the village, Tanthallas was immediately surrounded by his friends and peers, all wanting the news from the Ancient One.

"Come on Tanis, what did the old codger tell you?" asked Fealthor, calling him by his nickname. Tanthallas and he had been best friends since they were young.

Tanis laughed, waving aside all questions. "Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough what he said. I'm meeting with the council this evening to discuss his words." Then he muttered to Fealthor, "Not that it'll be much use, he was rather mysterious."

Fealthor looked questioningly at him, but Tanis shook his head slightly, indicating they would talk more later.

Chuckling at the antics of the others, Tanis headed for his dorm to rest for a while before he presented his case to the council. As they neared his housing, Tanis asked to have some time alone before the evening. Pulling Fealthor aside, he whispered to him, "Meet me in my room at half-mark of sunfade, I'll tell you more then."

"Can Kreija come also?" Fealthor asked. "Her mind will surely be helpful."

"Of course, bring her with you, just don't tell anyone else." said Tanis, brushing a strand of black hair out of his eyes.

Walking into the main living area, then climbed the rope ladder to the next floor, Tanis looked around at his home of the past nineteen seasons. Turning to the left, he opened his door with his personal amulet. He thought of its amazing capabilities as he looked around his room.

It's amazing, he thought, how such a simple piece of craftsmanship can look so beautiful and still provide such useful services.

Looking around his undisturbed room, he laid down his bow and quiver, then removed his sword belt and placed it beside them. His weapons were his most prized possessions, gifts from his father before his father departed. He received both on his fifty seasons celebration. Soon after that, his father departed for the Peaceful realms, leaving the kingdom to the council.

The bow was made from the wood of the great tree Yggdrasil, lifetree of the Old Kingdom, and the protector of elven-kind. The sword was a masterpiece crafted from the shards of Mjdrir, the sword of Khavir the wise. Khavir was the councilor of the first Elven King, and the wisest elf in history.

Relaxing for the first time in weeks, Tanis thought about what Master Tirwyn had said, and the actions this would require.

The city of Lletya was in the Old Kingdom, long ago abandoned. It would be a dangerous journey to reach Alfheim itself, but the exact location of Lletya was no longer recorded. The city itself should still be in decent shape, being dwarf-built, but the surrounding paths and fields would be overgrown, and most likely unrecognizable. The hardest part would likely be identifying the city's defense enchantments, and counter-casting the spells holding them in place.

Normally to enter and elf-city, a resident of the city would be present, and the spells hiding the city would register this, allowing the party to gain entrance. In most cases a communication link could be set up to contact residents inside the city and have a welcomer join the party for admittance, but with an unoccupied city, this was impossible.

The only way to detect an elf city, without a resident present, was to know the exact position of the power orbs supporting the spread enchantment over the city. You could then cast a blanketing spell over the orbs, interrupting the recirculation effect and causing a temporary distortion in the displacement aura, allowing visual contact with the city to be made. Once the protective spells have been broken, it takes approximately the half-mark of the tide for them to completely repair themselves, allowing that much time for the enchanters to enter the city before it closed again.

Once you have entered the city, you can have one member of your party call the city home and, assuming the city recognizes the change of home location, you should be able to regain entrance easily following that, by merely have this "resident" of the city accompany you.

Tanis still had no idea how to find the correct spell to locate the orbs, but he was certain that someone from the council would have the solution. After all, these were the greatest and most respected elves in the city.

Tanis realized he was still lying on his bed, and it was quarter mark of sunfade already. Quickly rising, he set about making ready to meet the council. Once he prepared his possessions, he washed himself of the long road's grime, and put on his formal clothing.

When Fealthor and Kreija arrived, they met a striking young elf wearing a black outfit and a flowing veralis cloak. Veralis cloaks were renowned for their ability to turn the wearer invisible in the presence of non-elves. Favored for this impressive feat by the elves, these cloaks were immensely valuable, and it was rare for an elf to own one by himself. His long hair was pulled back and tightly braided for the presentation. He looked as sharp as any elf of his age could.

"You wanted to see us?" asked Fealthor. "I brought Kreija as you said."

"Yes." said Tanis, turning from the window. "I felt that I should tell you before I spoke to the elders about it. Master Tirwyn has set me the task of recovering an unusual reptile from the city of Lletya."

"Lletya!" said Fealthor, "That city was deserted millennia ago. With the protection enchantments assumably still active, there's no way to even get into the city."

"I've thought of this, and I'm going to ask the council. I know you can get past the spells, if you know the position of the orbs supporting them. How we find the orbs, I'm not yet sure."

Kreija glanced up from the vase she was examining, saying sharply, "You said 'we'. Are we coming with?"

"Of course, why did you even need to ask?" said Fealthor. "Tanis would never leave us out of such a big adventure, would you?"

Tanis smiled. "No, I wouldn't. Just remember, it's not just going to be fun, it will likely be very dangerous. That's why I wanted to ask if you two are willing before I present the idea to the council."

"You needn't have bothered." said Kreija, pouting slightly at the idea that his best friends would desert Tanis at a time like this. "We'll always come with you, no matter where you go."

"Yeah!" agreed Fealthor, running his hand through his bright red hair. "And anyways, we love to go trekking out farther than most people, this time we just won't come back so soon."

Laughing, Tanis said, "Ok then. I thought that would be your response." Then using a dramatic voice, "Let us go forth, and bring to the attention of the council the quest for the queer lizard!"

They all clapped each other on the back, and set off to the centerpiece of town. Their contrasting personalities were shown in their hair colours, Tanis a strong black, Fealthor fiery red, and Kreija pure blonde.