Crystallized

Chapter 19

Verunt didn't have enough strength to stand, so he crawled towards the burning tree. Each moment the grass touched his burned flesh was agony. Egem ran past him towards the gate, but Verunt had only eyes for the tree. The heat intensified as he got closer. By the time he reached the trunk, it seemed to repel the surrounding air. 

Sight, hearing and smell left him with ease as he stood on his knees in front of the tree. When he pressed his palms on the blazing hot bark he only felt a pleasant warmth spread up his arms. He let it flow through his body to his crystal. What at first had been a light sweat on his brow streamed down his face once the flames eased their hold of the tree. It wasn't extinguished completely until his body was soaking wet and shaking.

With the fire dead, a thick darkness remained, lit only by stars. He lay on his back, staring up at them, his mind blank as glass. He turned his head to the side and saw a star come towards him. Doesn't it know it's supposed to be in the sky? he thought as he watched it get closer. After a while he recognized the golden glow.

"Amber, I'm here." What he had intended to be a cry came out as a hoarse whisper. He tried again with more force and saw how the light quickly came towards him.

When Amber saw Verunt's arm she immediately began to heal it. A soft blue glow replaced the golden. Once she removed her hands the throbbing and stinging pain in his arm and chest had eased to a mere discomfort. "Thank you," he whispered.

Amber looked around. Where is Thelia? she asked. Verunt's worry was all the answer she needed.

Verunt ran to Virid and asked if he had seen Thelia. He took Virid's silence for a no and asked if he could help them look. Once again, he wouldn't respond, but his intention as he held his best friend was clear enough; He wouldn't leave Mitra's body.

Verunt and Amber tried, and failed, to connect with Thelia through their purple crystals. So Amber lit their way as they searched the park. The sight of the broken bridge made Verunt's heart miss a beat. Did Thelia do that?!

Amber's light faded as they followed the river downstreams. Along the riverbank they found two drowned men in black and with bronze pins. The harbor past the gate was lit with activity as Egem and his Seekers loaded boats with food and supplies.

They hadn't gotten far from the gate when Verunt saw a tiny orange glow by the riverbank. He found Thelia lying on her back with legs and arms spread. Her soaking, brown hair was glued to her pale face and her lips was unnaturally blue.

We need to get her to the infirmary, Amber signed after checking Thelia's pulse and breathing. She is barely alive.

<<>>

Once the sun rose the next day, Verunt's burns had been wrapped in bandage, Thelia had regained consciousness and some color, but was asleep for the moment. Virid had fallen for exhaustion after ensuring Mitra's body would be taken care of. Verunt, like Amber, had barely slept anything at all. Hopelessness and failure hung heavy on their shoulders as they walked in the white corridor hand in hand. A guard came and told them to follow him to the River Park.

The park was filled with a discreet scent of smoke and loud, worried citizens. They were held back from the burned tree and the remaining council members by guards. Verunt and Amber were led through the crowd to Amber's father. "You need to tell me exactly what happened," he signed to his daughter.

While Amber informed her father, Verunt moved closer to the burned tree. The black skeleton of what it had once been had a magnetic pull on him. Most of its branches had fallen off, despite his efforts to save it. When Verunt reached out to touch it, it crumbled to coal and dust. The pull increased and he began to dig. In a moment he spotted something purple.

"Amber, look!" He picked up a crystal and held it up for her to see.

Together they dug around in the ashes in search for more. Amber's father, the guards and the citizens all moved closer to watch. When Verunt had counted to nineteen, Amber found a small, black journal. She flipped through it. For each page she turned she grew more and more excited and flipped the pages quicker and quicker. Then she stopped, astonished, and held it out for Verunt to read aloud.

"I no longer have a choice. Today, the 29th of April 2753, I have decided to go against the will of the Council and the rest of the Guardians. I will hide all the purple crystals which has been programmed to pass the barrier I have found. Then, I can leave Riverfall with the hope of being the last person to do so. The outside world has proven incapable of respecting the crystals. I will not stand by and watch the devastation that will follow.

If someone reads this, it means the Alder has either died or been destroyed. But do not fear. To ensure that the city always will be protected, I will list the instructions on how to grow a tree capable of replacing this one."

<<>>

By the time the sun was chasing the horizon, Verunt and Amber had told Virid, Thelia and Antheia about the crystals and the journal. Antheia had gathered a cone from the alder in her greenhouse and they had all met back at the park to plant it.

Virid dug a hole in the ground, next to the ashes of the burned tree, with his bare hands. In it he laid down a purple crystal and the alder cone before he filled the hole with soil and sprinkled some water on top. He placed his hands on the small hill and let energy flow down to the seed with his eyes closed. Verunt had never seen his green crystal shine so bright.

The rest of the guardians, Antheia and many citizen looked on with wonder as a seedling poked its leaves through the soil and began to rise towards the sky. Branches spread out with leaves the same shade of green as Mitra's fur had been.

When the alder plant had slowed its growing to a natural pace and Amber's father had everyone's attention, he spoke up. "Although it hurts my honor as a council member, it must be said that the council has not fulfilled its duties. I have sworn to take care of and protect the City, but failed you. You have my apologies. I should have seen the threat when it walked openly on our streets. I should have kept you safe. But perhaps they were right, maybe there are no danger beyond the border any longer. Together we can find out. Those who wish to leave the city will be granted a purple crystal with which they can pass through the barrier. However, that crystal must be returned before you walk away from the border in order for others to leave and for you to return. In time, I hope I can earn your trust once more."

<<>>

Mitra laid on a wooden raft as if she was sleeping, her green fur combed to cover the burns that had caused her death. A rope was all that kept the raft from being dragged away by the river. Verunt laid a hand on Virid's shoulder as his friend spoke with a shaky voice. 

"From the day you woke up in my arms four years ago and licked my face, I knew we belonged together. I will never forget your loyalty and unconditional love, things I didn't deserve. You only shared that love with water, which makes this a fitting goodbye." Virid's eyes gleamed with tears and memories.

The setting sun glittered beautifully in the water as the raft drifted away.

In a few days, Thelia would leave the City with a few others to seek adventure and to collect information about the world. Verunt hoped she would return soon, he would miss her. He, however, would stay exactly were he was. Amber stood next to him, her soft, orange hair seemed alive as it tumbled freely over her shoulders. Amber noticed his gaze and gave him a warm smile. I won't get to meet my family ever again, he thought as he looked into her grey-green eyes. But maybe she would want to be my new one.

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