Mystery Stones

Glowing Stones hidden around
Too many for just one to count
Orange, yellow, red, black, purple and green
Those might just be seen.

Jeremy rang the bell in the lobby of the large company building. He looked around, then up and down and wondered how much time the cleaning crew worked on the lobby each week to keep it looking so sterile and perfect. Every horizontal surface gleamed, every vertical surface reflected a hazy view of reality. Jeremy felt out of place in his worn-down jeans, faded jacket and scuffed hiking boots. He looked like the vagabond that he was. He just had to hope they wouldn't have too high a standard for their temporary hires. He could really use the money.
On the tenth floor of that same building, Emisandre was walking angrily through the hallway separating several office spaces. Her heels tapped loudly on the dark floor and should give the culprit of her bad mood ample warning that she was coming. Alas this particular office worker never showed remorse and despite repeat offences, kept on sending dubious expense-reports to the accountancy department.
"Mr. Peters." the tall black woman called, her smart suit with jacket and skirt perfect as always.
Emisandre managed to catch the repeat-offender before he made his getaway and she thoroughly lectured him on the proper way to log expenses and which would be denied.
Across the hall, Tanguy chuckled quietly as he witnessed the lecture. The man of Asian-descent had few things to smile about, especially now that the company was on a crunch run and every worker was expected to work overtime. So Tanguy averted his eyes and focused on his own work. He sometimes felt like there was little else outside of work in his life. He hardly ever saw his parents, had virtually no friends and his only hobby was sleeping in when he finally had a day off.

At the same time, at a place far removed from the busy city, Quinten was hurrying down a mountain. Holing up in a monastery had seemed like such a good plan when it was still just him and the voices. And it had worked. here weren't many other monks and none seemed to have a problem with him being lost in thought or whispering prayers. In fact, for a while Quinten had suspected the other monks might suffer from the same internal dialogue that he was being subjected to. But he'd never had the courage to ask. It was only recently that the dialogue had started to carry meaning. Some words were growing exceedingly common. And they weren't good words. Although Quinten had grown used to ignoring what was being said in his mind, when the words "darkness", "danger" and "disaster" had started repeating, he had been forced to warn someone. His superior had sent him down the mountain to alert the town. What he'd do after that was something Quinten didn't know. Without knowing what was coming, it was hard making plans.
Paul entered the small flower shop and breathed in. The scents of greenery and flowers rejuvenated him even if he always found the smell of a flower shop to be somewhat forced. He worked as a physiotherapist in the local hospital but after a few months of working, he was ready to go hiking and camping during his vacation. He'd be free to roam the mountains for an entire week and though it seemed like a long period now he knew it'd be too short.
"Excuse me, miss?" he addressed the shopkeeper.
Angeline turned when she'd been spoken to and smiled at her customer. Her copper curls bounced when she put down the banana plant she'd been transported and she rubbed her hands on her apron.
"How can I help you?"
"I was looking for some citronella or other insect-repelling plant to take with me while I go camping."
"Trying to keep your tent from being invaded?" she inquired, "I think I have just the thing."
Angeline loved all things green. From a young age she'd been digging in the dirt and planting seeds in pots. After about a decade of living frugally and saving up she'd finally been able to open up her own shop. She enjoyed sending off her little flowers to people who would take care of them and this man seemed like a good fit.
"You're welcome to bring back this little one after your trip for a refund." she told him.
Paul stared at the woman in front of him. She probably didn't have much of a business sense if she offered a refund for plants she'd sold. Before he could answer though, a tanned man staggered inside.
"The dark is coming." he said, his eyes shifting around.
"Can I help you?" Angeline asked but then something peculiar happened.

Darkness descended over the world, smothering colours, sounds and smells under a blanket of shade. Time froze and with it humans, animals, plants and anything else that moved. Except some people and presumably some animals, some plants and some other things could still move.
Emisandre took a little while to notice that Mr. Peters absence of protesting was indeed not because he was understanding the errors of his ways. She fell silent and noticed that he stood absolutely still. Backing up, she knocked over a cup of coffee but it did not fall to the floor, it just somehow hovered in the air. When she took hold of it, coffee spilled to the floor.
Walking toward the hallway, Emisandre noticed the silence in the world. Her heels hardly made sound, there was no chatter.
"Anyone here?" She called, surprised by how muffled her voice sounded.
Tanguy ignored her calls at first. Someone else would help her out with whatever the needed, but after a couple of minutes went by and her calls had only grown more frantic, the corporate drone stepped away from his desk and went out to meet her.
"There's no need to shout." he said, "Whatever could warrant such racket?"
Emisandre could hardly believe how fortunate she was to have found someone else alive in the building. Office after office had shown her frozen statues instead of people. She had been beginning to fear that she was the only one left.
"Something's wrong." she stated rather blandly.
Tanguy listened with increasing disbelief at the accountant's story. But the evidence of her story was all around them and he was no fool. He believed his own eyes. He was not a very emotional person. Neither was he a religious one. Whatever was happening here had to have had a cause. And as such it would be able to reverse this state by removing said cause.
"I think our best bet would be to go the lobby, see if we can leave, check the state outside and use the intercom system to look for others like us who are still able to move."
Emisandre nodded and without wasting time, the two of them headed toward the elevator by the most efficient route. Once the elevator doors opened on the ground floor, they were met with a vision of frozen people, some halted mid-step while carrying documents or locked in conversation with others.
Jeremy heard the elevator doors open and hurried toward the sound. His muffled footsteps resounding unnatural in the empty lobby. He weaved in between the statues of people. He had tried touching them but that experience hadn't been pleasant. It had been like a thousand ringing alarm bells going off in his mind. Unlike inanimate objects which he could manipulate without problem, trying to change something about the people around him was like trying to push a bowling ball through a keyhole.
Some natural survival instinct kept him from calling out, although his footsteps would have alerted anyone lying in wait that he was coming. Luckily, when Jeremy rounded the wall that shielded the elevator from view, he was met with two people who didn't look like they were capable of doing any real harm.
"You can move?" Tanguy asked.
"Yeah. I guess you can too." Jeremy answered.
Awkwardness ensued until Jeremy broke the silence and extended his hand. He introduced himself and was rewarded with the names of the other two. They briefly explained who they were and what they were doing here. They talked about what had happened and while they waited for anyone to respond to their intercom call, they went over some possible explanations for what had happened.
Sadly they had no clue about that and no-one else seemed to be able to move around here.
Although...
"Did you hear that?" Jeremy suddenly asked.
"What?" Emisandre asked.
"A chime of sorts."

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Knowing Stones lay waiting still
humming softly just until
Someone finds them right on time
To change the perilous design

Daniel had known that the dark was coming so he hadn't been surprised at all. Or at least that was what he was trying to convince himself of. Seeing his parents freeze in front of his eyes, suddenly being in a silent, motionless world, it all was frightening. But at least he was prepared.
The young man had been training for this day since the moment the seer had recognised him from his vision. With each generation the images had become clearer and the secluded sect had prepared themselves. First they'd established a house, then later a village on a remote island. As time went by people had joined them and resources had been acquired.
So Daniel knew he needed to look for the sacred stones the seer had seen in his vision. There were three on the island and he would find one of them. But first he needed to assemble some necessities for the unknown that was to come. Other chosen ones would gather at the storehouses too so that's where he would find them.
Ophelia carefully looked around and took a deep breath. It was happening. She'd always hoped she'd be part of the chosen three who would find the Knowing Stones and would save the world. As a child she and the others had re-enacted the seer's visions and had speculated on the adventures that lay beyond what he'd seen. Many of her friends had since left the island or had lost their drive, but not Ophelia herself. She'd remained steadfast in her believes and had been rewarded.
Only as an outsider to the sect she only knew bits and pieces of what she was meant to do now. She imagined looking for the stones would be the first thing to do. While she was doing that she might run into the other two chosen ones and hopefully then she would learn what to do next.
Across the compound Izreen returned from a swim that had suddenly turned very dangerous. The water had turned into something more akin to pudding or jelly and every fish she'd come into contact with - and there were more of those than she'd thought possible - had sent her reeling back from the awful smell they emitted. She'd doggedly kept on swimming, all the while wondering why she'd been among the chosen. She'd never done anything to try and be one.
When she'd reached the shore she had stumbled and rested for a moment. She should head to the storage area where they kept the bags they'd need. But she first wanted to think a bit. She was going to have to save the world. The implications were big but if Fate had put her on the list of contenders to save everyone then she'd have to believe that she was able to make a difference. With her mind settled, Izreen got up and started the walk toward the storage shed.

Quinten woke up in the shop he'd entered. Nothing seemed to have happened which made him wonder if the voices had been wrong for once. Both the shopkeeper Angeline and the man going camping, Paul, helped him up. But as he stood he noticed that the earthy smell of the shop had vanished. The vibrant greens of the plants had dulled to a depressing kaki and though the town was nowhere near busy, not a sound of the traffic outside was audible.
"It's happening." he whispered.
"What's wrong? Do you need something? Sugar? Coffee?" Angeline hovered.
But Quinten only had eyes for the outside where a couple of people stood frozen right in the middle of the street. Paul noticed the unusual situation outside. Rushing out, he tried to pull the woman and child back onto the pavement only to be hit with a flash so bright it felt like he'd been hit with lightning, or a serious migraine. Stumbling back, he somehow was able to avoid falling.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"It's the darkness." Quinten said, "It's started to claim our world. I don't know why we're still able to move."
"What is this darkness?" Angeline asked.
The plant-loving redhead turned around, looking at the shops in the neighbourhood and noticing the shade behind the windows. She hurried to some of the them, opening doors and calling out to the people she knew. But to no avail as everyone was quite clearly frozen.
She reached out, intending to shake one of her friends when Paul pulled her back.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." he said.
But Angeline shook her head and pushed through. Immediately she was overwhelmed, taste and smell exploding with such power that she nearly fainted. She dug her fingers into her friend's arm and pulled. But it was like trying to pull at a statue. Nothing moved.
"I told you." Paul said as Angeline gasped for untainted air.
"There has to be something we can do. Something to change this." she wheezed.
"Let's go talk to Quinten once more." Paul suggested, "He seems to know a bit more at least."
"I don't know anything really." the monk replied to that.
Quinten had followed the other two while they'd gone out. He could hardly make out what the voices were saying, let alone guess at what they were planning. That is if the voices were the ones behind this entire mess. He wasn't really convinced about that. Only he knew that he had to try. Straining his ears, Quinten tried to make out more of the meaning, trying to undo the habits he'd built during the rest of life.
And then he heard it, a faint chime that sounded oddly clear.

Jeremy followed his ears, trying to make out where the chime was coming from. The sound was sweet and clear, like metal bells caught in the wind. The sound felt more real than anything else around him, the only thing not muted or faded. Only, Tanguy and Emisandre seemed not to hear it. He was just about to stop his search, thinking his mind was playing tricks on him, when he saw it.
"Please tell me you see this too?" Jeremy asked.
Tanguy nearly bumped into Jeremy when he so suddenly stopped so it took him a while to focus, but Emisandre, who had come at a little distance got a clear view of the purple prism-shaped gem that was floating in mid-air.
"I see it." she said, "If what you're seeing is floating gems."
"That's what I'm seeing."
"I see it too." Tanguy agreed.
Jeremy stretched his arm and let his fingertips brush against the gem. Something he could only describe as music though it wasn't quite that, resounded through him and a peculiar urge to grab the prism overcame him. Before he could try to reason about what was happening he complied and felt the cool hard surface of the material against the palm of his hand.
"Find the Knowing Stones and travel to the Room between." Jeremy suddenly said.
The world seemed to stretch and skew for a split second and then returned to it's normal dimensions. Jeremy shook his head, feeling somewhat befuddled and tired suddenly.
"Find the stones?" Emisandre asked.
"I don't know why I said that." Jeremy admitted, "But I did."
"It's no stranger than having everyone around freeze." Tanguy shrugged.
"I'd kill for some coffee." Emisandre agreed.
The situation was grating on her nerves and she needed to comfort that a cup of caffeine would bring.
"All the coffee is probably cold by now." Tanguy replied, "I don't know if we can make a new pot."
Emisandre nodded depressed, but something niggled at the back of her mind. And when she focused on it, she recognised it as a divine smell. Coffee made from properly ground beans, brewed fresh tantalised her nose. She could almost taste it.
"I smell coffee." she said.
"That's probably just a hallucination brought on because you're having to go without it." Jeremy said.
"No, I'm not that far gone." Emisandre argued.
She followed her nose and finally looked down into the ceramic bowl of one of the potted plants.
"You can't think there's coffee in there." Tanguy said.
Emisandre ignored the others and dug her hand into the dirt. Her fingers hit something hard and smooth and the taste of coffee exploded in her mouth. Emisandre pulled her hand up and dragged a black pearl about the size of a ping pong ball with it.
"Three by three they carry the power to win." she said suddenly.
"I can't believe I said that!" she added, "What does it mean?"
"That we need to find a third?" Tanguy guessed.
He wasn't convinced that this was all real, but his mind refused to fully let go of the rules and laws that had shaped his world from a young age. Mathematics was an absolute, even in the face of a very unreal paranormal event.
"Does anything look or feel different to you?" Jeremy asked, "I mean I heard a sound, Emisandre smelled coffee. Maybe there's something only you can detect."
Tanguy looked around, "Everything looks pretty normal..."
Just the same muted greyness that seemed to cover everything. Although, he suddenly did see something brighter in his field of vision. A light seemed to clear an area in the restaurant area. It glowed and faded and seemed to beckon.
"There is a light." he deadpanned.
"Where?" Emisandre asked.
Tanguy pointed to where he saw the light.
"I don't see anything there." Jeremy nodded, "That must be it."
Tanguy walked toward the glowing light which turned out to be emitted by a yellow pyramid. As he reached out to it, he wondered if this was the right thing to do. Jeremy and Emisandre hadn't had anything happen to them. But a sense of fear got hold of his heart. And then he realised: Three by three... and screamed as the light engulfed them all.

Ophelia walked aimlessly through the compound after having found it unguarded. Well it was guarded, the guard just couldn't hold her back anymore. The village wasn't big, only a couple of streets but the buildings were close together obscuring sight and the blanket of shade obscured sounds any of the other chosen were making.
So it was quite a surprise when Izreen found Ophelia and approached the woman she only vaguely knew.
"Hello, did you know about the prophecy?" Izreen asked.
She could have approached the woman differently but if she was here then she must know and they didn't have time to waste.
"Yes." Ophelia nodded, "Though I don't know beyond that we're meant to save the world."
"We don't know much more." Izreen clarified, "We're to head to the storage area for supplies and then find the Knowing Stones. The seer was convinced that it wouldn't be hard but so far I haven't seen anything that might be a magical stone."
The two women headed for the storage sheds and then located Daniel who was sitting on a little bench with his backpack at his feet. He looked more than glad to see them but he might have just been bored.
"Hey Daniel." Izreen said, "So you really were a chosen one."
"The seer did see me." the young man replied with a shrug.
"Prophecies are not always what they appear." Ophelia added.
"This one seems to be going as predicted though." Daniel bounced back.
Izreen looked at the two ambitious people and worried about their chances if they'd be fighting like this the entire way. Izreen ducked into the shed and got out two more backpacks and gave one to Ophelia who was still glaring daggers at Daniel. To break the tension, Izreen said:
"Isn't that smell terrible? It smells like dead fish. I guess the seer didn't have smell-visions."
The other two dropped their arguing but not in the way Izreen had expected.
"What smell?" Daniel asked, "I haven't smelled anything recently."
"Neither have I." Ophelia added.
Izreen wrinkled her nose and turned around. The smell had only gotten stronger as they'd approached the storage sheds. In fact, she could almost pinpoint it. Ignoring it was becoming harder and if she could just bury whatever was causing it she might just be able to live through world-saving with the dynamic fighting duo. But what she found behind some boxes was anything but a rotting fish.
"Guys, I think I have found a stone." Izreen called, holding out the teal-coloured cube.
"Find the Knowing Stones and travel to the Room between." she then added.
Luckily the bad smell disappeared after that, though her worries didn't decrease as now the dynamic duo started to tear out boxes, throwing them randomly to the floor. Or they would have if the boxes actually fell down. Instead they just hung into the air after Daniel and Ophelia let go of them.
Finally it was Ophelia who cried out that she had seen the light. And she meant that quite literally.
"Something is glowing behind those books!" she called excitedly.
When the other two saw nothing, she got even more excited and started pulling out books until she found a pink cone that she felt looked like one of those soapstone lanterns. It glowed from within, casting a romantic warm glow onto the surrounding space.
"Three by three they carry the power to win." she uttered when she grabbed it.
That must be one of the clues and felt fairly important. And what made it better was that she'd found it before Daniel had found his. She smiled brightly and returned outside to brag.
Only at that moment Daniel too had a breakthrough. The well-trained teenager heard birds singing and knew that that wasn't possible as all the animals had been frozen along with the humans. With confident steps, he strode toward the trees and triumphantly held up the blue cylinder he found there. It actually looked like one of those Bluetooth speakers that had been popular recently.
But before he could gleefully claim his victory, the three of them were engulfed by light and whisked away.

Following the sound was rather difficult as the sound seemed to switch positions. Neither Angeline nor Paul heard the chime but this didn't really worry Quinten as he'd heard things others didn't for his entire life. This was just a variation on a theme. And the sound seemed oddly comforting.
After some meditations, Quinten was able to narrow down the origin of the sound. Or maybe the trickster had had enough and had given up moving around. Whatever the case, Quinten marched straight to a nearby shop and finally saw a slight discoloration in one of the square windowpanes. As he touched it, the chimes exploded into ringing like church bells and Quinten gasped and he lost his balance, lunging forward and pressing his hand against the unusual square.
"Find the Knowing Stones and travel to the Room between."
Quinten looked around but both Angeline and Paul were too far away to have heard what he'd said. He took hold of the flexible square and went back to the others.
Angeline smiled at him and offered: "How about some coffee or tea to gather our thoughts?"
"I'd like that, thank you." Quinten nodded.
"Keeping well-fed and hydrated is basic survival strategy." Paul agreed.
Angeline led them back to her shop. She entered and took a deep breath, enjoying the scents of green and soil. There really was nothing better and they always comforted her. The shopkeeper went to her kitchen and rummaged until she found what she needed. Only the machines didn't work. She couldn't get them to turn on.
"Slight problem." she said and came out with some soda bottles, "This is what I can offer."
The two men didn't object and drank straight from the bottles. The three of them fell silent and Angeline was the first to try and break the gloomy mood that had taken hold of them.
"At least my shop smells like normal." she said, "I was afraid that I would never smell greenery again."
Paul looked at her oddly, "I don't smell the plants." he said.
"Oh great, now I'm going crazy." Angeline sighed.
"Maybe not." Quinten offered, "Do you know where the smell is coming from?"
Giving the monk a quizzical look, Angeline got up and walked around. At first the smell was all around her, but when she concentrated she did feel like it was coming from one place in particular. She smiled as she approached the largest and oldest plant in her shop: a potted tree that grew from the base of the stairs, it's branches intertwining with the handrail leading up to the small landing where she kept her plant nursery.
"It's coming from here." she said without a doubt.
"Do you see anything in there?" Quinten asked.
Angeline frowned but then did see an orange star hanging from one of the branches. She figured she'd forgotten to take down some Christmas ornaments and embarrassed, tried to take the star down.
"Three by three they carry the power to win." she suddenly uttered as her shop smelled even greener than before.
"What did you say?" Paul asked.
"I don't know." Angeline answered.
"Is there anything unusual for you?" Quinten asked Paul.
"I've never really been here before." Paul answered, "I wouldn't know where things are meant to be."
"Do you hear something? Smell something? Anything?" Quinten tried again.
Paul shrugged. Their voices still sounded pretty muffled and there wasn't anything else around making sounds. The shop smelled quite neutral and he wished he could smell the greenery like Angeline.
"Maybe we need to go outside." Quinten said, "Mine was outside."
"Yours?" Paul asked.
But then the monk pushed the other two back out and instructed them to look as he did. Half an hour went by without anything happening but with little else to do they kept with it.
"It doesn't seem like it'll become night." Angeline said, "How long has it been like this?"
The trio checked their watches but became no wiser as they too were frozen.
"Maybe we're close to morning already?" Paul said, "I think it's becoming a bit lighter."
"How so? It looks just as dreary to me." Angeline said with about as much enthusiasm as she had for cleaning.
"That might be it!" Quinten called, "Where do you see the light?"
Paul headed to where he thought the sun was rising only to happen upon a red octahedron that seemed to glow invitingly.
"It's here." he said.
"We can't see it. But we'll be able to once you take it." Quinten said.
Paul shrugged and took hold of the gem in front of him. And then everything changed.

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Glowing Stones, the day has come
To come alive under a dragon's drum
Knowing Stones your time has gone
There's some fixing to be done.

Next thing they knew, Daniel, Ophelia and Izreen were standing in a windowless room with drab walls. Black furnishings absorbed what light there was and they could hardly make out the edges of the room.
"Greetings." A person clad in white spoke. "You are gathered here today to save our realm. Fate has chosen you to harness the power of the Knowing Stones and with them you'll be able to revert the Freezing Fog that you have encountered."
Daniel and Ophelia hung on his lips as he told them what was expected of them while Izreen wandered around. She finally sagged down onto a couch and waited.
"To ensure you can harness the power of your Knowing Stones, you must bond a dragon. Their innate energy will unlock the power of the stones and they will be able to bring you back home to fulfil your destiny..."
By this point even Daniel and Ophelia were growing weary of the speech. And the excitement was getting the better of them.
"Dragons are amazing." Daniel said wide-eyed, "With their size and power we could really do some damage."
"And fight what? I doubt just physical power could clear the freezing fog." Ophelia protested.
"Maybe their fiery breath would do the trick." Daniel said stubbornly.
"You just believe whatever you want to believe." Ophelia said with a snide.
Three  pedestals rose from the ground, each mounted with a large crystal. All three glowed with an inner light and seemed to beckon them.
"Please touch the crystals to be transported to your goal." The projection stuttered and then faded.
"I say we touch the crystals and go our merry way." Daniel said loudly as he headed for one of the crystals.
Ophelia nodded and added, "I'll return before you and make certain to save the world."
Izreen felt a headache coming but refused to enter the argument. The three humans touched one each of the crystals but nothing happened. This caused some chaos as the plan didn't seem to be working.
"Are they broken?" Ophelia asked.
"That can't be!" Daniel objected, "We need them."
"Let's think about this rationally." Izreen tried holding up her hands.
But before long Ophelia and Daniel started fighting again. They hurled words and insults at each other and though Izren tried to keep them calm, it was to no avail. Suddenly she saw Daniel head toward Ophelia and trip. Trying to get to him before he took down Ophelia, made Izreen trip as well and the three of them crashed into one of the pedestals.... and then they vanished, transported to the next part of their destiny.

Out of nowhere they appeared in a large room with grey walls and black trim. The place still sounded muffled, the colours looked faded and the placed smelled rather dusty. But no-one could be certain whether or not that was because they were still under the strange influence that had frozen everyone around them or whether this was just the natural state of the room.
Jeremy, Emisandre and Tanguy had appeared on one side of the room, Angeline, Paul and Quinten on the opposite side. They looked at each other, not really knowing what to do. But before they could get acquainted, the situation changed.
"Greetings." A person clad in white spoke.
"You are gathered here today to save our realm. Fate has chosen you to harness the power of the Knowing Stones and with them you'll be able to revert the Freezing Fog that you have encountered."
The person carried on with the speech, sounding very much like an important but pompous ruler of some kind.
"Is he for real? No is he actually real?" Jeremy asked when it became apparent that the person did not react to their actions.
"I don't think so." Paul agreed and stepped forward to try and touch what turned out to be a hologram or projection.
"Shouldn't we be listening?" Angeline asked.
"I don't think he will give us much information." Emisandre shrugged as she tried to make sense of the room.
"There are no doors." Tanguy agreed when he saw the accountant looking.
"How will we get out?" Jeremy asked.
"I suspect we'll know when we've heard his speech." Quinten stated.
"To ensure you can harness the power of your Knowing Stones, you must bond a dragon. Their innate energy will unlock the power of the stones and they will be able to bring you back home to fulfil your destiny..."
"Did he just say dragons?" Emisandre asked.
"That can't be real." Paul agreed.
"What about this seems like it could be real?" Tanguy asked.
"Let's listen!" Angeline pleaded, fearing they might miss something crucial.
At that moment, three pedestals with mounted crystals rose from the ground in front of the projection. The six assembled humans took a step back and eyed the crystals with caution.
"Please touch the crystals to be transported to your goal."
The projection stuttered and then faded. Two of the three crystals started to glow, the third remained dull.
"What do you think that's about?" Jeremy asked.
"I wouldn't know." Quinten said, "I don't think that one is working."
Emisandre put her hands on the dull crystal, frightening some of her companions, but nothing happened.
"So who's going to try one of the others?" she smirked.
Tanguy shook his head at the devious tactic of his coworker.
"I say each group of us chooses a crystal and touches them together. I don't want to end up somewhere on my own."
"Definitely." Angeline agreed.
After some more back and forth, the six introduced themselves, exchanged stories and when there was no reason left to stall they approached the crystals. Jeremy, Emisandre and Tanguy touched the middle crystal and vanished. And then the crystal dulled. Now only one remained aglow. Quinten took a deep breath and said:
"See you on the other side."
Angeline and Paul nodded and then the three of them placed their hands on the crystal.

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 [JEREMY] * [EMISANDRE] * [TANGUY] * [PAUL] * [ANGELINE] * [QUINTEN] * [DANIEL] * [IZREEN] * [OPHELIA]

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Lantessama Isle
Background from GRsites

Magical Solutions

Glowing Stones come back around
return the world's sight and sound
Knowing Stones fulfill with glory
the destiny beneath this story

Daniel, Ophelia and Izreen popped back onto Earth with their sea dragons. Ophelia and Eglantier did not waste time and started swimming, Daniel and Pfarnssuk were quick on their tail while Voedhyth stayed true to her nervous, cautious nature and insisted on laying low for a while.
"I can hardly feel the water." Voedhyth remarked uncomfortably.
"Even though you're swimming in it?" Izreen asked.
"Yes, it's almost like it isn't here."
"It isn't exactly teeming with life." Eglantier added, "Plenty of entities frozen in time though. I don't think I can revive them as they are now. "
"So what now?" Ophelia asked.
"There's bound to be a sign somewhere." Daniel said, his faith restored.
"Now we're talking!" Pfarnssuk said, "Time for a little competition!"
 

"Is everyone ready?" Tanguy asked.
Jeremy shrugged, he didn't think they needed to prepare anything. They were just going back to see whether or not things had changed now that their mysterious stones were glowing. As far as they knew nothing had changed and they would return right after.
"We're good to go." Emisandre added.
Of the three dragonriding pairs, she and her dragon Luminralth were no doubt the most intimidating. Although Blue Igianth with his blood couort markings might give off a menacing look to those who didn't know about dragons. Compared to those two, Tanguy's Light Court Brown Zegrath looked friendly. But the light-coloured brown had a hidden weapon of his own. His fire manipulation was top-notch and he could take care of himself.
The three dragons leapt into the air, hovered above Ryslen and then they were gone. They reappeared above the city they had left several months before. Nothing seemed to have changed.
"It's very quiet here." Igianth said, the blue dragon's voice sounding tense.
"I don't sense any danger though." Luminralth noted.
But it was Zegrath, calmly observing who noticed the others first.
"There're other dragons over there."
"Let's go see who they are!" Emisandre called and then they were off.

(return of Angeline, Paul and Quinten)

(The two airborn groups seeing eachother and communicating, looking for a place to land)

(Landing on a beach and meeting the seaborn dragons by chance fate)

(Discussions and setting things right)
*Night Gold Dark Court Luminralth: time (black pearl-Emisandre)
*Twilight Blue Blood Court Igianth: space (purple prism-Jeremy)
*Light Brown Light Court Zegrath: fire (yellow pyramid-Tanguy)
*Red Eglantier: soul (pink cone-Ophelia) -> necromancy powers
*Teal Voedhyth: water (teal cube - Izreen)
*Cloud Blue Pfarnssuk: air (blue cilinder - Daniel)
*???: mind (Orange pentagram: reset growth (life/mind)-Angeline)
*???: earth (unlock Red Octahedron: clear the earth (earth) -Paul)
* ???: ether (Green plane: combining the other elements and releasing them-Quinten)

(Returning to the Nexus)

..*.*.**.**.**.**.**.*.**.*.**.*.**.*.**.*.**.*.**.***.**.*.**.*.**.*.**.*.**.**.**.**.*.**.**.*.*..

 [JEREMY] * [EMISANDRE] * [TANGUY] * [PAUL] * [ANGELINE] * [QUINTEN] * [DANIEL] * [IZREEN] * [OPHELIA]

..*.*.**.**.**.**.**.*.**.*.**.*.**.*.**.*.**.*.**.***.**.*.**.*.**.*.**.*.**.**.**.**.*.**.**.*.*..

Lantessama Isle
Background from GRsites