TWWM - Lost Events

Deep in thought, Sail had sat by the mountain shrine for a while, listening to the cheerful giggles of Pia and Jace as they frolicked in the snow. He absentmindedly melted the snow around him with his elemental, the warm cider trickling gently across the surface of the rock, snow retreating from its heat.

“Oh gosh what now!?” Pia chirped, springing away from the snow as it suddenly shifted beneath her. Jace stood, his legs wobbling against the strange tilting feeling. Sail returned his feet to the ground and braced himself as the familiar teleportation feeling wrapped them all in its pull once again. The snow around them began to quake, swirling as if in a fierce wind storm, spinning around them, a sheet of white. The icy cold grasp twisted, stinging their eyes with frosty flecks before shifting into… something else. The cold wind warmed, and became almost instantly unbearably hot. The snow darkened and became sand, swirling unforgivingly around them as the snow had, only the sand was harder and stung their bodies on impact. Pia yelped as a grain of sand pinged her in the eye, and Sail reached for them, curling his tail against the wind.

Soon the stirring stopped, and the sand fell with a shh sound against the ground. Its dark here, shaded by… canyon walls? They gaze upward at a sliver of dark purple sky above them. It's probably hotter out there too, Sail thought with a shudder. It looked to be nearly sundown, and the sun glared at them from a low point between the stone faces. Looking around, they took in their surroundings. They had been teleported into the bottom of a deep ravine, somewhere in the desert. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness down here, they could see that a small river was snaking its way along the basin as well, mirroring the sliver of sky above it. Aside from the cheerful bubbling of the stream, it seemed very quiet here. A stillness hung over this place like a heavy blanket, and after the array of lights they’d seen atop the mountain, this was intensely dark and silent. A gust of hot dry wind ricocheted down the cavern, bringing more heat. Sail shifted uncomfortably on his feet. Even the ground here was hot.

“Ahh its so hot here. It reminds me of my beach!” Pia giggled, wiggling excitedly. Jace and Sail looked at each other wearily. A call thrummed at them from the distance, almost expectedly. They all looked at each other. "Another shrine." Sail looked around, curious. "The last two shrines were connected to mountains, but I don't see a mountain here..."

Pia floated upwards a bit, "Perhaps there is one out there?" she said, gesturing with a paw towards the sky.

"Hmm, perhaps." he said. Jace was quietly inspecting a small crab near the stream's shore. It reminded him of his familiar. He missed them, but he had not strength to reach him so far from home. He felt the pull to another shrine as well, he was weary, but couldn't fight the feeling that he had to follow. Sail started shuffling along the river’s edge. “Come on guys, lets go find the next shrine.”

Jace trotted after him, Pia following close behind them. As they walked they observed some fish swimming lazily along the river bottom, and a few scarce lizards scurried away as they made their way deeper into the crack in the earth. Pia took to the water and paddled around a few times, glad to wash the dust from her fur. Even in the heat, the water was cool, and reminded her of her beach home. She hoped they'd find the shrine soon.

The river seemed to stretch on forever, deeper and farther into the darkness, the sliver of light above them narrowing into a hairline crack, shining broken rays of light down to the canyon floor below. Dry dust and sand floated lazily amidst the rays, silent curtains to pass through on their way. The dust in the air was thick, it clung to their fur, still damp from the melting snow. They felt tired and dirty, the heat baking the matted dust to them like heavy cakes. Sail shook, a spray of sand showering around him. The humming song from the shrine grew louder as they got closer. Deeper yet still, until they finally came upon the very back of the cavern’s depth. There, nestled in the darkness lie what must of been the shrine. It had been shattered completely, not only the token, but the entire shrine. The stones were scattered and smashed, fragments lying far from the center, as if destroyed by great violence.

Sail stared at the rubble for a short time, disturbed by the apparent destruction that had occurred here. Jace stepped forward nervously, “So...we fix it right?”

Sail’s previous thoughts about weighing the options, and the possible natures they’d be releasing flooded back into his mind. He was afraid of choosing the wrong path, but deep down he knew that he had to heal this shrine too. Pia had already approached the shrine, and touched it gently. A final tinkling of the hum rang out before falling silent. The stream was only a trickle here, bubbling silently from cracks in the rock floor. A natural spring. It’s gurgle was nearly inaudible against the deafening silence now though, a silence that felt impending…

“Okay lets, yes.” Sail was eager to break the painful silence, and shuffled over to place his hands along with Jace’s over the broken stones. The hands hovered there and began giving. Spirit energy welled up within them again, washing out from their chests, down their arms and onto the rocks below. They pooled their energy once more, the steady beating thrum returning to the cavern as the stones cobbled together. As the stones meet, a warm light glows from the crack, pulsing in light along with the heartbeat thrum. The light washed over the trio, it was not bright and daunting as the snow lights had been, but warm and soothing. They felt some of their energy being given back. The shrine was healing them as well. As the shrine regained its true shape, the light faded softly, pulsing only gently with the hum.

The stream behind them started gurgling loudly, the amount of water doubling, then tripling. The few sparse desert plants that clung to life along the stream drank up the extra eagerly, doubling in size and beauty. The rushing water created a spray of mist that swallowed up the dusty air, cleansing the surroundings. Sail smiled once again, the shrines were a daunting task, not only on their energy, but also on their minds. He wondered what would of happened to these places had they not healed the shrines. Miles down the canyon they could see the sun finally dipping below the horizon, plunging the desert into a soft cool night.

As the mist and sunset pulled a chill over the land, the tired trio began to walk peacefully towards the opening at the other end of the ravine. The stream roars gleefully beside them, tossing mist higher and higher, floating heavily in the air. In a tidy little row they trudge through the mist, onward.