Haukea floated in the corner, gathered with the other Deities in a small area of the Astral Realm as they discussed the sudden appearance of multiple trees in their regions.
"It is too much of a coincidence," Aberfa was saying. "I have these strange dreams during the Equinox, then these trees show up and have strange dark objects embedded within them?"
Aberfa used her magic to share the image of the object that had been in her Mountains Region tree.
"Yes, that is very much how mine looked," Jagmeet agreed, the stoic Plains Deity seeming more concerned than he normally was. One by one the other Deities agreed, and Haukea nodded along.
Zahavah, who had been watching over all from a distance, appeared before them.
"I, too, have pondered this," she said, and the Deities turned to her. "But I have an idea. Not about the objects, per say, but about the trees."
So Zahavah led the other deities to see what she surmised.
Haukea swam through the air, then over land, then deep into the ocean. The Icy Region Deity made for the cool depths as soon as she could; she wasn't quite used to the warmer weather of the other lands. It was refreshing to be beneath the waves, where she was most comfortable.
Down so low, the waters were dark, much like Haukea's thoughts. This was quite the disturbing event, especially with the news Zahavah had given. But the deity had hope. They all had skilled and brave Quirlicorns to aid them during these troubling times.
Speaking of....
Haukea saw the boat in the water, and swam for it. As she rose out of the water she saw the trio of Quirlicorns eating snacks, the object no longer in the tree, and everyone looked safe. Haukea breathed a sigh of relief.
"Haukea!" Hjalmar called out, the stallion jumping to his hooves.
"Would you like a snack?" Oruka offered politely, gesturing to the hot chocolate and tea cakes.
Haukea blinked in surprise before smiling. She loved hot chocolate!
As the deity settled in with her hot chocolate and cakes, she let out a sigh.
"The object isn't anything the other deities have seen," Haukea began her explanation. "I feel I left you with a more dangerous task than it seemed."
"We got it done," Ceto said. "It fought us some, but we got it done."
"It seemed to work best when we worked together," Oruka added, and filled her in on how they had accomplished it.
Haukea smiled once more. "I am glad you were able to accomplish the task," she said, "But I fear I have one more for you. This object, this Dark Artifact, is nothing like the Artifacts we craft that give us magic. It seems to do the opposite, and steal it away. Zahavah came to us, and revealed the findings of her own investigation. Saplings like this one here showed up in all of the regions... and they are saplings born of the Sacred Dew Tree. When fully grown, there will be a Sacred Dew Tree in every region."
Glances of surprise were exchanged, and Ceto frowned.
"This object was attacking a Sacred Dew Tree sapling?" she clarified, and Haukea nodded.
With gentle movements, Haukea pushed the object into the bag Zahavah had given her for transporting it.
"I must return to Zahavah, and take this Dark Artifact away from here. In the meantime, I ask of you - Please help this tree heal and grow."
Sealing the bag tightly, Haukea swam into the air above the boat. "Thank you for your hard work," she called out as she swam into the sky.
Prompt: You are tasked with helping the young Sacred Dew Tree recover from the influence of the Dark Artifact
(628 Words) +3 Chimes (500 Lit = +2, Event = +1)
"It is too much of a coincidence," Aberfa was saying. "I have these strange dreams during the Equinox, then these trees show up and have strange dark objects embedded within them?"
Aberfa used her magic to share the image of the object that had been in her Mountains Region tree.
"Yes, that is very much how mine looked," Jagmeet agreed, the stoic Plains Deity seeming more concerned than he normally was. One by one the other Deities agreed, and Haukea nodded along.
Zahavah, who had been watching over all from a distance, appeared before them.
"I, too, have pondered this," she said, and the Deities turned to her. "But I have an idea. Not about the objects, per say, but about the trees."
So Zahavah led the other deities to see what she surmised.
Haukea swam through the air, then over land, then deep into the ocean. The Icy Region Deity made for the cool depths as soon as she could; she wasn't quite used to the warmer weather of the other lands. It was refreshing to be beneath the waves, where she was most comfortable.
Down so low, the waters were dark, much like Haukea's thoughts. This was quite the disturbing event, especially with the news Zahavah had given. But the deity had hope. They all had skilled and brave Quirlicorns to aid them during these troubling times.
Speaking of....
Haukea saw the boat in the water, and swam for it. As she rose out of the water she saw the trio of Quirlicorns eating snacks, the object no longer in the tree, and everyone looked safe. Haukea breathed a sigh of relief.
"Haukea!" Hjalmar called out, the stallion jumping to his hooves.
"Would you like a snack?" Oruka offered politely, gesturing to the hot chocolate and tea cakes.
Haukea blinked in surprise before smiling. She loved hot chocolate!
As the deity settled in with her hot chocolate and cakes, she let out a sigh.
"The object isn't anything the other deities have seen," Haukea began her explanation. "I feel I left you with a more dangerous task than it seemed."
"We got it done," Ceto said. "It fought us some, but we got it done."
"It seemed to work best when we worked together," Oruka added, and filled her in on how they had accomplished it.
Haukea smiled once more. "I am glad you were able to accomplish the task," she said, "But I fear I have one more for you. This object, this Dark Artifact, is nothing like the Artifacts we craft that give us magic. It seems to do the opposite, and steal it away. Zahavah came to us, and revealed the findings of her own investigation. Saplings like this one here showed up in all of the regions... and they are saplings born of the Sacred Dew Tree. When fully grown, there will be a Sacred Dew Tree in every region."
Glances of surprise were exchanged, and Ceto frowned.
"This object was attacking a Sacred Dew Tree sapling?" she clarified, and Haukea nodded.
With gentle movements, Haukea pushed the object into the bag Zahavah had given her for transporting it.
"I must return to Zahavah, and take this Dark Artifact away from here. In the meantime, I ask of you - Please help this tree heal and grow."
Sealing the bag tightly, Haukea swam into the air above the boat. "Thank you for your hard work," she called out as she swam into the sky.
Prompt: You are tasked with helping the young Sacred Dew Tree recover from the influence of the Dark Artifact
(628 Words) +3 Chimes (500 Lit = +2, Event = +1)
