Frysil stood 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 Mountain 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, Frysil included.
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.
As Frysil glided over the Windy Region, he was deep in thought. First things first. Hope that his brave helpers had removed the object. The other deities had all agreed, something was not quite right here.
Second.... Remove the object from mortal grasp. They had all agreed it felt too volatile, too dangerous, to leave around. The Dark Artifact, he mused. A term they had come to use for it given no other explanation. Whatever it ended up being, there was just too much uncertainty.
As Frysil neared where the sapling had sprouted, he saw the trio of Quirlicorns resting, a strange object laying near them. They had succeeded! Frysil couldn't help the sigh of relief as he dove closer, circling twice before coming in for a landing.
"You did it!" Frysil said, and three Quirlicorns turned to look at him.
"Hello there!" Cait said, with a grin.
"Did your plan work?" Frysil asked, inspecting the object with a look on his face that seemed partially confused, partially concerned.
"Yes," Morana affirmed. "Goatse had some rope on him, and was a huge help in monitoring the sapling. Cait and I used our magics to help protect the sapling and make the object easier to pull out, and with the help of our familiars and guardians we used the rope to pull it out," she explained.
"You really have everything in that bag don't you?" Frysil said, grinning at Goatse.
"You should try the energy drinks," Morana muttered with a bit of a grin.
"What is the object? It was really hurting the sapling," Goatse questioned, tilting his head.
Frysil sighed, and for a moment he once again looked concerned, far from the jovial sing-song deity he usually was.
"We are not certain. I met with the other deities, and all of them found similar saplings and objects. We have taken to calling them Dark Artifacts but... They are not like the magic granting artifacts," Frysil said, glancing at Morana. Mor absentmindedly tossed her mane a bit, hiding the charm that had come from her own artifact crafting.
"Instead of giving magic, they seem to steal it away. I will take this Dark Artifact away from here, so we deities can study it further. But I have one last task for you.... Help this tree heal. Help it, for all of our sakes," Frysil said, once again serious.
He tucked the Artifact into a pouch, and turned to the Quirlicorns.
"Help this tree heal, however you can. It is a sapling from our most sacred tree. We do not yet know why this is happening... But these are Sacred Dew Tree Saplings."
Prompt: You are tasked with helping the young Sacred Dew Tree recover from the influence of the Dark Artifact
(615 Words) +3 Chimes (500+ Literature = +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 Mountain 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, Frysil included.
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.
As Frysil glided over the Windy Region, he was deep in thought. First things first. Hope that his brave helpers had removed the object. The other deities had all agreed, something was not quite right here.
Second.... Remove the object from mortal grasp. They had all agreed it felt too volatile, too dangerous, to leave around. The Dark Artifact, he mused. A term they had come to use for it given no other explanation. Whatever it ended up being, there was just too much uncertainty.
As Frysil neared where the sapling had sprouted, he saw the trio of Quirlicorns resting, a strange object laying near them. They had succeeded! Frysil couldn't help the sigh of relief as he dove closer, circling twice before coming in for a landing.
"You did it!" Frysil said, and three Quirlicorns turned to look at him.
"Hello there!" Cait said, with a grin.
"Did your plan work?" Frysil asked, inspecting the object with a look on his face that seemed partially confused, partially concerned.
"Yes," Morana affirmed. "Goatse had some rope on him, and was a huge help in monitoring the sapling. Cait and I used our magics to help protect the sapling and make the object easier to pull out, and with the help of our familiars and guardians we used the rope to pull it out," she explained.
"You really have everything in that bag don't you?" Frysil said, grinning at Goatse.
"You should try the energy drinks," Morana muttered with a bit of a grin.
"What is the object? It was really hurting the sapling," Goatse questioned, tilting his head.
Frysil sighed, and for a moment he once again looked concerned, far from the jovial sing-song deity he usually was.
"We are not certain. I met with the other deities, and all of them found similar saplings and objects. We have taken to calling them Dark Artifacts but... They are not like the magic granting artifacts," Frysil said, glancing at Morana. Mor absentmindedly tossed her mane a bit, hiding the charm that had come from her own artifact crafting.
"Instead of giving magic, they seem to steal it away. I will take this Dark Artifact away from here, so we deities can study it further. But I have one last task for you.... Help this tree heal. Help it, for all of our sakes," Frysil said, once again serious.
He tucked the Artifact into a pouch, and turned to the Quirlicorns.
"Help this tree heal, however you can. It is a sapling from our most sacred tree. We do not yet know why this is happening... But these are Sacred Dew Tree Saplings."
Prompt: You are tasked with helping the young Sacred Dew Tree recover from the influence of the Dark Artifact
(615 Words) +3 Chimes (500+ Literature = +2, Event= +1)
