The Silverwood Saga: Part 6
(Following the choice: "What is the crystal?")
Elara chose knowledge, believing that understanding the source of the problem was the only true path to a solution. "My question," she said, her voice firm, "is, what, exactly, is the crystal?"
Puck’s black eyes widened with manic glee. "Ooh, now that's a fun question! Not 'how do I fix it,' but 'what is the shiny new toy'! A much better prize!" He leaned in close, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "It's a Key, little ember. A key that fell from a very, very high place, and it's meant to open a Lock your world has spent millennia trying to forget. A lock that is very, very big, and very, very hungry."
"Where is it?" Elara demanded. "Where is the Lock?" Puck burst out laughing, a high, grating sound. "You think your ancestors would just draw a map? How boring! They were much more theatrical than that!" He tapped the space just above her scarred eyebrow with a long, cold finger. "They didn't hide the map in a place; they hid it in a person. The location of the Lock is woven into your very spirit, keyed to your true name. You just don't know how to read it yet."
With a final, mocking wink, Puck dissolved into a swarm of silver moths and vanished. He had answered her question, but in doing so, had given her an even more impossible task. She was the map. The Fae-wood around her was no longer a series of paths, but an untamed, unreadable wilderness. The psychic pull from the crystal was still a faint echo in her mind, but now she felt a second, deeper hum from within herself—the dormant compass of her own heritage, waiting for a direction. To find the Lock, she first had to find herself.
***
What does she do now?
1. MEDITATE AND FOCUS INWARD.
She can try to block out the woods and listen to the 'compass' in her spirit, seeking a vision.
2. USE THE CRYSTAL'S ECHO AS A GUIDE.
She can use the psychic connection to the 'Key' to try and get a 'ping' back from the distant 'Lock'.
3. SEEK ANOTHER INHABITANT OF THE WOODS.
Puck won't help, but perhaps another, older Fae creature can read the 'map' of her heritage.
4. TRUST HER INSTINCTS.
She can pick a direction and start walking, hoping her innate magical compass will guide her subconsciously.
Poll will be up soon
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