~Sylvia: Reaction~Mystics~
The day had all the beginnings of a perfect day, the sort of day that boded nothing but good. Perhaps it was the twin companions of ceremony and festivity that lingered amongst the denizens of New Enhasa. Normally a fairly peaceful and docile city, there was an air of excitement for today was the christening of the new Elessari stone. And so in accordance there were streamers that hung from the ornate lightposts, waving in hues of sea, sky and blush.. and with each passing of the breeze, they fluttered every which way in a carefree manner, for this event as big and the throng of Mystics that seemed to fill the streets seem to substantiate that.
New Engasa was one of the most beautiful cities in Sylvia. Probably would of been deemed the most beautiful if normal people could enter it's portals to see the streets thronging with the chosen ones. However to everyone of non-mystic blood, where the city should of been, would appear as just an expanse of green field overlooking the Ocean of Niah. And really the only ones who could enter the city were those that had been personally invited by the Head Mystic of Sylvia, Silver Bainbridge. It was however rare that one of red-blood was invited, and usually it denoted some sort of great honour which demanded respect from the races of Mystics.
In fact it was Silver that was walking down the street toward the temple where the ceremony was to be held, the sacred ritualistic consecration of the stone that would help counter all of the destruction that Ethos were trying to wreck upon the land with their scientized magic. To say that Silver was adept at his job would be the truth and perhaps even an understatement for he had all of the qualities that was looked at for a Head Mystic. Sure he was a bit young, but so was his brother who had held the title of Head Mystic six years prior. As a Bainbridge, he had the same silvery hair and purple eyes that were recognized by everyone on the Elessari continent, however unlike his half brother, Magus, the features were decidedly masculine and a trifle solemn, and he always looked the picture of pulled together and right now his long hair was plaited into a dozen little braids which were held in place by iridescent beads that gave a ceremonionial look to his usually unsmiling visage. He was a formal man, but being the son of the Prophetess Schala, he understood quite well the threads of fate and how they bound a person. Even though he didn't know his father or even who he was, in the scheme of things.. it didn't matter.. to be the son of Schala was enough popularity for one person.
His brother had given him a personal recommendation for the position, and since Schala was the head of the Bainbridge Clan, the fact that her blood ran through his veins was revered. It was only natural that he be given the position and so he worked toward it, treating it as a position that most mystics dreamed of, even though he likewise knew that if they had any inkling of what work it entailed, they would place their dreams against the wayside.
Today though his job was not hard. The consecration of the Elessari stone was something that happened only once a year as the council focused their energies into a single stone wrought together with a protective spell that helped to counter the magic that was draining year by year from the land underneath supervision of Enigma Nadiir, President of Ethos. Scattered throughout New Enhasa were those stones, each glowing a soft misty amethyst and was a conglomeration of magical energy rich from the Council which gave birth to it. He had a hand in this particular stone-making which made him feel like a parent going to watch his child dance or sing for the first time.
Past the apocatheries and the booksellers, past the fine purveyors of robes and vestments, his footsteps treading lightly upon white washed cobbles. He had a duty to execute today and he was actually looking forward to it, the blessing that would be bestowed upon the stone for Sylvia's sake. Every year that there was a new Ceremony, it brought new hope to the people and a promise that the Elementals would never forsake them.
It was all going according to plan and Silver's gait was brisk. However in a flash, it almost all changed. The earth didn't rumble, buildings didn't collapse but there was a flash of something.. and for a moment, a single moment everything in the city to his eyes turned crimson. A wave of heat also accompanied it, unbearable in it's intensity that to withstand it, he had to ground himself to the earth. Everything in his line of vision was bathed in a hue of red fire that grazed everything. Something had come into Sylvia, something entirely foreign and yet powerful. Silver was the first to come out of the haze and a chance look around revealed that everyone in his vicinity felt it too.
Once the haze was gone and the city had returned to it's normal shades of pale, he took a sigh of relief and then glanced around, his eyes centered on the Elessari stone, almost as if for reassurance that everything was okay. But it wasn't, and it was proved when the Elessari stone had turned from it's normal purple and watched as it slowly achieving the hue of something red, blood red. His heart went cold as a crack reverberated through the air and like a man watching a trainwreck, he himself witnessed a long fissure forming through the kite-shaped stone and coming down to it's lower lip. From the main crack went several ones to mimic the parent one so that slowly one stone looked to become several. Crumbling down before the individual stones rained, and finally they too all hit the ground like mini pools of hardened blood.
At that moment it occured to Silver that he had to check the other stones, to see if they were okay, so he picked up his robes and started racing through the streets, past the people who stood dazedly.
All six of the Elessari stones were found in various states of degeneration as if the pulse of foreign energy had him them in sequence so that the ones closest soaked up the initial impact. The last one in the line was nearly untouched however it now sported a blush colour, purple with swirls of red. A touch to the stone revealed that the energy that was now flowing through it was a mingling of both the foreign and familar.
No matter, Silver instantly knew that what he had on his hands was an emergancy and so he raced to the council so that a message could be written and a courier sent out to the Capital as soon as possible. The Queen needed to be notified of it and actions needed to be taken in order to see exactly what magic had infiltrated the once protected borders of Sylvia.
What had begun as a wonderful day, had suddenly taken a turn for the worst.