Pyralis Crystarla's Arc

Chapter 1 of 4

Pyralis Crystarla knelt in gray dirt and pressed a seed into the ground. She wanted this dead clearing to become a grove. She dreamed of a place where every faerie chased from the tropics could hide and rest. But the dirt swallowed her seed and gave nothing back. No sprout. No root. She had planted forty seeds this way. All forty had rotted. She held her palm above the soil and pushed her magic down. Her hands glowed faint gold. The glow sank into the dirt and vanished. She had no nurturing magic of her own. Without it, nothing she planted would ever take root. She sat back on her heels and stared at the barren ground. A shadow fell over her. She turned and saw a small hooded figure standing at the edge of the clearing. Torn cloth hung off its thin frame. Its eyes glowed pink inside the hood. Pyralis knew this creature. Erosyne Void drained love from whatever they touched. Faeries fled when they came near. "You cannot grow anything here," Erosyne said. Their voice was soft and cold. "This ground is empty. Like me." Pyralis stood between Erosyne and her seeds. "Then help me fill it," she said. Her heart pounded. Erosyne fed on love, but they carried it inside them, stored and locked away. That stored feeling was the one thing Pyralis lacked. Heavy paws crunched behind her. A polar bear pushed through the dead brush. He wore an orange cloak and a golden sun clasp at his chest. Solaris Brightpaw the 3rd bowed his great head to Pyralis. "I felt the cold from here," Solaris said. He looked at Erosyne and did not step back. "Little friend, you hold what she needs. You just fear to give it." Erosyne's glowing eyes narrowed. "If I give love away, I have nothing left." "You have nothing now," Pyralis said gently. She reached out her hand. "Give me one drop. Just enough for one seed to grow. Then watch what love can build." Erosyne stared at her open hand for a long moment. Solaris let warm light spill from his sun clasp. The light touched Erosyne's torn cloak. Slowly, the hooded figure lifted one thin gray finger and pressed it to Pyralis's palm. A drop of pink light passed into her. It felt like warmth after years of cold. Pyralis dropped to her knees and pushed the light into the ground. The dirt drank it. A green shoot broke through the gray soil. Then a bud. Then a single white flower opened wide. Pyralis laughed. The barren clearing could bloom after all. But Erosyne stumbled and grabbed their chest. Their glow flickered weak and dim. "It hurts," Erosyne whispered. "I gave too much." Solaris caught the small figure before they fell. Pyralis looked from the fragile flower to the fading creature who had made it grow. One seed had rooted. But her only source of nurturing magic was now dying in a bear's arms.