Chapter 15- Worlds Unknown
When she awakes the next morning, Crystalia gets dressed, and heads down to the mess hall, where she finds Adinia already eating. Crystalia takes her seat next to the Queen and, wordlessly, starts to eat her food.
Breakfast is the usual sausage, bacon, and eggs, but Crystalia doesn't enjoy it nearly as much as she normally does; additionally, today, she feels really weird eating eggs, seeing as her species bears their young through them.
After she finishes eating, Crystalia looks over towards Adinia, and sees that the Queen had been waiting for her to finish.
Adinia finally speaks after making eye contact with Crystalia. "How was your night?" She asks kindly.
"It was okay. What about yours?"
"It wasn't very resting. I didn't fall asleep until late and I woke up early." Adinia obviously struggles to hold her eyes open as she speaks.
Crystalia nods understandingly and puts a wing around Adinia, pulling her into a hug. "Look, I have something that I need to tell you about." She speaks quietly, not wanting anyone else to hear. "I'll tell you more when we get back to your quarters."
Adinia hadn't planned on returning to her quarters immediately, but there was something about what her student had told her that brings the Queen back to her room.
As she closes the doors behind herself, Crystalia traces its runes with her tail, locking the door, and adding an arcane sound-proofing seal to prevent anyone overhearing their conversation.
"Okay, what do you want?" Adinia asks after letting Crystalia get settled on a soft beanbag.
"Well, I wasn't going to share this with anyone, but I recently realized how meaningful this could be." Crystalia's voice wavers slightly, as she rethinks her phrasing, "I had a dream, when I was younger, about exploring a chromatic world. A world where my powers were tenfold." Crystalia only looks back at Adinia's face when she is finished speaking; when she does, she finds, to her surprise, that Adinia seems awestriken.
"W- We... Well," Adinia stutters at first, but she forces herself to concentrate on what she wants to say, "it's very good that you said that."
She digs through her student's mind, and finds no intent on lying, so she continues once more. "I had that same dream when I was a young child; I told my mother about it, and she brought me before the Queen. She did with me the same tests I did with you, and said I had promise. So I learned under her for the rest of her life."
Adinia stops for a few minutes to let Crystalia digest the new information, not wanting to overwhelm her. "But, I hadn't discovered my powers at that point, so they were a new development for me. The fact that you had that dream after discovering your abilities means that you may be linked very strongly to that dimension, especially if what you say about your power increase is true."
Crystalia is taken aback by the impact of her admission for mere moments before another question comes to mind, "Adinia, are there any books on this?"
Adinia nods silently and motions for Crystalia to follow her; she unlocks the door and leads her student down a series of hallways before stopping suddenly and pointing to a large set of doors with her wing.
"The largest catalogue in existence, the Royal Catacombs. And because I know you're going to ask, they're called 'the catacombs' because of the way they are organized." Adinia smiles as Crystalia pulls the doors open, and begins glaring at the massive room that lays beyond.
Crystalia struggles to take measured breaths as she enters the large, book lined room. "Wow, that's bigger than I imagined!" She giggles for a second before breathing a comment in Adinia's direction. "I would say that, wouldn't I."
Adinia chuckles heartily and bumps her student with her wing, quietly voicing her humor.
Adinia leads Crystalia through a few large, octagonal rooms, each panelled with thousands of dusty old books. She eventually stops walking and looks around for a minute before taking flight and using her tail to knock down a book that sits around fifty feet above the floor. Adinia gracefully catches the book with her tail and flutters down to Crystalia's side.
"Here you go." Adinia hefts the massive book into Crystalia's field of vision, laughing at the young female's reaction. "Try not to drool on it when you fall asleep while reading it."
"Very funny." Crystalia replies, struggling to telekinetically lift the book.
"I'm not joking. It's really dry." Adinia speaks flatly, startling Crystalia yet again.
"We'll find out." Crystalia says, as she grabs the book and heads to a nearby table.
"The last chapter is from Queen Achroma, whom I studied under. You might want to start your search there, she had the strongest connection of any Queen in recent history." Adinia lets Crystalia get comfortable before she leaves to go serve her people, and, in turn, leaving Crystalia alone to read to her heart's content.
Chapter 200- Queen Achroma Jadewing
_ Queen Achroma's links with this strange dimension were unparalleled by any Queen in recorded history, she had, multiple times, disappeared, and returned much later with tales of this strange place, and even a god whom she claimed lived within._
_ The Queen never told of how she transported herself between the dimensions; whenever she was asked, her reply would simply be, "I asked."_
_ Speculation was, however, that the crystal she wore around her neck was somehow her mode of transport, but before anyone was able to confirm this, she vanished, leaving the following set of instructions behind._
If thou doth search,
Thou shalt succeed,
And thou will find,
Just what thou need.
To start thine search,
Just ask my queen,
As another clue rests where she's seen.
"Queen Achroma?" Crystalia thinks to herself for a moment, "Where have I heard that name before?" She decides to continue her research with Queen Achroma's autobiography. Crystalia pages through the book, eventually finding a mention of a queen Exceria, who trained her; through some questionable means, including extreme physical and psychological torture, the former of which left her unable to reproduce.
Crystalia finds Exceria's autobiography and scans it, finding gruesome descriptions of the torture she put her student through, but no further hints. She then returns to the book where she started, but it fails to mention her entirely, skipping from chapter 198 to 200. She was about to give up when she spots a familiar face on the ceiling, "Adinia!" She gasps. If there's one for her, it's not unlikely that there will be one for the rest. Crystalia finds the mural she was looking for two rooms away. It is a dragon perfectly matching Exceria's description; a prim perfect looking, murder-crazed psychopath.
She carefully flies up to it and looks around for any openings. She barely spots a lever hidden amongst the dust collected on top of the shelves. Flicking it, she yips when she hears a grinding sound above her, making her look up. There she finds a massive opening in the ceiling where the mural had once been.
She heads up into the surprisingly well lit room and looks around. There is dust everywhere, on everything, but the place is in perfect condition, as if waiting perpetually for someone to return home. A large thunk sounds and Crystalia jumps, looking back and finding the trapdoor shut once again. When she looks back to the room, she notices a shimmering on a desk at its far end, so she walks closer, being careful to disturb as little as possible on her way over.
Upon reaching the desk, Crystalia finds a small, glowing locket. She reaches to pick it up and a hologram suddenly appears above it. It displays a static image of a draconic face whose gaze follows Crystalia if she tries to move.
The hologram speaks after a moment of silence, "Hello, future Queen. I am Achroma, the two-hundredth queen of this great kingdom, and I have a secret to keep. If you're hearing this, you've started on the journey to meet a god, and I will guide you through it. This was my base of operations, from here I studied the mysterious dimension that I had gained access to, now it belongs to you; in order to gain entry without being noticed, I placed hundreds of secret entrances throughout the castle. Please, try and find some, I do wish that this room remains a well kept secret for generations to come." The hologram pauses, as if to take a breath. "Since I did promise a clue, I guess I should provide it?" The hologram pauses once again before giving yet another cryptic riddle.
Where you now seek is long forgotten,
Stocked with rations long since rotten.
A place once full of love and hope,
Is now a place for lost souls to mope.
The hologram vanishes once it's message is delivered, then leaving Crystalia with one final message, "Personal assistant activated. Say 'assistant', followed by a command, or say 'assistant help' for a list of commands." It's voice is dry and robotic.
Crystalia's curiosity gets the better of her and she speaks to the assistant, "Assistant help." She jumps slightly when a perfect replica of Queen Achroma, entirely of arcane energy, appears near her.
"Personal assistant can do tasks related, but not limited to: searching the library, answering general knowledge questions, localized surveillance, personal entertainment, and relief of nagging desire for interpersonal contact."
Crystalia takes a mental note of the list before trying a command, "Assistant, who is around this room?"
Queen Achroma's figure perks up slightly and it looks as though she's listening for any faint sounds. "The perimeter of the room is clear, although the exit within the Queen's quarters is under surveillance. I would suggest using the exit in the library, as it would be the least conspicuous spot for you to appear, Achroma."
"Assistant, my name isn't Achroma, I am Crystalia." Crystalia tells the system bluntly.
"Oh, are you the new Queen?" The system's voice is clearly curious. Perhaps this was not just an interface, but an actual, intelligent being.
"No I am not, my name is Crystalia, and I am training under the current Queen, Adinia."
Suddenly it's voice is very serious, "Noted." It speaks again in it's friendly voice, "Would you like to play a game of chess?"
"Oh, sure!" Crystalia turns to the hologram, who is now smiling.
When Crystalia gets to the other side of the room, Achroma moves a piece on the board. "Your turn." She smiles.
Crystalia thinks for a little before moving one of her pieces.
...
After about fifteen minutes, Crystalia takes her opponent's queen, not having even moved her own.
...
After an intense two-hour game, Achroma emerges victorious, having used her knights and a bishop to entrap her opponent's king in a corner. "Well played, Crystalia. I see you use a defensive playstyle..."
"Yes, I do. And thank you, you play extremely well yourself!" Crystalia smiles as the projected figure of Queen Achroma looks at her curiously. "What?"
"You seem young... Not even old enough to mate, but you have been chosen, Interesting... I didn't think Adinia wanted to pick her heir, but wait for her to be brought to the castle." The figure smiles brightly again. "You best leave, the queen is returning to the library to retrieve you."
"Thank you, Queen Achroma." Crystalia bows, and heads over to the area where the trapdoor was. "Oh, how do I open the door?"
"Just tell it to open."
Crystalia looks confused for a second before turning back to the trapdoor. "Open," She jumps back in surprise as the door slowly opens, allowing her through before closing almost silently.
"Crystalia, where are you?" Adinia calls from the other room, looking around and eventually finding her down two rooms from where she had been before. "Come on, let's go." She starts heading out of the library.
Crystalia follows her, but her mind continues to wander that room, thinking about the clue she'd just been given. She eventually finds herself out on the training fields, with Adinia looking at her curiously.
"What's bugging you?" The older female inquires worriedly.
"Nothing, I'm just thinking is all." Crystalia knows that only half of that is true, but she goes with it, determined to keep Queen Achroma's quest a secret.
Adinia regards her skeptically, "Okay, if you say so." She doesn't quite believe her student, but she decides that it's best to just leave her be, at her age she'd be going into her first heat at any time within the next few years, which, she knows from experience, is agonizing.
"Okay, Crystalia, I want you to throw everything you have at me, okay?" Adinia gets ready to defend, but doesn't receive what she had expected. She was expecting an unpredictable battery of magical blows, but she received only a smattering of easily deflected, almost half-assed firebolts and, much later on, a few weak chromatic attacks. "What the hell was that!" Adinia roars in frustration, looking furiously at her student. "This is the last thing I was expecting from you! Again!"
Crystalia looks at her surprisedly, the realization that she had never offended Adinia before, hits her, and now, looking back into those furious eyes, she realizes just how much she had fucked up.
"I'm sorry, Adinia, I should've tried harder." Crystalia pleads.
"Fine, try again."
Chills run down Crystalia's spine as the blunt tone in which Adinia speaks hits her. Adinia wasn't truly calm, she was just barely controlling her fury.
Crystalia focuses all of her energy into one place at the back of her throat, before she unleashes a spectacular blast of chromatic magic towards Adinia, sending the older female flying back into the arcane wall at the edge of the clearing; nearly 150 meters of flight in less than ten seconds. "Oh gods! Adinia, are you okay?" Crystalia rushes to her side, surveying the damage.
"Ack!" Adinia grunts as her body starts to heal at an accelerated pace. "I'll be fine. And, good job. That was quite the impressive attack."
"Really?" Crystalia jumps for joy, laughter filling the air around her. "Was it really impressive, or are you just complimenting me to be nice?" Her voice is suddenly very sullen as she thinks of which would be more likely, and even more so when she settles on the latter option.
Adinia sighs, "Do you really think I would just give anyone a compliment because it's polite?" She smiles up at Crystalia.
"No, I guess not..." Crystalia reaches out a paw to help her teacher up.
Adinia accepts and they quickly teleport back to the castle.
"Well, I think it's time we both get some rest!" Adinia sighs, "and tomorrow we'll take a break from training altogether."
Crystalia runs up and gives Adinia a big hug with her wing. "Thank you!" She smiles brightly as she heads upstairs. She undresses for the night and takes a warm shower before going to bed.
. . .
The next morning sees Crystalia wake slowly as the sun peeks into the room, first warming her scales with it's gentle caress, before reaching her eyes, waking her as her body starts to, once again, respond to the outside world. Her head snaps to attention, though, when her mind starts working again, "I've got to get back there!"
She mumbles to herself as she quickly throws on a one-piece fabric undergarment, as to not be completely indecent for the short time she'll be in public; she then leaves a note for Adinia, telling her that she is out on a flight, and will be back, before silently slipping out of the room. She runs as quietly as possible down to the library and silently opens the door, a gust of stale air blowing past her, making her shiver slightly. She runs to the room with the portrait and flies to the top, quickly spotting the book on top of the shelves, and pulling on it just as she had done before. The trapdoor grinds open and she flies in, listening carefully as it shuts behind her.
"Good morning, Queen Achroma." Crystalia thinks to herself for a moment about how insane she'd sound if heard by anyone passing by.
The magically projected figure of Achroma appears across the room and walks towards Crystalia. As the other dragon reaches her, something unexpected happens, Crystalia feels the gentle touch of the other dragoness.
"Nnnh~." Crystalia sighs instinctively. Only now does she realize how long she'd gone without the touch of another.
The figure chuckles. "Even though I am a projection, I am one of pure chromatic energy. I have mass, and I take up space." She continues to lovingly rub her paw on Crystalia's shoulder, grinning sweetly at the softly purring female. "And I see you've gone a while without the touch of a lover, or even a caring friend. I would be willing to help, if you so wish."
Crystalia thinks about her offer for a moment before replying, "Could we just lay together for a while?"
"Of course!" Achroma lays down next to where the other female stands. "You know, I also experience emotions like you. And, just like you, I also need contact with others, but I've been hundreds of years without it, so this'll be refreshing for me too."
"Oh, well, I'm incredibly sorry." Crystalia sighs happily as she lays down, and even begins to purr contentedly as she feels warmth envelop her body. "You feel warm against my scales?"
"Oh, yes, I was created by Queen Achroma, after her mate was viciously murdered, to provide comfort and support for her."
Crystalia winces at the idea of having her mate murdered, something Achroma notices, and comments upon. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were mated." She pauses for a second, as if to take a breath. "You look so young, I didn't think you were of age yet."
"Well," Crystalia stops to think for a second, "can you keep a secret?" Crystalia smiles grimly.
"Of course I can." Queen Achroma smiles back at her.
"Well, I am not of age yet, but he's so damn cute, and it just felt right." Crystalia blushes cutely.
"I understand, I felt the same way about someone when I was your age, but his family moved before I had a chance to tell him how I felt."
They lay together and chat for a long time before the assistant system chimes in, "Warning, potential security breach! Library entry under surveillance!"
Crystalia goes to jump up, but Achroma stops her. "You wait here, I don't make any noise when I move."
Crystalia relaxes, but she sighs as the warm body gets up, her mild feeling of comfort leaving with it.
Achroma walks over to the trapdoor and taps a few runes on it, causing it to become translucent from the inside. She looks through it for about 15 minutes before returning to Crystalia's side. "Okay, whoever it was is gone now."
Crystalia sighs contentedly as Achroma rubs her side with a forepaw, gently caressing the sensitive scales.
"Sweetie, I think you should get back to your search. It's going to be difficult, so here's another hint." Achroma's simulated voice stops suddenly, being replaced by the monotonous drone of the Assistant.
When your true love doth die
You wish him to lie
In a grave as grand as life.
Adinia's form is crying when Crystalia looks back over at her.
"Oh! Are you okay?" Crystalia gently places a wing around Achroma's torso, pulling her close and licking the tears from her face instinctively.
"No, I'm not, I can't stop thinking about my mate..." Tears flow down Achroma's cheeks in rivulets as she starts moaning solemnly.
Crystalia pulls herself tight against Achroma, whispering her condolences to the female the whole time. "I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about something else?"
Achroma sobs for a minute longer before she calms down enough to speak. "Y..yeah I wo..wouldn't mind that." Achroma looks the younger gal in the eyes. "Can you kissme first?"
Crystalia looks shocked for a moment before her visage softens into a caring smile. "Of course." She pulls their maws together and opens her own, sighing happily as her tongue intertwines with Achroma's. They stare lustfully into each other's eyes as they hold the kiss for nearly three minutes; Crystalia eventually needs to refresh her breath and she disheartenedly breaks the kiss, gasping for air as she does.
"Thank you, Crystalia." Achroma pants lightly, despite not needing Oxygen herself.
"You're welcome." Crystalia looks into Achroma's eyes for a moment, "What do you want to talk about?"
"You know what? I don't want to talk after that wonderful kiss, can we just be here together for a few more minutes?"
"Well, I think that can be arranged..." Crystalia wraps herself around the larger form, cuddling closely with her.
They lay there for a minute, then five, then an hour. Both lose track of time as they cuddle and talk about everything under the sun.
"Well, I better get going." Crystalia says suddenly after a while. "I need to learn more for the next clue."
"That is a good idea, good luck, Crystalia." Achroma's figure looks at her lovingly before vanishing. "Goodbye, for now."
"Goodbye." Crystalia echos, already lost in thought.
Crystalia spends the next few months searching and doing research. She quickly learns of a church somewhere outside the walls of the castle, where Achroma's mate, Nexus, had been buried. She then hits a dead end, the church in question had been lost for decades, overgrown by the forest, and almost forgotten about since. She does manage to find a single priest from the church, now a senile old man, and asks him for help. He provides her with the location, but warns her what she finds will not be what she's looking for. Crystalia thanks him and sets off for the church, arriving there after two exhausting days of flight. She searches around for a few days, catching and eating some of the wildlife for sustenance. Eventually, Crystalia strikes proverbial gold, finding a small, arcane tab covered by vines at Nexus's grave, just behind his headstone.
She picks it up, but jumps backward surprisedly when it suddenly projects a face. This time though, it isn't Achroma's, but what she assumes is Nexus's.
He looks around for a moment before speaking.
So wrapped up in your thoughtful mind,
You never heard just what I cried,
Until the moment that I died.
Heirs to you,
were all slew,
but power still remains.
What powers that you once possessed,
now leave you lazy and depressed,
so you hide away beyond this test,
until the worthy solves the rest.
The family heirloom long sought after,
is hidden with the books in rafters.
But to awaken it you have much to learn,
Though time runs out for my return.
The face suddenly vanishes, leaving the engraved stone dial on the ground in front of Crystalia, who wears an awe stricken glare.
"God damnit!" She stomps before remembering that she stands upon a grave. She quickly apologizes for the disrespectful behavior and takes off towards the castle.
...
When she arrives at the castle, Crystalia decides it would be in her best interest to join Adinia for the midday meal in the grand hall.
"Good day, Crystalia." Adinia greets the young female as soon as she enters, "I assume your flight was enjoyable?"
"Indeed; I actually stumbled across a decrepit old church, that was abandoned for a very long time."
Adinia looks curiously at her student before beckoning her to the table and speaking to her in a whispered voice, "You say you found a church?"
Crystalia replies mentally, not particularly fond of the feeling of whispering, "Yes, in a forest..."
Adinia looks at her closely, inspecting her face for any signs of lies. "Okay, whatever you found there cannot be trusted, you hear me?"
Crystalia starts to contradict her, but thinks the better of it and keeps to herself.
They chat casually as they eat their meal.
Once they finish, Crystalia informs Adinia that she is going down to the catacombs to research the strange world again before leaving promptly.
She quickly runs down to the library, making certain she was not followed before opening the trapdoor and flying into the strange room.
A curiosity hits her suddenly and she speaks to the system, "Assistant, what was this room used for?"
The assistant system's annoyingly monotonous voice responds directly in her mind. "That information is restricted, please identify your clearance."
Achroma's voice speaks from beside Crystalia, startling her slightly. "Queen Achroma, master code ?-?-?-?-?."
The systems voice speaks in Crystalia's mind, "Master code accepted. This room was the Queen's study for hundreds of years as she learned about a strange dimension of which she dreamed for her entire life. As long as she could remember, that dream had haunted her, eluding her understanding consistently. That is, until she started to research here. This is where she eventually learned everything she now knows about that world."
Crystalia looks at Achroma's figure and cocks her head to the side curiously. "Why'd you do that?"
"I did that because I wanted to help you. I think you deserved it, because you have been so diligent."
Crystalia studies her visage carefully. "Th..thank you." She stutters as her mind reels from excitement.
Then, suddenly, she subconsciously puts two and two together. Crystalia immediately looks Achroma's form in the eyes, "I know where the crystal is."
"Oh, do you now? I thought you still have much to learn..." Achroma's figure looks humored.
"Yes, you have it." Crystalia smirks confidently. "You've been hiding it inside you all along."
"Not quite, sweetheart." The voice chuckles. "I am it." Achroma's body vanishes and a small crystal necklace clatters to the ground.
Crystalia picks it up and puts it around her neck, causing her to pass out almost immediately.
So, it's been fun writing Crystalia's Journey.. But life moves on, and so do I. Therefore, chapter 15 will be my last chapter for this story.
I am quite re_morse_ful about this, but, alas, it's the way things worked out. Hell, with me, that might even be code for something.
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