Prelude to Crystal Cove Chronicles

Chapter 6: A Dream of Long Ago

Finally knocking off at two in the afternoon, Zenya rushed home to pack an overnight bag for the trip to Taridia. The city itself was nestled in the mountains about an hour away by the railroad, and the journey would take her along a sizeable portion of the Barrier Line, splitting at the midway point and taking her further south to Taridia, rather than staying on the westward route to Tragost.

She had taken the trip dozens of times over the last few years, returning whenever an opportunity presented itself so that she could visit her beloved Marielle. But while the journey was always worth it to see her beautiful friend's smiling face, the deterioration she saw over the passing years...

Shaking her head and focusing on her task, Zenya tried to put thoughts of her friend's condition out of mind. It was another of Leth's tricks, exposing the pure-hearted Marielle to a source of dangerous magical energy that had resulted in her contracting Tragost's Syndrome.

It was a debilitating disease of the worst sort, a silent and invisible killer that could get you long before you even knew it was there. Zenya had heard some of Marielle's doctors mention a term that someone had come up with for it; UMI, or Unintended Magical Infusion.

The technique of infusing magical essence into various objects was commonplace. There was a type of artificial gem called a maseki crystal manufactured over in Herencia that could be infused with magical potential, allowing for all manner of wonderful technologies that were, absent this infusion, much harder to develop.

One example was aircraft, which originally operated purely on principals of aerodynamics such as lift and wind resistance. They worked well, but with the advent of air-infused maseki crystals, aircraft could have their wingspan slashed in half and maintain the same amount of lift—while simultaneously improving agility—simply by embedding half a dozen of these crystals along each of the leading surfaces.

But as was so often the case, a positive technology had an unintended downside, and sometimes the infusion went wrong, leading to a leaky crystal. The intense magical potential escaping into the air, where any living being could breathe it in or even be bathed in it from head to toe caused the disease known as Tragost's Syndrome, named for the founder of the city, who had himself succumbed to this slow but sure killer.

And lovely, caring, gentle Marielle had been exposed to a faulty batch of crystals some two years previously. Unless someone could find a way to reverse the effects or even outright cure it, Marielle's sands of time would run out in probably around twenty years, at best guesses.

If her condition didn't deteriorate any further, she might just about live to see her fortieth birthday, while most women in the Tri-Cities lived well into their seventies.

Pausing in the act of packing, Zenya clenched a fist and steadfastly did not curse Goddess Leth, for all that she wanted to. The goddess did everything with a reason, and it was possible there was some purpose to her precious friend's condition.

Zenya couldn't begin to guess what, however. What could possibly be worth giving her lovely Marielle such a horrible condition?

Nothing!

There was nothing that could be worth it, not to Zenya, not ever. She punched the mattress of her bed and gritted her teeth with her eyes tight shut. Taking a few breaths, she opened her eyes and finished packing, then left for the station.

In just under two hours she would be with her beloved Marielle, and all would be right with the world for a few brief moments of happy bliss.

* * *

The airy station was bustling as always, with hundreds of people from all walks of life wandering back and forth on errands of their own, travelling to or from one of the other Tri-Cities, or one of the smaller towns along the route. The gentle clatter of metal wheels running along metal rails had always put her at ease for some reason, and under other circumstances she might be minded to sit in the station and listen for half an hour.