The Smaller Things (Sky: Children of the Light)

Chapter 3: Where the Dogs of Society Howl

Much to Vionn's surprise, the Prairie Caves were as mundane and safe as ever. It could have been possible that the Darkness had fallen near the Elder's temple, meaning a less severe eruption, but that would contradict the reddish hue of the shards that fell from Eden. But, whatever the threat, they would cleanse it regardless.

The small village that lay below the Elder's temple was also, surprisingly, bare of Darkness. The sky was its usual bright blue hue, the air had not a trace of an ashy scent in it, and any aura of danger was absent. That cleared the possibility of the Prairie village being subject to the eruption. If both the Caves and the village were completely devoid of any threat, and the landing site of the Shards were somewhere in the west of the Prairie, that would exclude the mainland, the Bird's Nest, and Sanctuary Islands. That left only one more option.

Prairie Peaks.

Quite possibly, Prairie Peaks was the most gorgeous environment the Daylight Prairie had to offer. Flowers always bloomed after the brief rainstorms, waterfalls and lakes and rivers provided fresh hydration and food for the flock of manatees that migrated there during the spring. The sunlight always graced the mountain range with the most extravagant outline, and it was truly a sight for even the most sensitive of eyes to behold. The beauty of Prairie Peaks was only rivaled by Sanctuary's tropical islands.

Vionn shivered at the idea of Peaks' natural grace being destroyed by Eden's eruptions. It would be cleansed in short time, yes, but that would mean a previously untouched land had become vulnerable to the Storm so many had fought to keep at bay.

...

Vionn dived off of the small cliff that lead to a jagged rock that pointed slanted out of the ground. That was where the Moments Guide would be. Surely he would also be surprised by this outcome.

"Well, howdy, kid!" Moments greeted in his heavy southern accent, though it was graced by a tone of extreme nervousness. "The funniest thing happened just a couple o' minutes ago..." his usual upbeat personality seemed as vibrant as ever, but he was very visibly shaken, "I think we just had a... uh... skyquake? The sky shook. That's the best way I could describe it."

"Stay calm," Vionn assured urgently, "I don't think you know what a Shard eruption is, but Prairie Peaks just got that."

"What in tarnation is a Shard eruption?" Moments inquired, a bit loudly, with obvious apprehensiveness. Struggling to find the words, Vionn's gaze had directed itself towards the site of the Shard crash. The lowest lake had been subject to the result of the eruption, and the manatees that lived there had fled to somewhere that was hopefully more safe.

"Mount Eden isn't visible from here, is it?" Vionn inquired rhetorically.

"Not a peep," a newer but all the same familiar voice answered. Moments and Vionn turned their gaze to the conversation-interrupter, the Reassuring Ranger. Oh, this guy, Vionn thought. They had already been acquainted with Ranger before, but never spoke to him much. The views of a child and that of a grownup were all but the same, but Vionn could, to a certain level, understand a grownup's knowledge, especially if one had not let go of his inner-child.

"Eden ain't visible from Sanctuary either," Ranger continued, "but that place still occasionally gets some Shards. It's not outta the question that this place could have been vulnerable."

Ranger did have a point, many locations where Eden was not visible experienced its downfall from time to time. The Forgotten Arc (and all areas in the wasteland, for that matter) the Village of Dreams, some areas in the Hidden forest... But never once had Darkness fell upon Prairie Peaks until that day.

"I have a plan," Vionn announced, making it up as they went, "Ranger, get Moments and any other spirits to safety. If this gets really bad, then evacuate. From the looks of it-" Vionn quickly darted their gaze to the eruption site and back to the two grownups again, "-this is a relatively small Shard event. The largest crystal is red, so this means that there is a larger threat of red crabs. I'll do my best to clean it up."

Moments laughed nervously, "well, that kid can sure improvise. I wish I could."