the Twilight Crystal

One: ◇Unwelcomed Visitor◇

Knock, knock, knock.

The wizard looked up from her studies, eyes wide as saucers. Did she hear a knock? Of course not. Never has she had a guest in almost a decade. Who was it? Not an assassin, she hoped. Slowly, she stepped up from her wooden chair and cautiously crept towards the door from behind her messy desk. Contemplating to open it, the wizard by the name of Silus Keetone paced the floor. Her dark hair fell behind her, preened but long from years without a trim.

Her violet eyes watched the door. After all, it was a gusty night. It could have been a small group of pebbles that hit the door. With each step, there was a wooden, dry creak from the old floorboards that were set in so long ago. Silus often paced when she worried, which weathered away whatever color that used to be on the slabs of wood. Now they were a dull brown which, to the wizard, was nothing enticing, but what did it matter? She hadn't had guests for years.

Silence.

Sigh. Nothing.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

The rapping against the wood sounded urgent. Or it was a hiker who mistaken the home for an inn. However, it was unusual that anyone would travel this far and this deep into mountain country just to hike. Each knuckle that beat against the wood echoed slightly, which caused Silus'​ eyebrows to twitch unnervedly. Surely she was in no fit to be seen. And the house hasn't been properly tidied in a while...

"Keetone? Look, I know you're in there. I have a request." The voice was muffled, but clear that the visitor was a female. Even worse, she knew that Silus was there. Cowering in the cluttered mess of a living room. What was she to do? After all, the magic of the house dissipated years ago, so there was no way to cloak or change the house's image nor form. In slight fear, Silus muttered questions that even she didn't understand, or even bother to answer. Besides, the stranger already saw the lights through the window. If Silus was to blow out any candle, it would confirm that she was present in the household. Stop thinking on a tangent! Just answer! Silus took a deep

"Okay, Keetone, you leave me no choice," the girl outside warned. "I'm going to break down the door in 5…"

What do I do?!

"4…"

I could just turn her into a frog and boil her legs.

"3…"

Oh gosh.

"…2…"

Brimming with rue, Silus seized the handle and yanked the door open. A fair girl stood there with a leather bound journal in her hand and a travel bag over her shoulder. She looked odd; she wore a red-violet shirt with a cream vest over it. Her light hair was almost pink, spilling down her shoulders. Then a skirt climbing a bit above the knee. "Can I come in, Keetone?" the girl asked, smiling broadly. She seemed to be Silus' age, if not, a little younger.

Silus was startled, and through the shock she tried to contain her outrage. "Well, I suppose—"

"Thanks!" The strange girl brushed past the confused wizard. Her bright eyes surveyed the filled room, gazing through the clutter with a smile. Although it was quite a mess, the woman didn't seem to mind whatsoever. "Nice place," she complemented. "Just as I expected from a hermit wizard."

Hermit? "Now, see here! If you think whoever you are could just waltz in—!" Silus was cut off by the stranger yet again.

"Wow, some host you are, not offering a guest a drink or a snack. I traveled all this way to meet you and you seem to not give a damn." The girl looked straight at Silus, then pushed some books off a seat covered with a worn, fabric cloth. Without another word, she sat and made herself correct, setting her belongings besides her next to the armchair.

With a sigh, Silus looked at the girl with a bored expression. "Would you like something to drink?" she asked sarcastically. In her head, the wizard was just trying to figure out why the girl was here, and moreover, what to do about the infestation. But, in reality, Silus really didn't give a damn; she was tired.

"Oh, no thank you."

Silus groaned mentally, shaking her head firmly to herself. Calm down, Silus. You're a powerful wizard; don't hastily run into things. "Um, what are you doing here?" she inquired as nicely as she possibly could through a fake smile.

The girl grinned. "My name is Friday Linchen, but most people call me Dacotti." Her smooth hand grazed the cover of her leather book, which she had in her lap. "I journeyed over here from the next country looking for someone powerful enough and I found you."

Silus sat down by on the armchair opposite, looking at Friday with an expression she made sure to be undecipherable. "Okay. First, how did you know me? And second, powerful enough for what?" She raised a dark eyebrow at the girl. Never has an encounter with another person brought so much confusion, and yet, she was intrigued.

At first, it seemed that Friday had to roll the question around in her head. "Well," she started, "I need to recover an item, and in doing so, I need to be accompanied by a powerful witch, wizard or warlock. Unfortunately, I'm only at a medium rank in my magic abilities, and I was told about a legend. Keetone the Magnificent. Keetone...The people that told me about him said he hasn't been discussed for a while, but he was the best magician out there. A true wizard indeed. He warded off demons, fought wild griffons, and even stopped an entire city from sinking into the Earth. And I was also told about where he resided, which was here." She sighed. "But he is really you, isn't it?" If anything, she sounded disappointed

For a moment, Silus couldn't breathe as her brain processed this information. Was she truly portrayed as something of an old folk tale? She was far too young to be, that was for sure."Yes, I am that wizard," she said instead of anything else. "But the name is Silus. But if you're comfortable with Keetone, I honestly don't care."

Friday nodded, then cocked a suspicious eyebrow. "Wait, you're a woman."

"Correct."

"And you call yourself a wizard? That highly makes no sense whatsoever."

Without enough restraint to control herself, Silus guffawed at the girl's foolish statement. "You see, there are classes in magic-possessing beings as there is magic-using skills," she started to explain. "I'm a wizard because I use my powers for organic reasons. The reason I am not a witch is because they typically use black magic, or intend to use their powers for selfish reasons. Of course, you're probably a lower level wizard, or if anything, a Mime if you didn't know that simple knowledge."

"Yeah, okay," Friday said hastily. "I really, truly need your help." Seizing one of the wizard's hands, she looked up with the most saddest eyes she could muster. Desperation could be seen past the retina, so Silus sighed. "Help with what?" she asked.

Friday let go of Silus' hand and grabbed her journal. She leafed through the browning pages before stopping at one and shoving the book in the wizard's face. "Finding this."

On the weathered page were English words, and words written by the hand of an amateur wizard, or a basic magician. There were small notes and comments written in magician hand, and a bit of underground language Silus couldn't quite translate. A picture of a sphere was on this certain page, encircled by two rings; one thin and the outer one thick. In the core center, there seemed to be a rare, diamond shaped particle that even Silus couldn't identify (and she knew all). Under it, scribbled in magician and English, it read:

Twilight Crystal
†﹏їⓛї∽‡†   ₡⊥↯§†₪ⓛ

"I need to find this, and in order to acquire it, I need a powerful wizard such as yourself." Friday closed her journal and placed it on her lap. "I know this is sudden, but I'm desperate for help. You're my only hope now." Her eyes were filled with a pleading want that could make a puppy cry.

Silus nodded, thinking it over. From under her large pointy wizard's hat and gown, it was all safe. Venturing back into the world was frightening. But if this girl really needs my help…

She sighed, almost in defeat. "No."

"WHAT?!"