A World Awakens

Chapter 1

With the usual squeak of protest, the heavy iron hinges gave in against Tral's push. From years of wear, the door was distinctly darker around the handle where patrons pushed it opened and close night after night. Snow flurries cascaded their way in behind him as Tral hurried to shut the door against winter's icy deluge.

Snow fell in clumps to land amongst other piles of melting ice from the last patron to enter. Tral brushed a few more piles of snow from his shoulders with his woolen gloved hands and shook like a dog to release the grip of any remaining ice on his cloak. The dark grey of his rough-spun woolen cloak already showed dark patches where frozen snow transformed and melted in the heat of the double-hearth fire inside the Copper Bottom Inn.

As he passed the hearth radiating a welcoming and familiar warmth, Tral tossed his cloak on a rough iron shepherd's hook where it joined other garments steaming vigorously from the heat of burning hardwood. Taking his usual seat at the bar, Tral hooked his gloves on his belt where they hung with practiced familiarity. In the same stroke, he unclasped a small leather pouch with a simple drawstring, supple from years of use.

"Found another one," Tral said without looking at the man to his right. He raised his hand to the bartender who had noticed his entrance and already had a mug half poured. Tral tossed the leather pouch down in front of the other man and it clacked off of polished bar top with the sound of stone on stone.

Arching a brow, the slender man already seated at the bar scooped up the leather pouch wordlessly while finishing a sip from his mug. Shoulder length dark hair hung heavily against the man's head, wet with melted snow. Fitted, dark clothing clung to his body yet seemed to wear with ease and grace as the man moved to examine the contents of the pouch. His mug drained, the man began to speak.

"Where'd you find this one?" He asked Tral with only a slight glance to his companion as Tral's drink arrived.

"Thanks," Tral nodded to the bartender.

Tral turned to face his old friend, Drax seated next to him. "Found it out by the old quarry," he sipped, "this time it was just lying on top of the ground, in plain sight."

Drax upended the pouch into his hand as a crystal stone the size of an egg tumbled out, landing with more weight than seemed natural. In the dim light of the bar, it was hard to tell, but it seemed that the inky dark blue of the crystal almost swirled with an inner glow. Drax leaned over the crystal like a hawk, squinting and looking deeper. There was definitely something moving inside the crystal, like currents of water churning in a tidal pool.

"They sure are odd," Drax set the crystal on the bar. As soon as his hands left the crystal, the inner currents brightened and quickened. "Hey, did you see that?" He elbowed Tral who sloshed part of a drink on himself.

"Damn it, man!" He wiped off the drizzle of dark brown ale, "Did I see what?" Tral frowned as he finished the drink he'd been about to start and turned toward Drax. On the bar top, the crystal glowed ever more brightly as Tral picked it up to examine.

As if in response to his touch, the inner currents changed from swirling to lashing out with the violence of lightning strikes. Light blue arcs snapped out soundlessly to meet his fingers from some source invisible within the crystal. Tral turned the crystal over, mouth agape, wordlessly watching the light show build to a climax.

"Give it here," Drax demanded, "I've got an idea."

Tral shook his head, snapping out of the trance of watching the beautiful crystal display its beautiful performance. "These things are insane," Tral slapped the crystal back into Drax's palm. Like clockwork, the crystal went dark and it almost felt as if the very energy of the crystal had been muted altogether.