Beneath the Dark Crystal

Chapter 1

Another world. Another time. Beyond the Age of Wonder.

Mavra peers out of her room's balcony in contemplation. Her dark brow twitches as she continues to glance out to the woods and towards her bed. It's not like anyone will notice, she thinks. Mavra pulls up her mother's old cloak--fixing the hood a little--before spreading her large wings out and jumping off the edge of her gracious balcony. She feels her heart skip as the wind nips at her face. A smile makes its way to her features, along with a small dimple on the left side of her cheek. She glides through the dawn, looking back at the sister moons slowly descending down upon the Castle of the Crystal.

Mavra hums to herself before turning back around and continuing to fly through Thra. She finally makes it to the deep part of the forest that's far outside of her castle's walls. She gracefully lands on a rock, looking around at all of nature. She saw many creatures besides the beautiful plants. She saw a couple of landstriders in the distance making their way to their homes, a few fizzgigs scurrying about, and surprisingly several tumbeloth crawling back into a nearby cave. She sighs and sits down on the moss-covered rock, silently listening to the song of Thra. Suddenly, she feels a pinch in her stomach.

Mavra opens her eyes and starts to tenderly rub her stomach. Was she hungry? No, it wasn't a hunger pang. Something's off, she thinks, narrowing her eyes into the dark distance, seeing how the prickly bushes move. She leans forward in suspense, ears perked up high. Then, Mavra's friend, Kensho, fumbles out of the bush and lands flat on his stomach with an 'oof.' She feels her body relax, forgetting about the weird cries of Thra while rushing over to help Kensho up.

"Hey, nice to see you drop by, Kensho," She says, a cheesy smirk on her face. Kensho looks up at her through his hood, throwing it back off his head.

"That was definitely one of the worst greetings I've ever heard," He tells Mavra with a smile of his own. Mavra snickers and puts her hood down as well.

"Sorry. That's just the first thing that came to mind." She sits back down on the rock and notices the two plums in Kensho's hands. "Oh, breakfast?" She inquires. Kensho nods and tosses the plump fruit up. "Yup. My mother suggested I bring us a little something at our meet-up." He throws the plum to Mavra, who catches it with ease, and takes a huge bite out of it. The sweet juices filled her mouth and she sighed in content. "These are pretty fresh. Are you sure you didn't just pick them off a tree on the way here?" Kensho's jaw drops in surprise. "Wh-What? How'd you figure that out?" Mavra shrugs and continues to eat.

"I could feel it, or should I say--"

"No, I know what you're going to say--"

"--taste it!" Mavra snickers as Kensho's face drops.

"What is with you and puns?" Kensho questions, taking a seat right down next to her. "You're usually not this funny so early." He takes a bite out of the plum while staring off into the distance.

Mavra shrugs, getting that pinching feeling again. "I don't know. Hey, do you feel uneasy?"

Kensho glances at her before swallowing his food. "Uhm ... no. Is something wrong with the plum? I-It's not infected, right?!" Kensho stutters out.

Mavra shakes her head. "No, it has nothing to do with the food. I just ... I mean Thra. I've been having strange feelings about it for a couple of days. Something's not right." Kensho sighs and looks down. "Maybe it's the blight. It has been spreading around Thra for a while now."

Mavra stares at Kensho, knowing that he was infected by the blight when he was a younger gelfling. He had to use fire to get rid of the fungus-like disease. He covers his scars up with bandages, except for the red one surrounding his eye. She shakes her head once again. "No, I think it might be something ... bigger. Much deeper. Maybe in the heart of Thra--"