Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

Xephyr follows.
"Kind of like the draconian equivalent to Earth guardians. Aquos is to Water, Pyro and Vulcan are to Fire, Terra is to Earth, Aether and Volt are to Air... I could go on a little longer, but I won't."

"Let's hope so."

"Why not?" She shrugs.
"You're off? Stay safe, sweetheart!" Xlentia says happily.
"You too, Xlentia." Linoa replies, flying off with Crystal before Xlentia asks any more questions.

 

"Yes, let's hope. However, that plan will only possibly work if we are planning to siege the castle."

"Bye Xelentia!"
Crystal calls out.

 

"Hm, interesting." The Earth guardian says, intrigued as the platform quickly descends down the ledges to the ground.

"Here's our main workplace. We work on extracting valueable minerals and gems here, most of which we sell on to fire guardians which they use for vanity items." The Earth guardian says happily.

Xephyr can notice a diamond sticking out of the wall near to her.

 

"And the alternatives would be...?"

She waves as Linoa and Crystal blink through the door.
"Well... we've been to Asimuul and Entelp... I think that's still it."

Xephyr glances at it.
"Is there a reason that gem has been left down here?"

 

"We'd need information on the sleeping quarters of the royal family, but from there, it's breaking in, kidnapping children, and forcing them to stay here, alive."

"What else is there?"

 

"How hard is it to keep human children alive?"

"Xyrnal and Maralune. One puts you between a forest and a swamp, and the other seems pretty disgusting."

 

"Hm? Oh, we must've missed it." The Earth guardian says, putting a hand around the diamond. His eyes glow faintly, and the diamond easily slides out of the wall, the wall itself reforming shortly after.

"It's quite funny, actually. The greed of the humans making something as simple as diamond so expensive has benefitted us greatly." The Earth guardian says, storing the diamond in his pocket.

"It's terrible what they've done in other aspects, though. Deforestation, pollution..." Myria says, trailing off.

"Yes...I do sometimes wonder what Mother Gaia thought when she created them." The Earth guardian says.

 

"Food, water, oxygen... there's a few other things like sunlight, but those three are the main ones."

"How's it disgusting?"

 

"I don't mean to be rude, but from what I've seen in my travels, they seem to be some kind of baseline. I mean, you both look similar to humans, no offense." Xephyr comments. "But not just humans make diamonds seem expensive. Xlentia's vault contains the wealth of over five hundred planets, all in gold and diamond. Xlentia doesn't even blink when she rolls a coin at something to pay it off... generally many times the price she needs to pay."

"Humans are plants?" Ytir asks.
"I didn't ask your opinion." Aral'hrah sighs.

"Just looks poisoned and sad, I guess."

 

"Plants use sunlight as their food. Humans use sunlight as a vitamin, which helps them. Sunlight isn't a major requirement for them, however. Just as long as they're not in a stone block, it should be enough light."
I explain.

"...That's it? There's nothing there?"

 

"Well, there have been a few cases of mageborn humans being able to ascend to becoming a guardian. It's just a shame humans are so...destructive," The Earth guardian says, sighing, "Anyway, do you have any questions so far?"

 

"No." Xephyr says.

"Okay, then."

"There is, just... it all looks kind of pitiful."

 

"Well, I guess we can continue then." The Earth guardian says, smiling.

The Earth guardian opens up another door in a wall to a staircase leading down deeper into the earth, another rocky door at the end of it.

"It's certainly interesting to see what's changed and what hasn't with Earth Guardians over the years." Myria says happily.

 

"So, are we learning more towards kidnapping or a siege?"

"Can we take one look before seeing the other place?"

 

"This seems rather impressive." Xephyr admits. "Nothing compared to Her Palace, but it's still impressive."

"Siege sounds easier." They all say in unison.

"Why not?" Linoa says, letting Crystal get off her staff in front of the portal.

 

"Well, we'll need to wait longer, then. A siege without the right amount of troops is just a bad attack."

Crystal does, reading the label before stepping through.

 

"Different cultures and work tasks call for different surroundings. While a large palace may seem luxurious to some, a small, claustrophobic cave may be a dream come true for a Earth Guardian." Myria says happily.

The Earth guardian slides open the door at the end of the staircase, and various other Earth guardians sit in meditation in a small room.

"This is where we mainly connect with the earth. From here, we can easily sense an earthquake long before it happens, and reduce or even remove its power when it comes." The Earth guardian says, his voice much quieter.

 

"I assume it could also hold the reverse true?"

"If we've got nothing to show on the way back, we won't be getting any more..." Gau warns.

The label seems to be scratched illegibly.
Upon stepping through, the air has a purple fog, and crooked, off-colored bramble forms most of the visible flora. There's a sickened forest off in the distance, though... the sun is green here.

 

"What do you need to show?"

"Yeah.. you were right..."
Crystal says, turning to Linoa.

 

"Correct, though we've rarely needed to use that power." The Earth guardian says, smiling.