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*Cristin’s Past Request Limit has been reached*
*Eed’s Past Request Limit has been reached*
*Kasi’s Past Request Limit has been reached*
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Story Snippet (9) POV: Cristin
The Chandalyns of the Amethyst House were notorious for their indifference and point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ nature, rarely talking to anyone and spending most of their time working on their individual projects and interests; but it was slightly different this time around, as Cristin could almost feel the shocked gazes and envious stares drilling into his skin while he walked behind the Diamond Representative.
He shouldn’t have been surprised about this, it was the envy of all when someone was picked by the Diamond House, and Cristin was actually glad they didn’t know the real reason he was being escorted out of the House; the attention made him uncomfortable as it was.
Even so, he made sure to stand straight and walk with measured steps. He refused to show outwardly how uncomfortable and nervous he was; it would be disrespectful to all those who wished they were in his position. He was currently living the dream all Chandalyns had but none expected to be realized.
They soon exited the tall manor doors and Cristin felt his shoulders relax slightly, he knew it wasn’t purposeful but he didn’t enjoy being paraded around while his classmates were still out, the attention was unnerving and something he didn’t want again. These feelings surprised Cristin, and he mentally scolded himself for feeling that way, as he should be proud and confident, why he was finding this concept so difficult was beyond him.
Their footsteps echoed on the polished ground, and once they passed over the pathway surrounded by water pouring down the edges, Cristin realized it wasn’t often he got this close to the end of the Island. This was really happening.
And so, he stepped onto the hovering platform of crystal waiting off the island’s edge with the Diamond Representative, and watched the Amethyst House leave his view as the platform descended towards the Capital, where the Elder’s Palace glistened at the top.
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Chapter 2: The Elders
Story Snippet (10) POV: Cristin
“I can’t believe it, this is actually happening.”
It was the fifth time Cristin had said those words, but it couldn’t be helped, he was sure he had passed the stage of shock and was currently in a state of panicked nerves.
“If you don’t get a hold of yourself and calm down, this entire test is doomed to failure,” Eed proclaimed.
Cristin nodded, fiddling with the tie on his outfit.
Due to the occasion, he had changed out of his student uniform into his only other articles of clothing. Because of the rarity of fabric on the planet of Crystalys, each Chandalyn was only given two pieces of clothing for most of their lives, that being the student uniform and another piece of the Chandalyn’s choosing. Cristin was just glad he was given his early, as it would still be four years before he graduated, and it wouldn’t have been great if he went to the Elders in his uniform.
Unclenching his tie, Cristin decided the best way to deal with his current nerves would be an attempt at distraction, and he focused his attention on the large statue in front of him.
Indeed, he was currently in the Hall of Order, a room filled with statues of the great creatures of the Order; he didn’t know much about them, only that the Chandalyns of the past greatly respected them, and built statues as a symbol of what they wanted their society to represent.
At the end of the hall were the massive pillared doors leading to where he would meet the Elders. The Diamond Representative had entered through those doors and told Cristin to wait in the hall, which is where he had been for an unspecified amount of time.
“Ah, the great Portal,” Eed commentated from behind, “I do wonder where the Legion is at this time.”
The great Creature called Portal was actually the only one Cristin was slightly familiar with, this is because any planet connected to the Portal System would know of them. For thousands of years, the great Portal and their Legion had been connecting the planets of the universe through a unified system of portal connections; it is what notified Crystalys of the existence of other worlds, and also what enabled them to connect with said worlds. The Portal of Crystalys is what Cristin assumed Kasi had come from.
For a second Cristin thought he felt a strange presence around him, looking towards Eed as she reached her crystallized hand toward the statue, but it disappeared in an instant as the large doors slowly opened, with the Diamond Representative walking back out.
“Dear Cristin, the Elders are ready for you.”
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Chapter 2: The Elders
Story Snippet (11) POV: Cristin
The Elders of Crystalys had always been described to be the pinnacle of modesty, ‘perfection,’ and timelessness; a glimpse of the future all Chandalyns dreamed of achieving, and Cristin now knew why such vocabulary was used to modify them.
They stood as three side by side, draped head to toe in pure white cloth and decorated with crystal, not a single sign of having skin under such drapes; even their faces were covered by white masks. They were backdropped by extravagant pillars and arches of marble, each one with complex but purposeful designs; and in front of them a sleek and delicate veil of translucent fabric. Cristin had never seen anything like it before, such fabric was probably the most expensive thing ever produced in Crystalys.
Yet this was not what caught his attention the most. Each Elder stood without anything near them, as if to show that they needed no such commodities to prove their status, with the curtain acting as a wall between the normal and the ‘perfect.’ No, what they had was height, like such that Cristin had never seen before; all three towering over him by stance alone, and with the voids of the masks watching him enter the space, Cristin suddenly felt very small and insignificant.
Cristin stepped into a crystal spiral on the center of the floor, his shoulders and neck stiff as he stood as straight as he could.
“Cristin of the Amethyst House,” the center Elder spoke then, his voice soaring through the room, “you are aware of how rare this is?”
“Yes, Your Timelessness,” Cristin spoke, feeling as though his lungs were constricting.
“You are a lucky boy, as most will live to never lay eyes upon this room; of course, you should be aware that this is a most dire and special occurrence?”
“Of course, Your Excellence.”
The black gaps where the Elder’s eyes were continued to drill into Cristin.
“Then I will not delay.”
With a barely conceivable movement all three of the Elders motioned toward something, and Cristin watched as two Onyx Division Chandalyns pulled in a figure.
Four weeks it had been since Cristin saw Kasi, and his eyes widened at his appearance. His cheeks sunken and lacking in color, his eyes sporting dark black circles, and his clothes clinging much looser on his frame; his eyes looked distant, the black of his sclera swallowing up the light of his yellow irises as he seemed not to notice much of what was occurring.
Cristin wished to shout, to ask what happened, but he dared not utter a word in front of the Elders, instead staring at the spectacle as Kasi was brought in front of him.
“Cristin of the Amethyst House, you have been summoned here on the basis of translation between us and this Creature.”
File Piece Unlocked: Crystalys (5)
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Chapter 2: The Elders
Story Snippet (12) POV: Cristin
It wasn’t much of a shock that this was why Cristin was summoned, but he was still unsure of why, of everyone in their society, of all the interpreters, why him?
“Let us begin,” the center Elder consented, and the left Elder spoke.
“Explain to this creature that it is to listen to our words.”
Cristin swallowed before turning his head to Kasi.
“Kasi, do you remember me?”
Maybe it was the shock of hearing his own language being spoken, but Kasi immediately looked up, his eyes seeming to regain some color.
“Cristin?”
“Yes!” Cristin cleared his throat, trying to regain his calm, “I’m going to be your interpreter today, these Chandalyns in front of me are going to talk to you; and we can both explain things to each other. Can you tell me what happened? Where’s your previous interpreter?”
Like the last time, Kasi seemed confused; making Cristin worried at how well he was speaking. Three weeks was not much time to iron out the wrinkles of a language he didn’t know much about, even for someone like him. Perhaps he needed to word things simpler.
“Your pronunciation is better,” Kasi spoke at last, “but I do not know what you mean.”
Cristin quietly glanced at the Elders, still waiting, like statues on their pedestals.
“Your interpreter, the one you were supplied with when you came to the Capital?”
But Kasi only shook his head.
“Is there an issue?” The Elder on the right spoke.
“N-no, your Timelessness— I was simply trying to make sense of the situation.”
“And I recall you were told only to prepare so we may give our sentence.”
Cristin felt his mouth dry up.
“Of course.”
He turned back to Kasi, “I will now translate the following words from the Elders, the leaders of Crystalys.”
Then the center Elder began talking.
“This creature standing before us has infiltrated and defiled our Utopia of a Planet by unknown means, as such, and with no ways to continue housing it or sending it back— I hereby declare it to be exiled from Crystalys; until its inevitable death by the hands of the cruel laws of sustaining life.”
Cristin’s eyes widened in shock; and his thoughts raced as he translated the words to Kasi.
Infiltration? How? Why couldn’t they send him back? Nothing made sense, everything seemed wrong.
“What is happening,” he whispered.
“Don’t you worry young Cristin,” the Elder on the right said.
“You’ll be joining it.”
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Chapter 2: The Elders
Story Snippet (13) POV: Cristin
“I- What?”
Joining..? Did he miss something?
The center Elder sighed,
“Oh Cristin, you poor boy— by exiling you now, we are simply speeding up the inevitable. Really, it’s a shame that your crystal gave you a job to study that would never be useful; and as we all know, those in Crystalys that aren’t useful… Well, they simply can’t stay. It’s an unfortunate side effect that some are just destined to live a pointless life. You understand.”
Cristin’s vision blurred as he tried to grapple with what he was being told, he felt as if he would topple at any moment.
“No,” he squeaked out, “no, I don’t understand.”
Under the stress he couldn’t bother to use proper manners.
The Elder’s masks betrayed no sign of what they were thinking.
“I suppose as your last moment here, an explanation is at least deserved.”
The Elder continued to speak.
“As you are aware, every Chandalyn is given a gemstone, one that shows them their future for this Society. However, not all of them have a place in the world we all strive for.”
“How can someone destined to be a baker find a place in a world with no food? A biologist, in a world with only one life form?”
“A linguist, in a place closed off from any other species.”
What?
“Many Chandalyns are destined to be exiled in this cruel world, but we still allow them to live their life as a scholar, concealed from the truth, so that they may still live out their childhood as a proud Chandalyn.”
No…
Live out their life?
What life!? He spent day after day secluded from everyone— studying, working— all so he could *start* his life.
“Cristin of the Amethyst House, call your Aide.”
It appeared to Cristin that he couldn’t even tell who was speaking anymore, the echoes of the Elders seemed to mold into one voice.
“There’s no need.”
He felt something cold clasp his shoulder, and he looked back at Eed, who stared down at him with her white eyes.
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Chapter 2: The Elders
Story Snippet (14) POV: Cristin
“Very good,” the Elder said, “I believe this Aide has served their purpose.”
Two more Onyx Representatives then walked into the room, one holding a shimmering set of scissors, made out of a material Cristin had never seen before, the other a small pouch.
“And I believe I disagree with that statement,” Eed said, still looking at Cristin.
“Aide, you dare talk back?”
“My purpose is to aide in my Chandalyn’s intellectual needs, which for Cristin means until his age of Graduation; I believe that to be in two Chandalyn years.”
“Therefore, my purpose has not been served; I still have work to do.”
“Aides, logical yet lacking vision,” the Elder sighed, “We figured you wouldn’t shatter willingly, which is why we’ve prepared separate means.”
One of the Onyx Chandalyns grabbed Cristin’s arm and pulled him away from Eed, and in his mental fog he didn’t try to stop them.
As one of them opened the small pouch, Eed shimmered out of view.
“Oh no you don’t,” the Chandalyn exclaimed, “hold still kid.”
Cristin yelped as they used one hand to push his head back and force his eyes open, and the other to sprinkle some form of powder into them— nearly knocking his glasses off in the process.
It was then that Cristin jerked away, rubbing his eyes. He thought he heard an exclamation from Kasi but he wasn’t sure.
“Cut the tether,” the Elder said.
With his vision blurred and watery, Cristin was having issues figuring out what he was seeing, but it appeared that from somewhere he could see a shimmering thread floating between him and Eed, who was back to floating in front of him.
He then realized what was happening.
They were trying to take Eed away from him.
“Wait-“
As if finally coming to his senses, Cristin tried to pull away from the Onyx Chandalyn.
“Hold on! Wait!”
This was to no avail, as the second Chandalyn pulled open the scissors and snapped them down onto the thread.
With a sound as if glass was breaking apart, Cristin watched as Eed fell like rain, until all that was hovering in her place was a sphere containing purple crystal fragments.
Cristin wobbled, his legs failing him, his senses leaving him; the only thing that kept him grounded was the jolt he felt from his brace— he had fallen onto his knees.
“How terribly immodest this is,” a voice said, “very well, take the Aide to be shattered.”
“No!” Cristin wailed.
“Oh, quiet your crying; you were so well behaved earlier,”
Please…
“I hereby declare Cristin of the Amethyst House to be forever exiled on the basis of inability to provide for the great Utopia of our Future.”
I just..
“Take them away.”
Just.
“Be proud, young one; for your expertise was needed, if only for today.”
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