0
Our tale begins with the birth of Allora Thellas.
Allora's birth coincided with the departure of her grand father - Brynn Thellas. Brynn was a renowned soldier, whose exploits had earned him fame and wealth. But he was also a collector of arcane and mystic artifacts. Long had he studied the earth crystal, and this day he was departing to seek it out and add it to his collection. His long time companion, Orgnas, accompanied Brynn on his journey.
Neither Brynn nor Orgnas ever returned. Allora's mother was familiar with the all the legends of the Earth Crystal that Brynn had taught her, including the Earthen Chant:
So you seek the Earth Crystal of yore,
of which you have heard so much lore.
Where druids once ruled in the north,
from their hall you must venture forth.
Where the red god doth gather his flock,
the door shall be hewn out of rock.
Of the crystal's defender beware,
for intruders it never shall spare.
The Earth gem has power incarnate,
with which one may alter their own fate.
But if all four crystals are sought,
thy actions will lead but to naught.
For the elements joined will then sunder,
the world with both lightning and thunder.
As Allora grew, her interest in the Earth Crystal grew as well.
When Allora was old enough, her parents sent her to the Cathedral in Albion, so that she could study at the University.
By this time, Allora was completely obsessed with the crystal and devoted all of her time searching for tomes and scrolls that might contain ancient elemental lore.
She pored over religious devotions and psalms, and learned of the Dovrak, the Red God of Rage, Lust and Greed. The first mention of Dovrak was of a cult that sprung up among a splinter sect of the ancient Druids of the Mystic Isles. Allora sought out the red priests of Dovrak, and even feigned allegiance to the God to learn all that she could of this red God of the Underworld.
Allora continued to pursue all sources of lore and legend regarding the Earth Crystal, and stumbled upon a gypsy who knew of an additional verse to the Earthen Chant that she had never heard before.
The guardian of earth's only bane,
is wrought of a similar vein.
Having acquired this new insight, she sought to make a weapon that wielded the power of the Earth, so as to defeat the guardian she knew she must face. She sought the rare and precious mineral Vematite in the small remote streams of the Enchanted Forest.
She then took this metal to the Master Smith Heaphus, who forged it into a spearhead which he mounted on an oaken shaft.
Armed with the great spear, Allora set out for the Mystic Isles to find the Earth Crystal.
She searched the isles for two years before she found the ore deposits that the Ancient Druids had worshiped as the "Hand of God." Behind the hand, she found an entrance to a cave.
In the back of the cave, she found a roughly hewn tunnel leading back into the hill side. She had traveled for a couple of hours when the floor suddenly collapsed beneath her. She managed to wedge her spear into a crack in the wall, and pull herself to the safety. She could see from the bones below that many had not been as lucky - including her grandfather's friend Orgnas, whose armored rusted in the pit below.
Despite the skeletons, Allora was heartened, for she knew she was on the right track.
Walking through the tunnel, Allora lost track of time and direction, but eventually she could make about a bluish glow coming from a cavern ahead. As she approached, Allora could see great blue crystals.
As she entered the cavern, she could see that each of the great crystals contained some unlucky warrior or scout. Allora had heard rumors of a beast that could petrify unwary travelers, and sure enough, she saw the skeleton of the monster.
The monster was a cockatrice and it had died on the lance of it's last victim. When she looked closer, she saw that it was her Grandfather - Brynn - who had slayed the beast, and died in the process.
Byrnn thanked her grandfather for sparing her the same fate, and glanced around the cavern. She spotted a Knight Protector of the Mystic Isles,
An elf who had been frozen in mid leap,
and even a Drow!
The corridor beyond the cavern was much larger, and made of polished stone. Some 10 minutes later, the corridor opened onto a great chamber, with great obelisks surrounding a large pit belching smoke. Between the obelisks were great symbols that Allora recognized from her studies. These runes of the ancient druids represented the 11 ancient races.
And there, at the back of the Chamber, was the EARTH CRYSTAL!
Her prize was so close, yet she knew that the Cockatrice had not been the true Crystal Guadian, and she must be wary.
As she circled the pit, a great shape rose from the billowing smoke of the pit - one of the fabled Wurms of Legend. This was the guardian she must face!
The wurm towered over Allora, and spoke raspy words in a grating tongue that sounded like no language she had ever heard.
As Allora looked upon the great creature, she knew what she must do, that her time of destiny was upon her!
She took her great spear - imbued itself with the power of the Earth - and threw like a javelin at the Wurm's glowing green eye.
Her spear hit it's mark, and pierced the creature's high. Blood sprayed from the Wurm, and it's terrible shrieking echoed through the chamber as it thrashed in it's death throes, and then collapsed back into the pit from whence it came.
The guardian defeated, Allora approached the altar and lifted the Earth Crystal high in the air. She could feel the power coursing though it! She had found the crystal and her grandfather, and could return home triumphant!
)
)
