*The Silverwood Saga: Part 2*
Elara pushed down her panic, replacing it with a cold, academic curiosity she thought she’d buried with her old life. This was an artifact, an unknown quantity, and Rule One was to understand the threat. She walked toward the center of the field, the air growing thick and heavy, vibrating with the crystal’s power. The low hum wasn't just a sound; it was a pressure in her skull, a feeling of immense, ancient thought. The light pulsed in time with her frantic heartbeat, casting shifting patterns of violet across the still faces of the villagers.
Hesitantly, she reached out a hand, her fingers tingling as they entered the artifact’s immediate aura. The moment her skin brushed against the cool, smooth surface, her mind flooded with a torrent of incomprehensible data. She saw not images, but the feeling of them: the cold of the void, the terror of being shattered, the long, lonely fall through a star-dusted sky. It was a piece of a consciousness, ancient and vast, and its agony was overwhelming. She snatched her hand back with a gasp, the psychic backlash staggering her.
The crystal, having been touched by another magical being, reacted. It focused its energy, not as an attack, but as an instruction. A brilliant beam of violet light shot from its tip, not into the sky, but horizontally, striking the treeline of the Whispering Woods. Where the light hit, the shadows themselves seemed to part, revealing an ancient stone archway covered with ivy, a structure that had been completely invisible moments before. The path beyond it beckoned, leading into the darkest heart of the woods.
The burst of light was a flare in the night, a magical beacon that would alert every Awakened in the country. She had even less time than she thought. Her head pounded with the echo of the crystal’s memories, and she now knew a fraction of what it was: a key. And it had just shown her the lock. The crystal’s hum was no longer a vague thrum; it was a clear, insistent pull towards the newly revealed path.
***
What does she do now?
1. Enter the archway into the woods.
The crystal showed her the way; she can choose to follow its command.
2. Try to absorb more power from the crystal.
She has felt its power; now she can risk her sanity to seize more.
3. Attempt to destroy the crystal.
It’s a beacon and a key; she can try to shatter it and end the threat now.
4. Set an ambush for the authorities.
They are coming for her. She won't run; she'll make them regret it.
#TheSilverwoodSaga #CommunityChoices #Fantasy #InteractiveStory