Part 1

It has been months since Y/N, Pun-hmorg and Zone had discovered the sealed door and since then, not much has changed in Colsentia. However, since today is the discovery anniversary the trio decide to go and visit the sealed door. As they get closer, Pun-hmorg wrinkles his nose.

“What is that smell?” he exclaims. As the trio get close they can’t help but notice a putrid, damaged crystal growing near the sealed door.

Since all crystals in Colsentia are normally pure and stable, this immediately raises concerns! How did this crystal become infected to such an extent? Why did this happen??? Y/N can’t help but feel a sense of curiosity begin to rise up in their chest as they wonder how this all began?

The trio at first sniff around the area for clues, but nothing turns up.

“I wish we could ask someone for help.” Y/N says with a sigh.

“Yeah, too bad nobody really visits this place cause of the Forbidden Forest!” Pun-hmorg pipes up.

“Oh, oh! What about the Stardust Elder?” Zona exclaims.

“Oh yeah! That’s right the Stardust Elder often trains Stelciar in human illusion around here! They’re bound to know something!” Pun-hmorg replies. Carefully, the trio break off a piece of this ugly crystal and carry it with them to show them.

The trio find the Stardust Elder at their usual training spot, strictly observing a Stelciar midway through training in a waterfall nearby. Pun-hmorg being their usual friendly self, waves at them, only to get snubbed by the Stardust Elder. The trio shrug at each other before approaching them.

“Morning Stardust Elder! How’s the training going?” Pun-hmorg asks with a cheeky wink.

“Hmph…. Morning you three, the training goes well. Soon this Stelciar will have a human illusion form worthy of their hard work.”

“Indeed, say, have you been to the sealed door recently? There’s something peculiar growing near it. Show it Y/N!” Y/N pulls out the deformed crystal and the Stardust Elder visibly pales.

“Put that thing away right now!” they exclaim. “Do you know of the horror’s of that… that… thing?!” The trio look at each other mystified at the Stardust Elder’s reaction.

“Horror’s? Isn’t it just a crystal that’s been overcooked or something? Like human food that’s been left out too long?” Zona asks.

“No, no. It’s… well… it’s something beyond my knowledge of. But I can tell it’s definitely bad news.” the Stardust Elder said uncomfortably, eyes averted from Zona’s. Y/N frowns slightly, the Stardust Elder knows more than they’re letting on, they think to themself.

“Hmm… something beyond your knowledge of? But you’re the Stardust Elder! You know of human illusion and many things about this Forbidden Forest. I’m sure you would’ve checked on the sealed door periodically… yes?” Y/N says, eyebrow raised.

“Hnggh…. Well I… I was checking it once every few months…”

“Was?? Why did you stop?”

“Hrnggg, oh fine. I.. I got too busy with the influx of Stelciar who wanted to learn human illusion, and let a Merciar who had been begging me to look after the Sealed Door go and do that instead.” the Stardust Elder blurted out, before looking mortified at what they had said and looked away guiltily. Pun-hmorg and Zona looked surprised at this admission before bursting into laughter. “W-What’s so funny?! I needed help and you guys hadn’t visited the sealed door in a long time!!! Who was I to ask??” The Stardust Elder exclaimed angrily, before bopping both Pun-hmorg and Zona on the heads for bursting into laughter.

“Ouch! Okay, okay, we’re sorry for laughing. So who is this Merciar who might know more?” Pun-hmorg asks, wiping a tear from their eye.

“Hmph, they’re not just any ‘Merciar’. Her name is Lunaria, current protector of the reef. She’s practically royalty in terms of Merciar hierarchy.”

“R-r-royalty?! Wha-why did she want to see the sealed door?!” Zona exclaims.

“Tch, how would I know? Anyway, she lives in the largest blue shell cottage in Colsent Bay. You can’t miss it. Now, take that.. That… thing! And leave this sacred place.” the Stardust Elder huffs, before turning back to the in-training Stelciar.

The trio make their way to Colsent Bay, and after wandering for a bit, Zona lets out a whistle ,

“Woah, that’s one beautiful cottage!” Y/N can’t help but nod their head in agreement. A beautiful rustic cottage with a roof made out of two large pale blue scallop shells sits amongst the sand.

Luckily as the trio knock on Lunaria’s front door, she’s home. When she sees Y/N pull out the blighted crystal, she visibly pales before ushering them inside for some tea and biscuits. As Lunaria pours Y/N a cup, she reveals to them that infected crystals like the ones outside the sealed door were not so rare in the past.

“Those damned crystals.” she says with a soft shudder, her whole body visibly quivering. “When I saw signs of them growing at the sealed door I… I had hoped I was mistaken. I hoped I was imagining things. I didn’t want to be right that those…. things, had come back.” She stared at her tea quietly thinking about something in the past. Zona, with a cookie in hand, rests their paw on Lunaria’s, as if to reassure her all was okay, and that she could continue when/if she was ready. Lunaria weakly smiles at the trio, before taking a deep breath.

“In the past, a long time ago those crystals were everywhere. On land, some regions had been sealed behind a great wall to prevent the infection from getting through. While, in the sea, certain currents and areas of the seafloor became forbidden to pass through. All of these were consequences of an ancient conflict that happened many eons ago.”

Enraptured with this forgotten history, Y/N asks her if there’s anyone else they can talk with to learn more about this, and how to prevent these crystals from expanding past the sealed door! Lunaria pauses and picks up a biscuit with her paw, her brow furrowing.

“Well… you see… I-I actually haven’t been the protector of the reef for very long. In fact, I’ve only been crowned for less than half a year.” she says before muttering quietly to herself, “although… I don’t think I’m anywhere near as good at this than my sister”. Lunaria sighs, scratching her arm out of worry.

“Awww, don’t worry Lunaria! I don’t know much about being a protector of the reef but I think you’ve been doing a great job!” Pun-hmorg says with a gentle smile, trying to encourage the downtrodden Merciar.

“No, if you could’ve only seen my sister in her heyday. She was the strongest, most powerful of us all, she could fight the Void time after time and was an inspiration for all of us Merciar … but me? No… I’m just… a shell of a protector… ” as her voice drifts off she looks out the window, lost in thought, before shaking her head. “Anyway, if those crystals are coming back, I don’t think I could lead everyone to fight against the Void like she could… I don’t think I could go through the grief she did. I just watched as all life and colour was drained out of her. But, back to your question… I think my sister, Coraline, would know more. I can take you with me to her, she lives in the depths of the ocean near Colsent bay… just… just promise me you’ll be respectful and not mention anything we’ve talked about, when you speak with her? I don’t want her to think badly of me.”

Y/N, Pun-hmorg and Zona nod their heads solemnly promising they will, and Lunaria smiles at them fondly, her expression gentle but worried.

“A-alright, well let me give her a call, and see if she’s happy to meet with you… Oh! Can you all breathe underwater? You see she doesn’t really leave the depths of the bay anymore… too many things to protect in the ocean.”

“Uhhh breathe underwater? I wish!!! Man, that’d be so handy I could visit all my phosray friends' homes. Though, I vaguely remember last year we tried some weird kelp that let us swim underwater, right Zona?” Pun-hmorg looks at their friend, only to catch Zona in the middle of the act of stuffing their face full of cookies. Zona immediately turns bright red before scratching his chin thinking and then nodding vigorously.

“Kelp, huh? Weird… hmm… wait here a moment I’ll go check my pantry. I think I might have some special berries that have underwater breathing powers that I bought last year for a party leftover… oh and I’ll talk to my sister as well” Lunaria leaves the room, allowing Y/N just enough time to finish their third cup of tea and Zona, enough time to polish off all the cookies. After a few minutes, she comes back with good news, her sister had agreed to see them, and turns out she did have some kelp leftover after all! Quickly the group finish up their tea break, and Lunaria locks up her house before guiding the trio underwater and deeper into the bay.

Part 2

Lunaria takes the trio deep into the waters of the bay, where the water is colder, and the filtered sunlight from the water’s surface, only lightly reaches. And after a while as the water grows colder, Lunaria finally leads you through a rocky underwater cave and you all come out into a barren black sand underwater cove. Shards of broken shells lie scattered amongst the sand, and in the middle a large broken slab of a rock. A lone pale white Merciar sits on the slab, and she smiles sadly when she sees you.

Y/N, Pun-hmorg and Zona can’t help but stare, slightly slack-jawed at the majestic melancholic Merciar before them. Old brittle coral growth’s long since dead, adorn her body, like remnants of an age long past. Y/N can’t help but feel a sense of sadness about her, and this place. As if what had happened in the past had left scars that could never be healed. 

“May I present… my sister, Coraline, the previous protector of the reef.” Lunaria says softly, introducing the trio to her.

“Oh, Lunaria, there’s no need for formalities. I simply go by Coraline nowadays. So, dear child, I’ve heard you’re interested in ‘The Great War’.” she says softly yet firmly, her warm old eyes holding a glint of a commander’s inner steel.

Taken aback Y/N asks “‘The Great War?’ I’ve never heard of a great war.” The old pale one, sighs, and you can almost feel the ocean current get colder with displeasure around you.

“No, no… of course you do not know of ‘The Great War’. Children like you would have grown up in a time of peace.” she mutters, while lighting an old coral lantern in her hands, “Well then… let me tell you about the history of Colsentia…

— 

“Long, long ago. When parts of this world were lifeless… silent, simply taken by those beings you know of as the Void. I was a child like you. I was a merciar known for my beautiful rainbow coral, and colourful wings. My sister and I grew up sheltered, in one of the largest Merciar kingdoms of the time. But sadly, our life was not as peaceful as you have it now. You see the dead zone of the Void was growing day by day. Each day the monsters would attack small towns and homes of sea creatures, and as time went on, they were winning the war. Eventually most of our kind were forced to live in small pockets of this world, protected by the crystals. Parts of our beloved ocean had lost all life, due to the Void invasion, and it was commonplace to see dead coral like the ones that adorn my body all over the place.”

Coraline gestures for all of you to follow her, as she heads towards the crack in the stone slab, lantern held in front of her. All four of you follow behind her, realising that within the cracked slab was a hidden corridor leading further underground! As they follow Coraline they hear her continue her story.

“During that time, we Merciar fought bravely and hard against the onslaught of the Void creatures, and I was one of those fighters. I was enlisted into, fighting at first on minor battlefronts, but as the war grew more fierce I was pushed to be on the front lines with comrades, many of which are no longer with us. I rose through the ranks, and eventually became the protector of the reef, a title passed down in our family known only to be given for the most courageous and battle-hardy Merciar, and for a time we believed in pushing back the Void and ridding it completely… but it was naught but a pipe dream. Our kingdom was the last underwater one left standing to fight against the Void, and every day we had to fight wave after wave of monsters just to keep ourselves and our family alive. My troops slowly succumbed to the dead zone of the Void, and their blighted crystals… Ah hah, come take a look at this, children.” Coraline brings the four of you close. 

“We are currently close to the restricted part of the ocean. Similar to how parts of the land on the Western side of Colsentia are sealed off. There are parts of the ocean too, that are sealed by the crystal’s barrier of underwater vortexes and storms above land that rage so fiercely none can get past.” she gestures towards a raging whirlpool vortex that blocks the exit of the underwater cave ahead. Stalactites and stalagmites that had formed over many decades underwater all point towards the crazy gushing wind barrier. Y/N looks on at the endlessly swirling wall of water in amazement! Pun-hmorg and Zona stick close to your side, scared by the rough waters ahead of you and from learning about the war. But Y/N looks at the vortexes with determination, they reach into their pocket to grip the blighted crystal tightly. “Back then, these regions behind these barriers were sealed, as they had become dead… lifeless, after the Great War. No coral would grow there, and you could almost feel in the water or air a sense of miasma… a curse almost from all the fighting in the area.” Coraline continued, guiding the group back out of the cave and into the open fresher air by the stone slab.

“In the past when the war was taking place it was quite common to see the Void with blighted crystals such as the one in your paws all over the place. They were powerful creatures, known to fight more fiercely than normal Void creatures.  Each skirmish with the Void back then, took something away from you. At first it was my coral, the rainbow colour began to fade with every fight against the Void I fought. Then my firepower in my wings faded and dulled before eventually, everything became a pale reflection of the me of my past. By the time we had rid our kingdom that is our ocean today of the Void, I had become as you see before you. -ahem-

But, you did not come here to hear me reminisce of old forgotten broken times. Did you?””

—

Y/N shakes their head sadly. While Pun-hmorg wipes a tear from their eye. Zona sits quietly subdued thinking to themself. Y/N grips the piece of the blighted crystal out from their satchel to show Coraline and she lets out a horrified gasp.

“My word… this… this is terrible news! Where did you find this?” Y/N then explains their entire day trying to figure out more about this hideous crystal and how that led to the Stardust Elder, then Lunaria, and finally… her. “I see… well, what I can tell you is that this crystal is a remnant of the Void’s influence from that time. The fact the blight is so prevalent could be a signal the Void are on the rise yet again, gaining strength, or… perhaps it could be a leftover from the recent false whale void fight. A curious thing indeed… Lunaria, we may need to bring Y/N and this crystal to the others… It seems something dangerous is afoot this year. And I don’t like the sounds of that… Not one bit.”  

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