ORIGIN

It was a fairly mundane sort of day, and Karma didn’t mind too much, given her latest adventures in magic. Still, she bounded down the earthy paths with a flourish, pausing occasionally to rip out hunks of green foliage before moving on, mouth still full of vegetation. Eridanus seemed more pleasant than her last visit, somehow, though she couldn’t quite shake the strange sensation under her skin. It’d been present in some degree ever since she’d first laid eyes on the spire, and the fawn had learned to regard it with both trepidation and fascination. Traveling deeper into the lush world only served to cement the feeling, and she became more animated despite herself. Surely not today, she thought, surely not here. After all, the world around her seemed alive and happy, not fraught with the same ominous feeling that came before she’d encountered the evil mushroom or the rock… thing. Shuddering slightly at its memory, the fawn took great care to not travel in the vicinity of the large fungus.

Prompted by the unpleasant memory to move away from the Monarch, it wasn’t long before the fawn burst into the familiar clearing surrounding the eyes. To her surprise, this place was already occupied, but as the stranger came fully into view, she found her mannerisms immediately familiar. The stranger seemed silly and full of life, young and carefree. Karma found herself instantly put at ease, and emerged from the safety of the brush, bounding joyfully as she did. “Hey!” she called out, perhaps louder than she’d intended. As she took another excited leap forward, the strange sound of the singing gem caught her ears, and she stopped dead to listen. “Do you hear that? What is it?” rotating slowly as she spoke, she gazed at the world around, trying to pin the direction of the sound to no avail. The stranger’s behavior felt infectious, and she blissfully embraced wide-eyed, childlike wonder.

Karma’s delicate hooves never stilled as the two interacted, perpetually dancing or prancing or simply pawing in place. She nodded as the stranger described that something in the air that made her skin tingle in the best of ways. “Yes! Is it magic?” She stared directly at the ceiling for a moment, as if that would give her an answer. The fawn dismissed the looming threat of negative thoughts with a shake of her head. Perhaps she would eventually examine the possibility that this wonderful buzzing feeling also meant an increase in nightmares, but for the moment she was unwilling. After all, this was already shaping up to be a fun new adventure, and the fawn was certain that her new companion would be a grand time if they didn’t get attacked. Growing increasingly frustrated with the nagging negativity in a rather rational portion of her brain, she snorted softly. She leapt into motion again, prancing around the perimeter of one of the pools as if motion could dispel the looming sense of dread she felt.

Suddenly, her head shot upright, for that strange entrancing song grew louder and clearer. She looked into the water, confused, before she leapt in excitement at what she saw in the reflection. “Oh! Come and see!” She called out, rearing up to point her nose at a large stalactite in the ceiling high above. From it clung a stunning emerald colored crystal, glittering in the lamp light and perhaps emitting its own light as well. Even in her excitement, it gave her pause, stood stock still to gaze at it in awe. She turned to look at the other after a moment, curious to see if she was just as fascinated by this strange and beautiful thing. Immediately, she thought of her fascination regarding the origin of gembounds, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that this thing was somehow related. It had to be, right? She was fairly certain that this thing was a recent addition to Eridanus, and just at the time when magic in the air was nearly palpable.

Karma giggled along with her when the stranger mentioned her current troubles with magic, though it fed the internal fire of doubt brewing below the surface. If this feeling came with monsters and reduced magical power, they could really be in trouble. Finding it increasingly difficult to dismiss the feeling, the fawn focused on the strange new crystal, trying to dismiss the notion that they should both run away from here immediately. But to where? she asked herself. She’d felt this way in Canis, in Orion, in all the little paths leading to Eridanus. Maybe some of the places she hadn’t been were safe, but she was suspicious.

For a moment, she stood side-by-side with the stranger, looking at the stone. It would be an amusing sight, if observed by an outsider, to see the animated pair suddenly rendered stock-still as they gazed at the ceiling. “The… sound?” she answered, somewhat absentmindedly, so focused on the crystal that the words took a few moments to process. “Oh!” she said suddenly, eyes widening as she put the pieces together, acutely aware that the strange noise was much clearer here. She reared slowly, ears pricked forward, experimenting with the noise. “Wow! I think it is! How strange!”

An idea came to her and her ears flicked excitedly, lithe limbs suddenly prancing in place again. She squinted at the crystal, focused, while her antler grew brighter. The crystal, however, nestled against the stalactite, remained obstinate. Brow furrowed in frustration, the fawn moved around the pool, as if this would bring it closer (it didn’t). This did not help the feelings gnawing at her gut, and she began to glance around nervously despite herself. “Hmmm,” she said, returning back to where she and the springbok had been standing, lifting her gaze back to the pesky crystal. “Do you know any magic that can pull on it?” she said, turning to look at the stranger. “… Or push it?” she added as an afterthought, pensive as her eyes flitted to the crystal’s attachment to the stone. Admittedly, she was eager to dismiss the notion that their magic was dampened, trying to stem the growing tide of panic that grew in the pit of her stomach