The Crystal Chronicle

DOWNTIME: KEITH AND CARYN.

Keith slowly walked through the town of Tipa, humming a cheerful tune. It had been one week since they’d returned home, and his mother was only just now letting him out of the sickbed, and leave the house. She still wouldn’t let his father push chores on him, but at the moment, all he wanted to do was visit his friends. They had all been spending the time home with their families, and hadn’t really seen much of one another, but for Keith, after a week of being bedridden, he just wanted to get out of the house.

After a quick visit to both Cassidy’s and Cailean’s homes, he found the both of them to be out. Feeling a bit defeated, he headed to Caryn’s house, hopeful that she might be home.

“Caryn? Yeah, she’s out around back, said she was gonna take a swim now that the net’s hauled up for the day. Just head around the house, you should find her.” Caryn’s father said, pointing past the side of his home, smiling kindly.

“Thank you, sir.” Keith smiled, running off, stopping in his tracks, eyes wide, at the site of Caryn slowly pulling her top off. Quickly spinning around, he attempted to announce himself. “Ex…Excuse me…”

“Hm?” Caryn looked up to see him facing away from her. She smiled as she set her shirt aside. “Hi, Keith. I missed you this past week. I tried to visit, but… I don’t think your dad likes me…I was about to go for a swim… Would you like to join me?”

Slowly, Keith turned towards her, immediately looking away when he that, not only was she topless, but she had begun removing the rest of her clothing as well. “You…You’re…um…Why are taking off…”

“If I swam with my clothes on, they’d get WET, Keith… Are you gonna swim or not?” Caryn responded dryly.

“I…I can’t…I just stopped in to say hi…if I went swimming, after I just got better, my mom would kill me…I…I should go…” Bashful and bright red, Keith ran off, leaving a disappointed Caryn alone at the water front.

Slowly she eased her long, toned legs into the pleasant, if chilly, sea. More and more, the curves of her form were enveloped with the water. After a moment to adjust to the temperature, she shot off through the water, careful to keep mindful of the radius of the crystal’s shield. It wasn’t long before she rested in a small secret cave, only a few feet deep, more a dent in the cliffs than anything, a favorite place where she had often gone to hide from the rest of the world.

As she always did, she sat against the smooth rock walls that had been worn down by the sea, taking time to be alone with her thoughts, which, despite her efforts to the contrary, kept being drawn back to Keith. He had always gone out of his way for her, he was so brave, so kind, so understanding. As much as she hated the idea, she felt she was beginning to fall for the Clavat. Stubbornly she shook her head, trying to force the thoughts away.

“That would be pointless…I mean, he’s a wonderful guy, but…What would he want with me? He could find a great Clavat girl. He’s not the smartest guy around, but…he’s so kind…compassionate…” Her hands began to run over her breasts without her knowledge as she spoke, “And handsome, of course…mmm…”

She gently traced circles around her nipple with her finger as she ran her other hand down her belly, her fingertips tracing over her soft skin, and finding their way between her legs. Startled, she realized exactly what she was doing, and looked about a bit frantically.

“Well…Why not… No one knows I’m here…” She consoled herself, as she closed her eyes with a sigh, leaning back and gently squeezing her supple breast as she trailed her fingers over her vulva, images of Keith running through her head, agreeing to join her for a swim, taking off his clothes…

She groaned softly, imagining his lean, strong body. She stroked her fingertips over her labia quickly, biting her lip softly as she clenched her eyes shut, her imagination filling in the details she hadn’t seen. She saw herself getting into the water with him, swimming with him…bringing him to this spot…laying against this same rock wall…

She let out a gasp as she pushed her fingers in with a deep, smooth motion, groaning as she imagined him trapping her against the wall, a hand on either side of her, kissing her deeply. She pumped her fingers in and out hard and fast as she kissed back, his throbbing cock slowly, teasingly penetrating her.

Shuddering, gasping for breath, she let out a long, loud groan as she climaxed, her heart pounding, her head spinning, she lay against the wall for a moment to collect herself, before resolving to head back home.

Earlier, and across the village, Keith locked his bedroom door behind himself, his face bright red, images of Caryn’s tender, nude form dancing through his head as he sat on the bed, his pants constricting his straining erection.

Extremely uncomfortable, he reluctantly peeled his pants off, tossing them aside before laying on top of his covers, taking his shirt off, his body feeling unnaturally warm. Clenching his eyes shut, he lay in bed, trying to think of anything but Caryn’s body… Her soft curves, her toned thighs, her long legs….her large breasts…

Absentmindedly, his fingertips trailed over his rigid manhood, stroking up and down along his length, before he unknowingly took hold and began stroking himself at a brisk pace, whispering Caryn’s name in a strained voice as his hand pumped up and down the length of his shaft over and over again.

Keith’s body tensed as he came, his body twitching a bit with the force of his orgasm. Blushing hard, ashamed of having done this without even realizing it, Keith grabbed a tissue and cleaned himself up.

That night, Keith and Caryn went to bed thinking of each other.

DOWNTIME: CAELIN

CLANG! The echo of a falling hammer resounded through the area. CLANG! Again and again, steel striking against hot steel. CLANG! Slowly but surely, a weapon was taking form. CLANG! Finally, it was finished, the weapon was dipped into cool water, steam rising with an enormous hiss.

“Take better care of this one, Cailean,” A middle aged Lilty instructed, tossing the spear to his son.

“Thanks, dad. And sorry about the last one. I was parrying a giant hammer and the shaft- well, it didn’t hold,” the boy replied.

“In that case, I’m just glad you weren’t hurt. I can forge as many spears as I need to, but I’ll only ever have one Cailean," he said, rubbing his son’s head affectionately. “You’ll have to tell me the whole story later tonight.”
The young man nodded to his father, a frown on his face.

“Hey, dad? Since we’re alone, um…I’m sorry for what happened with--”

“UT! None of that, Cailean. It’s not your fault. Bad enough I have to keep telling your mother that, now you want to take the blame too?”

“But it happened because I left!” Cailean exclaimed, clutching his spear, his heart heavy with guilt.

“No, it happened because SHE tried to leave. It didn’t happen because you left, and it didn’t happen because your mother wasn’t watching. You know your sister has always been curious…I figured sooner or later she’d try to leave town, but I always hoped we could put it off till she was old enough to understand the dangers of going out of the crystals protection…”

“She looked up to me…I’m her big brother…She was trying to follow me, I’m sure of it…”

“We won’t know until she wakes up. The miasma can wreak far greater havoc on a child’s body than an adult’s. Doctors say, though…if she does wake up, she might not walk again.”
Cailean left his father’s forge with a heavy heart. His sister had always been his best friend, even though she’d only been born three years ago. Three years old…and she might never walk again. Cailean kicked a rock in frustration. Silently, he sulked his way into her room, where she lay in a coma, silent and still. He kneeled at the side of her bed, tears welling up in the eyes of the steel-hearted warrior.

“I’m sorry, Maeve… I’m so sorry…” He whispered, laying his head on her bed, sobbing quietly. “I swear, if there’s a way to fix this, I’ll find it…we’re a caravan…we’ll go all over the world…I will check for a cure in every town, every city…I’ll make this right, Maeve… I promise…”

DOWNTIME: CASSIDY

The will of the world. The power to control that will. The wisdom to coax the elements to do your bidding. The knowledge to transcend the impossible and change existence. The force of power to control chaos and to disrupt order. To freeze flame, to burn ice, to breath earth and to walk across the sky. This is Magic. And while all may touch the surface of this incredible, unfathomable power, only a scarce few may plumb its depths: The Yukes. But why? What was it that let a Yukes do so much? Was it the gods, granting them ability to compensate for physical frailty? Or perhaps some connection with the planet that let them control it so much more deeply than any other tribe?

Cassidy fervently studied his books, seeking answers to the questions that kept him awake at night. Why did he have such power over magic? Why do Yukes have such a thirst for knowledge that others are content without? And what was that sound outside his window? He turned curiously, and stared out the window at his friends. The first he’d ever had. Cassidy was a shut in, but he wanted to learn about the outside world, and so, he joined the caravan. He expected to gain knowledge, but now he had friends, too. As they walked past the window, he turned back to his books, and again to the window. He closed his book silently, and left the room. The mysteries of the universe would have to wait.

DOWNTIME: RILEY

Mog collapsed against Riley’s leg, breathing heavily. What hell had he gotten himself into? He only wanted to help with the farming, but now he was weak, tired, his fur a dingy brown with dust.

Riley smiled, taking him inside. Another half hour was left before breakfast. Just enough time for the both of them to wash up.

At breakfast, Mog observed curiously as Riley and Keith chatted away. For they were very talkative with each other, but every so often, Riley got a bit awkward. Her cheeks grew red, she stumbled over her words… Mog didn’t understand people.

That night, as he wandered around the house, unable to sleep, he saw Riley standing in the hall. She was outside Keith’s room, the door barely open, watching him a bit, tears in her eyes.

“What’s wrong, Riley?” She jumped, her face red, and shushed him, scooping her up in his arms. She hurried back to her bedroom, but took one last look towards her foster brother’s door.


THE CEREMONY OF THE CRYSTAL


It had been nearly a year since Keith and the others first set out. They stood silently, shoulder to shoulder, as Roland praised their efforts and victories. Finally, he placed the chalice beside the crystal, and the myrrh flowed into it, renewing its energy. Brilliantly it glowed, and all the caravan travellers knew, this brilliant light was their doing. The ceremony was over, and the people applauded, and the caravan could finally relax. Caryn, uncomfortable under the stares of the whole village, instantly slipped off to the side, while Cailean relished the admiration, keeping thoughts of his sister in the back of his mind, if only for the sake of the villagers.

Keith waved at the crowd of young Clavat ladies uncomfortably. Any other time, they were just regular people, but one day a year, they were celebrities. Slowly, he inched away from them, and began to cruise the buffet. As the night wore on, he realized he’d not seen a sign of Caryn in hours. Scanning the town square, he saw not hide nor hair of his Selkie friend. Quietly, he snuck out of the party, and began looking around town, his curiosity getting the better of him. He walked down the hill where the square was erected, and found her by her home, looking at the small stream, flowing out to the ocean.

“Why aren’t you at the party?” He asked, walking towards her. She jumped a bit, then smiled, blushing a bit.

“Don’t scare me like that.” She splashed him playfully, then sighed. “I know what they must think of me. Last year, they looked at me and thought I was planning to steal the chalice, or sell off the myrrh. This year they think I’m building their trust so I’ll have an easier time of it.”

“That’s not true, Caryn.”

“IT IS TRUE! …I’ve…I’ve been getting…letters…It’s true. I know it’s true. It might just be a few of them, but they hate me, they think I’m some criminal…” The tears streamed down her face. “I joined the caravan to stop this…but they just make up new accusations to throw at me… Nobody trusts me…” Keith put his hand on her shoulder, frowning.

“I trust you.” He whispered, gently squeezing her shoulder. She looked up at him, placing her hand on his, and squeezing it gently.

“Thank you, Keith…That means a lot to me…The party’s not over yet, y’know…and I haven’t had a chance to dance with anyone yet…” Keith grew flustered and blushing.

“If it’s a dance you’re after, you’ll need someone else…I…I can’t dance at all, and if I know people can see me screwing up, it just makes me worse.”

Caryn sighed, then took his hand. “I can hear the music just fine from here.”