Wow i'd love to be there

Great job! :D

Oh wow, this is such a gorgeous painting! The trees and lighting look awesome, you are really good at landscapes! :D

Thanks you to all of you! ^-^ I was just trying something new.

really beautefull. I like the technique of the wood

Thats pretty cool.

This looks beautiful! X3

Re: sure I'm up for ideas if you like you can even put them in the discussion page XD if you like to do some plotting with us

Nice landscape!

https://beautifulglass.org/collections

"There's no wrong answer for art, only the wrong audience for a piece of art." ~Patrick S.

"So when you feel like everyone is out to get you,
L-O-V-E- is something that will protect you.

And when the dust settles and you have your breakthroughs,
M-U-R-D-E-R all the pain It will set you free, everybody like me.

Just reach for the sky when you rise in the sea,
You’re not the first and you’re not the last,

It only gets worse if you’re living in the past"

Surrounded by trees, a cozy and warm looking little brick home was nestled in a clearing. A shallow stream weaved through the area behind and beside the house, reflecting the late evening sunlight in little twinkles across the surface. In what would be considered the front yard, a little brown haired girl, about eight, and a young woman, seemingly in her early thirties, sat on a blanket laid out over the grass, looking as though they were having a good day.

''Alright, Crystal,'' the woman said, her voice soft and patient, ''Me and your father were talking, and we believe you are ready to begin learning more about your magic.'' Crystal was obviously having trouble sitting still, her fingers picking at the knees of her pants excitedly, ''Really, mama?'' she asked, her eagerness showing through in her voice, as if it wasn't already evident. ''Yes,'' her mother smiled, ''I know you've been waiting quite some time for this, we have a lot to learn, but we have to work on it a little bit at a time.'' Crystal nodded, ''I know,'' her little voice said, ''I even already know what I want to be the best at..!'' Her mothers eyebrows raised with surprise and she laughed, ''And what might that be?'' Crystal smiled, ''I want to be a healer, like you,'' she said. ''Is that so?'' Her mother questioned playfully before scooping the little girl up in her arms and giving her a bear hug. Crystal giggled, putting her arms around her mom, ''Yes, I want to be the best healer our kind has ever seen!'' she said, with the typical excitement of someone her age with big dreams, not knowing the life to come. ''There's a lot that comes with learning this ability, Crystal, wouldn't you rather try something easier first?'' the mother asked, sounding a little nervous. ''No, not really..'' Crystal responded slowly as she sat back down, as if worried it was a wrong answer, ''I mean, I want to learn other things too, but I know this is what I want to start with and work the hardest on.'' Her mother was quiet for a moment, her expression making it obvious she wasn't sure about that decision, but she let out a soft sigh and nodded, ''Okay, if you are sure healing is what you want to work on, then we will do so,'' she said, momentarily going quiet before speaking up again, ''Crystal, you remember me telling you about the 'song of healing', right?'' The little girl nodded, ''Yes,'' she then gasped, "does this mean I get to make a healing song now?'' she asked. Her mother chuckled lightly, ''Well, one day you'll certainly make one, but right now I'd actually like to tell you a little about the stories behind my song.'' Crystal looked a little disappointed, but she was still excited to learn, so she remained quiet as her mother went on.

''As you know, our songs come from something meaningful we experienced in life, they're like stories, but essentially made of pure, raw emotion and this is what our magic connects to for healing... I didn't pick up this ability until I was fifteen. My mother, your grandmother, became very sick a couple months later, and to help her with her pain, I created a song from my emotions and love for her..'' Crystal had shifted her gaze to the ground, as if lost in thought, but she nodded.

Surrounded by trees, a cozy and warm looking little brick home was nestled in a clearing. A shallow stream weaved through the area behind and beside the house, reflecting the late evening sunlight in little twinkles across the surface. In what would be considered the front yard, a little brown haired girl, about eight, and a young woman, seemingly in her early thirties, sat on a blanket laid out over the grass, looking as though they were having a good day.

''Alright, Crystal,'' the woman said, her voice soft and patient, ''Me and your father were talking, and we believe you are ready to begin learning more about your magic.'' Crystal was obviously having trouble sitting still, her fingers picking at the knees of her pants excitedly, ''Really, mama?'' she asked, her eagerness showing through in her voice, as if it wasn't already evident. ''Yes,'' her mother smiled, ''I know you've been waiting quite some time for this, we have a lot to learn, but we have to work on it a little bit at a time.'' Crystal nodded, ''I know,'' her little voice said, ''I even already know what I want to be the best at..!'' Her mothers eyebrows raised with surprise and she laughed, ''And what might that be?'' Crystal smiled, ''I want to be a healer, like you,'' she said. ''Is that so?'' Her mother questioned playfully before scooping the little girl up in her arms and giving her a bear hug. Crystal giggled, putting her arms around her mom, ''Yes, I want to be the best healer our kind has ever seen!'' she said, with the typical excitement of someone her age with big dreams, not knowing the life to come. ''There's a lot that comes with learning this ability, Crystal, wouldn't you rather try something easier first?'' the mother asked, sounding a little nervous. ''No, not really..'' Crystal responded slowly as she sat back down, as if worried it was a wrong answer, ''I mean, I want to learn other things too, but I know this is what I want to start with and work the hardest on.'' Her mother was quiet for a moment, her expression making it obvious she wasn't sure about that decision, but she let out a soft sigh and nodded, ''Okay, if you are sure healing is what you want to work on, then we will do so,'' she said, momentarily going quiet before speaking up again, ''Crystal, you remember me telling you about the 'song of healing', right?'' The little girl nodded, ''Yes,'' she then gasped, ''does this mean I get to make a healing song now?'' she asked. Her mother chuckled lightly, ''Well, one day you'll certainly make one, but right now I'd actually like to tell you a little about the stories behind my song.'' Crystal looked a little disappointed, but she was still excited to learn, so she remained quiet as her mother went on.

''As you know, our songs come from something meaningful we experienced in life, they're like stories, but essentially made of pure, raw emotion and this is what our magic connects to for healing... I didn't pick up this ability until I was fifteen. My mother, your grandmother, became very sick a couple months later, and to help her with her pain, I created a song from my emotions and love for her..'' Crystal had shifted her gaze to the ground, as if lost in thought, but she nodded.

Her mother had paused in that moment, she knew what she was doing by telling Crystal the story and meaning of her song. A part of her felt bad for doing it this way, but she could see this meant a lot to Crystal, and she didn't want to let her daughter down. After taking a breath, she continued, ''In a way, my song was reinforced as other events happened in my life. Later down the line, I met your father and we became good friends really fast. About a year after we met, I had sung my song to him for the first time, and that was when we we both realized how close we had became, as we both felt my song reach such a deep level, a level only somebody could feel if they understood the emotions attached to the song.'' Crystal smiled a little, but still seemed out of it, ''I'm happy you and daddy met.'' Her mother nodded, ''The next time I felt my song reinforced was because of you.'' she said, a kind smile at her lips. ''Why me?'' Crystal asked, finally looking up. ''My song is about the love of a family, Crystal,'' her mother said, ''You reinforced my song because /I love you more than anything/, just like I love your father and how I loved my mother.'' Nothing was said for a moment, then Crystal rubbed her eyes with her hands. ''You feel it, don't you?'' her mother asked. Crystal stayed silent but nodded, her own emotional connection to the song was forming. ''It will take time, but this feeling will go away once your magic has fully connected to the power and emotional story within the song.'' Her mother said, reaching over and gently brushing some hair from the little girls face. ''I'd like to ask you, how do you know this is what you want?''

Crystal blinked and glanced up. She was only eight, she knew things but didn't really understand them. She knew healing was something she wanted to do, but couldn't quite understand why, she just felt a pull towards it.. The thing was, she was already open to share her energy, she just didn't know it. ''Well, you.. you told me our world isn't like it used to be, more people are getting hurt... and I.. I want to be able to help the hurt people,'' Crystal explained.

Her mother was now the quiet one, and she pulled Crystal into a hug. It lasted a minute or so then she leaned back and stared at her daughter, her eyes a little teary. ''Oh no, don't cry, mommy..'' Crystal said with concern in her voice as she reached up and carefully wiped the tears off her mothers face, ''I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset..''

The woman gently shook her head. Crystals mother knew the life that would come, she knew sooner or later she would have to make the decision to keep her daughter safe and hidden at home, more than she already did, and she was worried about what it would do to Crystal later on. ''You didn't upset me, Crystal,'' she eventually said, brushing her hand over her daughters cheek, ''you just...have such a big heart.. And I hope you never lose that.''

Crystal tilted her head, looking a tad confused, ''But, I can't lose my heart, it's inside me.'' Her mother just laughed, ''Very true, but what I mean is, I hope you don't lose your kindness, or your compassion and ability to love so deeply, it's a beautiful part of you, and sadly there will be times when the world will test you, and there will be people who will take advantage of it if you let them.. But I want you to always remember being kind and caring is /never/ a weakness, it's one of your greatest strengths. Don't ever let the bumps in life take those from you, okay?'' Crystal nodded with a little smile, she didn't know her mother was trying to prepare her for a tough road ahead. The sun was beginning to set now. Soon her mother stood up and dusted off a bit, she then reached out her hand for Crystal to take, ''Alright then, how about we go inside and get cleaned up for the night? We can continue tomorrow.''

Crystal took her mothers hand, and the two of them headed inside.

It was quite some time after Crystal and her mothers talk about her magic. The day was bright and sunny, Crystal and her mother were once again outside in the same place, sitting in the grass. Crystal had a little leafy potted plant sat in front of her, and her mother was watching them patiently, ''So, I know we've been trying and so far nothing has happened, but let's see if today is the day.'' Crystal nodded, this seemed silly to her, but she didn't have any other way to practice her abilities. Her mother leaned over and partly tore a couple of the leafs from the plant, ''The first time you heal is always the hardest to do as it's your first time purposely willing your energy out of your own body.. Just concentrate as fully as you can on the broken part, and imagination your energy flowing into the plant.. remember to let the song take a hold of you.'' Her mother then demonstrated, closing her eyes and humming the melody. One of the torn parts of the plant then slowly but surely mended. Crystals mother opened her eyes and gave a little smile, ''Now you try,'' she said encouragingly.

Crystal stared at the plant for a minute, she closed her eyes like her mother did and tried to focus on the torn part. A few moments passed and suddenly Crystal let out a frustrated sigh, ''This isn't working..'' she mumbled, ''this is just a plant,'' she gestured to the potted plant, ''I... I don't feel anything... it's not the same thing like when someone gets hurt.. I think this plant doesn't want my help.''

The girls mother gave a sympathetic look, ''I know.. Plants don't feel emotions, so it can't connect, only you can, and that's what's making this so difficult, even for it being a first healing.. Try again, and this time really push the idea of seeing it mend back together.''

The young girl looked a little defeated, she wanted to do this, but there was just something missing.. Crystal took in a breath, she watched the plant this time, trying to imagine it going back together. This time, something /started/ to happen, Crystal felt something inside her start to move around, but it still wasn't enough. She shook her head and was about to speak when some rustling sounds slowly came into earshot. Her mothers head snapped towards the sound and she started to stand, looking a little uneasy.

Crystal looked back to the noises as a man came into view. ''Daddy!'' she exclaimed happily, getting up and beginning to rush over to him, only to stop short with a gasp, ''Daddy, your arm.. what happened?'' Crystal questioned, obviously worried as she made the rest of the way over to her father. The mans right upper arm was wrapped in a bloody cloth, but it didn't seem to be a bother to him at the moment.

''Ah, there was a mishap while training some kids today..'' the man replied, cracking a smile, ''Nothing time and some clean rag can't fix." Crystals mother walked over, her brows knit with concern, ''Goodness, David, are you sure? This looks bad..'' she said, carefully removing the wrap. The mans jaw tightened as the woman touched the wounded area, it was evident by his expression that it /was/ a bother but he just didn't want to make a big deal of it, ''Mara, I'm okay..'' he responded, gently cupping the womans cheek momentarily with the hand of his good arm, ''I'd ask for help if I thought I needed it.."

Crystal had gone quiet, but it didn't last long. She fiddled her fingers nervously, she didn't like seeing her father injured, ''Daddy, I know you don't need help, but... can I try to make it better?" she asked, looking up at her father with her big blue eyes. The man glanced at the mother, who gave him a soft, hopeful look. He then knelt down and gazed at his daughter, ''Sure thing, Cryssie, give it your best shot,'' he said, turning his arm so Crystal could see the wound.

As the little girl looked at her fathers arm, she felt something inside herself shift around, she wanted to do this, but she was hesitating... ''I know you can do it, Cryssie,''

pic.twitter.com/wVtn5o2bHA

Crystal got very still when Crimson said he wanted to make it his fight... One part of her was confused as to why he would want to, but the other part of her knew better.

She watched him closely and quietly, not sure on what to say or how to respond. She tilted her head a bit as Crimson closed his eyes and hand, not quite understanding what it was for, but when that said hand started glowing, she got the impression he was trying to do something and became curious as to what he was attempting.

The girl listened intently to what he said next.. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him to try, because to Crystal it didn’t matter that he wasn’t a traditional “hero” or that he had messed up in the past, she simply didn’t want her burdens to also be someone else’s, but it was obvious as he spoke that Crimson didn’t see it as such, and something about that took some weight off the girls shoulders.

When Crimson opened his hand, Crystals eyes widened slightly at the sight of the little white fire dragon and she took in a small breath. It was.. surprising and also beautiful. Her eyes followed it as it left the shifters hand and she watched it fly above them with fascination, “What is this..?” She paused when it came down to touch her, and she let it do so without hesitation.

Upon feeling the warmth and love it carried, it was her turn to close her eyes, letting those feelings consume her. The sadness melted off her face, replaced with a more content, reassured expression. When she opened her eyes again, they were full of tears, but the good kind, and she managed to return Crimsons smile.

She felt a little silly getting this emotional, but she couldn’t help it. The whole topic of home was still difficult to think and talk about, and to have someone tell her they wanted to help and believed they could find a way to save what was left if it, added another layer of emotions she didn’t know how to sort through, even if they were good ones.

Hearing everything the shifter said made her feel more hopeful.. like there was a chance, even if the smallest, that /something/ could be done.. She was grateful she had Crimson in her life. And not just for this, but also for many other reasons..

She shook her head a little, “Goodness.. I don’t know what to say..” she watched him for a moment before trying to finish, “I just... That means a lot, thank you.” Crystal wasn’t good with words, but she felt that with Crimson, she didn’t have to be.

It was then that she heard the door to the room open..

When Jasmine pointed out how her face gave her away, Crystal wasn’t sure how to respond, it only made her face flush more.

Her eyes shifted back and forth between Jason and the woman, then over to the Midnight Walker when he added to the conversation. She studied him for a second but her attention was pulled back to the ones sitting at the same table as her when Jasmine snapped and looked her way.

“I..” Crystal stopped as Jason spoke again, biting at her lip, ‘they even bicker like family..’ she thought.

The girl once more glanced over at Ethen when he piped in, this time giving him a grateful look before trying to figure out how to explain for everything said.. She stared down for a minute before lifting her gaze and spilling anything she could think of,

“What is it you’re wanting to understand specifically? There’s a lot... But I also only know so much.. If you want to understand his corruption better, he’s had it for a long time, it gets worse with negative emotions, and seems to hate and hide away when faced with positive ones. One moment it can be fighting to take over, then the next it’s seemingly gone.. It’s like this is something so advanced it already has a complete mind of its own and it can somehow hide itself within him. And as you obviously know... the bracelets are the only thing keeping it all from consuming him entirely..” she paused as her voice wavered ever so slightly, but she fought it and kept going, “The bracelets are apparently what’s keeping his appearance stable too. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t have looked as normal as he had. I was talking to a nurse today when I visited Crimson and she told me quite a bit about him as well.. Like that it’s possible it’s more aggressive if he’s in his dragon form. She also said the energy he exploded with yesterday was like something on the scale of chaos.. I don’t know what he is, and I don’t know who would, except maybe Crimson himself.. I just.. I haven’t asked.. but I can’t help but get the impression he’s dealt with an outburst like that before..”

She stopped and shook her head, setting her hands on her lap, “Now, as far as his weapon goes... I was talking to Arthur the other day and he mentioned something about how Soledormir would only give his “special” weapons to trusted followers...or family... I- I don’t know what that means or how it relates, or if it even does, but I don’t think one of these weapons would just be lying around for anyone to find.. He was saying something about how since Crimson is a descendent of the King Zitan that there was a lot of connections to Soledormir that made a lot of this likely it couldn’t be coincidence. And this is where we get into a whole realm of things I know little to nothing about..” She paused again, and it was a good thing her hands were hidden under the table, because they were trembling, “There’s also a pocket watch Crimson had, I have it now, but Arthur was telling me about how it was a little uncanny that he had it since it looked identical to the one Sol had when he pretended to be one of the Kings..” She shrugged a little and looked at the table top, “Aside from that, I also think it’s somehow connected to Crimson and his corruption, because yesterday it started chiming and acting very strange when he started losing control, then after he got his bracelet back and he burst into flames, it started acting normal again..”

She went quiet and took a breath, as if to processing everything she had said, “...That’s all I can think of off the top of my head.. Any questions?” She said, attempting to joke as she gave a halfhearted smile

Unlike the others who were stepping forward, Crystal remained at the back of the little group, still a bit unsure of things despite the safety this place radiated. And the cats. Surely if a place was bad, there wouldn’t be cats. And also surely if this giant person in front of them was bad, these cats wouldn’t be huddled around him.. The girl was simply still on edge, even though somewhere deep down she knew she didn’t need to be. She was afraid to let her guard down, afraid that if she did, she’d maybe not be able to hold herself together otherwise. That aside, Crystal was glad they were welcomed, they did just kind of walk in after all.

Now, she couldn’t help but to observe Death, taking immediate note of how he seemed nervous. And when he suddenly piped up again, the girls eyes widened for a moment, but she was quick to listen intently. Getting confirmation that the others were here was nice, but knowing that everyone was practically in the medical section wasn’t, even if this person said it seemed they were doing better. Crystal didn’t really expect anything less though, and was just relieved that they were getting help and rest.

Hearing the story about Fiona brought a slight smile to her face for a moment, to her it sounded that despite everything, the Elemental was still much of herself. Though Crystal did wonder about what this person meant when he said no one wins against this Dr.Kwanzo, and hoped that he was nice and Fiona went to sleep by her own choice..

Listening to the next batch of information given, multiple things stuck out, such as the poison part, which was awfully concerning, but then ‘Two griffins..?’ Crystal thought to herself, she knew one was Eira, but she wasn’t sure who the guy griffin was. She did remember Glory saying a name she didn’t recognize, maybe that was him.. But she couldn’t dwell on it too long, not with everything else Death continued with.

The girl immediately knew that “the red guy” was Crimson by the way Death spoke about him.. And hearing everything said only resurfaced all her worry. She wasn’t sure how she felt about the two souls part, but she was glad that what they were calling ‘the demon’ was asleep. Assuming that was his corruption they were talking about at least.. Crystal then got a little hung up on what Death mentioned about who she only could figure was Terra, given he was the only human spirit currently sitting outside that they knew of. ‘He was going ballistic…? What does that.. He really isn’t okay, is he..?’ Then her brain jumped to wondering why this person was calling the Fairfin’s ‘tiny Bellezza’s’. She remembered Sparky looking different, but she stopped herself.. This was a lot all at once, she needed to focus and save the majority of her pondering and questions for later.

The girl fully looked up at the grim reaper when he told them they were messed up, and in all honesty, she agreed. Crystal took a breath and managed to softly say, “We’re not exactly the perfect bunch, but thank you for taking care of our friends..”

Over the course of the journey to the new palace, and the whole week after it, Crystal was really withdrawn and quiet..

The traveling phase was rough on her to say the least. The speedy wheeled metal machines the group had to ride in made her considerably nauseous.. And the large contraption called a ‘plane’ was absolutely terrifying. To her, it seemed impossible that the thing was able to be in the sky. It’s needless to say, it probably took some coaxing and reassurance to get her on it in the first place. Overall, the girl was simply very pale, silent, and still for the majority of the travel time until they got to their destination and no longer had to use those bizarre modes of transportation.

From that point onwards, Crystal mostly spent the following week alone, keeping to herself unless someone came to check on her. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the others stoping by over the days, no one probably would have seen much of her at all. She did her best to keep tabs on everyone though, often asking whoever she could about the other members and making sure they were okay.

She, like many of the others, wasn’t in the best shape mentally or emotionally, and it took most the week for any improvement to begin.. She just felt really lost and sad after all the news and information started to get around, especially on top of everything that had already happened. She didn’t know how to really take in everything, how to process it, it all just kind of sat there in her head, replying over and over, getting more and more tangled.. Crystal tried her best to rest as much as she could, but it came in small bouts in between startling bad dreams and constant racing thoughts keeping her awake. Though, as the week went on and grew closer to the present time, little by little she began to feel a bit better in small ways.
-
At the current point in time, Crystal was in her room still, but she was up and moving, getting ready for the day. When she heard a knock at her door, the girl glanced over in its direction, the corners of her mouth pulling upward when she heard Fiona. “Yeah, just a moment,” she replied, her faint voice just barely audible from outside.

Crystal moved to the door and soon pulled it open, greeting both the Elemental and the Vaseterm guide with a gentle but warm smile and a soft “Hi,” as she was finishing tying back a bit of her hair. She had quickly begun to look forward to Fiona’s visits over the days. It was nice to see her slowly getting back on her feet more. And of course it was nice to simply spend time with her too.