Crythal Article 1

This is a piece I wrote for Fenix Magazine. It deals with the Crythal, a new race that will be making an appearance in the New Horizon RPG. http://www.newhorizonrpg.com

Is there intelligent life among the stars? The question has been asked many times, over many years, and is finding a growing following for those who find themselves on a new world, a New Horizon. The landscape is vast and deadly, the creatures just as much so. To the general public, this is where the world stops. There are mysteries, and ruins, but very little solid evidence of where they came from. Besides a few fleeting glimpses, Humans, Wafans and their creations seem to be the only intelligent beings on the moon. A whisper of a rumor, a strange tale that is slowly spreading from the Azure heights may destroy this illusion.

They first appeared with the morning mist, beings of brilliant crystalline hues who walked and talked like man yet held an appearance no man had ever seen before. Humanoid in shape, they were lithe and graceful of build with skin that appeared as though it were formed from billions of tiny crystals in all the hues of nature. Their hair was feather-like in its appearance, but far more solid and translucent as sheets of colored glass. Their faces held two large eyes, with a smaller eye back toward each ear. Some of their number even sported wings of amazing beauty. Their adornments were spun from some of the finest silks that have ever been seen.

They called themselves Crythal, children of memory, and carried with them no known form of weapons, only an insatiable curiosity about the people they met. To the inhabitants of the Garden of Zen, they appeared wise and peaceful, learned yet naive. The garden was chosen as their first inroad into New Horizon civilization both for it's proximity to the Crythal's home, and for a kindred spirit they believed resided in the garden.

Though they spent many days conversing with the elders of the valley, very little of what transpired in those conversations has reached the ears of common man. What managed to work its way free has since become a traveler's tale spreading and shifting with each new telling until the truth seems forever lost among the rumors.

They claimed to have traveled from a home deep in the Azure mountains. Exactly where this Crythal city is located cannot be said. Tales range from a place of sweeping beauty and peace to a place of technological might that would dwarf Avalon. Others claim that the city is the last vestige of a civilization destroyed in some past apocalypse. Some have attributed the ruins around the world to be their works, but no true connection has ever been proven.

Their intentions appear peaceful, though the secrets that surround their presence have bred many worries. The further removed from actual contact one becomes, the more one finds rumors of dark designs. Those who have never met the Crythal are more than happy to spin tales of deceit and lies, treachery and bloodshed. Whether any of these rumors are true is unknown.

What is known is that the Crythal follow a single ruler, a queen who is the driving force of their people. Nothing of her name or appearance is known save by the Crythal and perhaps a few in the Garden of Zen. Her plans for her children are a complete mystery. Whatever the Crythal plan to do, they have been making more and more appearances on the fringes of the Azure range. Some have even been seen as low as the plains.

Not content to sit idle, some brave adventurers have started combing the Azure Heights looking for the Crythal city. Some believe they will find riches beyond their wildest dreams. Some believe that the Crythal hold a path to enlightenment, and others merely view it as information gathering in hopes of being prepared for what they see as an imminent Crythal attack. Regardless of their reasons, none have ever successfully returned from their journey to the city, and many have vanished along the way. Those that make it back have found nothing.

These disappearances only serve to fuel the rumors. Are the Crythal hiding something worth killing for? Are they keeping others from finding their stronghold? Is the path of enlightenment true, keeping those who have found it from returning because they have found something beyond this simple mortal life? Others simply claim that the harsh environment of the heights has taken many. There are deadly creatures in the Azure mountains who are more than willing to feed on humans and wafans alike. Beyond that, the highest reaches house an atmosphere so poisonous and deadly that humans cannot survive without special breathing gear and carried in oxygen supplies. A growing suspicion states that the Crythal city is located deep within one of these kyanite valleys which are so intrinsically hostile to carbon based life.

Regardless, the location of the city is likely to be found soon. What will happen then is a mystery that no one yet holds the answers to, excepting the possibility of the enigmatic Crythal queen herself.