Dawn painted the Crystal Valleys in shades of amber and rose, but Thorne barely noticed the beauty. Her entire focus was on Sir Lucanas's deteriorating condition as Inferna strained to maintain top speed. The corrupted blade fragment pulsed with dark energy in his shoulder, spreading refined rootrot through his system with terrifying efficiency.
"Stay with me," she muttered, supporting her mentor as Echo flew alongside them, the crystalwing's wings chiming distress patterns that made nearby formations resonate in sympathy. "Being prepared is step one..."
She waited for his usual response, but Lucanas's breathing had become shallow, his scarred features tight with pain. The corruption spread visible patterns beneath his skin - not the crude, bark-like growths of normal rootrot, but elegant, almost crystalline structures that seemed to flow through his veins.
Five years of memories flashed through her mind: Lucanas finding her in the aftermath of the slave compound fire, teaching her to control her flames rather than fear them, showing her how to turn raw power into precise strength. Now she had to use everything he'd taught her to save him.
"The settlement's just ahead," she called to Echo, the crystalwing's distress making its flight erratic. "We'll find help there. We have to."
Inferna pushed harder, her wings leaving trails of flame as she sensed her rider's urgency. The griffin had never flown this fast for this long, but she seemed to understand the stakes. Beside them, Echo's crystalline wings created counter-harmonics that helped stabilize Lucanas's condition, slowing the corruption's spread through precise frequency manipulation.
The tracking crystal Maya had given her pulsed with increasing strength as they approached Crystal Grove. Through gaps in the morning mist, Thorne caught glimpses of elegant spires and healing domes that seemed to grow naturally from the crystalline ground. But it was the central tower that drew her attention - its pure white crystal surface unmarked by the usual decorative patterns of Eldorian architecture.
A figure stood waiting on the tower's landing platform - tall and elegant, with silver-white hair that caught the morning light. Something about her bearing commanded immediate attention, and the staff she carried hummed with power that made both griffins calm slightly.
"Bring him inside quickly," the woman commanded, her striking blue eyes already assessing Lucanas's condition. "The corruption is trying to establish resonance patterns. We need to isolate it before it can spread further."
Thorne had no time to question who this healer was or how she'd known they were coming. Her mentor's life hung by a thread, and right now, any help was better than none. As they rushed inside, she caught glimpses of crystal healing arrays far more advanced than anything she'd seen in frontier medical facilities.
The real race against corruption was about to begin.
The healer led them through crystalline corridors to a circular chamber filled with equipment that made the Northern Border Station's medical wing look primitive by comparison. Thorne studied their mysterious benefactor as they moved - the woman carried herself with the fluid grace of someone much younger than her apparent years, though her silver-white hair was streaked with subtle blue highlights that spoke of significant age. Her striking blue eyes seemed to see through layers of reality itself as she assessed Lucanas's condition.
Despite her elegant appearance, the healer bore visible marks of her profession - crystal-infused scars traced patterns along her hands and forearms, glowing faintly as she worked. Her robes, while clearly of high quality, were practical rather than ceremonial, and the staff she carried thrummed with power that made Thorne's new armor resonate in response.
"Place him here," she directed, gesturing to a crystal healing array that activated at her approach. "The corruption is unlike standard rootrot - someone has refined it, made it more aggressive while maintaining aesthetic appeal." Her voice carried the cultured accent of Eldoria's inner territories, but with an edge of practical experience that reminded Thorne of frontier healers.
"You've seen this before?" Thorne asked, helping position her mentor on the array. Up close, she noticed how the healer's movements were precisely economical - no wasted motion, no unnecessary flourish. This was someone who had spent decades perfecting her craft.
"Not exactly like this," the woman replied, her blue eyes narrowing as she examined the wound. "But I've dealt with corruption's evolution before. During the Great Plague..." She trailed off, focusing on the task at hand. "We need to act quickly. The refined rootrot is attempting to establish crystal resonance patterns with the surrounding tissue."
The healer's hands moved with practiced confidence as she began activating various arrays. The staff she carried - which looked ancient but hummed with very active power - responded to her touch in ways that suggested years of partnership.
"I'm going to need your help," she told Thorne, those penetrating blue eyes meeting her gaze directly. "Your fire magic, properly controlled, could help contain the corruption while I extract the blade fragment. But first..." A slight smile touched her lips despite the gravity of the situation. "Perhaps we should properly introduce ourselves. I am Lady Selene, and your mentor has told me much about you, Thorne Rhodes."
Thorne felt her breath catch as the name registered. Lady Selene Frostweave - the former Azure Guardian, pioneer of crystal healing techniques, and the woman who had saved thousands during the Great Plague. Sir Lucanas had mentioned her occasionally during their years together, always with deep respect, but Thorne had never expected to meet her in person.
"The Azure Guardian?" she managed, even as she maintained her position by the healing array.
"Former Azure Guardian," Lady Selene corrected, her hands already weaving complex patterns of water and ice magic around Lucanas's wound. "Though titles matter less than results right now. Your mentor's condition is critical, and this refined rootrot is..." She paused, those striking blue eyes narrowing. "Fascinating, in a horrifying way. Someone has fundamentally altered its core structure."
The healing chamber hummed with increasing power as Lady Selene activated more arrays. Crystalline instruments rose from recessed panels, each one pulsing with pure energy that made Thorne's armor resonate in response. The staff Moonflow floated beside its wielder, creating patterns of light that seemed to map the corruption's spread.
"I need you to listen carefully," Lady Selene said, her voice taking on the precise tone of someone used to teaching in crisis situations. "The corruption is spreading through crystal resonance - using Lucanas's own magical pathways against him. Your fire magic, properly controlled, can help disrupt those patterns. But it will require absolute precision."
Thorne nodded, remembering years of Sir Lucanas's lessons about control. "Just tell me what you need."
"Watch the corruption's flow patterns," Lady Selene directed, using ice magic to create a three-dimensional model of the infection's spread. "See how it moves? Not like normal rootrot's crude expansion, but in deliberate crystalline structures. Someone has engineered this to target a Guardian's specific magical frequencies."
As they worked, Thorne noticed how Lady Selene's movements carried decades of experience. Each gesture was perfectly economical, every crystal activation precisely timed. The crystal-infused scars on her hands glowed brighter as she channeled more power, testament to past prices paid for healing others.
"Now," the former Azure Guardian commanded, "I need you to create a containment field using your combustion magic. Not to burn, but to disrupt the corruption's attempt to establish new resonance patterns. Can you manage that level of control?"
"Focus on the molecular level," Lady Selene instructed, her ice magic creating delicate barriers around the wound. "Think of your combustion control as a scalpel, not a sword. We need to isolate each crystal structure the corruption is trying to form."
Thorne concentrated, drawing on years of training. This wasn't like fighting Gnarlhounds or even dealing with standard rootrot. She had to maintain precise control over the fundamental principles of burning itself, creating microscopic disruptions in the corruption's growth patterns without damaging the surrounding tissue.
"Good," Lady Selene murmured as the first corrupted crystal structure began to destabilize. "Now watch carefully - see how it tries to adapt? This isn't natural evolution. Someone has imbued it with almost intelligent responses."
Through the crystalline diagnostic arrays, Thorne could see exactly what the former Azure Guardian meant. The refined rootrot didn't just spread - it actively sought new paths when blocked, trying to establish resonance patterns that would allow it to bypass their defenses. The elegant horror of its design became clearer with each passing moment.
"The blade fragment is the anchor point," Lady Selene explained, her blue eyes focused on multiple healing arrays simultaneously. Moonflow pulsed with increasing power as she worked, the ancient staff's energy synchronizing with the chamber's more modern equipment. "But removing it isn't simply a matter of extraction. The corruption has integrated itself into Lucanas's magical pathways."
Sir Lucanas stirred slightly, his scarred features tightening with pain. The crystal-like structures under his skin pulsed with dark beauty, trying to spread deeper into his system. Echo's distressed chimes from outside the chamber grew more urgent, the crystalwing sensing its rider's deteriorating condition.
"I've seen similar integration patterns before," Lady Selene said, her voice carrying old pain. "During the Great Plague, when corruption first learned to use our own crystal networks against us. But this..." She gestured to where the refined rootrot was creating almost artistic patterns. "This is deliberately engineered. Someone has studied Guardian physiology in detail."
"Lady Ravenna," Thorne supplied, maintaining her precise control over the containment field. "She's been experimenting with corruption in her healing centers."
Lady Selene's expression hardened, though her hands never paused in their intricate work. "Yes, I've heard disturbing reports. But this level of refinement suggests she has access to knowledge that was supposed to be sealed away. Research from the First Contact Period that even the Crystal Pentarchy doesn't fully understand."
"Hold the containment field steady," Lady Selene commanded as she began the delicate process of extracting the blade fragment. "The moment we remove it, the corruption will try to establish new anchor points."
Thorne watched in fascination as the former Azure Guardian demonstrated why she'd been legendary even among Guardians. Lady Selene didn't just use healing magic - she wielded it with an artistry that made complex crystal procedures look like elegant dance moves. Water and ice magic worked in perfect harmony, creating layers of protection while gradually isolating the corrupted metal.
"There's something else," Lady Selene said, her blue eyes narrowing as she studied the diagnostic arrays. "The corruption isn't just targeting his physical form. It's attempting to access his magical core - specifically, the frequencies unique to Guardian crystal attunement."
The implications hit Thorne hard. "She's trying to corrupt the Guardian bond itself?"
"Worse," Lady Selene's voice carried grim certainty. "She's mapping it. Learning how our deepest defenses work. Each victim provides more data about how Guardian magic responds to corruption." Her crystal-scarred hands never stopped moving as she spoke, continuing the intricate extraction. "The refined rootrot is as much a research tool as a weapon."
Sir Lucanas suddenly convulsed, the corruption pulsing with dark beauty as it fought their containment. Thorne instinctively moved to help him, but Lady Selene's sharp command froze her in place.
"Don't break the field! This is the critical moment - the corruption knows we're close to removing its anchor point. Watch how it reacts..."
Through the diagnostic arrays, Thorne saw what the former Azure Guardian meant. The refined rootrot wasn't just fighting blindly - it was adapting, testing different resonance patterns, almost like it was learning from each failed attempt to break free.
"Now!" Lady Selene's power surged through Moonflow as she made the final extraction. The corrupted blade fragment emerged surrounded by layers of ice and crystal containment, its surface still trying to establish new growth patterns even as they sealed it in a specially warded container.
"Maintain the containment field," she instructed Thorne. "The corruption will make one final attempt to spread before we can begin purification. And Thorne..." Those penetrating blue eyes met hers directly. "What you're about to see... this knowledge was supposed to be restricted to full Guardians. But given what we're facing, you need to understand exactly what Lady Ravenna is trying to corrupt."
"Your control is impressive," Lady Selene noted as they worked, those penetrating blue eyes studying Thorne with new interest. "Especially for someone born outside Eldoria's barrier. Most natural magic users are born here, their abilities shaped by the crystal resonance from birth. But you..." She adjusted a healing array while maintaining the purification field. "Your power developed differently."
Thorne maintained her focus on the containment field, remembering the day her magic had first manifested - not in the crystal-rich environment of Eldoria proper, but in desperate circumstances on the frontier. "Sir Lucanas said that's why the fire manifested so... explosively at first."
"Indeed," Lady Selene's hands moved in precise patterns as she continued the purification. "Frontier-born magic users are rare, and those with Guardian-compatible frequencies even rarer. Your natural magic developed without crystal influence, pure and unrefined. It's why you can affect the fundamental principles of burning itself rather than just creating flames."
The refined rootrot fought against their combined efforts, but Thorne could see it weakening as they reinforced Sir Lucanas's natural frequencies. The corruption's elegant patterns began to break down, unable to maintain their hold against pure, unaltered magic.
"Lady Ravenna knows this too," Lady Selene continued, her expression grave. "It's why her corruption targets magical frequency itself. She's trying to prove that Eldoria's traditional understanding of magic is limited, that power can exist in... different forms."
"The frontier shaped your magic differently," Lady Selene explained as they entered the final stages of purification. "No crystal resonance to guide it, no traditional structures to contain it. Raw, adaptive, like the land itself." Her crystal-scarred hands guided the last corrupted patterns from Sir Lucanas's system. "It's why your fire can counter Lady Ravenna's refined corruption so effectively - it exists outside her understanding of how magic should work."
Thorne watched her mentor's breathing steady as the last traces of rootrot dissolved. The diagnostic arrays showed his natural frequencies stabilizing, though he remained unconscious. Echo's chimes from outside grew calmer, the crystalwing sensing its rider's recovery.
"He'll need time to heal properly," Lady Selene said, finally lowering her hands. Moonflow's glow dimmed as she stepped back from the healing array. "At least several days before he can safely travel. Which presents us with a difficult choice."
"The capital can't wait," Thorne realized, the weight of responsibility settling onto her shoulders. The evidence they carried about Lady Ravenna's activities needed to reach the Crystal Pentarchy immediately. "But leaving him..."
"Would be exactly what he'd tell you to do," Lady Selene finished, those penetrating blue eyes showing understanding. "I'll watch over him personally. Your duty lies in the crystal spires now."
The former Azure Guardian moved to a crystal cabinet, retrieving something wrapped in shimmering cloth. "Take this - it's a purification crystal attuned to frontier frequencies. If you encounter more of her refined corruption, it will help your natural magic counter it."
Thorne accepted the crystal, feeling how it resonated differently from standard Eldorian focuses. "Thank you, for everything. I don't know how we would have..."
"Found me?" Lady Selene's lips curved in a slight smile. "Your mentor and I have known each other a very long time. Did you think it was coincidence my healing center was exactly where you needed it to be?" She gestured to the diagnostic arrays, now showing maps of corruption spread throughout the kingdom. "I've been tracking Lady Ravenna's activities since the first reports of her 'innovative treatments' reached me. The Crystal Pentarchy needs to understand what she's really doing."
As dawn painted the healing chamber in crystal-refracted light, Thorne felt the shift in her relationship with both her mentor and her duty. She was no longer just an apprentice racing to warn the capital - she was a Guardian in her own right, carrying vital knowledge about threats to Eldoria's very foundations.
"Being prepared is step one," she said softly, touching Sir Lucanas's hand.
"Being ready is step two," Lady Selene finished, understanding in her voice. "And sometimes, being ready means standing on your own." She moved to the chamber's window, watching storm clouds gather with unnatural grace over the crystal valleys. "The capital awaits, Thorne Rhodes. Show them what frontier magic can really do."
Lady Selene left them alone for a final moment, her footsteps fading down the crystalline corridor. Thorne sat beside her unconscious mentor, memories washing over her as she prepared to continue their journey alone.
She touched the scar across her jaw, remembering that day five years ago. The overseer's whip had been the final indignity, his cruel laugh cutting deeper than the lash itself. Something had broken inside her then - or perhaps something had finally been set free. The fire hadn't come from any crystal or focus, but from a place of pure desperation and rage. When it was over, nothing remained of the slave compound but ash and molten metal.
She'd been huddled in those ashes, terrified of the power that had erupted from her, when Sir Lucanas found her. He hadn't shown fear or judgment - just quiet understanding as he knelt beside her.
"Being prepared is step one," he'd said then, offering his hand. "Being ready is step two. And right now, you're ready to choose what this power becomes."
He'd given her more than training in the years since - he'd given her purpose, showing her how to transform raw pain into protecting others. The scar that had once marked her enslavement became a reminder of liberation, of the day she'd discovered who she really was.
Now, watching him rest in the healing chamber's soft light, Thorne felt tears burn in her eyes. "I'll make you proud," she whispered, squeezing his hand. "I'll show them what you taught me - that real strength isn't about where you're born or how your magic manifests. It's about the choices you make with the power you have."
Echo's gentle chimes drifted through the window as Inferna landed on the healing center's platform. Both mounts seemed to understand the gravity of the moment - one journey ending as another began.
"Watch over him," she told Lady Selene as she prepared to depart. The former Azure Guardian nodded, her blue eyes showing both compassion and steel.
"He believed in you from the first day," Lady Selene said quietly. "Not just because of your power, but because he saw something in you that reminded him of why Guardians exist - to protect those who can't protect themselves, no matter the cost."
Thorne mounted Inferna, her new armor catching the morning light as storm clouds gathered over the crystal valleys. The capital's spires waited on the horizon, and with them, challenges that would test everything she'd learned. But she carried more than evidence and warnings now - she carried the legacy of a mentor who'd taught her that the greatest power came from choosing to stand against darkness, no matter its form.
As she took to the sky, Thorne felt the weight of her scar and smiled. Once it had marked her as a victim. Now it marked her as a survivor, a Guardian, a protector. Lady Ravenna's elegant corruption might try to reshape the world through beautiful darkness, but some things remained pure - like the bond between mentor and student, and the choice to use power to protect rather than control.
The real journey was just beginning. And somewhere in the growing storm, a frontier-born Guardian prepared to show Eldoria's crystal spires exactly what unrefined magic could do.
The healing center diminished behind her as Inferna flew toward destiny. But the lessons learned there, both past and present, would light the way forward through whatever darkness awaited.