[lucas.]

[ 𝑅𝐻𝐸𝒜 - 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓁𝑒𝓇 ] - [ 𝐿𝐼-𝒲𝐸𝐼 - 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇 ] - [ 522/150 words ]

The duo made their way into a dark cave, where lava was flowing out of the sides, but it didn't touch them. It was beautiful, in both of their eyes, but still incredibly hot. It took them a while to reach the next crystal, which Li said that it was one of his favorites. He was in love with the way it looked, and he picked it up almost immediately after seeing it to admire it. Little did he know, it was trapped. Monsters seemed to fly out from everywhere, which caused them both to scream loudly.

"Step back!" Li hollered to Rhea, and of course she backed away, out of the cave, out of his way. She made sure, however, to stay close to him in case he needed help or needed to be healed. Considering he was a ranger, he worked better at longer distances, but he had a few short knives that may not be that effective, but could at least work up close better than his bow could. He tried to stab them as they got closer and closer to him, but it didn't seem to be doing much. He tossed the crystal over to the female kalon, in which she happily (and luckily) caught. "Nice one." He smiled at her and she did the same back. Of course, this small distraction allowed a monster to jump on top of him, which he threw into the lava with a bit of struggle, and it disintegrated. "Rhea, this might be scary.. but I need your help! Put the crystal in your backpack, make sure nothing happens to it. Throw the monsters into the lava, they'll disintegrate like the last one did. C'mon, please help!"

There were too many monsters to count and it just seemed as if more and more were entering the cave and there was no way to escape. More of the monsters continued to fling themselves at Li and he begged for Ree to help and she gulped nervously. "Okay.. I'm coming.." She spoke nervously and tip-toed towards the male kalon and grabbed a monster, which was surprisingly light, and threw them into the lava. She continued doing so until there were very few left and they could finally escape safely with the crystal. "Are you alright, Li? Did they injure you?"

"I think they were about to, but thanks Rhea. You were really brave back there," He genuinely smiled at her, proud she could've helped him and if she was attacked, could probably stand up for herself. "I didn't think you were going to help. But once you came in and threw one monster into the lava, you couldn't stop! It was amazing."

"Thanks, Li." She smiled proudly at herself, glad she was able to actually do that. At first she was really nervous and didn't think she'd be able to, but was really happy that she could. "Seriously, thanks. If it was only me here, I would've died before they even reached me because I'd be panicking too much!" She chuckled, "now let's get out of here, and make sure that crystal returns safely."

[ωolfie]

p r o m p tx t w e l v e
☆☆☆
Aɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟ!
☆☆☆

"acquired the fire (crystal)"

kyrou made his way through the lavalands, slowly but steadily. the party decided to stay at the lavaland's kingdom for the night, and it worked out pretty well. however, even with all of their exploring, they haven't found the fire crystal yet. kyrou remembered that cain helped guide them to the wind crystal, shelbie retrieved the earth crystal all by herself, and what had kyrou done? nothing. well, he did help get a few extra gems or so by helping out the locals, but actually contributing to the quest, crystal-wise, he did nothing. and today was the day he'd change that! kyrou wasn't too ecstatic about choosing to find a crystal in the lavalands though. but oh well, he already started looking, no turning back now.

he made sure to keep his eyes wide open at all times and to be extremely alert. he never played scavenger hunts, hide and seek and other games alike when he was little, so he was really coming in here blind, not knowing where to start looking first. he looked around in all directions and made sure to pay attention where he was going as well- you may never know when you might accidentally fall into a lava pool.

suddenly, he heard loud, fire crackling and some grunts and growling in the distance. his ears perked up. he recognized those sounds from somewhere... fire goblins! he remembered they were the little monsters shelbie and cain had to fight for warmups when they were at raffi's. his heart ached. kyrou sat out during the fight, saying he wasn't a fighter. but now he wished he had learnt atleast some battle techniques while they were still at raffi's.

the growling noises gradually became louder. kyrou's heart stopped as he spotted the multiple fire goblins, which were looking straight at him. his mind was screaming at him, "run! run!" and so he did. he ran as fast as he could away from the goblins, recalling that they were fairly skilled ranged-wise and melee-wise.

he stopped abruptly, realizing he was on the edge of a cliff, the worst place a kalon can be when running away from something. he peered down from the cliff, and a large lava ocean was under it. he panted, his heart gradually slowing down. well, that didn't help aid him in finding the fire crystal at all. or did it?

kyrou turned around, preparing to go back on track and off of this cliff when he saw a small group of fire goblins blocking his path. his muscles tensed, and he balled up his fists. now what? he didn't have much time to think when one of the goblins sent a fireball right at his face. he took action and dodged it right in time. however, as expected, there were more coming straight at him and it began to become harder to dodge the flaming fireballs. eventually, the fire goblins crept up closer to him, getting ready for hand-to-hand combat.

kyrou took deep breaths with little time he had left. out of fear and panick, he chanted a spell under his breath from absolute impulse. he didn't realize what spell it was until he saw it. it was a force field! the fire goblins bumped against the bubble of force protecting kyrou. they looked at each other, confused. after many other various attack attempts later, the monsters gave up and began searching for others.

kyrou exhaled a breath he didnt know he was holding. if it wasn't for his mage knowledge, he would've been dead meat. he took a step back, only to realize there was no ground underneath his foot. before he could process what was happening, he was falling and the world was a blur to his eyes. "this is it... i'll be gone forever," he thought to himself as he was falling from the cliff. he looked down. there was a fiery blaze of lava underneath him. kyrou braced himself to burn alive once he hit contact with the lava's surface, but surprisingly, there was no pain. he opened his eyes and looked around his surroundings. he was floating on top of the lava ocean, but he was also protected by his force field from earlier, which was keeping all the lava out!

kyrou's mouth formed into a wide grin as he stood up and looked around. oddly enough, it was quite beautiful there, with bright red, yellow, and orange hues all melted together. it really only looked intimidating from above. but what really caught his eye was a large rock not too far from where kyrou was at. and he spotted an orange light radiating from it. upon further inspection, he realized, the fire crystal was stuck inside that rock!

kyrou started to start swimming but forgot he couldn't, as he was floating inside a force field bubble. he tilted his head. he cautiously began walking, and oddly enough it worked. his little bubble steadily advanced forward as he was walking, running almost like he was in a hamster ball. eventually, he came towards the large rock and emerged from the lava and climbed it. he found the fire crystal which was shaped like a little flame. he pried it out with his own two hands, and it was surprisingly easier than he thought.

kyrou held the fire crystal of the lava lands in his two paws. he smiled to himself. three down, one more to go.

908 words

[hazilnut]

____________________________________

Prompt - 12

Kalon Party
Dustin | Sell-sword | 17 years old
→ A hyper but forgetful boy with a good
heart and a wish to see the world

Perseus | Scholar mage | 25 years old
→ Dustin's relatively reserved mentor,
and reluctant but wise accompaniment

Jade | Shadow puppeteer | 24 years old
→ A graceful but painfully shy woman
with a cynical outlook on life

694 words
____________________________________

When Perseus had finally returned to the group, tales of flying on flaming beasts and failed meditation attempts were ripe on his lips. Dustin eagerly traded for a mangled story of his own, of the pretender -mimic as Perseus called it- that had attacked them. His claims of it's extreme size were easily verified as false by the presence of the mimic itself, but Jade supported that the majority of the story had indeed occurred. She still wore no veil, and she wasn't dealing with it very well, but rubbing the golden heart anxiously between her thumb and fore-finger the woman managed to recount what had occurred.

Perseus promptly suggested they toss it in the nearest lava pit, and so they did.

With the world rid of another demon threat, the trio set out quickly for the third shrine. Jade refused to speak more than she had too and when she did she wouldn't look either of her friends in the eye. Their pace was remarkably brisk, especially for them, and despite Dustin's many attempts a conversation never took root. When they reached their goal -a small brick building resting on an island in the midst of a magma pool the entrance to which only seemed to be accessible by hopping across a series of unsteady rocks- the silence finally broke.

"Forget this. Let's just find the exit."

"What?! But we found the shrine, we need to restore the crystal!"

"No. We need to get home; all of us."

"Perseus is right Dustin; it's too dangerous." Jade surprised them both by speaking, and while she didn't look at the pair her voice was frank and calm. Perseus nodded at her, glad for the back up, but Dustin just grew incredulous.

"Dangerous? Since when was saving the world easy? We're this close- over halfway there, and you just want to quit? We could be heroes!"

"We could die."

"We could live! Heroes don't die ever- you've read the legends!" Dustin was furious, losing it in a manner Jade had never seen, nor expected, of him. This was not the soft and malleable boy who had offered to take her around the continent for free, or the child who spun impossible tales.

"You don't understand- you believe stories like that and you'll wind up dead! I thought myths would have sated your urge to explore, not make it worse." Perseus was losing his cool quickly as well, clenching and unclenching her hands. "You live in a world of fiction Dustin- and the most dangerous thing I ever let you do was stay there."

"Don't tell me I don't understand- I understand plenty! The looks you get in town, the looks I've gotten. I know why Jade wears her veil and I'm half tempted to get one myself! There are demons in this world! They're making bad things happen and scaring people into hurting each other and if no one deals with them it will just make things worse! I may have things all jumbled up here-" The boy gestured violently to his head- "but I know what's going on. You think I'm dumb for living in fiction, for believing in mining-taurs and adorable snowmen, but I'm not. I know how this goes, this hero's journey, and I'm going to follow it!"

Before anyone could stop him Dustin, half-blind with fury, was leaping haphazardly across the rocks. Perseus seethed and yelled for him to get back to the bank, and as the boy went further and further along turned to begging and then finally to silence. Jade couldn't even say anything, just clench her pendant for all it was worth and wonder how things had spiraled out of control so quickly.

"I can't watch." Perseus turned his back on his apprentice's journey, fingernails digging into his palms. Jade stayed silently staring after the boy until he reached the island, and then continued staring for a good long hour. Finally Dustin emerged from the shrine with his fist clenched around something, and then hopped back with reckless speed. He wouldn't tell her how he had gotten ahold of the crystal he presented.

He wouldn't say anything at all.

[uηsρεcifiεd ¢ryҏtiɗ]

Prompt 12

Featuring Citlali and Lulo

[sugarsticks]

delta grumbled as she walked along the edges of a lava pool, trying her best not to fall in. after partying with the others, she really needed to find that crystal. she slipped under a low hanging ledge. she was determined to find the last crystal.

she continued walking, here and there, she'd slip on a rock and almost fall over. she could see the crystal, but she was annoyed it was so deep underground.

she began climbing up the mountain that held the crystal, until she was high enough to grab it. she held it in her grip, jumping down.

she was happy she had finally gotten the crystal, but now she needed to find her way out. she sighed, beginning to walk again.

it was only then that she noticed the floor was shaking, and she began running. she ran as fast as she could, running out of the cave, holding the crystal tightly.

[mars]

Chapter XII:
Aɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟ!

The trio was wandering through the lavalands when they came across an odd sight. The land in front of them was splitting, cracking apart; the path was broken and dangerous, with lava pooling around the small islands of rock. The path of islands led up towards a tall mountain, and the children knew that the crystal was supposedly inside of it.

Sadie moved forward first, jumping from the safe land onto the wobbly island. Once she had steadied herself, she reached out a hand for the twins, Minji going next. She made it safely across, but Iseul still wasn't convinced! It seemed dangerous, and he wasn't about to follow them.

"Come on, scaredy cat!" Minji hissed, waving for him to grab Sadie's hand. "If you don't come with us, we'll leave you behind with the beasts down here." That made Iseul rethink the situation, and he jumped onto the island in a hurry.

The children continued on like that for some time until they finally made it back to sturdy, solid land. The trek up the mountain was tough, but they trudged on, weary and tired. Making camp overnight, the children slept on the mountain before continuing their journey the next morning.

As they reached to crest of the mountain, they realized something terrible. It wasn't just a mountain, but instead a towering volcano! The kids stood on the brink of the caldera, molten lava bubbling inches from their feet. At the very center was another small island, the crystal resting gently on top.

"Crap," Minji muttered under her breath, completely in awe yet fully aware that the trio was completely and utterly screwed.
"What do we do now?" Iseul asked sadly, worry spreading across his tiny face. Sadie just shook her head, wishing she had an answer. Camping nearby overnight once more, the trio was determined to find a way.

In the morning, the children awoke to find that the island had moved overnight. Shifting locations, it was now close to the other side of the volcano, and the children trekked around the edge to reach it. Sadie jumped on first to retrieve it, but as she did the island began to shift once more. Sadie was stuck on a floating island in a sea of lava, but she was able to snag the crystal.

It was now a waiting game for the trio; they'd have to be patient and hope that the island would drift back towards the edge once more so Sadie could return to land safe and sound.

[hojicha]

Prompt 12
Kalons used: Pix and Lyra

Pix and Lyra ventured further into the cavern on the outskirts of the lava lands. They had heard that even the Kalons who lived here and had a high heat tolerance stayed away from this area so it was likely where the crystal was. With the gems they had, they bought two pendants from a magic shop nearby that had heat protection properties and were now entering the cavern. Although the pedants offered some relief, the heat became overbearing the further they went in. Suddenly, Lyra grabbed Pix's arm.
"Look!" She said and excitedly pointed to a sea of lava up ahead. In the center at least 400 feet out was the crystal. It was difficult to see from where they were standing but Lyra always did have sharp eyes.
"Nice work Ly," Pix started "Uhh any ideas how we are going to reach that thing?"
"Geez do I have to do everything around here?" She mumbled to herself. She spun Pix around and began rummaging through his pack. She pulled out a small bone whistle and held it up in front of his face.
"Lyra, you are a genius!"
"It's what I do." She replied before taking a deep breath and blowing on the whistle. Raffi had given it to him before they had left so that they could call his pheonix in case they ran into trouble. It was silent to Kalons, but apparently the great bird could hear it from miles away. After a few minutes and wind whipped through the cavern as the pheonix flew in and sent showers of embers and flame everywhere.
"I'll take care of this on since you don't like heights." said Pix and the great bird grasped his shoulders in its talons and took the the air once more. His paw stretched out as far as he could reach as they hovered over the lava. "Just a liiiitle further and... got it!" He laughed happily as his paws wrapped around the stone.

[neon.]

Prompt 12 [WC 222]

The gem was right in front of them. It wasn’t quite within reach- Apollyon and Lacroix were a good twenty feet away- but it was visible, sparkling with a hidden power.

And it was embedded in the ground. Lava had cooled around it, creating a lattice work of heat and fire that emanated from the crystal. It was like a ritual circle, with the gem as the centerpiece. “Is that where it’s supposed to be?” Lacroix said, curious. “Isn’t it already restored, then? Is that why we’ve seen fewer monsters?”

“I don’t think so.” There were still things wrong with the lavalands. Dragons homes being destroyed, odd rock formations and landslides- they’d seen them all. So how were they to restore what seemed to already be in place? “Do you think it’s missing something?”

A small peep answered them- the fire chicken that had come with them, a small, egg-sized being, had wandered closer. And then they could see what was wrong- there were blockages to the lava flows, preventing the gem from drawing all the power it needed. Their previous position hadn’t let them see the issue.

It took the help of those they’d met in their journey, but eventually they pushed the plagued rock out of the way- and lava flowed freely to the gem, letting it renew and restore.

[skywalker,]

prompt no. 12
Erik and Ashley stumble upon the third crystal...

"IT'S SO HOT" Erik wailed, dragging his feet behind him as he wiped sweat from his brow. Ashley was in no better condition, fanning herself quickly with her paw. She had shed her cloak and Erik had stuffed his armour away somewhere in the bags. Ashley's bleary eyes looked around as they trudged across the molten ground, the rock and soil so cracked and dry that dust and ash was picked up whenever one would step down. Erik was complaining to himself beside her, when her ears suddenly perked, as something had caught her eye. She glanced over, and her eyes suddenly widened. She stopped dead in her tracks, and Erik, who had fallen behind, bumped into her back. He rubbed his chin, and was about to start complaining to her when he also saw the glittering out of the corner of his eye "Is that…"

Ashley nodded, but furrowed her brow in frustration suddenly "How in the heck are we supposed to get it, though?" She asked, eyeing their situation cautiously. In between them and the third crystal was a huge gap, seeing as it had been perched on a piece of land far out in a sea of lava. Obviously, the bridge that had been used to get to it had been destroyed, probably by those huge, flaming chickens they saw a while back, and now they had no way of getting to the crystal. Well, they did had one way… Erik suddenly pointed to a bunch of little stepping stone like rocks that were dotted across the lava's slow moving, bubbling depths "We could hop across those…" He said, and Ashley looked towards him, as though he was crazy "What? You cannot be serious" She said, chuckling weakly, but when she saw the look of determination crossing his face, she groaned "You're serious. Great. Well, guess I can't let you do this alone" She sighed, and when they set their bags down, they began the cautious hops across the stepping stones.

It took them a little under 30 minutes when they finally reached their destination. Erik smirked as he walked over to the crystal and picked it up, fist bumping Ashley as he stuffed it in his pant pockets "Alright! Now to go back!" He said, a look of exhaustion crossing his face "If I have the energy.." He groaned, and almost collapsed. Ashley caught him, and sat them both down "I think… we need to rest before we go back across" She said, and Erik nodded eagerly as they both settled down on the sooty ground. Long story short, when they got back, they found all their trail mix had been stolen by those pesky fire birds. Erik complained as they continued trudging through the horribly humid lava grounds, and Ashley just had a look of disappear on her face as they made their way through their adventure.

[Goddess Sword]

Prompt 12
[1,008 words]

They'd been traveling through the Lavalands for a good week or so after their encounter with that Mimic before Ramey's lantern flared up again. The hot, fiery region had proven largely quiet, with few magical entities or demons to trouble them. So when it did flare up again, strong and bright, the trio were almost surprised.
"You think it's the gem?" Galena asked.
"Probably," Ramey replied. Whatever the lantern was reacting to, it had a very strong energy. It was either the gem or a horde of monsters (or more likely, both).
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Fay asked, eyes shining. "Lead the way, man!" She pushed up against him, as if to emphasize her need to get moving. Ramey just gave her an unimpressed look.
"...Don't touch me."

---

The lantern eventually led them to what looked to be the tallest volcano in the region, demons crawling all across its surface, some even seemingly making a game of jumping over the flows of lava. Ramey rolled his eyes at the spectacle.
"Idiotic creatures," he muttered. "Swords at the ready, you two. We're heading to the crater."
Galena looked between her companions and the volcano incredulously. "...Seriously?"
"Hah, it's like climbing Dragon Roost! You think there's gonna be a dragon at the top?" Fay drew her sword enthusiastically.
"I think there's going to be fiery death at the top," Galena groaned, unsheathing her own sword and following the two up the side of the mountain.
"Oh, so more like Death Mountain in Breath of the Wild. A giant lizard being controlled by a being of pure malice, then?"
"Please stop talking."

---

The climb up hadn't been easy - The volcano's slopes were steep, and the air was hot enough that even the enchanted earrings they'd equipped couldn't keep them completely cool. The waves of demons hadn't helped, either. But at last, they stood at the peak of the volcano, looking down into the caldera. Seemingly no giant demon awaited them here, and yet the flame of Ramey's lantern burned hot in response to magical energies.
"...The gem is in the volcano," he said at last.
Galena threw her paws into the air. "Okay, I'm done. This has been fun, it's been a good climb, I'm not going into a damn active volcano. I'll meet you back at the base when you get the gem back. I'm out. See ya." And before either of them could respond, she had already begun making her way down the slopes, muttering, "Going into an active volcano. Unbelievable. 'Hey, dad, what happened to mom? She said she'd be back soon but it's been like a year?' 'Oh, your mother jumped into a volcano and died.' How stupid do you have to be?"
Fay looked at Ramey for a moment, then shrugged. "So, you able to make rope from those vines of yours?"
"...You're not bungee jumping into the volcano, Fay."
"What? No, no, I wasn't saying bungee jumping, I was thinking more along the lines of climbing down the side-"
"No. We're not going into the volcano. We're going back down and finding cover where we won't be burned alive."
"What? Dude, we need that gem."
"I realize this. Look around," he said. "The lava running down the sides of the volcano are still hot, hot enough to be liquid. This volcano is clearly still active. We can't get in safely, so we have to get the gem out."
"Which means?"
Ramey rolled his eyes. "It means you two are going to get far, far away from here, and I am going to use my vines to beat the hell out of the earth around this volcano until the magma comes leaking out, and the gem comes with it."
"...Okaaaaay, and why do we need to get away if you're just cracking this thing open?"
"Because it's active, genius. And if this goes wrong or takes too long, this volcano will erupt and everyone around it will die."
Yeah, that convinced her. Mostly. "But what about you?"
He poked at the silver earrings he'd taken from Galena. "Larimar is found only in the Caribbean. It was thought by natives to come from the sea, and even its name draws from the Spanish word for sea, mar. And you must remember, these stones are enchanted. You may not be skilled enough to tap into powers in your own jewelry, but I-" And just like that, Ramey was surrounded by an orb of flowing water. "-can. I'll be fine, at least for long enough to get away if things go badly." He let the magic drop.
Fay grew quiet. "...Okay. But you better not die before you teach me to do that with my earrings," she said at last, before setting off down the volcano after Galena.

---

A few days later, the ground shook wildly beneath Fay and Galena's feet. They'd made camp several miles north, in a cave on a mountain higher than the volcano's base. When they looked out, they saw pillars of ash and fire billowing from the mountain Ramey had been on, and they watched in silence. Well, if the gem wasn't out before, it was now.
They set off for the volcano the next day.
That evening, a green-furred Kalon with four glowing eyes approached them, a red-orange gem tucked under one of his six legs, paws burnt, fur singed, horns and halo coated with black soot. The lantern around his neck flickered, still reacting to the energies in the gem, but more normal now that it was firmly in their control. He placed the crystal before them with a huff.
"That could have gone better," he said.
Fay shrugged and offered a sympathetic smile. "Hey, none of us died. That's a plus."
He stretched uncomfortably. "With the way I feel right now, I almost rather I had." Ramey shook himself off and took a moment to wipe the ash from his face as Galena stuck the gem in her pack. "Let's go. I've had enough lava to last ten lifetimes."