Continuous flashes of green and purple illuminated the lower sections of the two sculptures that towered above the canopy of the forest. Thrifk soared through the darkening sky towards the eerily glowing statues. Had his wisp-form allowed him to smile, it would have cracked his face in two with complacency. Instead, the treetops below him lit up in a myriad of colors, reflecting his excitement and impatience for the ritual that would complete the installation of the artifact. The flashing statues; twisted, wicked resemblances of the Myln and the Murn were translucent at the top, gradually turning opaque towards the bottom. The colors below him flared up in excited anticipation, those statues were going to be impressive.
The forest was quiet, all animals were long gone. Most fled as soon as the statues first crashed into the fertile soil and started to spread their corruption. Those who did not, had their shrunken, twisted and malformed carcasses covered by a fragile blanket of leaves and twigs. Skeletons of trees raised their branches towards the dim sky as if protesting the cruel exposure of their private hiding places.
“A new beginning should be heralded by death and decay.” Thrifk whispered to himself as his eyed the decaying trunks and rotten forest floor. He drifted towards the base of the statues. “Aren't all changes in the world brought forth by violence and fitting destruction?”
The artifact seemed to shimmer in his sight, as if covered by a fine mist, sometimes materializing in thin air and then dissipating. It pulsated green and purple in the gloomy light of dawn, sending crackling forks of green and purple into the monstrous statues. Six multi-hued spheres of different sizes encircled the artifact in pairs. Each sometimes exploding in color, seeping their strength into the pulsating artifact. Thrifk puffed with pride at his magnificent handiwork and the wonderful sight, then concentrated and channeled earth, fire and water to assume his physical form. The soil, leaves and sticks underneath him flared up in bright colors then faded quickly as his body formed around his essence.
The last part of the ritual needed control and subtlety that was hard to maintain in this esoteric form. After centuries of mastering the elements, manipulating the flows of the earth, water, wind and fire to his will, the first few wobbly steps in his body still felt peculiar. He swayed on his feet, struggling to keep his balance, but managed to stay upright. His vision blurred and moved before his eyes snapped together and formed a clear picture of the long, white finger that he held up. What a wonderful and dreadful sensation at the same time! The elemental power raged through his veins, its ecstatic power within reach of a thought. Smells of mold and decaying carcasses under the carpet of leaves fought for his attention but he quickly channeled air to stopper his nostrils. The clearing in front of him flared up in purple, then the only source of light were the crackling spheres. The inconveniences of the body were well worth the increased control and sense of ecstasy that it provided.
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With his vision clear and under control, he staggered towards the biggest of the spheres. He loved the peculiar feeling of unfamiliarity and how feeling returned to his otherwise alien senses. The sphere was twice his own physical size and contained a hulking Murn. Thrifk chuckled and the gaze of hate, anger and defiance of the Murn seemed to increase in intensity. The orb released crackling flashes louder and more often than before.
“Good. Show me that legendary rage. Show me how you want to tear me to pieces with your bare hands. How you want to strip this skin of my physical body.” Thrifk tapped the Murn on the forehead, raised his finger and pointed at one of the spheres. Channeling only a little of fire and wind, a small cyclone of fire slowly made its way to the smaller sphere. “I wonder what happens if I hurt him”
Opening his hands, Thrifk channeled a trickle more of the fire and wind and the cyclone transformed to a torrent of fire that circled around himself, then engulfed the smaller sphere in a sickly green sea of flames. The air around him shimmered as the sphere harnessed the Murns rage, then in a torrent of multicolored flashes and arcing lightnings, that power impacted the artifact. If the others were that strong, it wouldn't take long before the artifact would be ready. Smiling, Thrifk looped the elements to keep the sea of flames from dissipating and turned himself to the second large sphere in the circle. Before long, the air buzzed with three spheres covered in water, flames and thorns while the larger spheres erupted in a constant stream of flashing crackles.
The other Murn turned out to be as strong, one even stronger and it didn't take long before the artifact stopped its shimmering and slowly materialized. Stars decorated the clear sky when finally, the artifact landed heavily on the soil. Waving his hand, Thrifk released the elemental loops around the spheres, then released his prisoners. They dropped to the ground motionless, but alive.
“You are here,” Thrifk caressed the blood red orb, with translucent white forks the surface. “to witness the beginning of your society's end. We all know these crystals have prevented your extinction. It's an abomination, a thorn deeply driven into our souls, that you were able to cheat your way into the game.”
The prisoners didn't respond, their breathes ragged and shallow. Thrifk could see a twinkle of something in their eyes. Was it wonder?
“Though you may not know. We are the referees, we are the arbiters here and we have the final say. We should never have allowed these tools in the first place and now I found the way to undo what has been wrong for such a long time.” He said. “A new start, for you.. A rollback before the time of “Vlut and Grek. This orb is the cure to your disease. Soon your friends will realize that your salvation will be your downfall.”
He channeled only a trickle of power into the orb. One by one, the chests of the Murn and Myln exploded into a thousand shards. Then, using those blood-covered shards, Thrifk started the long and delicate ritual to seal the artifact into the forest. Around him, the dead trees illumined in flashes of green and purple.