Almost exactly 100 years later…
And on the beach of Crystal’s island, Battus, the Silicarite, lived.
Some combination of Silicarite biology, Crystal’s magic with the power of the island, and the Crystalline Heart itself had allowed him to survive. Although, now his consciousness lived on in a Silicarite body.
It was a spitting image to his old one, except made of jagged, rocky red crystal. The physique of a man, now carved into a crystalline statue.
He had been laying in the sand with his arms behind his head, watching the sun drift across the sky and reflect on the water, when the visitor’s boat arrived.
The unexpected guest was a hooded figure that he couldn’t quite catch the face of, his robes marked with a strange symbol he didn’t recognize. As the boat glided into the dock, the man stepped onto the uneven wooden planks before the boat even came to a stop. Battus stood, walking down to greet the visitor.
“Welcome to Heart’s Rest, traveler. Can I help you?” Battus reached out to shake the newcomer’s hand, but the stranger kept his arms folded inside his robes. Battus slowly retracted his hand.
“...I’m looking for the Crystal Mother. I was informed I could find her here,” the guest’s voice was quiet, reserved. Battus nodded, gesturing behind him.
“I can show you the way.”
Battus led the robed individual up the sandy slope, and into the clearing around the cave entrance. Small wooden huts encircled the circular path, pastel leaves serving as rooftops.
Several dozen Silicarites of all shapes, colors, and minerals were scattered around, some simply sitting and enjoying their afternoon, others repairing their huts or gathering materials from the jungle. Battus and the visitor passed by a purple amethyst and an orange quartz Silicarite sitting on opposite stumps, the former demonstrating to the latter how to shape its mouth to produce consistent vowel sounds.
“I work with the Crystal Mother, and we've set up quite the little community here for the Illudian Silicarites. They act more human, er, or elf, or what have you, than any of their off-planet counterparts. Being born here, with mine and Crystal’s help, we’ve helped a few integrate into the more xeno-friendly societies, like in Gingkari, or the Galaxy Warp. But… well, I guess most people are still not, quite ah… fully silicon-friendly, or vice-versa,” Battus tugged at his jacket’s collar.
They continued across to the other side, the largest hut at the far end past the chasm’s opening. Battus ducked inside, holding open the cloth door for their guest.
Crystal Heart was at the other end of the single-room hut, seated in the split geode that had originally held the Heart. The rocky crystal was fashioned into a makeshift chair facing the entryway, like a natural-cut throne. In the center of the room was a fire pit, dull red coals glowing in the dirt floor.
Battus strode over, standing beside the Crystal Mother, holding his hands behind his back.
“Ah, hello! Welcome to Heart’s Rest, traveler. I apologize if I don’t offer you a drink or a snack. We don’t get a lot of non-Silicarite guests, on account of the fact that nobody can fall asleep here without losing themselves to the Dreamwilds.”
“That is fine. Thank you,” the guest waved, dismissing her offer of hospitality. “You are the Crystal Mother?”
“Indeed I am,” Crystal bowed. “And this is Battus, the Crystal Guardian. We serve as Heart’s Rest’s protectors, the shelter for the Illudian Silicarites.”
“I have come a long way seeking you. Of the wisdom you have, and perhaps… a shard of your crystal?”
“Well, I don’t think that would be very-” Battus was interrupted by Crystal holding out her arm.
“That would be just fine. Here.” Crystal Heart held out her finger, and a single small red shard of crystal lifted from it.
“My deepest gratitudes. Your reputation as a generous host precedes you,” The stranger bowed and stepped forward, gingerly taking hold of the vertically-aligned offering. He snapped the fragment from Crystal’s hand, stashing the gift in his robed sleeve as he stepped back again.
“It’s my wish to fulfill others’ wishes, however I can. For such a small gesture, I can tell how meaningful it is to you,” Crystal nodded.
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“That’s part of what makes this a true happily ever after for me. Helping the Illudian Silicarites here in Heart’s Rest, connecting us to the wider world and beyond, even fulfilling personal wishes like yours.”
“I see…” the stranger nodded, pausing. “How is it that this came to be your duty?”
“Well, it’s a long story. Better get settled in,” Battus gestured to a stump set near the fire, both himself and the stranger sitting across from each other.
***
After relaying the tale of what had happened on the island one hundred years ago, both Crystal and Battus explained what had happened after he died.
“We were both reborn that day. Two Illudians, now alive in a crystal Silicarite body. Two halves of the same Heart. And no matter where either of us go on the planet, we’re always able to talk to each other. Fun little quirk about sharing the Heart, I guess!”
“We've been on several adventures these last hundred years, both on this island and all across Illudia. Mercury joins us too sometimes, with a, ah… a MAR-U, so we can scout out more deposits of propagite. Although, we also make an effort to establish diplomatic relations with the people of populated regions. Some places are more welcoming than others, but we've been able to acquire a lot more propagite, and propagate all the Illudian Silicarites that you saw outside.”
“But they're more like us than Mercury, which is interesting I think! They have mouths, and can speak without a translator. I wonder if that’s because they’ve lived here all their lives, something about the magic of this island or myself, or just… a new development to adapt to their environment.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad I can live as the Crystal Guardian, and go on adventures, and help people. But there’s a lot that I miss about being human,” Battus made a sound that seemed like sighing, even though he lacked lungs. “I miss food. Did you know that the last thing I ever ate was a crappy bowl of sugary breakfast cereal? Really wish that I’d opted for a more substantial breakfast. Or took lunch to go, that day,” he shrugged.
“But I miss steak most of all. Sometimes I’ll just put one in my mouth and chew, and just let it sit there for a while. It’s really not the same, but it’s better than nothing I guess,” Battus chuckled.
“And while I technically don’t need to wear clothes, since… well, Silicarites don’t need to cover up, I still kept this jacket. It’s my signature look, y’know?” Realizing he was somewhat off-topic, Battus cleared his throat, crystals churning in his mouth cavity.
“Anyways…” Battus peeked outside to see the golden rays of light reflecting over the water. “It’s beginning to approach twilight, you probably shouldn’t stay much longer. That’d be a long nap.”
“I see… once again, I thank you for your kindness and hospitality, and I will not overstay my welcome. Good day,” the robed stranger bowed once more, then departed out of the tent flap.
As he was leaving, however, a familiar red Silicarite entered.
“Mercury.…”
“Mercury!” Crystal stood to attention, both her and Battus moving towards their friend.
“Greetings. It is good to see you again,” Mercury bowed.
Behind Mercury, a little rusty robot MAR-U rolled through the flap in the tent.
“Tintin?!” Battus knelt down, picking up the bot. Its whole body shook, its tail antenna wagging like crazy.
“I thought it was decommissioned after its battery…!” Battus smiled wide in a red crystalline grin, shaking his head in joyful disbelief.
“Precisely. But… after violating, ah, 7 individual lines of protocol, and illegally acquiring replacement parts, I was able to restore it to proper function.”
“Must’ve been difficult for you of all people to pull off those questionable activities.”
“Indeed. However… I believe that it was worth the legislation-dodging,” Mercury and Crystal observed as Battus grinned ear to ear while Tintin flashed rapidly, scanning him over and over.
“Tintin will be accompanying you both from this point forward,” Mercury gestured to Tintin, a small array of solar panels emerging from its back. “With these aftermarket parts suited to this planetary environment, I believe it will be invaluable to your persistent efforts to locate further propagite.”
“Oh, Mercury… thank you so much,” Crystal shone brightly.
“It is the least amount of effort I could contribute. Besides, the moment its central processor was back online it was firing off numerous inquiries about your locations. I believe Tintin was eager for this reunion as well.”
“Heh, I’m really glad to hear that,” Battus set Tintin down, who immediately took off to scan every inch of the pastel jungle hut. “Both of you arriving is perfectly timed, though. We got a message yesterday that a large meteorite collided somewhere around the South Point, near the pole itself maybe. Space body like that is likely to have a decent hunk of propagite. Are we all setting out, then?”
“I’m ready to go!”
“I wish you good fortune in this expedition,” Mercury affirmed.
“...you're not coming with us? But you’re already here,” Battus frowned.
“Unfortunately, I have pressing matters outside this star system that require my immediate attention,” Mercury interacted with its AR unit’s display, charting out a flight path across several stars. “I may not return for several of your planet’s star cycles.”
“Promise me you’ll be back, soon. That way we can go on adventures, all of us, together again.”
“We will meet each other again, soon,” Mercury bowed.
“If you [TRANSLATION ERROR. TRANSLATION FOUND! CORRECTING] say so.”