And so an evening of musical celebration
unfolded in Mu. One by one the bands played their songs and danced for Zara,
capturing her heart over and over again, it was the most magical night of her
life. High on the adrenaline of new hope and passion, she had seen another side
to herself, this sort of adrenaline felt good. Yet the task she had been given
was so much harder than she thought it would be, there were so many beautiful
musicians, so much magical love, she felt drunk with joy. It was going to be
very difficult to select only a few.
The
moon had risen high over the town before the music faded away. Feeling full of
hope, the villagers gathered their instruments, children and theatrical props
and retreated to their homes to rest up for the big day. Those who weren't
going to Atlan had much to do too. They had to prepare for guests!
"Zara,
I'd like you to meet Nahash" Neter introduced her to his friend as they
prepared to leave the town square, he was an Origian much like Neter, he had
kind eyes and seemed trustworthy enough. "He's going to Anur tomorrow,
he's offered to take you back."
The friends followed Neter up the cobblestone street to his house.
Neter's house was up the hill on the other
side of town, right on the edge of the vineyards. From his house on the hill
they could see the moonlit view down the An Valley, the white peak of Crystal
Mountain was glowing above the tree line.
"Is
Crystal Mountain made of crystal?" Zara asked, squinting to see if the
glow was real, or a trick of the eye.
"Yes"
Mina replied. "It's where the pyramid quartz came from."
There
was no denying that Crystal Mountain was special. Captivated by the brilliant
mountain peak, it even appeared to have an illuminated spire extending above
like the unicorn's horn.
"The
Unicorn's horn…" Zara now wondered if there was some connection. "Is
that some kind of crystal power? Is that why the unicorn was in the Crystal
Lake?"
"The
crystal acts as a conductor" Mina explained. "The mist in the lake is
what makes the horn glow so bright. Perhaps if you stood in Crystal lake, you
would have a horn too!"
"What?" Zara chuckled sensing a
joke.
"It's
not impossible!" She reasoned, serious. "A few of us can still see
the horns on each other" she glanced at Neter, he glanced back.
Zara
caught the exchange, were they up to their tricks again? She studied the god of
Mu's front door and scanned his moonlit yard with growing doubt, spooked by his
mysterious ways, nevertheless she wanted to know.
"You can see light horns on people?"
"Sometimes"
he confessed. "Less and less... They're not so common anymore."
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