The First Cultivator

Yan's change in attitude was a welcome surprise. The Crystal Glade was more labyrinthine than Azura guessed. She would've quickly gotten lost without their guide. A brief concern that the girl was leading them into a trap still lingered in her mind, but from how firmly the girl was holding her hand, she considered it unlikely. The girl could have let go at any moment, but didn't. Perhaps it was easy to get lost in here.

Azura felt a strange source of blood from the left. It was somewhat muted, and she nearly missed it. A lumbering form charged them from around a thick crystal pillar. The creature was twice the size of a horse and covered in purple crystal plates, like armor.

"A crystal bear!" Yan shrieked, fleeing behind Azura and tripping in the process. Azura caught the girl with her tail as she watched the bear calmly. It rushed Azura, its hulking form shaking the ground. It loomed over her as it swung a paw as large as her torso at her. Yan shielded herself with Azura's tail, while Azura easily caught the blow. Then she punched the bear. The upper half of the bear exploded in a shower of crystal and blood. The remains toppled backward in a slow, dramatic fashion.

"Huh," Azura said, looking at the corpse. "Think we can cook it?"

"I doubt it," Coralline said, joining Azura. She kicked at the creature. There didn't appear to be much besides some blood and crystal bits in its carcass.

"Everything alright up there?" Gerald asked from the rear.

"It's fine," Fatania said from behind them. "Just some weird creatures. We should keep going."

"Okay," Azura said. Perhaps finding food in here would be more complicated than she thought. She turned toward Yan, who was rubbing her face against Azura's tail. She immediately stopped and turned bright red when she noticed the others looking at her.

"Ahem, excuse me. This way," Yan said, taking the lead.

"Humans," Azura said as she followed while her mother snickered.

The concentration of mana steadily grew denser the deeper they went. Azura could feel her core greedily sucking it in after fasting for so long. Soon, the mana concentration surpassed that of the mana forest back in Deepmere. Was this the effect of having more than one leyline in the mana forest? If so, then Kinator would be amazing… after they got rid of the parasites feeding off it. The group traveled farther in while fending off the occasional mana beast. Each one was encrusted with purple crystal and would have been a fearsome foe for any mage. Azura defeated them all with a single blow as Yan watched in amazement. The only concern Azura had was that the beasts were more crystal than anything. Food would still be an issue.

An abrupt spike in mana density told her that they were close, which Yan confirmed a second later.

"We're almost there. Be careful not to annoy the guardian."

"I thought the medallion would let us pass?" Azura asked.

"It will, but don't anger it any more than necessary. The guardian might attack otherwise," Yan said. It was beginning to sound like trouble, but Azura was accustomed to it. She caused enough of it herself.

The crystalline maze opened up, revealing a clear center surrounded by towering pillars of lavender crystals on all sides. In the center were two fissures radiating vast amounts of mana. Above the leylines was a crystal golem shaped like a gorilla that was larger than a house. Its massive head turned toward them for a moment before looking down at the leylines again. Yan let out a relieved breath.

"Good, it's not going to attack. The crystallized mana is over here," Yan moved off to the side, but stopped when no one else followed. Azura realized they never told her what they wanted.

"We're not interested in the crystallized mana," Azura said.

"I'll take it," Gerald said. "It might be useful."

"We're mostly not interested," Azura corrected. "We want to use the leylines."

Yan frowned, and Azura knew the girl didn't understand and she had no intentions of enlightening her.

"The rest of you stay here. Gerald and I will handle this," Azura said as the others backed off, except for Yan, who was still off to the side near some crystallized mana.

Azura stepped toward the leylines, taking cautious steps to the left as Gerald moved to the right. The others were out of sight, already cultivating. This spot was good, but if they could get rid of the guardian…

"What are you doing!?" Yan hissed, not daring to get closer. Azura ignored her as she steadily approached the leylines. Each step seemed to agitate the golem, its head swinging back and forth between them.

"What do you think?" Gerald asked, ignoring Yan.

"I can sense something inside it connecting it to the leylines," Azura said. "I think that must be the source of its immortality."

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Stop!" Yan shouted, then immediately clamped her hands over her mouth, fearfully looking at the golem. When it didn't respond, she continued. "It's impervious to all magic. Nothing has ever cracked its shell. You can't harm it!"

"Then you just need a bigger hammer," Gerald said as he charged in, his ki-powered warhammer swinging at the golem's leg. He wasn't as fast as Azura, but that hardly mattered. To the golem, he was a blur, and so too was the strike. The sound of shattering glass filled the clearing as the leg shattered, spraying dangerous shards in all directions. Azura stopped her attack to shield Yan. The others were safely behind one of the crystal pillars, so she didn't have to worry about them. Azura scooped up the girl as her ki deflected the shrapnel. She dashed to the side, setting the girl down who was trembling.

"Stay here," Azura said, then dashed off. She couldn't let Gerald have all the fun.

***

Yan peeked from around the corner as she watched Azura and the bear-kin dismantle the immortal guardian. The only reason it wasn't already destroyed was that they seemed to be searching for something they didn't want to break accidentally. The golem roared as its previously broken limb reformed, slamming down on Azura, who held up a single arm, catching the blow. She then tore the limb off and slapped the golem with its severed arm.

Yan's eyes were wide as she saw Azura toss the arm aside like a stick as she disappeared. Was it teleportation? Yan didn't know, but suddenly she was atop the golem as the bear-kin held it down. Her fist effortlessly shattered the back of the golem, where she appeared to be reaching deep inside. The golem trembled, then collapsed into a pile of loose shards as Azura held up a glowing lavender sphere. They had just destroyed the legendary crystal guardian. They made it look easy. The beast could withstand siege magic without a scratch. Just who were they? Yan looked at Azura triumphantly holding the sphere above her head like a hero from a story. The woman was crude, rude, and had no respect for nobles!... She was also beautiful, her tail was incredibly soft, and she was insanely powerful. Yan felt herself flush as a strange warmth built in her chest as she looked at the half cat-kin. What were these feelings?! She never felt this way before. Everyone she met was a proper noble. They were sophisticated, polite… and boring. So very boring! Azura was none of those things. Was this why she was so intriguing? Yan clutched her chest as her heart raced as she watched Azura's slender form approach after killing what was believed to be an immortal beast. She gave Yan a thumbs-up, accompanied by a big smile that made the world spin around her. Yan passed out, her dreams filled with soft blue fur.

***

Azura watched the kid fall over, her feet comically straight up in the air before falling flat. No doubt she passed from shock at seeing her power. Azura nodded to herself. Yup, what else could it be?

"All clear!" Gerald called, and the others quickly joined them. They started unloading supplies and setting up a base camp. Azura and Gerald did a final sweep of the area before setting up their camp farther away. They didn't want to compete for the thick mana. Azura couldn't wait to reach their new home. With over fifty leylines she should be able to get one to herself, right? Gerald appeared to have less selfish ambitions and was studying the orb. No doubt, he was already planning some new crafting ideas with it.

"We should probably head back to the base camp before more mages show up," Gerald said. "I'll stay here. You can head back and wait for the others."

"Gee, thanks," Azura sighed. "Making me do all the work."

"You're the leader, it's your job. I'm just a smith."

"And a cultivator," Azura said.

"Yup. Make sure Elise gets here safely," Gerald added. She was about to scoff at him. As if she would let anything happen to her sister, but knew where he was coming from. The pair had been spending most of their time together. It was sweet.

"Sure," Azura said, clapping him on the back. "You just make sure my Mom is okay."

"Of course."

Azura scooped up Yan, who had a funny look on her sleeping face, then headed back toward the base camp. She needed to wait for the others and make sure the mages didn't cause any problems.

***

Lord Yotto of the city-state of Tram crushed the letter he had just finished reading. He quickly took a large gulp from his wine goblet while letting the news process. Some invaders had taken the Crystal Glade. That wasn't good. The resources there took time to mature. They farmed the mana forest yearly, and it was a stable income for the city. Worse, he allowed his precious Yan to do the collection this year. She was bored from being cooped up all the time. When she begged him for the chance, he couldn't say no… he never could to her. She was supposed to be perfectly safe. He had two of the best guards in the entire city-state there to protect her. He glared down at the pair from his throne. They couldn't even respond due to their mangled jaws. The healer would need days to fix them.

He took another drink, pushing his violet hair out of his eyes, then uncrumpled the letter, rereading a few critical parts. Yan wrote this. Key phrases were present that she had been trained to include in any unsecured communication. The good news was that she wasn't harmed. That was the extent of the good news. The invaders were kin, which made no sense, nor did Yan's descriptions of their abilities. He initially wanted to storm the mana forest and destroy everything that stood between him and his daughter. The last sentence had stopped any such ambitions. The crystal guardian had been destroyed. He had launched two such attempts in his youth to secure the leylines. Neither had been successful. Instead, they had discovered a workaround and had been using it ever since. If these kin, KIN OF ALL BEINGS, were able to destroy it, then his forces stood no chance.

"Azura…" Lord Yotto muttered. The name was unfamiliar, but the description. A blue-haired half cat-kin. Hadn't he received some intelligence regarding such a figure? He recalled briefly reading about it, then dismissed it as nonsense. At the time, he thought Rufus had gone daft or this was another of his schemes. Now…

Yotto turned toward his steward. "Yosman, do you recall reading anything about a blue haired half cat-kin?"

The man pursed his lips deep in thought for a moment before answering. "Yes, I do recall some messages from Dageth regarding such a figure. She caused some trouble in Deepmere. I believe they called her the Magebane."

"Magebane?" That did trigger his recollection of rumors of a powerful kin who killed several elite mages. Now she was here and had Yan hostage. His only hope was that the letter stated the kin would stay for around two weeks, then leave the Crystal Glade. They would return Yan at that time.

The conclusion was obvious. They wanted to plunder the Crystal Glade before fleeing. In exchange for letting them go, they would release Yan unharmed. The letter didn't say anything like that, but he could read between the lines. He took another long pull from his goblet. This would be a long two weeks. He would use that time to gather all the intelligence he could on this Magebane. If the kin harmed Yan, he would hunt them down to the ends of the world, and beyond.