CHAPTER 5 - A Strange Discovery
"Magma? River? Leachan!? Glacier! Steel! Comet! Nori! Where are you guys?!" Crystal called, cupping her hands around her mouth and shouting at the top of her lungs. Her voice was lost in the wind, suffocated out by the whispers all around her. Frantically, she spun about, looking for footprints in the snow or a shadowed silhouette in the fog. It was no use. There was no sign of her companions, no proof of their passing, and no clue as to the direction they went before they lost her.. It almost as if they had never existed, or as if Crystal had somehow been teleported away from them.
Crystal wrapped her arms around herself, shivering violently. The cold was intense and uncomfortable, but it was fear that caused her to tremble, fear of what this meant for her to be lost in The Mountain Of Whispers.. Doubts began to fill her mind. She could be lost up here forever, and even if she somehow found her way back down, she would still be alone! She had all but forgotten the strange whisper she had heard when it suddenly repeated itself again, louder and clearer than before:
Crystal's heart leaped. This time the whisper sounded like it had come from a specific direction! Struggling through the snow, which was now up to her waist despite her having only stood motionless for a moment, Crystal moved in the direction the whisper had come. All around her, the other whispers continued their whispering.
The whisper was repeated once again. At that exact moment, Crystal spotted a foggy shadow up ahead... It was a cave! When she drew closer, she was able to determine that the opening had not always been there, but was the result of a landslide. The whispers behind her seemed to fade away, drowned out by the howling of the wind over the mouth of the cave. As quickly as she could manage, Crystal scrambled into the cave and walked until the snow had fallen away behind her. When she had free range of motion once again, she paused and looked back. She could still see the blinding flurry of snowflakes whipping around outside, but the howl of the wind had silenced. Not even the noise it had made against the cave's opening could be heard anymore, even though Crystal was not that far from it..
The whisper was clear and loud, practically uttered by a living person. The young Matoran spun about, fully expecting to see a face, but instead noticed a glow at the other end of the cave. The path sloped downward it seemed, toward the very heart of The Mountain. The other whispers had fallen completely silent, only this single whisper sounded like it was coming from deeper inside the cave. Overcome by curiosity, Crystal descended.
...It seemed that she had been walking for hours when the walls of the cave finally fell way, revealing a spacious, dome-shaped room carved out of the stone. Crystal barely acknowledged this before catching sight of a towering figure out of the corner of her eye! She gave an involuntary cry of alarm and fell backwards onto the floor. After a moment of no reaction from the figure, Crystal stood and approached him, chancing to poke his leg.
Crystal turned her gaze into the room, observing all that lay inside: Seven large canisters lined the walls on the left while several smaller containers lined the right. In the very center of the room was a Suva with several weapons stacked around it like a bonfire, and out of the middle came a large staff with a glowing ball on the top. The whispers, light, and heat of the cave were all coming from that ball! ..Crystal was amazed. No one had seen a perfectly intact Suva for years; Makute Doom destroyed all of them eons ago as a way of weakening the Toa. She approached it cautiously, but couldn't resist wanting to get a better look.
When she had drawn close enough, she suddenly became aware of more figures standing behind the Suva, but these were not made of stone: A couple of deactivated Rahkshi, several Bohrok, and five Vahki lay motionless. What was all of this? An old storage room where battle trophies were kept?
Crystal wrapped her arms around herself, shivering violently. The cold was intense and uncomfortable, but it was fear that caused her to tremble, fear of what this meant for her to be lost in The Mountain Of Whispers.. Doubts began to fill her mind. She could be lost up here forever, and even if she somehow found her way back down, she would still be alone! She had all but forgotten the strange whisper she had heard when it suddenly repeated itself again, louder and clearer than before:
"Fire. Ice. Air. Stone. Earth. Water... Li--"
Crystal's heart leaped. This time the whisper sounded like it had come from a specific direction! Struggling through the snow, which was now up to her waist despite her having only stood motionless for a moment, Crystal moved in the direction the whisper had come. All around her, the other whispers continued their whispering.
"Fire. Ice. Air. Stone. Earth. Water... Li--"
The whisper was repeated once again. At that exact moment, Crystal spotted a foggy shadow up ahead... It was a cave! When she drew closer, she was able to determine that the opening had not always been there, but was the result of a landslide. The whispers behind her seemed to fade away, drowned out by the howling of the wind over the mouth of the cave. As quickly as she could manage, Crystal scrambled into the cave and walked until the snow had fallen away behind her. When she had free range of motion once again, she paused and looked back. She could still see the blinding flurry of snowflakes whipping around outside, but the howl of the wind had silenced. Not even the noise it had made against the cave's opening could be heard anymore, even though Crystal was not that far from it..
Crystal slowly became aware that she was not shaking anymore. The cave seemed to be emitting it's own heat.
"Fire. Ice. Air. Stone. Earth. Water... Light."
The whisper was clear and loud, practically uttered by a living person. The young Matoran spun about, fully expecting to see a face, but instead noticed a glow at the other end of the cave. The path sloped downward it seemed, toward the very heart of The Mountain. The other whispers had fallen completely silent, only this single whisper sounded like it was coming from deeper inside the cave. Overcome by curiosity, Crystal descended.
...It seemed that she had been walking for hours when the walls of the cave finally fell way, revealing a spacious, dome-shaped room carved out of the stone. Crystal barely acknowledged this before catching sight of a towering figure out of the corner of her eye! She gave an involuntary cry of alarm and fell backwards onto the floor. After a moment of no reaction from the figure, Crystal stood and approached him, chancing to poke his leg.
"It's a statue!" Crystal sighed in relief, laughing a little. An identical figure stood across from it's counterpart on the other end of the doorway. "Just a pair of stone guards.."
"Fire. Ice. Air. Stone. Earth. Water... Light."
When she had drawn close enough, she suddenly became aware of more figures standing behind the Suva, but these were not made of stone: A couple of deactivated Rahkshi, several Bohrok, and five Vahki lay motionless. What was all of this? An old storage room where battle trophies were kept?
Apprehensively, Crystal moved even closer toward the Suva.
"Fire. Ice. Air. Stone. Earth. Water. Light.."
The words were no longer uttered in a whisper, but rather a clear breath, voiceless and undeniable. Crystal felt overcome with desire to touch the staff from which it had come.. She just knew she was meant to touch it, but she wasn't sure she wanted to. What would happen when she did? She decided to take another look around, just in case there was a booby trap waiting to be set off. Arrows shooting out of the walls, collapsing ceiling, lava pit-- It could be anything.. Yet as she scanned the walls and floor carefully, she found no indication of such things.
Feeling a little more satisfied in the safety of the room, the young Matoran could not resist her curiosity anymore. Turning back to the staff, Crystal reached out her hand and lightly touched it...
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