"Something like that? Don't fuck with me," Elias said
Suddenly, their surroundings began to smear as if someone had rubbed a freshly done painting; the trees, the extra Rocklions, the air, everything looked like a mirage on a hot summer day.
Everything around them began to get less and less real until it was not, the illusion faded away into the nothingness of reality.
Margo and Elias were no longer in a forest, instead, they found themselves in a location that befitted the name; "Highlands"
The Highlands stretched out like a vast, rugged tapestry, each fold and crease marked by the rise and fall of mountain ranges that seemed to touch the sky, their peaks were sharp and imposing. The valleys below were a patchwork of green and gray, where clusters of dark pine forests clung to the lower slopes, and open meadows spread out like soft blankets between the towering mountains.
Jagged cliffs jutted out from the mountainsides, their surfaces shaped by centuries of wind and rain, while deep, narrow ravines cut through the landscape.
Rivers snaked their way through the valleys, their waters clear and icy. In some places, the rivers tumbled over the rocks in roaring waterfalls, sending up clouds of mist that sparkled in the sunlight.
The sky above was an endless expanse of blue, so clear that it seemed to go on forever, with only the occasional wisps of cloud drifting lazily across the horizon.
The air was crisp and fresh, carrying with it the scent of pine and the distant sound of water rushing over stones.
From where Elias and Margo stood, they could see for miles in every direction, the mountains rolled out like a sea of stone and green, with the distant horizon blending into the sky.
"By the Goddess!" Margo exclaimed as she saw where she stood, she was just a few feet from the edge of a rocky cliff. Had she run further within the illusion, she would have fallen to her death.
"You lot look young for invaders of the King," The same thick voice that spoke to them in the illusion resounded
Accompanying the voice was a man, a tall, mildly built bearded man, streaks of white permeating his dark hair and he walked with a limp in his step
As Elias saw the man, the first thing he thought was; 'He looks familiar. Have I met him before?'
"Stop Margo, we don't have time. The sooner we're done with this, the sooner we can continue our mission and the sooner we get home.
Don't you have some kind of Identification or badge or anything that priests carry?" Elias asked
Margo pouted, "Hmph, You should have let me deal with this rude old man first," she said
"Margo," Elias said flatly
"Fine," she replied the golden light dimmed from her hand
She reluctantly turned her back to Elias and the man. She pulled down the neck of her shirt, revealing her shoulder. On the back of her left shoulder, there was a black marking that stood out on her milky smooth shoulder. It was a depiction of the sun, although it was a simplified version.
"All Priests have this mark; it is a depiction of the sun, the brightest light we can see. It is also a copy of the mark that all the past children of light had, Elias here should have one too," She explained
'I don't think I have seen anything like that on my body before. But now is not the time for me to say that, I'll ask Margo when we're alone,'
"I see," the man said, "I know about the mark, I have a friend who was once a soldier and became a priest," He said
With an indifferent expression on her face, "Good for you," Margo said
Elias walked to the man and extended his hand, "So now that we have that out of the way, I am Elias Ashdown," He said, extending his hand
The man smiled, "And I am Marius," He said as he took Elias' hand and shook it.
"So what brings you here? Earlier you mentioned something about a mission. If it has to do with the Highlands, I may be of help.
I spent my childhood and the last few months here, I doubt there is something or perhaps someone you're looking to find that I wouldn't know about," Marius said
"Yes, actually, we are looking for a crystal; we have no idea where to find it. The only lead we have is that it is guarded by a creature. A creature that is as large as a mountain," Elias explained