Crystal cut a distinctive figure, wearing a dress that lived up to her name: ten thousand fractals that somehow maintained both cohesion and by extension her modesty, even as they constantly moved, rearranging themselves into kaleidoscopic patterns of blue and white with each passing second. It was sufficiently distracting to overshadow all else, such that Emma had already landed next to her, before realising she hadn't a clue how first introductions were meant to go. She'd met other practitioners, yes, but mostly within the context of a familial relationship, or else during a period of crisis where other matters could take precedence. That said, even in her ignorance, Emma was pretty sure Crystal wasn't supposed to ignore her entirely in favour of staring at her hand, or rather the ring it wore.
"Eden's Echo. A good name, one that honours past glories without being wholly bound to them. A worthwhile purchase, though I admit to some bias in that field."
"Thank you?" Emma managed to respond, trailing off at the end to make the question obvious.
"Pleasure doing business," Crystal grinned, taking Emma's hand and shaking enthusiastically, with enough force that Emma half-expected her arm to fly off at the elbow.
"Truth be told, if you'd mentioned who you were, I'd have given it to you for free," Crystal added slyly, after releasing Emma's hand. "Just having you here, wearing my creation would be more than enough payment."
"I'll keep that in mind for the future," Emma demurred, though she didn't see herself needing a replacement any time soon.
"Oh, forgive me, you must be confused!" Crystal gasped. "This is your first time here, right? I know it's a bit early, but let me give you the grand tour! At least then, you'll know where everything is, once it's all set up for the big show."
Somehow, Emma found herself being dragged along for the ride, striding past rows of tents somewhere between a walk and a run, heading inexorably towards Stonehenge itself. For someone with the highest level Emma had seen, besides the founders, Crystal was surprisingly approachable and very energetic.
[You'll find that most Masters are similar, in that they act however they want, unbothered by trivial matters like decorum. What's the point, really, when they've seen a thousand years of fashion rise and fall, and when decades can pass during a single closed door experiment at their workshop? I'm one of the few to actually stay in touch with current trends, thanks to my ownership of the System. With some of my oldest colleagues, you'll be lucky if they speak English, given that Norman French was still in vogue, the last time they actively participated in high society.]
That's, uh... Emma wasn't quite sure how to reply to that. I guess it's a good thing I have a trait for built-in translation?
"Here we are!" Crystal's voice pulled Emma out of her internal reverie, to see that they'd made it within the bounds of Stonehenge itself while she was distracted.
Quite contrary to the feeling of doom Emma had gotten when approaching from the sky, the inside of the monument appeared entirely ordinary, just a number of large stones scattered vaguely in the shape of a circle. The grass was soft and green, and a faint layer of mould crept up near the bottom of some of the stones: far less than would be expected given their age, which pointed towards regular cleaning being undertaken.
"So, this is the stage," Crystal emphasised, tapping her heel twice against the ground. "Once the opening ceremony starts, the floor turns into a raised platform for the presenters, high enough in the air to be seen from every tent. More importantly though, that's when the overlay turns out. In previous years, this was a way to keep us separate from regular old tourists, in a separate dimension close enough to still be Stonehenge, but which only the magical can perceive. It's probably overkill for this year, though the organisers will still do it, being stickler for tradition and all."
"How do we know if we're in the filter?"
"Oh, the sky will tell you," Crystal chirped, making Emma stare at her. "No, really! See, right now it's normal and blue, but if I pull on the edge of space just right."
Emma' stomach lurched.