Lost Thyrian Artifacts: The Hallowed Stone

At the time of the Accords, mass chaos ensued for the Thyrians as they were forcibly removed from their homeland. In the process of exiling them, their ancient artifacts were lost to time—relics that helped them to hone their skills of wielding Erythia were all destroyed or hidden away. Thyrians became divided, their internal battles causing factions and covens to split off on their own, hiding in forests across Mitya. One such relic, the Hallowed Stone, was said to be an amplifier—it could increase the strength of any Erythia cast by the Thyrian who wielded it. It was said for many, many years that the artifact had been taken by the traders in Datril as a prized possession worth more than gold to their people. But it wasn’t until thirty years later that it was finally discovered by Kierna and Serelle of the Belaris Coven.

---

“It’s here,” Kierna’s voice was hardly a whisper.

“Where?” Serelle was turned around, unsure of what her friend was talking about. Kierna grabbed her shoulders and redirected her, trying to not make any sudden movements or shift her weight, fearing the smallest change in the atmosphere might alert the guards on duty to their location. Kierna pointed towards a hallway that was barely visible from here, still just outside the castle walls. Serelle nodded, affirming she knew the plan, despite her forgetfulness, and what she had to do.

It had taken months of planning and traveling, not to mention the tireless conversations with strange people and researching travel logs and history books galore, for the pair to discover the last known location of the Hallowed Stone. Although it had long been rumored to be lost, there were just as many accounts that pointed to it still being stored in the vault at the kingdom center of Gateilah—Datril.

The royal family’s castle.

Their research had paid off, clearly, as the young woman locked eyes with the small, unassuming rock sitting protected before them. Still several hundred feet away, they at least knew without a shadow of a doubt now that the Stone they’d coveted for so long was only moments from being theirs.

“Ready?” Kierna wasn’t visible to the naked eye anymore, her cloaking spell in full effect. Serelle just nodded again, shooing her sister off quickly, knowing they needed every moment of power that spell could offer.

“Hey there,” Serelle sauntered up to the guard at the castle gates, pretending to be shy and lost in the courtyard. She faked a blush and batted her eyelashes, and within seconds the guard was head over heels.

Charisma incantations had that effect on people.

---

Off in the stone halls of the old castle, Kierna steadied every step, footfalls silent as she wandered towards the central vault.

Datril’s castle was unlike any other in Mitya—their vault wasn’t held underground as their lands lay too close to the sea to dig. So they had a courtyard, veiled in part by ancient Erythia that only Thyrians could manipulate anymore.

Luckily, Kierna was one of them.

As she approached the courtyards, just east of the center of the castle, she began chanting under her breath. She stole a look over her shoulder, careful as she turned corners, knowing that this incantation would reveal anything nearby that had been shrouded by Erythia. Meaning herself included.

The vault was smaller than she had thought it might be, which was probably a good thing. It was going to be hard enough to find a rock, let alone in a cavernous space storing ages worth of treasures from the many different cultures of Mitya.

The door should have been more difficult to open, but Kierna had mastered the incantation necessary to get it several years ago.

Very few things in Mitya were truly resistant to Thyrians anymore, save those truly ancient relics that even modern kings and queens knew to keep guarded.

So Kierna made it in the vault without a problem, though she wasn’t sure how long she really had before the guards knew something was up with Serelle.

---

Serelle sat on top of one of the castle guard’s chest, slowly picking away at her fingernails with the sharp end of her small dagger, waiting impatiently for Kierna’s return. The other guard who had been posted there was “conveniently” taking a nap at the moment. Serelle’s least favorite part of Erythia manipulation was the short amount of time that a spell could last, though that would change soon once she held the Hallowed Stone. Any spell would be tenfold. She was giddy with anticipation, though she had to manage her emotions, careful to be ready to take on any guards that might accidentally discover her location.

---

Kierna reached into her pocket and pulled out a rock of similar size to the Hallowed Stone. She prayed to Lencia that it would be the same weight, knowing anything with magical properties could be very different from expected.

Her finger and thumb gingerly touched at the sides of the sacred artifact, readying the decoy. A deep breath and—

It was done.

She stared at the stone in her hand, shocked at the similarities between it and the stone she’d just held. She turned it over and over, the only real difference being the handful of runic marks carved into it which were old enough to be worn down, almost non-existent. Even though they were clearly aged, Kierna could practically see them glowing as she pocketed the relic.

Kierna could’ve sworn she heard footsteps drawing nearer, so she began her invisibility incantation, covering the vault once again, keeping it’s location secret.

Only she’d forgotten to wait until she was out of the vault to hide it.

She prayed again, hoping that passing through the hidden doorway while hidden would keep her in the dark.

It worked, and with the Hallowed Stone, she made it back to Serelle without any disruptions.

"Did you get it?" Serelle’s voice rose three octaves, the way it always did when she was excited.

“You can see me?”

“Well yeah, why wouldn’t I be able to?”

Kierna frowned, pulse quickening, looking behind her. When she stopped long enough, she could hear the clicking of armor, not so distantly behind her.

“We need to go,” her voice dropped low and quiet. “Now.”

Kierna took hold of Serelle’s hand and they ran until it burned deep in their lungs. When Kierna pulled the rock back out of her pocket, excited to show Serelle, that’s when she realized the runes were gone.

They’d rubbed off—just drawings.

It was a fake.

All of that for nothing.

The chance of restoration slipped right between their fingers.

And the Hallowed Stone still waited, somewhere in hiding, to be found.