Stars Shining Bright Above You (Clan Adeptica) (Story)

=== The Chronicles of Clan Adeptica ===
==== Chapter 3: Stars Shining Bright Above You ====
August 4-5, 2015
During the days when their first clutch was growing up, Adeptica and Devon began trading the goods they scavenged or gathered with traveling traders, whenever the opportunity arose. These goods included some of the multicolored crystals that Devon and the two Guardian girls found in the process of excavating new lair spaces for themselves. Some of these crystals glowed with an inner light, making them useful for illuminating or decorating dark lairs, while others could be used to store and record spells, or as magical power sources, or to make alchemical reagents. Devon took great pride in every crystal they sold, finding profound satisfaction in the work.
Through the traders' network, Clan Adeptica's crystals traveled to distant shores, making their way as far as the Southern Icefields. There, a local trader named Shadowspell got hold of one of them and was intrigued. He simply had to know where such a fine crystal had come from, so he followed the trail of traders' stories and deals all the way back to Clan Adeptica's lair in the Crystalspine Reaches.
When he arrived, Shadowspell introduced himself and asked the clan founders if he could stay for a while to study, catalog, and categorize the crystals in the caverns. They agreed to let him stay as long as he wanted. He found many fascinating and beautiful crystal specimens there, but none as beautiful as Lilia, the founders' daughter. He told her as much one day, when he had finally gathered the courage to do so, and she told him that she thought the same of him. She said that the speckles and freckles on his skin reminded her of the stars, which she thought were the most beautiful sight in the whole world. That night, she introduced him to her favorite pastime, stargazing. As Shadowspell took it all in - the clear night, the glow of the crystals in the cave, the infinity of stars above him, and the starlight reflected in the wide, magenta eyes of the one who was pointing out the constellations to him with so much enthusiasm and wonder - he knew that this place was his new home.
The next day, Shadowspell asked for Lilia's parents' blessing on their partnership, which was gladly granted, and they became mates.
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