The Crystal Valleys stretched before them like a dream made real, massive crystalline formations creating natural amphitheaters that caught the morning light in mesmerizing displays. After weeks of Dark Wood gloom, the sheer openness of Eldoria proper felt almost overwhelming to Thorne.
"Hard to believe this is the same continent," she remarked, watching Inferna's shadow dance across crystal-veined cliffs below. The griffin seemed equally fascinated by the terrain, her golden eyes reflecting prismatic light from the valleys.
"The barrier does more than protect," Sir Lucanas explained, his scarred fingers reading the vibrations through Echo's crystalline reins. Though his clouded eyes couldn't see the landscape, his enhanced magical awareness painted a detailed picture of their surroundings. "It maintains the balance that existed here before the Dark Wood's corruption spread. This is what all of Eldoria once felt like."
They passed over Crystal Haven, its elegant architecture a stark contrast to the fortress-towns Thorne knew. Instead of defensive walls, the city was protected by crystalline formations that grew naturally around it, their surfaces inscribed with ward-patterns that seemed to flow like liquid light.
"The Luminous Road," Lucanas indicated, sensing the crystalline highway's distinct magical signature below. "We'll follow it to the capital. Though..." A slight smile crossed his scarred features. "Perhaps we should make a few stops. Your formal Guardian ceremonies will require proper attire."
Thorne groaned, remembering Vesper's attempts at formal wear. "I thought we were done with that discussion at the Border Station."
"Oh no," Lucanas's amusement was clear. "That was frontier formal wear. The capital's standards are quite different. Though I suppose we could tell the Crystal Pentarchy you plan to throw your ceremonial sword at the first sign of trouble..."
The Luminous Road wound through landscapes that seemed impossible after years on the frontier. Crystal-veined cliffs gave way to the Lightweaver Plains, where fields of crystal-infused grass created waves of iridescent color with each breeze. Farmers tended crops using crystalline tools that harmonized with the land's natural magic, while patrol units rode crystalwings rather than the sturdier griffins preferred by frontier forces.
"The crystal resonance has changed," Sir Lucanas observed as they passed over a particularly vibrant field, his heightened senses detecting subtle disturbances. "The newer modifications create discordant frequencies - beautiful to look at, perhaps, but the harmonics are wrong."
They landed in Sunhaven, famous for its crystal artisans. Sir Lucanas moved through the crowded streets with perfect confidence, Echo's crystalline wings chiming in patterns that expanded his magical awareness. Years of experience let him navigate spaces most sighted people found challenging, while detecting details they often missed.
Whispers followed them through the market district. "The Crimson Guardian's apprentice," some murmured. "They say she destroyed one of Lady Ravenna's healing centers..."
"Good," other voices countered quietly. "Someone needed to expose what was happening there."
The city's central plaza revealed its divisions through discordant frequencies that made Sir Lucanas's expression tighten. Traditional crystal harmonics clashed with newer, corrupted resonances that tried to hide their darkness behind beautiful tones.
"Your new armor's resonance is... unique," a crystal artisan commented as they sought formal wear. Sir Lucanas sensed the woman's traditional crafting methods in the pure frequencies of her tools. "Though perhaps that's appropriate, given the changes coming to Eldoria."
"Changes?" Thorne prompted.
"Some say we need to evolve, to embrace new forms of power," the artisan replied carefully. "Others believe maintaining the old harmonics is crucial. The Crystal Pentarchy upholds tradition, but Lady Ravenna's supporters speak of... progress."
As evening approached, they made camp near an ancient crystal formation, its pure resonance a stark contrast to the day's discordant encounters. Thorne took first watch, but her attention kept drifting to dark patches in the nearby soil. Earlier, they'd passed a small farming settlement where she'd spotted the telltale signs - withered crops with bark-like growths, trees with unnaturally darkened veins. Rootrot had followed them from the frontier.
Five years defending Haven's Rest had taught her to recognize every stage of the Dark Wood's most insidious corruption. It started subtly: slight discoloration of veins, a faint darkening under the skin. Then came the bark-like growths, the gradual transformation of flesh into something that was neither wood nor human. By the final stages, victims were barely recognizable, their minds consumed by violent hunger while their bodies became twisted parodies of natural growth.
Haven's Rest had lost three good defenders to rootrot last year. The worst part wasn't the physical transformation - it was watching someone you knew slowly lose themselves, their personality eroding until only rage and hunger remained. Traditional healing magic was useless once it progressed past the early stages. And now, seeing signs of it this far into Eldoria's heartland...
Sir Lucanas's sudden tension interrupted her dark thoughts. His scarred fingers read vibrations through the crystalline ground while Echo's wings chimed warning harmonics. "Multiple signatures approaching," he said quietly. "Trying to mask their resonance patterns, but something's wrong with their frequencies."
"Wrong how?" Thorne asked, her new armor already adapting to channel defensive energy.
"Degraded. Unstable. Like-" He tilted his head, reading more subtle vibrations. "Fifteen attackers minimum. Professional coordination, but their crystal gear... it's corrupted."
"Who are they?" Thorne had time to ask before the attack began.
"The Shattered Crown," Lucanas replied grimly. "Former royal guards and noble house conspirators who turned to corruption. They were an elite unit once, sworn to protect Eldoria's heart. Now they serve darker interests."
The attack came with military precision. Corrupted smoke bombs shattered against crystal formations, while shadow-wrapped blades sought gaps in their defenses. These weren't simple bandits - they moved with trained coordination that spoke of formal military background.
But Thorne saw it immediately - the telltale signs of rootrot in several attackers. One man's sleeve rode up during an attack, revealing bark-like growths spreading up his arm. Another moved with the unnatural hunger of late-stage infection, his strikes more desperate than disciplined.
"Your frontier instincts serve you well," Sir Lucanas called, Dawnfire blazing as he parried attacks with perfect precision despite his blindness. "The Shattered Crown was dangerous enough when they just dealt in noble house secrets. Now they're Lady Ravenna's test subjects."
A corrupted blade nearly found its mark, but Thorne's armor adapted to channel pure crystal energy. The contact created an unexpected reaction - the corrupted weapon resonated chaotically, its dark energy destabilizing against her armor's pure matrix.
"The weapons!" she called. "Pure crystal energy disrupts their corruption!"
Two shadow-corrupted griffins burst from the darkness, their once-proud forms twisted by rootrot. Inferna responded instantly, her flames creating a barrier while Echo's crystalline wings chimed a battle song that disrupted the corrupted mounts' coordination. The aerial battle became a deadly dance - Inferna's natural fire against corrupted shadow, while Echo's pure crystal resonance created patterns that confused and disoriented their twisted kin.
"Lady Ravenna's regards," one attacker snarled, his voice distorted by advancing rootrot. "The Midnight Market and Shattered Crown-" His words became a scream as corruption surged through his weapon, the darkness visibly spreading up his arm.
Sir Lucanas and Thorne moved in perfect synchronization, years of training culminating in lethal harmony. Where his Dawnfire blazed paths of pure light, her combustion magic followed, creating chain reactions that destabilized corrupted weapons. When shadow-wrapped blades threatened one, the other was already moving to intercept.
"The Crown was once Eldoria's elite guard unit," Lucanas explained between perfect strikes, Echo's wings creating harmonics that disrupted the corrupted smoke while the crystalwing engaged one of the shadow griffins overhead. "Now they use their training and noble house connections to spread Lady Ravenna's influence. But this..." He gestured to the rootrot-infected attackers. "This is new. She's using them as test subjects."
Above them, Inferna caught one of the corrupted griffins in a devastating flame burst, revealing how rootrot had spread through its wings. The creature's death scream carried unnatural harmonics that made the crystal formation pulse with discord. The second mount, seeing its companion fall, retreated into the darkness with a cry that seemed almost human in its anguish.
The battle shifted as more attackers succumbed to their corruption. What began as coordinated assault became desperate, hungry violence. Thorne's combustion magic created cascading reactions in their unstable weapons, while her armor's enhanced crystal matrix protected her from the backlash.
"Fall back!" ordered one of the less corrupted leaders. "The Lady must know about the weapon weakness!"
But retreat wasn't an option for those consumed by rootrot. As the more disciplined attackers withdrew, the corrupted ones pressed forward with mindless fury. Sir Lucanas and Thorne found themselves separated, forced to deal with multiple opponents while their mounts kept the remaining shadow griffin at bay.
Neither saw the hidden attacker - a Shattered Crown elite whose corruption had progressed differently, granting stealth rather than fury. He emerged from the shadows behind Sir Lucanas, his corrupted blade finding a gap in the veteran Guardian's defense.
"Lucanas!" Thorne's cry carried pure fire as she witnessed her mentor stumble, Dawnfire's light flickering as dark energy spread from the wound. The blade had broken off, leaving corrupted metal inside.
What happened next was pure instinct. Thorne's combustion magic erupted not as simple flames but as fundamental force, accelerating the natural process of burning until reality itself seemed to ignite. The remaining attackers - corrupted and disciplined alike - were consumed in a blast that turned the very air into weapon.
Sir Lucanas collapsed as Echo landed beside him, the crystalwing's wings chiming distress patterns. The wound pulsed with corrupt energy, trying to spread rootrot through his system. His clouded eyes found Thorne with uncanny accuracy as she rushed to his side.
"The capital..." he managed, fighting the corruption's spread. "We need..."
"We need a healer," Thorne cut him off, already checking the wound. Her frontier experience told her this was beyond standard healing magic. The corrupted blade fragment carried something new - a refined version of rootrot that worked faster than any she'd seen.
Dawn painted the crystal formation in colors that seemed too bright against Sir Lucanas's paling features. The capital was less than a day away, but reaching it meant moving him with corrupted metal in his system. Every step would drive the darkness deeper.
"Being prepared is step one," he whispered, managing a slight smile despite the pain.
"Being ready is step two," Thorne finished, her voice tight. "And right now, being ready means finding a healer before we do anything else." She touched the tracking crystal Maya had given her, feeling its steady pulse. "There's a settlement two hours east. They'll have someone who can help."
As she worked to stabilize her mentor, Thorne's mind raced. Lady Ravenna wasn't just building an army - she was creating weapons specifically designed to target Guardians. The refined rootrot, the corrupted blades that broke off inside wounds... this had been a test as much as an attack.
The journey to the capital would have to wait. First, they needed to save Sir Lucanas from the darkness spreading through his veins. And somewhere in the growing dawn, Lady Ravenna's agents were undoubtedly reporting on everything they'd learned from this encounter.
The real race wasn't just to reach the capital anymore - it was to keep her mentor alive long enough to get there.