A smile bloomed upon the woman's porcelain features as she looked around the chamber in which they had landed. It was large cavern carved to polished perfection of glacial ice and overhead fragile frozen stalactites loomed. Some of which were so large they formed massive transparent pillars that spanned from floor to ceiling in great icy columns. Upon the walls thousands of multicolored crystals in various sizes were meticulously arranged in neat rows. Each crystal was unique and etched with different Meerunic symbols that were known only to the Oracles and perhaps a small handful of trained linguists that remained in the world.

Turning to Orlex she spoke for the first time since their journey began, “We have not been here since we created this room. We were lucky to have made it in time to the falls, the sun would have risen in a few hours and we would have had to wait another century for the next one to appear. I am glad that you agreed to come, it wouldn't have appeared at all if we were not both together at the meeting place to activate the spell.”

Orlex’s haunted gaze swept the room silently taking inventory as if to ensure nothing had been touched before he finally turned to acknowledge her. “Lucky, indeed. Although had your precious humans not wrought such destruction on the Meeroo kind during the Great Wars of Imzareen such precautions and measures never would have needed to be taken.”, he answered curtly.

“The crystals were entombed here and other chambers as a series of sacred archives to protect the Meeroo history and treasured knowledge. We used crystals in places of books to ensure their contents would survive the decay of time and the elements. True, the wars were a catalyst that sparked their construction but it was a wise decision to preserve the information regardless.”, Vashara replied as calmly as she could manage. Closing her eyes for a moment she whispered in a softer tone knowing it was a sensitive subject between them, “We did not travel all this way to fight. If you did not agree that it was time for the knowledge contained here to at last be shared then you would not have come.”

His jaw clenched into a chiseled line realizing she was partly right and he sighed. “The humans have been of some assistance in the repopulation of Meeroos,” he admitted reluctantly, “However, I am still not fully convinced that they will not fall back into old habits. This time I intend to keep a closer watch on things to make certain the Meeroos do not suffer again and become nearly extinct like the last time.”

“If the humans have earned their trust again then it is time that their caretakers should learn more about the creatures they protect.”, Vashara stated confidently. “Do you think they still work after all this time?”, she added gesturing towards the sparkling rows of crystal shards in an effort to change the subject.

He nodded once needing no time to ponder her question, “Yes, all they will need to do is simply touch the crystal when it appears to them. Each shard contains a bit of the history that was preserved inside for safekeeping. They were magically stored so that their contents can be unlocked when they are held, allowing the holder to see a flash of whatever memory is contained within the crystal in their own mind.”

Lifting a blue crystal from its icy resting shelf Vashara’s fingers curled around it and she lifted both arms overhead. “Then with our blessing and the aid of holiday magic, so shall this knowledge be shared!”, she sang out in a melodic tone. A humming noise rang from each crystal until the entire chamber echoed in chorus as they were awakened. Each Meerunic symbol etched upon the polished shards began to glow, burning brighter until the entire room was swallowed in a blinding display of light. And once its mystical glow had faded, the chamber was empty of both beings and the mysterious collection of crystal tomes.