Matriarch: Strength

Griffith and Aule stood at the mouth of the crystalline cavern. They could see the Matriarch’s head, claws, and tails peaking through the rocks and crystals. The light from the crystals bounced off rocks and refracted through other crystals to create a wild dream-like environment for a nightmare situation. The pair were waiting for their third companion before they ventured further into the colourful cavern. 

“Guys, over here,” Oeric called, drawing the pair’s eyes away from the glittering crystals. 

Griffith and Aule moved to meet Oeric, who stood waving at them. Next to Oeric stood a familiar haedian. Cailu smiled at the pair as they approached. 

“Oeric tells me you guys are looking to help,” Cailu said. 

All three empyrians nodded. 

“Excellent,” Cailu clapped, “Follow me this way.”

The four tyrians moved around the organized chaos that was going on around them. It seemed like hundreds of reoseans worked together in various ways to free the haedians’ Matriarch. No one spoke in the group while they made their way through the endless crowds. Finally, Cailu led them to a rock wall around the side of the Matriarch. 

“We need help digging on this side of the cavern,” Cailu explained. “If you dig and pile the rocks over there, then someone else will take them away to make more space.”

The three emyprians followed Cailu’s directions as he pointed to various places around them. It was a simple task and the three were eager to help. Cailu pointed out a few more things like where the Matriarch was so they wouldn’t hurt her, or where others were digging if they wanted to move to another place. When Cailu was satisfied the three empyrians were prepared, he left them to dig. 

“Let’s get started,” Griffith said after a beat. 

“Shouldn’t Cailu help us,” Oeric wondered. 

“He probably has other things to do,” Aule shrugged as he turned to the wall. 

They each picked a spot on the wall and started to dig. Oeric focused on the rocks near the crystals, carefully pulling them away from the translucent gems. He wasn’t doing it for any other reason than to make the mundane task more interesting. He tried to see how far he could dig along the crystal until it broke from the lack of support. His two friends hadn’t spotted what he was doing so he quietly continued his little game. 

Griffith contemplated using his magic to pull the rocks away, but ultimately he wasn’t sure he had the control for that sort of movement. Instead, he honed in on a few cracks, he pressed his claws into the cracks, and then moved them along the edge. His thought process was like cutting out a cookie. He ran his claw on the outside and then tried to pop out the big shape in one go. He had varying success. 

Aule watched Griffith’s unusual methods and decided he was going to try the classic digging method, with his claws. He shoveled rocks and dirt behind him without looking where it ended up. He blindly tore into the rock wall. If he came across a crystal, he would try to force his way through. Out of the three, Aule’s method was the most successful, but he tired of it quickly. 

“I got it!’ Griffith chirped excitedly. 

Oeric and Aule twisted to see what had excited their companion. They saw Griffith sitting on his hind legs holding a large piece of rock. 

“What are you doing?” Aule asked. 

“I was trying to cut out a rock without it breaking,” Griffith beamed. 

“Oh, I was doing the same thing,” Oeric chuckled and pointed to the tall crystal he had managed to dig out, “But with crystals.”

“Why?” Aule asked with a confused expression. 

“I was trying to make it more interesting,” Oeric laughed. 

Griffith nodded, “I wasn’t trying to make a game of it, but it just sort of happened.”

“You try,” Oeric gestured to Aule. 

Aule thought for a moment before he agreed to it. He figured that they were all still digging so the how wasn’t as important. Aule picked a spot and carefully mimicked what he had seen Griffith do earlier. The first attempt, the rock he tried to extract from the wall, shattered and crumbled out of his hands. He huffed and then tried again. Oeric tried Griffith’s method too, leaving his crystal for the moment. Griffith watched his two friends focus on the wall as they cut into it. 

The trio continued this game for several more hours. When they became good at getting the rocks and crystals out without breaking them, they moved onto a new challenge, how large could the rocks get, and then how small. It held their focus and they managed to dig into the wall a substantial distance before they stopped to take a break. 

[808]