Kazuyou

They were meant to be a guardian, a beacon for the lesser crystals, a rock wizard confided to an apprentice. "Instead, they became a liability." Kazuyou overheard them, as they often did. They were good at that. Good at smiling, good at charming their way past sentries in a fine haori, good at making people underestimate the carved cane in their hand. But they weren't good enough to foresee the consequences. They had only wanted to protect the Whispering Geode, acting on a tip that a thief was near. Bypassing the wards was easy. Unleashing the protective pulse from their cane was not. The geode was safe, but the pulse fractured the harmonic field of The Crystal Highlands of Armaria. Now the monoliths spin with a dangerous wobble. The wizards debate exile. The geode is still whispering. And Kazuyou just watches the sky, gripping the cane that caused it all.