A young woman named Shantis was in her final year at the Faculty of History, aspiring to follow in the footsteps of her parents, who were archaeologists and deeply fascinated by the cultures of ancient sculptures and historical sites.
She wanted to contribute to her family by studying past events, hoping to explain to her parents the reasons and circumstances that had shaped the world as everyone knew it today.
She wanted to bring a unique perspective to her family, as she never felt she could compare to any of her sisters or to her parents, who were passionate about the unknown and undiscovered.
However, due to a temporary shutdown at her university, Shantis was given three months of free time while the professors and administrators worked to resolve an ongoing conflict at the Faculty of Philosophy.
Shantis decided to use this time to visit her grandfather, her father's father. He was known in the family as a grumbler and a big jokester, someone who would easily panic if things weren't done by the book, and who spent most of his days watching television.
He lived alone in a remote village, far from the bustling metropolis where the rest of the family resided. This didn't bother Shantis at all—in fact, as she flew in by plane, she was filled with excitement, eagerly anticipating the reunion with her grandfather, whom she had missed dearly.
However, spending time with her grandfather wasn't as exciting as Shantis had hoped. She had forgotten just how much of a grumbler and a bore he could be, which made her consider cutting her visit short and returning home earlier than planned to help her sisters instead.
One day, while accompanying her grandfather into the forest to chop wood, Shantis wasn't paying close attention, and due to poor technique, her grandfather accidentally felled a tree right next to him. The tree quickly fell onto him, pinning him down and trapping him on the ground.
Frightened, Shantis immediately ran off to find someone who could help move the tree, as she was unable to do it on her own.
As she wandered through the area searching for anyone who could help, Shantis came across a very unusual young man.
Her first thought was that he might be a thief, judging by the strange objects he carried, his extremely tattered clothes, and his long, unkempt hair. He looked more like a stray animal than a human being.
Despite every fealing telling her to ignore him and keep searching for someone else, Shantis couldn't be sure whether her grandfather was suffering from internal bleeding or something equally serious.
Summoning her courage, she approached the young man and spoke to him in a very hesitant tone. The situation wasn't helped by the fact that the young man appeared startled—either when she came near or when she finally addressed him.
However, as soon as she mentioned that someone needed help, it no longer mattered what tone she used or how uncertain her gestures were—the young man instantly became serious and seemed to know exactly what needed to be done.
They soon found her grandfather, who was groaning in pain and scolding his granddaughter for not coming sooner—and for bringing some "snot-nosed kid" with her. To that, Shantis simply told him to "shut up".
Panicking, she tried to lift the tree herself, but grew frustrated when she noticed that the young man was just observing and feeling around the trunk.
Then, out of nowhere, with just a single touch, the young man split the tree in half—leaving Shantis in absolute shock.
She immediately asked him to help carry her grandfather, but the young man had to refuse. Frustrated by his refusal, Shantis grew a bit angry and somehow managed to drag her grandfather to the hospital on her own.
Some time later, Shantis began to feel guilty that she never had the chance to properly thank the mysterious young man for his help.
So, she returned several times to the same spot where she had first found him, hoping she might see him again.
Carrying a bag filled with various pastries, she finally found him one day—sitting and quietly observing the village from a distance.
Although their conversation was slightly awkward at first, she was truly grateful for his help, and the young man appreciated her company in return.
Soon, from time to time, they would arrange to meet and wait for each other at the same spot where their friendship had begun, sharing many stories and pieces of knowledge with one another.
The young man told her his name was Zemljakoster, but he lied about where he was from and about his family, claiming he lived alone in the wilderness.
Shantis was deeply intrigued by the items Zemljakoster carried with him—she could recognize some of them as ancient artifacts from the time where bandjoses walked freely and dominated the earth. These were items most likely used sometime between the era of the "First Hunter" and the "Fall of the Bandjos Lords." Shantis fought.
The items were very old and unusual. Shantis only knew the basics of the architecture from that era, so she could only guess their origins based on historical references. She wanted to know where Zemljakoster had gotten these artifacts from and whether he understood their value and the danger they could pose—something Zemljakoster had never even considered, nor did he know that these items were dangerous.
However, when Zemljakoster explained his skills to Shantis, she immediately recognized that he was a "crystal warrior," a concept Zemljakoster neither understood nor knew what Shantis was talking about. Shantis initially thought Zemljakoster was one of the private or public mercenaries employed by the state, but she soon realized that he seemed to be someone who had awakened his crystal in isolation.
She knew that those who possessed a crystal had to be registered and work for the state they belonged to; otherwise, they would be arrested or eliminated. However, she didn't say anything about this to Zemljakoster.
After many meetings and time spent together, Zemljakoster suddenly stopped coming to the place where they always met. She didn't know why—until Zemljakoster reappeared and explained that he was hiding from someone who was chasing him.
Worried about her friend's safety, she offered him to stay with her and her grandfather. When her grandfather found out that Zemljakoster was an illegal, unregistered "crystal user," he immediately panicked, fearing that the police and military would arrest him. Because of this, he convinced Shantis to let the military come for Zemljakoster.
The grandfather persuaded Shantis that it was for the best, saying Zemljakoster needed protection from whoever was chasing him. In reality, the grandfather just wanted to get Zemljakoster out of the way so he wouldn't cause him any trouble. Technically, he was hiding an unregistered atomic bomb level freath at his home, which he hadn't reported—something that instantly made him an enemy of the state in their eyes, as he was concealing such a powerful weapon from them and he just wants to watch TV in peace.
When the soldiers finally came for Zemljakoster, he tried to escape. The last look exchanged between Shantis and Zemljakoster was one filled with betrayal. Zemljakoster was disappointed and hurt, never expecting this from his very first friend, while Shantis had no ill intentions—she truly wanted to help him.