They discovered the crystals deep below the earth of their city. Glimmering lilac baubles growing on the walls of the caves, growing more numerous the deeper they went, until eventually the dark stone of the caverns were no longer visible, and the passageways were nothing but crystal. The enchanting beauty of the crystals drew the eye of the people, but what really created the obsession was the water they found trapped inside the crystalline growths.
Someone, at some time, claimed the water was so pure it could cure small ailments. This belief propagated, gently at first, and changed subtly, to the idea that it could make a person appear younger, and then extend their life, or cure the incurable. Eventually the rumours flourished and there were whole cabals of people certain that the water from the crystals could make a person immortal, if the water was pure enough and if the person was of pure spirit. There were different qualities of water, sold at different prices, and different levels of spirit-purgers, who worked for different rates.
There were those who never bought into any of it. A select group were even vehemently opposed to having the crystals and the water in the city. But even they could not feel vindicated when the first of the victims of the blight were found.
A darkened house, the stench of rotted food, and water damage from an unfixed pipe. In the bathroom, the only light left on. Mouldered to the wall, only an arm recognised as human, the rest fused to the tiles, gleaming lilac.
Paddy Dobson
25th December 2022