Fontain's eyes turn to you as you walk closer, head nodding in respect.

Priest Fontain: And again the string-bearer returns. I can already tell why you have come to me - I feel the presence 
of the lost surrounding you.

<your name>: I was hoping you could tell me more about these "soul crystals".

Priest Fontain: I was wondering how long it would take you to reach me with such a question. Which do you have with 
you?

<your name>: The Ranger's Soul.

Priest Fontain: If I could see it, then...?

The priest cradles the small gemstone in his palm, staring down into its luminescent surface with calm eyes.
Priest Fontain: Ah yes. Can you not feel it, string-bearer? The energies flowing within? The cycles of death and 
rebirth, the experiences of a thousand lifetimes. A predator's existance, crawling through the mire and much, slowly 
stalking its prey. Watching from afar, striking from a distance, eyes closely tracking every single move its target 
makes... Yes. Truly powerful relics, within the right hands.
Carefully he hands the crystal back, bowing his head.

Priest Fontain: Too powerful for hands such as my own.

<your name>: But what are they, exactly?

Fontain chuckles dryly at your question, glancing down at the stone you hold.
Priest Fontain: To some, there is a such a thing as spirituality. A form of belief which causes the mind to accept on 
faith principals which all rational thought disagrees with. The ideas of gods and demons, of life beyond death, of 
magic and superstition. Things which no sane person should hold dear... yet most do. And yet, in this day and age, we 
have come to realize the scientific nature behind reality. A world in which death no longer threatens its inhabitants, 
thanks to the miracles of knowledge. Say you were to travel backwards through time ten thousand years, plucking 
someone from their average life and bringing them to this place. Would they accept what they saw as being rational? 
Would they gaze upon an Atrox and see an otherworldly giant? Would they truly believe that virtually invisible robots 
could enhance their bodies to super-human levels? Would their mind be able to cope with the idea of never dying?

<your name>: I get the feeling I've said this to you a lot, but what's your point?

Priest Fontain: My point - indeed, the point - is that magic is simply phenomena which has yet to be explained 
scientifically. The same may be said of religion. Now this stone - what we refer to as a "soul crystal" - is truly 
neither a crystal nor a soul. It is, instead, a culmination of technology, both new and ancient. And ultimately a 
powerful tool if used properly.

<your name>: ... so what ARE they?

Priest Fontain: Every day, swirling around you are trillions of nanites. Much, much larger numbers than that, even. 
Countless amounts. And naturally, not all are used in an active sense. Many are simply leftovers - Strays abandoned 
from the herd. Imagine for a moment that even one out of every ten thousand nanobots is lost from its group, left to 
float aimlessly among the air. Imagine that every single time a nanoprogram is executed, a thousand nanobots are lost 
or discarded. Imagine how quickly those numbers build up.

<your name>: But nanobots don't survive that long in general...

Priest Fontain: Correct. Once their programming is completed, that is. You forget the notum that swirls around us, 
that inhabits every single micron of this planet's surface. The air you breathe. The food you eat. The water you 
drink. And those discarded, aimless nanobots exist there as well. Waiting. Idle. Recording.

<your name>: Recording?

Priest Fontain: Nanites carry with them vast amounts of storage space. And throughout their lifetimes these strays see 
many, many things. What you hold there is a condensation of these nanites given physical form. Solidified. And within 
that form is carried the stored memories of a million experiences, of a thousand battles. They are living codexes, 
able to teach and bestow fantastical properties to those who can wield them properly. They are, in fact, souls - The 
souls of the forgotten, transformed from the intangible into reality. It simply depends on how one defines the soul 
itself.

<your name>: Alright, so why do all your ex-priests seem to have hundreds of them?

Fontain's mouth twists at your words, a deep frown on his face.

Priest Fontain: I will tell you. But first you must accomplish a task for me. These are dangerous, dark things in the 
wrong hands, and my former brothers are deeply tainted by their powers. The tools they use to form these stones group 
the nanites according to category and potential memories stored - The Ranger, the Gladiator, the Healer, the Summoner, 
the Illusionist, and the Jester. What I will tell you, however, and what I believe they have yet to discover, is that 
the soul crystals are not limited to simply these archtypes - There are others. And they may be combined. Find these 
six types, and combine them together. Bring the completed crystal to me, and I will tell you more.

<your name>: Goodbye

-- 

Fontain's gaze meets your own as you approach, head bowing slightly.

Priest Fontain: And so you return, string-bearer.

<your name>: I have the awakened soul crystal.

Priest Fontain: And I will take it, then.
Fontain gently clasps the glowing crystal within his hand, before quickly transferring it to a small pouch at his 
waist.

Priest Fontain: I do not relish taking this, for I know exactly what sort of temptations lie within its shell. But I 
thank you none-the-less for bringing this to me. It may have it's uses in attempting to heal our lost brethren.

<your name>: Alright, I've run your errand. Now I've got a few more questions.

Priest Fontain: And I will answer. What I am able, at least.

<your name>: What's with the Soul Ripper thing?

Priest Fontain: The tool used to collect these, what we have dubbed a "Soul Ripper" is an item that recognizes the 
latent memory patterns of nanobots, analyzing them and distilling them into certain forms. The Soul Ripper, while 
condensing them, gives them very highly transmutable properties, enabling them to interface and interact with a 
variety of items. However, due to the origin of the t--No. I cannot say more on that. Suffice to say, there are only 
certain items with which these crystals are capable of communication - Hence why most technology tends to reject them 
out-right. It is not that they are incapable of telling what the crystals are; it is that the crystals do not want 
them to know what they are.
I won't lie to you - The tool is... foreign. Even to us. But we have gained knowledge of it's use over time. Our order 
is one of learning - Of recording and studying, but rarely interfering. We do not take a side within the wars that 
ravage this universe, though some of us do have our preferences. The tools we have been given allow us to study things 
in greater, deeper detail, to record and collect facets of history which may have otherwise been lost in time. But, as 
I have said of so many things, this does come with its price.

<your name>: What price is that?

Priest Fontain: As I said previously, these "souls" are collections of memories, yes. But they are also collections of 
power. They have the ability to interface with many, many things, and add their collected memories to whatever it is 
they happen to choose. When this happens, the crystals unleash their stored nanites and even go so far as changing 
some of the innate nano-material used within the item they are attracted to. Often, these archtypes refuse to work 
with each other, and only certain things will work with certain archtypes. To be perfectly honest, it is a mystery to 
us how the process directly works. We simply know what happens.
<your name>: So where are they getting all these crystals from? And why?
Priest Fontain: My guess is that they are preparing. Preparing for what I... I am sorry. Genuinely I am, but I cannot 
say. These crystals are of great interest to certain individuals, as I am sure you will discover at some point soon. 
The Dust Brigade, I am sure, offered my brethren a very simple choice - To aid them in their goals and to receive 
power, or to be left behind and potentially face their doom. That so many of our order would choose to break our 
vows... dissapoints me. But it is an interesting fold within the tapestry of this tale.
Fontain shakes his head slightly.
Priest Fontain: Regardless, there is no way of saying where they are receiving the crystals from, persay. Any place 
which has high concentration of nanobots would be likely, which truly encompasses the whole of Rubi-Ka. The Soul 
Ripper can be pointed at nearly anything and receive data - But it may not be of the sort that our kind would utilize.

<your name>: In all the time I've been talking to you, you keep making it sound like something bad is about to happen any 

minute now.
Fontain studies you for a moment, a slight twist to his mouth as he speaks.
Priest Fontain: A home is struck by a wayward bomb. The family survives due to reclaim, all save their youngest 
daughter. There is a seventy-eight percent probability that this child will become an infamous terrorist in the 
future, but no one has this knowledge. Had this child grown, she would have spread a virus across the entirety of 
Rubi-Ka that would have killed the entire population. Because of this, an Omni-Tek scientist never travels to the 
planet, where he would have died in orbit. He goes on to spread the reclaim system across the entire galaxy via 
creating powerful subspace links directly to the Source. 
Now.
Do you point blame, or do you give thanks? Would this child have fulfilled the probability, or would she have chosen a 
different path? Did her death save millions? Or did it destroy countless lives? Who is to say that the concept of 
reclaim is something that should be spread? What is right and what is wrong? What is good and what is bad?
We all have our personal opinions. And to me, yes - Something bad is about to happen. And I know, by this point, that 
you yourself will either be one to usher it in or otherwise cease their machinations before it spreads. But it is not 
up to me to influence your judgement. It is only up to me to record.

<your name>: I guess this is where we part ways, then.

Priest Fontain: So it would seem. For what it is worth, child, I wish you luck in whatever you choose. The dark days 
which I spoke of before... they inch closer with every passing moment. You must choose your destiny, and choose 
wisely. For you may very well be the turning point of all things. Take care, string bearer. Perhaps, some day, you and 
I will speak again.
With that Fontain's head bows, before looking off into the space just beside your head. He is silent, and only the 
faintest of smiles remains on his face.

<your name>: Goodbye