[Gift] MYO Questline 1-7 — Cyrill's Story

i. Ingredients

“Cooking is basically like casting a magic spell…”
Word Count: 290

Crystal Clear Konpeito — WC: 71
These exuberantly-sweet and ephemerally beautiful candies are created by coating only the purest rock sugar crystals in sugar syrup made with special ultra-clear water from the highest mountain peaks. The result is handfuls of konpeito that refract sunlight like prisms… though perhaps they’re a little too bright and sweet to be a daily snack. Baobears made with this special ingredient have the clearest thoughts, and their personalities shine with pure brightness.

Goodberries of the Deep — WC: 105
While the name of this berry has been made popular by a nourishing spell of a similar name, there are slight differences between the berries of that spell and these morsels found in places of dark machinations. Grown on twisted vines, these berries can look like an assortment of normal berries except that their coloration is a dark violet color with purple and green swirls present throughout the berries’ skin and flesh. It’s a grab bag as to what flavor you’ll get from them; some are potently bitter, while others are mouth-numbingly sweet. Baos made with these berries gain a similar sort of mystique and unpredictability.

Brim-fruit — WC: 114
Only found in areas rich with hellish energy, a brim-fruit is a small gourd-like plant that grows off the side of brimstone cliffs. The brim-fruit gets its name from its unique appearance; it has a dark, pearly round section that is topped by a long, upturned lily-shaped section that gives the fruit the appearance of a round creature wearing a great wizard’s hat. Curiously, the two sections have wildly different taste profiles and bestow different traits to baos made with them; the main fruit is sweet and tart and instills baos with a curiosity for the unknown, and the “hat” is fibrous and chalky and instills baos with the desire for eccentric headwear pieces.

ii. Origins

“What’s good to eat on a stormy night?”
Word Count: 606

On a dark, stormy night not unlike one you may experience yourself… dark clouds brewed around the spire of a tall, dark tower. Made of eroded brick and held together by arcane magic, its lone silhouette—surrounded by barren bramble—pokes high into the stormy sky without any other kindred structure to match it. This lonely place, isolated near a rocky cliffside and sequestered away in a land that no one dared to visit unless it was deemed necessary, was the residence of a grizzled creature. Humanoid in appearance yet beastly nonetheless, this creature commanded magic of the highest caliber and had purposefully hidden itself away in a place where it wouldn’t damage others nor be used for nefarious purposes by greedy hearts.

This magic-razed land was its kingdom, and this tower was its castle… but this creature was incredibly lonely, nonetheless. So much time to spend doing everything and nothing at all, yet there was nothing to spend it with! Most creatures steered clear of the monster’s tower, and most interactions with adventurers and travelers alike turned out… poorly to say the least. Oh, what was this creature to do?

That was when the creature remembered a little magical recipe it had found one day in the wreckage of a traveling caravan it’d stumbled upon. With a special berry, delicious ingredients, and lots of love… it too could have a new curious companion that wouldn’t be afraid of its visage. So the creature set to work — puffs of steam emanated from the bleak tower’s windows as the creature synthesized the finest ingredients for its craft. It picked only the plumpest, darkest berries, the tallest brim-fruit, and the clearest konpeito it could make and combined all those ingredients over a reading of a story about a brave little wizard that could do anything. It was only proper to instill this new being with as much magical curiosity as possible, after all!

With rough hands, the creature did its best to delicately crimp the dark-stained dough. The instructions it’d found had been half-ruined by the elements… they said that this creature should be “cooked”, but how was that to happen?! Without much to go off of, the creature employed the cooking strategy it knew best — make a big cauldron full of magical soup, and chuck the freshly folded creation in! A big puff of sparkling steam billowed through the tower’s cooking chamber and out the windows once more, dissipating into sparkling dust as it scattered into the stormy atmosphere.

Stir, stir, stir… the creature could only wait with bated breath as it watched on to see if its creation would come out on the other end. Did it mess up a measurement somewhere in there? Did it fold the edges right? Was that odd berry really meant to go in there? Worried thoughts plagued the creature’s mind until—almost as if the magic around the land came together in a unanimous agreement—a wave of energy spilled from the cauldron’s lip, radiating outward beyond the tower’s walls and dissipating the atmosphere’s stormy clouds.

With a nervous feeling in their heart, the creature got up and looked in the cauldron after it picked itself up… lo and behold, floating in the middle of the now-clear magical broth was a small, pale form! The creature fished out the newborn being with a ladle and set them in a little bowl on its messy desk, looking on with awe.

All the little one needed was a name. As the creature had adopted the name ‘Cyhilgoh’, so too would it bestow a similar name onto the newborn… ‘Cyrill’. Hello, Cyrill — it’s wonderful to have you!

iii. Meals

“So hey… what do babies eat, anyways?”
Word Count: 321

As the creature Cyhilgoh cleaned the pot it used for its most recent endeavor, it gave a wary look to the little wailing bowl that sat on its desk. The little creature inside—named Cyrill—was just a newborn, thus it acted much like any new being would… it cried very, very loudly. After a moment, Cyhilgoh wandered back over to his desk to peer at the bowl. How interesting. The creature definitely remembered that it’d left a little spoonful of broth at the bottom of the bowl—having scooped out some liquid at the same time it scooped out the baobear—but now it was all gone… was this little one crying for more food?

Carefully cupping the bowl in rough hands, Cyhilgoh brought it over to the shelves where he kept his alchemical ingredients with a thoughtful hum. Was… was any of this suitable for newborns? Some of these ingredients were indeed edible, but would one really feed something like frog eyes to a newly made baobear? It narrowed its eyes as it continued to scan for something reasonable that would appease the crying baobear…

Eventually, its eyes landed on a sealed cardboard box. Cyhilgoh used a careful hand to wedge it out from its spot… and the box turned out to be a nearly-expired box of cereal. Berry-Os… some sort of cheaper off-brand cereal it managed to find one day, perhaps. With a clawed hand it slowly peeled the cereal box open, and tipped a handful of purple and green puffs into Cyrill’s bowl.

Much to Cyhilgoh’s surprise, the bao started… eating them. Cyrill seemed quite content to eat this food that’s spent a considerable amount of time in the presence of powerful magic… and who was this creature to deny their new little friend the food it likes? So for a while, Cyhilgoh sat and watched as Cyrill demolished nearly a whole box of cereal. It must have been hungry, right?

iV. Adventures

“A little bao’s first day out.”
Word Count: 569

The little ones most certainly grow up fast, don’t they?

It had only been a couple days before the creature Cyhilgoh witnessed its creation—Cyrill—come into his own. When the little bao donned his wizard hat (the gift he’d received from his “father”), he most certainly looked at home in this dark tower… and as of late, he wished to act the part as well. Oh, how he wanted to help his creator! Cyhilgoh’s dastardly features made it difficult for the creature to leave the confines of this building, and even more difficult for it to gather the ingredients it needed both for alchemy and for daily living. They were out of Berry-Os. Berry-Os were a crucial part of a budding wizard’s balanced diet! Yes, Cyrill was more than old enough… wasn’t he?! Even he could… could… brave the dangers of wandering through the wastelands to find a grocery store!

After much pleading, begging, and reasoning with an oddly stubborn Cyhilgoh, the creature reluctantly agreed to let Cyrill take on the task of going out for ingredients. With rough—but oddly comforting—hands, the creature dressed Cyrill with his hat and a pack full of essentials and sent its “son” down the rough road that winded away from the dark tower they called home. Of course it couldn’t help but worry, but it had to have faith in Cyrill… surely, he’ll be okay out there… because Cyhilgoh made him.

…

Meanwhile as the creature brewed in its worry, Cyrill was out on a wonderful adventure! He’d never seen much outside the tower, so all the new little details were so exciting for him to take in. What are those flowers? They look delicious—that’s one more ingredient for the basket! His creator told him to be careful of what things he picked (and to make sure they were edible, according to this little wizard-ry book he was supplied with), but he couldn’t help but be curious about all the interesting things he happened upon across this road. Right, he was on a journey to go to the nearest general store, right? He’d gotten so preoccupied with picking up each and every interesting thing on his way, he’d almost forgotten!

The nearest general store was still quite a walk away, and by then the scenery had changed so much—the grass that was once dull and dark was now vibrantly green, and the calm air of the area was so different compared to the magically-charged air around their gloomy living abode. There were even other traveling beings that made their ways across the roads! Some of them looked quite surprised at the things that Cyrill carried, but he paid that no mind — here was the general store, and they stocked SO many things besides Berry-Os! Cans upon cans of things, cooking utensils, REALLY big knives, and adventuring supplies! Luckily he had a big coin pouch full of money that he got from Cyhilgoh, so if anything on the shelf looked interesting… into the basket it went! He even got a packet of something called “crystal rock candy” for his creator — don’t tell!

Finally once Cyrill had shopped his heart out, he went up to the counter and dumped all his coins out for the clerk to count. Cha-ching — he had plenty to pay for all the things he purchased! Ingredient gathering was a success, and now he can go home with his head raised high!

V. Perils

“There’s just one teensy-weensy problem…”
Word Count: 262

After wandering out of the general store with bags a-plenty, Cyrill pulled out his bag once more. His creator Cyhilgoh said that once he was done with his adventure, he should use the waystone that it made to teleport right back home. Channel a little magic through it, make sure you’re touching everything that needs to go home, and voila! He’d be back with Cyhilgoh, and they’d have all the food they’d need for a while!

But… uh… well, there was a little problem with that plan. Cyrill shifted his bag around to grab at the pocket where he put the waystone… and to his surprise, it had a big ol’e hole in the bottom! Oh no… maybe he shouldn’t have taken that shortcut through that twisty briar; now his bag was all ripped and his waystone was nowhere to be found! How was he to get home — he didn’t think about remembering the directions!

On the road beside the general store, Cyrill slumped and pouted; maybe his creator was right and he was too young to be out adventuring in the world… but oh, that wouldn’t do! He picked himself up, straightening his hat and shouldering his purchases on his shoulders. He was a creation—no perhaps even an apprentice—of Cyhilgoh! A little slip up wouldn’t deter him, nor would it stop him from finding his way home… it would be worried if he didn’t report back soon!

And so, Cyrill quickly dashed back into the general store, bought a map, and set out on their grand-ER adventure to get back home!

vi. Friends

“These groceries sure are heavy… Does anyone have a paw?”
Word Count: 582

Down the road Cyrill went, attempting to return home after losing his waystone on his journey… and for the most part, things were going smoothly! Surprisingly, all sorts of different creatures were super nice to him when he asked for directions—some even marked his map and warned him to be careful when traveling! How nice of them all! They needn’t worry as Cyrill is an apprentice of the creature Cyhilgoh, so any danger thrown his way would be effectively neutralized!

However, there was yet another problem on Cyrill’s paws. All those groceries he’d bought prior were really weighing him down… he’s a wizard, not a weightlifter! Oh the misery of buying way too many things at the store at once and trying to carry it all home in one go… well, it’d be bad if he left anything behind, but he couldn’t think of carrying all of this stuff around for too much longer!

Curiously though, as Cyrill was taking a breather at a crossroads, he was approached by a curious green-ish bao who peered at him with big, dark eyes. He looked about as out-of-place as Cyrill did, how interesting! After quietly observing Cyrill and all his things, the bao walked up and introduced himself as Bogos Binty — though he said to call him “Bobi” to make things easier. Hello, Bobi! Apparently Bobi was curious as to why Cyrill would be resting at such an inconvenient place for baos to “park their paws” as he said… and Cyrill enthusiastically unfurled his map to show Bobi the reason why he was resting.

“I lost my waystone, so I can’t teleport all my groceries back home — I’ve had to walk all this way to find my way back!” Cyrill attempted to puff out his chest in a show of fortitude.
“Very impressive. I too understand what it feels like to be so inconvenienced like that. You have bought many interesting trinkets to take home with you.” Bobi looked curiously at Cyrill’s things, obviously unsure of how to interact with most of what’s there.
“Not just trinkets! It’s food, and Berry-Os, and so many things I haven’t ever seen before at home. Hey, do you want to help me get home? It’s a little scary, but me and my creator can make you something yummy for your troubles!” Taking Bobi by the paws, Cyrill led the bao over.
“I am… unsure if my assistance would be beneficial to your cause. This place you marked on your map… it is known for its unstable energy field and monstrous creature. This is what I’ve heard from adventurers who go this way.”
“No worries!!! I’m very strong, and my creator is a little scary too but it’s super strong too! Pretty please?” Cyrill pleaded with big eyes, watching Bobi’s expression scrunch up before he made a decision.
“If you are so certain of the safety of your travel, I shall assist. I am interested in this ‘something yummy’ you offer.”
“Yay! Thank you so much, Bobi!”

And so the two intrepid explorers set off on their (relatively short, now that Cyrill actually had a friend to help carry his groceries) adventure! Once Cyrill arrived home he received quite the earful from Cyhilgoh, but in an attempt to not look as scary his creator let him off the hook. Now he and his new friend Bobi can sit around, enjoy Berry-Os, and talk about all sorts of different things until Bobi has to leave! What a wonderful adventure!

vii. Dreams

“After a long, long day…”
Word Count: 259

After getting home from his adventure—and after seeing his friend Bobi off safely—Cyrill felt quite sleepy. It was no surprise, given what he’d been through! His creator Cyhilgoh agreed that Cyrill should leave putting up the groceries to it and that he should get a lot of good sleep, and so Cyrill took the creature’s help! Hanging his hat on a hat rack, Cyrill quickly tucked himself into the bed made from the bowl he’d been scooped into when he was first made, and fell into a quiet slumber.

…

Babam! Shazam! With a big and powerful magic orb, Cyrill zapped the evil creature into oblivion; this demon being was an evil, evil thing that had plagued this town for eons and blamed it all on Cyhilgoh! His poor creator had been exiled to the edge of eternity because it was framed so badly, and Cyrill was on a mission to show that his creator was kind, friendly, and absolutely WASN’T evil! And he did that just now by striking down his true enemy—and yippee, look how the crowd cheers! Every-bao quickly came out of their house and shouted about how they were saved and how they were wrong and how Cyhilgoh’s apprentice saved the day and how Cyhilgoh’s not a bad guy after all! Truly, it was an impressive feat of power!

…

And as its little creation rolled around in his sleep, Cyhilgoh—as it put up the box of Berry-Os Cyrill bought—couldn’t help but chuckle and wonder just what it was that his apprentice was dreaming about.