by V F Sharp
“That’s the creepiest thing I’ve ever heard,” said Meldon.
“It gets worse. Her head turned toward me and she said, ‘The blood has already been spilled. The great battle begins.’ I looked over at Fin, who was motionless on the ground and I knew he needed help, but I was afraid to move. I saw the blue angels in the distance, and they gave me hope.”
“The fog silhouettes?” said Pallu.
“Dancing angels. They must be angels, because when I looked at them, I felt a sense of comfort. I forced myself to stand up but the old woman rumbled furiously and the ground lifted below my feet, knocking me over again. I got right back up and she faded away, or so I thought. But she came back with a vengeance. She reappeared and angrily said those three strange words, her voice sounding like rushing water. She was really angry.”
“Eximum, venirum, sangamort,” said the prince.
“Exactly. And she kept repeating it, while her giant face rumbled like an earthquake. I was shaking and I felt like I was going to black out. But I kept looking back at Fin and knew that he needed my help. I couldn’t let go. Her mouth was made of cracked, hardened soil, and it opened wide as thousands of sand bees flew out and came right at me. Her entire face dissolved as her eyes, mouth, ears, and every part of her face turned into a swarm of bees. It was dreadful. They flew right through me and seemed to enter my body, just like Fin described with the bats. I felt weak and my body gave out as I fell right next to Fin. I couldn’t find any strength inside of me to hold on. It was like all of my joy, hope, and purpose had been sucked out of me.”
“Lanz!” said Ezstasia with a cracking in her voice. She felt broken-hearted, not only for her sister, but for all her friends. She couldn’t believe that her disappearance had created so much pain and havoc for the people she loved the most. She grabbed her sister’s hand and squeezed it tightly.
“I’d all but given up,” said Lanzzie, “but then I thought of my sister and all the good things in my life that I wanted to get back to. I kept fighting it. I looked at Fin and told him to stay positive and think of only good things. I wasn’t sure if he could hear me, but his eyes were open. I looked again at the dancing blue angels and they became even brighter. I felt like they were cheering me on, so I kept talking.”
“I could hear her, and I actually started to feel better,” said Fin. “Little by little, I could move my fingers and the rest of my body. Eventually, I was able to help Lanzzie up and we got on our rabbits. We were both exhausted, but we managed to ride off. We didn’t get too far because we heard screams and that’s when we found Ithron. Luckily, we were able to help him, and here we all are, alive to tell the tale. Thanks to Lanzzie.”
Lanzzie took Fin’s hand and held it.
“It’s incredible that you both survived,” said the prince. “It seems that somehow focusing every ounce of your energy on people and places you love helps form at least a partial resistance. It’s also astounding that with all the dark magic in that forest, there’s a positive force there, too, in the form of the blue spirits.”
“It sure seems like it,” said Fin.
“It gives me hope,” said the prince, “but it also presents even more of a mystery about whatever it is that we’re dealing with. Because, if this is truly a dark force at play, it’s unlikely it would produce anything good.”
“That’s true,” said Randin. “It makes absolutely no sense.”
“That’s the brilliance of it,” said Meldon. “I admire it in a way.”
“That’s because you’re strange,” said Zander.
“It is brilliant in a sense,” said the prince, “but we have quite a problem to solve.” He turned back toward Fin and Lanzzie. “You should both be proud of the courage and perseverance you’ve shown. Lanzzie, you may not have been in time to help that young boy who we lost today, but you just may have saved many other lives by figuring out how to fight it.”
Lanzzie looked up at the prince with reddened eyes. “I hope so, my lord.”
“I must ask you all to excuse me. There’s someone I need to speak with. Several of you have mentioned some incredibly dark creatures. I’m sure they felt terribly real. For all we know, they were real. The truth is, those creatures sound familiar to me. They’re similar to the dark stories I read about as a child.”
“What about the words?” said Meldon. “Do you know the meaning of them?”
“No, but I know someone who very well might. Please, all of you wait here. I’ll return within the hour.”
* * * *
After the prince was gone for some time, he returned to the room where Ezstasia and her friends had remained.
“Come,” he said. “I’d like you all to follow me.”
“Where?” said Pallu, wide-eyed.
The prince smiled. “To a part of the castle few have ever seen.”
Ezstasia was wondering what part of the castle the prince was talking about, but once they’d ascended the spiral staircase and approached the massive doors, she recognized her surroundings immediately. The enormous wooden doors, exquisitely designed into the shape of an immense tree that reached the ceiling, were not a sight that could be easily forgotten. She had nearly opened them when the prince had caught her trying to leave the castle after her injury. Now she would finally get to see what was hidden behind them.
As the prince and his two servants stood in front of the towering doors, she could hear the chatter and whispers behind her. Her friends were, no doubt, in complete awe.
“Welcome to the room that Prince Valorian was most fond of in this castle,” said the prince. He stood aside and motioned to the two servants standing by the ornate door handles. Together, they slowly opened both large doors outward, offering the first glimpse into what lie within.
Ezstasia walked in first, and after taking a few steps inside, stopped as she looked around in amazement. She was standing in another enormous library, but this was no ordinary one. The immense, circular, two-level room had actual, giant trees built into the walls, with some of the branches extending up and across the high ceiling. If she didn’t know better, and aside from the many books that lined the walls, she would’ve thought she was in a large clearing in the middle of a forest.
She continued walking further into the room with the rest of the group, marveling at the surroundings and the enormity of the trees around the perimeter of the hall. She noticed an especially wide tree on the far left with a hollowed out trunk. An entire sitting room had been set up inside of it. Jezreel squealed with delight at another hollowed out tree on the right, which housed an adorable tea table with two chairs.
Ezstasia was startled by someone clearing their throat from the other end of the room. She squinted her eyes and spotted an old man in a brown cloak standing behind a large, square, wooden table at the far end. The man closed a large book with a thud, which got everyone’s attention.
“These glorious trees,” said the man, his aged and weathered voice echoing throughout the room, “lived on the property long before this castle was built. But alas, they are no longer alive, merely restored to their former glory by the ingenious and passionate Prince Valorian.”
This man, whose scraggly white hair and wrinkled skin made him look like one of the wise old sages from the scrolls, beckoned them all toward him. “Come,” he said. “I have much to show you.” Even from a distance, Ezstasia assumed that, although he was hunched over somewhat, he was likely quite tall when he was younger.
She and the others walked to the enormous table. Along the way, Ezstasia gazed around at the many hollowed out trunks around the room. One had a blanketed picnic area, another had a hammock, and the largest one even had cushioned chairs by a fireplace. They were all so inviting, each one its own canopy-covered oasis.
As they approached the old man, Ezstasia took notice of the ancient scroll he seemed to be poring over that was spread out on the table, as well as the old, dusty books, paintings, and numerous rolled-up scrolls that lay all around it, scattered
in haphazard fashion.
“I’d like to introduce you all to my archminister, Eliezer,” said the prince. “Eliezer’s been with my family for many years.”
“I’m sure my appearance looks to them as if I’ve been with your family for centuries, my lord.”
The prince laughed. “If you could have, I know you would have been with us for generations, my dear, faithful friend. And every generation would have benefitted greatly from your wisdom.”
“Ah, but the only true wisdom is knowing how little we actually know, is it not? Regarding the forest, I’m afraid our knowledge of it has decreased by the day. But thanks to your esteemed guests here, we may have fallen into a bit of good fortune.”
“What did you find?” said the prince, with a touch of hope in his voice.
“Perhaps nothing,” said Eliezer. “But from the words dear Lanzzie described hearing in the forest, we can make some educated presumptions, particularly regarding a few passages from the scrolls that make reference to the Great War.”
“From the scrolls?” said Meldon, as he adjusted his eyeglasses. “So you believe what’s happening could be tied to the past?”
Eliezer turned his attention to Meldon. “I believe it could be, yes. Might I inquire as to your familiarity with the ancient treaty?”
“I’ve read up on it a bit,” said Meldon.
“Then you’re a rarity indeed in today’s times,” said Eliezer. “For the rest of you, to understand the context of the treaty, it will be useful to understand the war that preceded it. Those were the days of Valorian, whose kingdom you now grace with your presence. He was said to have had a brilliant mind and a kind heart. He was next in line to be king following his father Izhar the First. This castle was an ode to all that Valorian held dear. He had a special fondness for all things of an arboreous nature. If I may be so bold, I would say that the only thing he loved as much as the trees were his books. It’s been told that he would say, ‘Books and forests are secret doors to escape through.’ I would be foolish to disagree.”
“With all these trees and books,” said Pallu, “he must’ve needed a lot of escaping.”
“Shhh,” said Randin.
Eliezer held up his hand and smiled. “Escape is indeed the great reprieve,” he said, “though one also has duties to attend to, and Prince Valorian was no exception.”
He pointed to the large scroll that was laid out on the table that read Lineagus Royalus across the top. His shaky finger followed the generations until it stopped on Alazar. “You can see the full lineage here. Valorian’s father was King Izhar the First. Prince Alazar’s father, an equally wonderful man, is King Izhar the Great.”
As Ezstasia strained her neck to peek at the parchment, Eliezer slowly reached toward the pile on the table and carefully pulled out another scroll that he gently unrolled. It was an etching of people and magical beings, all living in harmony in a lush, idyllic village full of farms and cottages.
“Here you can see the small mushroom-shaped huts of the Mushrims built right next to a villager’s cottage, similar to one of yours I suppose. The magic and human worlds coexisted peacefully for generations. They shared the same land and even the same homes for particular occasions.”
Squinting to look at the scroll, Eliezer slowly pointed to the faint outline of a figure standing next to an elaborate treehouse. “And here are the majestic Unseen Wizards.”
“I don’t see anything,” said Pallu.
“Hence the name Unseen Wizards,” said Zander, rolling his eyes.
“The Unseen Wizards are even more difficult to see in person, according to the scrolls,” said Eliezer, “at least when they choose to be invisible. But in addition to their visual peculiarities, the Unseen Wizards serve atop the High Court of the magic world. But alas, we’re not here simply to discuss magical creatures, as fascinating a topic as it is. We’re looking for ties to our present situation. And yet, a bit of historical knowledge may indeed assist our efforts—particularly, the events leading up to, and immediately following, the treaty itself.”
Eliezer carefully rolled up the scroll and rested his hands on the table.
“In those days, which were of a more harmonious nature, people made great use of magic. But as we know, any tool that can be put to great use can be put to great misuse. And that is exactly what happened.”
“People began to use magic for achieving their evil schemes,” said Meldon. “I read about that.”
“You have passion for history, I see,” said Eliezer. “Yes, quite so, and they used them to drive fear into the hearts of men. Horrific creatures, they produced. Some of them, I believe a few of you have seen. But I dare say, you haven’t seen the worst.”
Zander’s face went pale.
“That must’ve been an awful time to live in,” said Ezstasia.
“Oh, it was. But a resistance grew among the people, and a number of the benevolent kings supported those brave souls, including King Izhar the First. That, my friends, was the beginning of the Great War.”
“A completely avoidable civil war, all because of greed,” said Fin.
“Greed, power, and fear. All sides of the same coin,” said Eliezer. “Many good people lost their lives, suffering at the hands of man and beast.”
“But the magical beings helped the resistance, right?” said Meldon.
“Not at first. The magic world stayed out of the quarrel entirely in the beginning. But, on the verge of defeat, the depleted resistance appealed to the Court of Magic for help. Much of the magic world was suspicious of the violent and unpredictable nature of humans. And so, they were passionately divided on what their kind should do. It took the Unseen Wizards to finally break the impasse within the Magic Court by making the ultimate decision. They made the monumental ruling that all magical beings were to join the resistance for our cause. It came with great sacrifice, and by coming to our aid, the magic world lost many of their own.”
“So how does all this relate to the treaty?” said Pallu. “This is too much for my head.”
“Ah yes, the treaty. At the end of the war, which, thanks to the good graces of the magic world, we had won, a treaty was proposed so that no such conflict would ever happen again. The treaty declared that all magical beings were to immediately depart across the sea to the Eastern Isles. Those designated lands would henceforth be known as the Magiclands, and all forms of magic would forever be banned from all human lands.”
“I’m surprised everyone agreed to that,” said Fin.
“Far from it, I would say. There was a significant outcry from both the human and magic worlds. You must understand, people were asked to give up magic, which was inherent in their culture and in the very fiber of their being. And not only that, but magic was their most important form of protection. I ask you to also consider the perspective of the magic world. They had to leave their dwellings—the homes that they had lived in for the entirety of their lives—and go to a foreign land to start anew. All their cherished memories from the Human Lands would be lost to them forever.”
“I’m surprised another war didn’t begin,” said Meldon.
“Bitterness endured, as it always does, but it’s hard to deny that magic in the hands of humans had become far too hazardous. And so, the treaty was signed. It was swiftly followed by strict penalties for any violations that occurred, which was most famously demonstrated in Valorian’s dreadful fate—death by hanging for the unlawful possession of magic. A terrible tragedy for such a beloved prince. In any case, I believe this takes us to our current predicament.”
“How so?” said Meldon.
“Let’s look, shall we?” said Eliezer.
With his shaky, wrinkled hands, Eliezer slowly unrolled another large scroll that was resting on the table.
“Miss, Lanzzie,” he said, looking up, “can you kindly repeat what you heard in the forest? One bit at a time, if you will.”
Lanzzie took a deep breath. “The first thing it said was, ‘As pure as light, as da
rk as night, the chaos is released.’”
“Thank you,” said Eliezer. “Now, I want you all to think. Does that have any relation to what any of you experienced in the forest?”
“Strange,” said Meldon, “but it actually does. The phrase, ‘as pure as light and dark as night’ seems to refer to something that possesses both good and evil. The fact is that some of us saw some very beautiful things, while others saw horrific things.”
“Precisely,” said Eliezer. “And what of the second part of the phrase?”
“The chaos is released,” said Fin. “I think we’ve all seen the chaos in that forest. Whoever or whatever is behind it may have just released it. But why release good magic along with the bad?”
“Why indeed,” said Eliezer. “That is part of our mystery. Miss Lanzzie, please continue.”
“It said, ‘The blood has already been spilled. The great battle begins.’”
“‘The blood has already been spilled,’” echoed Eliezer. “We must wonder. Whose blood? Is the voice referring to the blood of our ancestors during the Great War or something more recent? Yet even so, I would say the most striking turn of phrase is ‘the great battle.’”
“That’s odd,” said Ezstasia. “Even the lady in the prison said that the greatest battle was yet to come.”
Eliezer pointed to a section on the scroll.
“This verse is of particular interest,” he said. “Because the same words were uttered at the conclusion of the Great War, when the forces of darkness suffered their final defeat. One of the brutal creatures created by humans using dark magic uttered these dying words to none other than King Izhar the First, who had just pierced the beast’s heart with a silver sword: Vo Pensi fini? Which translates to ‘You think it’s finished?’ Then the beast said, ‘La Mesabellum ete venire,’ which means ‘The great battle is yet to come.’ Izhar himself documented it in the scrolls shortly before his death years later.”