The Portals of Tartae- the Land With the Two Moons

by Marcia Soligo

  The eagle flew very low sometimes, almost touching Cordella’s head. Then it would go farther away and higher. But no one said anything or looked disturbed by the bird.

  “Bran, look.” Olivia discreetly pointed to the sky. “I think that bird is following us.” Bran looked and answered calmly:

  “It’s Atlas, one of the Guardians.”

  Olivia had no reason to worry.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The Whole Story

  The sun was starting to set when Alavro announced that they would stop and settle where they were for the night. It was a place under some trees and considerably far from the main road where they had started their journey hours ago. At some point, they had left the marked trail behind them and followed their own path into the green fields. The group unpacked and set up the tents that Alavro and Bran brought with them. Cordella set the tents by just waving her hands around, like a maestro. Trevor climbed down from his horse with a thousand complaints. He said over and over that this was outrageous, he hadn’t signed up for this and that every single bone of his body was hurting. And he had a point. He went inside the first tent he saw, ignoring anything anyone said to him.

  Bran had collected some wood for the fire and was now setting it up. This was really the border of a very dense forest, and it felt like a protected and enchanted place. He lit the fire while Olivia observed his attempts, sitting with crossed legs right in front of him, across the fire.

  “How is your memory?” he asked. “Is it true that neither of you remembers ever coming here?”

  “I don’t remember anything. I mean, I remember everything that happened on the other side, in the other world … I don’t know what you’d call it exactly.”

  “I’m sorry. But I can help you if you want. I don’t think I can help you remember, but tomorrow we can train how to fight, and you will be more prepared when the time comes. I don’t like the Strage Castle. If I could choose, I would never go there.”

  Cordella approached them with an impatient look on her face, she was frowning and twitching her lips and she lit the fire by simply waving her right hand.

  “For Ourivio’s Keys … I thought you would know at least this, Olivia …” she sighed. “Please, follow me.”

  Olivia got up in a flash and her blood was cold inside her body. She looked at Bran and recognized something in his smile. Complicity, maybe. It felt good to recognize something, even though she didn’t remember anything. Even though this was all very contradictory.

  Alavro and Trevor were waiting for them, sitting beneath the moons, keeping a certain distance from the others. Trevor still looked very tired, but his expression had clearly changed. There was terror, anxiety, and curiosity in his eyes, in his posture, in his whole face.

  The two moons glistened in the sky. Being so far away from the lights of the city, it was possible to see an infinity of stars, of things Olivia and Trevor had never seen before. The sky was clear, and the two gigantic full moons made a day out of the night. If not for the freezing breeze that seemed to precede the horror, the scenery would be perfect.

  Olivia thought about some movies she had seen where the war always painted the sky red. Would this be true? Would she see it with her own eyes? A weird feeling in her gut grew again and followed her to the truth, just a few steps ahead.

  “We won’t keep this any longer. And this is a protected place. The Forest of Lis is big, dense, magical and powerful. Nothing evil ever dares to come near here. It’s still a pure place, and evil doesn’t like pureness,” said Alavro, almost singing. Olivia wanted to go inside that forest and dance around the trees.

  “There are Portals between our worlds,” Cordella explained. “In the old days, people were able to travel between realms without a problem… frequently. They would travel through the Portal, learn, help one another, and then they would come back, not altering anything. However, as it happens oftentimes, some people started to look with greedy eyes to the possibilities of conquering other worlds. They knew that the Portal could give them incredible power; it could give them the opportunity of prolonging their lives, their wealth, to use magic that was unknown to others. Realizing that, before the chaos was established, Ourivio Brut, an old sage from Tartae, the world we are right now, decided to close the Great Portal by himself. But the Great Portal had a strong and unpredictable magic, and instead of disappearing, it shattered, and the Great Portal was divided into thirteen small fractions of itself. They were scattered everywhere and unprotected, leaving the path between the worlds wide open. The tension between the witches and wizards of Tartae rose. People traveled through the worlds unintentionally, children got lost, and some people lost their minds after seeing so many unexpected things. It was then that Ourivio Brut summoned twelve wizards who had his utmost trust. They were all high priests and priestesses with deep knowledge about the Great Portal. They studied extensively how the small Portals worked, and they tested their abilities a number of times before trying anything. With all that acquired knowledge and dedication, they were successful this time. No explosion happened.

  “However, Ourivio still believed that the Portals could be useful. After all, there were diseases to be cured, new technology that could be helpful to the other world. It would be a great loss to seal the Portals forever, not to mention that it would be violating nature, since it created the world with a Portal and possibilities. With that in mind, Ourivio created a Key to each Portal, and he wrote down all that he knew about it in a book: The Book of The Portals. Some people call it The Unveiling Book.

  “Ourivio didn’t expect that his highly skilled sorcery wouldn’t be enough to hold someone’s voracious interest. And for a long time, he was right. He lived for years and years keeping everything himself. He hid the Keys in caves and forests in Tartae and the Book was very protected in his house. But what he didn’t know was that the silence was hiding trickery: wizards who were deeply intrigued and interested in his knowledge and in reopening the Portals. Miniso Lor, one of the wizards responsible for sealing the Portals, learned about the Book and became extremely disturbed by its existence. After a number of arguments with Ourivio, Miniso was consumed by hate and killed Ourivio in his sleep. Once he completed his cruel deed, he looked everywhere inside Ourivio’s house for the Book. He went through all Ourivio’s belongings until he finally found The Book of the Portals and decided that from now on, his sole purpose would be to find and dominate all the Keys. And now you can imagine what happened next… war, Portals, death, evil. It was a time of terror. Until a group decided to find and protect all the Portal Keys. They were all considerably young, and they all had been directly affected by the greed generated by the Portals. They witnessed a time filled with blood and betrayal. They had lost loved ones, friends and family …

  “And even though their success seemed impossible, they were determined, and they had strength. And it looks like the Universe really helps people with good intentions. The group found the Keys after fourteen months of restlessly looking for them. They had studied Ourivio’s life and the paths he took during his journeys carefully. And they also followed every single clue they had about the Portal Keys. Weird events and rumors that seemed to talk about the Portals. And that’s how they kept tracking the artifacts. After gathering all the Keys, they decided to create the Clan, in which each one of them would be responsible for a Key of the Portal and they would keep them safe, even if they had to do so with their lives. Miniso Lor was also a victim of the greed created around the Portals. He was assassinated before the Guardians could do anything about that. He died with the Book of the Portals wrapped tightly in his arms, and after that, the Book was also protected by the Guardians.”

  Olivia and Trevor looked attentively at Cordella, who paused to breathe and then continued to tell what was obviously a long story. And even though it was all very interesting and dangerous, Olivia and Trevor were still asking themselves how had they gotten there. How did two teenagers from the City of Leve get to Tartae, and why
did it look like they were important somehow to this story?

  “The Clan worked out. Everyone involved had pure and honest intentions, and their will to fight for what is right created a powerful magic that helped protect their lives, the Keys and the Book. Time went by, the wars came to an end, the world was getting back to normal, and most of the people who were interested in the Portals ended up being each other’s doom. Greed is very destructive.

  “The Clan was still using the Portals for good deeds. They traveled to your world and helped to cure diseases, end wars … And that’s how they lived for a long time. For eras, I might as well say. The Law established that all the knowledge about the Portals should go to a direct relative, someone related by blood who would be previously chosen. The successor was kept in secret until he or she could finally become a Guardian. They had to promise loyalty, and plenty of spells were made to guarantee that the chosen one was trustworthy.

  “Years had passed, and a lot of people became part of the Clan, and then it was our time. We are the third generation of Guardians,” said Cordella. “As in the beginning, there were thirteen of us. Me, my husband Zervio–who passed away–Alavro, and ten more honorable ones. You will hear a lot about them when the time comes.

  Olivia and Trevor were under the vivid impression that if they took a loud breath, they could miss a crucial part of the story.

  “We had a great deal of responsibility, but our lives were considerably calm. We had our families, and work, and keeping the Portals safe was almost a magical celebration. Mainly because in our time, the Portals were opened very rarely.

  “And then Anya and Maldo Arbre were brutally murdered, along with one of their daughters, Vitia, and the pursuit of the Keys started again. But the attacker was not successful. The Arbre family protected the Portal Key with their lives, with tenacity. Alegra, the other daughter of the Arbres, was able to flee their house during the attack. She took some of her father’s notes and the Key they were keeping. Since the first news about the attack, we knew the intentions of the person who invaded the Arbres’ home and destroyed all that was in his or her way. This person wanted the Keys; this person wanted the power of the Portals.

  “Alegra took some time to completely recover from the attack, and her testimony finally brought some mysteries to light. Edmund Lars was revealed to be the one responsible for trying to steal the Key and brutally murdering the family. It all came as a hurtful surprise. Edmund Lars is the son of Alcion Lars, one of the Guardians of the Portals. He used to be a very determined and applied boy. His family was wealthy and well-known in Tartae. A family of powerful wizards. Obviously, he was being considered to take his father’s place as a Guardian.

  “Apparently, Lars found out about the Keys at a very young age and became a Portal enthusiast. As he grew up, his intentions changed, and his heart began to darken. He was tempted by all the possibilities the Portals represented and grew frustrated with his father and all the other Guardians. He simply couldn’t understand why no one fully explored the Portal’s immense potential. However, few were the times when he completely demonstrated his deep interest in gaining power. Finally, when Alcion Lars performed the series of proving spells on his son so the young man could become a Guardian, he noticed something quite out of place. Realizing that his father was coming close to figuring out his intentions, Lars decided to put his plans to work and started his hunt for the Arbres. He killed almost everyone on the Arbres family, and then he moved on to his next victims.

  “Lars’ parents were heartbroken. His father abstained from his position as a Guardian, as he had no strength to control and protect the Key anymore. When the misery fills our hearts, magic can become dark and extremely dangerous.

  “When Edmund finally hit his next target, the Gronde family, he got his hands on his first Portal Key. It was time to end his plan. He was still working in the shadows, searching and hunting Guardians only, and threatening his parents with sophisticated magic that none of us knew he had mastered. We knew that soon enough he would stop aiming only for the Clan and the terror would spread. We also knew that he could find people to follow him in his pursuit of the Keys, of power, and he was for too long too close to all that he desired.

  “And this is how you two become part of the story.

  “In his Book, Ourivio wrote down details about how to open Portals and how to use the Keys. He also wrote about his impressions of protecting the Portals and destroying them permanently. He discovered in his studies–and you must remember that he dedicated a long period of his life to the study of the Portals–that it would be impossible to close the Portals once for all unless the other world consented.

  “In your world, your people lost all knowledge about the Portals. As the eras passed, the Portals were forgotten, and so were the Ancient Magic and the Old Mores. Right now, and for quite a long time, all of this has become folklore, lost tales, legends. It all just danced in the wind for a while until it dried and decomposed, like a leaf falling from a tree in the first days of fall.

  “After a series of spells and dreams, Ourivio discovered that only the blood of someone who was born in the other world and had lived most of their life there would be capable of sealing the Portals permanently. Oh, and this person would be determined by the stars. And that’s what we decided to do. Seal the Portals forever.

  “We took a long time considering this. And finally, we decided that, even though it would be a violation of nature, it would be better to put an end to these countless attacks and wars for power. It would be for the best to close the Portals once and for all.

  “We looked to the stars for an answer and they showed you, Olivia.” Cordella looked at the girl, who was deeply focused on each word the witch was saying. “At that time you were sixteen years old. The Clan was very resistant. You would inevitably take part in tremendously dangerous events and would be in deathly peril daily.

  “When we brought you, something extraordinary and unexpected happened: The Portal brought Trevor too. And then the stars started to show two of the Earth folks.

  “However, when we tried to destroy the Portals as soon as you two got here, our plan didn’t work as expected. We learned that to gather all the magic and strength necessary to do this deed, all of the involved had to be connected to the Portals. Everyone had to know the Portals’ energy and be in synchronicity with it. We told you all we knew about the Portals and all that could happen in both of our worlds, and you two decided to stay. You decided to join forces to destroy the Portals and defeat Edmund Lars.

  “We designed a complicated way to bring you two here periodically. You would come during the night when you would be sleeping in your world, and you would always come back before dawn. The spells I had to come up with were complex, especially because no one could notice your absence. You started to prepare to fight, and you learned about our history and the history of the Portals. And in time, we were looking for the lost Key. We have been together in some journeys and battles too, which resulted in a couple of traumas that followed you to your world.” Cordella looked at Olivia’s hands, took a deep calm breath, and continued, “You have been coming to Tartae for over a year if you measure the time as you do in your world. But here, time runs differently.”

  Apparently, her story was over, and her expression showed exhaustion. Alavro continued, still keeping the same tone that Cordella used to tell the story: deep and solemn.

  “We need you two in order to defeat Edmund Lars. We need you to seal the Portals once and for all. To destroy them. It’s only with your help that we can reach our purpose, but this does not mean that you can’t give up and go back to Leve. And if you decide to do so, it doesn’t mean that we won’t keep moving forward, trying to finalize our plan. You have a choice to make, and I would like to point out that we always have a choice and you won’t be held accountable for it. Not in this case. It’s your life; you are the ones who best know what to do with it. The best path to take. And we are aware that you did not choose
to come here, to fight this fight with us.”

  “There’s no need to answer right now. Sleep on it. Think about it. But we will need an answer no later than tomorrow, I’m afraid. We have no time to waste. In case you want to go back, we will try to send you back. But since you didn’t come here as you were supposed to, I can’t guarantee anything,” Cordella concluded. Her eyes stared deeply at Olivia and Trevor.

  “I don’t understand one thing,” started Olivia, who was quickly interrupted by Trevor:

  “I don’t understand a number of things…”

  “How did we get here if the Clan wasn’t involved?” asked Olivia.

  “Lars found a way,” answered Alavro.

  “What?” said Olivia and Trevor in unison.

  “How could this happen? Is it this easy?” said Trevor loudly. His eyes were wide and filled with uncertainty.

  “It’s a collection of everything he learned and heard during his whole life. Edmund Lars is not a common person. He was always very smart and talented and he became a brilliant wizard. He studied a lot and created his own version of the Book of the Portals. He started to test his discoveries and, occasionally, to get impressive results,” explained Alavro, clearly disturbed by his own words. “But we are convinced that not everything happened according to his plan.”

  “And what do you think his plan was?” asked Olivia.

  “We can only speculate,” Cordella said. “He might have intended that you would lose your memories and, consequently, all your connection to the Portals, giving him more time for his bigger plans. Or he could have been looking for a way to kill you both. And we believe that it was the latter.” Cordella’s tone was soft, while Olivia and Trevor’s eyes grew so wide that they looked like they might explode. “You have to understand that you two protect the Portals more than you can imagine. The sole fact that you exist and feel the need to protect the Portals already creates a powerful shield. Only this already makes it harder for Lars to find the Book or the remaining Portal Keys, or to use the Portals at his will. That’s why he made such a colossal effort to bring you two here the way he did. You got here unexpectedly, and anything could have happened on your journey. But note this: you didn’t come to him, even though he brought you here. The Portal brought you to us.”