The Mystical Journey

by KJ Siirila

  CHAPTER ONE

  High above the ground of the planet below, beyond the clouds and distant stars there was a place many had heard of but never visited. Today the Gods sat on their thrones discussing the troubles of the planet below them. There were three. They appeared to be older but you could not know time where they lived it would be impossible.

  Today they would change the planet below. They would remove the three books, The Book of Elandor, the Book of Garenon, and the Book of Arisat from their holding place and dispense them onto the new planet they would soon create. They would summon the creatures from above and below and send them to the planet to find the books and alter the world forever. The humans would no longer control the planet. The Gods felt as if they had been given long enough to create something substantial with their world, and had destroyed it. First, the Gods would halt the rotation of the planet, then the Gods would divide the planet into three lands, the Valley Of Illumination, which would remain light and never be dark, the Midnight Mountains which would remain dark and never have light, and the land of gray, the Forest of Shadows, this land would be neither light or dark but neutral. Some of the good creatures that fell from the sky would live in the Valley of Illumination, some of the evilest of creatures from below would be sent to the Midnight Mountains, the rest would be sent to the Forest of Shadows. They would send the creatures back to the planet with the knowledge of the three books but the creatures would have to find the three books themselves. The three books were the most powerful ever written. The Book of Elandor containing all of the spells of the world, the Book of Garenon containing all of the curses of the world, and the Book of Arisat which was the most powerful of all three. It contained all of the spells and curses of the world plus things no one should ever know about the planet and the Gods above.

  The Gods would send them all to the planet and watch them closely from above. Today was just another day, tomorrow everything would change.

  In the Valley of Illumination lived The Angelic Spirits. When the planet stopped rotating they were the first sent down from the clouds to help keep peace amongst the living. The Angelic Spirits numbered only three. Ademus, Mitral and Aerifus. They were not defined by male or female being Angelic Spirits but rather androgynous. All three were beautiful with long flowing hair of white. They wore wings and halos and brought a sense of peace and calm whenever present. When the Angelic Spirits were brought to the planet they didn’t realize that they wouldn’t be going back to the clouds. They would stay on the planet and not go back until all three books were found. It was a task bestowed upon them from a Higher Power and they would not be brought back until it was complete. But they knew it would not be a short task finding these books and many battles would be fought to finally control the books. They would soon have to go to the Midnight Mountains. But they would first build an army of good to try and defeat the army of evil which was building rapidly.

  The Angelic Spirits sat at a great table and spoke to each other to devise a way to find the Book of Elandor.

  Ademus spoke to Mitral and Aerifus in a powerful but kind voice. “We must not go into the Midnight Mountains until we are sure that we can defeat the large armies of evil that are building. The witches and warlocks have been collecting soldiers like pieces on a gameboard. They will not unite anytime soon with the ghouls or the trolls. They are in search of the books as we are.”

  Mitral stood up and started to walk around the table. “Ademus, I know you are a smart and kindred spirit but I do not think you are thinking about the situation at hand thoroughly. The witches and the warlocks are frightening, they know many spells and curses without ever putting their hands upon the sacred books. We must devise a plan to disable them without them destroying us in the process.”

  Ademus placed his hand upon Mitrals. “Do not worry. I am strong and I am thinking about the possibilities at hand. Aerifus what are your thoughts?”

  Aerifus looked up. “We were sent here to find the books and return them to their holding place, a place which is not waged by good or evil but neutral. When the planet stopped rotating, the books were misplaced, not by accident though, but for reasons by the Gods. We may never know why they were moved from their sacred spot but now we have been given the task to put them back where they belong. We must stay focused and not stray from our task at hand. We are not above being destroyed in the great war that will ensue to find the books, but we will give the soul of our spirit to fight in the war to gain them.”

  Ademus spoke once more, “We will not give up. We will find the books and return them. We will not let the evil in the Midnight Mountains destroy us. We will fight. Agreed?”

  Mitral and Aerifus nodded in agreement.

  The Angelic Spirits being the kindred souls that they were never realized that they too inhabited the planet at one time. They were human at one point but eventually passed on and went to the Heavens above where they would become the Angelic Spirits.

  Mitral, Ademus and Aerifus were all friends in a great war many years before. They met while fighting in the war. They were not known by these names back then but the names Marshall, Arnold, and Anthony.

  Marshall was a strapping young man who worked very hard. He had left his family behind to fight the war. He didn’t want to leave his family but did what he was called to do.

  Arnold and Anthony were cousins. They grew up together and always felt more like brothers. They were both tall, muscular men. The two worked very hard and were called away to the war.

  The three met while training to fight. They never realized the bond they created then would carry them through eternity. They would laugh and tell jokes and talk about their families. They were best friends.

  One night while they were all asleep a sound awoke them. It was the sound of a war beginning. They moved quickly to the battlefield and began to fight. The war raged on for weeks and many died including Marshall, Arnold and Anthony. They would meet again and become Mitral, Ademus, and Aerifus. Although they had no recollection of their former lives, they remained friends in death as they were in life.

  The surviving humans or myrmidons as they were now known would be given a choice in the great battle. They would fight for good or evil. Many of the myrmidons were not given a choice when the planet stopped rotating. Half ended up in light and half in dark. But, many ended up in the Forest of Shadows living amongst the fairies and the trolls among other creatures. They were not made to be loyal followers but rather must fight to survive the Forest of Shadows. It was a gray area. It was neither light or dark here just gray. No sun, no moon, just gray. Those who had come through the Forest of Shadows and survived had said that it was like being trapped in the murky waters of a swamp. Your only hope was to survive long enough to make it to the Valley of Illumination or the Midnight Mountains but you didn’t want to be trapped in the Forest of Shadows.

  The fairies always felt safe in the Forest of Shadows. They could fly keeping them above the rest of the world. They could also go into the Midnight Mountains and report back to the Angelic Spirits in the Valley of Illumination. The trolls hated the fairies. They would rather pull their wings off and eat them then let them live in the Forest of Shadows amongst their kind.

  The trolls numbered in the hundreds. The leader was Toumani. Toumani was a vulgar wretched troll, he was green in color and about three feet tall and spent his days feasting on the remains of the dead, not just animals, but myrmidons too. Toumani chose to live in the Forest of Shadows with the other trolls hoping to find the Book of Elandor. He lead with an iron fist, as hairy as it was and was a cruel creature. The trolls were terrified of Toumani, he knew this and used it to his advantage. He gathered the trolls in the forest to discuss their next plan of attack in finding the
Book of Elandor. He stood before the trolls and spoke in a strong but very raspy sounding voice.

  “We live in the Forest of Shadows for one reason and one reason only fellow trolls. We live here because I believe this is where we will find the Book of Elandor. What about the other two you ask? We must find the first to find the others but we will succeed in finding these books and will one day rule the world. The planet is no more my trolls, it has been set on extended pause, trapped in some form of time warp where it no longer rotates. What kind and loving Gods have put this burden on us? Why take us from below only to bring us to this place, a whole planet of nothing but anger and frustration? We will find the Book of Elandor and begin to change what the Gods have done. We will rule this planet and change it to our advantage, then we will bow down to NO ONE.!” He raised his hands and the other trolls began to cheer Toumani. He was their leader. He was their God.

  In the trees above sitting on a small leaf was Princess Fimella. She was the youngest of the fairies in the Forest of Shadows and was often sent to spy on the trolls by her mother Queen Armad who lived in the Valley of Illumination. Princess Fimella was a beautiful young fairy with gorgeous red hair and skin like porcelin.

  Princess Fimella would fly into the Forest of Shadows to watch over the trolls and goblins and gremlins. The goblins and gremlins were always much harder to find than the trolls though. They never traveled in packs like the trolls. The trolls were loud and obnoxious and she knew this. Toumani saw her once but was unable to catch her. He did catch her sister Shayon and kept her in a cage for more than a month before ripping off her wings and eating her. She would take the conversation back to her mother the Queen Armad who would the relay the information to the Angelic Spirits. Princess Fimella left the leaf flying high above the ground as not to be seen by the trolls. She flew quickly yet quietly.

  In the Midnight Mountains this day sat Grimelda. She was the oldest sister of the four witches, the four horrible harridans. Grimelda and her sisters, Magella, Nevula, and Povina lived in a large castle in the Midnight Mountains. They also lived with their two brothers, the warlocks, Crovis and Trovis. They were a family comprised of pure evil brought back from the dead when the planet stopped rotating. Of all the evils in the lands they were by far the most dangerous. They came back to the planet with all of the powers they were buried with five hundred years before. Grimelda had long, matted black hair, piercing green eyes, and a robust figure. She spent her days casting spells on hopeless myrmidons. Grimelda kept many of them for her personal servants. They were loyal followers but only because of the spells that Grimelda had put them under. Her sisters only warranted time with Grimelda when she needed extra powers for her spells. She never gave her brothers, the warlocks, a moment of time. She found them to be weak. Grimelda always told them that “Men were not meant to be witches nor have the powers of witches and as long she was alive, they would hold no place in her home or her heart.”

  The brothers hated their sisters. They spent their days planning and plotting ways to find the Book of Elandor before the sisters and eventually destroy all four of them. Crovis and Trovis would be described physically by most as extremely handsome men. They did not follow in the same line as their haggard sisters. They knew their stunning looks angered the sisters who could only be beautiful when they would perform the spell of glamour which would make gentlemen callers believe they were beautiful women. When the spell would wear off the men would be so terrified that the sisters would cast spells on them instantly sometimes killing them but most times turning them into things such as chairs and tables and small rodents such as mice.

  Crovis was walking by Grimelda’s main dining hall where he overheard the sisters talking of what their plans were for the Book of Elandor.

  “Sisters,” Grimelda moved closer to the three sisters eventually taking her place at the head of their table. “We must find the Book of Elandor. It is essential to our survival that we find all three books. Without all three we shall meet our demise and be sent back to the depths of Hell to suffer for eternity but with the books, we shall rule this world as we know it. No other shall be as powerful as us.” The sisters laughed. Grimelda laughed in her own head knowing that if she possessed the books she would rule the world not her sisters. She laughed with them.

  “Now we must deal with the next problem. We must fly to the Forest of Shadows and find the trolls, gremlins and goblins. We need them on our side. We need all of help of all of the evil powers in the Midnight Mountains and the Forest of Shadows. We will have to convince them to join us. They fear us because of our spells. But, I’m not sure they fear us enough to join us. It will take much convincing my sisters, and if they decide not to join us in our battle, then we will kill them.”

  Grimelda stood up. “We will adjourn for now my sisters. We leave at the witching hour.”

  Crovis walked away from the door quickly heading down to the lower regions of the castle to tell Trovis the details of his sister’s plans.

  In the Valley of Illumination sat the Shaman over a blazing fire. He was watching the fire and also watching the witches in their castle dwelling. The witches were powerful but not powerful enough to know the Shaman was watching their every move. He sat and watched the flames dance before him revealing more of the truth about the witches unveiling itself before him.

  The Shaman knew the final battle would come soon. It would not only be the witches against him but all good against all evil. The outcome of the battle is unknown to all at this moment in time, but all would soon be revealed.

  In the Midnight Mountains not far from the witches and warlocks sat another castle. This castle was dark and gloomy and surrounded by a large moat. Deep within its’ stone walls sat three grotesque creatures known as the ghouls, Helmog, Slothard and Wagrim. They were three of evilest creatures known to man, the mighty demons. They feared nothing. They had been here for centuries but only awakened once again when the planet stopped rotating. Helmog slammed his fist angrily against the wall bringing life to the eyes of his cohorts Slothard and Wagrim.

  “My friends, we have been sent here to find the books, the books that will allow us to rule the world for eternity. But, there are many factors stopping us from doing this. One being those well doers The Angelic Spirits. How I despise those heavenly creatures. How they irritate every fiber of my being. We must destroy them!” He looked at Slothard and Wagrim with hate in his eyes.

  Wagrim spoke up. “Helmog, we battled The Angelic Spirits many moons ago right here on this same planet and couldn’t defeat them then. What makes you believe that we can defeat them now in this new century?”

  Helmog’s eyes turned a deep red as he looked directly at Wagrim. “YOU FOOL! Have you not heard a damned word I have said to you? The one who controls the books shall rule the world. We find the books and we rule, there is no in between. There is no Forest of Shadows when it comes to the books.”

  Slothard stood and spoke softly. “We will find the Book of Elandor. We will find the Book of Garenon and the Book of Arisat. We will not be denied our right to control this planet or its myrmidons. We must not fight amongst each other for we need all three of our strengths now. The Angelic Spirits will try to destroy us once again but they shall not succeed this time. We will make sure of that.” They all nodded at each other and sat quietly back at their table.

  Helmog spoke once more, “We must go to the Forest of Shadows in search of the Book of Elandor. There is no possible way it would be hidden in the Valley of Illumination or the Midnight Mountains. I don’t believe the Gods would have set it on either side. But, to put it in the middle would be ingenious. We shall leave in the early hour of the next day. Our search will begin for the books. We will prevail.”

  Back in the Forest of Shadows sat the leaders of the goblins and the gremlins. Izasa and Olagh. They were dark green in color and quite hideous in appearance. They were not large creatures but actually quite tiny. Izasa was the ruler of the goblins. Olagh was the ruler of the gre
mlins. The all lived together as one. As they sat gnawing on a small rodent they had found Izasa said in a cracked voice, “Olagh. We cannot sit here any longer. I am sick and tired of hunting for menial food droppings to survive. If we could find the books we would no longer need to hunt for food but have others bring us our food. We wouldn’t have to hide from the others any longer. We would be the mighty warriors and everyone would fear us.” He snarled.

  Olagh looked up from his rodent with a crooked smile upon his face. “Izasa. We have suffered long enough. We will find the books and we will rule this planet in the future but we must make friends with the trolls for we will need them to achieve this. We must go to Toumani and speak to him and make him think that we will be his loyal followers like myrmidons. He is not a bright creature Izasa, he is an idiot. You know this. If we can combine the trolls with our army we can become an unstoppable force.”

  Izasa laughed. “Toumani a creature bred from pure stupidity, but we need the help of his hundreds of soliders. We are smaller in numbers but still number in the hundreds. Imagine Olagh, hundreds of goblins and gremlins doing battle with the creatures from the Valley of Illumination and the Midnight Mountains. Wouldn’t you love to finally destroy the witches and warlocks, the Angelic Spirits and then laugh as they suffer below our feet?”

  Olagh began to laugh with Izasa. “I am not worried my friend. The fight has just begun, but the battle that lies ahead of us is going to be the best part of all of this. We will go to Toumani in the later hours and reason with him to join forces and then we will find the books, and destroy them all.” They both sat back and smiled evily.

  In the Valley of Illumination things were quiet. The myrmidons were traveling the streets in a peaceful manner. The Angelic Spirits sat contently awaiting word from Queen Armad.

  Mitral spoke quietly. “Why haven’t we heard from Queen Armad yet? Princess Fimella went into the Forest of Shadows quite a few hours ago. I know she’s a smart young fairy but her youth scares me. I’m not sure she can handle the tasks she will be expected to handle in the future.”