Halfway Between Worlds: Bloodline of the Pure

by S. B Terra

  There has been a change of plans. I was thinking we could go and look at ravens for you today before our session. If you are free at 1pm I will meet you at your apartment, if not, I will see you at 5pm. Respond by writing on the back of this scroll and giving it back to Red.

  See you soon,

  Bella

  Alice felt a rush of excitement after reading the letter, she was very intrigued by the ravens and had wanted her own since meeting Red. She then turned the scroll over and placed it up against the window, pressing her wand up against it.

  Bella Turnox

  Hi Bella,

  That sounds great. I’ll see you at 1pm.

  Alice

  Alice rolled up the scroll and handed it to Red, who grabbed it with his claws and then flew off.

  After watching Red fly off with the scroll, Alice walked back inside and looked at the clock, it was 12.30pm, she had thirty minutes to spare while she waited for Bella, so she decided to continue with the pot.

  Alice again lowered the pot onto the couch and then walked over to the kitchen to read the rest of yesterdays edition of the Terra Times, and as she sat down, she heard a yell coming from outside.

  “ALICE.”

  Alice walked out onto the balcony and looked down, Bella was standing next to the tree.

  “You need to authorize my wand for the door down here.”

  “I’ll be down in a minute” said Alice, walking back inside and placing the pot in the kitchen before walking downstairs.

  “Hi” said Alice as she opened the door.

  “Hi” replied Bella, smiling, she was carrying a couple of food containers, a small magazine and today’s Terra Times.

  “How do I authorize your wand?”

  “Press your wand up against the door and say, ‘I authorize Bella Turnox to open this door’, your wand will do the rest” said Bella as she pressed her own wand onto the door.

  Alice raised and pressed her wand against the door and repeated the words inside her head, and a moment later, the wood around Bella’s wand glowed green.

  “I picked up some food on the way, and here’s some natural recipes for you, let’s eat and then head off” said Bella, handing Alice the magazine and then walking inside.

  Alice and Bella then made their way upstairs and into the kitchen.

  “Have you met any of the neighbors yet?” asked Bella, handing Alice one of the containers.

  “No, I haven’t seen anyone yet. I really love this apartment, Bella.”

  Bella smiled.

  “Wrap with lentils. Oh, and I forgot to tell you, Night of the Dead festival on Friday night” said Bella as she dropped today’s edition of the Terra Times onto the kitchen bench.

  “Yeah, I ran into Darius last night at the Magic Council and he told me about it briefly” said Alice as she picked up the Terra Times, on the front page was a live photograph of the streets of Terra filled with people and fireworks going off in the sky.

  NIGHT OF THE DEAD

  The annual Night of the Dead festival is finally upon us. The largest festival of the year which commemorates all those who have passed will, as usual, be held on the streets of Terra and is expected to be bigger and better than ever. This year’s event will be attended by representatives of over twenty different ethnic groups from the furthers stretches of our world. Citizens will also see the largest army parade conducted in over fifty years as the People’s Forces will take to the streets of Terra in the lead up to the annual ceremony and midnight fireworks in a special commemoration to all those who passed during the war.

  PLEASE NOTE: There will be a teleportation block throughout the city starting on Friday at 12pm for crowd control and general safety. P4

  “What’s a teleportation block?” asked Alice after reading the front page.

  “It’s like an invisible forcefield that blocks the use of teleportation devices, like the one we used at Lido’s” replied Bella before taking a bite of her wrap.

  “I see.”

  “What have you been up to?” asked Bella.

  “Went to my first lecture last night” said Alice, covering her mouth as she swallowed a mouthful of her wrap.

  “What one?”

  “Introduction to Meditation.”

  “Great. Did you understand it all?”

  “Yeah, it was great.”

  “Good. So, today we are going to Narz, that’s where the Raven Hills are, we can have a quick look around the city and then we can go and have a look at the ravens” said Bella as she finished her wrap.

  “Sounds great. So, I’m going to get a raven today?” asked Alice excitedly.

  “Maybe, maybe not. It can take a few trips to the hills before one chooses you, I got Red on my first visit.”

  “What do you mean, chooses you?”

  “You need a loyal raven, ravens are highly intuitive creatures, they have been here since the pre times and it is a common belief that the raven’s intuition proceeds even that of the human. When you walk the hills, if a raven chooses you, the others will know and will not go near you. The raven decides when to approach you, as I said, that can be the first time you visit, or it can take multiple visits.”

  Alice was deeply intrigued.

  “Are you ready?” asked Bella.

  “Yep, I just need to stop at the TMR on the way.”

  “I’ve got gold, you can do that later” said Bella as she stood up and walked towards the door, “let’s go.”

  Alice quickly authorized Bella’s wand for the front door and then they made their way down to the Student Plaza and transported through to the Magic Council.

  Alice followed Bella through the T.P for Narz and appeared in another large transportation room which was tiled with beautiful blue marble and had fountains and plants spread throughout.

  “This is nice” said Alice as they walked towards the entrance where there were two guards standing on either side of the wall.

  “Yes, Narz is nice, they call it the Blue City, you’re about to see why.”

  Both guards greeted Bella before they walked through the wall, and when they appeared on the other side, Alice stopped and looked around in awe. They stood at the top of a massive staircase with castle like walls looking down over a beautiful, blue, colonial looking city. The sky was dark and cloudy, and it was considerably colder than it was in Terra.

  “Wow” said Alice in amazement.

  “Narz is almost as old as Terra, there is a lot of history here. The the culture is slightly different as they have had various, different influences and rulers than that of Terra at certain stages throughout history” said Bella as they made their way down the stairs.

  “It’s beautiful” said Alice, admiring the view.

  “The streets are made of a rare, blue stone called Rarc, which is mostly found in the Alora area.”

  “Is Alora another city?” asked Alice as they reached the blue street below.

  “No, it’s a mountainous, cloud forest region inhabited by various tribes.”

  Narz was beautiful, there were small stores and buildings on each side of the street and felt very homely and peaceful, there were only a few people walking around and large seagulls could be seen flying high over the city.

  “Seagulls are in this world too?” asked Alice, looking up into the sky.

  Bella laughed.

  “Yes, we are about ten kilometers from the sea” said Bella as they stopped out the front of what looked like a small, modest bar. “Do you want a tea?” she asked as they walked inside.

  “Sure” replied Alice, stopping and looking around the small, eerie bar.

  It was quite dark inside, there were a few lit candles and mysterious looking art pieces hanging on the walls and a long, black, wooden bar bench that ran along the entire left-hand side of the room. Behind the bar was a bar tap that had about twenty different pour handles and a large mandala painting hanging on the wall next to a framed portrait of a rather mysterious looking, middle-aged man with a large rav
en sitting on his shoulder.

  “Who’s the man?” asked Alice as they sat down at the bar, pointing to the portrait.

  “Kar Axath. He ruled Narz for forty-two years and transformed the city into the mystic capital of the world, at least a quarter of the people here are still devoted mystics, it’s a very spiritual place. The Axaths ruled Narz in total for over five hundred years at different stages throughout history and Narz was always their center of power, they were one of the six ancient bloodlines.”

  Alice had forgotten that she had bought The Six Ancient Bloodlines book.

  “I totally forgot, I bought The Six Ancient Bloodlines book the other day, I haven’t started reading it yet.”

  “Important historical book, those families for the most part shaped our world” said Bella.

  Before Alice could ask any more questions, a skinny man with long, scruffy black hair and a thin, braided beard coming down from his chin walked into the bar from the back room.

  “Bella Turnox, what a pleasure” said the man, his voice was deep and calm.

  “How are you, Arbus?” asked Bella, smiling at the man.

  “Never been better” replied Arbus as he placed two small crystal cups on the bar.

  “This is Alice” said Bella, looking and smiling at Alice.

  “Hi, Alice, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Pleasure to meet you too.”

  “Are you in the Forces too?” asked Arbus.

  “Not yet” said Bella with a smile on her face, answering for Alice.

  Arbus paused for a moment, slightly squinting his eyes at Alice.

  “You’re the one who crossed?”

  “How do you know about that?” asked Bella quickly.

  “Darius came to see me a couple of days ago. Arg and Blackvine?” asked Arbus, picking up the two crystal cups and giving Bella a mischievous smile.

  “Yes, for both, please. Darius tried to get you to come back?” asked Bella curiously.

  “He did.”

  “And what did you say?”

  “This is my life now, I’m at peace. I told him, why would you need me if you have the mighty Bella Turnox?” said Arbus in a joking manner.

  Bella and Arbus both laughed as Arbus grabbed the cups and walked over to the other side of the bar, reaching down and placing a large, black pot on the bench.

  “You always seem to come at the right time, I’ve just brewed a fresh batch” he said as he poured a steaming, black liquid out of the pot and into the cups.

  “Perfect” said Bella.

  “What’s the tea?” asked Alice.

  “It has the Arg plant and Blackvine in it, both medicinal plants with disease fighting properties, it will relax you and has numerous health benefits” replied Arbus as he walked back over and placed the cups onto the bar.

  Arbus then placed his hands on the bar, slightly leaning over and staring at Bella with a serious look.

  “I’ve been hearing things, Bella.”

  Bella stared back at Arbus blankly.

  “There are rumors, rumors that certain factions of the Medelle army have been regrouping. I’m sure that these are merely rumors and dreams spread by whatever disillusioned, angry followers that they have left, but the visit from Darius the other day raised some questions. If it were to be true, even though they don’t nearly have the numbers that they used to, they could still potentially cause a lot of damage.”

  Silence momentarily took over the room.

  “Low life’s just trying to create fear, don’t let them hinder your mind, Arbus. There have been rumors like that ever since the war ended, and I’m sure there will be more rumors like that in the future” said Bella calmly, dismissing the idea and sipping her tea.

  “You sound a lot like Darius sometimes, you know that?” said Arbus, smiling at Bella.

  Bella laughed.

  “So, what are you two lovely ladies up to today?” asked Arbus in a cheerful tone, changing the subject.

  “Alice is going to look at ravens.”

  “Ah, how exciting.”

  Alice could feel the effects of the tea kicking in as she finished the cup, she was feeling very relaxed and unworried.

  “Well, we better get going. Are you ready?” asked Bella, looking at Alice.

  “Yep.”

  “Can I also get five flame flasks from you, Arbus?”

  “Of course.”

  Arbus walked into the back room, walking back out a moment later with a small, black drawstring pouch and placing it onto the bar.

  “Thank you, Arbus. It was a pleasure as always, see you when I see you” said Bella, standing up and placing two gold coins onto the bar.

  “Thank you, Bella. I’ll see you ladies at the festival. Lovely meeting you, Alice” said Arbus, smiling at Alice.

  “Nice meeting you too, see you around.”

  Bella and Alice then made their way outside and walked up the street, stopping at a T.P that was built into a wall on the side of the street and transporting back to the Narz transportation room.

  “There are T.Ps in the city?” asked Alice.

  “Yep, I just wanted to show you the view of the city. You ready?” said Bella as they stopped in front of the T.P for the Raven Hills.

  “Yep.”

  Alice walked through the violet flames and appeared in a smaller, slightly rustic room. There were two elderly women sitting behind a desk going through papers and there were large windows looking out over dry, bushy mountains.

  “Haven’t been here in a while” said Bella as she appeared in the room.

  “Hello there, ladies. How can we help you today?” asked one of the women, standing up and walking over.

  “Hi. Alice here wants to try for a raven” replied Bella.

  “Okay, great. You, my dear, must wait here, she needs to be alone out there” said the woman, speaking to Bella.

  “I know, I’ll be waiting here” said Bella, walking over and taking a seat on one of the chairs next to the T.P.

  “Come, dear, I’ll run you through everything” said the woman.

  Alice followed the woman outside, they were on top of a mountain and there were hills that stretched as far as Alice could see scattered with dry trees and bushes.

  “Now, see that black post over there?” asked the woman, pointing at one of the nearby hills a few hundred meters away that had a tall, black post on top of it sticking up into the air.

  “Yes.”

  “That is where you need to walk to, this trail that will lead you there. The ravens will know why you are here, wait at the post for about five minutes and then return, we’ll see if any choose you this time around” said the woman, pointing to a small trail leading off in the direction of the hill.

  “How do I know if one chooses me?” asked Alice.

  “It will touch you, if none touch you, then it’s not your time yet” replied the woman.

  “Okay.”

  “Good luck. Take your time” said the woman before walking back inside.

  Alice started walking through the dry trees and bushes, and as she made her way along the trail, she looked up and saw a large pack of ravens soaring high above.

  She stopped for a moment and watched the ravens, they seemed to glide in perfect harmony with each other and had a strange elegance about them.

  After walking along the trail for a few more minutes, Alice suddenly heard something nearby. She quickly spun around to see what it was and saw that there was a raven sitting on a branch of one the dry trees less than five meters away from her. The raven was large and all black, and after a few seconds it flew off over the hills.

  “Not that one” mumbled Alice as she continued down the trail.

  A few minutes later, Alice noticed three more ravens sitting on different branches of a larger tree. Two of the ravens were all black and the other one had a small, yellow streak on its head and was slightly smaller than the other two. The ravens all briefly stared at Alice as she stopped on the trail, and th
en a few seconds later, all three of them rudely flew off over the hills.

  Alice kept walking, and as she reached the bottom of the hill where the pole was, she saw a small raven fly down and land into a bushy area about thirty meters down the mountain from her.

  Alice curiously walked off the trail and started making her way down to the where the raven had landed, it was dry and shrubby, and she could hear what sounded like rattlesnakes nearby.

  As she made her way down the mountain, she suddenly saw the raven jumping around a small, bushy tree.

  Alice stopped and curiously watched the raven for a moment, it was rather small and had a bright blue streak going down its back. The raven seemed to have a lot of energy and couldn’t sit still, and as Alice stood there watching the little raven, suddenly it stopped jumping around and made eye contact with Alice.

  The raven stared into Alice’s eyes for about fifteen seconds and then, like the others, flew off over the hills.

  Alice felt a slight disappointment as she walked back up to the trail and over to the large, black pole, she had briefly felt that the little raven she had just seen was going to be the one. She stood at the pole for over five minutes, watching groups of ravens gliding and circling high above, but none approached her.

  After patiently waiting at the pole for a few more minutes, she started making her way back along the trail.

  “No luck today, dear?” said the elderly woman as Alice walked back inside.

  “No” replied Alice, slightly disheartened.

  “Don’t be disappointed, that’s very normal, it might take multiple visits before you find one, the ravens were probably just feeling you out. Come back in a few days and try again.”

  “Don’t worry, you’ll get one. Let’s go and start your training” said Bella as they walked back over to the T.P.

  Bella and Alice then transported back to Narz, through to the Magic Council and then to the Student Village, and as they were walking through the Student Plaza, they ran into Brian.

  “Hey, Brian” said Alice.

  Brian looked slightly stunned and nervous to see Bella, he clearly couldn’t hide his emotions and expressions very well.

  “Hi, Alice” said Brian, trying to hold himself together.

  “This is Bella.”

  “Hi, Bella, nice to meet you” he said, his face had gone a little red.