Soft stems of grass push around my feet as a cool breeze blows on my face. I open my eyes to a cool orange sky. “Where am I?” I ask myself. I feel gualt’s power deactivate, my body becomes heavy. I feel myself fall to the ground, tears streaming down my face. “Gualt,” I choke. “You sacrificed yourself, gave me your enhancement ability, just to get me out of there.” All I can do is think about our childhood together. Years ago when Rom left the village to search for Vetrix, Gualt became the only person who comforted me. I was the grandson of the third Guardian, Vetrix Rox. My parents died early in my life. They abandoned the Sanctuary to search for Vetrix when I was a child. Rom followed. The only friend I had was you, Gualt.

“You arrived.” A calm femminine voice raises my head. I look up to a cream yellow dress, flowers blooming from the base. Further up I look at her narrow face. Her pointed ears straight back on her head. “Gualt must’ve fallen if you’ve ended up here, Loben Rox.” The breeze blows through her golden hair.

“How did you know about Gualt?” I ask. The woman’s long body makes me think she’s an elf. The elves are said to be messengers from the gods, if not the embodiment of some. So how is she here? “You are right to question me.” She holds out her hand, lifting me from the grass. “I’ve known you for a long time, loben. At least, I know the you in your soul.”

“What do you mean?” I don’t know what she’s talking about. I’ve never seen or met an elf before. The closest to one was my mother, but her ears weren’t that pointed. “Loben,” She continues. “It may be confusing right now, but you and I have met before. In another world, another dream. Or a..”

“A nightmare.” I say without realizing. “What was that? It was so dark I couldn’t see anything.”

“It was a world where you died, and I died. That plain of existence is gone. Now we are here, it may be that we’ve been given a second chance to stop him.” I died? No, that was only a dream. I’ve always had these weird nightmares about death. Every time I would die on some kind of battlefield. Someone would say my name, then I would die. “I don’t understand. Just who are you?”

“You haven’t left the Sanctuary, but still that beast tried to kill you.” A rumbling can be heard behind her. She looks behind her, then turns back to me. “There’s no more time.” She grabs my shoulders and pushes me backwards. A giant crystal golem smashes the trees around her. It grabs her body and it starts to absorb into the crystal. “Find the castle beyond the blizzard, I’ll be in the garden.” The rest of her body is taken into the golem. A flash of white light surrounds us and everything seems to disappear.

I awaken on a blanket of soft ground. The harsh winds blow white blankets of snow with every stroke. My body shivers as I struggle to my feet. This blizzard is so cold. “C’mon,” I take a step through the snow, shifting it around my legs. As I keep walking, the snow rises up my body. Soon enough, my waist is entirely submerged. “Em’ir” I gasp, trying to activate my magic. A small cooked mushroom appears in my hand. I hold it against my chest, knowing I’m too weak to create anything else in this weather. “I can’t die.” I feel tears freeze against my cheeks. “I can’t die. Not like this. I never got to be a proper mage. I didn’t even get to see who the next guardian would be.” My body stiffens by itself. My chest cracks with every slow breath. I’m not going to live. Is this where I die? In this blizzard.

“Oi!!” I hear faintly. A small orange light flickers in the distance. “By the goddess,” My body is lifted from my snow prison. “Please be alive. C’mon stay with me.” Black slowly covers my vision, and I feel my body faint.

I’m back in the blizzard, my sword drawn from my side. In front of me, a giant shadow. I can’t see what it looks like. “Loben,” A commanding voice from my left. “You take that one. I’ll take care of him.” My sword glows blue as I feel my body charge on its own beside the big shadow. I hear a high pitched scream and I’m blown backwards. I feel my body hit a sharp stone behind me. I charge again at the creature. Another screech slams into me, but this time I feel my sword stab into a giant tongue. I look up and see a giant mouth gaping over me. It widens and I am swallowed into it’s dark stomach.

A high pitched screaming wakes me. My body jolts upwards, then freezing pain shoots through my entire body. I groan before falling back into the bed. “Wait.” I rub my eyes before seeing cave rocks. The interior is covered in lamps and sheets. I’m inside a tent with some crates. The sheets move beside me. A man appears before me, his complexion is very young. He’s wearing a snow white tunic with dark brown boots up to his knees. I look up to his face, his silky black hair is struck back behind his ears. His dark pink eyes stare at me in surprise, but somehow I feel calm around him. Almost like I’ve known him for a long time. “Oh thank the goddess you’re awake.” He smiles. He raises a tea kettle in his hand. “I hope I didn’t wake you. Would you like some tea?” I nod. He bends down beside me and pours the tea into a cup.

“Ex..” My mouth freezes. I can’t make a sound right now. The man lifts my head and the cup slowly, before giving me a small drink. It’s very warm and sweet. I can feel my throat thaw out. I try lips before trying to talk again. “Thank you.” I say weakly.

“You’re welcome.” He smiles before placing the cup back down. “I’m surprised you managed to get here. There hasn’t been a gnome in this kingdom in decades.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you know where you are?” He looks at me before standing back up. From his height I think he’s a human. I shake my head. “No. I don’t know how I even got here.”

“Well, you’re safe, that's what matters.” He reaches for a scroll on the shelf across from us. He unscrolls it in front of me and I see a big map. “We are here.” He points to a giant white landscape with multiple houses that spans a quarter of the map. “This is my queen’s kingdom of Arindeal. Now here,” He points to a perfectly wihte mass. “Is where we are. The two of us are 100 kilometers away from any town or city. That means 150 kilometers away from the castle. So I want to know, where did you come from?” I look over at the map. I see the white area we are in, a giant ocean separating the left and right sides from us. I turn to the right of the white kingdom. There seems to be a small green swamp. The trees don’t remind me of the ones in Sanctuary though. I look to the right landmass across the ocean. It seems to be mountainous, red streaks flow across the scroll. Next I turn to the left, most of it looks like plains, the grass looks healthy and the forests are vast. Then I see it, the mushroom forest where the secret entrance to my village is. I point to it.

“You live in the mushroom valley?” He looks at me before closing his eyes. When he reopens them, he seems to have understood me. “Do you live around there? Our cartographers haven’t been able to look at that area very well.”

“Uh..Yes.” He doesn’t seem to know about the Woods. “I lived inside the main forest.”

“That’s fascinating. I’m from here.” He points to the swamp outside the blizzard. “It’s called The Basin. There’s a big lake there beside a huge cove that leads out to the ocean. Besides that the forest is very wet and there’s not much to it.”

Hold on. If we’re in the middle of the blizzard, how come this cave is warm and not covered in snow? “How are we still warm?”

“Oh yeah.” He chuckles to himself. “I have a small amount of magic blood in me. I can focus light around us and concentrate it to heat up the surrounding area. Watch.” He extends his arm towards the lamp above us. “Sam'e'mor Asher’adsho.” The light in the lamp starts to glow brighter, the outside of it starts to melt before dimming back down. “It’s not much but it lets me survive out here.”

“Why are you out here anyway?” I ask him. His face lowers before looking back at the map. “My kingdom is dying.” He sighs. He points to the castle in the middle of the snowy landscape. “The goddess of the Basin, Catherine of Balance, has cursed Arindeal. Somewhere between Arindeal and the Basin, there’s a holy temple. That temple is the key to figuring out this curse and freeing our kingdom from being destroyed. That’s why I’m out here. I am here to find that temple and report back to My priestess as soon as possible.” Looking at his eyes, I can see the same desire as Vetrix. He wants to protect his kingdom with everything he has. “How dangerous should this temple be?” I ask him. If this place possesses enough holy power to rival a goddess’s curse, it must be protected. At least that’s what I read back in Sanctuary.

“I have no doubts it’ll be guarded. That’s why I brought this.” The man reaches into his tunic and pulls out a cloth. It looks aged, with stains around the ends with the head tied into a knot. “This is a talisman of a miracle worker.” He explains. “Have you heard of them?”

“Yes.” I gasp. Feeling the power radiating from the cloth. “When the gods left, they imparted on us fractions of their power, one miracle per being.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” He interrupts me. “The gods didn’t leave. They weren’t here in the first place. Mages get power from their will. The magic they imbue is a representation of their family and their beliefs. Sometimes, there are people who perfectly mimic the will of a god or goddess. Thus, that deity transfers their power to the individual. Thus, making them a walking miracle.”

“Transfer of power?” My thoughts immediately flash to Gault. I can still feel his power inside of me. Gault could enhance his and whoever he touches physical abilities. He was so fast he could run across the entire forest in seconds. Now he’s dead.

“Hey are you okay?” The man touches my shoulder. I shake my head realizing I’m looking at the ground. “It’s nothing.” I stand up. My strength seems to be returning. The man turns around and throws a bag onto the bed. “That’s for you.” He smiles. The bag seems quite large. The straps are old and I don’t recognize the symbol on the bag. It looks like a shard of ice covered in black and white snow. “What is it?” I ask.

“Training equipment,” He explains. “That’s my old one from when I first joined Arindeal. It’s got new clothes, a small sword, and a book of simple spells. Assuming you can use the right magic, I’d like you to try learning some of them.”

“How could you tell I’m a mage?” I ask. I can’t figure out why, but being around him reminds of the Sanctuary. He waves his hand towards me, motioning from the bottom of my body to my head. “Your appearance. You don’t carry a sword, nor any type of weapons or protective clothes. Plus, you appeared out of nowhere in the middle of Arindeal’s blizzard. I’m surprised that you’re even alive.”

“Right.” I nodded. I think if I need to I can replicate Gualt’s boost. It’ll take some time to perfect it. I open the book and examine some of the basic spells. “This book seems to be all around nature based attacks.” I say. The man looks back at me. “Oh,” He looked surprised. “That’s not my book. My book was about tracking and disguise.” His voice drops to a low whisper. He shakes his head and takes the book from me. He starts to spill through the pages before giving it back. “Try to read it when you get the chance, but not right now, the magic’s fading from this cave so we better get moving.” He slings two bags over his shoulders and raises his cloak above his head. “I’m ready to leave when you are.”

I hurry to his side as I grab my new bag. “I’m ready, um.” I don’t know what to call him. “What’s your name? I’m Loben.”

“I’m Belon.” He lights a torch with his hands. “I have a feeling the two of us are going to have a fantastic adventure.”

The cold wind tears through my clothes. All I can see is Belon’s torch in front of me. “You okay Loben?” He shouts. The blizzard muffled his voice. “Yeah!” I scream at him. The new coat he gave me is still warm. He said this was his jacket when he joined his kingdom, but how was a human my size? For a human to be the size of a gnome, Belon must’ve been a child. I focus on Belon’s shadow in front of me. “How much further?” I ask. “I don’t know.” He shouts back. I can feel his magic energy flowing into the torch to keep it lit. He must be doing it for my sake. If it wasn’t for Belon, I would be dead already, he doesn’t have to keep doing this. “Loben!” he shouts again. The storm freezing my ears. “I think I found it! Just a little further ahead.”

“Okay.” I focus again on his flickering shadow. The torch light guiding me through the blizzard. I don’t know if I am getting used to the weather, or if it’s getting warmer. A dark gate can be seen in the distance. Belon’s light waves backwards and stops for me to catch up. I stand next to him, the stone wall in front of us looks ancient. “We found it.” Belon pants. He must be exhausted from using his magic for so long. “This must be the temple. There seems to be a lock engraved into the stone here.” He flattens his hand against the wall. As I look closer, the chips in the wall do resemble a language. Is it an encrypted lock? If so I’ve never seen a language like this before. The lines and crosses in the slab make no sense. “It seems like this is a message from the guardian of this temple.” Belon hands me his torch, I can feel his power let go. I try to transfer my magic into the light, but I can’t stop it from slightly fading. He pulls out a small book from his bag and examines the scripture. “This is very old.” he says. The blizzard is still howling around us. He mumbles something I don’t understand. “What?” I ask. He waves his hand behind him. “Nothing,” He seems to be very focused. “I’m trying to translate the writing.”

“How old do you think this is?” I try to look around for any rubble or city. “Based on this writing,” Belon grunts. “I can only assume this temple is from the Old King’s era.” He mumbles something again. “.....Collapse.”

“How long ago was that?” I ask him. Old King? How old is he? “Loben! Come here!” I rush to Belon’s side. I hand him the torch and the flame bursts to life. He slides his book back into his bag. “I found it,” he points to a cross and sketch in the stone. “This is the entrance. I need to repeat the incantation and then flow some magic into the door.” He starts to breathe heavily. “I don’t know how much more energy I have left. Loben, I might need you to flow some of your magic at the door while I speak the incantation. Can you do that?” I nod. Belon seems to be very tired. I didn’t know he used so much energy on the torch light. I raise my hands towards the center of the sketches, I aim the center towards a circular indent. Belon places one hand behind mine. “When I start I will cast a small amount of magic into the door.” he explains. “Immediately, I need you to take over and cast your magic with me. Ready?” I can feel his energy pour from his hands. I start to emit the same amount. I can already feel my magic draining. “Ready.” I concentrate on the flow of magic as Belon starts the incantation.

“A as a er’aha’sak edar arsh erma’re hak’seshog.” The ground starts to pulse and I see my magic mix with Belon’s. His hand starts to glow a dark red, then lightens to a pink that reminds me of home. I watch as the light from my hands glow a bright pink. What type of magic is this? “A oka’kirer raseh’arid orshok’as erma shogak’jo. Esash A Ader’ak.”

The ground shakes and the stone wall starts to slide open. The creaking echoes through the blizzard. Belon pulls me inside and the doors quickly shut behind us. The rocky thud booms through the temple. The torch finally wooshes out and the walls start to glow a dim gray. “What is this place?” I look around the walls, the amount of magic to light up this halfway alone is more than I could ever do. Belon places his stick around his waist. “It seems we’re in the temple of a goddess.” He pulls his book back out and flips rapidly through the pages. “There’s nothing written about this place. We’re just going to have to look around.” He takes the lead and beckons me to follow. The walls seem to be made of a white stone, ice covers most of the ceiling and upper walls. “So tell me,” I need to know more about this place if I want to go home. “What do you know about this kingdom?”

“Well there’s a lot I know about the world.” Belon waves his book at me. “I work for the kingdom of Arindeal. It’s the kingdom that rules this region. Well my priestess hasn’t been on good terms with the Basin, the swamp region to our east across the blizzard. So to try and destroy us, their goddess put a curse on our kingdom.” We come to an intersection, he waves me to the left near a stairway going up. “The curse has infected our mainland, and I fear I may be too late to stop it. The best my troops have done is die from sight.” Troops? By the way he’s talking is he a high ranking officer? He did manage to survive out here by himself.

Suddenly, I am shaken by a dark presence. Belon shoves me next to the wall. “Someone’s here.” he growls. His hand starts to glow a deep red. His hand starts to disappear, extending up his arm. He places his hand on my chest and whispers “Hold your breath.” I take as big of a breath I can and I feel my body lighten. Almost like I’m floating. Belon taps my shoulder and I see him holding his mouth closed and he puts a finger across his lips. I look behind Belon, and black slime starts oozing down the hall. The energy emitting from it freezes my body. My nightmare starts to come back to me. Gault! That mage used this type of magic. Is he here?! No please don’t be here. I quiver as distorted chuckles bounce off the walls. Then, a cane swishes around the corner. I see a black cloak and top hat coming towards us with a giant ball of black slime crawling behind it. The can taps onto the stone with every step. I can feel my body being pulled towards him. Belon’s eyes look filled with rage, do they know each other? Is that the mage who killed Sir Orin? Belon looks back at me and puts his free hand on his chest and gestures to follow him. He tugs on my arm and we slowly approach the shadowy figure as it comes towards us. I keep walking behind Belon and I can’t hear our footsteps, in fact, I don’t think the figure has noticed us yet. We’re right in front of him, is this another one of Belon’s powers? We finally meet side to side with the cloaked figure. I watch the black slime roll and bounce on the hard, stone floor. I look up at the figure, I can barely see behind his cloak. Dark purple eyes with no white around it blink at me! Do they know we’re here? NO. Please don’t see us. I quiver as Belon yanks me to his side. I feel my chest tighten, I’m running out of air. The dark figure continues to stroll away from us. The cane tapping against the stone. Belon rushes around the corner just as I let out a gasp. I hit the wall we’ve been walking against, feeling my head pound. I look up at Belon, he’s sweating and staring down the hall behind us. “Who was that?” I wheeze. I still haven’t caught my breath yet. Belon slows his breathing, and lets out a deep sigh. “I don’t know. There were rumors of an assassin with an undiscovered type of magic. I’m guessing that’s him.”

“How did he get in here?”

“I don’t know.” Belon takes out another book from his cloak. “With a new type of magic there’s infinite possibilities. That mage could have a teleportation spell, a shifting enchantment, or..”

“Or he could travel through dimensions.” I cut Belon off. He looks at me curiously. “What do you mean?”

“In my dream,” I try to think about Sanctuary. “I was in a black world. Nothing except for that black slime. There was no light, even after I tried to create some. And when I tried to cast a barrier spell, it flickered out instantly.” I remember him fighting Sir Orin. How he easily trapped me in that nightmare and killed Gault. “Loben?” Belon puts his hand on my shoulder. “You okay?” I shake my head. “Yeah, I must’ve dozed off. I don’t know what else he can do so that’s all I know.”

“That’s perfectly good information.” Belon stands up and writes in his notebook. “Basically, he must be using a manipulation spell. He’s controlling that black ooze to do what he wants. And if it can stop mages from using their magic.” Belon looks onward. “C’mon,” He heads to the stairs at the end of the hallway. There must be something down there that tells us more about this place.”

The further down we go, the darker the stairway gets. “Sam’e’mor redem’aka” a ball of light hovers above Belon’s hand. The stone walls look darker than the entrance. The glowing walls stopped at the top. We continue descending, now the walls are covered in ice. “How deep do you think we are?”

“We seem to have travelled a kilometer by now.” Belon slides his hand freely off of the ice. “I just hope whatever is down here helps free Arindeal.”

“What exactly happened to your kingdom?” I step down on an icy stone. The weather suddenly got cold. “Arindeal is a kingdom covered in ice and valuable crystals.” Belon explains. “Deep in the blizzard, some sheets of ice, as well as some crystals, were blessed by the miracle workers. These crystals are infused with their magic. If somehow we find any, I can bring it back to the kingdom and use their power to cure Arindeal.”

“You said the power of the miracle workers, but I thought they could only be used by someone who represents their will.” I start to shiver. The ball of light flutters above me and sprinkles a type of dust onto my body.

“We have a miracle worker,” Belon said coldly. He seems to be more focused. “We have an enhancer miracle worker. Using their power, my troops might be able to fight the infection.”

“Infection?” I rub my arms and feel the ball warming me up. Belon keeps walking, brushing his shoulder. “The curse cast by Catherine was a manipulation spell on our magic crystals. They started becoming sentient, attaching to someone’s body and using it as a host to create more parasitic ice.”

“Wait, it’s ice,” I shake my head. “Ice and crystals don’t need any type of nutrients to grow. Why attach to a human’s body?”

“That’s normally how it works.” Belon says. “But not magic ice. This substance is supposed to attach to your magic circuits, and while you use magic through it, like a catalyst, the crystal imbues it with whatever type of energy the crystal has. If you casted a light spell with a fire crystal,” He reaches into his bag and grips a rather large red crystal shard. The ball of light turns a crimson red. The air around us starts to heat up. “It becomes a miniature star.” Belon swishes his hand away as it returns back to its bright color. “The kind of magic a person can use could be amplified when used with the right crystal or talisman.”

“So you’re trying to combine your miracle worker’s power with one of their ancestor’s crystals?” I ask. “But wouldn’t that be catastrophic if we come across the wrong catalyst?” Belon tightens his hands. “We won’t.” He went cold again. His pace seems to have increased. The stairway continues further down, ice now covers the entire hall. I feel a small amount of magic ahead of us. “Looks like we made it.” Belon sighs. “Let’s go Loben.” I nod my head and jog to keep up with his stride. As we reach the bottom of the stairs, we enter a small room. The walls are covered in multicolored ice and the floor is a chiseled stone. The only thing in the room is a stone podium, with a plaque on top of it.

“We’re here.” Belon takes out one of his notebooks. He walks up to the podium and I watch as stone chips off of the plaque. Text and markings appear in front of him and glow a pale gray. He places his hand over them, the energy changes to combine with his magic. “A as a erokah’asak,” His voice echoes off of the stone. “Erma esaka’kesa arsh kakiar’aresh, erma esaka’kesa arsh rerokad’mem, erma esaka’kesa arsh rakekarsh’aka, A okakirer eshik isho. Adrehak esesh kase!” The room rumbles and ice shatters against the ground. Belon focuses his magic into his hand then fires a beam of red light into the stone slab. The ice around us changes colors, glowing from pearlescent to rainbow. The colors shift to blue, yellow, and a bright pink. Belon slams his hand against the podium. The ice shards fall off the walls, floating towards Belon’s hand. They start to become transparent, transforming into hollow crystals. I can feel magic flowing through them, an almost reminicable feeling of home.

Belon pulls out a hand stitched bag and the crystals fall inside. Some of the crystals stall in front of the podium. One of them is cream yellow, another is almost an ocean blue. There’s a green one, reminds me of moss. The next one floats out of Belon’s bag, its color seems to change from white to black, then a very small light blue, then a light red, and finally back to white. A couple more crystals fall off of the wall and float above Belon. The brightest orange I’ve ever seen, followed by a dull gray. Then, the last one, the crystal was pure black. A small purple core blinked light out of the cracked shell. “What are these?” I ask. Belon opens his eyes, he seems to be looking further into the crystals. “Catalysts,” he says. He lifts his hand, allowing the crystals to fall into his palm. “Remnants of magic left by the gods. Like an ember from a scorching fire. These crystals hold pieces of this world’s most powerful mages. The miracles, let alone normal spells casted from these would be extraordinary.” As he places the last crystal into his pouch, Belon’s orb of light flickers out. The area around us fades into shadows, the only thing visible is the stairs. The ground starts to rumble and the remaining ice cracks across the wall. “What’s going on?” I shout, trying to find my balance on the rumbling stone. Belon staggers then throws his fist into the air “Sam’e’mor!” A flash of light hovers to the ceiling. “Loben run!”

I feel my chest pounding. Like something’s grabbed my heart and is squeezing it in their hands. I fall to the ground coughing, watching my vision blur. Belon looks down to me and opens his mouth. If he said something, I couldn’t hear him. Pink light emits from my body, I can feel my skin burning. I feel… magic touching my skin, my flesh melts and pops across my arms. I scream as my own magic reacts, releasing pure energy all around me. The light surrounding me is blinding, I can’t see anything, all I know is the immeasurable power coursing through me. It hurts, I can’t see, my skin is melting, and I’m being overpowered by pure magical energy. My hands sting, shooting wave after wave of energy out of my body. Nothing is working. I can’t get it out. No matter how hard I swing my arms, I can’t expel it. My vision is covered in blinding light. The chill of the stone floor vanish, replaced with empty air.

I don’t know where I am. All I know is that I opened my eyes, and I don’t see anything. There’s nothing but black everywhere I turn. “sam'e'mor” I whisper. I feel a small spark sting out of my left hand. I look down and I’m blinded by a white ball of light hovering in my palm. As I look down, I see the ground I’m standing on ripple, like touching water. “What is going on?” My voice quivers. I put my right hand against my forehead, wiping the sweat away. I lower the ball of light to the ground, then it starts to flicker. I yank it back up to my shoulder, but it looks like it’s covered in a black liquid. It feels dark, almost insane. The ball of light continues to flicker, then burns out, leaving me alone again in the darkness.

A low snarl echoes around me. I feel the ground shake under me. “Who’s there?!” I shout. Who would answer me anyway? I’m too scared to move. Something’s here with me. I don’t know what it is. “sam'e'mor!” I try to summon another ball of light. The white sparks form in my hands, only to flicker out like before. The growls get closer, followed by wet splats. Like flesh stomping in mud. I can hear the ground squish below it’s heavy feet as it circles around me. “Ri’sesh’og!” A barrier forms around my body. The bubble pushes away the black liquid below me. The creature surrounding me stops moving, it crashes against my barrier. For a fraction of a second, I see gigantic sharp teeth slice into my bubble. The same thing that happened to my light starts to happen to my barrier. I look up and see the bubble around me start to dissolve into the ground. I move my legs behind me, trying to find any speck of light.

Digestive gurgles echoe behind me, then stop. Wherever that creature is, I don’t think it’s behind me anymore. A numb sting pierces through my stomach. I feel my body lift into the air. I look at my shirt and there’s a pitch-black hole in my chest. The pain isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I instantly regret thinking that as the claw rips out of my chest, throwing me away from it into a pond of slime. My eyes can’t open at all, neither can I move my body. A victorious growl blows air on my face. I feel it’s teeth touch my neck, the sharp canines poking into my nape. “LOBEN!” three different voices shout before I hear the creature close its mouth around my head.

Chapter 1: Loben Rox

I scream as my body flies out of my bed. Strands of hair stick to my forehead. “Just a dream, Loben.” I put my hand to my chest, trying to calm my rapid heartbeat. I look around, seeing the light peek through the brick, the smell of mushrooms breeze through the open window. I stumble through a door and look into the mirror on the wall. “Ok’arshak’es.” I breath onto the glass. When the fog clears, I see just how sweaty I am. Whatever that nightmare was, it scared me too much. I chuckle at my damp clothes, how their natural brown cloth looks like it’s melting off my body. I see bushy, untangled pink hair around my head and ears. “At least now it matches this.” I scratch my beard, patches of pink shining brighter than others in random areas of my chin. I sigh and I grab a small comb near my hand. I pull the comb through my hair, trying to at least make it less fluffy. Just like everyday, my hair poofs back to an afro almost instantly after combing it. I turn to the side of my sink and spot a change of clothes. The trim on the blue tunic is almost gold-like. A plain pair of dirty slacks lay under them. “They’ll do,” I sigh, replacing my sweaty clothes with the new ones.

As I walk out of my washroom, I hear a hollow thud from the main room. When I enter, I stumble over a wooden frame. It was a giant painting of my grandfather, Vetrix. His small body looks identical to mine. He may be short, but he had a lot more muscles than I do. His hair is almost a dark berry pink unlike my bright hair. In the painting, Vetrix is riding his manticore, Rom, a white lion with scaly wings and a stinger on the end of his tail. A sword and a shield lay on his back as Vetrix was riding Rom into combat. They used to be the guardians of my village, but one day they never came back. I pick up the painting and hang it back onto the wall, where it stands taller than anyone who looks at it. “I’ll make your tea, grandpa.” I say to him. I walk over to a small crack in my wall covered in dirt. “Esam’erok’is.” I wave my hand over the dirt as a mushroom sprouts unnaturally fast over the soil. I pick the fresh mushroom and place it inside a pot of water.

When I finally sit down, I hear someone knocking very loudly on my front door. “Coming!” I shout. I turn the handle and a heavy body knocks me to the ground. The light from the ceiling spins around me. The ringing in my ears are only muffled by a loud yodel. “Heya Loben!” My head starts pounding. My vision returns to normal and I sit up in my lap. I see a young man, his blonde hair falls to his ears and his beard down to his chest. The deep red tunic stained with mud and sweat. Something’s different about him today. He is carrying a satchel around his neck, the bag on the end looks burnt. “Someone very tall came into the village today. Guess what? It was a HUMAN! Anywho, he tossed this bag at me saying this is for Vetrix Rox.”

“Gault” I clear my throat, trying to stand back up. “My grandfather hasn’t been seen for a long time. He disappeared around sixty years ago, then Rom destroyed the passageway to the human world during the rampage. There can’t possibly have been a human in our village.” Gault shrugs and tosses the satchel over his shoulder at me. It flies over my head and lands directly on my pillow. I hear the bag rip open, letting whatever inside thump onto the bed. “Anyway,” I scratch my fuzzy ears, walking to the front door. “We have an important class today. Isn’t it time for the town’s guardian to be chosen?” Gault’s eyes sparkle bright yellow as he mutters, “Rek’I’shog!”

The next thing I knew, I was standing outside my house, Gault’s hand wrapped around my wrist. I look over at Gault, his eyes dim to dark yellow and he giggles like a madman. I feel a little uneasy, like there’s someone staring at me. “C’mon!” He tugs my arm, snapping my attention to him. “If the guardian is being chosen soon we have to get going don’t we?”

“Most likely they’ll be talking about the previous guardians for a while.” I huff, trying to keep up to him dragging me. Gault just laughs. “That’s the best part! Start naming them, pop quiz style.”

“Alright,” I find my footing and start running beside him. “Who was the genius who not only created Mushroom magic, but made the craft into a sacred art?” I smirk as I look into Gualt’s eyes sparkle. “Easy,” he grins. “The first guardian, Patra Pod. My turn, not only did Mushroom magic become perfected, who was the first person to use it like a conjuration art?”

“That’s just giving me the answer.” I frown. “My grandfather, the third guardian, Vetrix Rox. Seriously that wasn’t hard at all.”

“Fine.” Gault starts to sprint ahead of me. “There were a couple of different ways to heal wounds, but this guardian used his unique ability to create a tea to not only cure minor injuries, but calm the nerves and mind.” I sigh and start speeding past him. “Stop talking about Vetrix! Before he can give me another question we arrive at a red, stonelike building. We stop in front of the door and try to catch our breaths. I feel a little uneasy, just like how I felt back outside my house.

“Oi Loben,” Gault taps my shoulder. “You alright?”

“Uhh… Yeah.” I shake my head, trying to focus on the hall in front of us. “Just tired.” I look around and see some gnomes gathering around the door, but I don’t see anyone unusual. “Oi,” Gault spins me around. “We gotta go in. We should get some good seats for the announcement.” He pulls on my arm, dragging us into the town hall. Inside, there’s some students from the university, others are farmers. In the front area, I see a couple of well dressed gnomes, their tunics pinned with rare flowers and mushrooms. “Sorry,” Gault booms through the crowd, pushing me in front of him. “Coming through. C’mon Loben we gotta go if we want a good seat.”

“That’s him?” Someone says. “I heard he’s the grandson of the third guardian.”

“But hasn’t Vetrix been gone for 60 years? Loben must be the only one left in the family.” They continue to gossip about my life and habits. I sigh, the only thing I knew about Vetrix is that he was the village Guardian, and his companion Rom. I remember Rom being there when I was a child, but I was too young to know why he left. I sit down in a chair next to Gualt somewhere near the center of the room. He giggles and bounces in his

seat.

Shortly after we sit down, a gnome pushes open the doors in the front of the hall. His white hair shooting from his head. One of his eyes is grayed out, almost translucent, while the other one a dark orange. There’s no doubt about it, that’s Orin, the fourth guardian of my village. He took the position when Vetrix disappeared and held the position for this long. I watch as he waves his hand and all the whispering stops. “Hello Sanctuary Woods.” His voice croaks. I hope he isn’t shouting. I can barely hear it. Orin reaches into his white tunic and pulls out a mushroom. The shape seems to be in a hollow cone, extended outwards on one end. He holds the small end up to his face. “As you know this village hasn’t had any events happen in almost 40 years. The last recorded event of violence was when we shut the gate to our woods. To ensure our village’s safety, there must be a guardian, to lead us through battle and support us in growing our small nation.” He pauses and his eyes gaze towards me. I smile at him and he faces the rest of the people. “Now, our new guardian won’t just be a warrior or a farmer. He will be a symbol for our people as we grow, blooming into a mushroom that won’t be crumbled.”

“Sir Orin?” a voice speaks behind me. I look behind me to a black cloak that seems to absorb the light around it. Orin looks up to the gnome. “I was wondering why you haven’t told us about the latest event in this village's history?”

Multiple people start whispering again. “What is he talking about?”

“Yeah. There hasn’t been anything that has happened in decades.”

“Yes, you may be right.” The cloaked figure laughs. “Ha ha HA, but this event has just happened. It’s called the assassination of the Sanctuary Woods!” My eyes widen as Gualt pushes me to the ground. A blast of energy shoots right above us, aiming towards Orin. I stand up and see a wall of white mushrooms. The black energy absorbs into the wall, making the mushrooms start to rot and decay in seconds. Orin appears behind the wall, he starts reciting an incantation while the cloaked figure starts laughing. “Who are you?” Orin demands. His hands start to glow a soft yellow. “Oh me?” The cloaked figure’s voice seems to lower. “I’m just a mage who wants to have a bit of fun!” The voice starts to croak and beeb, almost like the entire body is changing. The figure turns to me, “Loben Rox correct?” the words creep into my ears. “I remember fighting your grandfather, and how he screamed as I ripped him apart.” A sharp tongue extends out of the cloak and slips from one side to the other. I hear the sound of bone snapping. I Look around and see everyone has fallen to the ground, motionless. “I won’t tell you again,” Orin’s voice filled with rage. “Who are you?”

“I’m the beast of the night.” The figure cackles. Orin pulls his hands in front of him, the glow starts to brighten. “Eksa’reer” he shouts as a blast of yellow energy shoots towards the figure. The beam of energy seems to go right through him and the cloak falls to the ground. Orin falls to his knees, panting. I look down at Gualt, his body laying in front of me. “Gualt?” I whisper. His body tenses up and I sigh. “We need to get out of here.” I grab his hand and start to pull him up. “Loben,” he coughs. I feel his hand get heavy. “I don’t think it’s over.” he points towards Orin. I can feel my body shake as a human stands behind him. His dark smile is all I notice until the squishing sound of flesh rips through my ears. Orin gasps and coughs as a hand tears through his chest, leaving only a ball of black energy. “I wished you were more entertaining than Vetrix.” The human giggles. “I really wanted to have more fun today. I guess I might indulge myself in another kill.” I see his pure black eyes look up at me. He licks his lips one more time and starts to skip around the room. I need to get out of here. I try to move my legs but I’m not leaving. I can’t seem to move. I’m frozen, staring into those black eyes. almost like my dream.

A dark aura emanates from his cloak, what looks like slime falls to the ground. It crawls along the floor, devouring the corpses in the halls, slowly creeping towards Orin. He blasts another beam of yellow light, but it seems to flicker out and disappear inside the ball of slime. What is that? I keep trying to pull my body from the ground. Then, I hear Gualt grunt as I’m lifted onto my feet. “Loben,” he coughs. “I’ll give you a boost, just make sure you get out of here okay?” he coughs again, this time blood splashes on the ground. I shake my head, “Gualt, you can’t fight him.” my hushed voice hissed. “I’ll hold him off, you need to get yourself to safety.”

“Now isn’t the time to play guardian, Loben.” he groans. “ You may be the descendant of Vetrix, but you just saw what happened to Orin. Neither of us can win against that mage. You have to run.” Gualt’s eyes send a small sprinkle of yellow light as his magic transfers to my body. My arms and legs warm up and start to tingle, like all my strength has returned. I can feel Gualt do more than just enhance my magic, but he’s fully transferring his power to me. “Gualt you can’t do this.” I try to halt his enchantment but all I see next is the black cloak hovering over us. “Now if you two are done,” the giggles grow deeper and echo in my mind. “I’ll be killing you now.”

“LOBEN!” Gualt pulls himself in front of me as the stream of black ooze sticks to his body. My feet bounce my body backwards, stumbling myself out of the way. The black energy surrounds Gualt’s body, enclosing him into a ball of slime. The mage starts to cackle, the pitch deepens and raises drastically, wavering off the stone walls. My ears feel like they’re going to break. “Oh,” The mage inhales so sharp it cuts the air around him. He wiggles and casually skips towards me. “Come on Loben. I would love to have some more fun!” There must be something I can do. “Meok’ahe.” I shout. My feet glow and as they slide across the ground I can feel it shake. It cracks, letting the plants under the concrete break through, weaving into a wall.

My feet stop glowing and I start to use Gault’s power. My body tightens and my legs shine a yellow light in front of me. I take my first step then I feel my legs slam into a wall. Shaking my head I realize I’m on the other side of the room. I look behind me at the wall of mushrooms I created. The center sizzles, black liquid squirts out and burns a hole straight through. The mage’s cloaked head starts to crawl out of the hole. He snaps his fingers, and he’s standing a foot in front of me. I can see his fanged smile under his hood. My mind flashes back to my nightmare. How that beast tore me apart with its fangs. What can I do? His hand starts to squirt out black energy. My vision blurs, feeling an unknown source of magic enter my body. The laughter fades, the world around me fades.

I wake up on a cold, hard, stone floor. "MEALIN!" I shout, raising my body from the stone. I feel a sharp sting on my abdomen, and fall back to the floor. "Conjure...." I don't feel my mana flowing through my body. I catch myself on the wall, but I feel my left arm snap. Images start to appear in my mind. Images of our fight, how I chased after a random lead to find Ike. I found myself in the shadow street, and abyssal mages found me. "Good, you're awake." A deep voice laughs in front of me. I look through the bars, and see two cloaked figures walk towards me. One of them is broad, it's shoulder length double the second. The broad one slams it's hand on the second one's shoulders, making it lose its balance. "Look at her," The bigger one spits on my check. "The conjurer. How pathetic, losing your sword, your magic, and the men you loved." That deep voice, masculine tone, heavy build. It couldn't be him could it? "Justin?" I ask weekly. The bigger one cackles and slams it's hand against the second one's back, sending him flying into the wall. "Who else would know anything about you two?" The bigger one asks. It waves it's right arm, and black slime erupts from the ground below it. Then , the slime opens the floor in front of the bars across from me, and I see a square face staring at me with cold, amber eyes. "I can't believe you two thought I wasn't a mage!" Justin says as black energy glows throughout his right hand. Before I could react, I feel him smack my other cheek, and I'm falling to the floor.

"Come on, Tali." Justin complains. I look back to see him faze through the bars of my cell. "Show me the fighter you are." He swings his leg back, and releases it at me. I push myself off the ground to evade, but as I do, a metal ring clasps around my neck, and the chain attached to it pulls me to the ground. I fall onto the hard stone, and I scream as my left arm twist around my shoulder. Then I feel my knees pop from Justin stomping on them. "Don't you see?" He asks. "The abyss is such a beautiful place. It gives magic to people who can't access mana."

"Master," The second figure whimpers. "I've done everything you've asked me to for 13 years. Do you think I can be free now? That I can be with my sister again?"

"Ignorant boy!" Justin booms. "You haven't done everything." 13 years? That's the same amount of time as.... My thoughts are interrupted by Justin grabbing me with his hands. He picks me up easily, and slams my face into the bars. " This boy is a perfect example, Tali."Justin explains. "He wasn't able to access the magical realm. Thanks to the abyss, he created those chains around your neck. In the real world." The second figure takes off his hood, and I see tears fall from purple eyes. He looks like he would be a high school freshman. Sprinkles of crimson cross his short blonde hair. "He also was your brother."

"Ike?" My eyes start to water. Ike has been proclaimed dead for the past 10 years. My father, Mealin's father, and Mealin himself worked so hard to find him. The boy in front of me looks away, and waves his right hand. Justin lets go of me as my wrist and ankles are chained, stretching my body. "My name is Izak, Natalie." Ike crys. "I was once called Ike, but then Justin saved me from Ike's life without magic. Instead," He passes through my bars, and puts a hand on my cheek. "I have magic, and a life that you would be proud of. Big sister." He kisses my cheek, and Justin holds my back straight. My arm and legs snap in pain as I feel Justin tear my blouse and skirt. "You know what you must do, Izak." He says from behind me. I look over at my little brother, his face starts to glow black and his face swirls out of recognition. "Ike," I call to him. "What are you going to do?" Ike licks my neck and whispers softly into my ear, "I'm going to give you the gift the abyss has granted me."

"Master!" An abyssal mage shouts as it rushes down some stairs. "A mage found our location. We have a reason to believe it's the Champion."

"Mealin!" I say immediately. He's coming to save me. Wait, what is he thinking? One abyssal mage is difficult enough to handle, and Justin has mastered it. If Mealin fights him in the state he's in, he'll die! "NO! MEALIN DON'T COME HERE!"

"Set up every mage we have to defend the portal." Justin commands, drawing his hood over his face. "Keep working Izak. Make her perfect for the abyss." Ike smiles deviously and holds my waist with his hands. "With pleasure."

"So," I ask. "What do you plan to do, Ike?" He looks at me, and tears at my blouse again. "I'm going to defile your body, and make it a perfect host for the art of the abyss."

"And after you do that?" I think I can break free of these chains. I just need a distraction. I move my right arm around, and find a slot for a key. There's the weak spot. If I can get something from Ike's coat, I can be free. "After that you will gain the arts of abyssal magic." Ike giggles. "And when you try to cast magic with that black energy, you will never be any happier. Shall we begin?"

Before I could answer, Ike summons a needle filled with a black liquid. He stabs it into my neck, and I feel my mana overflow. I jerk my head in the presence of this power, so great, so illegal, so.....good. "Conjure!" I giggle. My voice is crackly and distorted. I see a curved sword appear before my eyes. A black metal on the blade, humming with gray energy. The amethyst around the hilt are dull, and I hear a dark laugh in my mind. "Great work, Conjurer!" Ike, no Izak praises. "Such a marvelous sword. Filled with Null, and enhanced by the abyss! What is he called?"

"Izak." I find myself saying. I feel my mouth fill with liquid, and I spit out black slime onto the the floor. The blade laughs at me, the sheer power of it makes my skin crawl. No! My sword is Ike. My brother is Ike. Not this monster standing in front of me. Izak is smiling ear-to-ear laughing into the dark blade, meaning more laughing in my head. I see images in my head, when Mealin, Ike, and I were kids. Mealin just cut his hair, leaving it short and frilly. I kept my hair long, and Ike, who idealized Mealin, had his hair done the same. No, I don't know anyone named Ike. I know my little brother, Izak. He taught me how to use the wonderful arts of the abyss. He hates Mealin, and so should I. "Izak," I laugh. "Can I hold my sword? I think little Izak wants to play." My little brother nods and starts to float my sword in my hand.

"Natalie! Where are you?!" A voice screams into my mind. That's Mealin! "What are you doing here?" I think.

"I'm coming to save you!"

Save me? Yeah, I love Mealin, and he loves me. He would do anything for me. I feel the dark blade coming closer to my hand. I need to free myself before I get corrupted again. "Conjure." I whisper under my breath. I hear Mealin fighting to save me, and I hear us giggling together under the tree in the park, and a small child’s laughter. I visualize a curved, silver blade. With emeralds and amethysts sparkling on the hilt. I hear Ike hum with gray energy, and it flys from behind my back, and collides with my right handcuff, knocking Izak away. Ike flies around my cell, crushing the chains around my limbs. I land heavily on the stone floor, my legs can't move, and my left arm is broken. "How did you escape the abyss?" Izak screams at me. He grabs the black blade, and holds it to mine. "Izak," I pant. Ike floats above me. "May your darkness find light!" Ike flies into the dark blade, they knock into each other, slashing across the hilts. Izak jumps on top of me, his eyes have gone blank. "Why couldn't you just accept us?" He spits. Ike and the dark blade are still in a stalemate. Izak twists my left arm, and slams his knee against my legs. I scream in pain as he smiles. "We can be together, all of us. You, me, Mealin can come too. Just die!" He claps his other hand around my neck, and starts to squeeze tight. If this keeps up, I'm going to suffocate. If I use my magic anymore, I won't be able to control it. I have no choice, Izak will keep choking me until I'm gone. "C....Conjure." I squeak my last breath. I hear Mealin's sweet laugh in my head, and my vision starts darkening.

I feel a slight sting in my stomach. I gasp as air entering my lungs. My vision starts to restore, and I'm still in the stone cell, the bars have disappeared. I feel Izak's wet back, and take out the knife I created to fall on him. I push his body off of mine, and look around for my brother. Ike sits next to me, his silver blade chipped, and hilt nearly broken. One emerald and amethyst remain on the handle. I pick up my little brother, and hug him tightly against my chest. "Natalie," He whispers. "Thank you for freeing me."

"I'm always here for you little brother." I croak. I feel my legs twitch, they can't hold my weight. I stab Ike into the ground, and use the last remaining strength that I possess to lift myself to my feet. I quickly remove Ike from the ground, and in front of me a couple more feet. I drag my body to meet my brother, and continue doing this, until I make it to Mealin's side.

I am writing a novel called, Saturday Evening. It is a modern day, fantasy, romance, thriller novel focusing around the lives of hero Mealin Vellum, and the heroin Natalie Iza. The story is about how Mealin and Natalie live after his family takes a trip to another country. The story begins on a Saturday and Mealin and Natalie are on their way to college when they find out an evil mage is targeting them. The world around them steadily fills with greed and malice, and citizens of Mystic start to disappear, or worse. New and old mages start to arrive in Mystic to help, or cause choas.