The Moon Door to Estra

Chapter 1

Dove and the Moon Door

Just after midnight on the first day of fall, a little boy named Mitchell slept soundly in his bedroom. He lived in Tampa, Florida with his parents and spent his days learning in school and playing with his friends. Most of his days were similar and never changed, except this day. For this day would be unlike any other in his entire life. This is the day Mitchell went on an adventure to a strange, far-off land. This is the day Mitchell discovered a whole new world of monsters, mystery, and magic.

Mitchell awoke to the sound of tapping at his bedroom window. He was very tired so he closed his eyes and nearly fell back asleep. Another round of tapping at his window woke him up again. It went on until Mitchell threw his bed covers off him, sleepily dragged himself over to the window and carefully peered between the window blinds.

Staring back at Mitchell was a white dove. It stood on a ledge outside his window, perfectly still, almost glowing in the light of the full moon. The white bird looked right at him.

“Go away,” Mitchell whispered.

The dove did not go away. Instead, it tapped once on the glass with its beak.

Mitchell whispered again, “Shoo. Get out of here.”

Again the dove tapped once and stared at Mitchell.

“What do you want?

The dove looked at Mitchell as it waddled over to the window lock on the inside and tapped once, never taking its eyes off him.

Mitchell raised the blinds. “I’m trying to sleep bird. Go away.”

Very quiet, so as not to wake his parents, Mitchell slid the window open. White milky light from the full moon flowed into his bedroom, lighting it as if it was daytime. He was about to shout at the bird when it hopped towards him and turned into white smoke that quickly snaked into Mitchell’s bedroom. The small cloud of white smoke then took on a solid form in the middle of Mitchell’s room.

The young boy could not believe what he was seeing and froze. He almost yelled for his parents when the solid form suddenly became a young woman. She wore a white hooded robe and held a tree-branch staff.

She smiled at him but he could only see her mouth, not her face.

Mitchell tried to speak, to shout, yet could only gulp air. He looked at her face and felt calm and peace wash over him. She looked at him. He could only do the same.

The young woman quietly said, “Do not be afraid Mitchell”.

He guessed she was older than his sitter, but not by much.

“Who… who are you?” He managed to whisper.

She answered softly, “My name is Dove.”

He asked, “How… how do you know my name?”

“I know of you. I am a magician. Well, in training,” Dove answered.

Mitchell nodded yet he was confused. “Ho kay. Why are you here?”

“On your world? Because I need you and you are here.”

“No, why Tampa?”

“Ah, yes. It just so happens there is a tree door nearby. A Moon Door, and I am fortunate that you happen to live near that tree door during a full moon. Very fortunate indeed.”

“Tree door?” Mitchell questioned. “Moon Door?”

“Yes. It is a door. In a tree. A tree door. It only appears during a full moon. You shall need it to find my world.”

“Wait. What? I need to sleep. I can’t-”

Dove cut him off and said, “Rest assured young Mitchell, all will be revealed in time. Yet time is something I have little of, so I must ask you a very simple question. Do you want to go on an adventure?”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“Right now? No.”

“Why not?” Dove asked, frowning.

Mitchell explained, “Are you crazy? I have school. I have to sleep. I can’t just runoff. Wait, you said you’re a magician?”

“I did. I know magic. The good kind.”

Mitchell asked, “Like, magic tricks? Or you know magic magic?”

“I am a magician. Perhaps, a wizard one day. That is is up to the council.”

“Right. Okay, Dove, I have to sleep.”

“So no adventuring?”

“No, but thank you, Dove. Besides, I’d need my hearing aids.”

Dove repeated, not understanding. “Hearing? Aids.”

“Yeah, they’re small devices that help me hear.”

“Ah, I see. Well, if you were to go you would need companions. Such as them,” Dove said. The young woman in the white robe pointed her tree-branch staff towards Mitchell’s stuffed animals on his bed. “They can be your extra ears.”

Mitchell looked back at his bed. “Them? My stuffed animals? They’re not even real.”

“Oh no? Are you so sure?” Dove asked him. As Mitchell watched, two tiny blue sparks shot out from Dove’s staff and each went into two of his favorite stuffed animals; a floppy, black and white long-tailed cat named Keller, and a tiny beige puppy named Maddie.

By the light of the full moon, Mitchell watched in amazement as both Keller and Maddie came to life on his bed. They both stretched and looked around them before they stared at Mitchell.

The young boy was absolutely amazed. He stood with his mouth wide open.

“How… how,” Mitchell stammered. “That’s impossible. They’re alive?”

Dove said, “Oh they are quite real. This is what magic is Mitchell.”

“But I don’t believe in magic.”

“That is the beauty of magic, it exists whether or not you are ready to believe. You see, they were already alive. I just let you see them as they really are. See, the magic I practice is good. It is also known as white magic. But there is also black magic. It is very, very bad. This black magic is taking over my world. I need your help to stop it.”

“Me? Why me?”

“I shall tell you why. Your mother and father lived in my world as children. They have no memory of their time as rulers, no memory of their lives spent in my world. Their memories have been wiped clean. They returned to your world many years ago and would be of no use now. But you can help me. I need your help to save my world.”

“No way. This is crazy. And also my parents know magic?”

Dove said, “Oh my no. But while living there they did happen to find one of the rarest magical items in my world. And I need your help in finding it again.”

Mitchell shook his head. “I can’t believe that.”

“It is true Mitchell. All of it. They found the White Cyclosa, a flower so rare it blooms in one place, producing only one seed at midday, every one thousand years. If eaten or boiled into a tea, its leaves grant extraordinary, absolutely unbelievable powers. Wars have been fought over one single seed of this flower. Somehow, your mother happened to find a White Cyclosa in the wild. She used it to keep balance as ruler in my world for decades. She ruled with your father and brought peace. She cannot help me now, but her offspring can. That’s where you come in young Mitchell. Will you help bring goodness and light back to my world?”

Mitchell began, “So you’re saying if I can help find this magic plant-”

“Flower,” Dove interrupted him.

“-magic flower, I can save your world?”

“That is correct. However, there is more to the story. Quite a bit more. No one knows where the White Cyclosa is, or if it even still lives. Those charged to protect its seeds have forgotten about it through the ages, the location lost to the long shadow of time. These Seed Keepers kept your mother’s flower safe, its seeds hidden safely away from evil. I need you to enter my world and find a Seed Keeper if there are any even left. Mitchell, I vow I will reveal the rest of the story in time yet, for now if you choose to go, you must leave at once.”

Mitchell thought about it for a moment, noticing now that his stuffed animals Keller and Maddie were both standing at his feet, looking up at him. He knelt down and carefully picked them both up. “This is insane guys. Are you really real?”

“We sure are kid,” Keller, the black and white cat softly said. Maddie, the tiny beige dog nodded yes.

Dove cocked her head to one side, awaiting Mitchell’s answer.

Mitchell peered down the dark hallway towards his parent’s bedroom. They were still sleeping and all was quiet. He made up his mind. “I’ll go.”

The young female wizard in training smiled broadly, her teeth almost glowing from within her white robe hood. “Truly wonderful Mitchell. We shall leave at once.”

“Should I change?”

Dove looked confused. “Change? But I rather like you for who you are.”

Mitchell shook his head. “No change my clothes,” he said, motioning to his shirt and shorts. “I wear these to bed. I can’t go on an adventure dressed like this. I’m wearing pajamas.”

Dove still looked confused. “What are… pajamas?” she asked.

He explained, “They’re clothes? You wear at night? When you sleep?”

“Do as you wish. Change into your adventure clothes.”

“No, we don’t call them adventure clothes. Just clothes. Nevermind.”

“Very well. Change your just clothes then. I shall turn around.”

Dove turned around, away from Mitchell while he quickly took off his pajamas. He fished around his dresser, taking out blue jogging pants with a single gray stripe down each leg, and socks before taking a shirt and a hoodie from his closet.

After Mitchell got dressed he tied his sneakers and asked Dove, “Where are we going?”

“You are going to Coral Cove, a tiny town in the southern part of the western kingdom of Ordovicia. Your adventure shall begin there. Estra is a large place after all. I need to keep you where you will be safe. Are we ready?”

“Do I need a bag or anything else? Mitchell asked Dove.

“No, the less you bring with you the better.”

Dove readied her tree branch staff, its thick knotted tip glowing blue in the darkness of Mitchell’s bedroom.

“Okay.” Michell looked around him one last time. He picked up Keller the cat and Maddie the tiny dog. “I guess I’m ready-” he began to say as a flash of blue blinded him.

A moment later he found himself in the woods behind his parent’s house, right at the base of The Big Tree. The Big Tree was the tallest and widest in the woods, used by kids all over the neighborhood to climb and play on.

“Why are we here? This is where your door hole is?

“Tree door, and yes, right there. Go on, take a look. See it?”

Even though the full moon lit the woods, they were standing in the shadow of The Big Tree and Mitchell saw nothing, at first. As he crept closer to the tree holding Keller and Maddie in his arms, he saw a tiny glowing white light from within the shadow. Mitchell was close enough to now see a fingernail-sized half-moon crescent symbol. It was on a small wooden door, also outlined in a wire-thin white light. “No way,” he whispered.

In a high pitched voice, Maddie said, “I don’t know about this.”

Keller added, “What are you kidding Mads? You see a glowy magic door in a tree every day? Oh yeah, we gotta check this out.”

From behind him them Dove said, “You will need some items to take with you on your journey.”

Mitchell reluctantly pulled his gaze away from the door. “How is it glowing like that?”

“Hmm? The moon door? It is enchanted with old elven magic, ancient and powerful.”

“Why did they make it?”

“No one knows. There is an entire field of study devoted to these old elven enchantments. They were especially fond of magic doors and holes, portals to somewhere else. Many are still hidden, even elves alive today do not know where most of them are.”

Mitchell said “Cool.”

“Yes, chilly indeed,” said Dove, reaching into her robe. “These are for you,” she said, handing Mitchell a small leather pouch. She touched the head of her tree branch staff and it glowed brighter blue so Mitchell could see.

He emptied the pouch into his palm as Keller and Maddie leaned over to see.

Dove also leaned in close and pointed to the spilled contents. “These coins are called Queens Coins and can be used everywhere for payment. As you see there are one, five, and ten-cent denominations. And those larger coins are worth one, ten, and one hundred. There is more than enough money here for you to find food, clothes, and lodging. Can you count money?”

Mitchell said, “No.”

Keller raised his paw. “I can, we totally got this.”

Dove smiled. “Very well. Lastly,” she said pointing to a wooden coin in his palm, “That is a Waycorn, made from the Grayven Tree in Ithendale. It was grown, enchanted by the white wizard Tala Thenthi, and lastly cut and carved into this small wooden coin. He only made five in his entire life, so do not lose this.”

“What does it do?” Mitchell asked.

“When floating in water the Waycorn points towards the direction you want to go in, just speak the name of your destination. It can be set on fire for warmth and to cook food, even when soaking wet. And it never burns.”

“Neat!” Mitchell exclaimed.

“Quite, never lose your Waycorn,” Dove warned. “You do not even know what I had to do to find this.”

Dove stood up. She grasped the long portion of her robe and walked over to The Big Tree, then gently used the glowing blue end of her tree branch staff to open the Moon Door. It swung open at the base of the massive tree and bathed them all in white light. “It is time young man. Make your way to the town of Coral Cove. Seek out the Dancing Dolphin Inn.”

“Wait, when will we see you again?” Asked Mitchell.

“That I cannot answer. However my friend will find you at the inn. You can trust her. Iris of Encelada shall be your guardian. She is a Day Ranger and will travel with you. She will also have a Waycorn and will present it to you. Remember, only enchanted Waycorns will stick to each other. If they do not, that person cannot be trusted.”

Mitchell said, “Got it.” He got down on his hands and knees and holding Maddie the tiny dog, began crawling through the Moon Door. Keller the black and white cat followed.

Watching Mitchell disappear through the magic door in the tree, Dove said to Keller, “Off you go then. And Keller, may you find the rest of your kind. Farewell for now Fennec.”

“Fennec? Wait what’s a...” Keller managed to shout as he was pulled through the Moon Door.