Will stepped away and walked into the other room.
Karramis wandered methodically through the back room of the bar. Waiting impatiently for Will to return, she went over various questions and likely responses in her head. She was more afraid of the repercussions from her father than the possibility of Will learning the truth and running in the opposite direction. She was positive he was the magic she was sensing. Not being able to control certain aspects of her powers frustrated Karramis. Most of her powers were unique to her but being able to sense magic and other magical beings was something every other magical individual possessed. Why was her power so weak and hard to control? The questions surrounding this undesirable phenomenon bounced around in her head.
Holding a brown leather jacket, Will entered the back room. “Ready?”
He smiled and Karramis blushed, removing all current worries from her mind.
“Absolutely.”
They left the bar and strolled down the street in the direction of the square Karramis had been in earlier. The dark sky was lit up by the bright lampposts and quietness filled the empty streets. Will placed his jacket across her shoulders and they walked closely next to each other, making their way further into the square. Little did either of them know this was the start of an extraordinary, and heartbreakingly complicated, destined love story.
***
Rhiannon sat, staring dreamy eyed at Kavana as the car came to a halt. The sharp stop and sound of the engine turning off did not pull Rhiannon from the fairytale story she was engrossed in. She finally learned something about her parents. The happiness associated with the story left her wanting more.
“And?” Rhiannon asked with a grin on her face.
“And what?” Kavana questioned. “What more do you want?”
“Everything. What happened afterwards? Was my dad okay with her having magic—Well, obviously he was, but what did he say? Why did she sense magic around him? I mean, my dad doesn’t have powers, does he? When did they get married? Why is he in Kiluemar if—”
“Rhiannon!”
Rhiannon leapt off her seat. “What?”
Kavana wanted to answer more of her questions, but now was not the time. They had arrived.
Rhiannon observed the dark parking lot around them. She knew what they were doing—waiting. Any moment now she would come face to face with her long-lost brother. Even though she wanted her questions answered, she knew the time for those could be left for another day.
A muffled groan came from the back seat and Aidan sat up, yawning. The quietness between Kavana and Rhiannon made him think there was tension lingering. However, the silence was all about self-reflection and the perfect time to consider what would happen next. No one in the vehicle knew what was going to happen once the portals were unsealed. Was this the first step of the divine journey the prophecy predicted, or was this the final phase? No one knew for sure. Either way, the three of them waited quietly for the next chapter of their unpredictable future to begin.
Chapter 11
Journey Home
The sun was setting as James and Pavian loaded up the last of their belongings. They each condensed their most essential items into two overstuffed backpacks. Living on an isolated island in the middle of the Pacific made this task a lot easier for the two men. Their two-bedroom house was barely big enough for them, so trying to jam pack it with too many unnecessary items was not ideal.
Tossing his backpack into the bed of an old beat-up truck, James pulled open the passenger side door and hopped in.
“Oh, shoot! I forgot something.”
James raced into the house, reaching the room at the end of the hallway. The bedroom contained an unmade bed, a warped wooden desk with a wobbly metal chair, a wardrobe in one corner, and little room left for walking around. The area was unfamiliar and no longer brought comfort to him. Scanning the room, he spotted a small leather bag at the foot of the bed and picked it up, turning and heading toward the door.
He glanced around his room one last time. “Let’s do this.”
James closed the door and ran back out to the truck.
The drive to the docks was quiet at first. James wanted to ask questions, learn more details about magic and the realm, but ignored the urge after Pavian reached over and turned the dials of the radio. He accepted the distraction as music blared along with the roaring sound of the wind as his uncle rolled down the window.
The trip to the airport on the larger island was short, but again, loud noises made it difficult for James to talk to his uncle. The thunderous humming of the boat engine and splashing of the waves filled the air as James sat at the back of the speeding boat, pondering all he wanted to ask once he was given the chance. He did not want to look back at the life he was leaving behind, so he rested his hand against his cheek, hypnotized by the dark water sloshing under the nearly full moon.
The silence surrounding Pavian made James shift in his seat and tug the zipper of his jacket up and down. His heels tapped against the floor of the boat. Is he mad at me?
Pavian had not uttered a single word, or even looked at James, since they first started packing. What was going through his head? Why did he distance himself from James? This was not the best time for Pavian to withdraw himself from the current situation and descend into his own thoughts.
They docked the boat and loaded into a taxi. Staring out the window as the vehicle drove down the street, James pounded his fingers against the door’s side handle. His teeth scraped together, and his jaw clenched. He let out an exaggerated sigh. What the heck is wrong with him?
Arriving at the airport, James could no longer take the unspoken and reserved behavior coming from his uncle. This was completely out of character for Pavian, who was usually talkative and an open book most of the time—except for the tight-lipped secret he kept all those years.
James needed to approach the situation rationally or Pavian might draw himself further into the depths of solitude in his mind.
Calmly, James asked, “Is everything all right?”
Pavian, staring intently at the flight departure board, did not hear the question. He shifted his eyes from the board and stepped over to the ticket counter.
James loudly cleared his throat. “So, you’re ignoring me now?”
The final word of his question echoed throughout the empty airport.
Pavian halted and turned. “What? I’m not ignoring you.” He paused. “Am I?”
“Yes,” James snapped. He stepped closer to Pavian and added, “You haven’t said a word to me since we were back at the house. Why?”
“Really? I didn’t—I guess I—I . . . I’m sorry.”
Pavian sighed. Gesturing his head toward the deserted security area, he indicated they needed to get going.
“I guess I was more caught up in going back than I thought. Again, sorry.”
“It’s fine,” James said reassuringly. “I thought maybe it was me or—”
“No. It’s not you. It’s me. I just—I think . . . I don’t think I’m fully ready to go back yet.”
They both made their way through security, down a short terminal, and onto a small plane. With only three other people on the flight, Pavian and James sat on opposite sides of the aisle. With more than nineteen hours of travel and one layover ahead, the trip would include some much-needed sleep. James, again, wanted answers, but his heavy eyelids overruled the never-ending chatter within his mind. Pulling up the armrest in between his seat and the one next to him, James lifted his legs and leaned against the window. It did not take long before his eyes shut, and he drifted off to sleep.
The plane lurched and James jolted up, trying to regain some awareness of his surroundings. Across the aisle, staring aimlessly out the window, sat Pavian. The sky outside was blue—it was morning. Yawning, he got up and headed over to his uncle. The plane jerked again, and James crashed into the empty seat.
Pavian twisted in surprise and asked, “How�
�d you sleep?”
Yawning again, James replied, “Pretty good. This is the first time in a few days where it felt like I actually got some sleep.”
“Well, to be fair, it is.”
“True.”
They both chuckled.
Pavian continued to stare out the window as James wondered what subject to bring up first. He was more interested in the idea of magic itself and how the realm came to be, so he jumped right to the point.
“You know, you’ve told me a bit about magic and how it works, sort of, but I—I was wondering more about Kiluemar and the magic there.”
Pavian leaned back into the chair. “Oh, right . . . we never got that far, did we?”
“No, we didn’t.”
“Well, we still have a few hours before we land, so I guess this is as good a time as ever, huh?” James nodded. “I will tell you this, though, once I get going, I tend to ramble. Being a Guardian, I know a lot about this stuff.”
James was giddy. His chest tightened with excitement. He only learned minor details to fill in some of the voids from his astral projection and the need-to-know specifics regarding the realm, but he wanted to know everything relating to the supernatural world and the powers he would soon possess. Why was the realm created? Who created it? Had magic always been around? The questions in his mind were endless.
Pausing for a moment, James corrected him, “Wait. I thought you told me you didn’t know much about the island?”
“I don’t remember the exact location of the island. I mean, it’s not like we have a map to the place. The portals just open, and we arrive on the island. I learned the location when I was a young kid, but those details never really seemed important. However, being part of my father’s guard, I learned quite a bit about the magic of the realm and how it works.”
James leaned back, paying close attention to his uncle’s story.
Chapter 12
Magic of the Realm
Magic has been around since the beginning of time. No one truly knew when, or how, it came into existence, but what was known about magic was that it was real, and alive. Weaving in and out of all living things, it was constantly moving––flowing through Mother Nature and the Universe. Now, an exceptionally powerful and eternal force, magic was not always this way. A created energy, magic was once fragile and fading into extinction.
An extension of Mother Nature, magic was created to help aid in the essential balance and protection of this world and the ever-growing life among it. Nature is the connecting force among all living things. Whether created by science or a godly being, she was, and would always be, the one and only true link between all things. Without Mother Nature, life would cease to exist. But to sustain her own life, she needed help. Unable to maintain the necessary balance and the power to manage everything at one time, Mother Nature created magic—the first element.
An elusive and invisible force, magic lacked any physical attributes. It was stuck in a constant state of movement, forced to flow tirelessly through Mother Nature as a ghost. It was a harsh and unjust punishment for this vital, ethereal energy. As a living essence, magic needed to grow. Without the given power to develop beyond its innate abilities, magic became lifeless—yearning for the chance to be more.
Magic used all the strength within its core and conjured up the four physical elements, a divine result of its natural desire to live and thrive. By creating these elements, magic pulled energy from them to help sustain its own life. Earth, air, fire, and water were its lifeline, giving magic the connective link to the physical world. As magic attached itself to an element’s natural form, its bodily presence was only known within the elements—constantly shifting from one to another. Again, stuck in a halted existence, magic was still only an energy flowing among the physical forms of its creations. It was limited still, never utilizing its full potential and never growing. As a living substance, magic still yearned for more. The life it was given was growing tired and unstable. The power and energy it drew from the elements was not enough, magic needed an endless physical link to the world.
Over time, magic figured out how to divide itself into multiple energies, linking itself to as many physical elemental lifeforms as it wanted. Each living and breathing entity allowed magic to grow, its life maturing, now physically present in all living things—from the tall trees to the seeds beneath the soil, from the clouds in the sky to the water in the depths of the ocean, from the flames of a fire to the lava within the deep valleys of a volcano. Magic was everywhere.
Being bound to all life, magic grew stronger and even more powerful. Its ability developed into something so fierce and dominant, it eventually broke through the boundaries of this world and flourished among many celestial wonders. The strongest of these powers belonged to the moon, the closest cosmic body to Earth.
With more individuals and life being created, Mother Nature needed balance. A stability between all things, a necessity to keep all life unbroken and fair. Everything needed balance—good and evil, life and death, beauty and the grotesque, happiness and sorrow, strengths and weaknesses. Nothing could offset the balance, so magic and the elements were the key factors in maintaining this stability. Drawing power from each other, all five elements progressed into resilient lifeforms, using the constant flow between one another and flourishing into the essential means to keep Mother Nature alive. An unbalance among the world would lead to catastrophic events.
As magic grew stronger, it would later learn how to link itself to the life of human beings––giving them the physical powers to do the unexplained. With magic’s power connected to each element, all magical abilities given to an individual were connected to an element or a celestial event. The possessor of this kind of magic could only draw their powers from these entities, invoking the natural energy and potential within each element. Magic’s strength grew and linked itself to more and more beings. With magic intensifying, the more powerful the elements got, so did those who were given abilities. At first, magic was not particular with who controlled part of its power. But throughout the centuries, it became more selective of those who carried it. Linking itself to one was permanent—only being released after the life of that individual died.
Though many humans over the years possessed magic, it was not just them who contained magical abilities. More magical and supernatural creatures began appearing throughout the world. Magic was not just a possession one can have, but some magical beings were created, and some were even cursed. To possess magic, a person had to be born with it. A gift given in the womb and taken upon death. Some were part of magical bloodlines, while others were granted powers merely as a way for magic to prolong and enhance its life. In addition, magic sometimes created an entity to work alongside it to aid in the upkeep of the balance and maintenance of the world. A cruel side effect of magic was the power to curse one. Some magical beings were products of powerful jinxes and endless punishing spells or rituals.
Magic could not die. Like the elements, it was constant. Even though they faded, they never truly stopped or disappeared. However, like the elements, magic could be altered, weakened, and even slowed. So, magic did what was necessary to survive and to maintain its power and protect itself and the life of Mother Nature. No magical being was truly immortal, for all magic had to be released back into the void. All those who possessed or were magic had to die to continue the natural flow of things, and all curses had flaws unforeseen by the one casting the spell. Everything magical had an expiration date, a day when it would see its last sunrise, take its final breath, and suffer the fate of no longer existing as a physical form.
Magic and the four elements thrived together and fed off one another. Existing within each element and never apart from anything else, magic was the bridge between all things, a complete and balanced energy. The binding force between everything, magic now had unlimited potential. Like magic, the four elements were alive and provided a constant source of power. With magic growin
g as it bound itself to more beings, the elements themselves matured into even stronger forces—a crucial need as more uncertainties and destruction erupted throughout the world. Forever waging war against the battles of the unbalanced, magic and the elements would stop at nothing to uphold their duties and protect the needed stability within Mother Nature.
Magic continued to expand, connecting and increasing the number of magical beings in the world. But with this influx, the further word traveled about this unbelievable and unnatural ability. Many wanted the gift, while others deemed it evil. Lives were changed, some for the better and some not so much. Those who did not possess powers, or even tried to understand it, voiced concern and panic. Gravely fearing it, many non-magical people insisted on banishments, callous punishments, and even executions. In addition, those created by it, were left confused by their newly given life and forced to hide among the shadows to keep from being hunted down and murdered. Magic itself even grew fearful of the unknown. Even though its own life would live on, magic grew to love and cherish the new life it was given among the beings containing its essence. It was loyal to those who contained it.
Not long after magic reached all parts of the world did growing numbers of non-magical individuals start hunting down these powerful beings. Hunting parties grew substantially as more magical beings appeared throughout the villages, towns, and kingdoms. Witch hunts and magical massacres were a prominent social event. Both good and evil were killed. It did not matter if one was a man, woman, or child; if one was of high authority or even of royal blood; or whether one was rich or poor—no magical beings were shown mercy. For all magic was believed to be unnatural, immoral, and dangerous.
With all magical and supernatural creatures fleeing the populated areas to prevent persecution and death, magic needed to provide a link between all magical beings. Soon, all those containing any form of magic were given the added ability to sense one another, a much-needed skill among the magical community. This allowed them to find one another and live peacefully with each other without fear. However, eventually rumors reached the non-magical groups and hunting parties were again assembled, targeting all magical beings.
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