by S. B Terra
“Yes, and the best queen in history. She is one of the few people to have ever gone into the Black Forest and come out alive, and she brought The Natural Laws of Karma back with her.”
“What’s the Black Forest?” asked Alice attentively.
“It’s also known as the land of the living trees, it’s an ancient forest with a species of black trees that don’t grow anywhere else in the world. They say that the trees are magical and control the creatures of the forest. It is believed that the trees are extremely wise, powerful and ruthless and test the purity of those who enter, giving great gifts, wisdom and knowledge to those who are deemed worthy and pass, and those who are not are met with death. They say that the trees have been alive for millions of years.
“Almost everyone who has had the courage to enter the forest hasn’t come out alive, James Medelle marched into the forest with over half of his army after conquering all of his enemies and they were never seen again. The few people who have made it out alive came out with amazing, fascinating stories, except for Mathias Maddox, when he came out, he never spoke again. You have so much to read and to learn about, that’s so exciting” said Katie.
“Wow. Yeah, the more I learn, the more fascinating this world sounds.”
“It must be so exciting for you. Do you have any idea what you want to study, Alice?” asked Claire.
“Not yet, I just started my introduction program.”
“She’ll probably end up in the People’s Forces with Bella teaching her” said Katie, smiling.
“How do you join the People’s Forces?”
“You need to be invited. You need to either have a good track record or show extraordinary talent in your respective specialty or specialties. They will investigate you and find out who you’re associated with and if you’re deemed worthy, they will ask you to join. It’s regarded as a great honor to be a member of the People’s Forces” replied Katie.
“There are a few different divisions of the People’s Forces, there’s the army, communications, which they usually scout shamans, remote journeyers and raven experts for, the medical division, potions and plant experts and so on” said Claire.
“I see. What are you studying, Claire?” asked Alice.
“I’m doing Natural Medicine.”
“Nice, that’s great.”
“Thanks. How old are you, Alice?” asked Claire.
“Seventeen, how about you guys?”
“Wow, you’re still quite young. I’m twenty-four and Katie’s twenty-three.”
Alice smiled.
“What are you up to this afternoon, Alice? Claire and I don’t have any lectures today and were planning on going to Brajula, it’s a small little village tucked away in the mountains near the Alora region. It’s where the Selora grows, it’s a small species of plant that only grows in that mountain range at a specific elevation, near where Brajula sits in the mountains. The plant looks strange and alien but it’s one of the healthiest plants to ingest in the world, it strengthens your immune system and helps to cleanse your mind, heightening your clarity and has various other health benefits. After war, Kyra Valera would occasionally drink it in a tea and walk through the cloud forest to cleanse her mind and to get closer to nature. Claire wants to get some for her studies and there’s an old lady there who makes great Selora woodfire pizza, you are welcome to join us if you like” said Katie.
“Kyra Valera, Kyra Valera” said Claire in an amusing tone, mimicking and poking fun at Katie.
“It’s true though, she did” said Katie, smiling.
“I would love to, that sounds great, I was just planning on taking it easy and reading today” said Alice.
“Great, have you been to Alora or to the mountains yet?” asked Katie.
“No, not yet, but it sounds nice.”
“You’re going to love it” said Claire excitedly.
“I just need to stop at the TMR on the way, I was meant to go yesterday but Bella covered me.”
“That’s all good, I’ll cover you, you can do the TMR on the way back and pay me back later” said Katie, smiling.
“Well, shall we? Do you need anything from upstairs, Alice?” asked Claire.
“Nope, I think I’m good to go.”
“Alright, let’s do it” said Katie as she took away the empty cups and placed them in the sink.
Alice, Katie and Claire then made their way downstairs, down to the Student Plaza and then transported through to the Magic Council.
Alice followed the girls over to the window counters to buy some flasks, and then they all walked over to the T.P for Alora.
“How do we get to the village?” asked Alice.
“We transport to Alora, we can transport to Brajula from there. Get ready to be amazed, Alice” said Katie as she smashed her flask and disappeared through the flames.
Alice followed, and when she walked out of the TP in Alora, she realized that Katie was right, she was amazed.
The Alora transportation room was outside and there were vines and plants growing around the T.Ps, they were now high in the mountains above the clouds and there was a spectacular view throughout the mountain range.
“This is unbelievable” said Alice, admiring the view, she had never seen anything like it before.
“Yes, it’s beautiful” said Claire.
Alice stood there and drifted off over the clouds in a miniature trance state for a moment, taking in the beautiful scenery, there were small hummingbirds flying around the T.Ps and all the mountains were extremely green and luscious.
After a couple of minutes, Alice realized that Katie and Claire were waiting for her over at the T.P for Brujala.
“Sorry, I zoned out” said Alice as she walked over.
“It’s fine, I remember I was mesmerized for a while when I first saw it, if you’re into meditation or shamanic journeying, then this is your place, I’ll say it before Katie does, Kyra Valeria had a house out here and spent a great amount of time in Alora” said Claire.
Katie laughed.
Alice followed the girls through the T.P for Brajula and appeared in a small, stone room that was lit with lanterns and had only one T.P inside for Alora. They walked through the entrance wall and appeared outside, they were now in a small, rustic looking village which sat on the top of a large valley in the mountains. There was a nice view of the surrounding mountains and there were a few scattered clouds hovering around and seeping up from the valley below.
“This is Brajula” said Katie cheerfully.
“These mountains are so beautiful” said Alice.
“Yeah, they are. There are some weird practices up here though, some people still practice old, strange forms of Witchcraft” said Claire.
Alice noticed a few sporadic fires burning as they walked through the village, the village for the most part was surrounded by forest and seemed very basic and in tune with nature. There were small, wooden shacks and teepee shaped houses that could be seen in the forest and along the dirt road that lead through the village.
After walking for roughly five minutes down the dirt road, they took a small, narrow trail leading down towards the valley.
Alice followed the girls down the trail, and after a few minutes they came to a little two-story house with an open sitting area upstairs that was tucked away in the trees and looking out over the valley.
“What a nice, peaceful spot” said Alice.
“Yep, this is it” said Katie as they walked inside, the house was very basic, there was a large, clay, woodfire oven next to a small kitchen and a wooden staircase leading upstairs.
Shortly after walking inside, a short, elderly, indigenous looking woman who was wearing a long black dress and a black and white headscarf walked down the stairs.
“Hello, my ladies” said the woman in a soft, mysterious tone, she seemed a little strange but very relaxed and unphased.
“Hi there, how are you?” asked Claire.
“Very well. What do you ladies seek?” asked t
he woman in the same soft, mysterious tone.
“Do you have Selora today?” asked Claire.
“Why, of course. Tea, soup or pizza?” asked the woman, she hadn’t moved an inch since walking down the stairs.
“Could we get three pizzas, please?” asked Claire.
“Yes, you can, with everything?”
Claire looked at Alice.
“It comes with mushrooms, onion, tomato, garlic, peppers, chili and Selora, is there anything that you don’t eat?”
“No, everything is good, thanks”
“Three with everything, thank you” said Claire, smiling at the woman.
“Very well, make yourselves comfortable upstairs and I will bring them to you when they’re ready” said the woman, slowly making her way over to the kitchen.
Alice followed the girls upstairs, there were a few wooden tables and chairs and there was relaxing, mysterious ambient music softly playing in the background.
“What a view, I’ve never seen anything like it” said Alice as they sat down at one of the tables, it was the type of place that she had dreamed to find when she planned on travelling after finishing school in the material.
“I’m excited for you to try Selora for the first time” said Katie.
“How often do you guys eat the Selora?”
“Not very often, you don’t need too much, it’s quite strong” replied Claire.
“When was the last time you guys were in the mountains?”
“A couple months ago?” said Katie, looking at Claire for confirmation.
“Yeah, a couple of months ago” said Claire.
“Can you live out here?”
“You can, a lot of the houses are quite remote though so you either need to spend a lot on teleportation or travel quite a way to the nearest transportation room. You can live in one of the villages like this, but the locals can be quite strange” replied Katie as the elderly woman walked up the stairs balancing three large pizzas in her arms and placing them down onto the table.
“Enjoy, my ladies” said the woman before walking back downstairs.
“That was quick” said Alice.
“Yeah, she’s surprisingly efficient” said Claire before taking a bite of her pizza.
“The locals here are very in tune and integrated with nature” said Katie.
“This is amazing” said Alice after taking a bite of her pizza, it was possibly the nicest pizza she had ever tasted.
Katie and Claire both laughed.
The girls sat and finished their pizzas and chatted for a while whilst appreciating the view before walking back downstairs and paying the woman.
“Thank you, my ladies. Safe journeys to each of you.”
Alice, Katie and Claire then made their way up the small trail and back onto the dirt road of the village.
“I just need to pop into this store, this is where you can get the Selora” said Claire, stopping outside one of the rustic shacks on the side of the road.
As they stopped, Alice noticed three people in hooded robes emerge from the forest and onto the dirt road, walking in their direction.
“I’m just going to wait out here and have a look around” said Alice, she now felt extremely content, clear, sharp and confident and felt the need to be outside, the Selora was obviously kicking in.
“Okay, we’ll be back out soon” said Claire as her and Katie walked into the house.
Alice watched the leaves slightly blowing in the wind for a moment and felt a strange connection and harmony with her surroundings, and as the three hooded people approached closer, she recognized one of them, it was the guard who had greeted Bella the night of the raid in the restricted area of the Magic Council. She was with two middle aged men, and as they reached within twenty meters of where Alice was standing, they walked around the side of one of the houses which was backed up onto the forest.
Alice curiously walked over to where they had turned, and as she cautiously peaked around the corner, she saw the woman and one of the men walk into a side door of the house, the other man stood outside as if he were guarding the entrance.
The man outside casually paced around for a moment and then stopped, facing Alice but looking down at the ground and moving the grass below him with his foot.
Alice watched the man for a moment, when suddenly, an emotion shot through her body as she noticed another man quickly emerging from the forest behind, striding towards the guard who was completely unaware of what was happening.
Alice instantly felt that something was wrong, and as the man reached the edge of the forest, Alice felt herself walk out from behind the house and raise her wand.
“Axara.”
Alice felt a great deal of power release, and as the man behind the guard went to raise his wand, it went flying about ten meters back into the forest, hitting a tree. The guard quickly spun around and almost instinctively shot a bright, dark orange offensive spell into the man’s back as he tried to escape, sending him flying a few meters and knocking him unconscious.
“KARA, THEO” the guard yelled as he ran over to the unconscious man, handcuffing and pointing his wand at him.
A few seconds later, the other two ran outside and made their way over to the scene.
“Alice? Are you okay?” asked Katie, Alice hadn’t realized that Katie and Claire were now standing next to her.
“Wow, an arrest, I wonder who it is” said Claire as they saw what was happening.
“Did you see what happened?” asked Katie attentively.
Alice stood there in silence, staring at the unconscious man who she had just disarmed, she was in shock and didn’t quite understand how she did what she had just done, it was as if it had happened without her even trying.
The woman and the two men whispered among each other for a moment, looking back at Alice.
“Alice?” asked Claire, as the man who shot the offensive spell started walking over to where they were standing.
The man approached and stopped in front of Alice, staring at her.
“Thank you” he said after a short pause.
A moment of silence went by.
“You just saved my life. What’s your name?”
Alice stood there staring back at the man, she felt unusually light and was aware of everything that was going on around her.
“It’s okay, they’re with the People’s Forces” said Katie reassuringly.
“Alice. Alice Teller.”
“Thank you, Alice Teller. I hope I can repay you someday” said the man appreciatively, “you girls should get back to Terra, there’s been some unusual sightings here recently. Anyways, we better get him back, I’ll see you around, Alice Teller” said the man, giving Alice a curious look and then walking back to the others, who had lifted and were now carrying the handcuffed, unconscious man.
“What happened, Alice?” asked Claire in a concerned tone.
“I disarmed him.”
“The man they arrested?” asked Katie.
“Yes, he was about to strike.”
Katie and Claire both looked shocked as they stared at Alice for a moment.
“Come, Alice, let’s get you home” said Katie kindly.
Alice started following Katie and Claire back up the dirt road, and after walking only a few meters, she looked up at the trees opposite of where the incident had just taken place and froze again. Red was sitting on a high branch of one of the taller trees staring down at her.
Alice instantly felt herself channel into Red’s eyes, it felt as though his stare reached deep inside her and at that moment everything else was blocked out and unimportant, she had no sense of time and was completely absorbed as he stared back at her.
After sharing a moment with Red, he then gracefully flew off over the valley, and as Alice watched Red make his way through the sky, a strange feeling of mystery and contentment engulfed her, it was as if she had finally started to settle and was coming to terms with her new world.
Alice, Katie and Clai
re walked inside the apartment building and up to level two.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You sure you don’t want to come in for a tea or something?” asked Katie.
“Yes, I’m okay, I feel good now. I just feel like going up and resting for a while, thank you guys for everything.”
“Okay, well, if you need anything at all just come and knock” said Katie kindly.
“Thanks. I’ll go to the TMR tomorrow and fix you up” said Alice.
“Don’t be silly, don’t worry about it, today was on me. Go and get some rest” replied Katie, smiling.
“Thanks, Katie. I’ll see you guys later.”
“Bye, Alice.”
“See you soon, Alice.”
Alice walked upstairs to her apartment and made her way straight into the bedroom, falling back and lying down on the bed. The effects from the Selora had faded and she was still slightly in shock from the incident, and as she felt herself slowly drifting off to sleep, she heard a loud tapping noise coming from the living room windows.
Alice quickly jumped out of bed and cautiously walked out of the bedroom, and as she looked out the living room windows, a tear rolled down her cheek when she saw what it was. It was the young raven with the blue streak running down its back that she had seen in the hills, and at that very moment she decided that his name was going to be Blue.
Night of the Dead
Alice woke up to someone knocking on the front door, it was still clearly early as the sun had barely started to light up the morning sky, and as she slowly started to wake up and get out of bed, there was another knock on the door.
“ONE MINUTE” she yelled as she quickly got changed into her robe.
She walked out into the living room and looked at the clock, it was 6.05am.
Alice quickly walked out onto the balcony before answering the door to check to see if Blue was there and saw him energetically jumping around the branches of the tree outside, she had let him sleep inside last night and had left the living room windows open.
Alice then walked over and opened the front door.
“Hello” said Bella curiously as she walked inside.
“Hi, you’re here early” said Alice.
