Halfway Between Worlds: Bloodline of the Pure

by S. B Terra

  “FOUND RECENTLY IN THE DESOLATE DAKORO MOUNTAINS AND LEAVING BEHIND A GROUSOME TRAIL OF LARGE SNAKE AND ANIMAL REMAINS, WE BRING TO YOU - THE TERRIFYING, THE VENOMOUS, THE FEARSOME - FANG!”

  Suddenly, one of the native men shot a spell at one of the boxes and it flung open, and a few seconds later, a giant, terrifying snake raised itself from the box. The other two men instantly subdued and raised the snake into the air with their wands before it had a chance to escape, hovering it over the large glass cube.

  The crowd cheered as the snake wrestled around violently in the air, it had to be at least five meters long and over ten inches thick.

  “AND NOW, THE MOMENT YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. WE BRING TO YOU - THE MERCILESS, THE RUTHLESS, THE HEINOUS AND THE UDEFEATED, REIGNING CHAMPION - GHOR!

  The crowd went wild as the box flung open, but after roughly ten seconds had passed of nothing happening, the cheers turned into quiet talking and whispers, when suddenly, Ghor dived out of the box trying to escape, and almost instantly was subdued and raised into the air.

  Ghor was all black and was also at least five meters long and a little thicker than the other snake, and as Ghor was raised and hovered over the glass box, the cheering returned.

  “COUNTDOWN PLEASE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN” the announcer yelled.

  “3”

  “2”

  “1”

  Both snakes suddenly dropped from the air and landed into the glass cube below, raising themselves and instantly locking eyes with one another. Suddenly, Ghor dived at Fang and wrapped himself around Fang’s body with great speed. The snakes wrestled wildly around the cube, hitting the glass walls and attempting to strike each other.

  After wrestling around the cube for a couple of minutes, Ghor quickly slithered back to the edge of the cube and raised himself, staring at Fang and not moving an inch, the snakes then stared at each other for a moment, and as Fang went to dive back at Ghor, Ghor struck at lightning speed and sunk his fangs into Fang’s neck, subduing him to the ground and then striking his head multiple times until he stopped moving.

  The crowd cheered, and then people rushed over to the table to collect their winnings.

  “I think that was the most violent thing I’ve ever seen” said Alice, who was slightly shocked and taken aback from what she had just seen.

  “Yep, I don’t know how people get into it” replied Lisa.

  Alice and Lisa reluctantly stayed with Brian for the rest of the fights, and then they all made their way back closer to the square for the parade.

  All the seat stands along the street were now full of people and there were barely any free seats left.

  “Won eighteen dollars, dinners on me” said Brian with a large smile on his face as they made their way up the stairs and onto the square, Ghor had gone undefeated for a second year in a row.

  Alice and Lisa both laughed.

  “Here they come” said Lisa excitedly.

  Alice looked down over the street and saw a massive line of the People’s Forces walking towards them, they were all hooded and further down the line they were holding up a huge painting of an old, hooded, zombie looking woman.

  The crowds of people cheered and yelled loudly, and as the People’s Forces made their way closer, Alice saw Bella next to Darius Bane at the front blowing kisses and waving to the crowds.

  Fireworks started going off as they walked past, and after what seemed like at least two thousand members of the People’s Forces had passed, everyone started rushing over to the square.

  “Ceremony and speeches, we should be able to see from here” said Brian loudly as crowds of people squeezed past them.

  There were about twenty members of the People’s Forces standing below and guarding the stage in a straight line, and after a few minutes, Darius Bane, followed by Bella and fourteen others walked up onto the stage and sat down. A few of the people on the stage were clearly the tribal representatives that Darius had spoken about in the Terra Times.

  There was a long, loud round of applause and then Darius stood up and walked over to the microphone.

  “Thank you all for coming, we hope you are all having a wonderful night” said Darius as the crowd cheered, his voice echoing across the square.

  “I would like to thank – “

  Bella quickly rose to her feet, staring down the street as Darius was interrupted by a loud smashing sound followed by echoing screams.

  Panic started to spread throughout the square, and as people moved closer to the stairs to see what had happened, Alice turned back and saw almost half of the guards below the stage suddenly drop to the ground as they were hit with bright red flashes.

  Almost instantly after the guards dropped to the ground, Bella, Darius and the surviving guards below shot up and held a large, blue wall in front of the stage with their wands. The wall looked as though it were made of energy and had white lines running through it.

  The square suddenly turned into a frenzy, people started screaming and running in every direction.

  “No” said Lisa in a terrified tone as she stared up the street towards where the smashing sound had come from.

  Alice quickly turned back to the street, and as she saw what it was, her heart froze.

  Ghor had escaped and was slithering quickly towards the square, when suddenly, he dove and wrapped himself around one of the men trying to flee the scene, dragging him to the ground and then striking the man’s face repeatedly.

  Ghor attacked the man’s face until his bloody, limp body had stopped moving, and then continued towards them.

  “GO, TRANSPORTATION ROOM!” yelled Brian, forcing his way through the crowd.

  Alice and Lisa followed Brian quickly through the crowd, past the stage and up the stairs to the Magic Council. The People’s Forces had now stormed the square and were standing guard outside the entrance to the Magic Council and ushering people inside.

  There were people crying as they slowly made their way through the Magic Council and into the transportation room.

  The People’s Forces seemed to have the crowds under control and people were transporting out every second through the T.Ps.

  “What about Bella?” said Alice in a worried tone.

  “Bella can hold her own, you can’t, we need to get out of here now” said Brian as they reached the T.P for the Student Village.

  Alice, Brian and Lisa transported through to the Student Plaza, there were over one hundred members of the People’s Forces inside the plaza and escorting people outside.

  As they made their way through the plaza, Alice suddenly heard Bella’s voice from behind her.

  “Alice.”

  Alice turned around and saw Bella walking towards them with three other members of the People’s Forces.

  Tears started rolling down Alice’s face as she approached and hugged Bella.

  “It’s okay, we’re going to escort you guys home” said Bella.

  “Don’t they need you back there?” asked Alice.

  “It was a terror attack, they attackers fled through the crowd straight after the initial attack. It was highly organized, they knew that the Forces were only a moment away from flooding the square, Darius has everything under control.”

  “I can’t believe I bet on that thing” said Brian quietly, he looked zoned out and in shock and was staring at the ground.

  “Hey, no one could have known that was going to happen, you did nothing wrong” said Bella reassuringly.

  “Let’s get you two home” said one of the other guards, talking to Brian and Lisa.

  Alice wiped the tears away from her eyes as the three guards led Brian and Lisa down the street, it was the first time that she had ever witness somebody die.

  The Natural Laws of Karma

  Alice opened the front door and walked inside, sitting down and placing the Terra Times onto the kitchen bench.

  BANE VOWS TO ‘HUNT DOWN AND DESTROY’ THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR COWARDLY FESTIVAL ATTACK

  President o
f the Magic Council, Darius Bane, has said that those responsible for the cowardly terrorist attack that took place during last night’s Night of the Dead ceremony will be ‘hunted down and destroyed’ during a press conference earlier today.

  “The People’s Forces have been placed on high alert and are in complete combat readiness. We are still investigating who may have been behind the attack, but I would like to make it clear, that we will not rest until all those involved in last night’s cowardly terrorist attack are hunted down and destroyed.

  I would also like to stress that last night’s attack was directly aimed at the People’s Forces and not civilians, citizens should continue their daily activities without fear. The security of our citizens is of the utmost importance to us, we will be increasing security at all major transportation rooms and popular public spaces whilst the investigation is still ongoing” Bane stated.

  Nine members of the People’s Forces and three civilians were killed as a result of the attack. P2

  Alice was still in shock from last night and had been having flashbacks of the snake, and after reading the front page of the Terra Times, she grabbed a scroll and walked outside onto the balcony.

  “I’m guessing you know how to do this as you were able find me” said Alice, speaking to Blue who was munching on a dead worm.

  Alice pressed her wand onto the scroll.

  Brian Hemms

  Hi, Brian.

  If you are free, meet me at the café when you receive this.

  Let me know by writing on the back of this scroll and giving it back to Blue. I will leave when I receive back the scroll if you’re available.

  Alice

  As Alice rolled up the scroll, Blue flew up and grabbed it out of her hand with his claws before she could say anything and then flew off.

  Alice stayed outside on the balcony watching the leaves blow and taking in the silence, and about ten minutes later, Blue flew back and landed on the railing, dropping the scroll onto the floor.

  Alice Teller

  See you soon.

  Brian

  Alice walked over and scratched Blue’s head.

  “Good boy, thank you.”

  Blue went back to his worms as Alice walked inside, she then grabbed the Terra Times off the kitchen bench and made her way downstairs and down to the Student Plaza.

  Alice walked into the café, ordered a veggie burger and then sat down in the corner, and a few minutes later Brian walked in.

  Brian walked over and sat down next to Alice, he looked white and pale and was still clearly dealing with the impact of last night as well.

  “Hey” said Brian quietly.

  “Hey, have you eaten today? You look pale” asked Alice, slightly concerned.

  “Not yet.”

  “Go and order a burger, I just did, you need to eat.”

  “Yeah, I probably should” said Brian after a short pause.

  Brian stood up and walked over to the counter to order.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked as he walked back over and sat down.

  “A few flashbacks this morning, but not too bad now, the meditation helps. What about you?”

  “Yeah, it was a pretty rough morning, hey. Nice raven by the way.”

  “Thanks. Have you spoken to Lisa?”

  “No.”

  “I wonder how she’s going” said Alice as the waiter came over with her burger.

  “They’re saying it was Medelle people, well, I guess that’s pretty obvious right” said Brian.

  “How many of their supporters are still out there?”

  “They say a good five hundred fled and went into hiding, at the height of the war they had an army of over three thousand.”

  “That’s still a lot of people.”

  “Yeah, it’s probably less now, I don’t really know.”

  A moment later the waiter came over with Brian’s burger, he had also ordered a veggie burger.

  “There are reports that Marax Vordare was seen at the festival before the attack, probably just rumors but people are being interviewed by the People’s Forces about it” he said before taking a bite of his burger.

  “Who’s that?” asked Alice anxiously.

  “He was Lars Medelle’s best friend and advisor, he took over and led the Medelle army when Lars died, it was believed that he died of natural causes a couple of years ago.”

  “That’s kind of scary.”

  “Yeah, it is, he was just as bad as Lars Medelle.”

  Brian had already almost finished his burger, he was clearly starving.

  “They killed the snake, it got three people before they brought it down, the snake fights are going to be banned.”

  “Those things are pure evil, I would never want to come across one in the wild” said Alice, still feeling anxious at the thought of the snake.

  “Yep, screw that, now you know why they’re hunted and killed.”

  “As they should be.”

  “What are you up to for the rest of the day?” asked Brian as he finished the burger.

  “I have a session with Bella at one, other than that not much, I might start my first assessment. You?”

  “Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be doing too much today, maybe I’ll go to the library later. I’ll be right back, I’m getting another one” said Brian, walking over to the counter to order another burger.

  “You were starving, huh” said Alice as Brian walked back over.

  “Yeah, I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I started eating.”

  Alice laughed.

  Alice and Brian continued chatting for a while, and when Brian had finished his second burger, they parted ways and Alice made her way back to the apartment to meet Bella.

  Alice sat down in the couch and started reading the Terra Times, and about ten minutes later, Bella knocked on the front door.

  “Hi, how are you feeling?” asked Bella as Alice opened the door.

  “Hi, still a little weird but a lot better.”

  “What did you do today?”

  “Not much, just met Brian for lunch, that’s about it.”

  “How is he feeling?”

  “He was a bit white and pale still but was feeling better after eating and chatting for a while.”

  “You have to see through it, if you let what happened affect you, then you are buying into their game, that’s what they want” said Bella reassuringly.

  “Is it true that Marax Vordare was seen before the attack?” asked Alice quietly.

  Bella paused for a few seconds.

  “We don’t know yet, they could just be rumors, there were a lot of people at the festival, and I’m sure there are people in the world that look similar to Marax Vordare.”

  “What would it mean if it was him?”

  Bella paused again as if thinking of what to say.

  “He was a veteran in the Medelle army and a trusted advisor for their family, he led the Medelle army for the last four years of the war. He played a big part in uniting various groups to fight for the Medelles and is believed to have mentored Lars Medelle in his younger years. If it was him that was responsible for the attack, then it means that whatever elements that are left of their dedicated supporters simply might be a little more organized and raises the possibility of more attacks. But why he would randomly decide to come out of hiding two years after his supposed death doesn’t really make sense, so as I said, there’s a good chance that it is just a rumor.”

  Another moment of silence went by.

  “Are you ready to start? It’ll make you feel better releasing some steam” said Bella, smiling.

  “Yeah” Alice sighed, letting out some anxiety.

  “How’s Blue going?” Bella asked as they walked out onto the balcony.

  “Great, he delivered his first letter today.”

  Blue was sitting over on one of the branches calmly for a change, looking back at Alice and Bella.

  “After a while, you will start to become more connected to
him, you will understand each other more as time goes by” said Bella.

  Blue then flew over and landed on the balcony railing, as if to get a better view of the session.

  “Alright, after we go over the offensive spells one more time we are going to go through willpower, emotions and defensive spells. Do you have any questions regarding your magic before we start?”

  “Not really, no, but what was that big, blue wall you guys shot up at the ceremony?”

  “That was a magic wall, they are very hard for spells to penetrate through, the more power put into it, the longer it lasts and the harder it is to break.”

  “I see. Can you teach me that one?”

  Bella laughed.

  “I will, but not now, later.”

  Bella walked over behind Alice.

  “Let’s see it then” said Bella, pointing to the troll.

  “Mortara.”

  A flash of dark orange light struck the trolls head at lightning speed, momentarily releasing some smoke before repairing back to normal.

  A couple of seconds after Alice had fired the spell, Blue suddenly flew over and started swooping the troll.

  Bella and Alice both burst out laughing.

  “Blue, no, he’s not real, look” said Alice as she walked over and stroked the trolls head.

  Blue landed back on the railing and continued watching.

  “Well, at least you know he’s going to protect you” said Bella.

  Bella and Alice both laughed again.

  “Alright, that was a very strong spell, let’s see yellow.”

  Alice continued striking the troll for about ten minutes while Bella watched and talked her through a few things.

  “Very good, it hasn’t taken you long at all, and remember, when you must defend yourself for real, never hesitate. Now, I told you when we first started that I would explain to you how to grow your willpower. Willpower is gained through self-discipline, courageous action, overcoming your fears and being true to yourself. For example, say you don't want to do something, or you are avoiding something out of laziness, restlessness or complacency, if you wanted to grow your willpower, you would look at it differently and overcome and accomplish whatever that thing is as an act of self-discipline and mastery. The more you exercise your will, the more it will grow and vice versa, if you choose not to exercise your will when opportunities to do so arise, then it will weaken.