Halfway Between Worlds: Bloodline of the Pure

by S. B Terra

  “Thanks.”

  “Well, have fun tomorrow with whatever you do and stay safe. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

  “Bye, Bella, you too.”

  Bella walked out of the apartment and shut the door behind her, and then Alice made her way into the bathroom to shower. She was quite exhausted from the day but still couldn’t stop thinking about The Diaries of Lara Valeria, she was starting to form a slight, strange obsession about the book.

  After showering, Alice walked back into the living room to get the book and then made herself comfortable in bed, opening to where she had left off.

  I often hear of people talking about their struggles to subdue the mind and their thoughts during meditation, what they don’t understand is that by trying to quieten the mind by using the mind defeats the whole purpose of meditation, and that they are going around in an endless cycle of mental activity. True meditation is seeing clearly without the mind and letting your thoughts and mental activities pass and fall away from you without engagement, fighting them or using the mind to try and subdue them. Meditation is letting your true self rest in unification with the present moment.

  Last night was the night of the eclipse, and I have never had such a remarkable journey in my life, many things were shown to me. The forest was beautiful, the clouds started sweeping through late in the afternoon during my meditation and engulfed the entire forest. The fireflies came to life in abundance as the darkness of the sky started to fall onto the forest, and as dusk arrived, I entered my journey with great ease into the astral world. I thank Alrus Arell for his great gift to our family, for there is no clearer and more powerful aid than what he has brought to us, it is safe to say that I have never felt so one with nature before.

  Alrus Arell

  Alice woke up and realized that she had fallen asleep with the book still open on top of her, she was clearly exhausted last night as she couldn’t even remember having put the book down. She got out of bed and showered and then made her way into the kitchen to make breakfast, and as she poured herself a glass of water, Blue started tapping on the window.

  Alice walked over and opened the sliding balcony door and saw that there was a sealed scroll on the ground next to Blue. She picked up and unrolled the scroll as she walked back inside to the kitchen.

  Alice Teller

  This is a confirmation letter to inform you that you have passed the following assessments:

  Way of Souls

  Will Power, Intuition & Imagination

  Geography of the Higher, Natural World of Magic

  Terra Education Department

  Alice rolled the scroll back up and placed it on the kitchen bench, and as she started eating her bowl of oats and fruits, Blue flew inside the apartment and dropped today’s Terra Times onto the kitchen bench, he had apparently sensed that Alice was planning on going down to the Student Plaza after breakfast to pick one up.

  “Aw, thank you, Blue, where did you get this from and where were you hiding it?” said Alice, speaking to Blue who was now relaxing on the stool next to her.

  On the front page of the Terra Times was a moving photograph of two middle aged women and an elderly man being escorted through the Magic Council by members of the People’s Forces.

  HOSTAGES FREED FROM AGARA CAVE

  Three hostages, who were taken captive and were reportedly being held for ransom in the Agara region, have been freed in an operation conducted by the People’s Forces late last night. It is believed that the three hostages were kidnapped on separate occasions over the past month whilst visiting historical monuments in Agara and had been held in a cave located deep in the jungle in the surrounding region.

  President of the Magic Council, Darius Bane, has said that while the People’s Forces have increased their presence in the Agara region since the Night of the Dead terrorist attack that left twelve people dead, it is strongly advised that citizens avoid travelling to the Agara region until the situation there further stabilizes.

  Six people have been arrested and detained as a result of last night’s operation. P4

  After reading the front page, Alice flicked to the lecture listings and read through the lectures that were running today, she had made no plans for today and was curious to find out more about some of the things that she had read in The Diaries of Lara Valeria, such as divination and the astral world.

  After reading through the list, she decided that she was going to attend Divination I at 10am.

  Alice then washed her bowl and walked into the bedroom to get The Six Ancient Bloodlines, quickly saying goodbye to Blue on the way out and then making her way down to the Student Plaza.

  Alice transported to the Magic Council and then through to the Education Department and made her way up to Lecture Hall 12, walking inside and sitting down in one of the front rows, she was a few minutes early and there were only a few other people inside the hall.

  While she waited for the lecture to start, she opened The Six Ancient Bloodlines and quickly read through the table of contents, pressing her wand onto the book and flicking through to the page on Alrus Arell.

  Alrus Arell

  Alrus Arell was the only Arell heir in history to willingly abdicate his throne. Alrus Arell abdicated the throne in order to live in the remote Agara jungle in isolation to focus on shamanism and to connect to and communicate with the powers of nature. Alrus’ younger brother, Syrus, who would later come to be known as Syrus the Wise, notably remembered for discovering the cures for the Black Death and A.V viruses which saved tens of thousands of lives, proceeded Alrus to the throne.

  Alrus Arell became a masterful shaman and diviner in his later years, reportedly battling with his sanity whilst pondering, exploring and trying to explain the bizarre nature of his divinations and where they were coming from.

  Alrus Arell is most notably remembered for his gift of the powerful Vision Plant brew to the Valeria family after the Valeria army, commanded by Lyra Valeria, saved Syrus and his army from slaughter by breaking the Medelle siege on Agara in 1742 AP and forcing the Medelle army to flee back to the Black Cliffs.

  As Alice finished reading the page on Alrus Arell, the lecturer walked down the stairs and onto the presenting area and started setting up for the lecture. The hall was now busier and there were people of all ages inside, most of them younger than Alice.

  The lecturer was a woman who looked to be in her fifties and had long, brown hair and glasses, and after setting up the screen behind her, she began.

  “Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the first divination lecture of the series. My name is Laura and I will be your lecturer for today. I would like to start by introducing you all to the term divination and what it means. Divination is the practice of obtaining knowledge and insight into the past, the future, questions or situations by means of unordinary ways.

  “There is no one proven method for divination, and many throughout history have pondered, explored and tried to understand and explain the nature of it. Many different forms of divination have been practiced in the past and there are many writings and beliefs out there as to what the most effective of those methods and practices are. Some of the more popular and well-known beliefs regarding divination are interpreting signs, visions or communications from higher powers or spirits, communications with one’s own higher spirit, and connecting with the forces and powers of nature and interpreting their language and symbols. Some believe that there is a collective consciousness that holds all knowledge that we are all connected to and can gain knowledge and insight from, and some believe that by ingesting certain plants and fungi that they are able to connect and journey with the spirits of those plants which they can receive wisdom and knowledge from.

  “Throughout this series of lectures, we will cover topics such as the history of divination, divination practices, theories and methods, historically proven diviners and their writings, teachings and practices, common plants, fungi and brews used for divination and natural places where
proven diviners are known to have successfully practiced divination in the past among others.

  Alice again sat through the entire lecture glued to the speaker, she had never been this excited and attentive to learn and to study when she was in the material. The more that she learnt about her new world, the more fascinated she seemed to become.

  As people started making their way out of the hall, Alice walked down the stairs and onto the presenting area to speak with the lecturer, who was packing up.

  “Hi, I’m Alice. That was a great lecture, it’s all very interesting” said Alice.

  “Hi, Alice, thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it” said the lecturer in a friendly tone, looking slightly touched.

  “Do you mind if I ask you a couple of things?” asked Alice.

  “Sure, what would you like to know?”

  “Do you know much about Alrus Arell?”

  “Why, yes, he was one of the many proven diviners in history, there were quite a few in the Arell family.”

  “Do you know if there are any books that he wrote or that were written about him?” asked Alice curiously.

  “Sadly, I don’t think there are many writings about him left, he was a very private and secretive person. It is believed he never released his revelations out of respect for the powers of nature that spoke to him. He viewed his relationship with nature as sacred and feared the wrath of the powers if he betrayed that relationship and released the secrets given to him, according to others in his family. The only known writing of his was translated into a book by Lyra Valeria, but that book is no longer available.”

  “The Vision Plant? asked Alice attentively.

  “Yes, the Vision Plant.”

  “How do you know that he was a proven diviner if he never released any writings or revelations?”

  “Through the writings and stories of his family, a lot of them were unfortunately destroyed. It is also known that he was a proven diviner because when he gifted the Valerias with the Vision Plant brew, he wrote that Cyro could use the venom from the Blackscale toad as an aid to combat the venom from the white spider. The Valerias didn’t understand why he wrote such a thing and suspected that he was either divining or may have been losing his sanity, when sure enough, less than a week later, Lyra’s younger brother and future king, Cyro, was bitten by a rare white spider. The venom of the white spider doesn’t kill but makes one severely sick for at least a week. The Valerias wrote that Cyro was healed within a day after they administered a small dose of the Blackscale toad venom, it is now a common antidote. Isn’t it funny, venom from one creature fighting the venom from another?”

  “That’s so interesting. Why is the Vision Plant book no longer available?”

  “The book was banned, there were too many incidents with people experimenting with it, it is a very powerful brew and can be extremely dangerous for those who are not prepared. Most of the copies are now sealed within the archives of the Magic Council and are reserved for experienced and proven diviners and shamans, mostly for those in the People’s Forces. Anyways, as much as I’d love to continue chatting, I must be on my way to meet someone.”

  “Of course, sorry for holding you up, thanks for the information.”

  “Any time, my dear. Safe journeys.”

  Alice then made her way out of the lecture hall, down to the library and over to the reception desk, she wanted to double check and see if she could find any more information on Alrus Arell.

  “Hi, are you able to search for books by author?” Alice asked the elderly woman behind the reception desk.

  “Hello, my dear. Yes, I can do that for you, which author do you seek?” said the woman.

  “Alrus Arell.”

  The woman reached down and placed a large book onto the desk behind the counter, opening the book and pressing her wand onto the first page.

  “I’m sorry, there are no books by that author.”

  “Can you search for books by title?” asked Alice.

  “Certainly, which book do you seek?”

  “The Vision Plant.”

  The woman curiously stared at Alice for a moment.

  “I’m sorry, my dear, but that book is no longer available. Is there anything else I can help you with today?”

  “No, thank you. Have a good day” said Alice, politely smiling at the woman and then walking back to the elevator, her curiosity about the mysterious Vision Plant brew was growing upon finding out that it was unavailable to read.

  Alice then made her way up to the lobby, transporting to the Magic Council and then back to the Student Village, and as she was walking through the Student Plaza, it occurred to her that Katie was studying divination.

  Alice walked inside the apartment building and made her way up to level two, knocking on the front door of Katie’s apartment.

  “ONE MINUTE” yelled Katie from inside.

  Alice felt a slight feeling of relief and excitement upon hearing that Katie was home, she was eager to chat to someone about what she had learnt and Katie’s fondness of the Valerias and the fact that she was studying divination made her the perfect person to speak to.

  “Hey, Alice, come on in. Perfect timing, are you hungry? I made a big batch of pasta for lunch, my friend was supposed to come over, but something came up at the last minute and she couldn’t make it” asked Katie excitedly.

  “Hi, I ate breakfast a couple of hours ago, that’s about it” said Alice as she walked inside and sat down on one of the kitchen stools.

  “Well, I’ll give you a big bowl and if you don’t eat it that’s fine. How are you?” asked Katie, walking into the kitchen and placing two bowls onto the bench.

  “Thank you. I’m great, thanks, everything is going good, how about you?”

  “Yes, things are going well, were you at the festival? Such a horrible thing, huh” said Katie, dishing some penne pasta into the bowls, the pasta was mixed with vegetables, marinated in a red sauce and smelt delicious.

  “I was, yeah, I saw the snake kill that poor man” replied Alice.

  “You saw it? That’s horrible, those snakes are terrifying and disgusting.”

  “Yeah, it wasn’t good.”

  “Was everything okay after what happened in Brajula?” asked Katie.

  “Yeah, actually the day turned out very well. I didn’t mention it at the time but I saw Bella’s raven in the trees after what happened, and then when I got home, the young raven that I saw at the hills had found me and was on my balcony, so I have a raven now, his name is Blue” said Alice excitedly.

  “Really? Bella’s raven was there? It must have sensed something was wrong. That’s great, Alice, I’m happy for you” said Katie dramatically.

  “Yeah, he flew into the lecture hall the other day to give me a letter.”

  Katie laughed.

  “That’s so cute.”

  “So, I just came back from the Divination I lecture, and I’ve been reading The Diaries of Lara Valeria” said Alice.

  Katies face lit up with excitement.

  “Really? That’s awesome, the diaries are very interesting, I’ve read them multiple times. Does divination interest you?” she asked enthusiastically.

  “Yeah, all that stuff interests me, divination, shamanic journeying, remote viewing, the lecture was very interesting too. What’s your take on divination?” Alice curiously asked.

  “I think that with certain brews and plants you can heighten your state to where you can connect to and perceive messages from either your own higher spirit or higher forces and spirits of nature that can comprehend more than we can, the hard part is interpreting what you see. They say that communications with spirits or unknown forces can be extremely bizarre and alien, they can have numerous possible meanings and it can be extremely hard to comprehend and to translate, it helps to be knowledgeable on the writings of past diviners and the approaches that they took in deciphering the visions that they experienced. Some powerful shamans and diviners don’t need plants though and divinations can
also happen in your dreams, in trance and in deep mediation.

  “They say that it can take years to understand your divinations, sometimes certain events in the future need to take place before you can fully comprehend what you have seen in your visions, Kyra, Lyra and other Valerias believed in this. However, Myra Valeria had an interesting theory that the concept of time doesn’t exist with the collective consciousness and that it holds all knowledge, and that if you train, discipline and open yourself up enough, in heightened states you can attract and receive the knowledge that you seek.”

  “Interesting. What about Alrus Arell, what do you know about him?”

  Katie gave Alice a curious look and smiled.

  “You obviously read the excerpt about the Vision Plant in the diaries. He was a mysterious shaman and diviner, he gave up his throne to live out in the jungle and focus on shamanism. In the writings that he gave the Valerias, he said that the Vision Plant brew was gifted to him by nature. It’s not certain what he meant by that, but it is believed that he either learnt how to communicate with the plants like his younger brother, Syrus, or was guided and taught the ingredients of the brew by the spirits of the jungle. He apparently spent years trying to understand the nature of his divinations.”

  “How do spirits of nature communicate with you?” asked Alice cautiously.

  “There are different theories, but the main trend in writings and beliefs of the most famous diviners and shamans is that of receiving visions, images or seeing things whist looking within, also intuitive insights that are perceived whilst in heightened states. Some say that they literally see and communicate with entities when they journey into deeper worlds of nature, but that is more shamanic journeying and not so much divination.”

  “Have you ever successfully divined before?” asked Alice.

  Katie paused for a moment.

  “I did, I had an experience, which was the reason why I started studying divination, I also do creative writing, though” replied Katie, smiling.