Authors: Candace Knoebel
My face fell as I caved in. “So what I can do…that’s normal where I come from?”
She looked pleased. “For some, yes, but you’re special, Aurora. You’re one of a kind. Your parents went through great lengths to have you. They-” Before she could finish, a beam of light clapped around her, Houdini-ing her out of my line of sight.
My heart quickened. Now I was alone inside the damp cavern. I felt heat surrounding me and saw the same beam of light appear. I felt myself dissolve inside it and then piece by piece, my body put itself back together.
My first breath as my whole self was a gasp as I clawed at my throat. Eve stood next to me, patting me on the back. I looked up and could have sworn I saw an impish grin before her eyes connected with mine.
“The first time one is summoned by The Fates is harder than the first time one ports. Just try taking deep breaths and think of calming thoughts,” she coached as her hand stiffly rubbed my back.
“Right, calming thoughts. Umm…I’m in a crazy place with an even crazier lady. Fenn has no idea the nightmare I’m living inside my head,” I mumbled. I felt a wave of nausea come over me.
“Calming…remember. Get it together or you will miss what is being shown to you.”
I scowled at her. God, would it kill her to have a little sympathy?
Then she sighed heavily, pulling me up to stand next to her. Her index fingers touched my temples and instantly the nausea disappeared.
“We are in the Lyceum, the Great Hall of the Pyre Magium,” she said. Her tone sounded as if this were the last place she wanted to be.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, trying to rub the glaze that seemed to saturate my sight. She moved closer to me and once again ignored my question. Her body seemed almost as if it were shielding me, though from what, I had no clue.
She ignored my question. “This is one of the four Rebell Islands, home to all Mages. Each is ruled by an Arch Mage. The Arch who rules here is Liege Zordon.” The disgust rolled off her tongue as her lips quivered. “An Arch Mage is the highest rank of all Mages. And this one in particular will stop at nothing to get what he wants-the Stone of Immortality.”
I could feel the shock on my face as my mouth hung open. It took me a moment to gather my thoughts. “Can we back up a sec? I’m a little stuck at Mage. What exactly is a Mage?” I continued to rub at my eyes. Wherever we were, it was very large and extremely bright, as bright as the sun.
“Part of your heritage, Aurora. I apologize, my patience is thin. Please try to keep up and accept what is happening. Your time is limited.” She took a deep breath. “A Mage is one of the most powerful magic wielding races inside this realm, besides the Draconta.”
I gasped which sounded more like I was choking. “Draconta?” I barely stammered out, the word once again hitting home. “You’re kidding, right?” I looked up at her, my sight finally clearing.
Her lips were pressed into a hard line, her expression barren and humorless.
“Right, you’re not kidding.”
“The Draconta is the faction of humans and dragons that live inside the Obsidian Chasm.”
“Okay…so dragons and Mages…crazy ladies, oh my.” I rolled my eyes. But somewhere deep inside, the pieces were slowly forming into a distorted picture. A picture that resembled me, only I wasn’t human…I was something else, something serpent-like with angry-red eyes.
“Look for yourself,” she said flatly, stepping aside.
The overwhelming brilliance of the Lyceum subsided as my eyes finally adjusted to the purewhite marble that seemed never-ending, covering the floors all the way up to the ceiling. There was a massive fireplace that took up most of a wall located at the back of the room, its flames burning a greenish-blue. The mantle was made of a gold so bright it could have been carved from the sun itself.
A breath-taking mural of constellations adorned the top of the dome-shaped ceiling. I squinted–the constellations seemed so real, as if the Mages had summoned a clear midnight night sky to shine inside their home. The stars twinkled amongst the velvet black background, almost as if moving in a magical flow.
Everything seemed suspended, somehow floating on thin air. Shelves ran up the walls, filled with trinkets and books and globes that floated effortlessly. The tables that were scattered around the room had no legs. There were people, or at least beings, moving around us and through us. We must have been invisible. It seemed busy but silent at the same time. Like magic.
Lady Eve took a step forward, expecting me to follow suit. “Mages of every stature, from the lowest ranking Sage Mage, to a Grand Mage like Myrdinn over there,” she said, pointing to a silver-haired man, “dwell here.”
My eyes followed her line of sight, lingering on the man she had just mentioned. Didn’t I know him from somewhere? Those lavender eyes seemed so familiar. I walked over to where he sat, next to the fire, and leaned in closer, trying to remember.
“And you?” I questioned, still inspecting the man she called Myrdinn, enthralled by his chiseled face and silver hair.“How do you tie into all of this?”
“That is of no importance right now,” she quickly shot back, pulling me away from the man called Myrdinn. I was about to yank my arm from her when she suddenly sucked in a hissing breath. I turned to see where she was looking as the room muted and everyone froze, heads pointing to the floor. The air was thick and pungent with fear.
There he was.
My breath caught as my heart slammed against my chest. I couldn’t take my eyes off him and felt a weird pulling sensation towards him. I knew him somehow. Zordon.
He looked over to me, eyes flaring with hatred. For a brief second I felt caught and thought that he was going to run towards me. I thought he was going to kill me.
But as the seconds elapsed and nothing happened, I remembered we were invisible and turned around to see just where his eyes were piercing. A lady, with long flowing champagnecolored hair that sparkled like a moonlit waterfall, sat alone in the corner. Her pensive face looked familiar.
Eve elbowed my side and whispered, “That is the Arch Mage I spoke of, Liege Zordon, with his two sons, Zane the oldest, and Zhax the youngest.”
The room remained silent as Zordon strolled through the Lyceum, his obsidian cloak billowing after his footsteps like a black cloud. The air felt weighted, like a storm was growing stronger with every step he took. His two sons followed on either side of him, their gazes arrogantly sweeping the room, snickering at every head that bowed.
“The lady behind us is his wife,” Eve sneered, her lip curling in distaste.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the trio; their presence seemed to take up the entire open-aired room. The younger son, Zhax, favored his mother in looks with long wavy flaxen hair and bottomless blue eyes that complimented his gentle face. His soft features didn’t fit the brash luster that seeped from his eyes. Zane, on the other hand, aside from his short hair and clean-shaven face, was a carbon copy of Zordon.
Zordon was tall—he had to be over six feet—with dark chocolate brown hair. His eyes matched his hair in darkness, and his face was hidden by a mustache and a thick beard that reached down to the middle of his chest.
I turned to ask Eve if she knew more about him, but she was completely turned around staring at the lady in the back of the room, a doleful expression replacing her once stern face.
“What’s wrong?”
She jumped. “Wha-I’m fine,” she faltered, tucking away whatever it was she was thinking. I eyed her dubiously, on the verge of asking again.
Then Zordon spoke, and his abysmal voice trickled up my spine and into my brain–a strange familiarity latching on like flies stuck to a spider web.
“The Seer will be here any minute now so gather around the Table of Thoughts, everyone,” he bellowed, grabbing his staff and heading to what looked like a throne of some sort.
He took his seat at the suspended table with his two sons on either side of him.
“How do the tables do that? I mean, suspend like that?” I wondered out loud.
“By magic. This whole place was built by magic,” Eve said absently, answering the thought. Seven, tall marble chairs that seemed to have been carved up and out of the floor created the seats that everyone sat in around the table. I now knew who Zordon, Zane, Zhax, and Myrdinn were, but I didn’t know who the other three were.
“That is Brohm, a Grand Mage, and the two eldest Mages are Albert and Ghandus. They are ranked Archion which is just below an Arch Mage. They are twins if you couldn’t tell. Those three men are the only men worth trusting besides Myrdinn,” she pressed.
I was trying as hard as I could to absorb everything she was saying. There were no words forming on my lips as I stood there gawking at what was before me.
She nudged me. “The Fates wanted you to see the prophecy so you must pay attention when the Seer shows up.” I nodded.
From out of nowhere a man emerged atop the table. I could see through him as if he was a hologram.
“That is the Seer. He is like me, one who can read the future and tell fortunes,” she pointed out. So this is how she ties into it. She has a lot of explaining to do when we wake up.
“Welcome Soothe,” Zordon greeted. My eyes grew wide. Soothe? Is this the same Soothe that set up the security deposit box? It had to be. How many Soothe’s could there be? Fenn was going to flip. “Now we can begin,” said Zordon, stretching his arm towards the seats, indicating that everyone could sit.
I looked over at Eve. “Is he-” but she put her finger to her mouth, quieting me. Then she pointed to Zordon who continued to speak.
“I’ve been told you’ve been given the prophecy of the new world. It is rumored that I am a part of this?” When he spoke there was a voracity that tainted his voice. That deep, dark sound of eagerness that I myself have felt before. An eagerness to know who you are and what you are meant to be.
Soothe moved to speak. He was blurry so his features were hard to make out. His eyes were the only distinct thing about him, a pearl color with no pupil. He spoke to the air as if no one was speaking to him.
Eve leaned in and whispered, “The only time a prophecy is given is when major change is about to come. I’m speaking of a revolutionary type of change. That’s why Zordon’s so eager to know if he is a part of this, since he will affect the new dawn of our realm.”
New dawn, like my name,
I thought.
Soothe closed his eyes and exhaled. His arms crossed over his head and came to either side of his body as if in a yoga position.
Everyone in the room sat in deep concentration, but the atmosphere felt almost frantic. All of the men kept their eyes closed while they chanted like Monks, and energy crackled around them, sounding like tiny firecrackers. I turned to Eve to ask her what was going on, but hysteria was written all over her face.
The seer then threw his head back and spoke. A deep voice, one that seemed to hold all the knowledge of the universe, crept in my ears like tiny spiders.
“Of dragon born a conqueror prevails. The chosen one fated to protect the dying race.
Third of three deemed protector to the progeny.
The other marked for revenge. The book of life, pages turn yet unwritten. The canvas to your mortal soul; the connection to your immortal enemy. A death will come to He that breaks the barrier.”
The air seemed to freeze as the intensity coming from Soothe spiked. The men looked to one another, a hazy fog emerging from their lips. I shivered, suddenly wishing I was wearing a thick jacket. Those words again. Before I could question Eve, Soothe shifted, something seeming to break his concentration.
He paused, as if listening to something, and then his head descended slowly, eyes glancing sideways in Zordon’s direction. The deep inhuman voice re-emerged.
“Time now smuggles your other half abroad, where she awaits the turning of age.
Protected by the divine, the dawn of a new era will come another day.”
The misty air gave one last punch of cold and then swirled away leaving Soothe to look up as if waking from a dream. Zordon glanced uncomfortably around the room, then sat up, chin defiantly held high in the air.
“I knew it,” Eve barked.
“Knew what?” I asked quietly, voice trembling.
“He cut a piece out. He altered the prophecy.” I had no idea what she meant.
“Does this mean I’m going to die?” I asked, my earlier fear resurfacing from my hand’s “short lifeline.”
“A prophecy can never be completely solved until it is lived out. You can only do your best to be wise and cautious with the information given to you. Think of it as a gift of foresight,” she replied callously.
“This isn’t real. This can’t be happening.” I felt everything around me collapsing as I stumbled forward, on the verge of fainting.
She yanked on my hand and drew a dagger from out of nowhere, dragging it ruthlessly across the palm of my hand. I tried to pull away, but it was too late as my blood surfaced in crimson bubbles.
“What the hell is your problem?” I charged, glaring at her.
She glared back. Still holding my hand, she spoke coolly, “Your blood is proof. When this is over, you will see what is real,” and she dropped my hand.
I pulled it into my chest, the droplets of blood falling below me. My anger stirred.
Zordon spoke, regaining our attention. “You may leave us,” he said, wishing Soothe away with the swish of his hand.
“Now let’s get down to business. This prophecy must be solved. Myrdinn,” he summoned, pointing his corpselike finger in Myrdinn’s direction but continuing to look at the other council members, “you will pick this apart.”