• Once, long ago, in the faraway land known as Matoria, there lived a young girl. Her name was Maria. She was a beautiful young girl with the most golden hair you could ever see. She lived in the sea side city called Matron. It was in the middle of the Black sea. The Black sea was almost entirely inhabited by pirates and rouges. Maria was the daughter of the Pirate Lord Usami. Maria loved to go down to Matron’s ports and watch the rouges practice their pick pocketing, or help the pirates unload their ships. Many times, Maria went with them on their travels. From Valemania to the White Sea, she went almost everywhere in between. Maria loved adventure. It came from her father. This day, she decided to follow them on a journey to a place pirates never went: Perinsu, land of Fire. It was a long journey, 37 days. She stayed in the hull in the day and at night; she nicked some bread and maybe some gold. One day on board she was eating some dry bread when she heard horrible news: Her father had been captured by rouges. The next day, the ship got to Perinsu’s capitol, Sinchi. It was enormous! Beautiful temples, grand palaces, incredible towers, glorious guildhalls and towering ports!

    Staring around in fascination, Maria wondered how they did all this! The land of Fire had no gems or building stones she knew of! She looked for a Perinsuan who looked nice. This was not easy as most Perinsuans look angry. They have catlike eyes, pencil thin eyebrows, fiery hair, large pointed ears, teeny noses, and, if you look closely, a glow surrounding them. But, eventually, she found a lady who seemed nice enough. “Excuse me ma’am, but I am left without a home, as my father has been stolen by rouges. Can I please stay at your abode?” Maria asked as nicely as she could. “Oh, you poor little thing! Of course you can stay! I’m Valencia, but you can call me Val.” Val said, taking Maria’s hand. Maria and Val walked to a towering temple-like house. Maria gazed in amazement. Val looked like she was just below noble. How did she afford this? Not noticing Maria’s look of amazement, Val walked inside. “Sim! Jen! I want you to meet our guest!” She called up some stairs. Maria heard a pair of feet thundering down the stairs. In a few seconds, a young elf girl and a young Perinsuan boy were looking curiously at her. “Hi! I’m Jen and this is my brother Sim. Who are you?” The young elf girl asked. Maria wondered whether she should use her real name, or use the name she used when traveling to different countries. She decided to use her real name.

    “I’m Maria. Val said I could stay here till I found my father.” Maria answered Jen. Then, before anyone could say anything else, there was a knock on the door. Sim ran over to answer it. As he opened the door, a royal Perinsuan walked in. He was richly dressed in a silk headdress, a glorious blue shirt and a pair of luxurious green trousers. Now, Perinsuans are very tall. A Perinsuan at childhood is about a bit smaller than twice a human child. Same goes for teen Perinsuans. Adult average Perinsuans are about twice as high as adult humans. Noble adult Perinsuans are twice as high as normal humans. The King Perinsuan is nearly three times taller than a teen human. Their hair is literally on fire. If a non-Perinsuan touched it, they would be burned, and badly. If a Perinsuan touched it, they would only feel something like human hair.

    The royal Perinsuan walked over to Maria. “Who is the short one?” He asked. His language was so fluent and luxurious that at first, Maria couldn’t understand it. “Her name’s Maria, Adrian. She’s staying with us till she finds her father.” Val answered him. The royal Perinsuan, Adrian, turned to her and said “Well, I wish you a successful search, Maria.” He bowed. “Thank you, Prince Adrian.” Maria said. Maria had heard of the Perinsuan Prince from the captain of the ship she had boarded. His mother was supposed to be a Riemannian. “You’re Highness, why don’t you and Sim run off to class, now.” Val said. Adrian and Sim grabbed their rucksacks and ran out the door. “Sim and the Prince are very good friends. They met each other in Sword Training class.” Val explained to Maria. Jen took something out of her bag and sat down on the chair. As she sat down, Maria saw what it was, a pad of parchment.

    After living with Val, Sim and Jen for a few weeks, Maria found the piece of information he had been looking for. She was at a bakery one day, sneaking some food, when a group of rouges came in. Maria climbed up to the roof, where she could see outside the bakery and see the rouges. “Since we’ve got the Pirate Lord Usami, I say we use him as bait to get the Pirate King!” Maria heard one of the rouges say. “Nah, let’s sell him to Sinma, steal him back and sell him to Mortrimor!” the other rouge said. “Let’s sell him to the rouges, destroy their ship and then sell him to Morifor!” The last rouge cried out. Apparently the other rouges seemed to agree with that. They walked out the door and over to a ship. Maria dropped from her perch on the roof and ran back to Val’s. “My father’s being taken to Morifor!” She cried out when she got their. Sim and Adrian looked up from their sword fight, Val looked up from her cooking, and Jen looked up from her knitting and said “How’d you figure this out?” Maria told them of everything that had happened. “I have to save him!” Maria cried, and with that, she ran to the door. “Wait!” She heard a voice call out. She turned to see Adrian, Sim, Jen, and Val looking at her expectantly. “I can’t put you guys in danger! And Adrian! I can’t take you from your kingdom!” Maria cried out.

    She turned back to the door. She knew what she had to do. She was following those rouges, no matter what! She walked to the docks and found a small ship that she could probably sail by herself. She looked around to make sure no one was looking, and jumped aboard. She took the wheel, lowered the sails, lifted the anchor, and headed for the sunset. She was going to follow those rouges to Morifor and when they passed through the Black sea, Maria would gather Sinma’s army. She was going to save her father.

    After a day or two of sailing through the rivers of the Perinsuan plateau, she sighted a black haired head. She immediately knew what it was. “Sim! I know that’s you!” She called. Sim burst up through the water, gasping. “We… we couldn’t just… let you go by yourself!” He panted, gasping for breath. “We?” Maria asked skeptically. She recognized the heads of Adrian, Val, and Jen as they came up. They grinned. “If you’re going to follow me, you might as well come aboard. I could use the help!” She yelled. They climbed aboard. Adrian walked over to the wheel and turned the ship into the ocean, about 6o degrees from where Maria was sailing. “What are you doing!” She said. “If we’re going to catch those rouges as fast as we can, we’re going to have to sail in the sea.” Adrian replied calmly, smiling.

    Maria sighed and went to her cabin to take a nap. Later that day, when she returned to her cabin, she saw a note on her bedside table. She picked it up. It read “Meet me on deck at 10:00. Adrian.” Maria smiled. When it was time she walked over to the wheel where Adrian was steering. “Did you see the note?” He asked. Maria nodded. “Why’d you want to meet me on deck?” She asked. Adrian grinned. “Today’s Maloria day. The day…The day you…you give chocolates to the…the ones you… like.” He grinned sheepishly. He held out a small box. Maria took it, hands trembling, and opened it. Inside were some Perinsuan chocolates.

    The next day, they sighted the rouge’s ship. An excited and vengeful Maria wanted to board immediately, but Adrian said he would get one of his friends to distract the rouges. Maria sullenly agreed and so Adrian walked off board and into the forests. While he was gone, Maria used some rope to make a little resting spot under the hull. That way she could see the rouges ship and relax.

    About an hour later, Adrian came back with a young Valemanian woman. When they got on the ship, Adrian said “This is Tinya. She’s an expert ship maker. Apparently she and her mentor are the ones that created the ship the rouges are using.” Tinya nodded. “Aye, ‘Tis true. I did, but I did not know that they were rouges. I am deeply sorry for creating the thing that helped them capture your father.” She said. Maria told her that it wasn’t her fault and that they needed to get the rouges and save her father. Tinya nodded. “When you hear birds squawk three times, then get to the rouges ship and finish the fight.” Tinya said. They nodded. Tinya ran off the ship and over to the rouge’s. In a few minutes, they heard a bird squawk three times. They ran to the rouges ship. They saw Tinya fighting a bald rouge. Maria recognized him as the one who had said her father could be bait for the king. Maria rushed at him and pinned him to a door. “Where is my father?” Maria growled menacingly. The rouge tried to squeeze free but couldn’t. Maria pinned him tighter. “We…we traded him to another ship…its heading for Morifor right now…” He gasped. Maria dropped him. “He’s on another ship. It’s still going to Morifor.” Maria told the rest of them. “Well, let’s get to Morifor!” Adrian cried out. They nodded and headed for the ship.

    The next day they were nearly through the Black Sea. They sailed through the straits of Blackness. “Only a little bit longer till we find him.” Maria thought. She smiled. She walked over to Adrian. “I have something for you.” She held out a sheathed sword. It was beautifully encrusted with emeralds with silver plating. The blade shined green, gold and white. Adrian smiled and embraced her. “Thank you.” He said.

    The next day they anchored in a Morifian bay. They ran past the villages and towns. They were making slow ground, till they passed a farm where a careless farmer had left his horses. They quickly got on them and raced to the capitol. The next day, Maria found some priests robes. She showed them to the others who formulated a brilliant plan. They put on the robes and walked to the castle. The guards let them in.

    They raced to the dungeons quickly where Maria stole the cell keys from the sleeping guard. They ran pasta couple hundred cells till they saw a large one containing a man Maria recognized as her father. “Father!!” She screamed and rushed towards the cell. They opened it and Maria rushed into her father’s arms. “Oh, what a happy reunion. So sorry I have to break it up.” A greasy voice drawled. Maria and her friends turned around slowly and there was the Morifian King Lortrimor. He had greasy black hair, malicious black eyes, and was holding a black bow with an arrow fitted to it. He smiled an evil smile and pulled the arrow back a bit farther and released it.



    To be continued.

    Dun dun DUH!!

    DUN!!!





    Chapter Two: Iliana

    The arrow was released. It sped through the air towards Maria. Suddenly, the Blacke magic disappeared. The arrow stopped in mid-air. Everything froze. Then, Maria heard a voice. “Maria, I have something for.”

    ◊◊◊◊◊◊ 8 Years later◊◊◊◊◊◊

    Read Iliana’s childhood to see what happened during those years!



    Iliana, daughter of Maria and Adrian, watched as her mother practiced her rapier skills. Iliana, 10 years old, had inherited her mother’s beauty and her father’s black hair. She had sparkling green eyes and a charming, sometimes smart-alecky personality.

    Maria finished her rapier practice and walked back to their house. Iliana jumped up from her perch to follow her. As they entered the house, Maria called to Adrian “Adrian! Has Orison answered yet?” They saw Adrian sharpening his long sword in the living room. “Nope. But Sinma said if he doesn’t answer by the end of the week, he’ll mentor her.” Adrian answered. Iliana’s parents had been looking for a mentor for her for quite some time. Her uncle Sinma, king of pirates, had offered to mentor her. Iliana hoped that Sinma would be her mentor. Orison was the arch mage of Perinsu. Sneaking up the stairs, Iliana stealed into the pantry.

    There, she grabbed some delicious pepper bread, her favorite treat. As she sat down to eat, Iliana thought about the conversation she had ‘accidentally’ heard (really she was trying to sneak outside in the middle of the night). She had heard her mother talking in a low, hurried tone. “Orison has to accept! This is Iliana’s future! He knows that he’s the only one who can train her for this! Doesn’t he realize this is the Hole!?” She was saying frantically. Adrian tried to calm her. “He knows Maria. He’s just not sure he can do this. You know the law, if they figure out, they could behead him!”

    When Iliana had heard this, questions had thrown themselves at her, making her head spin. What was the Hole? Why did she need to be trained for it? Why did Orison have to train her for it? How did Orison know about it? Why could he be beheaded for training her? How did her parents know about it? The questions searched her mind, hungry for answers. “I’ll ask Mom tomorrow.” She thought and closed her eyes, ready for sleep to take her away in a fanciful dream. Instead, Nightmare knocked on her door. She answered, and was swept into a fearful nightmare. She was floating in an endless Hole. Was this the Hole her parents were talking about? Screams surrounded her; she felt Death clawing at her, ripping her from the world of the living, hungry for her flesh. She felt a bony hand crawling up her shoulder. She turned and saw the rotting corpse of a once beautiful woman. Cockroaches creeped out of her eyes, and her robe was covered with ants. Its black holes for eyes dug into her, begging her for something, but Iliana could not figure out what the corpse wanted from her. Freedom? Death?

    Then, just then, just as she thought she had figured out what the woman wanted, she awoke. Panting from her nightmare, she went outside to find her mother. As she went downstairs, she thought she felt the hand crawling up her shoulder again, and once more she was plunged into the horrific nightmare. The black holes searching her soul, the screams for help, and Death tearing at her.

    She came outside, finally free from the frightful nightmare. Iliana went over to her mother’s ship, the Jade. She found her mother giving orders at the ship’s helm. “Mom, do you know anything about the Hole?” She asked quietly. Maria stiffened, her grip tightened on the rail till her knuckles were white. Her eyes locked ahead and her voice came out in a strained whisper. “Who told you about the Hole?” Iliana backed away. This wasn’t like Maria.

    “I…I heard it at Sinma’s?” Iliana asked. Maria let her breath out (she was holding her breath?) and beckoned Iliana to her cabin. There they sat down on Maria’s bed and Maria told Iliana a story she hoped she would never have to tell. “Iliana, I am not your true mother. When I saved my father from the evil king of Morifor, my mother’s ghost appeared and sent him to the Oblivion, the realm of the dead. My mother did not come alone. She came with you. She said I had to watch over you until you were strong and able to understand the Hole. The Hole is the rip between this world and the Oblivion. It was created when a group of Dark Mages went too far in their affairs with the Realm of the Dead. The Hole has been sucking people in and spitting skeletons out for 11 years. Iliana, you are the one who has to close the Hole.” And that is the short story of Iliana. “So what do I do now?” Iliana asked tentatively. Maria sighed. “Tomorrow you will take the Jade and sail to the last island of the Black Sea. Tetramer, they call it. Then you will find the Everest Cliffs and seal the Hole.” She told Iliana. She shivered. Tetramer was invaded by ghosts, the same ghosts that had probably come from the Hole.

    The next morning, Iliana strided over to the Jade and quietly walked up to the wheel. She was frightened she wouldn’t be able to sail to Tetramer. But she knew what she had to do. She grabbed the wheel firmly, looked over at the dock where Maria was waving to her, and set off. The lapping waves of the ocean calmed her. The ship sailed quickly, passing the Lone Island in about an hour. When it got too dark to see anymore, Iliana lowered the anchor and entered her mother’s cabin. There she swiftly fell asleep.

    Once again, she was submerged into the nightmare. This time she knew that it was the Oblivion. The screams wrapped themselves around her, choking her, immobilizing her while Death sneaked up her. The shivering touch tore her flesh, ate at her soul, and devoured her mind. It slowly cut into her seam that kept her into the world of the living, and as it did, Iliana seemed to forget everything. It cut deeper, she began to stop fighting. Then, she aroused.

    Free from Death’s chilling touch, Iliana strode over to the wheel. Then she saw the nearing Pirate Tribe Islands. She anchored in a bay and wandered through the lush overgrown jungles. She finally stumbled upon a hunting party. From her lessons with Maria, Iliana could speak and understand the Tribal language. She asked them to let her stay in their camp and explained to them that she was the Destined One (what the tribe called the one who had to close the Hole). When they heard that, they gladly took her back to their camp. There the chief gave her gifts of fruit, gold, and spring water, which was believed to cure the soul.

    Iliana thanked them, and they let her stay in the griots (storyteller) hut. Unfortunately, Death did not give her up.

    Yet again, she was plunged into the Oblivion. The dead swarmed around her. Then they parted to let a shadowy figure slink up her. Iliana knew it was Death. Death creeped up her. It enfolded her, draped her in a swathe that immobilized her. Death started cutting through the seam that connected her to the world of the living. Iliana’s breath came in short gasps. Death cut deeper, and Iliana felt herself falling away, into Death’s embracing arms. “Try as you might, there is no escape from Death, my dear Iliana. Struggle, Death likes it.” A cackling voice said.

    Waking up, Iliana gasped. Who was the cackler, why did she keep falling into the Oblivion? Before she could recover from her adventure, the villagers were whisking her away. Climbing aboard the Jade she started steering towards the island she needed to reach before sundown.

    After a few hours (in fact it was only an hour before sundown), Iliana reached Tetramer. Anchoring her ship in a murky cove, she ran through the deserted villages and sandy jungles until she reached the top of a cliff. At the very edge of the cliff was a rip in the sky. Iliana stepped towards it and was immediately sucked into the Oblivion.

    A sea of Darkness surrounded her, called to her, tempted her to places where pain and misery would be no more. Cutting through the sea were rivers of lava and streams of fire, flowing into a titanic lake of blood. Islands of bone and cliffs of hate loomed about her, and the sky reeked of death. This time, she was there for real; she couldn’t wake up and escape Death this time. Then, feeling a cold hand crawling up her shoulder, she turned around.

    Standing there was the woman’s corpse. Iliana shivered. “Look…” A voice whispered. Iliana turned to see a bright green, gold and white shimmer. Crawling towards it, she saw that it was a magnificent sword. It was encrusted with rubies, emeralds, and pearls. The sheath was beautifully covered with the finest art. Taking the sheath off, she saw the blade glimmered gold green and a grayish white. Magnificent, yet deadly, Iliana thought. The sword was stuck in an island of bone. Grabbing the hilt firmly, Iliana pulled it out of the island. The light cast through the Darkness. “Foolish you are!” Iliana heard the cackling voice yell out. “Come out and get me instead of hiding like a chicken!” She called out bravely. “Very well, foolish one!” The voice cackled. A dark yet blinding light appeared in front of Iliana. A misshapen human figure surrounded by ghost-like creatures materialized in front of her. The misshapen figure drew out a ghastly sword, and the ghosts swarmed about her. “Get ready to feel Death’s chilling touch, my dear!” It called out. Rushing at it, Iliana stuck her sword through its chest. “Hah! You cannot kill me, I have been split in three, and the other two are miles away from here!” It cackled. Frozen in fear, Iliana did not see a wispy figure float through him. “Go!” The figure called out. Fearing the misshapen figure, Iliana obeyed. She ran to the Hole. Hearing the shrieks of the misshapen figure behind her, Iliana fell onto the ground. Getting up, she put the Blade on the Hole and slowly moved it over the Hole.

    Her work done, Iliana lay gasping on the ground. Yet again, she felt the hand crawling up her shoulder, whispering in her ear, begging her to get up. Iliana obeyed and standing before her was the woman’s corpse. “Hello, my daughter. Come we must find your sister Aria.” It said.

    Who is Aria? Can I have a burger? The end!



    Chapter Three: Aria

    Iliana turned around to stare at the corpse. “My…My sister?” She felt her mouth run dry. The corpse nodded. “Go to the island of Asturias, and search for the student called Aria.

    ♦♦♦On the Island of Asturias♦♦♦



    Aria, student mage at the University of Young Mages, finished her report on the effect of phoenix feathers in wands for her Wand-making class. She sighed, and then looked at her homework and her schedule for tomorrow. It looked like this:

    Monday- Friday

    8:00 to 9:30

    Wand-making

    9:30 to 10:30

    Alchemy

    10:30 to 11:00

    Hexes, Charms

    11:00 to 12:30

    Astrology

    12:30 to 2:00

    Lunch

    Break time/ Study hall

    2:00 to 3:00

    Divination



    3:00

    School out

    Study Hall

    Opens

    Notes:

    Test on Tuesday!



    Notes:

    Get dragon scales.



    Aria sighed again. She had forgotten to get dragon scales. She needed a bag of dragon scales for Alchemy tomorrow, but the market was closed by now. Suddenly, she was hit with an idea. What about the Ramble Market? The Night Shop was probably open and most definitely had dragon scales. Gathering up her bag, she walked out of her dorm and headed for the Ramble Market. When she got outside, she saw a lone figure walk out to the greenhouses. It was not the Herbology teacher, Ms. Cilia, Aria knew that. Forgetting the dragon scales, Aria quietly followed the figure. The person opened the greenhouse door, walked over to the table labeled ‘Alchemist Flowers’ and picked up a bright red rose. Smiling, Aria followed the person out of the greenhouse, down the streets and into the Ramble Market. The boy (Aria was sure he was a boy) walked over to the Night Shop and gave the rose to the storekeeper, the infamous Laozy, who accepted and put it on a tall shelf, then gave the boy a golden framed mirror. “Now what could that be?” Aria wondered. After the boy left the Night Shop, Aria strided over to Laozy and asked him for a bag of his finest, freshest, dragon scales.

    The next morning, after packing her rucksack full of her books, Aria met up with her three friends, Inara, Torsi, and Phaedra. “Aria! A boy named Durian is looking for you!” Phaedra beckoned her over to the same boy she had watched steal the rose. “Aria, I am very pleased to meet you.” Durian said. Aria curtsied, blushing. “My father, Varro, has heard about your superlative skills and wishes you to come and show a demonstration of them. If he thinks they are superb enough, then he will accept you for a class under his study. He wishes you to come tonight.” Durian held out a beautifully calligraphy-covered card with the words “Please Accept” written on it. Aria accepted it, and curtsied again. Then she rushed to her Alchemy class.

    Mrs. Kura, the Alchemy teacher, was passing back the tests they had taken on Dispel Blacke Magic potions. When Aria got hers back, she saw at the bottom that Mrs. Kura had written “See me after class”. Aria gulped. That couldn’t be good. All during Mrs. Kura’s lecture on how to correctly stir a Dispel Blackeness Potion, Aria wondered what she had did wrong. There was an ‘A’ on her paper! Why would Mrs. Kura want to see her?

    After the bell for 10:30 rang, Aria walked over to the teacher’s desk for Mrs. Kura to start telling her what a horrible job she had done. “Aria, your potion was so incredible, even by being near it; the Blacke Rats in the Forest scurried away as fast as they could. I heard Varro wants you to study under his custody. I want to give you a few things that might help you there and a little advice.” Aria was shocked to hear this. How was her potion that incredible? “The first thing I want to tell you is that I was trained by Varro myself, and he is very serious about education, be sure to do it every day as best as you can. The second thing I want to tell you is that Varro is also looking for an excellent mage for his son to marry. Maybe he thinks it might be you. Then I want to give you a Platinum Wand-making kit, and a deluxe Cloud Castle game. I hope you enjoy it.” Mrs. Kura handed Aria a large gold lined box and a Cloud Castle game. Aria gasped. Cloud Castle was her favorite game. It was played with tiny fairy pieces that truly had a mind of their own. Aria smiled. “I’ll play ya.” She challenged her teacher. Mrs. Kura accepted and they sat down to play. Aria grabbed an Archer and set it in the castle. Mrs. Kura quickly got rid of him with her Sorcerer.

    While Mrs. Kura and Aria were playing Cloud Castle, Iliana was sailing the Jade to Asturias under her mother’s orders. She was being accompanied by her three best friends, the mage Tila, the former barbarian Horus, and the paladin Mara. They had been summoned by Iliana’s mother after she had told Iliana of her destiny.

    The next morning at the University, Aria was packing up her stuff and getting ready to head over to Varro’s. When she got to Varro’s immense mansion, she was warmly greeted by the butler, Lucian. Durian paced over to her. “Aria, I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Please, let me show you the way to my father’s sitting room.” He greeted her. Aria took his hand and followed him into a large room with a fireplace and large cushions. Bowing, he left the room and closed the door, which, Aria noticed, was elegantly carved with historical pictures. “Ah , Aria. You’re here. Come, sit down.” Varro said to her, his back still turned. Aria sat down on a large velvet sofa. “I heard of your great success in school and I wanted to see a demonstration. My former pupil, Sara Kura said you were exceptional at brewing anti-Blacke potions. Let’s see how you do brewing an anti-Blacke creatures dispeller.” Varro said to her. Aria sat up, took out her Alchemy kit and set to work on the dispeller with Varro watching her very closely.

    When she was finished, Varro took it and examined it. “Very good , Aria. Your work is excellent. I would like to offer you the chance to study in my class. You shall learn some of the greatest magic you ever find.” Varro said as he examined the dispeller. Aria gasped. This was the chance of a lifetime! She was just about to say yes when Iliana suddenly appeared in the room! “Who is this?” Varro screamed over the whirl of magic surrounding Iliana. “I am Iliana, daughter of late Princess Tinya and Orison. This is my friend Tila, daughter of the great seer, Hendry. We have come for my sister Aria, on an important mission for the good of Maltoria.” Iliana said in a business like voice that had great seriousness in it. Aria was confused. Who was this woman? How did she know her? And what was this about being her sister. “Tila? What is this, niece?” Varro said to the girl. “I’m sorry, Uncle, but what she says is true. Aria must come with us.” Tila said to her uncle. Aria stood up, entranced at the web of magic the girl was weaving. It was a Basic Teleport spell, which took a while to establish. The whirl of blues and greens and many other nameless colors floated around them were incredibly brilliant. “Who… who are you?” Aria asked. Iliana stared at her. “So you’re Aria, eh? Well jump in, sis, and we’ll take you on the adventure on a lifetime.” Iliana smiled. Aria gaped. How was she this girl’s sister? “It might be a bit hard to believe, but trust me, it’s true.” Iliana told her. Aria gaped at Iliana. She couldn’t understand any of this! “Come on, little sis, wanna go take down an evil deranged undead king who’s purpose now in life is to obliterate us?” Iliana laughed. Aria’s eyes widened in terror and fear.

    A few hours later, a confused Aria was sitting on the Jade, wondering about what had just happened. Iliana walked up to her and gave her a pat on the back. Aria didn’t respond. “Wanna meet our mum?” Iliana asked. Aria swiveled to stare at her. “But… at Varro’s you said she was deceased.” She stuttered. “Just cause she’s dead don’t mean we can’t say hi to her. Follow me!” She said and spun around. A confused Aria followed her. They entered Iliana’s cabin and saw a richly dressed young woman sitting on her bed. “Iliana! How did it go?” She smiled fondly at them. “Great, mum. Wanna meet her?” She bowed and let Aria see the woman up closer. “Aria…” The woman said vaguely. Tears filled her eyes and she rushed into her daughter’s arms. Aria felt as if a cool breeze had floated through her. She looked down closer at the woman. Then she felt as if she might be sick all over her- or all through her. The woman was a ghost. “Aria, I have missed you. You were separated from us when you were but a lass.” The woman, who was supposedly their mother, said.

    The next day at sea, Aria could be found hanging in the hammock that Maria had made a few years back. She was watching the back of the ship for enemies. She had sighted a few fisher boats, but nothing potentially dangerous to them, until they reached the Black Sea. A few hours after they reached the Black Sea, and after a few hours of lunging at the port bow, Aria caught sight of a ship- a ship with red sails, the mark of the Oblivion Lord. Aria jumped up and ran to Iliana’s cabin. “The WHAT?!” She screamed when Aria told her. Iliana paced the floor, biting her lip. “How, how, HOW?!” She fretted. “How did he know we were coming? I was so precise! Tens of shielding spells, anti seeing spells, and anti teleport spells! How?!” She cried. “Maybe we could lure him into a Mortrimorian cove. They would fire at him, giving us the chance to escape.” Aria suggested. “A fine idea, Lady Aria, the only problem is, I know about it, so how are you going to lure me into a cove?” A cold voice drawled. Iliana’s eyes widened in fear and unbelievement. They turned around and saw the Lord of the Oblivion sitting in Iliana’s chair as if he owned the place. “Now my ladies, time to bring you to an old friend. You escaped him quite a few years ago, but I’m sure that Death won’t mind.” He smirked. He got up and, quick as kiss your hand, he had the girls in his clutches. “Let them go.” Tinya demanded as she stepped into the light. “Ah, my dear Tinya. Death took quite a fancy to you, took you before these doves of yours…” He squeezed Iliana and Aria tightly. “could even walk, Shame they get to meet your old friend.” With that he uttered a teleport spell. At the same time, Tinya lunged out with her ethereal knife. Aria gasped, which was hard because He was holding them so tight. It felt as if she was being pulled through a tight tube. When they reached the end of the spell, they found they were back in the Realm of The Dead. Iliana groaned. “My lord, I have brought three friends for you!” The Lord called. Iliana glanced at Aria, whose face was tight in concentration. Her hand moved slowly over the relic, a small purple, glowing stone that had strange runes all over it. Iliana could hear Aria muttering a strange spell. “Eemarina tusarina forarorasinya forayoratorin hoisayoris…” Aria was chanting one of the Great Forbidden Spells. Once, she snuck into the Principal’s library at the University, and had read from the Book of Forbidden Spells. What she was chanting now was a spell that would freeze the Lord and twist her mind to her will. Iliana turned her attention back to the Lord. An ashen-colored human figure was walking in a graceful, yet disgraceful, way. It had no mouth, nose, ears, or hair, but it did have two red slits for eyes. “My lord, Death, I have brought you a few friends that-“ He started but was interrupted. “I see them!” A voice sounded. It was cold, vicious, and crept into their souls and chilled them. It seemed to come from everything and everywhere, yet nowhere and nothing. At last Iliana realized that the ashen figure, Death, was speaking. Finally Aria finished her spell. The world crashed to bits, or at least their part of it. Aria and Iliana were panting, Iliana had a split head and Aria’s hand was bleeding. The Lord was gone and Death was going through a portal. Aria got up, stumbled, and walked over to Iliana. “Let’s go!” She said, but Iliana didn’t reply. “Aria… Aria, Gary, he must… He must save us, but now, follow Death and stop him from reviving the Lord.” Iliana drew her last breath, and died in Aria’s arms. Aria gasped, then gathered her courage and stepped through the portal. Yet again the world crashed. Or at least Aria’s part. Death was leaning over the Lord, holding her relic. “Stop!” She managed to shout. Death got up and slowly turned around to face her. “Aria.” His voice sounded. Suddenly, a large spiked ball came swooping over them. Aria ducked but Death just stood there staring maliciously at her. Slowly he walked toward her and an ashen sword appeared in his hand. Slowly Aria drew her magic knife. Fearful, yet courageous she stepped forward. Death brought up his cutlass and hit upon her knife. Aria buckled up her courage and threw her knife at him hard. He dodged and brought up his sword again. The fight continued on and on, occasionally dodging the spiked ball. Finally, Aria striked as hard as she could and then Death’s ash figure erupted. Aria felt blood on her arm. She looked down and saw about a million leeches sucking away her blood. She muttered a Destroy spell and strode back to the portal. She found herself on the same hill that Iliana closed the Hole at. Tinya’s spirit was hovering near her. Aria buried Iliana and walked back to the ship to go home.







    Epilogue

    Aria reached the University safely, and continued her education with Varro. She accepted his offer to marry his son. Iliana’s spirit helped many pirates find rich yet evil ports to plunder, thus helping her pre-death prophecy. Tinya returned to her homeland to help advise new kings and queens. She rarely showed herself to newcomers until they earned the reigning king’s or queen’s trust. She also continued her post as the Keeper of The Holy Forest. Meanwhile, Aria’s son, Gary, after the prophecy, was learning magic. Aria had thought the prophecy was just pre-death madness, but soon changed her mind. A few weeks after Gary’s tenth birthday, a portal opened from our world to theirs. You could imagine our excitement when we discovered a whole new world. They quickly colonized the land, and many natives fell ill to our illnesses. After a few years of working as slaves, the natives turned to Gary, who had found a new power in The Holy Forest. He sealed the portal and destroyed the slave masters. Unfortunately Aria never got to see her son make the prophecy come true. She died of smallpox shortly after the Arrival, as they called it. Her body was never buried, so her spirit never saw the world again.