A Journey Within the Realm

I woke up, not in Leiko’s bed but on a pile of straw. After sitting up, I noticed that none of my teammates was here with me. Next to me was my staff and I was still wearing my robes. Once I got up, I grabbed my staff and explored the room. Everything was very dull and very dark. Now, I knew why they also called it the Fade. I saw a book lying on the ground. After I picked it up, I read the title. Hmmm… The Ritual to Become a Light Mage. Interesting choice for a book. Suddenly, a door appeared. I walked over to it and slowly opened the door. When the door was opened a crack, I peeked through the opening. There, I saw a hallway. After I made sure there were no enemies, I opened the door completely. As I walked through the hallway, I scanned the area for anything that might help me. Just then, I heard someone calling for help. I pinpointed the cry coming from the door at the end and to the right. When I got there, I placed my ear on the door.

“Please don’t kill me,” cried a female voice.

“I must do what the master tells me,” replied another voice.

The voice had an echoing darkness in the sound while the one who didn’t want to die sounded sweet and innocent. She also sounded familiar. I listened some more.

“You already stripped me from my powers,” said the female voice, “Why do you have to kill me?”

“My dear, haven’t you forgotten?” asked the echo voice, “You’re the last light mage.”

A light mage! I have to save her! But, what can I do? I didn’t know any spells nor did I have anything really effective to use. After the lady cried for help again, I decided to peek through the keyhole. I couldn’t see the mage because the creature was blocking the view. Once I examined the creature a little longer, I noticed that it wasn’t a nightmare or a shadow, but more human. Maybe I could kill her with some kind of normal means. I looked around the room through the keyhole, searching for something to use once I broke in. A coat rack, a wooden box, and a lantern. Well, the coat rack would act the same as my staff, so that wouldn’t make a difference. That wooden box would’ve been good, but the fact that I would need to open it and the thought of there being nothing in the box didn’t appeal to me. However, the lantern sounded like a great object to use. On closer examination, I saw that it was lit. That was even better! I could use fire! Now… how to break in? They had no lightbulbs, so I couldn’t use one as a lockpick. Oh well… I guess I will have to just knock the door down. I chuckled at the thought of me breaking the door. However, I quickly stopped when I remembered that I needed to stop an evildoer from killing the light mage. I took a deep breath, I kicked the door open, grabbed the lantern, and threw it at her feet. The lantern burst around the evildoer. She screamed as the fire spread all over her body. I grabbed the mage as the evildoer fell to the ground, burning to death, and pulled her out of the room. After closing the door, I turned towards her to see if she was okay.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

“Yes. I’m fine,” the mage said, “Thank you kind sir.”

“May I ask what your name is?” I asked.

“My name is Jora,” She answered, “And what is the name of my rescuer?”

“The name’s Randy.”

“You are a man, just like my fiancé. A matter of fact… you look like him.”

“What’s his name?”

“Darien Nelson.”

My dad’s name. I couldn’t believe it. This was my mom! However, I was over 50 years too early. If I heard correct, the light mages disappeared 53 years ago. And here I am, finding out that my mom was the last one to go. After I helped my mother up, I opened the last door, the one at the end. It lead to the main stairway. I must have appeared on the second floor, because I was looking down to the first.

“Are you ready?” I asked, turning towards my mom.

She nodded. We stepped into the gallery.

“Sooo… where is your fiancé?” I asked.

“Somewhere locked up in this castle,” Mom answered.

“You mean… he’s captured?!” I exclaimed.

“Not so loud,” My mom said, “There are nightmares all over this castle.”

“What was that I killed back there?” I asked.

“That was one of Kei’s shadows,” Mom replied.

So, shadows are human-like.

“Why are you and your fiancé here?” I asked, “And where is here?”

“You don’t know?” Mom asked, “You’re in Kei’s castle. My fiancé and I were trying to find a certain book, until we got captured.”

“This book wouldn’t be the exit book, would it?” I asked.

“How do you know about the exit book?” my mom asked.

“Let’s just say I know the legend,” I answered, “Why don’t we go look for your fiancé?”

My mom nodded as we headed downstairs. My guess was my dad was locked in a cell down in the basement.

“I wish we could see what’s going on…,” Kuri said, staring at Randy’s motion-less body.

Kuri, Nori, Rin, Elder Leiko, and I were having tea as we waited for Randy’s mind and soul to enter back into his body. We were sitting on the floor around a short table. A pot of tea and a plate full of cookies sat on the table. Nobody was in the mood for those cookies. Elder Leiko told us that we could tell if he was getting hurt if his body started to move. Not being able to see what’s happening was a bit nerve-racking. Throughout this whole ordeal, everybody but me kept glacing at Randy’s body and wishing that they could see what was going on inside his head. I just kept quiet as I slowly sipped my tea. Sure, I was nervous as all-get-out, but what could I do. I sighed before returning to my tea.

“Grandmamma?” Rin asked, “Isn’t there a way we can see inside his mind?”

“Really, Child,” Leiko replied, “Is that the only thing you girls can say?”

“We’re worried about our friend,” Kuri answered.

“Also, Randy’s a man. Men are hard to come by, Grandmamma,” Rin added.

So, that’s why Rin’s worried about Randy. I should have known…

“So… is there a way that we can see?” Nori asked.

“I will only show his thoughts if everyone agrees,” Leiko answered.

“We have all been asking to see what’s happening,” replied Nori.

“All except Miki,” Kuri corrected, “She’s been quiet this whole time!”

“Yeh! Aren’t you at all worried about Randy?” Nori asked.

“Yes, I’m worried,” I exclaimed, “I just worry in silence instead of repeating the same comment or question every five minutes!”

“There’s a wise woman,” commented Leiko.

“However, even if you’re silent, do you still want to know what’s going on?” asked Kuri.

“If it might help me put my mind at ease, then yes,” I answered.

“Very well,” Leiko replied, “Rin, my dear, please bring me my spell book.”

“Yes, Grandmamma,” Rin said.

Rin got up, walked over to a small bookcase, pulled an old, dusty book from the shelf, and brought it to the Elder. Elder Leiko flipped a couple of pages before she told Rin to start chanting. Rin nodded and began a chant that I was not familiar with.

“See all, tell all,” Leiko began, “From mind to view, break the boundaries that’s locked inside and bring it out to the open.”

Suddenly, a ball of light formed above the table. Slowly, but surely, an image appeared as the ball grew. We all stared in wonder as we began to see Randy.

“There you girls have it. This is Randy’s mind,” Leiko said before turning towards Rin, “You can stop chanting, my dear.”

Rin nodded as she took a deep breath from all that chanting. I looked up and watched as Randy walked down a gloomy hallway, walking with some woman around his own age. Just then, Randy passed a painting of Kei.

“He’s in Kei’s castle,” I exclaimed.

“What’s he doing there!?!” exclaimed Kuri, “I thought he was in the Nebulous!”

“He is,” replied Leiko, “The Nebulous can be anywhere the mind wants it to be.”

“Who’s the young woman with Randy?” asked Nori.

Elder Leiko looked up and became surprised.

“Oh my goodness,” Leiko exclaimed, “That’s Jora!”

“Who’s Jora?” Nori asked.

“Jora was the last light mage to disappear,” Rin answered.

“Actually, she was our last light mage period,” Leiko correct, “She went to Kei’s castle with her fiancé on a mission of her own. I could tell she was afraid of dying. I believed that she was going after the exit book.”

“Wait a minute,” I exclaimed, “Fiancé? There were men back then?”

“Not men, Dear, man,” Leiko corrected, “Our dear Jora had the last male in this realm. She did everything in her power to keep him. After all, Kei did seal every last man in the realm away 100 years ago.”

“If Kei sealed away the men from this realm, then how is it that Jora has a man?” I asked.

“The same way Randy is here now,” Leiko answered.

“You mean he’s from the nagical world too!?!” I exclaimed.

“That’s right,” Leiko replied, smiling.

“Grandmamma? Do you remember his name?” Rin asked.

“I believe his last name was Nelson,” Leiko answered.

“That’s Randy’s last name,” I exclaimed, “You don’t think…?”

“That it might be possible that Randy is a son of a light mage?” Leiko asked, “We will find out.”

Here I was, exploring the dungeons of an evil overlord, with my mom, looking for my dad. My mother was still shaken up by what had happened earlier. She explained to me that her light mage powers had been completely sucked out of her. As we walked, I tried to control my panic feelings. We were trying to save someone from a dark mage’s cell without any magic to protect us. I shook my head in disbelief. I guess my mother saw that and started talking.

“Don’t worry, Sir Randy,” my mom said, “We should be reaching my beloved soon.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I replied, lying a little, “And, please, don’t call me sir.”

“Whatever my rescuer wishes,” my mom replied.

I sighed. I had a feeling that one of those shadow creatures was guarding my dad. How were we going to rescue him? I kept on worrying about that problem as the two of us walked further into the dungeon. After two more minutes, we finally reached the entrance to the cells. I peered inside the door. Sure enough, a shadow creature sat on a chair next to my dad’s cell. Hmmmm… it appears to be sleeping.

“How’s it look in there?” my mom asked.

“Shhh… a shadow sleeps in there,” I replied.

“One of Kei’s minions?” she whispered, “What do we do?”

I looked around to see what I could use. Having saved my mother, I found out that those shadows can be killed by fire. Let’s see… I found some wood, a rag, a few scraps of metal, and a barrel with some kind of liquid inside. I walked over to the barrel and stuck my finger in the liquid. Hmmm… oil texture. I smelled the liquid. It was oil! I grabbed the longest piece of wood and the rag. After wrapping the rag around the wood, I dipped it into the oil. Then, I placed the wet wood on the ground and picked up a large piece scrap metal. Next, I started to scrape the metal on the stone floor, creating sparks. After a few scrapes, a spark landed on the rag and lit it on fire. I carefully picked the wood up and walked over to the door.

“Fire?” my mom asked, “What are you going to do with that?”

“I killed the shadow minion that had you by using fire from a lantern,” I answered, “I figure they are weak against fire.”

“I hope they are…,” my mom replied, worried.

I quietly opened the door, tip-toed over to the minion, and dropped the burning plank on it’s lap. The shadow screamed as it woke up. I quickly struck the shadow on the head with my staff, knocking it unconscious. I watched as the shadow burned into ashes, leaving a key behind. As I picked up the key, I called my mom into the room and walked over to where my dad was kept. I banged on the bars.

“Hey! Wake up,” I said.

My dad looked up. He was sitting up on the floor of the bare cell.

“Who are you?” he asked, getting up.

“The name’s Randy,” I answered, unlocking his cell door, “I’m here to get you and your love out of here safely.”

“My love?” my dad asked, stepping out of his cell, “Jora’s here!?!”

“Yes, Honey,” my mom replied as she entered the room, “This man saved me from being killed.”

The two of them enbraced each other. I waited until they were done.

“Thank you for what you have done,” my dad said.

“I’m still not done,” I replied, “I won’t stop until you guys have the exit book.”

“How do you know about that?” he asked.

“He knows the legend,” my mom answered.

“Does anyone know where it may be hidden?” I asked.

“I do,” my dad said, “The book is in the lowest and deepest room of the castle. Follow me. I know the secret passageway that leads to the room.”

“How do know you that?” I asked.

“I came across it when I was running from Kei’s minions,” my dad answered, “Come on, its just pass these cells.”

“Kei kept a hidden room near the dungeon cells?” I asked, “How odd.”

The two of us followed my dad through a series of hallways. After ten minutes of walking, my dad stopped at a picture of Kei. She was a white haired woman with red eyes. As I stared at the portrait a little closer, I noticed that her right eye was blinking very dimly.

“You noticed the picture’s eye, didn’t you?” he asked, “Watch this.”

My dad pressed her glowing eye and the wall underneath the portrait swung open.

“In here,” my dad said, going inside.

My mom followed after him with me behind her. We crouched as we walked through the small passage. When we came out, the first thing we saw was the exit book.

“There it is,” my mom exclaimed.

“Finally! We can get out of this place,” my dad exclaimed.

“Well, well, well… if it isn’t Jora, the last light mage, and her lover,” a deep voice said, “I didn’t think you would make it here.”

Just then, a dark cloud started to form around the middle of the room. As the cloud grew, the more it started to take shape. It took only a minute before we saw its true form. This creature was pure muscle. It was a tall creature with horns on its head and a dark grey body clothed only in boots and a pair of shorts. Its eyes glowed as red as blood.

“No! It can’t be,” my mom exclaimed.

“And we were so close,” my dad added.

“What?” I asked.

“It’s Virote,” my mom exclaimed.

Great. Virote was the powerful evil Rin had told me about. Apparently, Kei was the only one to have beaten him. I guess she let him live only to serve her.

“I see Kei’s minions drained your powers as a light mage,” Virote said, “I don’t sense any power from you or your lover.”

Suddenly, Virote turned to me.

“Hmm? I don’t know you. It seems you have powers within you,” Virote said, “However, I can sense that they haven’t awaken yet. That’s great for me, but not for you.”

I readied my staff.

“What’s this?” Virote asked, grinning, “You want to fight me? Don’t make me laugh! What is your name, Spunky?”

“My name is Randy Nelson,” I yelled, “and I will fight to protect my parents!”

“Parents!?!” my parents repeated, “You’re our son!?!”

“Yes. I’m from the future and I came here from the nagical world,” I answered, “And if I don’t get you guys out of here, I won’t be born!”

“Ho ho! This will be fun,” Virote exclaimed, “Just to be a good sport, I will let you have one free hit.”

“Get to the book,” I yelled, “I will hold him off!”

My parents nodded. Virote laughed hard. I got ready and charged at him. Once I was in reach, I jumped up at his head and swung my staff. Instantly after my staff hit his skull, my staff broke in half. Before my feet hit the ground, Virote grabbed me with his huge hands.

“Ha ha ha! You honestly thought that your puny staff would hurt me?” Virote asked, laughing, “That was your free hit, Pal. Now, here’s mine.”

As soon as he said that, my body was struck with electricity.

“What’s happening to Randy!?!” Rin yelled, “He’s shaking like crazy!”

“He must be getting hurt,” I said.

“Miki! We have to do something,” said Kuri.

“All we can do is wait,” I replied.

“How do you like my dark energy shock?” Virote asked, still laughing.

I couldn’t answer. The longer he shocked me, the more I began to lose consciousness. Before my vision went completely dark, Virote threw me against the wall. I landed on the ground in a sitting position. As I was going in and out of consciousness, I heard my parents scream.

“Now that I finished with your future son, I can kill you two so he will disappear for good,” Virote said, laughing even harder.

Virote was about to kill my parents! If he succeeded, I would be no more. But, what could I do? I was about to pass out. No matter what happened to me, I had to save my parents! With the last of my strength, I started to get up.

“Huh?” Virote said, looking in my direction, “You’re still alive!?!”

“Have… to… save… parents…,” I managed to say.

After I said that, I started to feel strange.

“I guess knocking you out won’t do,” Virote said, “That only leaves killing you.”

Virote raised his hand and shot a ball of dark energy at me. However, when it hit me, it just disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“What!?!” Virote yelled, “Why didn’t that affect you!?!”

I looked at my chest. Slowly, I was beginning to get my energy back. The more my energy came back, the more my body began to glow a white light.

“It can’t be,” my mom exclaimed, “He’s a light mage! Randy is the only male light mage!”

“Not good,” Virote said.

Suddenly, my body burst in rays of white light. Once that happen, I felt energized and ready for battle.

“Miki! Randy’s body is glowing,” Nori exclaimed.

“And he stopped shaking,” Kuri added.

“That power that he used with the bandits is awakening,” I said.

“But, what’s happening with his right arm?” Rin asked.

“It looks like symbols are appearing,” I answered.

“It can’t be,” Leiko exclaimed.

“What!?!” we all exclaimed.

“Is he really a light mage…,” Leiko said to herself.

“What!?!” we all yelled.

“So… your powers have awoken,” Virote said.

“Quiet you! I’ve enough,” I yelled.

“What are you going to do?” Virote asked, “You don’t know any spells!”

Darn! He was right. Just then, I came up with a great idea.

“I may not know any true spells,” I began as I started waving my hands in a circle, “But, as a professional writer, I have the ability to make it up as I go! Now take this! Chains of light!”

As soon as I said that, bright chains shot out of my hands and wrapped around Virote.

“What the…!?!” Virote said, wiggling, “I-I-I can’t break free!”

I smiled as I walked over to him. I placed my hand on a part of the chain.

“You gave me a shock of a lifetime,” I said, “I’m going to repay the favor.”

“What!?! No,” Virote yelled.

“Light shocker,” I exclaimed, shooting electricity onto the chains.

With one final scream, Virote blew up into tiny sparkers of light. I sighed in relief as I walked over to the exit book. After I picked it up, I handed it to my parents.

“Go now,” I began, “Escape from the magic realm. Be safe.”

“What are you going to do, Son?” my dad asked.

“I now know why I was sent to this realm,” I answered, “I’m the only one who can stop Kei. I must do that before leaving this realm.”

“Be careful,” my mom said.

I nodded as I watched them read the exit book and disappear out of the magic realm. Once I knew they were safe, the whole area went completely white.