Ivy Strongwill and The Silent Sorcermaster

Chapter Three - The Seventh Realm

Ivy stepped cautiously through the mist and looked behind to check for the old, bony grave keeper. Not only was he nowhere to be seen, but the graveyard had been replaced by a dense forest, full of primeval tress covered in large blankets of feathery moss. As they slowly started stepping on crackly grasses, the girl couldn't help but notice the flocks of giant ravens that flew over their heads and pierced the crimson twilight sky.

"What just happened?" she asked watching the firefly quartet casting a faint light over what Ivy assumed would be enormous, damp ferns.

"You tombported us to the place where the Sorcermagic Pergulum is, we are in the Ancient Forest of the Seventh Realm," said Thomas . "Although I must say your tombporting skills are not quite that accurate at the moment, therefore we will have to do a bit of walking through the Forest."

"Of course they aren't, I've never ever been here before. Nor did I tombport so far either, I don't even know what tombporting really is," said Ivy. Or how it works!

"Worry not, you will learn how to get exactly where you want, when you want. And you will see there are even easier ways to travel between the Seven Realms."

"Does that mean I'm going to be able to go on vacation anywhere in the world for free?" asked the excited girl, already imagining her dreams of the South Pole would finally come true.

"Maybe... That is if you do not sorcerport yourself in another dimension or somewhere during the Middle Ages. Or, even better, if you get to be sent on sorcermissions to your native Realm."

"Should've guessed it wasn't that simple," said Ivy, forgetting about playing with the velvety penguins in Antarctica. "Anyway, what are we here for tonight?"

"Your first day at the Pergulum," answered Thomas VIIth.

"Seriously? It's almost Wednesday night, though if I think about it, there's light in here, morning light...but what about my parents?" asked the girl confused.

"All rightful observations, child. Let's just say Headmistress Anvilstead will soon pay a most unexpected visit to your parents' house and perform a simple mind sorcerspell," explained the cat.

"Wait, are they going to be alright? Will they still know who I am?" asked the confused girl.

"Of course they will, the mind sorcerspell will just convince them that you're at a renowned boarding school in Ireland, one where they cannot visit."

"Oh...I had no idea sorcermagic is this powerful," said Ivy.

"Now that this is taken care of, I have some information to convey to you, and you should at least try and see what the Pergulum is all about before making your final decision."

"Hm, should I be worried? You sound so serious, Tommy," said Ivy while fidgeting.

"There's nothing that you should worry about, really, merely an entrance test that all first year students have to pass. Although, if memory serves me right, some have managed to fail..." Thomas VIIth looked at the girl knowingly; this detail was surely going to catch her interest.

"Isn't there a sorcermagic method to get in without taking any test?"

"Hold on, do not rush me, child. I could just as well make myself useful and offer you some context, before we reach the school grounds. I will give you a small glimpse of what happened, but I'll let Headmistress Anvilstead convey the circumstances of your grandparents' death to you." said Thomas VIIth while removing a very stubborn flea from his left ear.

"Until a while ago, the Headmaster of the Pergulum used to be the former leader of the sorcermagic world. His name was Corbius Bonescream, and he used to rule everything together with other four very powerful sorcermasters. Together they formed the Sorcermagic Quintus. Not soon after he was appointed as their Supreme Sorcermaster, one by one, they died in tragic accidents, involving both explosions and aftereffects of incorrectly brewed concoctions, deranged sorcercharmed animals or the darkest of sorcercurses. Then, as he could no longer rule without his fellow sorcermasters, old Bonescream had to follow the Sorcermagic Constitution and transfer their powers to the newly-elected Supreme Head of the Omnirealmic Sorcermagic Agency, Willius Squirrelhog, and to the sorcermagic Parliament, the Veneficumentum. His new duty was to manage the school whose purpose was to maintain the peace between the Six sorcermagical Realms and that of humans, and he seemed to be doing a great job in that department. But, one day, he decided to turn against us all, as he was set on reclaiming his power and purging all Seven Realms. He had been up to plotting all along, recruiting both sorcermagical and human allies, and gaining more power through very dark sorcerspells and evil sorcercurses."