Tangled in the Mystery of Magic

Finding Ahtohallan

Magician 

Cleo manages to surprise me all the time. Every time I see her, I see my mother. The fierceness with which she killed our father....how I wish she knew the grand scheme of things. Ryker ran away.... betraying us. But I know that this is not over yet. Ahtohallan is a whirlwind of magic and it will always...always draw in the one whose destiny crosses paths with it. 

"So... What happened then?" A question interrupted my thoughts. Both me and the dwarf were filling Alvin up with all of the details that happened when the dwarf had switched bodies. I was setting up tents for the night and was drawing runes on them. One never wanted to know what lay inside the forests surrounding Ahtohallan... The magic here was a blessing and a bane.

Everything had changed in a fraction of time and I was here, wondering how everything was happening so suddenly. 

"This is where we are resting tonight?" Cleo asked. I nodded in response.

"What was it like? The Kingdom?" She asked taking a seat next to me.

I smiled reminiscing my old days in the kingdom " Ahtohallan is a mystery and will always be one. No one ever really understood how it was formed or where our family line begins with. No one could trace our family history before our grandfather 's rule. It's said that the magic of Ahtohallan chooses it's ruler. The chosen one will be drawn to it no matter how far or how unaware he is of the kingdom's existence... Of the people of Ahtohallan, you have a mix of good and evil. Many magical creatures are sheltered in the kingdom. There are fairies who are seers, elves who are warriors and dwarves who are workers and helpers. They are unpredictable and deceptive. They have the power to twist reality and make you see things you have never seen. Although they are bound to serve us, they are far more powerful than us but the magic which grants us the power to rule protects us... When we venture there tomorrow to find the children, we have to deal with caution. There's a lot of forces at play and you never know what can happen next." 

"I have already lost my past identity and I know there's no going back. The children are my utmost priority and I don't care if I have to go inside this dangerous whirlwind to find them. They deserve to be safe and I will bring them back safely." Cleo said.

I looked at her to find her green eyes set with determination. " Why do you care about the children of Mystic Mint Ville so much?"

"They are my friends and they are the only people I have close to my family. Their parents are worried about them. They have no fault of theirs to be stuck in this mess solely because our father.." she said the word with great disgust and continued   "kidnapped them only to get to me ." 

I looked at her and sighed. We all had been through a lot today. Especially Cleo.. she had been betrayed by her best friend and our father. "You should rest" I told her. Tomorrow is going to be a tough day. She nodded and went into her tent to sleep while I was robbed of the luxury. I had to think and plan for tomorrow....after all I was the only one familiar with Ahtohallan.

Cleo

I closed my eyes only to see flashes of today replaying in my head. Ryker's smile, my father lying dead , me holding a knife stained with his blood. The magician's words about Ahtohallan were quite startling and the one sentence he said had made its home inside my head 'The chosen one will be drawn to it no matter how far or how unaware he is of the kingdom's existence.' 

It was just a question... A small one 'could I be the chosen one?' .... My heart raced at the possibility.

My troubled mind soon fell into a disturbed sleep....

A voice echoed in my head 

' The child protected with love is the throne's demand,

 life comes a full circle.

 The one who was wronged is avenged and the wrongdoer....punished.'

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I woke up the next day with the voice still lurking in my head. I came out of my tent to find the magician outside, in deep thought. He saw me and asked me to sit next to him. I followed his signs and sat beside him. 

"Where are the gates of Ahtohallan?" I asked as I remembered they were right in front of the tent when they had disappeared. " Are they not open now?" 

Magician 

"Where are the gates of Ahtohallan? Are they not open now?" was the question Cleo asked me and I couldn't help but chuckle in response. "The magical protection of Ahtohallan is of no use if the gates are at the same spot where they were yesterday. The gates disappear only to reappear elsewhere. It may be very close to this place or far away as Ahtohallan is not bound by land but floats in and out of this realm." "Wow! " Exclaimed my sister.

 I was surprised at how she could be a brave and fearless person and then transform into someone who is absolutely clueless about things like these.

"So how can we find it now?" She asked.

"Well in common cases it would have been near impossible to find the kingdom but since we have the princess of Ahtohallan with us, it would be much easier now." I said. " Your locket not only protects you but also gives you the power to find your kingdom and transport yourself there. If you are willing, other people too can be transported." I added

"What are we waiting for then? We must start now." Came the reply.

"As you say, princess."

Cleo

"Try again, Ahtohallan only comes if you are searching for it with all your heart." The magician said.

It had been two hours since I had been trying to locate my kingdom. How difficult is it to find what is yours? 

I tried again and this time I remembered the time I landed in front of the gate of Ahtohallan. How I had stared at it in awe and wonder wanting to know what lay beyond it. 

This time it worked. I saw a portal opening and sucking all of us into its magic.

Finally! We found the kingdom of Ahtohallan.

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 Author's note 

How did you like this part? This chapter is about 1000+ words so you are in for a good read!

Question of the day :

What creature would you prefer to be in Ahtohallan? Let me know in the comments with the reasons.

Lots of love 😘