Claxton

Prologue: Island of Wonder

Song: "Tynix" - Elisa Rosselli

Seven years earlier

        A small island filled with vegetation stood in the Atlantic Ocean near the beaches of Seabrook Island. Numerous coastal trees overlooked the ocean, and the tropical island had a jungle and volcano. It was late afternoon. The sun was setting on the horizon, and the branches of the palm trees waved goodnight to it. Two bottlenose dolphins leaped out of the water, and the rays of the setting sun scanned them. They dove back in and swam toward the island.

Deep in the island's jungle stood a cave that groaned. Inside, it was cool and dark. At its mouth was an entrance hallway. It led to a vast room in the cave's heart. In that room lived Merlin the Great, the most powerful wizard in the world and most likely the oldest. The cave was his home, and all his belongings were in its heart.

Merlin the Great paced back and forth with his hand at his chin. He was concerned about something. His eyes said it all. They flashed with worry and tiredness. His long, nighttime-patterned, blue cloak trailed to the ground, and his long, white beard hung down to his thighs. His blue wizard hat, also nighttime patterned, stood tall on his head, and he ran his aging fingertips through his beard. For once, the old wizard needed help. He was losing control of his powers; if he lost all of them, all the magic concealed deep in Earth's core would go extinct.

Merlin didn't want that to happen. He needed the help of a fairy known as a Metamorphic Fairy. Metamorphic Fairies were special fairies that were half human and half fairy. They were naturally born from humans and started as regular kids until they reached their teen years. During their teenage years, their fairy halves were revealed. Only a Metamorphic Fairy could rescue Merlin and all the magic in the world. However, finding one was difficult because they were rare. A Metamorphic Fairy was only born from a strong heart and a family in which one past member had to have been a fairy.

Merlin needed the assistance of his apprentice, Tracey, a ten-year-old Apprentice Fairy. He called for him from where he paced and impatiently waited.

After five minutes, a child fairy appeared at the entrance of another hallway that fed off the cave's heart. This was Tracey. He had the size and appearance of an average ten-year-old boy. The only difference was that he had wings and pointy ears. He wore a dark green, jinbei-like shirt, a black sash, black shorts, and dark purple shoes. He had short, black hair and mesmerizing golden brown eyes. His wings were relatively large and translucent. His upper and lower wings were light green and purple. They glittered with purple and green fairy dust.

Tracey hurried to Merlin. Once he reached him, he fell to one knee and calmly asked, "Yes, my liege?" Lifting his head, he met Merlin's eyes.

"My boy," the elderly wizard said, "it has come to the point that we must find a Metamorphic Fairy. Please rise."

Tracey did. He knew what was going on with Merlin's powers, but he didn't think it'd get so bad that they'd have to seek a Metamorphic Fairy.

Remaining calm, Tracey followed Merlin the Great to the room's heart, where a table sat. Resting on the face of the table in a line were three enchanted necklaces. Each one had a silver loop but different pendants. Green butterfly wings served as the pendant of the first necklace. For the second one, its pendant was a red fairy, and finally, the pendant for the third one was a blue horse head. That was the one Merlin wanted.

Picking it up, he showed it to his apprentice and explained, "Tracey, this is a Metamorphic Necklace. It will show us where we can find the perfect Metamorphic Fairy. If you would do the honors, please." He handed the necklace to Tracey.