Legend of Parocaav: The Quest for Redemption (First Draft)

Chapter VIII: The Hidden Meadow

This was the first night Drayk actually slept inside the cottage. He didn't want to be all alone considering what has been on his mind. He lays awake feeling guilty. This is the first time he has slept in a bed since the night before the attack on his village of Kuma. The thoughts of his sister racing in his mind. He slowly sits up and pulls the covers down to his waist. Drayk lets out a sigh and climbs out of bed. He walks down the hall passing Roku's room towards the bathroom. All is still dark and quiet inside the building. Leon and Roku still sleeping, it is the middle of the night after all. Drayk uses his magic to fill the sink with cold water and splashes it on his face. He looks at himself in the mirror, a clear expression of sadness etched into his eyes.

After a few minutes, Drayk heads back down the hall, stopping outside of Roku's room. He starts to think of how she reminds him that there is still a reason to be happy. He's not sure why but his heart started racing as he thought about Roku and how spunky she is. She is almost his complete opposite. Roku seems to always be happy, chipper, and full if energy. Drayk has always been a rather quiet fellow, he keeps to himself, rarely shows emotion and is always calm.

He decides he should get back to bed and sleep, which he has not done of much lately. Drayk slowly walks back into his room and ignites the tip of his finger to light the candle on his bedside. The candle flashes to life, illuminating the room slightly. Drayk decides he is not ready to sleep yet. He reaches for a book on the desk He hadn't noticed at first. He hasn't used the room so he didn't pay much attention at first.

The book is titled 'The Forgotten Forest.' The book looks as old as time. It has a brown leather cover and what appeared to be animal skin paper. Drayk slowly opens the front cover to view the first page. He starts to read.

~The Forgotten Forest is a realm created by Lady Parocaav. She has bestowed this forest as a gift to the Grand Master Leon for his continuous services to Goddess. He is the only mortal man deemed worthy in the Goddess's eyes to receive his own realm.

All immortals have their own realm. They are either created by the immortal, or bestowed as a gift. The Forgotten Forest was the first and only realm given to a once mortal man. All realms coexist his its inhabitant. The one who lives there chooses who may enter, who may leave.

The Forgotten Forest is a unique realm in its own right, other than being given to a mortal. This forest has a strange quality. Time moves much faster than it does anywhere else, as if it defies the very balance of space and time. A man known as Bahemyth assisted in the creation of this realm. The sole purpose of this time change is to give Leon the opportunity to train for harder and longer. Allowing him train months at a time to prepare for if he is needed on a few days notice.

The design was requested by Leon himself during the time of its creation. Lady Parocaav agreed completely. This realm is where Leon discovered the use of alchemy, the use of magic to manipulate inanimate objects, changing their composition by breaking them down and reconstructing them at the molecular level. In doing so, Leon became the father of modern alchemy. This discovery astonished Lady Parocaav. The Goddess didn't know such things were possible, even though She had created the balance. Lady Parocaav was so impressed she decided to add a secret to The Forgotten Forest. A realm within a realm was created: The Hidden Meadow.

This meadow is a gateway more or less. A link between the realm of the forest and to Her own realm, The Skies of Heaven. It sits in a time that stands totally still. Even years here, is no more than a split second anywhere else; other than the lair of Bahemyth. This gift was unlike any other. For the first time it was possible to visit the heavens of Parocaav. A special magic can be learned here. The Ultimate Magic. Magic that was forbidden to be controlled by anyone other than the Goddess herself. Magic that could control the very elements of the universe. Meteors, massive explosions, creating life, and some that is still unknown. Leon has access to this realm, and can see the Ultimate Magic, although her cannot gain full access to this Magic. Even he is forbidden from utilizing its power. The honor was purely knowing its existence and capabilities. Only the Goddess herself is still the only one who can wield it.~

Drayk closes the book, unsure of what to think of what he had just read. A magic so powerful it can control the very cosmos. With that thought he yawned and decided it was now time to get some sleep. He climbed back into bed and drifted off to the first deep sleep since he arrived.

Light began to pour in through the window to Drayk's room. The candle has finally burned out as the sun lightens up the realm. Sunlight hits Drayk's face and he opens his eyes. This is the first time he feels rested even though he spent most of night lying awake and reading from the book. He looks over at the desk, the book he had read is no longer there. A puzzled look strikes Drayk's face. He decides to ignore it though and heads the stairs to the front room.

Roku of course is already wide awake and lounging on the floor in front of the roaring fireplace. She looks up at Drayk, rather surprised to see him coming down from upstairs. She gave him a big smile and sits up.

"You actually slept inside last night?" Roku jokingly asks.

Drayk smiles at her and replies, "Yes. I figured I outta at least once."

Roku gives him a big grin. She isn't sure why, but she has a hunch he is hiding something. Her thoughts start to wander as Drayk sits down next to her. He might be kind of quiet, but in his own way, she finds him charming. Perhaps it's the silence, the mystery or just that they have spent so much time together the past couple of months. They find themselves staring into each others eye. The front room lit with the dim light from the fireplace. An overwhelming feeling consumes Roku, she cannot take her eyes off Drayk.

Suddenly the sound of Leon clearing his throat can be heard. They both look up at him startled. Leon chuckles a bit at their reactions.

"Time to head out Bringers," Leon told them as he walked out of the cottage.

Roku awkwardly looks back at Drayk, then rises to her feet. She waits for him to stand up before following Leon outside. Drayk runs his fingers through his hair and sighs heavily. Again he finds himself feeling guilty. How could he possibly allow himself to feel any happiness under these circumstances? He shakes his head as if he is trying to shake the thoughts right out of mind. He jogs outside, closing the door behind him.

The three of them walk into the clearing once more. Leon stops momentarily to allow Drayk and Roku to pass him, then continues to walk. The clearing seems different this morning. The flowers are no where to be found and there is no sign they even existed. Instead, the clearing was now a patch of bleached white sand. It looked like fresh snow, sparkling in the morning sun. Drayk looks around wondering why it looks so different. Every day they've been here, the clearing has always seemed so vibrant. In its own way, it still appears to be just as tranquil as ever. Thinking back to the book he read last night, Drayk recalls something about white sand before he called it a night.

For reasons he couldn't explain, a sense of deja vu hit Drayk. Instinctively, he put both hands forward, palms face straight out and away from his body. His eyes glowing the same shade of white as the sand beneath his feet. Leon looks at Drayk with a look of surprise written all over his face. Roku is speechless. The sand begins to pulsating a yellow glow and it rises up into four columns. The center sinks downwards as the columns solidify. Stairs form in the sands as it drops lower and lower, disappearing into the darkness below the surface.

Drayk puts his arms back down his sides, eyes slowly to back to normal. He looks down in sheer amazement. How did he do that? His mind was completely free of any thoughts while it was happening. It was like he blacked out n the process.

"Leon.... what is that?" Roku asks.

"The gateway to the Hidden Meadow... Drayk.... how did you know?" Leon says almost ignoring Roku altogether.

Drayk looks over to Roku, then over to Leon. His face was blank of any expressions.

"I am not sure to be honest. I had a sense of deja vu, and my body did the rest. It's almost like my subconscious absorbed the information that book," Drayk replied.

"Book?" Leon questions him, "What book could you be referring to??"

"I am not sure anymore..." Drayk said quietly, looking back down at the gateway he opened.