𝙱𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚃𝚘 𝚆𝚊𝚛

Chapter 13: *Flashback*

        Daddy was always super strict with training. He insisted that today we did a lot a lot of studying because the war was coming soon and he wanted to make sure I knew as much as I could in case he had to go away for a long time. He'd sat me in a chair in the basement where we kept all of the self-defense stuff, like swords and guns and knives. I hoped I never had to use any of it. I studied my chair while daddy gathered up his maps for our lesson today. It was a chair with a wooden seat and carved designs up the back of it. I jumped when daddy accidentally dropped one of his scrolls while walking over to the table. It clanged to the floor with echo. I politely got up and picked it up for him, setting it on the table and sitting back down in my chair. He smiled at me and dragged a chair behind him to sit next to me. 

        "Thank you, Bliss." He said as he sat in his chair backward. "Are you ready for the lesson today?" I nodded my head eagerly. "Okay, but you have to listen very closely alright? Today is going to be tough, even for a smart little eight-year-old like yourself." 

        "Okay, papa. I'll listen really close." He leaned forward and unrolled one of the crinkled paper maps, setting rocks about the sized palm of my hand on each of the four edges to keep it from shriveling back up. It had many ancient looking markings on it with little-drawn trees, mountains, rivers, and kingdoms. He pointed to a large castle with lots of land around it. It was built on the shores of a sea. 

        "Do you know where this is?" I squinted my eyes to get a better look at the drawings. 

        "Is that Aridonya?" 

        "Yes, it is. You can tell because it doesn't have a lot of trees, and it's sitting close to the ocean." He pointed to another one almost directly above it, except it didn't have a castle. Instead, it had a cave with marine life and mermaids surrounding it. "What about this one?" 

        "That's Mermaid Cove because there's no castle and it has mermaids by it."

        "Yes you're right, but let me tell you a secret," I listen closely as he whispers into my ear. "The castle is under the water." I open my mouth wide and smile.

        "Really papa?" He nods and points to another space that seems to be sitting on top of the clouds. "That's Azure." I think for a second. "Daddy, do the people of Azure really have wings?" 

        "You bet they do. They're big and beautiful, and extremely powerful too." Next was a darker shaded, desolate-looking area of land. Stick trees were scattered along the black lined territory and it gave my body chills. 

        "I'm not sure what that's called."

        "That's why I'm teaching you about it, Bliss. This scary place is called the Land of Ashes. Nobody goes here because it's an area with many spooky creatures called Corrupts. The Corrupted are the monsters and the keepers of the Land of Ashes. Nobody goes there because if you do, you never come back out." I fidget with my hands while I study the Land of Ashes. It's shaded darkness already makes my skin crawl. I can't imagine what it would be like to encounter it in person. "How about here?" The City of Enchantment was very easy to identify. There was no doubt about it with it's drawn in buildings and it's famous business meeting tower where every sector of the country had been to. It was in the bottom left corner of the map. Vieland, located in the bottom right corner, was overgrown with trees and wooden houses. It didn't surprise me since a majority of the people living there were Earth Nymphs. We were almost done. Standing front and center on the map laid the Kingdom of Souls. "The Kingdom of Souls is the heart of our country, Bliss. Every time there's a problem, we go to the Soul Sisters, who are the identical twins that govern our country. If there's a drought and we need help, we go to them. If there's a problem with our borderlines, we ask them for their guidance. But right now, the Kingdom of Souls is being attacked by the Corrupted and daddy needs to leave soon to go protect the Soul Sisters."

        "Why are they trying to hurt them, papa?" He folds his hands on the top of his chair.

        "Well you see, the Corrupted are angry because they don't have a ruler like other kingdoms do. They're all on their own and they're mad that they have to be all by themselves." I nod my head and try to understand what he's explained, but most of it doesn't register to me. Last on the map is a huge mountain range with big boulders drawn at the bottom of each mountain. 

        "Isn't that Vulcano Mountain? Is it true there are dragons living there?" 

        "It's been rumored that there have been dragon sightings in Vulcano Mountain, yes, but you know they're extremely hard to find. To find one is very hard, and legend has it that if you do someday find one, you're granted an eternal alliance with them. Meaning that if bad guys come after you, the dragons will help you whenever you need it." It's almost as if a big light bulb brightened in my head.

        "Daddy, you could find a dragon to help protect the Soul Sisters! Then everybody will be safe!" He smiled and picked me up to carry me upstairs for lunch.

        "That sounds like a brilliant idea, sweetheart. I'll have to keep my eyes open for any dragons." I dreamed of finding a dragon from then on. Every day when I went to see Majesty I would look for a baby dragon to keep as my own and care for. Someday I was going to be the only dragon finder in history. Then I would be able to protect the Kingdom of Souls whenever I wanted.