upsidedown - English Version

Chapter I

Jeong-ui opened the cristal doors that lead to the exterior gardens. Pink, fluffy, and big clouds floated through Yeonkkoch skies, while the sun set on the horizon. The Queen sat down on a delicate marble chair, while a slave brought a iced tea, and another two were fanning her with Royal Eagle's feathers.

The doors opened again, to let her most loyal servant enter the garden.
"Somebody is waiting for you, my lady." "Who is it, Azel?" Asked Jeong-ui, although she already knew the answer. "He calls himself , King of Kusat, Snakes Lord." She smiled, she hadn't seen her childhood friend for a long time, but something was telling her he wouldn't be for long. "Let him come in, he must be in a hurry."

Baulruck saw Azel come back. "The Queen is waiting for you." He looked at him, "are you happy here?" But Azel didn't answer, instead, he continued down the corridor.

Baulruck went outside, and stopped for a bit, feeling the breeze, and smelling peach flowers. The doors led to a plateau with white tiles, where Jeong-ui was enjoying her tea. From there, two marble stairs led to a green terrace. Miles and miles of humid, dark green grass, with some ponds, where swans and herons cleaned their wings. Peach trees, modified by magic to be always flowering, moved their branches with the gentle breeze, that detached the little buds, and left them calmly on the crystalline water. Deers run everywhere, while Phoenix slept in a big white fur rug.

"Beautiful, don't you think?" Said Jeong-ui. "It's fantastic, just as how I remembered." Answered Baulruck, while sitting in front of her. Two slaves reached to start lavishing him, but he made them go away by moving his hand.

"I hope you are having a beautiful journey at the city Baul, I'm sure my citizens have made your trip a lovely one."

Baulruck got comfortable on his seat. "Don't call me like that Jeong-ui, we aren't children anymore. My journey have been splendid, except when I saw slave sellers in every corner of your city, which made me feel sick, but sadly, I can't do nothing against years and years of culture."

"You know well that in this city, torture and abuse of slaves is banned, Baulruck. And you know that I hate more than you do the use of them, but it was the only thing I could take from my father. Here there are treated like employees, they even receive a salary."

"Then you should make those slave sellers remember your laws, just today I saw more than ten of those asses hit those men, women and children with whips and canes..." Jeong-ui interrupted him with a tiny cough. "Those merchants are not from here, so they are not held by my laws. And those slaves, as long as they are not being bought by someone from here, neither. Another gift from my lovely father." The Queen sipped more from her tea, and snapped her fingers three times.

Thousands of little lights turned on, like little fireflies stuck on the firmament, making her hair look like obsidian threads. "But you didn't come to talk about my slaves policy, did you? What do you want?" The Queen decided to eat one of the fresh strawberry scented cookies that were on a plate at her right.

"That's right Jeong-ui. I have come because I have received a message from White Pyramid. Vassyr has got a dream."

"Vassyr? The Time Dragon? I was told he had been sleeping."

"That's right, he went to sleep after the last Big Prophecy, but now he's awake, and as I am the last Snake Lord left, he has selected me as his receptor."

"This can be excellent or awful. Tell me what he showed you."

"Magic is dying, Ewichvindr is taking too much energy from Mother Nature, noone knows what the Guardians have done this time. Dragons and griffons from White Pyramid don't know what is happening, they feel their powers are wakening, being absorbed by the Tower. Vassyr showed me that here I'd find a key that would Let me into the Tower and turn it off. I don't know what is he talking about. Do you know where I can find a secret key or something like that? Maybe in the Nest."