The Realm of Ofwardin

Part Two

The next morning, after gathering some necessary items to make the trip to Phantiero, Alecia made her way through the winding corridors of the Council castle and to her friend Ami’s quarters. She knocked on the door, and after a few seconds’ delay the door swung open to reveal a woman with sleek, glossy black hair and intelligent brown eyes.

 

“Alecia, how are you?” Ami asked, ushering her in.

 

Alecia gave a small laugh and smiled warmly. “I’m doing well, and I hope the same goes to you.”

 

“Yes, yes, I’m good,” Ami replied amiably. “What brings you here today? I see you’ve got some of your things with you,” Ami said, gesturing towards the saddlebags Alecia was carrying.

 

“I need more pages,” Alecia answered her. On average, Alecia had to make one trip to Phantiero every two years, and each and every time she went Ami accompanied her. Alecia could only use a certain type of paper for the book of Ofwardin-a magicked parchment that was virtually indestructible. Ami grinned.

 

“It’s ‘bout time,” she said. Ami proceeded to rummage through her wardrobe for some changes of clothing, then she rifled through her belongings for other necessities, fitting everything neatly into three saddlebags like Alecia.

 

Meanwhile, Alecia waved her hand in a complex pattern over the cover of the book of Ofwardin, murmuring some indecipherable incantation under her breath. The book, which was formerly a hefty tome approximately the width of five textbooks stacked on top of each other and the length of one of Alecia’s arms, twisted and contorted itself into a thin notebook that fit snugly into one of Alecia’s saddlebags. The two then walked down to the stables, the sky still dark as the early morning light slowly filtered in. Alecia and Ami mounted two Friesian horses and set out after raiding the kitchen for some food and two canteens of water. Alecia wore a scarlet cloak, the same shade of the Phanter’s robes that she had stowed away in one of her saddlebags. The unique color was attributed to the Elevant, and Phanters wore that specific shade to announce to the world their position and role. It was illegal to hurt or hinder Phanters across all the Realms, and Phanters themselves were pacifists; it was against their true nature to bring harm of any kind to others. The bright eye-popping red served as a way for people to identify Phanters. Ami, however, had on a midnight blue cloak, and when she had the hood pulled up she somewhat resembled the traditional image of the harbringer of death.

 

“Same route as last time?” Ami asked Alecia after they had started down on a path away from the towering castle. Alecia nodded in confirmation.

 

“I wanted to make slight changes though,” she added. “You know how the Realms work, right?”

 

Ami made a face. “It’s been awhile, do you mind refreshing my memory?”

 

“Well basically, the Realms can be thought of as layers to the universe, if you will. Without any magical aid, the only way to travel from one Realm to the next is by moving ‘up’ or ‘down’. Say I wanted to get from Ofwardin to Aelthar. There are so many layers in between those two Realms-Itarplane, Maisona, all of them. First I’d have to travel upwards to Itarplane, because Ofwardin is the lowest of these layers, then from Itarplane I’d have to go up to Maisona, and so on all the way until I reach Aelthar. That’s basically what we’re going to be doing, since Phantiero is even higher up than Aelthar. After I get more pages from the Elevant, we repeat the process-only we’re descending instead of ascending. Does that make sense?”