Prismatic

Tregelheim

I woke up to the humming of a bird. It had blue feathers with a needle beak. It greeted me in the canary yellow sunlight. I got up from my single type wooden bed that matched the floor.

The inn had a wooden ceiling, the brownest I have ever seen. The windows were proportionate to the distance of the beds. The room had wooden varnishing down to the floor.

I went down to join my companions for breakfast. They were eating a grain type of bread with leftover food from last night sandwiched in between. I caught up to them and had my share.

Then, I saw something flash at the corner of my eye. We all looked at each other and nodded in unison.

Tyke prepared his sword and shield while Aina slid her spirit glove. Bry and I kept watch of the movements. Bry closed his eyes and shouted, “Pago Berenti.” The movements suddenly stopped in front of the table. Three creatures, about the size of a mug, were caught on ice that clasped to their feet. They wore sharp burgundy satin hats, had downcast ears and wooden cedar hair. Their sweet peach eyes are wide open with little diamonds deflecting the sunlight. They wore impish green clothing. Bry called them Lutin Faunus.

“Please don’t hurt us, we mean no harm”, said one of them.

“Yah, we were here to deliver a message”, said another.

The last one just nodded. It seemed that he was either mute or cannot speak our language. They all looked at us with apologetic eyes. They seemed harmless and had no malice in their words.

“Who sent you here? It is unusual for your kind to be here. For the most part, you don’t want to do anything with humans”, Bry said glaring at them with inquisitive eyes.

“We have a message from our Konungroi”, replied the one nearest to us.

“Yah, he sent us to bring you to Tregelheim”, said the one on the left.

Again, the third one nodded, flashing a bean-sized grin.

“Tregelheim, I heard that it’s the kingdom of the Lutin Faunus, ruled by a Konungroi single-handedly. Why does he want us?” Tyke interrupted.

“He requires your help”, replied the nearest one.

“Yah, he said that what you seek lies within the confines of Tregelheim”, said the left one.

The third one just looked straight at us, still wearing the same grin.

“Wait, so you’re saying that Nissa is in there?” all three nodded in unison. “How did that happen? We thought she was in Cavum Hogur”, I followed with a puzzled expression.

“Konungroi will explain everything in detail”, said the closest one. He broke free of the frozen hold and went ahead.

“Just go behind the saloon and chant Vordego Exto with your hands pointed to the discolored part”, said the left one. He also broke free of the ice grip pulling the third one with him and ran ahead.

“What do we do now? Should we go for it? I don’t trust them one bit”, said Aina with concerned eyes.

“I don’t think they would go this far if they were lying. Like I said, they usually don’t want to do anything with humans”, he looked discerning.

“I say we go and check it out. Come on, it will be fun”, Tyke said with excitement. “This is legend man, the land of Lutins!”

“So, what’s the plan? Should we go after them?” I asked waiting for a command.

“Let’s not waste any more time. We must prepare ourselves. We must train for a few days and strengthen ourselves”, recommended Bry.

We cleaned the table and started the training. I knew that I had to help somehow and I don’t want to be a heavy burden to Bry and the others. I wanted to be useful somehow. So, I approached Bry hoping that I might succeed in unlocking my powers. He was outside meditating at the back of the inn.

“Ummm… Bry, I wanna ask if you could give me some tips on magic”, I interrupted with genuine interest. Bry gave me a skeptical look. “Oh come on, don’t give me that look. You saw what I did back there. It’s only natural to learn from you”, I said with a slight ascension in pitch.

He considered my request for a moment. “Well, okay. But you must pay strict attention as we are short on time. I will teach you advanced spells based on what I saw back there”, he said appraising my abilities.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s get to it”, I followed up with zest.

He raised his left cloak and another void appeared. He extracted an ancient book showing signs of millennia of aged wisdom. It was a hand width volume and a triple triangle was drawn on the cover. It was made out of tree and animal skin giving it a crusty brown crisp. “This book is called Prizma, this was handed down by the Loa Maximo, he who had attained the essence of all, to select wizards”, he explained while presenting me the book, “This book only shows its contents to those who have potential in attaining the essence of magic.”

“So, in short, you expect me to swallow the whole book in a few days. It barely even fits my mouth”, I complained with a sigh, “How am I supposed to digest all that in time?”

“I thought you said you want to learn magic. This is the fastest method I can think of. I barely even said anything about it yet”

“Okay, okay. So, explain to me this fast method.”

“What I want you to do is visualize the book according to the shape of your true self. If you have found your own shape, the book will become a part of you, simple right?”

“What do you mean by that? How am I supposed to know my own shape?”

“Just look within you or look for something that reminds you of yourself. That’s what the previous owner advised me to do”

He excused himself and left me the book. I reviewed my memories for any “shape” that might remind me of something. I put my hands on the necklace, tracing the pointed figure. Then, I had enlightenment. I closed my eyes and focused on the prize that I got from the market. I traced my eyes on the shape and concentrated on it. I felt a warm breeze blow toward my direction.

I didn’t know that I fell asleep until Aina breathed on me. The strange warmth of her breath alerted my senses. I opened my eyes to another evening. Aina reminded me that it’s dinner time. I boiled the meat until a tender consistency was achieved. Aina chopped some leafy greens and tossed them in the pot. After the food was cooked, we settled down for a while.

“What were you doing there passed out?” Aina asked with a hint of worry.

“Well, I was practicing some magic. I had Bry teach me”, I gestured with the book in my hands.

“How was it?”

“I was just given the basics. I believe I am off to a good start”

“No. Aside from that, any progress yet?”

I caught on, looking down on the book to prevent my blood from flushing. “I wasn’t trying anything with him, Aina”, I eyed her viciously.

“You are such a Chelona sometimes and you think slowly like it. I see how he looks at you and I can see some embers boring from his eyes”, she eyed me with disappointment. “It was your chance girl! How can you let this pass?”

“What an interesting analogy. If only I can see some progress between you and Tyke”

“Oh no girl, don’t turn this on me. I don’t even like the guy”, all of her blood supplied her face. “I mean he’s a nice guy, a little cute and quite zesty. I could just eat this man alive, not that I think about him much or anything. How could you say that?”

“I didn’t say anything”, I pitched.

She sounded like a child caught red-handed. She brought on the topic and it would only be natural to turn the table.

“Oh…” she looked flustered. “I think they have returned. Better prepare the table”, she broke off the conversation.

I joined her and the others at the table. The boys and girls usually sat opposite each other. I can hear some snarling as we sat. It must have been a hard day.

“So, how did you sleep? I mean, have you discovered it yet?” Bry tried to joke but no one’s laughing.

“Umm no, not yet”, I lied scarfing down my plate.

“And I thought I was the funny guy”, Tyke joshed but still no one was laughing.

“Well guys, care to share what you found out from the villagers?” Aina redirected in a cheerful tone.

“Oh, right. We almost forgot about that”, Tyke scratched his head. “We gathered myths that there was once a place called Tregelheim that stood before any settlements were made here”, he paused recalling, “It was a prosperous kingdom that no one can ever touch. The said kingdom had a powerful protection that kept humans away. Not even a speck of dirt from the outside enters the kingdom.” Tyke took a few bites then continued, “Until one day, a team of dark magicians discovered a way to invade Tregelheim. These people learned that the source of all magic is hidden within its walls. The team composed of four people who dedicated their lives in finding the elusive kingdom”, Tyke took a few bites and slurped the soup. “They have succeeded in finding it, but failed to drain its magic. They tried a variety of magic they know to break the container that held all the magic of all entirety. In doing so, they were detected by the Lutins. The Lutin Faunus seized them and led them to Konungroi to decide the fate of the captives. They were ruled to be trapped in Tregelheim forever and became the foothold of the container that holds all the magic.”

“In order to make up for the flawed defenses, the kingdom moved to another plane of existence. It is a place where no one knew existed. The sole purpose of the kingdom’s existence was to protect the essence of all magic at all costs”, Bry took a brief look at me then continued, “So, it is quite surprising that they are letting humans in their territory.”

My mind was fixed on the possible punishment faced by the dark magicians. An eternal sentence was given to them and it meant eternal torture. I imagined, what if one of them tried to escape? Certainly, it would take its revenge on the kingdom. What if they were just luring us in for some ultimate purpose? There was so much speculation and so much food left. I knew I shouldn’t have cooked too much but I was afraid that the meat will spoil soon so I had to take extra measures, literally.

We called it a night and cleaned everything.

It was hard sleeping. I wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about Bry. Everything happened so fast. I just met him at a magical forest called Snubba some days ago. He took me to a village called Frigore where he and her sister lived while I was unconscious. Now, I am on a journey with him. I barely even knew him. I tiptoed to look at his sleeping face. He was sound asleep. I studied his face. He had a nice nose arch, strong jawline and beautiful lips. He called out Nissa three times, pleading. Then, he murmured my name thrice. I wasn’t sure what he’s dreaming about. He stretched his arms to me. I flinched and was set aback. My face turned radiant red and went back to bed. I drifted to sleep instantly.