Chapter One: Fire in the Sky
Long ago, atop a vast mountain overlooking the kingdom of San Theodoros, a group of strong men were hard at work. They were jungle sailors, the men who sailed deep into the kingdom's jungles and gathered loads of medicinal plants and hauls of wood from the jungle. Horses awaited them, waiting with empty wagons to be hauled aboard the ships. Each cargo was hauled onto a wagon, which would then be taken to the village to sell. Being a jungle sailor was a dangerous job; one could easily get lost in the jungles, or worse—get eaten alive by savage predators.
A little boy stood on the deck of the ship, watching the men. He had kept a small wagon by his side. His name was Young Gi Park. He had always wanted to join the jungle sailors, but he was too young. Standing next to him was his friend Chabela, a female baby foal. The two friends had always dreamed of one day becoming the best sailors in all the kingdom. As Chabela sniffed the musty summer air, she snorted and whinnied.
As night began to fall, Chabela finally made it out into the jungles with her wagon and Young by her side. Young managed to haul as much plants and blocks of chopped wood as he could onto the wagon. From afar, the men had already lit small lanterns to continue their work. Working quietly, Young slowly attached the wagon to Chabela's harness.
"C'mon Chabela!" Young cried out as he and his horse friend trailed behind the other wagons to follow them into the village. From above, the stars twinkled and shined as they filled the night sky, accompanying the moon.
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In a clear, grassy valley next to a deep inset of mountain, the palace of San Theodoros lay still in the night. The brightness of the moon scattered throughout the valley, waking a little girl. She smiled as she saw the bright lights overhead.
She jumped out of bed and tiptoed over the bed where her adoptive sister slept. "Psst! Alex! Alex!" she whispered. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" The other girl simply rolled over and mumbled, "Malina, go back to bed." "But I just can't!" Malina said, piling onto Alex. "The sky's awake, so I'm awake. And so we have to play!" "Go play on your own!" Alex whispered, pushing Malina off her bed. Feeling disappointed, an idea struck Malina.
Malina climbed back onto the bed, leaned over to Alex's ear, and whispered, "Do you want to build a snowman?" That got Alex's attention.
The little girls were the daughters of King Antonio and Queen Treasure of San Theodoros. Malina's own parents had died from a kingdom raid some many years ago, and Alex's family was happy enough to adopt her into the royal family. They were also best friends. Sometimes, Alex could not resist her sister's begging. The two ran downstairs and into the Great Hall, clad in their nightgowns, and laughing as they entered the hall.
"Do the magic, Alex!" Malina giggled. "Do the magic!" Alex laughed as she waved her hands, and a flurry of fire was conjured up! "Ooh!" Malina cooed. "Are you ready?" Alex asked, and Malina nodded yes. Alex then sent fire up into the sky, creating snowflake-shaped sparks in the air! "This is amazing!" Malina exclaimed, laughing happily. She knew that her sister had a special gift: she could create fire, even in the middle of winter! "Alex, watch this!" Malina said as she pressed one foot down on the floor, and ice shot out from under! Malina was also born with a special ability, but instead, she could create ice!
After Malina summoned icy mounds of fluffy snow into the Great Hall, the two sisters set to work on their snowman. They did their best to roll out the body for the snowman, but it came out shaped like a ferret! Alex then ran to get black pebbles for its eyes and nose. "Snow ferret!" Malina exclaimed. Alex then hid behind the snow mound, pretending to be the snow ferret, and said in a deep voice, "Hi, I'm Rascal! And I love warm hugs!" "I love you Rascal!" Malina said as they danced around their funny snow ferret.
Next, Alex used her fire to clear a path in a giant mound of snow to make a slide for Malina as she used her ice to create a loop and fall into a pile of snow. Popping up from the snow, Malina began hopping from stone mounds created by Alex's molten fire. "Hang on!" Alex said as Malina began to enjoy the game. "Catch me!" Malina said, and Alex made another stone. Alex had to work fast, as Malina was picking up speed with each hop. "Again!" Malina shouted. Alex was rapidly creating more stone pillars.
"Malina, slow down!" Alex said, growing worried. "It's too high!" But Malina did not hear her, for she was having too much fun. Alex tried her best to keep up with Malina's speed, but after creating another stone pillar, her foot slipped, and she fell. Suddenly, her magic began to grow haywire. "Whee!" Malina said, jumping as high as she could. "Malina, STOP!" Alex shouted…and accidentally sent a blast of fire at Malina's head!
Malina suddenly collapsed onto the floor, unconscious. "Malina!" Alex exclaimed as she rushed over to her sister's hot and warm body. A lock of Malina's brown hair turned a dark raven-black in the spot where the magic hit it. "Mama! Papa!" Alex cried out helplessly. The more she called out for help, the more her worry began to increase. The snow began to melt suddenly, and the icicles lining the ceiling began to form drops of water. "Hang on, Malina," Alex said, hugging her sister. "I got you."
Suddenly, the king and queen burst into the Great Hall to find their daughters huddled together in a somewhat melted, frozen landscape. They knew that their daughters both possessed their own special abilities. But as for Alex's fiery powers, this was more than what they had ever seen before, in their whole lives.
"Alexandria," King Antonio exclaimed, "what have you done? This is getting out of hand!" "I'm sorry! It wasn't my fault! I swear!" Alex cried. "Malina!" Queen Treasure cried out and gently grabbed Malina in her arms.
"Oh no," Queen Treasure said as she felt Malina's forehead. "She's burning hot." King Antonio had an idea. "I know where we have to go," he said in a dark tone.