Zeliria exhaled, its eighty miles of plant life rattling under its mighty breath. Every inhabitant knew it was alive. And it knew who and what resided on it, watching over all as a mother would its children. As the island between Earth's dimensional fields with a seemingly endless ocean, it was at peace.
Of course it knew that if one were to leave it and sail away, those who left would unwittingly find themselves sailing towards the island though at a different angle. There was nothing it could do about that, only say that the one way back to Earth was by an ability only given to a certain two individuals at a time chosen to protect and serve the island's purpose as a safe hold. Until one or both are killed by unnatural means, the power refuses to leave its hosts.
Another way, if you could consider it as such, is through time warp. A nifty tool it only allows when needed but when it wishes to save something or someone it didn't consider before, the portals will go active and travel to any time it desires. They are considered the dead center of the large island, four in a circle but never activated all together as the Core, the power source (heart) of the island cannot submit that much energy at once.
This energy also contributed to other aspects of it. It could speak, either through telepathy for some or the oracle within a faded former Egyptian temple for others who seek it out. It took over the oracle of Sobek the most as it liked the God's protective behavior and morals.
Roughly a hundred smaller islands, each around twenty-six to fifty miles wide created by its will to expand, surrounded the main island and each held different forms of life. Despite this, all were accessible with specially made bridges that connected one to another, giving a sky view a sight of that of a spider's web.
Though most wouldn't believe it, the stories of lost lands, forbidden islands, and mythical places all were based off Zeliria. Neverland, where all who enter never grow older. The Land of the Lost, where items gone in mind that only exist because one believes in it are found. Pandora (James Cameron's Avatar; Jupiter's moon), where the new and untamed are meant to be as such; dire consequences to be had if thou not heeded the warnings.
Its inhabitants were mostly animal and plant. Often times, a majority were saved from a doomed fate without destiny surrounding their life. Dinosaurs resided here because the island knew the Asteroid would come so over several eras, it collected different types and enough of each to keep the population constant. It knew they had to hunt to survive for some and allowed blood to be shed on its grounds but only when they needed the nutrients. No more, no less. And they knew too.
"Mythical" animals like dragons, pegasi, and even creatures thought to have been made from depression of an individual, the Dementors, lived here. One in particular was Zeliria's second protector and servant to its rescue missions. The "Mythicals" were seen on most of the islands if not all but they tended to separate into independent factions through species. At least they are orderly.
Current animals found on Earth also reside here but aren't in as big of an abundance since not a lot of species are threatened at the moment. Animals like the rhino subspecies, elephants, tigers, and other endangered are top priority now. It has rescued enough of them for them to repopulate without Man's interference. Already extinct species like Dodos, Mammoths, Saber-toothed Tigers, and whatnot are thriving on the islands with tundras.
Everything was in balance and it was Zeliria's job to keep it that way.
Max wore his red and orange pirate garb, a parody to that of a British Admiral's uniform, with the same colored makeup forming stripes on his face to give him a fearsome appearance. He used to wear this back in the 1700's as a pirate...when he was a living being. He had several other outfits taken and formatted into his own style from different eras both prior and after his birth era. He was born in 1762, thirteen years before the Revolutionary War. And it amazes him how he got to be.
Under his original name of Malachi Jacova, he started piracy at ten due to his father being betrayed by his own Vice Admiral when the former was the Admiral of the Fleet as well as found to be a wizard. His witch mother was "previously" a pirate captain and he still believed she did piracy under the radar, but she died giving birth to triplet girls: Catherine (Cat), Christine (Chris), and Cadence (Cade).
He stalked the seas with a crew of both women and men as he was one of extreme few who thought of women as able workers like that of a man. He set free slaves, providing them passage back to their original lands, destroyed a mass amount of ships carrying supplies and soldiers, and made sure he went unopposed. But he also had the aid of that of a Dementor he named Kia (Ky-a; "season's beginning").
He ended up finding a nest when he was six where a dying Dementor had laid eggs constructed from the souls it took from humans and animals. Most of the souls failed, resulting in their cargo's deaths but one thrived on both the soul and the mixture of energies coming from a set of crystals it resided next to. When the energy pulsed and caved into a physical form, Kia came to be. An eyeless skeleton creature with pieces of cloth-like appendages growing on its bones, sharp teeth, and no legs. Its claws raked across his arm in a delicate manner, as if it thought he was family.
His parents fell in love with it and raised it alongside of Max before their untimely deaths only six months apart.
Later, he found out it preferred to use the pronoun "she" and since she was one of few Dementors seen with a larger spine vertebrae, all who were structured the same he used the same pronoun of "she" for.
Both of them made their legends clear throughout the wizarding and normal worlds within three years. That was until a terrible storm unlike anything ever recorded prior struck the seas and poor Antagonizer lost its crew. Kia and Max fell into the water and nearly drowned. His sisters were thankfully on land with a paid long-term nanny.
Then he was taken in. Zeliria transported him with his infant siblings and Kia in tow in a blinding light. Only their silhouettes were visible to him. Turns out Zeliria raised the Antagonizer with his revival and refused to keep him and his siblings apart. It knew Kia was also a member of his family. He still had the ship in his waterfront caverns.
Apparently, the island needed a new protector, one who could keep harmony among the planet's delicate life scale. In return of saving him, all it asked was to keep the balance...well...balanced. If a species was dying, bring as many of said species to the island. And so on…
The rest was history.
It was a demanding job but he could handle it. There were, unfortunately, rules about the island and his immortality. Rule one: only those whose fates are doomed or have no destiny can be taken to Zeliria. Meaning if a child is under seventeen and has no apparent future or will die before that age, he or she can be rescued. This formed something along the "Peter Pan" legend as "Lost Boys", but he saved girls too. Animals can be saved regardless of age. If a child is abused, however but has a destiny, the island cannot interfere with those affairs as much as it dislikes. Even it has limits on its abilities.
Rule two: if gone without visiting the island at least once before three months have passed, the individual (in this case, Max) is susceptible to aging where he or she left off. This defied the "Peter Pan" stories' rule that only Peter couldn't age. All in Zeliria can't age or grow from their previous sizes san current time period animals. Max was thirteen when he "died", one of the youngest pirate captains to date. In total, he aged a good twelve years over two and a half centuries.
Technically, the girls were nine years younger than him. But when he came to Zeliria, they stayed in the care of the island and his greatest friend, Kia, while he was sent out for years upon years of service to retrieve fate-less animals and humans. Hence the great age difference with horrible math and logic. He did have them finally go to Earth for six years to age somewhat but now they've picked up on all sorts of "muggle" and wizarding tricks, abilities, and whatnots.
Since they had years of training, none of them need wands, voices, or other items to perform magic. Whether this makes them one of the most powerful magical folks in the world is undetermined, nor do they care.
Rule three: once on the island, Zeliria cannot allow anything to leave unless it needs him, her, or it to. Nothing from its original plant life or animals can be taken into Earth's realm. If you carry an item through a portal or any rift Zeliria creates, it will prevent you from entering said transports. It's unfortunate but it is how it is considering some plant life here could cure diseases never thought to be stoppable before. Rules are rules though as Zeliria cannot interfere with the affairs of Man or Earth along these subjects.
Now Zeliria has many "lost" children from all different timelines: from the Mesopotamian cradle to the recent Generation Z as they've been labeled. Only two boys and two girls from each civilization really stayed as the protector's apprentices on the main island, the rest were transferred to several of the smaller islands to live as they desire. Often times, half of the children rescued from each era were with magical abilities.
A lot of them were rescued by previous protectors who died doing their jobs. It was impossible to die by natural means like diseases, poisons produced by plants and animals, and body dysfunctions but it wasn't impossible to be struck down by weapons, the attributes of creatures, or even that of off-worldly intrusions. Immortality, in this case, only applied to age really with a few normally deadly methods.
A reflection of this magnitude saddened him but also set him free. He had the chance to do things no one else could ever imagine alongside his best friend and his sisters. A freedom he knew was the best he could get. Roaming the high seas during his time alive was a type of freedom that still had limits. You couldn't go certain places without getting shot and/or hanged; you certainly had to watch your six all the times for both the Royal Navy and other pirates, and so on and so forth.
Here, the only thing that he has to do is simple rescue those in need.
"Kia, what do you think we should do in the wizarding world today? I think our abandoned mansion has collected enough dust as of late down there or maybe you'd wish to flirt with that rather bulky Deme…"
WHACK! He sorely rubbed his head in annoyance as he heard a low baritone chuckle emit from the prideful creature. "You're a dick, you know that? Can't even take a joke," he grumbled.
The Dementor twirled a few large rocks on the tips of her fingers, keeping her head swayed to the side as if to look innocent. Yeah right! Another little aspect of Dementors was their strength that could amount to lifting about three trucks worth of pounds. As far as he's seen, most Dementors don't use it since strength isn't needed in their many fields of work. When used, however, it can be very intimidating.
Max hopped off the ledge he was standing on with playful distaste. He knew she didn't mean any real harm, and it made him laugh on the inside. Moving inland, he passes the system of child-sized houses built throughout the larger-than-life priya trees, one of the native species of plant life only found on the islands. Talk about your ultimate treehouses.
The children had decorated their own homes from their own cultural designs, honoring their heritage with the greatest of praise. Some were siblings so they lived together while most others were single and didn't have to worry about sharing their quarters. If he really had to choose his favorite male and female apprentices, he would probably go with Iccauhtli ("younger brother"), a humble son of the Aztec people, and Daiyu Liu ("gem of the willow tree"), a young maiden of China.
Both of them were always on top of any missions given to them and they make a wonderful tag team. Not saying the others aren't as dedicated, they just don't immediately stop what they're doing and go in unprepared like these two do. It was quite impressive.
"Awinita, what are the statistics of the northern islands? How are their mountain tundras holding up?"
A Native American Cherokee girl rushed to his side with a binder scribbled with sticky notes to where none of its color could be seen in a blanket of dull yellow. She and her brother, Nahuel, knew more about nature than any other culture save for African-based and some South American-based. They offered to watch over Zeliria's seasonal changes and climate, not to mention island behavior.
The girl smiled, "Slight tremors in the region but no signs of any volcanic activity. Snow's been coming down hard but I don't think the mammoths or polar bears are really too concerned about it. Arctic dinosaurs have no sudden changes in behavior to this large outpour, and our Eskimo brethren have informed us seafood levels have raised in demand. Other than that, I'd say everything's alright."
Max smirked in return, "What about breeding levels for the Mythicals? Kia implied that many Dementors this year are reluctant to mate as Earth Dementors keep stealing the damn souls needed to breed. We're against taking innocent souls but I don't know what to do as Kia's kind is that of Egyptian Dementors whom of which are extinct now and need anything they can get to created more of their species."
"Instead of always saving children who are going to die, just take their souls right before they pass away," Awinita replied.
Awinita suddenly winced as the ground rumbled only beneath them, followed by a shadowed growl that seemed to come from the sky more so than the island. Max looked around wide-eyed before glaring at his Native apprentice, "I don't think it likes that idea, nor do I."
"Would you believe it if I said I was joking?" She sheepishly whispered. "Anyways...the other Mythicals are doing fine as recent status indicates. Nothing to worry there, except well…"
Max still looked angered slightly by her "joke" so she just bowed and walked away. As much as he couldn't stand those who use major dilemmas as jokes, he knew she meant well. Zeliria obviously wouldn't allow it but in a way, Awinita had a point. If they couldn't find damned souls for the Dementors to feed on, who would they use? The island would have to choose: save the Dementor population or save children and young adults, both of whom have futures but only one has more than enough members of its species. Checkmate.
This pressure is something Zeliria hates to endure. It was made to protect all life but when it came to one species over another, even it was lost and stuck between a rock and a hard place.
We shall forgive both you and Awinita for that horrid suggestion of you heed our request.
We need you to go to the English isles known as Great Britain or the United Kingdom. There you will find a wizard boy of seventeen who is attending a school named Hogwarts in the Scottish premises. Take your sisters and Kia there to "attend" as teacher, assistant, and pre-students. He is in no need of saving but a disturbance is there we do not want near the other students. He will help you and you him. The children here will be fine on their own.
Remember the rules of magic and do not dwindle on time as three months you have before your immortality falters. Use that time wisely.
"I understand. I'm assuming this is the school that survived Tom Riddle's final stand and Harry Potter's melancholy victory?"
The voice chuckled, Yes. Also, find Krampus in the Northern site of Wales. He may know what the disturbance is doing near the school if not anything about it at all. We would reveal more, but that would be too easy for you, wouldn't it?
Ignoring Zeliria's sense of humor, Max signaled Kia to follow before he headed to his overgrowth-covered mansion near the time warp field at the center of the island. Trees often lounged over the building offering shade but some actually grew through the manor ruins, providing something of a more natural view of life. It also let squirrels and whatnots into his home, not that he cared unless one of them got into his room or items.
"Cat! Chris! Cade! We have work to do! We get to spend some time among Hogwarts' students for a year. And you're coming with me so pack your bags, girls! Kia, prepare the warp gate for transport and I'll pack your things," Max smirked. Kia nodded once and left. He heard the three girls shuffle on one of the floors above as he gathered any items he may need in case he ran into certain creatures as well as other Earthly problems.
About thirty minutes later, all five were packed and ready to go back to Earth. The other children waved goodbye while some called it out instead, watching their protector enter the warp gate to his next adventure with the girls and Kia in tow.
AN: Technically this can be in either the Transformers Universe or the Harry Potter Universe depending on which you prefer. I've actually had this idea of Max and Kia for a while. I also wanted to expand on the Neverland mythology but with Max being both Peter (his good side) and Captain Hook (his bad side).
