Hay Lin slept peacefully in her bed. But was it her bed? It didn't feel like it. It felt hard and stiff. She opened her eyes to see she was lying in a crystalline bed. She realized she wasn't where she was supposed to be. She tried hard to remember where she was before.
Howling wind came outside the room. This definitely wasn't Heatherfield. She looked outside the window to see a mountain of snow-covered plains. A large city, she presumed, laid beneath her eyes. It was beautiful.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Came a squirmy voice. Hay Lin turned around to see a light-blue person. Only with wings. He was dressed in a light blue robe, and had a cute pudgy face. Indigo hair fell into its eyes.
"Um...who are you?"
"I'm Breeze, welcome to the Capital City of Atmos," the faerie said.
Hay-Lin was feeling dizzy –was that really a fairy standing in front of her? The previous day's happenings then came back to her –the portal Will found, Odarin, Lord of Order from Urak.
'I must be in Urak now,' and then a more unsettling thought crossed her mind, 'Where are the others!'
There wasn't anybody else in the room except Breeze. Hay-Lin now noticed the walls were made of ice –but the room temperature was pleasantly warm. On the opposite side of the crystalline 'bed' was a large window –big enough for a person to fall through!
'Yup, definitely Urak.'
While Hay-Lin was scrutinizing the chamber Breeze was inspecting her."You're a strange Storm Sorceress," he said –glancing curtly at her fashionable jeans and trendy spaghetti top.
"She's obviously from the border," a shorter fairy entered the room.
"Ah…this is Harrieta," Breeze gestured at the new fairy –her skin was pale blue and her hair was the brightest purple. Strangely Harrieta's eyes were the same color.
"My name is Hay-Lin," the guardian introduced herself.
"Pleased to meet you," Harrieta said then turned to Breeze, "I'll help the Sorceress –you're needed at one of the crystal mines."
"What's going on there?"
"Renegades," she said with distaste.
Breeze left immediately at the mention of this word –the traitors who would rather abandon their people than fight for what they believe in.
Harrieta now walked to the window –(or more likely, hole in the wall) –and gestured Hay-Lin to follow.
They were so high mist and clouds hid the ground; around the icy summit they were in other peaks reached even higher to the gray sky while the wind was still moaning its melancholic melody.
For the first time Hay-Lin noticed Harrieta's wings, they were translucent and sparkled softly when the light shone on it –almost invisible.
"Well, let's get going," the fairy said, took hold of Hay-Lin's wrist and jumped out of the window.For a moment they dipped into the clouds then rose above them again.
The wind rocked Hay-Lin's skinny body from side to side and back to front –she felt as if she was dangling dangerously from the side of a cliff.
But soaring over this fantasy cloud world dotted with crests of ice with the cool air blowing in her face was exhilarating –a more thrilling sight and flight could never be found in Heatherfield.
Harrieta descended again, it seemed to Hay-Lin only seconds ago she was still standing at the edge of the window in the room where she woke up.
The ground was now noticeable; a white blanket of snow covered everything while white, fluffy flakes were being propelled to earth by the ever-present wind.
Behind them was a wall of jagged ice –like teeth –but not rising quite as high is the peaks beyond it.
Not far away from them another shard of ice tried to grasp the clouds and mist above.
"That's the Storm Giant Wizard's Tower," Harrieta said and pointing to a lumpy ice formation added, "and the Library."
She then hovered over the snow and flew slowly enough for Hay-Lin to keep up to the Tower –leaving Hay-Lin to plough through the knee-deep snow.
Before long they reached the Tower and entered. Stalactites and stalagmites dripped hither thither inside and near the frozen roof a bluish white orb hung suspended in the air with a silver thread spiraling around its beamed light. To the left a staircase twirled upwards.
Directly under the spiral light something classified as a 'giant' sat behind a crystalline desk.
It had broad shoulders and a long white beard, a shining metal helmet with a blue cape to top it all off. His skin wasn't pale like Harrieta's but dark blue.
'Do these people ever see sunlight?' the thought just popped up in Hay-Lin's mind.
"This is the Steward of the Tower," Harrieta explained.
"Good day, Iowan," she addressed the Sorcerer.
"What can I do for you two?" the giant asked in a booming voice.
On the glassy desk Harrieta placed twelve crystals, "Mana potion."
Iowan took all the crystals in his large, blue hand, "Wait here for a moment," and walked to the right where he disappeared behind a gray door.
In the silence that followed Hay-Lin asked, "Was there anyone else with me when I got here?"
To reply Harrieta just shook her head, causing the unruly purple hair to bounce.
Hay-Lin's heart sank –she was alone in an icy slash creepy world –she didn't know what to do next.
The greatest question was: 'How do I get back home?' She'll have to go and talk to this Odarin guy –he is, after all, the one responsible for sending her here.
Suddenly she remembered the Lord of Order's words and hope started to glimmer in her mind.
'They are here…they must be here!' She thought excitedly.
So it's not 'alone in Urak'…just 'alone in Atmos'.
This comforted Hay-Lin to know that her friends were in the same world as she even if it would take days to reunite with them again.
Iowan then returned with a small, dark blue bottle; its base was flat and wide and the glass curved up to form the bottleneck, a round light blue, glass stopper was wedged firmly into place. Inside a dark liquid bubbled and fizzed.
Harrieta bided the Storm Sorcerer a good day, and then they left again. As soon as they were back outside Harrieta handed the bottle to Hay-Lin.
"Drink a few drops of this when you're in trouble."
This time, when the fairy hovered over the snow, she gently lifted Hay-Lin to hover too.
They didn't take as long as the previous time to arrive at their new destination –a cave with a wooden door.
"Welcome to my humble home," Harrieta said and opened the door for Hay-Lin to enter.
The cave inside was a lot bigger than it looked like outside, and much more cozier too. To be honest, it didn't look like the interior of a cave at all.
Comfy chairs formed a circle with a little glass table in the middle. Portraits of other faeries braced the smooth walls and at the farthest corner was a bookshelf lined with books. A colorful carpet covered the cold stone floor. Near the roof an orb light also hovered.
"Sit down," Harrieta said and walked to an arch, which led to another room. Hay-Lin could see a white marble counter and a lot of cupboards from the soft chair where she plopped down exhaustedly.
Shortly the fairy returned with a beaker containing a fizzy, golden drink and a dish where four oat cookies rested. Putting everything down on the table in front of Hay-Lin.
"You must be starved," she observed and sat down on the chair opposite of Hay-Lin.
As Hay-Lin started to nibble on the delicious cookie she noticed something: nobody had asked her why she is here…what was her business in Atmos. This question should be essential for stranger in the City if this world was at war.
They were at war with each other…Hay-Lin knew it the instant Harrieta mentioned renegades.
For some reason they called her a 'Storm Sorceress'…a strange one but still a sorceress. Everything in this place reminded her of the element she controlled: Air.
Now that Harrieta was certain her guest was comfortable she started to chat about recently important stuff.
In half an hour Hay-Lin had learned about the eight regions in Urak corresponding to the eight faiths namely: Life and Death, Fire and Water, Chaos and Order and Earth and Air.
She also found out that the Air Region was allied with the Life- and Order Region –"We watch each other's backs."
Suddenly the wooden front door was ripped of its hinges to be replaced by three Dark Halberdiers carrying gruesome looking halberds and dressed entirely in black. They surveyed the inside of the cave until their beady little eyes came to rest on Hay-Lin.
"Get down!" Harrieta screamed, she let fly an arrow from her bow –hitting the closest Halberdier smack in his heart.
Hay-Lin ducked to miss a deadly halberd just in time.
'I'm in trouble, right?' she asked herself while she quickly pulled out the stopper of the dark blue bottle.
Without warning Harrieta screamed again, but in pain –she fell to the floor and remained there in a crumpled heap.
'Right,' a little voice in the girl's head confirmed and she swallowed five drops.
As if things weren't strange enough already –Hay-Lin transformed into a guardian, but the outfit was different: her leggings were now pale blue and white, the skirt was white with pale blue swirls and her mid-drift was Lavender purple and made of the finest silk. All that remained the same was her shoes and wings.
From her hand a white light erupted, it surged its way across the chamber to another bad guy.
Only when the light reached him –he shuddered all over –did Hay-Lin realize this was lightning.
Storm Sorceress? 'Two down only one more to go,' she thought and was about blow the Dark Elf far away from here when a searing pain cut across her left leg. It was unlike any pain she ever felt; slow but persistent as if her flesh was rotting slowly away –it was. Now all energy was used to keep her upright from the staggering pain."Make it stop!" was the last thing Hay-Lin mumbled before she lost consciousness.
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Disclaimer: My darling cousin and me don't own Lords of Magic by Sierra and Just Play! Games.
x Fatal Fable x