Chapter 1: Leilani's Awakening
Screams of agony and pain can be heard as everything was on fire, the innocent pleaded for their life as they were engulfed in flames.
"No...No…! Everyone get away!"
Leilani flung up from her bed panting, she looked around in confusion as she scanned the room out of fear, it was the same nightmare. A world on fire, she was watching it all burn and could hear the innocent people cry out for help but she could not help them. What was the meaning of this dream? Who caused the fire? But most importantly, why was she watching them suffer? The room she was in was hot and humid, it was only seventy degrees today, she looked at the thermostat next to her bed and the air conditioner was on cool? Why was it so hot?
She sighed rolling out of bed, swinging her feet to the side of the bed and gave a long but quiet stretch. Another sigh left her lips and she marched toward her bathroom to prepare for her long, but miserable college life. Leilani stood in the mirror with messy black black hair and orange highlights, she examined herself with half-lidded eyes and turned on the faucet. The silence in the morning was golden to her and this was a peaceful way for her to wake up. Though the silence was appreciated, it was swiftly disrespected by her mother banging on her door.
" Afa'fine ! Afa'fine! Wake your butt up and get to class! You're going to be late again!" Her mother shouted through the door.
Leilani cocked her head toward her alarm clock on her nightstand, "Argh! Why didn't my alarm go off!" She shouted and began rushing to get ready; First, she brushed her teeth in a rushed manner making a complete mess around her mouth. Next, she scurried over to her closet and didn't bother to match today, she slipped into a pair of army green joggers, a white tank-top that stopped above her stomach, and black bomber jacket. And finally, she shoved all of her books into her bag ignoring the organization of it. She gave one last scan around the room, snatched her phone from her bed and burst through her bedroom door running down the stairs. Leilani sat down throwing her bag down next to her chair, she began scarfing her food down with no regards for chewing.
"Slow down Afa'fine! I'll knock you in the head if you keep running in the house like that and chew young lady!" Her mother scolded Leilani as she sat to eat.
"Teuila...you don't have to threaten her, she's already late." Leilani's father said adjusting his newspaper.
"But still Fetu...she's going to fall in here one day and then we have to pay for some bone she broke, hell we might have to do CPR on her because she choked!" Teuila said and placed her hands on her hips watching Leilani eat.
"Mmph...Gotta go! Bye tina ma tama!" She struggled to speak due to stuffing her face, she grabbed her bag racing to the door then to her bike. She hopped on her bike and began pedaling down the busy New York street, listening to irate drivers, construction, and blaring horns. The best part about this bike ride was the breeze that blew her wavy black and orange hair, it was soothing and helped her take her mind off being late. Leilani closed her eyes to take in the breeze.
As Leilani coasted down the street, she opened her eyes and saw an old man stepping out to cross the street. In a split second, she gripped the handlebars and swerved around him. Leilani lost control of her bike for a second but gained control, "SORRY!" She shouted back at him and saw her university insight.
Leilani threw her bike into a stall and locked it, she didn't have a reason to ride it on campus for now since she parked it next to the building. Stumbling off the bike she continued racing toward her Classical studies class, after a few seconds she barged into her class panting and combed back her beautiful black and orange hair breathing heavily.
"And Leilani Mahoe ?" Professor Dunn said as he peeked over his glasses.
"Present…" she huffed gulping slightly and awkwardly made her way to her seat sitting in the back, like usual.
"Impressive timing might I add ...On another note, Welcome to Classical Studies: Intro to Mythology. I'm sure you all signed up thinking this would be a boring lecture about the myths, legends, and their philosophies. But we will actually be focusing on the characters within the tall tales, folk lore's, and legends." Professor Dunn said as he began handing out the syllabus while getting to know his students more. Professor Odion Dunn was a well respected man on campus, he was known to have the answer to every problem a student might have on campus. His wisdom and knowledge would never fail, his judgment was always fair and he swore to always be just in his decisions against his students whether they are wrong or right. He was a dark skinned man, white hair (but not because of age), Hazel eyes, all complimented by his thin frame glasses that he would occasionally peek over to judge his students, not directly, but mentally reminding himself of their shortcomings.
This was unbearable. Leilani wanted to get out of her seat already and do something, anything besides sitting in this room listening to him speak, she couldn't bear the thought of sitting still any longer. In the midst of drowning out Professor Dunn's introduction, She closed her eyes not noticing she had dozed off for a moment as Professor Dunn made his rounds.
As Leilani closed her eyes the dream from this morning reoccurred, in the dream she looked around in terror and covered her ears hearing the screams getting louder, the flames roared around her. Outside of this dream, things began to change around her, the discomfort on her face was evident and the orange highlights in her hair began to glow softly and she began to emit a soft heat wave within the classroom.
"Is it getting hot in here or just me?" A student asked.
"It's like a sauna! Crack a window open!"
Professor Dunn approached Leilani and noticed an increase in temperature, at first, he simply watched the heat waves rise off of her. He tapped Leilani after a few seconds of watching and she woke up in a startled manner, the room returned to its normal temperature. "No napping in class Ms. Mahoe" he said giving her a syllabus. Leilani was confused, she felt warm, her heart was racing and she looked rather shocked. She nodded at his advice and gulped, "Y-Yes sir. I won't...I apologize…" she said looking around at the people who were fanning themselves and claiming they were hot just a few moments ago. She was unaware of the rise in temperature she caused, so she ignored it and turned her attention back to Professor Dunn.
After Professor Dunn's class, Leilani went to her other class with the nightmare still lingering in the back of her mind, she couldn't understand why she was having these burning nightmares. As she thought about the nightmare she soon had a feeling of remorse, she felt as if she should go to Professor Dunn's office and apologize for falling asleep during his introduction to the class. As she stood under the shade of an oak tree, she felt a strange presence shroud her, it made her shiver and feel uneasy.
"Hello...sorry to bother you young lady...I know you are busy and...and you have classes but can you spare an old man a few coins...I'm famished…" the old man said giving a reassuring smile and gripped his cane to keep himself up.
Leilani watched the old man carefully, she still felt this strange presence emitting from him but what made her comfortable was that it wasn't threatening. "Umm...yeah ? Sure I don't mind sure. We all have to eat" she said. While walking to the nearest cafe on campus, she made sure to stay ahead of him just in case something happened and she needed to get away. The two walked into the cafe and she stood next to him reaching into her bag to get her wallet.
"Get whatever you want sir, don't worry about how much it will cost." She said smiling at him.
"Ah! Such a nice young lady, and here I thought this generation was a bunch of spoiled, inconsiderate brats. I really do appreciate it!" The old man said and stared at the menu, not quite sure what to order. "What is a hot item that people get from this establishment?" he asked stroking and scratching his beard. Leilani still felt this unnerving presence emitting from the old man, she still didn't feel like she was in danger, was it her gut feeling or something else. Suddenly, she noticed that she was zoning out and shook her head groaning. "Sorry, I heard the sandwiches are really good especially if you get it with the coffee?" She suggested.
"Ahh, Yes love! Sandwiches with coffee does sound like a great idea! I'll take that! Three sandwiches and two cups of coffee!" He said.
Leilani's eyes widen at his request and laughed nervously, she was shocked by his order but didn't mind it. She left the table walking over to the counter, still feeling uneasy about the man but so far he has not raised any suspicion. Leilani placed the old man's order, grabbed the two coffees off the counter, and returned to him. "Alrighty, your good should be out in a few minutes, would you like anything else? Order as much as you want, I don't mind helping you out" she said smiling softly at the old man.
"You're such a generous young lady, I can tell you were made for big things, ah I do have one more thing to ask of you. I need one dollar to use the pay phone, I have to call an important family member after I eat" the old man said giving a warm smile showing his yellow teeth.
Leilani saw his smile, it made her laugh nervously and it was a bit awkward, "Sure it's an important call am I right?" She joked continuing her awkward laugh that slowly died down. Reaching into her backpack for her wallet she felt that same overwhelming presence shroud over her, she accidentally peeked over her shoulder and locked eyes with the old man. Was it him with that immense pressure? Leilani grabbed her wallet and turned back around smiling, "Here you go." She said handing him four quarters. The old man graciously accepted the quarter's stuffing them into his old jacket, and then an employee from the cafe approached them with a tray of sandwiches.
"Looks like your food is here...I hope you enjoy your meal , I have to go meet with my professor. Try to stay safe out there" Leilani said as she stood up, slipping on her backpack, and pushing in her chair.
"Yes! Yes! Thank you so much! You're a kind and gentle heart, you are the kind of people we need in this world! I promise young lady, you will become something great!" He preached as he shook her hand.
Leilani felt embarrassed and she smiled shyly with a soft chuckle, "No no it's fine, you don't have to thank me, I'm just doing what I think is right. Anyway sir, I really must be going. Have a great afternoon" she said walking away and began marching toward Professor Dunn's office.
After a few minutes, Leilani made it to Professor Dunn's office and right before she knocked she heard him ranting, the subject was unclear but his voice sounded very different than before.
"I-I tell you—it's that girl, I promise! I know everything sir, how dare you question my knowledge! Need I remind you that you came to me because I am wise and — ".
Leilani opened the door and gave a shy wave, "Is this a bad time? I can always come back later?" She asked peeking her head through the crevice of his door. Odion made a weird noise, one that sounded like a cluck, a noise that would come from birds. "No no no! Please come in! What can I do for you, my young pupil!" He said as he was already nervous, tapping his fingers together forcing a smile and praying that she doesn't question the noise.
"Did you—?" She questioned raising her eyebrows referring to the cluck.
"Nope ! I have no idea what you are talking about young one! Must've been one of those damn pigeons outside! Oh how I despise those beady eye scavengers !" Odion said trying to play off the event and ended up giving an awkward laugh.
"R-Right ...anyway...I just came to apologize to you for falling asleep in your class. I thought that was extremely rude of me, I was raised better and I feel horrible...I—"
"No need to apologize dear, sleep is a primary function for humans, it is something we all require. I'm sure you didn't get the proper amount of sleep so a little nap never hurt anyone." Odion said clearing his throat and examined the girl closely. At this moment, Leilani nodded and smiled softly, "Thank you Professor Dunn...you're so nice I won't let you down this semester I promise, " she said as her eyes began to gaze around the room, she did this to get to know the professor's taste and noticed that there were a lot of hieroglyphics. But as her wandering eyes scanned the room she stopped seeing a giant, decrepit, and leathery book behind a glass display. "What's that?" She asked motioning over to it.
"Oh that? It's my book...I mean! It's the uhhh...Umm The Book of Thoth..! It is said to contain ancient texts that have been lost and knowledge beyond comprehension...but it is just a replica of course!" He said trying to turn her attention from it.
Leilani gave him a puzzled look, "Thoth?" She asked as her hand touched the glass, she suddenly felt her hand phase through the glass, it wasn't her own doing that caused this phase. Leilani grabbed the book and felt a surge of power and knowledge flowing through her, she closed her eyes and saw the nightmare she was having unfolding, but this time it gave her the answers she sought. The one who caused the destruction was her, she had murdered thousands and showed no remorse.
"Leilani back away!" Odion scolded her and made her drop the book.
"What the hell is that thing!? It showed me my nightmare that I've been having and it was me! It was me who killed all those people with fire and rocks!" She said huffing, the look in her eyes expressed fear and uneasiness. Leilani shook her head and her vision was blurry, she looked up as her eyes focused and saw a Odion had a bird head instead of a human one, "Professor Dunn!? Why do you have a bird head! What is going on!?"
Odion was worried and began to panic and squawk "No need to worry dear! You are simply seeing things! I do not have a bird head I assure you!" He said waving his hands. Since Leilani was never exposed to this type of magic before, it took a different effect on her, it allowed her to temporarily see Odion in his true form. But she was able to understand the destruction she was going to cause in the distant future.
"Leilani, I'm sure what you saw was a bit hard to understand but...it is a prophecy that involves you...somewhere down the line after a really intense war...Pele, the Goddess of Volcanoes bestowed her powers to the world in hopes that one day, a kind and gentle hearted person would receive them and fight the darkness that is approaching…I believe you have her powers Ms. Mahoe…"Odion explained and prayed that she would understand, and possibly even be excited to join him in his mission to stop this darkness.
Leilani held her head and was confused, she didn't know how to feel about all of this information, "Me? Powers of a goddess? That's crazy, I don't believe you...I'm going to leave Professor Odion. I'm sorry to have intruded on whatever you were doing...but I'm not this person or goddess or whatever.." Leilani left Odion's office, she checked the time on her phone and huffed beginning to run to her bike. "Damnit... I'm going to be late for work!" She groaned racing to her bike, and once she got there she unlocked it and began her ride. As she made her way to work, her mind began to ponder on the information that Odion gave her, it was all overwhelming and she could not sit right with it. 'Goddess of Volcanoes?' , 'Impending darkness?' , and 'other gods?' She thought about all of these topics and just couldn't believe what Odion was saying, how can all of this be true, but the real thought in her head was the meaning of her dream. How could she hurt all those people? Where was that going to happen? But more importantly, why was it happening?
Leilani arrived at work at exactly 4:59 pm, she was supposed to be there at 5:00 pm so this was cutting it close. She worked at a family owned Chinese restaurant named Chou's, she's been there since high school working as a waitress, low pay but decent tips. Leilani stormed into the restaurant panting and stumbling. She clocked in at 5:01pm. "You're late again Leilani, do I have to take that out of your paycheck young lady!" Ken called out from behind the counter as he was counting money and wrote down the amount he counted, he slammed the register and went to talk to Leilani.
"No sir, please don't do that I really need the money. I'm sorry for coming late , I really am I was talking to my professor about class and—" she was then cut off by her upset manager.
"I don't care, you were late last week and twice the week before that, I keep giving you chance after chance, that's it. One more tardy and you're fired. Understood?" He asked huffing as he pushed passed her. Ken was known for being a rough and aggressive manager, he usually threatened his employees to make sure they perform to their best. The rather round man headed to the kitchen to enforce his authority, his voice echoed as he scolded the chefs to raise the temperature of the food and to make sure that it is not cold for the customers.
Leilani sighed and felt stressed, she quickly went into the women's restroom and began changing into her work attire; a long sleeve dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black sleeveless vest, black slacks, black bow tie, and slip-resistant shoes. She quickly came out of the stall and went to the sink, taking a deep breath followed by a slow exhale she looked into the mirror, she said nothing and felt the stress building. Leilani leaned down to wash her face, splashing cold water onto her brown skin and rubbing it in to relax her a bit. After a few seconds, she stood up and looked in the mirror but she suddenly stumbled back into the stall and saw her eyes glowing orange and the orange highlights in her hair began to glow softly, "What the—!?" She began to hyperventilate and got closer to the mirror examining everything. "What is going on...why and am I glowing...oh my god…." she said and went down to wash her face again, she quickly looked up and everything was gone. "What the hell is going on ...?" She said a bit afraid and heard banging on the door.
"Leilani get out here now! You got tables to wait! Hurry up!" Ken shouted and walked away. `
Leilani shook her head and stuffed her clothes into her backpack, she darted out of the bathroom and threw her backpack behind the front desk and went to work. After a long eight hours, Leilani was exhausted, she was finished with her last table and made sure it was spotless for the sake of Ken. Leilani went to the back of the restaurant dumping the dishes into the warm water for the dishwasher, and sighed walking over to the trash cans located in the back of the house, lobby, and dining area. She picked up the bags and kicked the back door open heading to the dumpster, Leilani was exhausted, her boss had run her into the ground with all the orders and the customers complaints about the food. She tossed the bags into the dumpster sighing softly and suddenly she felt a looming presence over take her, she felt fear and froze, this feeling made her feel uneasy and unsafe. Leilani turned around seeing the outlines of what look like three dogs, but she knew they weren't dogs, she took a step back and felt her back against the dumpster and saw six glowing red eyes in the darkness .
"What the hell is that …!" She felt her heart pounding out of her chest and fear was coursing through her, "S-Stay back!" She shouted and began knocking on the door hard seeing the shadow dogs approaching her. "Open up!" She called out and without noticing her eyes began to glow orange along with her highlights, she then saw one beast lunge at her while she was at the door. As if it was natural, Leilani ducked underneath it and heard it crash into the dumpster, the snarling grew louder from the other two and she planned to run past them and away. She began running and dodged the other two, she was able to run out of the alleyway now, but before she knew it, a tendril wrapped around her ankle tripping her and yanking her back into the darkness of the alley.
"LET ME GO!" She screamed and summoned an obsidian dagger, she looked at her hand and saw that it was glowing orange, it felt powerful and it surged with power. She gripped the dagger tightly and once she reached the dog that pulled her in, she impaled the beast in the neck. The beast roared and whined, but it was not enough to kill it, the other two roared and began sprinting down the alley ready to maul her, Leilani gripped her dagger and gritted her teeth, she wasn't going to go down without a fight.
The shadow beasts roared and stampeded down the alley, they had full intentions of harming Leilani and possibly ending her life. Leilani stood up wincing in pain ready for her final stand, still unaware of her glowing hair and eyes she clenched her dagger tighter and frowned. The air around her began heated up, and a heatwave began to form around her and that slowed the shadow dogs a bit but they pushed forward with more determination. Leilani noticed the heat wave and worried, how was she doing that? But, she did know that this sudden heat wave was affecting them and so she strained herself to increase the intensity of it but she was afraid and couldn't do it. The roaring got louder and she watched the dogs leap toward her to maul her.
Leilani crouched down to protect herself in her final line of defense, she screamed loudly then felt cold breeze pass by her, she panted and looked up to see the two shadow dogs frozen mid-jump.
"You know I never got to thank you for sandwiches and coffee love, Hope I wasn't too late and these scoundrels didn't harm you too bad !" a mysterious voice said from the entrance of the alleyway. The man had his arm extended with his hand open, fog rolled off his hands and it was obvious that he was the one who froze them. The man stepped forth from the shadows, he had brown hair with a few grey strips, a full beard to display that he was quite up there in age maybe around his early forties, his clothes were that of a magician, and he was clearly charming. The man came next to her and helped her from the ground.
"H-Huh…? Who are you? I never gave you sandwiches or anything?" She asked while still glowing.
"Ah! Where are my manners! I am Myrddin! The Master Magician! You know? Most people know me by my fictional name of Merlin? But my actual name is Myrddin. I'm the one who made King Arthur...well a King...I suppose...but it was my genius who led him. I was the old hermit you helped today and I am quite surprised by my informants reconnaissance!" He boasted while dusting her off.
"Informant?" She questioned as she felt the man dust her off, his eyes and hair stopped glowing and she felt light headed.
"Yes! Professor Odion Dunn, well Thoth if you didn't see that bird brain squawking about how wise and all knowing he is. Personally I think he isn't that wise, he just has a book of weird stories and glyphs but you didn't hear that from me." He said laughing then moved his hands in a circle and drew shapes in the air. He clapped his hands together and slowly pulled them apart causing a portal to slowly rip open in their reality.
"Come , Come ...you have a lot to learn and I have a lot to explain. Don't worry I promise that nothing will be left out. You have a destiny to fulfill and I need to prepare you for your journey.." he said extending his hand. "Trust me love...this will be an interesting ride."
Leilani looked at Myrddin and felt uneasy, but her gut was telling her to go, she would be leaving her family behind and everything. But this all had to be explained, she didn't feel the same after this encounter, she felt a hidden power awaken inside her and it was telling her to follow this mysterious man. She reached out and grabbed his hand stepping through the portal and shortly after it closed .
End of Chapter 1
To Be Continued in
Chapter 2: Myrddin and Odion