Chapter III - The birth of the Magical Dimension
(Part 1)
As soon as Arcadia uttered that name the stars that shone in the sky of the Golden Kingdome went out for a while. Everything was dark, then the stars came back slowly to illuminate the firmament. The other members of the Council of Elders took on a worried expression on hearing the name of that being. Bloom, on the contrary, remained impassive and determined to discover the truth.
«Ksendras? I've never heard the name of this person, who would he be?» asked the young fairy, sitting down again.
«Ksendras is not a person, it is rather an entity. You've never heard of him, because for the Magical Dimension does not exist» replied Arcadia.
«How is it possible that the magical universe isn't aware of this entity? There must be a trace of Ksendras somewhere, for example in the Library of Alexandria, or in a few books to Alfea. It is absurd that no one knows a magical being something so dangerous» said Bloom stubbornly.
The Fairy Guardian didn't answer and simply get rid of the map in the Magical dimension, which was between her and the girl. Later she resided on the marble throne and turned again to the redhead:
"Bloom, tell me: what do you know about the Magical Dimension? Let me explain: do you know the origins of our magical universe?» asked Arcadia.
«The magical universe was born billions of years ago, thanks to the creative action of the Great Dragon, which I treasure it the Flame. At the base of the universe there are the three magic pillars: light, control and balance» said the Princess of Domino.
«Now Bloom, can you explain me the nature of magic?» went on to ask Arcadia.
«All forms of magic, the positive and negative, resulting from the Tree of Good and Evil. The sap of the Tree energizes the two different types of magic, without this energy they disappear forever» said the girl annoyed.
The girl seemed that Arcadia was turning around the real problem.
«Bloom last question. Which is the force that gives energy to the Tree of Good and Evil energy to sustain the magic?» asked the fairy guardian mischievously.
Bloom's eyes widened. That question did not have the slightest sense. The Tree was the true source of magic, nothing else. The girl looked dazed the First Fairy in the magical dimension, who returned her gaze with a smile.
«You do not know the answer to this question. Don't you?» said Arcadia.
The Princess of Domino lowered her resigned look.
«See Bloom, you do not know how answering me because you have been taught or told that the tree draws its energy exclusively from himself. Similarly, you were explained that the origin of the Magical Dimension depended by the action of the Great Dragon. During your many adventures, you and your friends have learned everything about our universe: its past, thanks to the Stones of Memories, its present and perhaps you could also know the future. However, you have never heard of Ksendras, you have never been told the true nature of the Tree of Good and Evil, and you ignore the deeper meaning of the magic» said the woman quitly.
Bloom was appalled. She thought she had left behind the secrets of her past. Instead, they returned more arrogant than ever.
«Arcadia explain the reason for all this mystery. Why has no one ever wanted to talk about these things? Why do not I know, like every single inhabitant of our universe, an entity so evil enough to shake the stars in the sky? Why don't I understand the true nature of magic? Please, explain it to me» asked the redhead insistently.
«So, it was decided» said Arcadia.
The anger and frustration of Bloom exploded. The girl was tired of all that conversation, she just wanted to solve that problem in order to return home to her family, her friends, her Sky.
«Who did decide this, Arcadia? Why do not you answer me openly? I'm exasperated by your words! I've dragged here by force, you have insulted me and accused of having committed some irreparable damage. I was willing to believe it, to take the blame of something you do not want to explain. Because this is the only truth, you are taking time. You hoped that I would have fought for you against this Ksendras without asking too many questions» screamed Bloom in the throes of a panic attack.
«You're wrong girl. The truth is very much ashamed of this. For this it is difficult for us to talk about it. A terrible truth is hidden in the past of the Magical Dimension. A dripping blood truth» said the flying spirit.
Soon after, he glided toward the Princess of Domino and executed three laps around her. As soon as the spirit had made the last lap, the girl calmed down: the anger and the despair disappeared. Her red face resumed its natural colour and her swollen eyes full of tears returned to a lively blue.
"«s that better?» asked the spirit gently.
«Yes, thank you so much! I apologize for my behaviour» said Bloom - «What was happened? Why are you ashamed to talk about this?».
«Now you'll see» replied the Guardian Fairy of the Kingdom Golden mystically.
From her marble throne, Arcadia made appear again the map depicting the Magical Dimension waving her right-hand finger. However, this time the map was twice the size. New planets sailed the sky, planets that Bloom had never seen or heard of. The planets, whish she know, also occupied different positions and possessed characteristics that in fact they had never had. For example, Andros and the Earth were in the middle of the map one opposite the other, instead of being the first to the border with the Omega Dimension and the second extreme edge of the known universe. Finally, on the map all sub-known dimensions and the planet Magix, normally located at the centre of the Magical Dimension, were absent
«What is this?» asked the young fairy astonished.
«This is the beginning of the Magical Dimension, its true nature, its true soul. This is Cassiopeia» said the mermaid with long green hair.
Bloom was ecstatic: the Magical Dimension had never been so beautiful. The stars were shining in the sky intently, some were yellow, others were red and still others were blue. The latter were the most beautiful of all, burned with dark blue flames almost black but, at the same time, emitting a white light. The girl had never seen that kind of star in the evening and was wondering how it could have been this possible. The Cassiopeia planets not only moved along their orbits, but with extraordinary grace and beauty, moved periodically from one side of the star map to another. Two of them seemed to go perfectly in sync, it was as if their movement along the sky represented a sort of dance. Bloom looked them in amazement for several minutes. Only after she realized the identity of those two planets.
«But ... but ... those are...» stammered Bloom.
« Domino and Earth» said Arcadia smiling a little.
Bloom could hardly believe it. The distance between Domino and Earth was enormous. In the Magical Dimension, such synchronicity would have been impossible. The Fairy Guardian put away for the last time the map of Cassiopeia, then spoke with Bloom:
«Bloom now listen. I will tell you a story from long forgotten. Please do not interrupt me, I will answer all your questions at the end. You must lend me your full attention, I recommend» said Arcadia.
«I'm ready» replied Bloom with decision.
At that point the Guardian Fairy of the Golden Kingdom began to tell the true origin of the Magical Dimension.
«Even before the birth of our universe, everything was enveloped by darkness. There was no form of life, there were neither stars nor planets. The only things that you could appreciate were the dark of night and the cold of darkness. Then out of nowhere, for no apparent reason, two forms of energy opposite each other, but at the same time bound, appeared. These two forms of energy are today calls: positive and negative magic. These meanings are very often misleading, because they lead us to believe that the positive magic corresponds as well as to the negative corresponds evil. This is absolutely wrong: good and evil are concepts which are outside the true nature of these energies. Bloom is necessary that you understand this concept well, otherwise you may not be able to face what awaits you. With the passage of time these two forms of energy "decided" to create life in that dimension of darkness. To do this, the two energies assumed bodily form: that we identify as positive magic took the form of a red dragon with golden hues, whose flame guard you, Bloom; that we identify as negative magic took the form of a phoenix with dark blue body almost black and silver wings. Dragon and Phoenix, albeit related in substance, were an expression of the two different forms of energy. In particular, the Dragon embodied creative energy, unlike the Phoenix embodied energy destroyer. Creation and destruction are the basis of existence, the one cannot exist without the other. The two entities collaborated to create life in the universe ... to create Cassiopeia. At the end, the entities chose two different planets on which they would have rest forever. The Dragon chosee Domino as the Phoenix chose the Earth. Therefore, the two planets follow orbits so harmonious with each other».
«Arcadia, I know I should not interrupt you, but I think I've met this Phoenix. Honestly, I don't have happy memories of that adventure» interrupted Bloom.
«The Shadow Phoenix or Lord Darkar, is nothing but a corrupt copy of the Phoenix. Its origin is like that of Valtor. Although I think that our Guardian Fairy would have spoken about it in her story» said the winged centaur.
After Bloom was apologized for the interruption, Arcadia picked up where it left off:
«Cassiopeia lived in harmony. Positive and negative magic, embodied respectively by the Dragon and the Phoenix, representing the true lifeblood of the world and constituted the foundation. However, the darkness, that before reigned supreme in the universe, was not happy to have lost its possessions. So, like Dragon and Phoenix had done before it, the darkness gave it a bodily form: Ksendras! Ksendras' powers were unlimited, like those of the two entities. The only difference was in the nature of these powers. Ksendras was unable either to create or to destroy, it was neither harmony nor chaos. Ksendras was darkness in its purest form and the darkness corrupts people's hearts. This was the true strength of Ksendras, contaminate people, corrupt them exploiting their fears and weaknesses. Few years after the appearance of Ksendras the mythical "Golden Age" of Cassiopeia came to an end. Wars, famines and epidemics ravaged the lives of the inhabitants of all the worlds known from Domino to the Earth, by Solaria to Eraklyon. The Dragon and the Phoenix decided to take sides in the first line for the defence of Cassiopeia, but, not being able to fight directly because of their immense power, they decided to donate time to time their strength to humans. That was the birth of the Guardians of two Flames: that of the Dragon, inherited from Domino rulers, and that of the Phoenix, inherited at random by an inhabitant of Cassiopeia, but never from a terrestrial. The different keepers fought strenuously over the centuries, until the worst happened».
Arcadia broken off, the emotion in her voice was great and, also, the other members of the Council took on a look of painful sadness. Instead, Bloom was petrified: she would never have imagined the scope of those revelations. The woman, after few seconds, began to speak again:
«A great plague struck all the planets of Cassiopeia, no one was spared. People were dying in agony, deformed in body and soul. The Keepers of the two Flames then, tired of fighting a war that would never end and continuing to see the death of so many innocent people, took a drastic decision. Since, Ksendras could not be destroyed, because it was both part and fundamental constituent of the universe of Cassiopeia, the two, by agreement with a small group of people, decided to imprison him. However, soon the Keepers realized that there was no magic can seal the darkness forever, this is because, being Ksendras a constituent of the universe, no place Cassiopeia could contain him. It's like if you want to hermetically seal the water, contained in a glass, in a larger quantity of water: the thing is impossible. Consequently, they looked for the help of the entities: the Dragon and the Phoenix. The two managed to contact the creatures, thanks to the bond that united them. Dragon and Phoenix explained that the only way to confine Ksendras was to create a place outside of time and space, in which it had never been anything, not even the darkness itself. In this way Ksendras could no longer get out of the "box." However, this strategy was not applicable, because to create a whole new world it was necessary that the two energies, that of the Dragon and the Phoenix, worked independently from each other. This was not possible because, as I said before, the Dragon cannot be created if there is no destruction and the Phoenix cannot be destroyed if there is creation».
«Arcadia, how did the two guardians seal Ksendras?» interrupted Bloom a second time - «You're describing a situation with no way out»
The Guardian Fairy rose from her marble throne and headed the small pedestal, where there was a black box with gold inlays. The woman took it in her hands and showed it to the Fairy of the Dragon Flame.
«They used this: it was both their salvation and their damnation» said Arcadia with the voice broken by tears.
FOOTNOTES: Welcome back everyone! Finally we enter into the story proper. After the outburst against the Council of Elders, Bloom finally learns the truth about what Arcadia, together with the other members of the Council, has always hidden to all the inhabitants of the magical dimension. In the chapter, we see a surreal story that calls into question the true origin of the universe, by giving a key role to a new entity, besides the Great Dragon: the Phoenix. As a result there has been a reassessment of negative magic, whose name has always been identified with the forces of evil. It turns out, however, that the magic is negative because it is opposed to another kind of magic: the positive one. It also introduces the concept of energy seen as a creative force but at the same time destructive. And finally they delve into the origins of Ksendras, who represented in a sense the same nature of the universe, before the two energies could create Cassiopeia. The rest of the story will be known in the second part of the tale of Arcadia, contained in the next chapter. One final consideration, and then I greet you, just on the character of the Fairy Guard of the Kingdom Golden. For the first time Bloom sees it lose that golden sacredness, Arcadia becomes more human by showing their emotions, just as they did the other members of the Council in the previous chapter. Greetings, I'm waiting for the next chapter :D :D :D.
Yugi95