Children of the Sun and Moon

CHAPTER ONE

  It was a beautiful morning in the Central Land of Melarandra. The dawn arrived with a red brilliance, causing the new buds on the trees to glisten from the dew. To the villagers in the south, where fishing was a norm, this would be taken as a warning of bad water today, but to the young woman standing in her window; it was going to be taken as the beginning of an amazing day.

  Gazing out her window, Koral took a deep breath. There was a light and crisp south breeze coming in, and she drew it in deeply. It caused her long red hair to flow into her face. Brushing it away, she turned her bright green eyes towards town. Some snow still littered the ground, but it was melting away fast. Klayhern was one of the largest towns in the Central Lands, and nothing pleased the young princess more than watching her people mull about in the morning. There was almost never any crime, and it always amazed her just how friendly everyone was.

  Koral started to move away from her window when she heard the clanging of swords. She had to lean out of her window to see where it was coming from, but she knew exactly where to look. It was Korben and Payton, practising their swordplay. This was another of Koral’s favourite things to watch. Seeing how well the two sparred made her happy they were in charge of her safety. It was her hope to someday handle a sword as well as them. Koral knew she could not watch them for too long today. There was far too much to do.

  “Today is going to be an interesting day,” she muttered to herself. Carefully, she pulled herself back in the window, and looked about her room. It was about time she got herself organized. Today was going to be an eventful day.

  She mulled about her room, finding her tunic and leggings, but could not focus on getting ready. Gillock had promised he would give them their final test today, and Koral could not wait. Nothing could be more exciting than knowing this would be the last test she would ever have to take. No more lessons, no more mock sword fights and no more having to miss out on beautiful days! Of course, she was grateful Gillock had taken the time to be her teacher. If it had not been for him, she would not know anything about the prophecy, which was supposedly about her. He knew so much, Koral figured he had to have been alive for hundreds of years. When she had finished getting her tunic and forest pants on, Koral again glanced outside. She was stunned to see the sun had moved considerably.

  “Oh no,” she shouted. “Eric is going to kill me if I am late.”

  Grabbing her sword and belt, the princess ran out of her room, and headed toward the stable.

  When she arrived, she saw Eric was already there, finishing up with his horse.

  He turned to look at her. “Nice of you to join me,” he remarked, sarcastically.

  Koral gave her brother a look which caused him to smirk and go back to his horse. He was only slightly taller than his sister was, with his father’s black hair, cut short as per the style of the time. The only thing similar between the twins was their eye colour. Neither had the striking dark green their father possessed. Theirs appeared to be more vibrant. Gillock had commented to Elizanne on more than one occasion that it was the magic stored within them both making their eyes so bright.

  “Sorry, Eric, I lost track of the time.”

  Eric just huffed at her and finished up with Blade. Koral rushed over to where Swift was kept, and found Robyn working on him. “Tolly figured since you were running behind, I should help out.”

  Tolly was a very old man. His natural expression made him look miserable, but in reality, he was very sweet. Tolly had been in charge of the stables at the castle for longer than Koral had been alive. Although there were only six horses kept in the stable, Koral always felt Tolly was far too old to maintain them himself, even with Robyn as his groom. “Thank you, Robyn. I can take it from here.”

  Robyn nodded at her and moved out of the stall.

  Looking over Swift, Koral found nothing wrong and finished up. With Robyn’s help, she was finished at the same time as Eric.

  Eric climbed up onto Blade and turned toward his sister coming out of the stall. “Well, we have a long day ahead so we best get going.” Quickly he turned his horse and raced out of the stable. Koral leaped onto Swift and chased after him. The twins headed outside of the castle grounds and went north. They were to meet Gillock at the field which had been their training ground for as long as they could remember.

  Today was to be their final test, which was fine by Eric. Between Gillock’s books and Payton’s sword fighting, he was getting a little tired of it all. Eric knew he was part of a prophecy and was glad to have learned all he could to help with it, but he was a great sword fighter and felt it was enough. He did not really care to learn about the geography of Melarandra, or the history behind everything. None of it would make him a hero.

  Eric watched as Koral caught up to him and passed by. “So what is this final test?” he yelled to her.

  Koral stopped and waited for Eric to catch up. “I am not sure, but you can bet it will be hard.”

  “This is all ridiculous anyway,” he muttered. “I already know everything I can about fighting.”

  Koral laughed. “If this prophecy is true, than you do not know half of what you should.”

  Eric just glared at his sister and took off in front of her.

  Neither one had noticed the figure in the bushes, shadowing them. Gillock had stopped when the twins had. He heard the entire conversation and agreed with Koral's surmise. Eric needed a lot more training, but he had run out of time. Watching the two ride off, he felt a sense of pride seeing Koral atop her steed. You could tell she was royalty. She was so sure of herself, never making any quick decisions, always thinking things through before acting. Everyone loved her. Koral was indeed a born leader. The person straggling behind was not. Eric had a bad temper and felt since he was a prince; he should be treated with the utmost respect and admiration. He did not realize that both of those things should be earned, not handed out. Quick to anger and quick to act was the best way to describe Eric. It was all about glory and power with him. Gillock sighed, shaking his head. Too much time was lost due to Jeremy’s decision to wait and then forbidding him to show them any magic. He had shown them some things, but more was necessary. The twins were not ready for what was about to happen, and Gillock knew he did not have a choice.

  Again, he sighed and diverted his attention to another problem. The twins were being followed, and the person following them unnerved Gillock. It was a Maget soldier, and it was someone he did not recognize. Lately a lot of the Magima and soldiers were people he did not recognize, and yet they were all so young. “Lakin is definitely up to something, I just wish I had the time to figure out what,” he thought to himself. Moving off, he cast a simple blocking spell around the twins. Hopefully, the soldier would not be able to detect it and would travel in circles until he had finished with the twins.

  When Eric broke through the tree line, he saw Gillock sitting in the middle of the field. It was a sight which almost made Eric laugh. Gillock’s long hair was always wild, but out here it looked even more so. Mostly black with strange streaks of grey (almost as if he had put them there), sticking out in very odd angles. His eyes were almost the same colour as his hair, black pools that never gave anything away and his stance always had a gangly look to it. Seeing him sitting there with his hair flying around and his green robes swirled about him was somewhat comical. On closer look, he appeared to be in deep thought. With Koral close behind, he sped up to get there first.

  Koral shook her head when she saw Eric hasten his step. Everything was a competition with him. Noticing Gillock,

  Koral pushed the thought aside and headed toward him. When they arrived, the twins dismounted and sat down beside the old wizard. They noticed he was reading a book, but when he realized they were there, he closed it.

  Gillock shifted his gaze back and forth between the twins. “I feel I should start by apologizing to you both.”

  They were surprised by this statement, but kept quiet.

  “Your
lives since you were born have been nothing but training. You’ve never had much time for yourselves. Neither one of you even has a real friend.”

  Koral and Eric looked at each other. Although this was true, it was something which had never bothered them before. They always had each other, and for some reason, it was enough.

  Koral decided to respond first. “Gillock, we both know we are not normal young people. We are first and foremost royalty, and that alone can be a lonely life.”

  Gillock stared at Koral. She really was wise beyond her years.

  “I agree,” came Eric. “Besides, we cannot discuss our training and having friends would have just complicated our lives even more.”

  Gillock smiled. “Again, you both show me just how much you’ve grown these past few years.” His smile then faded. “Now, for why we are here. I’ve decided to move your test from today until tomorrow,” he stated.

  “What! Why?” asked Eric, obviously upset by the news.

  Expecting his response, Gillock slowly turned his black orbs to look at him. “Because it's what I have decided and that's all you need to know.”

  “What is going to happen today?” questioned Koral.

  “Well, I want you two to take this book and study it. Your test tomorrow will have a lot to do with what is contained within. I feel today, we will discuss magic.”

  This news induced a sense of anxiousness in Eric, and dread in Koral. Both knew they possessed magic. Gillock had shown them basic spells, on top of the little tricks they had figured out for themselves.

  “What are we going to discuss?” asked Eric excitedly.

  Shifting his position, Gillock thought out his response carefully. “Well, all which is important. We need to start at the beginning. You both need to understand the importance of this subject.”

  Koral was confused. “You have shown us basic spells. That fact alone would have you executed. Even to discuss it is forbidden and subject to arrest.”

  “I know, child,” he responded. “This is of great importance otherwise I would not dare disobey a law as important as this one.”

  “As Koral has said, you have shown us basic spells. What do you know about real magic?” inquired Eric.

  Gillock just looked at him and smiled. “I know much. Why do you think that is?”

  “Because you are a wizard,” Koral responded.

  “Yes and your brother knows very well I am.”

  Eric looked embarrassed by Gillock’s accusation, something that puzzled Koral but she decided she would ask her brother about it later.

  “Now, let's begin your final lesson. I know you both understand why the law is in place. The wizards of the past started a war with each other, and it nearly destroyed Melarandra. What you don’t know is I was one of those wizards.”

  This revelation surprised Koral, one of the wizards from the war! She had always suspected he was older than he appeared, but did not realize he was that old. The war happened almost five hundred years ago. Koral glanced at her brother and was stunned to see the news didn’t appear to surprise Eric. She wondered how much of this he already knew.

  “Something which is just as important is the Maget. Why the Maget Order was created, and what the Magima are exactly, may surprise you. You see, the Magima are all magic users.”

  “But how can that be?” interrupted Koral. “How can those who enforce the law be able to practice it?”

  Gillock understood her confusion, but continued his story. “It was decided by a king from the era, something needed to be done to ensure a war like that never happened again. One of his advisers figured out the only way to stop people from practising magic was to make a law forbidding it. This adviser possessed minimal magical abilities, and he came to the realization that those who possess magic can detect it in others. When he informed the king he could do this, the king immediately ordered him to find others like him. The Maget soldiers were brought in to help him with his task. The soldiers were originally from the king’s personal guard. The adviser, realizing the soldiers were not going to be enough to enforce the law, came up with the idea to have others who possess magic join him. This was how the Magima came to be. It was to be an unfortunate time for those people. They were told they would join the Maget Order or die, and most, picked death. They didn’t believe the law should exist or wish to put others through the same torment. Once he had enough Magima, the adviser convinced the king to go after all creatures that possess magic.” He paused for a moment, wanting to see how this information was affecting the twins. Koral looked appalled, Eric bored. Shaking his head, he continued. “The first to go were the fairies. They were very trusting beings who were easily captured. With them out of the way, they went after the

  Elves. It was an incredible battle, which lasted almost a year. The Elves did not stand a chance against such a formidable force and were destroyed. The hardest to get rid of was the dwarves. Although they did not appear to possess obvious magical abilities the king’s adviser thought if they did not remove them, war might develop. The king agreed but found it difficult to enforce the decision. Living deep within the mountains, the Magima had trouble finding them all. They thrive to this day, in their mines. Lastly, it was the dragons. There were not many left after the war, but it was decided if they lived then magic would flourish, and they would never be able to rid the world of it.”

  “So dragons were a key to magic?” asked Koral, enamoured by the entire conversation.

  Gillock smiled. “They were very important to the balance of magic. In fact, I had befriended one myself. They were very close to us wizards. They felt we were the only humans worthy of their friendship. This was mostly because we were almost as intelligent as they were. Unfortunately, they were caught in the war. Used as pawns by the wizards and almost all were destroyed along with their wizard counterparts. Any found after, were slaughtered on sight. The day they said they could not find any more dragons was a dark day indeed.”

  Koral and Eric could see the tears in Gillock’s eyes. Obviously, the wizard’s dragon friend had been very close to him.

  Regaining his composure, Gillock continued. “Now you must understand this. Both of you possess magic. You’ll need to harness your abilities if you are going to fulfil the prophecy.”

  Eric smiled, and muttered under his breath, “I am going to be the greatest hero of all time.”

  Gillock heard, but pretended not to. “The prophecy fulfilment is upon us. You’ll need to be ready when the time comes.”

  “For what?” asked Koral.

  “I’m not sure, exactly, but something will happen soon which will set the second stage of the prophecy in motion. The first, as I’m sure you are aware, was your birth.”

  Gillock watched the twins take everything in. It looked to be a lot for Koral to deal with, but Eric appeared unusually calm and this bothered Gillock. Eric appeared to understand everything he had just said without question.

  “Now, take the book back to the castle and study it. We will meet here at the same time tomorrow. I must go now, but I promise to be here to administer your final test.” Then he walked up to his horse and rode off to the west.

  Koral and Eric just stared at the book. It just looked like an ordinary book, but was tied shut with a rope. “I guess we take that off at home,” said Eric.

  “Yes, I guess we do,” Koral iterated.

  Seeing that Eric obviously was not going anywhere near it, Koral picked it up. “Well, we should get home and see what this says.”

  Eric just nodded and they both jumped on their horses and headed toward the castle.

  The entire ride back Koral could sense someone was watching them, but she could never figure out where it was coming from. “Do you feel it?” asked Koral.

  “It is just the Maget soldier following us,” Eric responded, knowing exactly what she was meaning. “You would think you would be used to it by now. They have had one following us since we could go off on our ow
n.”

  “I guess,” said Koral, unconvincingly. Koral’s uncertainty was making Eric uneasy. It was not very often she showed she was scared of something. “We should pick up the pace,” he suggested. “The sooner we get home the sooner we can figure out that book.”

  Koral agreed and pushed Swift to go faster.

  They would have quickened their pace sooner had they known it was not a Maget soldier sent to watch them, but a Magima. Watching from the bushes, Tarowen saw the twins pace quicken. The Magima wondered how it was they could have eluded him for so long and then conveniently show up right in front of him. Not sensing any magic, he just followed them back toward the castle. When they neared, he turned and headed for the tiny quarters which had been set up for the visiting Magima for the festival. He had a report to fill out, but had no idea how to explain the twins’ ability to hide from him. Tarowen decided it would be best to wait until General Traug arrived and discuss it with him then. Shaking his sandy blond head, he realized he was suddenly feeling very tired and just wanted to go to sleep.

  Gillock, spying the young Magima, decided Tarowen should forget all about the twins and their ability to elude him, and take a nap. He had been lucky it was just a young wizard sent to follow them. A more experienced one would have detected his spell. It was quite unusual for the Order to have an actual Magima follow the twins. “Maybe Traug has received information, and is concerned,” he thought to himself. It did not matter, he had much to prepare and did not need a Magima snooping around. Knowing the general would be arriving in a few days, Gillock had to hurry with the twin’s magical training. Everything was happening far too quickly and Gillock knew he was helpless to slow it in the slightest. Not wanting to waste any more time on a

  Magima, he quickly put the spell on Tarowen and headed to his room in the castle. With the help of a minor spell, Gillock went to his room undetected. He did not want the twins, or anyone else figuring out he was there. There was too much to be done and no time to do it in so the twins had to figure out the book on their own.

  They arrived at the castle without incident. The odd feeling Koral had disappeared when the wall of Castle Klayhern came into view. When they arrived at the stables, Tolly was waiting to take the horses from them. Grateful not to have to worry about the horses, the two and ran off towards Eric's room. They flew up the stairs to his room, threw off their outer garments, and just stared at the book. Neither wanted to touch it, let alone open it.

  “Well, I guess we have to start sometime,” stated Eric, opening the book. However, to both of their dismay, the pages were blank.

  “What kind of joke is Gillock playing!” said Koral, exasperated. “Why would he stress the importance of this book if there was not anything in it?”

  Eric flopped down on his bed. “I do not know, Koral, but this is not right.”

  Koral began to flip through the pages, desperately searching for something. “Maybe the words are hidden and we have to figure out how to see them.”

  Eric sat up, “Maybe, but we do not know enough about magic to unlock something like this.”

  Koral agreed. From the time the twins were little they could do simple tricks, but always hid them from people. She did not have the expertise to do something like this, and figured neither did Eric.

  “I guess we should just leave it then,” said Eric.

  Koral shook her head. “No, we need to try and figure this out.” Sitting down beside Eric on his bed, they both began looking through the book. After hours of staring at empty pages, both fell asleep.