[Chie]: 227.Random stories.The mission of the Shogerros

Mira woke up in the middle of the night. That was one of the warm nights in the end of summer. She walked across her murky room to the door of the balcony. The door squeaked smoothly when Mira opened it. She listened the sounds of peaceful night and took deep breaths of the cool air. The dark shape of a magpie passed her and from that the strange dream came again in her mind. The Dragon... girl remembered and brushed her blue-black hair. In the Dragons back had been two riders. One of them had been a young wizard and another had been Mira herself. Then she gave a little laugh. Dream about dragons! How ridiculous.
  Half an hour later she woke up. She had fallen asleep on the chair at her balcony. This just was so weird! Is there a dragon who's haunting me? Mira thought quietly.
The dream had continued and now further back Mira could have seen another dragon, this one was bronze not platinum as the dragon which had carried Mira herself.
It had also had two riders. Cheery girl who had shine of gold in her blond hair. Painful feeling of sorrow gripped Mira as she realised who that girl was. Katyn. Her cousin. She had always been so Cheery and happy. Why it was her who's destiny was to die?
  Mira crept quietly back in and shut the door. She curled up under her blanket even that she wasn’t sleepy anymore. There were just half an hour before sunrise. So Mira forced herself up and shambled to the kitchen. Mira lived in medium-size dwelling… For an apartment. The apartment building were in the edge of the town, nearby a little forest.
Mira lived there with her mother, she hadn’t ever even seen her father. But even now she was at home all alone. Her mother travelled a lot because of her work. Mira felt that she were never really home. But somehow they had to get money for living… Mira grimaced as she saw that there was no choice. There was only porridge for breakfast. Mira started to ladle it overacting slowly.
  Mira dozed off though the clock was only nine at evening. It took only few minutes and the girl were already sleeping. Mira sighed in her mind. This was just something so… weird. The strange dreams continued. This was even better than before… The handsome young wizards had disappeared with their dragons and now there was one white-bearded old man.
“ Good evening Yazmira. I’ve come in the name of Féletch to invite you to help us.” The old man bowed down. He was wearing some kind of cloak. Mira had no time to analyse the old man because there happened something which were just impossible. Mira was kind of swept away to somewhere.
   Mira opened her eyes slowly. Her eyelids felt so heavy. She noticed that Sun was shining from clear sky and the weird old man was standing right next to her.
“Where are we?” She asked fully amazed.
“In Ampharium, parallel world when we compare to yours.” The old man answered.
“When we compare to mine WHAT?” Asked Mira.
“ To your world.”
“Umm… ok. Who are you?” Mira stood up and stared the old man and was sure that this was only some stupid candid camera-show.
“ Oh yes, forgive me. I forgot to introduce myself… I am Robac. Wise man and healer from the court of the Queen Céorlan of Choryoz, from the castle of Duwic.” Robac bowed down again.
Mira was simply shocked. This wasn’t fun anymore… So where she was? What was Choryoz? Who was Queen Céorlan? She watched the grass which shone as green as emerald under her.
“Well, Milady Yazmira, how does it feel to get back here?” Robac asked politely.
“ Wha?! What d’you mean ‘back here’??? I’ve never been here before!” Who this guy really was? Was he a little off his rocket? And why on Earth he was calling her with a wrong name? 
“ Oh yes you have been here before! Otherwise you could not have got to this place. You’ve born here.”
“Oh yeah? This doesn’t seem like a hospital to me!” Mira said ironically.
It was Robac’s turn to look amazed.
“What? Are you telling me that Lariane hasn’t told you?”
“ Excuse me? Hey, wait! Now you have to explain what this whole damn….” Mira never got a chance to finish her sentence because on that moment she saw something what was just so absurd.
The words had died on her lips and her eyes bellied out as she stared the figure what was coming closer.
Robac also turned to look at the girl who had a happy smile on her face.
  Girls hair shone like gold as she walked under the clear blue sunny sky. Her green eyes were glowing their own colour which was even deeper than the emerald green grass. Beside her was walking a young man who had black hair near to the shoulders and handsome serious face from where the blue and grey eyes twinkled like stars.
Few steps after them came a tall and slim woman. Her bronze-coloured hair came down along her back as soft waves. Her eyes were kind of yellowish which was weird colour. There was something mystical and unexplainable in her, like inner glow which told to the whole world that this beautiful young woman wasn’t human at all.
“Mira! Oh, How wonderful it is to see you at last!” The green-eyed girl cried as she jumped to hug Mira.
Impossible. Something was screaming in Mira’s mind. She could not be….
“Katyn.” Mira whispered with a raspy voice.
The girl laughed. “ Me, as the same charming person who I am and have always been.”
The boy next to her gave a laugh.
“Félecht.” Robac said and bowed down.
“ Oh, don’t you also start that!” Katyn grimaced.
“But we have to honour the etiquette.” Robac said and remained serious.. Finally he had to grin.
“Ixenda!” Katyn said to the tall woman, “ transform yourself and show who you really are so we can finally get to Duwic from here.”
“ As my mistress commands.” Ixenda Answered, bowed down with sarcasm and some kind of mist gathered around her… Except that it wasn’t mist, Mira did not know what that was.
Mira was frightened as the mist fade away and instead of the woman stood a massive bronze dragon.
Katyn laughed. “Oh, come on Mira! You don’t have to be scared of Ixenda!”
“Too much.” Added the dragon and grinned so that her long sharp teeth flashed.
Mira looked at the dragon and was really suspicious. The boy helped Katyn to the back of the dragon and then gave his hand to Mira.
“I’m Wardaz.” He introduced himself.
Mira smiled and nodded and then Wardaz lifted her up to Katyn.
Boy turned to Robac.
“ Oh, unfortunately you don’t have to lift me up, boy.” The old man said and then climbed very fast to the back of the dragon.. When we remember how old he was.
Wardaz just shrugged his shoulders and grinned and climbed to the back of the dragon as the last one.
“ OK, ready you all?” Ixenda asked and took off to the clear blue sky.
    Pure white castle, made of huge cubes of stone which were coated with marble slabs arose in all its splendor on a small hill in the middle of all beautifully green plain. Well, it was actually more a fortress than a castle and inside its thick walls were the city and right in the middle of that fortress were the castle of Duwic itself with all its towers reaching for the sky. Mira had a feeling that the place was very hard to conquer but she didn’t sense anything ominous as they landed right on the gates of fortress. They slid down from the back of Ixenda and she transformed herself back to a woman. They walked to the city and passed to mighty gates. They walked across the roads which were coated with stones. There were many stores and stalls which crimped the road and straight ahead was a huge market-place. The noise nearly hurt the ears as all sellers shouted at the same time, trying to induce people to buy their products and recommended them.
The guards on the main gate of the castle of Duwic bowed down when they recognised Katyn and Robac and they were allowed to step in.
   The great doors of the main hall of the castle were opened in front of them and the group walked along the dark red long carpet to the throne. Mire was the last one and took very uncertain steps and her hands were shaking. 
Queen Céorlan sat on her throne and looked very magnificent. Her face looked quite young but in her eyes they could see the ageless wisdom. On her golden hair was a golden crown which looked very heavy. There was only one jewel in it, enormous ruby which glittered like an eye as red as blood. Her dress was made from silk and brocade and the colours were white and gold. Her ears thinned out from their tip and so revealed her noble parentage.
  Mira felt really stupid. She didn’t belong here! She was very embarrassed as she remembered that she had only her shabby jeans on and not any fancy dress like others in that room.
 “Welcome. I wish, that you will stay here as my guests for a while”, queen welcomed them.
 “ Of course we will stay”, Katyn answered and made a curtsy.
Mira was checking out the hall. Nearby the walls courtiers were chatting on their beautiful cloaks and dresses. Some of them stared the visitors looking slightly interested. Mira’s heart jumped as she saw the face of dark-haired woman behind the throne. No way. No. It just couldn’t be… her mother.
   Charanda, the high priestess of Shulag, was laughing. That little brat of an elf had done exactly the move that Charanda had thought and sent her wise man to fetch a human being to help Félecht.
Why they were so stupid that they thought they could win Shulag itself and his servants?
But then Charanda remembered who was behind all this. Sivyena. The woman spat with dishonour but she couldn’t help the feeling of fear inside. Charanda was still believing that the god of Darkness would win by far but the worst wall in front of their victory was still on their way.
Sivyena, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge and her servants Wardaz and Dangaz, The twin-wizards and that human girl. And they shouldn’t forget Félecht. She would be the worst thread to the powers of darkness right after Sivyena. A cold smile arose to the lips of Charanda. In the end the darkness would swallow the light anyway.. No matter what they did to stop that. She was safe.
  Lariana hugged her daughter. Mira was stunned.
“M… Mom..? What are you doing here?” She asked.
“ I came home”, Lariana answered with a calming smile. “ I’ve born here, just like you are.”
“ Why you have a different name here?” Mira continued asking.
“ My real name would have been odd to everyone in the world of human-beings.. Don’t you think?”
“ Yeah maybe a little”, Mira smiled for a little moment and then she looked her mother with serious eyes. “ Mom… Who was my father?”
“ Your father.. Your father was very tall and handsome human… and that’s why we shouldn’t have been together.”
“ Because that he was handsome?”
“ Because he was human, sweetie.”
“ But.. Mom… You’re human too… Right?”
“ Actually, Mira… I’m not. I’m one of the water-spirits.”
“ And mother of Katyn? Who is she?”
“ She’s haldié… Haldié belongs to an elfkind who have the power of elements. Zakatyns mother is the haldié of fire… Called Flamira.”
“ So… We aren’t really cousins?”
“ No, you aren’t. But Zakatyn is bound to you with much stronger bonds than physical relations.”
“ Why you always call Katyn as Zakatyn?”
“ Because it’s her name. Her real name. You have your real name too. But we’re not allowed to use it.. yet.”
“Why not?”
“ You have to prove that you deserve your name… That’s why Katyn and Ixenda are outside now, they’re waiting for you… Like is the tower of Shogerros.”
  About twenty miles east of Duwic's castle was a big lake. In the middle of that lake was the island of the Shogerros. In the middle of that island was a lake. In that smaller lake was a tiny island. On that little island a was only one building, huge tower. Early, at the moment of the sunrise, two dragons landed on that island. One of them was platinum and the other was bronze. Zakatyn and Mira came down from Ixenda's back in the meantime as Wardaz came down from the back of Axhiba, Ixenda's husband.
“ We’ll wait you here. We’re not allowed to go inside of the tower”, Axhiba said.
Zakatyn nodded.
The door of the tower opened, even though nobody touched it and a young wizard stepped out. Mira realised that it was the same wizard who had been in her dream in front of her in the back of Axhiba. The Boy nodded to Zakatyn, patted Axhiba's shoulder ignoring his snorting and then, finally hugged tight grinning Wardaz. Mira watched the boys closer. They were nearly the same size. Their only differences were the colours of their hair and eyes. Dangaz’ eyes and hair were all earthy brown. So they were brothers. Her heart started beating faster, as Dangaz came closer. Without a word, boy bowed down, took her hand and lead her into the tower. Zakatyn and Wardaz followed them. The door slammed as it closed behind them.
  Mira was standing all alone in the middle of the darkness. She found stairs and started to climb them up. She had no clue where the others were, suddenly she had just realised that she was all alone. Stairs ended. Ahead was long, empty corridor. On the walls were torches lighting up the corridor. Mira felt like someone would have attacked her and she sank on her knees, whimpering of the pain. The feeling vanished. She stood up and couldn’t see anything or anyone in the corridor. Suddenly it came back, like waves of pure darkness would’ve rolled over her. She thought that her head would explode from too much pain. Instinctively she raised her head and shouted just one word with and ancient language, which she had never heard before, but know she knew that she had always knew it. In a second, she was on the top of the tower, like there would have not been a corridor or attacking at all. But she knew deep inside her that all had really happened. Wardaz, Dangaz, Zakatyn and many others were standing there, wearing hooded cloaks. Zakatyn rushed to hug her and she was laughing, Young wizards were grinning widely and a woman stepped out from the crowd. She seemed to glow from pure power which nearly forced Mira to fell on her knees. Mira couldn’t look up to the face of this holy creature. The woman took her hand and helped her up.
“ You are now one of us, Yazmira. You may use the gift of power that lies within you. Use it wisely and always serving the ideas of good. Then the shadow shall not get a grip from your soul.” Woman had now a thin silvery head-band in her hands.
“ Now, this is important, Yazmira. Hold your hand above this and swear that you will serve the Good side forever.”
Yazmira did what she was told to. She stretched her shaking hand forward. She swore with a clear voice that she would never serve the side of Darkness. The woman smiled. For a little while white mist floated in the air. Then the mist faded and the woman was gone. And the silvery head-band laid in Yazmira’s head. Zakatyn took her cousin hand in her own hand and together they started to walk down the stairs as the twins came after them.
  After returning to the castle of Duwic and taking a bath Yazmira knocked the door of next to her own room. Zakatyn opened the door and Yazmira stepped in.
“ I am all confused”, Mira admitted. “ What happened in the Tower?”
Zakatyn smiled.
“ The Tower was a test, which you passed. Now you are one of us, servants of the goddess of Knowledge, Sivyena. You have the gift of power.”
“ And that would mean…” Yazmira frowned.
“ That would mean that you are, well, a witch. I mean if you want to use that word. In here we are called Shogerros. The gift of power simply means your inner strength. The power will unleash as you say a word. We use the ancient language of Ampharium”, Zakatyn explained. “ That silvery head-band the woman in the tower gave you, means that you are shogerro. Though, my head-band is golden, because I’m Félecht.”
“ Oh, that I’ve been planning to ask too.. What does ‘Félecht’ mean?”
“ Well, the correct translation means ‘the chosen one’. I’m actually the leader of all shogerros… Little like high-priestess would be… “
“ And that woman on the top of the Tower, was she…”
“ Sivyena herself, yes.” Without any warning Zakatyn hugged her.
“I’m so glad that you are here too.”
   Charanda called her master, Shulag, the god of darkness. It didn’t take long until she felt the presence of god and a cold breeze of darkness in her room.
“ It is done, master, the pitiful human-child is now the servant of your sister.”
Cold heartless laughter echoed in nearly empty room.
“ Well, my sister has always had extremely bad taste.” 
“ Milord, I think you should not despise Félecht. Wizards are easy to kill, that human is just a bad joke… But Félecht is not a piece of cake.”
The fury of the god made the whole building shake.
“ Are you telling me that I could loose?!”
“ No, milord, I’m telling you to be careful.”
Gloomy laughter echoed in the air after Shulag was gone. Charanda stood up, staggering, and she could not help shivering as she thought, what would really happen if they would not win.
  Zakatyn was sitting on the window-ledge on her room staring at the full moon. She shivered, as she felt that someone was watching her. She was like she would not notice and opened window. She felt waving feeling when she waited a while without any regular shape. Then from the open window rushed out a screaming hawk, which caught up fast the lower edges of the night clouds and darted on the sky just to enjoy the feeling of flying. It glided for a while over the white castle and then went on further, going to make sure that everything was fine.
  In the time of the sunrise Yazmira dressed herself and went to look for Zakatyn. From her maidservant she heard that her cousin was in the throne room of Céorlan. So there she headed.
Céorlan was sitting on her throne. Yazmira now noticed a beautiful girl, who seemed to have silver hair, beside her throne and was sure that the girl had not been there yesterday. She found Zakatyn standing near the western wall of the hall.
“ Good morning.” Zakatyn said brightly as Yazmira stopped beside her. Yazmira could still find a worried tone in her voice.
“ Good morning.” Yazmira replied. “ IS everything all right?”
“ Yes, everything is… “ Zakatyn fell silent and then sighed. “ Well… I didn’t yet tell you all, Yazmira.” She said and avoided looking to her curious eyes.
“ What you mean, Katyn? If there’s still more to know, please, tell me!”
Zakatyn sighed again.
“ Mira… let’s go somewhere else.” Zakatyn said, winked at the wizard-twins and lead the little group into her own room.
“ Dangaz, Wardaz, you may help me at explaining and telling.
“ As you wish, milady.” Wardaz said giving Zakatyn mischievous gaze and bowed.
“ Stop that!” Zakatyn said angrily.
Wardaz wiped a grin from his face.
“ Ok, my darling.”
Zakatyn was annoyed but couldn’t help smiling.
“Right. Now, Mira, Everything in Ampharium isn’t well at all.” Zakatyn started.
“ What you mean by that?”
“ There are four gods and four goddesses in Ampharium. Each of them has their own animal-form, each of them has their own nation. “ Dangaz began.
“ Sivyena is a goddess of wizards, witches and haldié’s. Or on the other words, Everyone of her people has a gift of power.” Wardaz continued.
“ Like we have. Her animal-form is a phoenix, coloured with orange red and gold.” Zakatyn added.
“ Sagifa is the god of elves. He’s a white deer who has silver antlers. Selca is the god of dwarves. He is a silver-grey bear. Sylifa’s people live in Ga’dir, Filgann and in Finn’Razimor. She’s a silver dolphin. Seliane is the goddess of people who live in Mil ogaz, Byforzin, Xi Bogg and Melholgaz. Her form is snowleopard who has emerald-green eyes.
Syval has the people of Choryoz, Ya’Leges, Zumbaloc and Foruwog. His form is a white wolf, who has a silver-grey line going from the middle of his eyes to the tip of his tail. Sifagia is the goddess of fairies. Her form is a butterfly, with colours of the rainbow in her wings. “ Dangaz told.
“ And finally”, Zakatyn said and the tone in her voice had changed. Her green eyes seemed to flame of anger. “ There is Shulag. His people lives in Bol’ Hom. His form is big black red-eyed crow.”
“ And… What this all has to do with that everything’s not well in here?” Yazmira asked confused.
“ Well… No one except for Sivyena and Shulag themselves can not remember the reason anymore, but many years ago Sivyena and Shulag disagreed of something. Since that day there has bee nearly a war between them and us.”
“ Us?” Yazmira repeated.
“ Yes, us. You see, we are the servants of Sivyena. And Shulag has his own servants…” Dangaz added.
“ Nobody isn’t completely on Shulag’s side”, Zakatyn continued. “ But Sagifa and Syval are on Sivyena’s side. Others stay aside. Especially Sifagia. She hates wars and fights as her people also.”
“ Why then no one of the gods has not done anything to Shulag?”
“ It is forbidden to hurt another god. That’s why their war reflects to us. We have elves and humans of Choryoz and Ya’Leges by our side. “
“ And what about Foruwog and Zumbaloc? Syval is their god also, right?”
“ Yes he is. But they doesn’t want to come to help us. They honour also Seliane, who is on no one’s side.”
“ Great.” Yazmira said. She sound a little shocked. “ But we have to get rid of Shulag, right? Before he gets rid of us. So.. I guess someone is supposed to kill him. Someone has to have enough power!”
Zakatyn gave a gloomy laugh.
“ Not someone, my dear cousin. There’s more than one and they have to get rid of him together.”
“ Then everything’s fine! Ampharium doesn’t have any problem!” Yazmira was truly relieved. But only for one little moment. Then she asked: “ Who are them, Zakatyn?”
Zakatyn took a deep breath and looked at Wardaz. Then she looked Dangaz and finally turned back to Yazmira.
“ Us”, she said quietly. “ All four of us must do it together.”