Haze of Dusk (A trilogy) (7 page)

“But
, the hall distortion, can’t they make that less annoying?” I say thinking how sick I felt when walking the hallway.

He chuckles
.

“You’ll get used to it. That was created to stop powerful sorcerers from using transformation spells. Long ago they would change their forms to take the ones they love’s identity. Moreover, it stops evil beings from entering. It binds their magic, showing t
heir true form.” His words make my head spin. I suddenly feel sick to my stomach. My knees wobble. I want to jolt down, but I hide my nerves—holy crap. I’m going to be caught. The power of the hallway is going to disrupt my magic presenting my true form. What can I do now?  Discovery means death to me, and my beloveds.

-
5
-

Distortion

Sandrine Srovio is her name, the most respected woman in all Doomsvell and the only child of Lord Zorganther Srovio, of the Srovio family, the founders and originator of the war castle centuries ago. They are the ones that created the rules, and began collecting warriors to fight for our lands. They are the ones we should thank, supposedly for our lives… not to mention the cynical war.

As a leader, and the headmistress of Doomsvell
, she is the one to welcome the newcomers. Hundreds of recruits sit in a spherical room inside the castle, with thousands of benches escalating to the lofty top. She stands in the round platform on the center of the room, babbling her lectures, telling us what we can and can’t do— her voice swiftly brings me exhaustion. Never in my life have I ever been to a place filled with so many restrictions. Why so much control? It seems like dictatorship to me.

Although her babbling makes me want to jump out a cliff, I can’t help but notice the woman is astonishingly beautiful, probably the most beautiful human I’ve seen in my life. Her hair is a strawberry blonde color. Half of her hair is in a bun; the rest of her hair touches her hips. With our distance, I figure she’s probably my height, five with seven. She’s thin and dresses in an elegant wide-neck golden robe with slits on the sides, the robe that represents her power as a leader. She’s a woman in her late thirties, but seems to look healthier and more appealing than a woman in her twenties.

“Survival is the key!” is her phrase. She speaks directly. The magic in the platform makes her voice loud.  I wake up from my snooze, and still she speaks about the rules. This time a small book appears in each recruit’s lap. Inside the book are hundreds of rules scripted. She demands us to read it in order to prevent breakage.

“A
lright already, I get it, no magic permitted in the castle unless requested by an instructor …now give me a break and shut your damn mouth.” I murmur closing the book, when suddenly a pale man dressed in a black robe walks towards me startling me.
Did he hear me? Oh crap, now I’m going to get it.
“Jorsay Zayras of Duolic, you are sought after. Please follow me,” the man says. My heart begins to thrust hard on my chest. The other kids whom sit near me stare— fearing for my life. I gulp and follow the man.
Shoot an arrow, this castle is slavery.

“
Listen, what I said I—”

“Silence,
do you not see the great madam speaks,” he hisses. I sneer,
what’s his problem? Great madam, more like madam parrot
. The boy leads me down a hallway, with many doors. We go through four magical doors that take us to an unfamiliar area of the castle. Ultimately, we arrive to our location. “Go in this door, you are expected.” I wheeze a sigh, and open the door. I’m anticipating the worst, until I see who sits behind an oak cherry desk, reading a large book. I put a hand on my chest and breathe out in relief.

“You evil man!
You scared the hell out of me. Nice headquarters.” I look all ways, the room base wall is painted brown and its top is golden. The golden top has many written scriptures on the wall, hard to identify. There are three small arched opening that lead to a heavy thick book. I bet it’s a book fill with the names of the future recruits. “There must be like a million words on that wall.”

“Eight hundred thousand
, five hundred seventy-two words, twenty thousand numbers, one hundred thousand symbols, and two hundred thousand spells.” Srogeri says. He does not bother to welcome me. He watches the large book with his magnifier. I grimace.
And he keeps count. He must be really bored.
“Thanks for taking me out of that hell. I was dying slowly. That woman talks more than…than Morgan…” I have nothing better to compare her to. In the end, Morgan is the winner, as her running mouth made Papa jump faster to the war. I love Morgan. I really do. However, when that woman’s mouth opens, she turns into someone so malicious she drags people away—recalling the times I slept on the streets because of her nagging…countless.

“I didn’t bring you here for that. There is somethi
ng I need to speak to you about.” He stands; by his severe expression I can tell it is serious. I gasp. I remember my concerns. He picks up his staff and points at the wall. The words begin moving around in a circle. “I have something to say too…what are you doing?” I gaze around.

“Making sure the walls don’t hear,” he
set his staff on a corner, the flow of the words cause a distraction. “Judyala, I wasn’t aware of this but…the hallways here have a magic disrupter. I'm shock you're still in Jorsay’s body.” I groan. It’s like he reads minds. “Yes, that’s what I wanted to tell you. Actually, I’m feeling quite sick, especially when I walk the main hallway. I think it is effective.” I undertone. He sighs stressfully. I can see he’s anxious as he places a hand on his head. “I knew this was a bad idea. I’m going to try to pull you out of here before something dreadful happens.”

“
No!” I snap startling him. “I don’t want to go back. I’m going to do this. This is no longer about Jorsay. It’s about providing. I want to share my powers too,” go back home, and do what? Be Morgan’s slave, and watch how she complains about the world. Walk among a path that has nothing to offer me. I’m not willing to give my freedom away…
well…it is almost freedom
,
freedom from Duolic
.
This is what I’ve waited for so long.

“It will eventually prevail. Do you not comprehend? You will change into yourself, and everyone will know. Then off wi
th our heads,” he intends to scare me, but that isn’t going to work. I’m not a little girl anymore. “I can fight it. I know I can.  You said it yourself. I have sustained it all this time, right… I can do it.” He opens his mouth to quarrel some more, but he suddenly halts. The words on the wall are rotating in a slower motion.

He
stares at the door. A light knock completely draws my attention—he stands at rest, already expecting. “Come in, Ronneto.” He guesses. I scoff. He truly is a remarkable man. Srogeri never stops impressing me. Ronneto enters the room, behind him is a familiar woman. I breathe out. The beautiful woman’s entry takes me aback.

“Vaniele.
” I whisper. She smiles beautifully. She looks flawless as usual.

“What is
she
doing here?” Srogeri growls, I can see his sudden fury.

“I beg
ye to listen first. Gemma will help us with this...”

“But…”

“Please, I beg ye old friend. If ye want all this to work. If ye wants to save this world… ye has to trust.” Ronneto’s words concern me.
Save the world.
Ronneto’s eyes shift to me. “No doubt you are great, and still you have kept this form.” I inhale noisily. “You do know!” I claim breathless. He quietly laughs, mocking my surprise expression. “Judyala, I’m glad you decided to follow my advice,” she speaks in a kind mellow voice that is nice to listen.

I smile
at her. “Vaniele, what are you doing here?” I say excitedly.

“I have been a priestess in this castle for fifteen years now.”

“Then, you did know about the magic disruption, and still you dared to give Judyala such suggestion. What are we going to do now? We cannot escape.” Srogeri’s eyes darken when he speaks to her. He can’t hide the distasteful emotions towards her. “But she’s doing well, if by now the disruption has not affected her, I highly doubt it will. Nevertheless, young Judyala, I have a favor to ask from you.” She asks nicely, intensely looking into my eyes. Her gray eyes glimmer with hope.

“Try to avoid the use of magic—even at the request of an instructor, or if you are in training. The more magic you use
, the more the magic disruption can affect you. You understand this,” I nod, agreeing with her, as long as it keeps away from Duolic. 
“Very well, then she stays. And what now, is this how you will be forever? Judyala, is this how you want to live life, like a boy, is it?” I sigh overcome by his words. I don’t want to be a boy, but what choice do I have. I prefer to live life as Jorsay than returning home.
“I won’t go back. I want to stay here,” I whine.

“I have never in my life seen a person
so enthusiastic to be in a war castle.” Srogeri says dully, grouchy by my persistence. Ronneto snorts, he finds Srogeri words amusing. “Worry not me old friend, this will be until we can find out what Willow meant before she died. According to Gemma, this is an element of Willow’s expectations. She said something will compel the child to arr’rive in Doomsvell, and her arr’rival is the only way of knowing how to stop the haze. Until now, us three… we’ll have to protect Judyala until we figur’re out why Willow called her’r name before parting…” I frown.

“Who is
Willow? What about my name?” I snap, frustrated with their mystery. So far, I know the haze and I are part of a theory. “Ye hasn’t explained it to her?” Ronneto questions Srogeri, almost dissatisfied. Srogeri sighs stressfully. “Judyala is still young…I don’t think it is time.”

“Time…y
oung— I’m not young! Why is it you’re always thinking I’m incapable of understanding? I want to know what’s going on. Please, tell me. If you know tell me!” I say frenziedly. They view one another, their expressions rather frightening. Srogeri sits back down. In a small voice, Ronneto asks me to sit. I obey him. I’m caught in a rapid uneasiness that makes me want to nibble my nails, and turns my stomach upside-down.
What’s going on…what’s the mystery?

“For years, Vin Srogeri, Gemma Vaniele,
and I worked with a see
r’r
name Willow Celestial—a seer’r who predicted unexplainable events, and calamitous r’results. Yea
r
s ago, we managed to comprehend a tad about the haze, but when
Willow finally found out how to close the sky from bringing the arclaws, she fell ill.” Ronneto explains inaudibly. I pay attention to every word. For some reason, my heart begins to speed.
“Willow saw the future, and she spoke of a child who would assist us conclude the haze. Until one day, the day Willow passed on… we stood by her side, and she said four words. Answer to haze…Judyala…” my mouth drops open. I scoff, shock by their confession.

“You’re telling me, I’m
the one who’ll stop the haze!” I say with disbelief.

“Theoretically,
it might be you, but it can also be anything else. It can be a person or item you’ll encounter, or it might be the growth of your powers. Whatever it is, you’ll be the one to find it. You are the one, the link to resolve the secret to the haze.” Vaniele states. I’m numb by their assertion. So that’s it, the conclusion to my overprotection. It’s because a seer saw me in her prediction. 

“But
… what makes you think it’s me? I’m sure there are many girls out there with my name.” I assume, not believing I could be so significant. I always thought there was something special about me…but never did I think it’s connected to the haze. Why place such heavy weight on me.  Why not anybody else, why me? When there are over a million people in this world. “That same day, the day she died, ye father was in the room, and ye were in his arms. She pointed at ye. And died whispering ye’z name.” Ronneto clarifies.  My eyes widen.

“You we
re all there when I was a child!” I snap breathless. “Then, you must know about my mother?” Their eyes meet one another, then back at me.

“You were two years old when your father brought you from his journey. He never spoke about your mother. That
, he kept to himself. I’m sorry Judyala, but with that subject, we cannot assist you.” Srogeri says. I miserably bow down my head. My hopes die. I don’t get it. Why did Papa mentioned my mother to me if I was never going to meet her. Why not just tell me Morgan was my mother, although I really disliked her when I was a child. I gave her such a headache, she had no choice but to get help, a nanny. My poor Morgan, I was appalling with her, constantly reminding her she was not my mother when she only deserved the best.

I'm disappointed
Srogeri knows nothing of my mother. He’s as clueless as Morgan and I. Maybe I should stop hoping for her. But how can I stop, when my mother’s memory is the reason why my father and Morgan argued so much. Morgan suffered plenty because of Father. To begin with, she loved him since they were in the first years of school, but he looked at any other woman but her. It was when Papa came to Duolic with me when he finally thought it was time to settle down. Give his orphan daughter a mother, and since she still loved him, she never rejected him. Still, I can’t say my father gave his heart to Morgan, as his life was my mother and Doomsvell.

“So
, all these years of overprotection, this is the reason why?” I say to Srogeri. He slowly nods. Vaniele walks towards me. She soothingly obtains my hands.

“W
e all have been watching you grow, Judyala. Now you comprehend why I suggested the plan. Like Willow said, it is time, and you shall give us answer. For that, we need you here. The time for us to end this has arrived.”

“And who predicts this,
you
?” Srogeri hisses. Vaniele sighs exhaustedly. She’s probably bushed by Srogeri’s bickering. I would be too.