1. Prologue

Prologue

" T he magic is working," he whispered from the depths of the cavern.

"Of course, it is working; it's an elvan mirror."

"Where will it open?"

"In another realm, another place where magic is hidden. Exactly where ? I am not sure yet."

She paced back and forth in front of the mirror, her long blond hair curling over her shoulders.

The man, wearing the brown, hooded cloak, watched her, ever by her side. He never left her alone, whether she liked it or not.

The mirror flickered, and they both froze. Within a burst of bright light, images flashed through the mirror's reflection. There were tall buildings and flickering lights all around. There were no wooden carriages pulled by horses. Instead, there were strange, colorful, iron carriages, which appeared to move by their own secret magic.

"I thought you said that this realm's magic is hidden?"

"It should be. Perhaps, the Creator has given these people some specialized knowledge to help them build things that we have never even dreamed could be real. Then again, maybe, it's not magic at all," she whispered. She had seen so much during her very long life as an Ancient, and the images within the mirror did not feel the same to her as magical things did. She could not explain it. She only knew that she felt that it was not magical.

The mirror flickered again, and that time, there was a definite magical feeling that floated to her from within its reflection, drawing her attention even more powerfully than had the previous strange and foreign sights. In the mirror, there was an image of a man who suddenly changed into a wolf and ran off through some deep woods. Then the mirror's visage flashed to a magical being of some sort, who wielded powers with a flick of her wrist. She used that magic to move things about, and caused plants to grow. The two watched through the mirror glass as vines curled around a small cottage, flowers blooming everywhere in a matter of seconds. The magic they observed was astounding. The mirror flashed once again, and it revealed another image, a man with blood dripping from his mouth, large incisors, which became smaller and smaller as he wiped blood away from his lips.

" This place is Terra's salvation ?" the man nearly bellowed, shocked by that last image. It was unsettling; it appeared that there were magical beings that actually drank blood in that realm.

A shiver ran down the woman's back.

"These are other magical beings–beings we do not know anything about or even understand, but they have found refuge within this realm. This is what I asked the mirror for," she whispered. "Our people have to find safety there, too. If that strange kind of magical being can remain safe in this realm, so can the heirs of Terra, along with Terra's own magical beings."

"I trust you, I do, but this realm does not seem as safe as I assumed it would be for our people to inhabit."

"This is all we have." The Ancient woman looked from the mirror and walked over to the hooded man. "The mirror knows what we need, and this place, even with its oddities, is the best hope it can find for our kind's survival."

" I trust you. I always have, haven't I?"

"You have–ever loyal. I will give you that," the woman said with a nod.

"I deserve to be given that praise," the man said, puffing out his chest.

The woman chuckled softly, and then paused. "We have to go into the Dungeons of the Mist," she said, shifting uncomfortably.

"I know, but I hate that dreadful place."

"As you should. If you liked it down there, I would be worried about you."

"I knew you cared," he said in an overly sweet tone.

The woman clasped her hands together. Her cloaked companion's humor often made serious and even difficult things bearable, but the task ahead of her was more terrifying than anything she had ever done before, and she wondered if she had the strength to do what must be done–what the Creator had requested of her.

"It will be alright–you know it will be," the man said gently, walking up closer to the woman.

"Just because I know this is the best way, that does not mean it will be the easiest."

"If our world can recover from King Falcon's terror, we can recover from this, too. All will be well," the man assured his companion.

"Only if–" the woman began, doubt still overwhelming her.

"You've seen it. She does exist. She will save us–the brightest melody–the most pure Terran ever to be born! And she will be a part of a soul song, to boot. True love is powerful. It has broken so many curses in the past, but this soul's melody, it is even more so."

She looked at her companion and nodded. He was right, although she would not tell him that. She did not need him to be even more cocky during the coming week. "Let's move the mirror and go to the next kingdom. We have to talk to as many royals as we can before they succumb to the mist."

"All will be well, Ora," the man said softly.

"I hope you are right, Theodore."

"I am always right. You should know that after all this time."

"You are–" She paused and sighed. "You are loyal, I will give you that. But right all the time? No. You are mostly wrong." She smiled as Theodore chuckled and turned to the mirror, just as the light faded away. "Terra will not be destroyed while I am still breathing. Good will prevail, and she will save us all."

"While I breathe, too." Theodore said, placing a hand around Ora's shoulders. "For I am always right beside you."

"It seems I shall never escape Draken's curse."

"What curse?" Theodore feigned confusion.

"You– you have been my curse these many hundreds of years."

"I would call it a blessing–a gift . But regardless of all the lovely and cherished titles you bestow upon me–"

She shook her head in exasperation, and with a flick of her wrist, Ora, Theodore, and the mirror vanished.