ShadowLake

ooooooo! idea: the laws of the shadowrealm can be broken/overruled if someone possesses enough love for anyone outside himself...therefore, b/c of how much ryan really loves kaylen (whether he realized it or not until he watched her walk out onto shadowlake), he was able to escape from the shadowrealm as though waking from a dream (this happens while he thinks about kaylen and remembers something special about her)...and he wakes up in that town, in the stall near spryton b/c he couldn't go back to the place where shadowlake was (and had to appear in the closest possible place besides that). but i suppose you don't necessarily need a reason for that one.

fyi, marissa, someday you HAVE to get this thing published!!!!!!!!!
 
hay, that might work alex. he may compleltley undo SR b/c of Kaylen...but he has to rmember her first. he cant remember anything...but he could meet with like a picture of Gena...then remembers...thanx!

Ryan stalked off, barely noticing his red shadow in the sky. “Go away, Fyrok,” he said through clenched teeth.
No. Ryan kept walking. He couldn’t believe Kaylen was dead. She couldn’t be dead. But Jen said she was. His mind went round and round. He didn’t see the little girl until he fell over her. She was crouched on the ground, clutching a doll, tears falling down her face. Ryan got his feet back under him and looked down at the little girl. For the first time since finding Jen, he noticed the chaos around him. He sighed and knelt down by the little girl. “What’s your name?” he asked. She didn’t answer, just wrapped her arms around his neck. He stood up, pulling her into his arms. “Let’s find your parents.”
Ten hour later, Ryan still had a little girl in his arms. He collapsed next to Jen, moving the girl to sit in his lap.
“Never find her parents?” Jen asked.
“No, I found them. Under a still smoldering roof.”
“Oh.”
“I did get her name: Tiaka.”
“What are you going to do with her?”
“No idea.” Ryan studied the girl in his arms. She couldn’t be more than three with long brown hair and bown eyes. She looked up at him and smiled. Ryan almost smiled back.
“I think we’ve done everything we can,” said Nayl as he sat by Jen. The others followed, forming a circle around a fire Jen lit. Luminor came and laid behind Ryan and Jen. Tiaka’s eyes got huge as she took in the gryphon.
“Horsey,” she said.
No, gryphon.
“Giffon. Hi, giffon.” That got a smile out of everyone, even Ryan. For a few minutes, no one spoke.
“Excuse me.” They all looked up to see a man standing over them with several people behind him. He looked around the circle, meeting their eyes with a confident gaze. “We all just wanted to say thank you for all you’ve done,” he said, nodding a the people behind him. “If you need anything, just ask.”
“What we really need is information,” said Nayl. “Anything from the past few weeks.” The man stared at them open-mouthed.
“Um, well, do you mean besides the attacks?”
“Attacks?”
“The Magi. They have been doing this,” he said, waving his arms at the destruction around them, “all over the place. Hundreds if people have died, and that’s just from the towns we have heard that have been destroyed.” Nayl turned to look at his friends.
“Maybe we should talk to Gio,” suggested Jen. They all turned to look at the ice encased Magi.
“Can you control him?” asked Tyen. In answer, Jen levitated Gio into the center of the circle, hovering upright over the fire.
“Please,” he whispered. “I’m cold.” Jen studied him before melting the ice all except for a band around his wrists and one around his ankles.
“Okay, Gio. What’s going on?” Gio’s eyes flicked from Nayl to Jen.
“You know,” Jen said conversationally, “I never did find out what would happen if you boiled half a man’s blood while freezing the other half.”
“You would think of that, Jen,” muttered Branot.
“Though, it is an interesting question,” said Tyen.
“I’d rather not find out,” said Gio. “What do you want to know?”
“What has happened since we left.”
“The day after all of you disappeared, several of the teachers wanted to go after you, and it wasn’t to bring you back. All classes stopped. They took everyone twelve and older and split them into groups. Javen and I and eighteen others were with Master Harrak. We left the Institute and traveled to a small village. Master Harrak had us all stand in a line and watch as he burned the village. The non-Magi were helpless, running around and screaming. Some even tried to attack us. As if they could do anything! Once the village was gone, he let us go. We could do whatever we wanted as long as we hurt no other Magi and go to Kiarsh once a year.”
“Why Kiarsh?”
“I don’t know. I know that was were Master Harrak was going.”
“We need to split up,” said Skikit.
“Huh?” said Nayl. “Why?”
“We have to stop the Magi. The ones terrorizing everywhere and the one in Kiarsh.” Jen and Ryan looked at each other.
“Ryan and I will go to Kiarsh. The rest of you save the world from the Magi,” said Jen.
“What!”
“No-
“Way!”
“You aren’t leaving us!”
“Guys!” said Jen. “The most important thing right now is to stop the Magi from killing more people. Ryan and I can handle whatever is in Kiarsh. All of us have eaten the Sillow fruit and can easily stop Magi.”
“And get around quickly,” added Ryan.
“Yeah, but…” The debate continued for over an hour, but eventually, Jen and Ryan won out. They, along with Fyrok and Luminor, would go to Kiarsh. Everyone else was to split up and try to stop as many Magi as possible, taking their magic away if possible, killing them if not. None of the boy Magi wanted to kill their fellow classmates, but as they looked at Gio, who still had not shown any remorse for his actions, they knew it may be necessary. They ate and rested for several hours before heading out. Before they slept, Jen took Gio’s magic. Gio begged him not to, and Jen almost didn’t. But around him, people mourned for loved ones lost in the fire, and little Tiaka asked once again for her mother. Once his magic was gone, Gio started to cry. They all stared at him for a while before leaving him. They slept in the barn with the horses. Jen was overjoyed to see Mrouta again, telling her how much he had missed her.
They woke as soon as the sun began to rise. Ryan had slept little, unable to get Kaylen out of his mind. Tiaka still clung to him, forcing him to think of something besides Kaylen.
“Are you going to take her with you?” Reeba asked a they fed the horses.
“I guess I have to. I asked around and she has no family any more and none of the villagers sounded like they could take her in, not after most of them don’t even have a home anymore.” Reeba nodded in understanding.
An hour later they were ready. They could run faster than the horses could carry them, so they gave all the horses to Lia to take back to the Magi hiding in the mountains. She and Cidie were heading there to get help in fighting the Magi. Ryan and Jen made sure Lia understood that Mrouta and Spryton were special and not to be sold or lost. She laughed at them, but promised. Goodbyes were said all around, then they split. Jen and Ryan had about three days of travel ahead of them if they stopped only once. But with Tiaka, they were going to have to stop more often, though Ryan was going to carry her most of the time. At three days into the journey, they decided to stop for the entire night so they had all their strength for whatever was in Kiarsh. Jen lit a fire and Tiaka was soon asleep in Ryan’s lap. He was staring into the fire as if searching for something.
“Fyrok?”
Yes?
“Could you talk to Kaylen?”
What?
“When you die, before you come back, would it be possible to talk to someone dead?”
I do not know. Fyrok’s voice was thoughtful. We could try.
“You two have got to be kidding,” said Jen.
Jen, I would just come back to life. I have never tried to keep myself dead. It might work.
“But…”
Shoot me, Jen.
“Why me?!”
“Because you are the one with the magic.”
“What if something goes wrong and Fyrok stays dead? What then?”
Jen, calm down. Nothing could go wrong. Just do it.
Jen groaned, but stood up in front of the phoenix. “Here goes.” He pushed out his hand and a bolt of green lightning hit Fyrok in the chest. He burst into ashes and disappeared.
 
Kaylen spent most of her time with her mother and sister. It was very strange being with her mother, and even stranger being with her twin sister. Now she knew how Jake and Josh felt. But the rest of the time she spent alone. She couldn’t help but think that everything there was wrong. Whenever she was alone, she climbed into the trees and just stared at the babies in the pods. They looked to be sleeping, but they never moved.
“You need to get over it,” called a voice from below her. She looked away from the baby she was studying to see Fayo looking up at her.
“Get over what?”
“Come down here. I don’t like those things.” Kaylen jumped down, easily landing on her feet despite the thirty foot drop. “Whoa,” said Fayo, impressed.
“Why don’t you like them?” she asked as they walked to the village region.
“They’re creepy.” Kaylen flinched. He noticed. “Anyway,” he said hurriedly, “I meant you need to get over your friends, especially the one in ShadowRealm. You’ll see some of them someday, and the other…” He shrugged. Kaylen shook her head.
“My friends will all live to be thousand years old. Besides, I don’t want to see them here! They’ll be dead, and I don’t want them to die just so I can see them.” Fayo shrugged just before he went through the fog wall. Kaylen followed, though she didn’t really know why. She didn’t understand Fayo, and she didn’t really want to.
“All I’m saying is that staring at those things isn’t going to help anything.”
“Well then, what should I do?! Wander for the rest of eternity? Something is not right here! There are too many babies. Why are there so many?” Fayo stopped and Kaylen almost plowed into him. He turned and looked down at her.
“Think about it Kaylen. What happens when a baby girl is born with the ability to do magic?” Kaylen’s eyes widened in understanding. “Three-fourths of the babies that end up here are girl Magi. There are more than you think.” He began walking quickly again, forcing Kaylen to jog next to him. “I have been here a long time and it has given me lots of time to think. Like you said, there really isn’t anything else to do. Believe it or not, every three out of four people born is a Magi. Half of those are girls and they are killed. Half of what is left dies of starvation and illness like the rest of the world before they are three. After that, one-fourth of them are found by the Magi before they are five. The rest are killed because they are too old to be completely brain washed. Do the math and instead of three out of four people being a Magi, there are only about five (or is it ten? im not sure...) in a hundred. Kind of ironic, isn’t it?” Kaylen didn’t answer. All the numbers made her head hurt, but what he said amazed her. If the Magi didn’t kill their own, they could have done whatever they wanted without the help of the Shadows. Fayo was right: it was ironic. A light in the sky drew their attention. It shone like a green star in a green sky, then seemed to explode.
 
i'm glad you like my idea for how ryan got out of shadowrealm! either way, i'm even more glad he's back...now we just need kaylen back...b/c they're my favorites!!! heehee
 
awww, thanks Susan!

Alex, your wish is granted!!!

The light faded and Kaylen asked Fayo what had happened.
“A phoenix died or was killed. But that one was strange. Usually there are two explosions, one for the phoenix entering and one for it leaving.” Fayo kept talking, but Kaylen took off in the direction of the explosion. She had almost reached the boundary to the forest region when she was a large bird slowly flying in a wide circle in the sky.
“Fyrok!” she called. “Oh, please be Fyrok,” she whispered. The phoenix wheeled back towards her.
Kaylen? Where are you?
“Over here!” she yelled, waving her hands and jumping up and down to get his attention.
I see you. Fyrok flew straight towards her and landed on the ground in front of her. Kaylen threw her arms around him, tears falling down her face.
Kaylen, I don’t have much time before I have to go back. It is very hard to stay here, he said gently. She stepped back. In the green light, his normally beautiful red feathers were a muddy brown color
“I’m so happy to see you,” she said, her voice breaking. “Why…?”
Ryan is having…problems accepting your death.
“Ryan…but he was in Shadow Realm.”
He escaped.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Kaylen said with a sigh, closing her eyes. “How much time before you have to leave?”
Ten, maybe fifteen minutes.
“Kaylen! Why did you take off like that?” Fayo ran up to them, skidding to a stop when he was Fyrok. “Um…okay.”
“Come on, Fyrok. I want you to meet some people before you go. Maseo’s father might want you to give a message to him.” Kaylen led Fyrok to the forest region as he gave her a brief summary of what happened after she closed ShadowLake. It took them exactly three minutes and twenty-six seconds to reach the Home. Kaylen asked for a time update nearly every thirty seconds.
“Mom!” she called. “Gena! Masin!” They all met on the big platform. The other men and women gathered around, but remained a respectful distance from Fyrok and Kaylen. The minutes flew by as Kaylen hurriedly introduced him and dragged more information from him. Finally, Kaylen fell silent, knowing soon she would never see Fyrok again.
“Promise me you will take car of Luminor,” she repeated. “And make sure Ryan keeps Tiaka. It sounds like they need each other.”
They need you too.
“That doesn’t really matter, does it?”
I’m going to try and take you back with me. Kaylen’s mouth dropped. I have been thinking about it, and it’s worth a try. Kaylen slowly turned to her mother and sister. They were both staring at Fyrok, Mia with uncertainty, and Gena with jealousy.
“Gena…” Kaylen started, but could think of nothing to say. Gena turned her gaze to Kaylen and she gave a small smile.
“It’s okay, sis. I wouldn’t fit in the real world anymore. But I can dream.” The others all around her nodded. Mia stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Kaylen.
“You have to try. More than anything, all of us want to live again, and you have the chance.” Kaylen wanted to say she couldn’t leave, that it wasn’t fair, but she couldn’t. Fyrok had given her hope and she was going to take it.
Hurry Kaylen. It’s almost time. Kaylen hugged her mother tighter.
“I love you,” she whispered. She hugged her twin sister, wishing Gena could come too. It would have been fun to show the world to her sister. But instinctively, she knew if Fyrok could do this, he would be able to do only one person. “Bye, Gena.”
“I’ll miss you.”
“Me too.” Kaylen dropped her arms and stepped into the center of the platform. Fyrok beat his huge wings and hovered above her, his talons just above her head.
Grab my legs. Kaylen reached up and clenched her fists around his legs. Fyrok lifted Kaylen off of her feet. She closed her eyes tight just in time as green and red fire engulfed them, then exploded. All Kaylen saw was a green light, then nothingness through her eyelids. Then she hit the ground with a thud.

Ryan and Jen both paced around the fire, waiting for Fyrok’s return. They didn’t know if his not coming instantly back was a good sign or a bad sign. They were silent as they paced. Tiaka had woken up when Fyrok burst into flames. Her head moved slowly back and forth as she kept track of Ryan’s movements. Fifteen minutes later, a tiny bright light appeared, like spark from the fire, but it just sat on the ground instead of going out. It grew brighter, catching Jen and Ryan’s attention. They both went over and bent over it. It grew brighter still, until it rivaled the fire. Then they heard a sound like a roaring fire and the spark somehow burst open and Fyrok flew up from the ground, his wings folded tight against his sides, blowing Jen and Ryan back several feet. He flew straight up, green and red flames surrounding him. He opened his wings, but didn’t go any higher than six feet, just seemed frozen as a pillar of flames burned around him, reaching from the ground to his wings, living his head untouched. Then the flames instantly disappeared. Fyrok fell to the earth, too tired to even land properly. Ryan jumped to his feet and ran to him.
“Fyrok! Are you okay?” Ryan started to kneel down next to him, but jumped back up when he saw someone lying on the ground behind Fyrok, one hand still curled around his leg. “Kaylen!” Ryan was at her side in an instant. For an second, Ryan thought she was dead, but he felt her neck and picked up a faint pulse. Despite the flames, her skin was cold. Her lips and eyelids were a light blue. Ryan quickly picked her up and carried her to the fire. He laid her next to Tiaka and grabbed the blanket he had never settled down to use, carefully tucking it around Kaylen. Tiaka studied her, touching her lips.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“She’s very cold. Can you help me warm her up?” Tiaka nodded and followed Ryan’s lead as he rubbed Kaylen’s hands and arms, trying to get her blood flowing. Tiaka gently rubbed her face, singing softly as she did. Ryan turned to see Jen tending to Fyrok, who appeared to be recovering much faster than Kaylen.
Is she alright?
“She’s alive, but almost frozen.”
I’m fine, Jen. Help Kaylen. Jen knelt down by her and placed one hand on her head and one on her stomach. His hands began to glow faintly and Kaylen began to lose the bluish cast to her skin. Her breathing grew stronger and her eyelids fluttered open. Her eyes flicked from person to person before finally focusing on Ryan.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hi.”
“Am I alive or are you dead?”
“We’re all alive, including you.”
“Good,” she said, closing her eyes and falling into an exhausted sleep.
 
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!! that makes me sooooo much happier! who cares that the world is falling apart...reeba and maseo are together and ryan and kaylen...awww...jen needs a gal, marissa...heehee. sorry, hopeless romantic in me...

from the perspective of a fellow writer, though, you are so good at imagery!
 
Finally caught up! (I can be a horribly slow reader some times)
So much happened...
Yes, you should get this published.
Yes, Jen needs someone, though not necessarily a girlfriend. He needs his own family, someone apart from the original group. The girl Magi, maybe?
Waiting to find out what the "land of the dead" was about. Is it somewhere between life and death? What happens to those that lost their souls? And a lot more questions...
Can they ever undo the curse on the island?
I finally caught up. :)
 
Hi Nicki!

Alex and Lossendil, Jen will get a girl (actually, youve already met her...:D) you didnt actually think i would leave someone unattached, did you?:p

glad your all the way back w/ us, lossendil. all your questions will be answered w/i the next three or four posts (which is all thats left of the story:eek:)

Kaylen slept for twelve hours straight. Both Ryan and Jen knew they needed to get going, but neither of them would have woken her up for the world. Ryan rarely left her side, watching her sleep. He had never really gotten around to making himself understand that she was dead, so the fact that she was back was easy to accept. Jen had a harder time. Every time he saw her, he would stare at her as if she wasn’t real. Luminor laid down by her and refused to move. He didn’t even care that Tiaka was pulling his mane and calling him a horsey again, no matter how many times Fyrok gently corrected her. Fyrok was almost as tired as Kaylen, though he woke frequently only to fall asleep again minutes later.
Kaylen woke up very slowly. It took her a very long time just to realize she was no longer dreaming. It was even longer before she could force her eyes open. Bright sunlight made her sit up straight in surprise. She turned to see Luminor on one side of her and Ryan watching her on the other.
“Good morning. Hungry?” Kaylen nodded slowly, still trying to figure out where she was and where she was going.
“Did I really die, or did I dream that?”
“You died.”
“Oh.” Ryan handed her a bowl of rice.
“Sorry. Maseo was right: we don’t eat meat anymore, so that’s all we got.” Kaylen barely heard him. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until she saw food. She had eaten three bowls before she was finally full. While she ate, Ryan and Jen filled her in on where the others were and where they were going.
“You should take Luminor and Tiaka and go find Nayl,” started Ryan, but Kaylen cut him off.
“No way. I’m going with you two. I mean three.”
Thank you. Though technically it is five.
“Right. Anyway, I am staying with you.”
“Kaylen…”
“Ryan…” she mimicked. “ Stop worrying. I’ll be fine. What’s the worst that could happen?”

The world could be destroyed. The sky could fall. The ground could open up and swallow them. Those were the answers Ryan came up with to Kaylen’s question as Kiarsh came into the view. Kiarsh was set into a very large, low valley. Kaylen, Jen, and Ryan lay on their stomachs on top of a hill looking over the valley. Fyrok flew in a wide circle around the city, careful to stay just out of sight of anyone there. Luminor and Tiaka were behind them, though Ryan could see out of the corner of his eye Tiaka worming her way up the hill until she was between him and Kaylen.
I don’t see anything.
“The entire city has a block around it. I can’t see if there is anyone in there,” Jen added. Ryan studied the city. In the center was a large palace. Around it were thousands of homes and stores. It was unlike anything else Ryan had ever seen. The biggest villages had a tavern and maybe twenty three room homes. The homes in Kiarsh were huge and the palace was bigger than several whole villages. But everything was in ruins. Roofs were caved in and walls were missing on most of the homes. The palace was in the worst condition. All the windows were broken- though Ryan had never even seen glass before- and over half of the thirty something towers were broken.
“Okay,” Ryan whispered. “Jen, Fyrok, and I will go down there. Kaylen, you and Tiaka stay here.” Ryan held his breath, waiting for Kaylen to argue with him.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah. Okay.”
“No ’but Ryan,’ or ’no way’ or ’I’m coming with you whether you like it or not’?”
“No.”
“Okay then.”
“Let’s go before she changes her mind,” Jen said.
“Agreed.” Both men jumped up and started down the hill. They entered into the city, walking on the cobblestone for the first time in their lives.
“This place must have been nice before…everything,” Jen commented. Ryan nodded. “A lot of people must of lived here too.” Ryan stopped listening to Jen’s quiet monologue as they made their way to the palace by unspoken consent. They eventually made their way to the inside of the palace, entering through a large hole that opened into a hall. Fyrok flew slowly beside them, clearly not liking the closed in space. They wandered through the broken down palace for over five minutes and only managed to get lost. They passed dusty parlors, cobweb covered ballrooms, and lots of broken mirrors. There didn’t seem to be anything in one piece. Suddenly, Jen stopped.
“Left. Go left.” They found a hallway going left. Jen continued to give directions. “In there. He’s in there,” Jen said, pointing through a closed door. They looked at each other, then at the door. The handle turned and opened in.
“Is that a good sign?”
“I don’t know.” Jen went in first followed closely by Ryan, then Fyrok. The door slammed shut behind them.
“Hello, Ryan. Jen. Fyrok.” They were all flung back against the wall, unable to move.

Kaylen watched them disappear into the city. She quickly reviewed her conversation with Ryan. She hadn’t lied to him. Not really. Because there was no way she was staying up here.
“Tiaka, can you stay with Luminor?”
“Horsey?”
“Yeah, with the horsey.” Tiaka ran over to Luminor and began hopping up and down. Even with Luminor on his stomach she couldn’t reach his back. Kaylen lifted Tiaka onto his back, then went to stand in front of me. “Listen to me Luminor. Tiaka is your responsibility. You take care of her not me, understand?” Luminor let out a low growl. “Luminor,” she said sharply. “Take care of Tiaka.” Luminor bowed his head obediently before turning and launching into the air with a laughing Tiaka.
Kaylen watched them for a second before taking off down the valley and into the abandoned city. She guessed they had gone to the palace, so that was where she headed. She ran through the streets so quickly she barely saw the houses. She ran around the palace, searching for a way in. She finally saw a small door barely attached to the doorframe. But it was a way in. She gingerly pushed the door open and stepped inside. She let out a little shriek as she stepped into a spider web. She quickly combed her hands through her hair, scared she was going to find something. When her hands came out spider-less, she forced herself to breathe normally. She was in a large kitchen that had seen better days. She poked her head through another door and looked both ways before fully stepping out. “Ryan?” she called softly. “Jen?” She didn’t hear anything. Anything at all. It was a very creepy silence, Kaylen thought. Places this big weren’t supposed to be silent. She began to explore, careful not to get lost. She found herself in a large walled courtyard. In the center stood a massive tree. Kaylen was about to keep walking when she looked closer. She found herself walking towards the tree though she didn’t want to. She stopped two feet from the trunk. She circled it, first looking at the trunk and then up at the branches. She finally realized what it reminded her of.
“It looks like the Home,” she said out loud. Her voice sounded strange in the silence. Now that she knew what to look for, she saw that not only did it look like the Home tree, it was the tree, without the platforms, ladders, and bridges. But it reminded her of something else. It took circling it another five times before it hit her.
“It’s a portal!” She hadn’t shouted, but the words seemed loud enough to make her look around and see if someone heard her. When no one- meaning Ryan- came to yell at her for being there, she turned her attention back to the tree. There was nothing special about it, but it just had the same look as ShadowLake and the boulder barring Maseo from his family. But how did it open? Without thinking, Kaylen sat down cross-legged in front of the tree, staring up at it. She knew she needed to find Ryan and Jen, but this seemed more important. Another question occurred to her. What was a portal to the land of the dead doing in the ruins of Kiarsh?
 
“Have a seat.” Jen and Ryan dropped from the wall into two chairs that materialized beneath them. Jen knew that magic was pinning him to the chair and he tried fighting it, but the magi was to strong. “I’m sorry Fyrok. You will have to stay pinned to the wall.” The voice didn’t sound sorry.
“Where are you?” asked Jen, grateful he could still talk at least.
“Right in front of you.” Jen looked around, but all he saw was a small, dimly lit room. “Forgive me. Sometimes I forget when I am visible and when I am not.” The air in front of Ryan and Jen began to shimmer and the blurry outline of a man appeared. The outline grew sharper and began to fill, as if someone was pouring colors into the outline. The man’s feet appeared first and he materialized upward until he was completely visible. He was a young man, not much older than Ryan, and strong looking. He wore only a faded pair of trousers and a pair of leather gloves. His hair brushed his shoulders in a haircut that looked like a blind man had cut it. And his hair was gray, but his eyes brown.
“Another halfling!” Ryan said in amazement.
“Yes, just like your little girlfriend.” Jen and Ryan exchanged a glance. How much did he know about them? The man continued to talk. “I was the first halfling and the only to survive the war. My Magi father raped my Shadow mother, and I was born, a Shadow that can perform magic. I did thank my father for that before I killed him.”
“But…that must mean you are over two hundred years old, before the Shadows were banished.”
“Yes.”
“Sillow fruit?” Jen guessed.
“No. I have never been to the Layo Continent. Besides, I would not want to taint my blood with the fruit.”
“You’re only half Shadow already,” pointed out Ryan. The halfling turned his eyes to Ryan, his face contorted in fury. As soon as he was looking into his eyes, intense pain came over Ryan. His entire body felt like it was on fire. The burning only lasted for a few seconds, but it left him panting.
“Do not remind me of my human blood,” he hissed.
“What is your name?” Jen quickly asked, trying to distract him from Ryan.
“I am Rayo.”
“The word for king,” Jen noted.
“Yes.” Rayo turned away from them and looked out a small window. The candles placed throughout the room flared up, letting off more light. “For I am the king of this land. I have directed it’s path for over two hundred years.”
“What do you mean?” Jen asked. Ryan rolled his eyes at Jen’s curiosity, but knew there was nothing else they could do but keep him talking.
“I was one of the first Shadows to speak of rebellion. After the war began, I was one of the ones that went after the Magi. Before I killed them, I learned their secrets, so by the end of the war, I was beyond powerful. But I was only one. When the Magi banished the Shadows, I managed to stay in this world. It was I that suggested the key be a halfling, but those idiots had to add that the halfling had to die, unknowingly barring me from opening ShadowLake. It was I who planted the suggestion in Jaesh’s head to open ShadowLake. He was so power hungry, I barley had to do anything. I created the creatures that the Re-animated rode. I knew they would never catch you otherwise, and they still didn’t. I was quite impressed. I so wished I could just kill you all…” His voice trailed off.
“So, you wanted ShadowLake open to let the Shadows take over this world, while the Magi wanted ShadowLake open simply to spread the contamination only they could control.”
“Correct. And you three and that girl ruined it. But no matter. Fyrok was kind enough to bring her back from the dead. I will just have to use her to open ShadowLake, and my people will be free to ravage this land and the people that enslaved them.” Ryan decided it was not a good time to mention the fact that he had destroyed the ShadowRealm. “If there is any left after the Magi are done with them. But of course, then they can just kill the Magi.”
“You can’t kill all the Magi!” Jen protested. “There are too many and they are too powerful.”
“Powerful, yes. But no, there are not very many. The Magi kill so many children Magi, they have significantly reduced their numbers. They could have outnumbered the humans… but then I didn’t want them too, so I began the Institute and the tradition of killing all female Magi and Magi not found after the age of five.” Jen’s mouth dropped.
“You…you created the Institute?”
“I told you. I am the unknown king of this land. I direct everything that happens.”
“And you are the reason so many infants are killed?” Ryan inserted.
“Yes. After all, those are the best souls to drink: baby female magi. They give me the most life.” Now both Ryan and Jen stared at him open-mouthed.
“Drink?” repeated Jen numbly. “You drink souls?”
“Yes. They keep me young and powerful. Magi are the best, but non-Magi work too. That is why I keep the rains from coming. The more people that die, the stronger I become.” His grinned widely at them. His teeth were black from drinking souls.
“But…how…?” Jen stammered. The idea of drinking souls unnerved him, not only because it was disturbing, but because he realized it would work. He knew Rayo would be extremely powerful after drinking souls for over two hundred years.
“I assume Kaylen told you about her little escapade in the land of the dead?” They nodded. “Obviously, I initiate the soul-grab. I created that world so that anyone who dies goes there instead of where they are supposed to go. Then, everyday, I open the portal a tiny bit, just enough for me to take the souls of the newly dead.” He frowned. “Of course, there are those few who resist me every time. But I am growing stronger, and eventually they will fall too.” He glared at Ryan and Jen as if it was their fault. Suddenly, he whirled toward the door as if he had heard a sound. “No!” he exploded. “That stupid halfling!” Without another look at them, he stormed out of the room. As soon as he was gone, Jen felt a dramatic decrease in the power of the magic holding him to the chair. He began to strain against the invisible cords both physically and mentally. He finally broke free. He jumped up and pointed one hand at Ryan and the other at Fyrok. Fyrok broke free first, gliding down from the wall, obviously exhausted. Ryan was up seconds later.
“We have to find Kaylen!” he said. “She must have followed us!” Jen ran after him as he took of out the door. Ryan didn’t see Jen roll his eyes of the giant creature that waited for them outside. Ryan was nearly touching it when he stopped. Jen slammed into him and Ryan fell against it. It tossed its head and they both flew back. Ryan struggled to his feet and pulled out his machete. When Jen didn’t jump up, Ryan turned to look at him. He had hit the wall with his head and was out cold. Ryan suppressed a groan, especially when he realized Fyrok was exhausted from struggling against the constraints. Ryan was on his own. He studied the creature in front of him. It reminded him vaguely of the creatures the Re-animates rode. This must be another of Ryao’s sick creations. It looked like it used to be a dog and had grown twenty times what it was supposed to with a head too big for its body. It had too long fangs protruding from its upper teeth that were two feet long. It had a mane like a gryphon and a thick, scaled tail. The monster snarled at him. Ryan twirled his machete and tightened his grip. The creature lunged, his teeth bared and aiming at Ryan’s throat. Ryan ducked and swung his machete. He landed only a glancing blow, barely nicking its shoulder. The creature tried to turn, but is was so big it had to roll head over heels, landing on its back, to face the other way. It rolled over, back onto its feet, and lunged again. This time Ryan held his ground. The creature bowled him over, but he managed to slice the beasts neck. But it kept going. It turned around in the same somersaulting way and was back on Ryan so fast Ryan was still dazed on the ground. The animal’s mouth descended on him and he plunged his machete into it. It howled in pain and began flinging its head around and pawed at its mouth, trying to get the machete out. Paws pounded into the ground around Ryan. He rolled to the side just in time to keep his head from being smashed. Suddenly, a white flash of light surrounded him. The light burned his eyes and all he could see was white, though instinctively he knew that the light was gone. The noise and pounding had stopped.
“You still in one piece?” Ryan tried to look at Jen, but all he saw was white. “Here.” Ryan felt a hand grab his arm and pull him to his feet. His head his something hard and he winced. “Sorry. Crouch down.” Ryan hunched over and allowed himself to be led away.
“I still can’t see.”
“Sorry about that. I didn’t have time to warn you.”
“It’s not going away.”
“It will. I think.”
“Oh great. What did you do?”
“Turned it to stone.”
Jen, go find Kaylen. I’ll stay here with Ryan. Jen nodded and ran off down the hall.
 
Kaylen didn’t know how long she stared at the tree. She knew whatever the key was, it had to open it from the outside only. Maybe it was something simple, like any living thing. Or it could be something complicated, like stand on your head and clap your hands three times while whistling. There was no way of knowing, she realized. She finally stood up and decided to just touch the tree. If that didn’t work, well, she could always learn to stand on her head. Her hand trembled slightly as she touched the rough bark of the tree. Nothing happened. She sighed in disappointment. A hand grabbed her arm and jerked her around. She screamed in surprise and began to fight against the hand holding her only to have another hand grab her other arm. She found herself looking at a young man with gray hair. His eyes seemed to burn into her and Kaylen knew this man hated her. She stepped on his toes as hard as she could and he let go of her with one hand, but the other tightened so much Kaylen knew she would have bruises.
“You stupid girl,” he hissed, throwing her to the ground. She got half up, but he shoved one of his hands down and she couldn’t move. He raised one hand and a red ball of light appeared in his palm. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you just yet. Just almost kill you.” His hand began to drop, throwing the red ball at her, but a hand caught his wrist. The red ball disappeared and Kaylen let out the breath she had been holding. She could move again, she realized with relief. She turned to see who had hold of the man, expecting Ryan or Jen. Instead, she saw Darien. She stared at him, surprise rendering her speechless. She slowly turned to look at the tree. In the center of the huge trunk was a hole. She could see the forest region on the other side. She looked back at Darien. His hand moved from Rayo’s arm to his throat. He lifted him off his feet. Rayo didn’t struggle, just stared at Darien with bulging eyes. Rayo’s mouth opened and green smoke came out and flowed into Darien’s. His eyes became brighter and his expression lost the distant look. Movement from the tree caught her attention. Clouds of thin mist flew through the hole to land behind Darien. The plumes of mist became denser and became men, women, and children. Each time one of them was out, more green smoke left Rayo. He began to age in front of Kaylen’s eyes. More and more people came out, thousand of them. They all carried a baby in their arms. They filled the courtyard and some began to float in the air above the courtyard. Several almost stepped on Kaylen, leaving her with the same chilled feeling as when she touched the soulless people. Someone grabbed her under her arms and drug her up and backwards, into the doorway out of the castle. She glanced away from Darien just long enough to see Jen. The sky filled with see through people. Rayo’s hair turned gray, then white. His smooth skin grew wrinkled and his flesh began to hang on him, as if he was losing weight. His eyes turned opaque white. There was a constant stream of green smoke flowing out of his mouth and into the people around him. Their faces were joyous and most of them lifted their transparent faces to a sun they hadn’t seen in years. Kaylen saw her mother and sister emerge from the tree. They needed nothing from Rayo. Finally, people stopped coming from the land of the dead. A wind began to blow from nowhere and as it touched Rayo, he began to dissolve into dust, from his feet to his head, leaving Darien with nothing in his hand. The dust flew away, carried by the wind to the ends of the earth. Darien slowly turned to Jen and Kaylen in the doorway. He motioned them forward and the people moved aside to create a path to him. Jen went first with Kaylen gripping his arm tightly. Kaylen saw her mother smile at her and she began to relax. When Darien smiled at them, she relaxed more, enough to drop her grip on Jen’s arm, for which he was grateful.
“Kaylen. Good to see you again. How are you, Jen?”
“Um…fine.”
“Where’s Ryan?” asked Darien.
“Um,” Jen said sheepishly, “I kind of blinded him. But I’m pretty sure it’s only temporary.” Kaylen’s mouth dropped.
“You blinded him?!” She punched him in the arm.
“Ow!”
“You deserved it!”
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Jen looked behind her and sighed in relief. “Ryan, call of your guard dog!” Ryan, still blinking a lot but able to see, stepped in between them. Fyrook carefully flew through the people to land on the tree.
“Hi Darien.” Darien nodded.
“Thank you. You three- four- have saved us.”
“Now what?” Jen asked.
“We go to where we were meant to be. I don’t know where it is, but it will be a far better place than we have been.” Ryan was barely listening.
“What’s that?” he asked, pointing at the base of the tree. A growing circle of bright green grass encircled the tree.
“The same thing that happened when ShadowLake opened is happening here,” Darien said calmly, while the four of them tensed. “It is alright. This will not hurt you. When a portal is created, there is only a limited amount of space in it. In the real world, hopes, dreams, and desires are not contained. In fake worlds, they have not enough room. In ShadowLake, the greatest desire was for humans to die, for the world to be perfect for Shadows. So when it was opened, those desires were let free and began to change to world.”
“What did all of you desire?” asked Jen nervously as the change came closer, picking up speed.
“Kaylen knows.” Jen and Ryan looked down a her. She frowned in concentration.
“Life,” she murmured. “We wanted life more than anything. We wanted loved ones with use always. We wanted a second chance to get it right.” Darien nodded. The change reached them. Kaylen expected pain, but there was none. Instead, she felt like she was in a cloud. All around her was something soft and warm. Then it passed. She found herself on her knees. She slowly stood. Jen and Ryan had remained standing. When she looked at them, they all let out loud gasps. Each one of them now had long black hair, Kaylen’s reaching to her knees while Jen and Ryan’s was slightly below their shoulders and tied back out of their faces. Their eyes were a brilliant green. Their skin was all the same honey shade. They stared at each other in wonder.
“Look around,” Darien said gently. They turned. The change had reached the castle. The fallen walls were restored. Dust and spider webs disappeared. Two hundred years seemed to just fall away from the castle. Without thinking, they ran into the castle to get outside. Just ahead of them was the change, getting faster and faster, so no matter how hard they ran, they couldn’t catch up. The burst out of the castle and ran through the city. Houses rose up. The dirt on the streets disappeared and cobblestone shone. The finally reached the outskirts of the city and skidded to a stop. The entire land was changing. The hills flattened to become plains, then gigantic trees rose up to turn the plains into forests. The change kept spreading, flattening mountains and turning the desert wasteland into thick green forests. Poisoned lakes became clean. The injured and the sick were healed. Life spread out through the land. It continued to change things after it left the sight of Kaylen, Ryan, Jen and Fyrok, whose appearance hadn’t changed. For the first time in a long time, rain fell.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” They all turned to see Darien beside them. “You all affected the change, you know. Being the first ones. The change will give some of your characteristics to everyone now.” They just stared at him, not really understanding. “It is time for us to go now.” The ghost people began to rise into the air, becoming smaller and smaller, but glowing faintly so they looked like stars. Kaylen waved to her mother and sister. Darien was the last to go.
“Darien, what is going to happen to us?” Jen asked. “I don’t mean us as in the four of us, but all of us that become changed.”
“Whatever you want. You have all been given a second chance at life. A new race has been born. How all of you will be remembered in the world and the impact you make is up to you. Don’t waste this chance,” he said inertly. He was beginning to rise above them. “You have been given life. Take it.” He rose higher until he was just one among thousands. They rose higher and higher until they finally disappeared, leaving the world behind.
“A new race,” said Kaylen in awe. Jen grinned.
“And I know just what to call us. It’s an ancient word meaning life.”
 

One Thousand Years Later

Kaylen walked slowly through the halls of the Kiarsh Castle. Laughter rang from all corners of the castle, from the high laughter of little girls to the deep laughter of men. People ran past Kaylen, always towards the entrance of the castle. Some called to Kaylen to hurry up, but she waved them on. Her thoughts were too full to hurry her feet. “Kaylen!” She turned to see Tiaka running towards her. Kaylen smiled in pleasure at the sight of her daughter. They joined hands and kissed each other on the cheek as a customary greeting, then hugged each other tight. Lots of questions and no answers flew through the air as they inquired how each had been in the last year. Before either could really find out anything, Tiaka ran off to join all the others. Kaylen watched her with a small smile as she ran off, still looking like a teenager, just like Kaylen. Kaylen finally reached the entrance to the castle. Thousands of black-haired, green-eyed people congregated in the city, all making their way to the grassy area around the city. Kaylen joined the throng, looking around for familiar faces. She briefly saw a boy she thought was one of her great-great-great-great-great grandchildren, but she wasn’t sure. No one bothered to keep up with their family past the great grandchildren; there were just too many. She saw Reeba and Maseo’s daughter waving at her across the street. Kaylen waved back, knowing it was impossible to cross with the city so crowded. She briefly saw her son, Kenten, but he was swallowed up in the crowd before she could call out to him. It didn’t matter; she would find him later and see his baby daughter. The crowd flowed slowly out of the city and onto the grasslands. Before she was pushed out of the city, Kaylen jumped into the air and landed on the rooftop of the last house. From there, she had an unobstructed view of the celebration. Hundreds of long, low tables stood in vertical lines. People sat a them cross-legged with their families, friends, or strangers that were soon friends. Each person was responsible for their own food so the tabletops filled up as the tables filled up. In the distance, Kaylen could see the raised table that the Sanvours and the king sat at, perpendicular to all the other tables. Nayl and Tyca’s son, Teno, sat in the center of the table. Nayl had handed the kingship to him one hundred and fifty years ago. Nayl and Tyca sat on his left. On his right sat Skikit. Skikit’s ability to see anyone anywhere in the entire kingdom made him invaluable to Nayl and now Teno. Beside him sat Maseo and Reeba, Tyen, and Branot, their wives sitting in the front seats of the tables below, then Cidie. On the other side of Teno sat Jen and Fiona, who was holding their infant son, then five empty spaces. Kaylen frowned, slightly wondering where Ryan had got to. In front of the table, Luminor sprawled out, eyeing the food in front of him.
A flock of phoenixes flew over the city. It was a beautiful sight as the red and golden birds flew in perfect harmony. Their colors ranged from red with a little gold to gold with a little red. Kaylen’s gaze darted from bird to bird.
You had me two phoenixes ago.
“How have you been?”
Kaylen, you saw me three days ago.
“I know.” Fyrok laughed and landed in the empty space farthest from Teno.
“Kaylen!” Kaylen looked down to see two sets of identical faces. Josh and Jake were now seven feet tall and very muscular. Their twin wives looked petite next to them, though Kaylen knew they were six feet tall. They waved, then took off down the rows of tables. Their wives sat down in the front while Josh and Jake jumped onto the platform and sat down two seats away from Teno, next to Fyrok. Kaylen looked around, startled to see that nearly everyone had sat down.
“Hey, you coming?” Kaylen jumped down and landed beside her husband. Ryan took her hand and they began to run to their seats. They made it just as Teno stood up. He waited until they were settled before speaking. Silence descended. Hundreds of thousands of people were there, everyone in the entire kingdom. Most lived in and around Kiarsh, but some had traveled for several days, just like they did every year for the celebration.
“Welcome, my brothers and sisters. Another year has gone by and once again we celebrate the day our lived were changed forever. First, a moment of silence for those of our number that died in the attacks.” The small noises that came with any great number of people fell silent and complete stillness covered them. Even the animals and wind stopped moving. Kaylen remembered the horror of those first few days. Everyone received the same unspoken call to go to Kiarsh. Only 5387 people came. Everyone else had been killed by the Magi. Lia died trying to take on three Magi. She managed to stop them, but lost her life in the process. Franj had drained his entire energy supply and killed himself along with fifty of his former classmates. Cidie had died by the hands of the Headmaster of the Institute. Teno continued speaking.
“As every year, Skikit is going to recount the tale that has led us to this existence.” Teno sat down and Skikit stood up. He told their story, starting with Jen’s dreams, and ending with the new kingdom. Everyone knew the story by heart, having heard it every year of their lives, but every time, everyone was stunned by the twisted mind of Rayo and the treachery of the Magi. None of the Magi had survived the change. Now, everyone had magic, but a different magic. Their magic was tied to life and nature. They could do no harm to anyone with their magic except on Outsiders intent on harming them, and even then, they could not kill. But Outsiders were rare and there seemed to be less every year. The only real trouble they had was with Shadens, people who ate the black fruit on the Lao Continent. These people became horrible creatures with a lust for blood. Their skin became a black so black it seemed to swallow up light. Their hair fell out and their nails became long and curved with razor sharp ends. They were strong and fast. Skikit always knew immediately when one stepped into the kingdom. Josh and Jake and their wives were primarily the ones sent to track down the creatures and kill them. There was no reversing the effects.
Skikit picked up his glass. “To the ones who died before us, whose desire for life has given us our immortality, our love of life, and our love of each other.”
“To the ones before us,” echoed the people. Teno stood up and motioned for Skikit to sit.
“To our Sanvours, the ones who saved us, who shared with all of us the effects of the Sillow fruit, and gave us their courage and perseverance.”
“To our Sanvours.” As always, Kaylen blushed. It wasn’t like she ever knew what she was doing. She looked down the table to see everyone studying the table with intense expressions. Ryan squeezed her hand and drew her to her feet. Jen also stood up.
“To life,” Jen said, raising his glass and holding it in front of Ryan.
“To us,” Ryan said, touching his glass to Jen’s. Kaylen touched her glass to theirs and finished the toast.
“To the elves.”
“To the elves."

THE END!!!​
 
hi guys. i FINALLY finished. so, any questions i didnt answer, any suggestions, anything, please ask/tell. i am going to rewrite this and try and get it published. thanx!
 
Alex asked the same thing. i guess i could... but i'll post it as Pina Cool Ada and give Alex her thing back. mine wouldnt do it, so she let me use hers while she used mine... i dont know what to post next though...
 
I loved the ending.
I loved the elves, that was a great idea.
But 1000 years seemed a bit far away, maybe you could make it 150 years or something closer?
I like phoenixes.
How did Ryan destroy Shadowrealm? I mean, I know the basic idea, but maybe you could put in a paragraph or two describing it?

I loved it all!
 
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