Chapter 2 | I (Almost) Explode A Mountain

I must've fallen asleep because the next thing I knew the sky was lightning and it set off a soft pink glow. I woke up with my head was buried in the book and I lurched up in disgust. I shut the book loudly and put it back in my bag. I gazed upon my burned out home and decided that I didn't feel like sleeping on the ground.

I was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday and they smelled so I'd need to buy myself a new batch.

With effort I formed a portal to another realm. When I arrived into the new setting, Keracs immediately began shoving merchandise in my face. "Want a wooden beaded necklace? Buy one get one free!"

"How about a nice boiling bath of lava, it does nicely for your skin!"

"I'm selling limited fluorescent octopus tentacles. Buy eight and get thirty-five percent off!"

They nagged me until I was able to escape when a new group of customers arrived. They forgot all about me and went to convince another group of Keracs who weren't selling.

The Keracian World is strange. It is covered in rubbery pastel textured stuff. It is very annoying and distracting. The eracs often enjoyed creating or catching things and selling them to people for a "good" deal. The world isn't linked to any sort of equonix which meant I was the only one (aside from Laura) who had access to it. The Keracs were even more disturbing than the world they lived in. They had long bendy legs and long arms. They didn't have necks, their head jutted from the base of their body which seems like they ate too many hamburgers (yes, I have eaten a hamburger from the human world before. I actually gained what they call "fat" from my last vacation there. Don't ask me to do it again). They didn't have fingers as I did. Their arms ended in stubs which made me question how they were able to make any sort of products. I only came here to buy my clothes and lately I have been striking good deals with some of the people here on buying equipment for my house...ah sorry, their shopping vibe is affecting me.

I rushed through the massive market filled with a variety of bizarre items I couldn't even name. I finally found my way to the familiar street I usually went to shop. I scanned the row of markets and waving away shop keepers. Jordic, the home depot man spotted me before I could. "Ah Ember, there's my star customer! Let's see now what do you need today? A new sheet of metal? Several planks of sapped coated birch wood? Perhaps a stained glass window of your old pal…?" He held up a window with himself fused into it. "Jordic, I've only known you for two weeks," I said flatly. Jordic sighed dreamily and said, "Yes, and those have been the best two weeks of my business. Never have I made such a profit!" I pushed him off me. "Ugh, I'll take the sapped birch wood and a dresser if you don't mind...Have you seen Mel," I asked. Jordic nodded excitedly and pointed to the back. "She's in her room stitching, I'll go get your wood and furniture!" And with that, he darted off.

I walked to the back of the shop to a door with a label on it that read "Mel." I opened it and wandered inside. Mel was not a Kerac. She was a Giffa. Another species that lived in the realm. Unlike the Keracs, they were beautiful creatures. They were more humanoid than the keracs, they have usually long dark thick braids of hair, they were very tall and they had long but thin gentle hands. They had human faces so it didn't seem too strange.

I forgot who created this world but who ever did definitely had a wild imagination but I guess they had some sense to create giffas.

"Hi Mel," I greeted. Mel looked up from her weaving and smiled. "Ember!" She set her loom down and stood up. I half hugged her but it made me feel uncomfortable. "Did my brother give you any trouble," she asked. "Heh, he went to go get me some of that wood I ordered." Mel smiled a bit and sat back down. She began weaving again and asked, "So what can I get for you?" Unlike Kreacs, Giffas aren't very pushy. Mel was Jordics half brother since he didn't have a family before. His parents abandoned him. Mel found him and took care of him.

Jordic barged in. "Ember your sapped birch wood is waiting, come outside to pay," he said eagerly. He left the room as quickly as he entered. I turned back to Mel who was smirking. "Anyways I need a few new clothes…" The last word died in my throat because even before I even finished my sentence, three new sets of shirts and khakis sat on the table. "Th-thanks," I stuttered. This time Mel laughed lightly. "No problem Ember, I'm willing to help out any time." I grabbed the neatly folded clothes and slipped it in my satchel with my books. "So...how much," I asked suspiciously. Mel shrugged. "No charge, you're the nicest person I ever met, keep being who you are and you won't have to pay." I sucked in a breath. "Thanks Mel, that meant a lot." Mel nodded but she already seemed focused in her weaving. I left her alone to do what she loved and exited the shop. Jordic was there to greet me.

"Ember, there you are. I was wondering if out were ever coming out at all," he chided. I shouldered my bag which was starting to get heavy. "No I'm out, so how much for the wood?" Jordic put his stubby arm to his chin. "Well that's one-hundred for the premade dresser and for the wood, two tons, every ten pounds costs about fifty coin so that would be…"

I swirled my arm to make a portal and grabbed something out of it. A clear red crystal weighed in my hand. I tossed it to Jordic who barely caught it. He looked at me, shocked. "This is a Polyphonian crystal, do you know how much this is worth?"

Jordic nodded his head furiously. I half-smiled. "Keep it, thanks a lot Jordy," I replied. He ran back into his shop with a massive crystal in his arms.

I leaned on the big pile of logs for a moment. Then I stepped back and began moving my arms in a big circle formation. A portal opened up beneath the logs and they fell. The logs should be at my hill, all that was left to do was to find some ointment for the acidic burn that I received from that Wolfipine monster thing...I got nothing. One lady(ahem Kerac) sold me some gel specifically made to heal godonian poison. I bought it and made a portal to go back home.

When I got to the other side, I ended up standing on top of the logs. I jumped off of them easily and clapped the dust off of my hands. I happened to look in the direction of a batch of trees and saw a dark silhouette leaning on a trunk. I sighed and trudged over to it.

I was greeted by my sister, Laura. "What are you doing here," I hissed. She rolled her yellow lamplight eyes. "To help you, duh." I heard a hint of annoyance in her voice. I should've been the one to be annoyed here. I motioned her to follow me over to the logs. For the next three hours, we worked on my house. We destroyed the first design and rebuild the next. It didn't take long because one, the logs were easy to teleport around where we needed them, and two, I had help. We finished the outline and we'd get the rest done the next day. Right before Laura left she asked me about if I still wanted to help her out in the mission for the gods to save the Magick realm. I shut her down but before she left, I told her about my dream I had the night before. Of course, I left out the part when I dreamed about my memory. She had a thoughtful look on her face. "The man in the dark sounds like Dark Heart but I don't know who the creature in the pit is. He sounds like a primordial god," she said. I shook my head. It can't be, aren't the Golden Elders primordial?" A flash of regret crossed Laura's face, but she hid it quickly. "Nevermind, I need to go. I have to figure out what's going on," she said and disappeared. I focused on the spot she had just been, then shook my head and turned to my new, almost-built house and shook my head. With a jolt, I realized how similar she looked to Dark Heart in my dream. No, I need to figure out what's going on.

I headed back to my house with a different perspective about my sister. This time, I didn't read any of the books she gave to me. I studied the map my mother had gotten me for my eleventh birthday. The map of the realms… I had one of almost every world but I missed one. Darkaurus was the only place I couldn't map. I wasn't allowed to go there but Laura was. It didn't make any sense to me, unless my mother favored Laura over me! I needed to find out more about my "sister" so I began to pack. It was the only way to find out more about my her.

I grabbed a bracelet off of my dresser. It was woven with gold and silver thread, infused with shiny black crystals. My mother had also given it to me. She told me that the gems came from my father before he had died. The bracelet was the only thing to remind me of my full family. I also decided that if I wanted any attention from the gods and to be allowed back up into my home, my rightful place and the daughter of Phoenix, I should probably help them.

I slipped the bracelet onto my wrist and continued to pack, getting ready for the adventure ahead of me.

That night I slept in my bed for the last time. I know it seems ridiculous to build a house, live in it one day, and leave it forever, but I didn't see this coming. I thought I would be staying here for a long time, but I guess I was going on the "mission" after all. I slowly drifted off to sleep.

My dream was a memory I had long ago, when I was very young. I was in the Magick realm, in the Magi Palace. My mother was yelling and arguing with another woman.

"Eko, how could you do this? We need you," the woman begged. My mom was mad. I learned harshly that if you make a goddess of fire angry you could end up as a smoking grease spot on the side of the road, but the woman had surprisingly not been shot down. I wondered why…

"You don't understand Linda, this isn't where I belong!" I learned that the lady's name was Linda. "You might not belong here, but I am still your sister, and these are still your people! You can't turn away from them like that," she yelled now. "I'm not turning away from them, I'm just going back home. Why can't you see that? I want to go back to my family," she said apologetically. Linda was furious now. "So now you're saying that I'm not your family, Sammy isn't your family. We aren't your family?" She waved her hand around the empty palace. "You are my family, but it's time for me to leave you. I can't stay with you forever!" Linda let out a bitter laugh. "Of course you can, you are immortal!"

"I have a place to be, things to plan, a daughter to take care of, people to catch up with. I just discovered my real siblings, I want to see them," Mother replied. "So that's it, you're just going to leave us to fend for ourselves?"

"You were able to do that decades ago, why can't you do it now?"

"Trouble is stirring, I can feel it. There are more monsters now, smarter, faster, more vicious, Eko...something is going on!"

"Figure it out yourself, you can't always depend on me Linda," Mother sneered. "Please Eko, don't go. Please," Linda begged.

My mother turned to me and picked me up without saying anything. Linda stared at her incredulously.

We turned away and began to walk in the direction of the exit. "Fine...we don't need you," Linda shouted from behind. I heard her cry, but I didn't feel anything in that moment. I forgot how old I was but I was young. All I knew was that my mom and the lady had gotten in a fight. Now that I dreamed about it, I understood why the Magick Realm didn't like me...because they hated my mother.

My dream fast forwarded to the time when I was being pulled into the pit by my mom.

No, not this again, I thought in my head.

I was back at the edge watching myself being pulled by my mother's misty green form. My dream self connected with my body and suddenly I felt the panic and fear all over again.

I hated it.

I continued to be dragged. When I finally was hovering over infinite darkness, the mist disappeared and I fell. Pure panic rose into my throat and I screamed all the way down. I thought the fall would last forever but then I saw the foggy ground. That threw away any worries about falling forever, but replaced it with a fear of dying from fall damage. Boy, would that be humiliating.

I fell through the fog and hit the surface of freezing cold water. That wasn't expected. What was even more surprising is that I was still alive. I began to surface. The water around me began to steam because of my heat conducting body. I got out of the murky pool before it started to boil. My body steamed and before I knew it, I was completely dry.

The ravine was dark but since I was so scared, my body had slightly glowed orange. I hoped no one living decided to come give me a hug or I'd accidentally smother them. I walked through the rocky surface in (almost) darkness. The fog hid everything from in front of me. I didn't know what I was walking towards but I hoped that it wasn't too dangerous. "Mom," I shouted. My voice echoed back to me. "Mom," I yelled her name again. "Ember!" I heard her calling me back. I called her name again and began running in the direction of her voice. I tripped over rock spires jutting out of the ground but I didn't care. I wanted to back with my mother. I stumbled several times and received nasty cuts in my legs but I kept getting up again. Eventually, an orange glow lit the fog of darkness. I finally found my mother. She fell to her knees and I grabbed her and held her tight. She hugged me back. "Oh Ember, I'm so sorry," she catered. My emotions from the old memory came flooding into my present self, making the vision seem more realistic.

"Momma," I cried. I held onto her tightly, then finally I let go. She held my wrists and looked into my eyes. "There's someone I want you to meet," she said, unusually eager. She got up and held my hand. We walked through the darkness, both beings of pure heat. After a few moments of walking, another soft glow lit the horizon. I couldn't see what was causing it because of the fog, but as we got close, it got stronger.

When the place became completely clear, I finally understood why my mother was so excited. It was a small festive town. There were lights everywhere, which explained why it was seen so far away. There were big houses and a lot of parties. I almost got excited myself until I saw someone standing at the edge watching us. As we got closer his features became more detailed. He had dark blue eyes, a military cropped hairstyle, smooth black hair almost like mine, except I had auburn highlights in it. My mother left me and rushed to the man's side. She didn't hug him but she stood really close to him. A big smile was on her face, and she seemed purely happy. Then she looked back at me and said "Your father Ember!" I put two, and two together and then suddenly I was grinning like my mom. I ran to him with outstretched arms. Right when I was about to hug, I fell straight through him and tumbled to the ground. A sad vibe passed over all of us. I got up from the ground wiping pebbles off of my already damaged legs. My mother helped me up, while I was trying to understand what just happened. Tears formed in the corners of my eyes, but I didn't let it show.

My mother still stood by his side, but he bent down to look at me. He stroked the side of my face, bt all I felt was air. "You're so beautiful," he said softly. I wanted to hug him but I knew better. "Papa," I sobbed. "I love you Ember, I've always wanted to say that to you. I've missed you and your mother. I love you both." We sat in the gloom, at the edge of the festive glowing town just talking. My father told me stories of when he and my mom were together. He even told me that he proposed to my mother at a waterfall and she just laughed. Finally I had the nerve to ask him, "Why are you down here papa?" Another wave of sadness came over us, like the one before. My mother picked me up and my father stood again. "You'll understand when you get older," she whispered in despair.

Suddenly the ground began to rumble. My mother almost dropped me. She put me down after. I figured that it was for the best. "PHOENIX," a loud angry bellow came from above. The ground rumbled again and I panicked. I don't know what happened, but I tripped on a rock spire sticking out of the ground and fell.

I was in pain and very, very dizzy. I heard my mother shout frantically at my father and he disappeared. The she helped me up off the dangerous ground. I fell again out of exhaustion. She finally picked me up in her arms and said, "It's okay Ember, you're okay. We'll be fine, your father is okay." She tried to reassure me, but I could hear the worry in her voice. Then something warm touched the side of my face. At first I thought it was my mom but I realized it was blood. By now my vision was dim and blurry, and my hearing was very cloudy but I could feel the ground rumbling and my mother carrying me.

Through my unfocused eyes, my mother stiffly made a portal and we jumped through it.

It was calmer on the other side but my mother was still tensed up. She laid me down on a cot and moved the hair out of my face. "I'm so sorry Ember, I--," her voice faltered. She left me for a moment and came back. She dabbed the side of my face with a warm wet towel where the blood was. "Momma," I muttered hopelessly. "I'm sorry sweetie," she repeated. The her face twisted in anger and she shouted, "TABETHA!"

I woke up sweating, and having a feeling that I just hit my head very hard. I got out of my bed.

After a long frightening night, I had enough nightmares of the past. I couldn't get the feeling that all of my old memories just happened yesterday. I tried to ignore it, but it rose in the back of my mind and stayed there. I wasn't sure how any of this was supposed to help me. It seemed like ever since I left my home, my memories were just trying to get e to feel even more homesick.

When I was ready to find Laura, I focused on her. Making a portal to go somewhere if fine because at least you know what to expect, but if you're trying to locate someone, you don't know what's on the other side.

A portal formed in front of me and I stepped through.

Immediately, I was hit by cold sharp winds. Snow and icicles zipped by my face and I uselessly attempted to swat them out. I was in the middle of a blizzard. I couldn't find Laura, nor would I understand why she would be here. I began to glow. I was about to end this stupid storm when a hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into darkness.

A sharp cry of pain rang in my ears, "Ow!"

"Yaaaaaaa!" I unsheathed my sword and pointed it at the person. "It's me, you dolt," Laura yelled scared and angry. I lowered my sword and saw her cowering before me. I sighed and put my sword back in my belt. She stood up and stormed past me. We were in a cave, I couldn't locate the entrance but a blue campfire was lit in the far corner.

"You could've at least warned me before pulling me through," I replied to her hotly. "I'm not the one who was about to explode a mountain and kill both of us!" I opened my mouth but no sound came out. After a silent moment Laura growled, "That's what I thought."

I stepped forward uneasily. "So what is this place," I asked. "The blizzard was strong so I had to find shelter to escape the storm," she said. I could tell she was trying to sound defiant but her voice was shaky and she sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "Laura… what's wrong," I asked tensely. Her right arm gripped her left wrist. I saw that her hand was smothered and burned. It did not look pretty. "Oh Laura--" I began. I was too guilty to finish my sentence. I realized that when I was outside of the mountain, I was superheating myself to keep my body warm. I didn't realize that when Laura grabbed me and pulled me to safety, she also burned herself in the process. Touching me when I'm in that form is like touching fresh uncooled metal from a forge. Having her inherit a fire ability only made the burn less excruciating than it already was. "I'm okay," she muttered, but she clearly was not okay. She was trembling and rapidly breathing. "I know a healer," I said, but I still felt a little guilty. "Can you teleport us out of here," I asked. She nodded but her focus was on something else.

There was an opening in the cave, which was not there before. Several deep growls echoed through the cave. "Ember--" Laura started to say. "I know, I know. Back away, I'll deal with this."

A shaggy black wolf finally appeared at the entrance, snarling at us. Several more followed. Now kids, these aren't your everyday, nature friendly wolves. These wolves are made only in Darkaurus. They are five times bigger, five times faster, and five times more dangerous and hostile.

Their two inch fangs were stained with blood. I pulled out my sword once more, trying not to imagine my blood on their sharp teeth.

One wolf stepped through the crowd proudly. He was even bigger that the others. His coat of fur was way thicker that the rest, and he had a nasty scar on his snout. I guessed him to be the alpha. One other wolf followed him to the front. She nuzzled against his chest and then returned to her aggressive stance. I swung my sword in and empty threat to frighten them but they didn't flinch. They did growl louder which was not a good sign. The alpha barked twice and the other wolves began to surround us slowly. I knew what they were doing. They were going to attack on all angles. I couldn't protect Laura like this because if I made any effort to attack one wolf, the other ten would be on top of me in a second. This is not how I wanted to die. I didn't know what else to do but I did have one idea. I raised my arm in the air and closed it into a fist. Immediately, flames leaped from my hand and formed into a circle. Most of the wolves were able to get out of the way but a few had their coats burned and they ran away whimpering in pain. Some of the wolves circled the perimeter of the ring of fire, snarling in frustration. Unfortunately, majority of the wolves made it into the circle, including the alpha. Two wolves jumped at me but I made a portal right in front of them. They jumped through and ended up crashing into each other. I spread my hand over the other three that were near the ring. Flame from the circumference danced from its spot and onto the wolves who panicked and ran. Another wolf came at me and jumped on top of me. Its claws digging into my shoulder. I punched it in the gut and it went flying up. It fell beside me and limped away. The two wolves I ticked off earlier by making them run into each other came at me again. I swung my sword in a 180 degree arc and slashed both of them.

I was about to applaud myself when something rammed itself into me. When I shook the dizziness away, the wolf jumped on me like that last one did. I tried the same thing and punched it. He got off of me but only seemed mildly annoyed. This was the alpha. We circled each other, then he slashed with his paw. I dodged but his claws grazed my arm and drew blood. Instinctively I brought my right arm up to it to cover the cut. Suddenly a blood curdling scream echoed off the walls. "Laura," I cried. She couldn't respond. She was throwing weak flickering flames at the wolf that had just chomped down on her leg. I had totally forgotten about the beta wolf, I just assumed that it had ran away, and I totally forgot about Laura during the fight.

During my distraction, the alpha advanced on me. He dove for my waist, but I swung my sword toward his neck out of reaction. I almost felt elated, but when the blade hit his hide, it shattered. One of the pieces ricocheted off his fur and implanted itself in my gut. I groaned and stumbled. I tried to focus on the fight but my vision was fading. The only thing that functioned in my mind for the next two seconds were that we were gonna die.