1.

1.

The town of Lillith was bigger than Cloud Valley village, Shoden saw as he and Trigger walked through the cobblestone streets. There were many stores selling specific items instead of a single general store and it appeared as though there were two separate schools, one for boys and another for girls. As Shoden walked and looked he realized quickly that the town seemed to be dead. There was nobody walking to and from the homes and businesses and said businesses had a CLOSED - WILL OPEN AT NOON signs posted in their windows.

    "Where is everybody, Trigger?" He asked his faithful dog. As the final word left his mouth a giant explosion erupted from further down the road. Shoden thought the sound that followed it was, at first, screams of fright and agony, but soon realized they were cheers and applause.

    Trigger looked up at his owner with an expression of "what was that?" on his face.

Shoden shrugged and said, "I dunno, boy, let's go see." "And the two took off down the street.

__________________________________________________________

The large town square was filled with many people. They were standing around a stage that was decorated with red and green banners, obviously at someone standing there. The smoke from the large explosion was just starting to dissipate high in the air.

    "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen!" A booming voice came from the stage. Shoden, in the very back of the large crowd, couldn't see who was speaking. "For my next trick I am going to need a volunteer from this fine audience."

    There were shouts and cries from the crowd, all wanting to be picked for this person's (no doubt a Magician) next magic trick. Then all of a sudden, everything was quiet and all heads turned to Shoden and Trigger. 

    "You, my dear boy!" The Magician on stage called out and slowly the crowd began to part for Shoden, who was starting to sweat nervously. "Come on, now," the Magician beckoned. "No need to be nervous."

    The crowd finished parting and Shoden could see him perfectly. He was a tall man wearing dark purple clothing. He wore classes over his eyes and a dark gray beard matched the hair on his head, both in a ponytail. Beside him on a table were four objects: a Wand, a golden Cup, a long Sword, and a flat Pentacle disc. Shoden cleared his throat nervously and began to walk slowly up the aisle of people. As he passed them they began a building clap that reached a furious applause as he reached the stage.

    "What's your name, my boy?" the Magician asked as he shook his hand.

    "Shoden Briggs, sir." Shoden replied.

    "You are not from Lillith are you, Shoden?"

Shoden shook his head. "Cloud Valley, sir."

    The Magician nodded with a smile and said, "A very good place. My name is Grimwall the Magician of the North."

Shoden felt his skin prickle lightly as the Magician introduced himself. This was the man he had come to see. The audience applauded at the introduction, though they probably heard it many times before.

    "Shoden Briggs," Grimwall the Magician said. "Will you volunteer for this feat of magic?"

Shoden shrugged his shoulders, "Sure, I'd be happy to."

    "Very good," Grimwall smiled. "Now," He picked up the long Wand that lay on the table, it was knobby and had several green leaves still attached. "I want you to clear your mind, except for one thought, Shoden." He turned to the crowd in front of them. "And since young Shoden here has never been in Lillith before, you can rest assure that there is no tomfoolery afoot here." He turned back to Shoden. "Do you have the thought?"

    Shoden nodded slowly and sadly. He had tried to think of something else, but the shadow and void in his heart had been to overwhelming and the only thought he had was of the raiders attacking and killing his parents. Their screams that pierced the night and how the raiders had laughed because there was no one around to answer the cries and pleads for help. The blood  that sprayed onto the blankets and as far as the window. The gurgles of his parents as they tried to breath and scream, but couldn't because the raiders had pierced their lungs and throat. How the - 

    "SHODEN!"

Grimwall's mighty bellow drew Shoden from the memory and back to the Lillith square stage. He realized he had been sobbing.

    Grimwall turned towards the audience and said, "I'm will not share this poor boy's thought with you. I feel dirty for seeing it myself, but you can see for yourselves that it was something truly saddening." He turned to Shoden. "Those were your parent's, weren't they?"

    "Yes," Shoden said, a mixture of sadness and surprise in his voice. He had always thought that magic was hokey and fake, but now saw that this man was a true Magician.

    "I am very sorry for your loss, my boy." Grimwall said, gripping Shoden's shoulders comforting. He turned back towards the crowd. "I thank you all for coming out here today and taking time from your business. I thank you, also, for your generous donations. Have a good day, everyone." And with that, the crowd dispersed and went to their daily routine, leaving Grimwall and Shoden on the stage.

    "I knew you'd be coming, Shoden," the Magician said as he began to gather the items on the table and pack them into a drawstring burlap bag. "I saw and heard it in my dream."

    "You did?" Shoden asked.

    "Yes, I'm afraid I also saw the raiders, as well. I'm very sorry for your loss."

Shoden nodded slowly and spoke quietly, "So you know why I'm here?"

    Grimwall turned to Shoden and shook his head. "No, I awoke from the dream before that. I hate prying into others." He hefted his bag over his shoulder. "Come, Shoden."

    "Where are we going?"

    "My house. We can speak there."

Shoden nodded, called Trigger to his side, and followed Grimwall the Magician.

________________________________________________________

    Grimwall's house stood on the last hill of the Lillith territory. It was no bigger than the house that Shoden had grown up in on Cloud Scraper, but it seemed to be in poorly maintained conditions. The wood was dark and soggy with rot and the windows were scummy and cracked. The yard was filled with weeds and the door that led inside was crooked on its hinges.

    As Grimwall opened the door to his small shack, Shoden at first thought he was seeing things: The single room inside was almost twice the size of the building on the outside and the walls were immaculate and beautiful. the window in the back of the room was clean and unmarred. Shoden gave Grimwall a confused look and the Magician let out a laugh that made Trigger whimper and rush behind his owner's legs.

    "It's an illusion, Shoden," Grimwall said as he led the boy and the dog into the house. "I have important things in here and I need to make sure they don't get stolen, so I make the outside look like an abandoned shack. Ingenious, eh?"

    Shoden nodded as he entered the room. It was crowded with boxes and tables and alchemical instruments. The back wall had a tapestry on it that showed the charted path of the Lesser Suns and Moons. In the middle of their circular path were the Sun and Moon, standing side by side, holding hands. The opposite wall was hung with numerous shelves that held Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacle discs of all shapes and sizes. As Shoden looked around the room, Grimwall replaced the objects from his burlap bag onto the wall with the others.

    "Just clear off that table in the corner," the Magician said, pointing to a small wooden table. "And have a seat, I'll be there in a moment." As he spoke he was opening a cupboard next to the door and drawing out a teapot and two cups.

    Shoden sat down at the table, set his sack of items on the floor and said, "So, you know the raiders killed my parents?"

    "Yes," Grimwall nodded solemnly as he brought over the teapot and cups. "Unfortunately." He sat down and poured tea into one of the cups and handed it to Shoden. "Drink that and talk to me."

    "About what?" Shoden asked as he sipped the beverage. It was warm and sweet. 

    "Well, you came here for a reason. You left right after the death of your parents. Why is that?"

Shoden shrugged and said, "Well, there really wasn't any reason to stay in Cloud Valley. See, my parent's and I raised -"

    "Mountain sheep, yes, yes. I know, Shoden, I know more about you than you think. Tell me this, why are you here to see me?"

    "I was told you might know where the raiders are," Shoden said, finding himself nervous to ask the question.

For several moments Grimwall sipped his tea in silence. The only sound was Trigger's paws slapping on the hardwood floor, looking around the room.

    "Yes," Grimwall finally said. Trigger stopped walking for a moment to look at him and then continued. "Yes, I should've seen it."

    "What do you mean?" Shoden asked.

    "You seek revenge for your parents' deaths, don't you, Shoden?"

Shoden nodded and looked at the floor between his feet, suddenly feeling ashamed.

    The Magician touched the boy's shoulder and said, "You don't need to feel shame, boy, the want for vengeance is very natural. You are entitled to it. Those raiders took what you love most."

    Shoden nodded slowly and quietly.

    "I can help you, Shoden," Grimwall said. "But if I am to, I must look inside you. Do I have your permission?"

Shoden looked at the Magician curiously for a moment and then nodded. A moment later he felt as though something was invading his body. No, not his body, something deeper. Something was invading his mind and his soul. It was squeezing through every crevice, well, almost. Whatever it was passed over parts of him without seeing into them. For a second it passed over and stayed on the shadow and void in his heart, blocking it out. Then, it swept past, continuing its search. A second later, it swept quickly out of him and he felt strangely empty.

    "You have anger and sadness in you, Shoden," Grimwall said, he sounded out of breath. "A hole in your heart where your parents' deaths play over and over. Also, though, I see strength in you. Strength of such proportions that haven't seen in years. I could train that, you know. You could be a Magician as I am."

    "I could?" Shoden asked.

The Magician nodded with a smile. "You could be a great one," his smile dropped. "But, that hole in your heart. It must be patched before you can become one."

    "How can I patch it?"

    "There is one in the City of Arc, the High Priestess of Allworld," Grimwall said. "Tell her of your case and she will give you the advice you need to patch the void. She is very wise in her words, Shoden. No doubt she can help you."    

    "Thank you, Grimwall," Shoden lowered his head in a bow of thanks. "Where is the City of Arc?"

    "We can discuss that in a minute, first, there is another thing I saw in you."

    "What's that?"

The Magician cleared his throat and said, "You traveled through the Gray Woods to get here, didn't you?"

    "Yes," Shoden said slowly, unsure of the Magician's point. "Why?"

    "You saw something, didn't you?" Grimwall asked in a low voice.

Immediately, a chill went up Shoden's back. The tree creature. "Yes," he said. "I did."

    "Do you know what it was?"

Shoden shook his head. "No, I'd never seen anything like it before."

    "What did it look like?"

    "At first I thought it was just a tree, but then I realized the branches were arms and legs, and then it opened its eyes. They were horrible, like live coals. It saw me and chased me out of the Woods."

    Grimwall nodded slowly.

    "Do you know what it is?" Shoden asked.

    "There are places on Allworld that are portals, Shoden. They can manifest things that are not of the gods, but of...something else."

    "The Devil?"

    "No, not quite. Something between man and Devil. A creation of the mind."

    "How is that possible?" Shoden couldn't believe that something imagined could come alive.

    "These portals aren't like anything else on our world. They don't need life to thrive, as you can see from the Gray Woods."

Shoden nodded. The trees were dead there, but they still stood through the rocky ground sturdily.

    "You need to be very careful, Shoden," Grimwall said.

    "Why?"

    "It takes a certain kind of person to birth those creations in portals. It takes a disturbed mind and a hard soul. Whenever a creation comes to life in the portals the Devil knows. The Devil cannot create on its own, it needs one of those people. You are one of those people, Shoden."

    Shoden felt his stomach fall a thousand stories and felt his skin crawl with cold. 

"And those people, I'm afraid to say, are very vulnerable to the Devil, Shoden. It can tempt them much easier than it can with others. You understand?"

    "Yes," Shoden nodded. "But what can I do?"

Grimwall sat back and sighed. "Unfortunately, all of the portal openers I've seen have been dragged to the Devil. Some say, however, that there is one from another world that is a Guardian for every portal opener. If you can find your Guardian then you can be saved from the Devil."

    "Where can I find my Guardian?" Shoden asked.

The Magician shook his head and said, "I do not know. I don't even know if they actually exist, but I've heard of stranger things than that. Now, the Third Sun is almost in its House."

    Shoden looked through the window behind Grimwall and saw he was telling the truth. The Second Sun had gone down on the horizon, leaving the sky a rusted orange color, and now the Third Sun was almost there, too, turning the sky into a steadying purple night.

    "We should sleep," the Magician said as he stood up. 

    "But what about the High Priestess?" Shoden asked. "I need to find her, don't I?"

    "Tomorrow," Grimwall said as he opened a door on the wall behind the tapestry. Shoden saw it led into a small bunkroom. "For now we sleep."

    Shoden wanted to protest, but honestly he was tired. He looked over at Trigger, who was already asleep on the floor, and entered the bunkroom behind Grimwall.

___________________________________________________

    Birds called in the Lesser Suns the next morning and Shoden awoke feeling refreshed. He looked around the bunkroom and remembered the previous day. The void in his heart and its shadow gripped his heart. He stood up and saw that Grimwall was already gone. He opened the bunkroom door and saw the Magician sitting at the table where they had talked the previous evening. He was leaning over a map. The smell of coffee wafted from a mug next to him.    

    "Good morning, Grimwall," Shoden said as he sat opposite the man.

    "Morning," the Magician said, not taking his eyes off the map.

    "What are you doing?" Shoden asked.

    "The City of Arc lies only several miles from here." Grimwall pointed out Lillith and the City on the map with two fingers. "If you leave now, you can make it to the High Priestess before the Second Sun touches the top of the sky."

    Shoden nodded and said, "Will you join me?"

Grimwall looked up and shook his head. "No, I am banished from the City of Arc. Some... mishap, I'm afraid. It was merely a slap on the wrist, but if I return I will be sentenced."

    Shoden felt a shiver run down his spine. He knew very little about the Magician, and what he was hearing was mysterious and a little frightening.

    "You'll be fine," Grimwall said as he rolled up the map. "There's a road from here to there. As long as you don't divert from that, you won't have anything to worry about."

    Shoden nodded and asked, "When should I leave?"

    "Are you hungry?" the Magician responded.

    "No," Eating was the last thing on Shoden's mind.

    "Then you can leave now." Grimwall smiled. "I'll take you to the road and then wait for your return. Leave the dog, too. They don't allow animals past the City walls."

Shoden nodded, picked up his bag and the two left the house.